Leicester City have been struggling this season, they have been ravaged by injuries and thrown away numerous points from winning positions. This has left many fans to scrutinise Brendan Rodgers’ position at the club, particularly after a string of poor performances and failing to get out of the Europa League group stage.
A few weeks, ago I analysed what was going wrong for Rodgers and how he was losing fans with some questionable tactical decisions. However, not all is lost, as he may be facing the spotlight at this point in time, but I believe that the Northern Irishman has what it takes to turn this horrid season around.
Leicester City aren’t playing terribly
Even in some of the lowest of lows that Leicester city have faced, the Foxes have generally been putting in performances that warrant at least some positives. For that, we look no further than the Tottenham Hotspur game, where LCFC blew a 2-1 late in stoppage time, to lose 2-3 at home.
The game had some terrible performances from the backline, however there were still players who had impressive games. The main problem that the Foxes have been facing is how to improve their defence that is as shaky as a skyscraper during an earthquake.
In attack, Leicester are solid, and we have a more than competent midfield to go along with the abundance of attacking talent at LCFC. Rodgers has made it clear that he knows where the issues are and if he can be given a transfer window to reshape the backline, it could lead to the results on the park improving.
In the last week, the East Midlands side have put in two strong performances, that suggest that things are starting to turn around. The first game saw LCFC win comfortably over Randers, which in all due respect to the Danish side, is not the biggest achievement. However, it is at least a start, after numerous frustrating games.
This was then followed up by another strong team performance, this time against the Wolverhampton Wanderers. In this case however, LCFC were unable to take anything away from the game as the Wolves claimed a 2-1 win.
However, Leicester were the dominant team in that game for the majority, and were playing far better than they have in the last few months against similarly ranked sides. Although you don’t get any points for being the better team, it was a sign that Rodgers is improving the performances from the side and that it is only a matter of time before results follow.
Many of the issues that Leicester face are down to the players
Whenever a team fails to hit certain targets, the manager is always the first one in the firing line. Generally speaking, firing a manager and bringing in someone new will lead to greater success, in the short-term at least.
However, the Leicester boss has not been to blame for as many of the issues that you may think Leicester City have faced this season. When we look one of the glaring issues that the East Midlands side have come across in the last 12 months, it is our terrible defence from corners.
Now, for a long period of time it looked like Rodgers was the one to blame for this, with his persistence with using a zonal marking or hybrid system. However, since he has reverted to a more conventional man-to-man marking style, the Foxes have still struggled defending set-pieces.
This leads me to believe that the players are to blame for the poor defensive record not the manager himself. No matter what system the Northern Irishman has used, the Foxes seem to lack the hunger to attack the ball from corners and instead, are often beaten to the flight of the ball by opposing players.
This such thing is not system-based, rather the basics of football that are taught to players when they are young. it leads me to believe that other managers would face the same issues if they were to take over at the helm.
The absence of Jonny Evans and Wesley Fofana have definitely been felt this season. Fofana, for his incredible aerial ability, and Evans for his leadership on the field. Something that the Foxes are clearly missing. With Fofana set to make his return to the side in the near future, I believe we will see Leicester looking far more solid at the back, leading to better results.
Brendan Rodgers has guided LCFC through adversity before
When the former Celtic manager took over from Claude Puel in early 2019, Leicester City looked like a club that had no idea what it wanted to be. There were aspirations for the club to break into the top six, but they also seemed like a club that you would never know what sort of performance to expect, capable of defeating defending champions one day, to losing comfortably to a side in a relegation battle the next. Please click the link below to complete the article.
From the moment Rodgers took over, there was a fresh spark in the players, an infectious enthusiasm was felt around the King Power Stadium and since then, the Foxes have gone onto some of their highest of highs in history. With back-to-back 5th-placed finishes, plus winning our maiden FA Cup last year.
While this season hasn’t seen the East Midlands side reach those same heights, there is still time for Rodgers to replicate the from that the Blue Army have become accustomed to over the last three years. The 49-year-old has guided LCFC through difficult times once already and I believe he can do it again, and this time the path is clear.
Rodgers has recently stated that the Foxes are unlikely to qualify for Europe through the league this season and that he is targeting the UEFA Conference League. The Conference League is the only competition Leicester still have a chance of winning this season, and could also prove a path for the Foxes to qualify for Europe next season.
If Rodgers’ plan on setting the Conference League as the main goal for the remainder of the season, then it may improve performances in the Premier League as well. If the Foxes players can continue to put in strong performances like their last against Randers, then the confidence built from that could then lead to an improvement in league standings. While Leicester may not be performing at its best, I believe that with time, Rodgers will be able to lead the Foxes to a resurrection in the final stages of this season.