Rodgers will be sacked next season if biggest problem persists

Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers may face the sack next season should the gaffer fail to address our biggest enemy: set-piece defending.

This season has been a write off for many reasons. Despite initial optimism with one of our largest transfer windows for a while, without losing a key player I might add, the Foxes have failed to achieve expectations. Leicester have been dross.

From an injury-ridden season to poor performances even with a mostly stitched together first team. There are myriad reasons why the King Power club continue to struggle now and have struggled this campaign.

As a result, supporters are turning on Rodgers. They are calling for his head. They want him sacked. Not a majority by any stretch, but a vocal and large subset do not trust the Northern Irishman.

It is clear to see where their resentment is formed from. Poor tactical choices and a lack of passion, added on top of mistakes or omissions in substitutions really does not look good. But this is not what could get him sacked.

Leicester City’s Achilles’ heel

Far from it in fact. Rodgers consistently delivered good performances for two seasons running, and his tactics laid the groundwork for our growth. Nevertheless, the same has not developed this season. The gaffer has failed to make a consistent system.

However, this has not stopped LCFC from winning matches. There is an immense pool of talent at his disposal, and they mostly performed good enough to beat most teams. There is only one situation in which this lack of passion injected by Rodgers plus poor tactical planning has cost us. One.

Set-pieces. Corners particularly. Are the Achilles’ heel of City. As noted by Statman Dave, we have the worst defensive record from dead-ball situations than any other team in the league.

18 league goals conceded. 18. As Understat show, 15 of those were from corners, three from other set-pieces. Also, worth noting that the Foxes are 14th in most goals conceded. 14th. Again, our expected goals against is higher than our expected goals in every situation, except for direct free kicks.

This is what will get the gaffer sacked. It is a farce that such obviously incompetent match-ups and tactical directions should cost us so many goals and so many points. A Leicester without these issues is challenging for European football again.

What must Rodgers do?

How to resolve the defensive crisis from set pieces perhaps appears difficult on the surface. There are myriad elements to consider, from player heights to whether or not they are marking a player or space. Nevertheless, hear me out. There is an answer.

The answer is simple: tactical flexibility. Throughout the initial games of the season, the King Power side would employ a zonal/space marking system. Broadly speaking this makes sense: put players in the areas of highest danger.

However, as soon as our shape was found out – which is fairly easy for any manager in this league – it was exploited. With neat movements pulling players out of position, technical plays, and attacks on mis-match heights. Aston Villa has benefitted from this twice.

Therefore the – once again – obvious conclusion is for the Foxes to actually scout their opposition, look at them statistically, and deploy different defensive structures dependent upon the strengths of their opponents. This could mean man marking one or two players while others occupy space.

On top of this, the boss must alter the mindset of goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel. Too often the ‘Great Dane’ fails to command his box, fails to come for the ball, fails to make high challenges, and too often is he left exposed. The gaffer must get Schmeichel making high claims like every other keeper in the league.

Should Leicester City players continue to lack the passion from set-pieces to defend, the determination to get to the ball first, the tactical understanding to halt their opposition, or the appropriate directs from the boss, then it is time. Time for the board to consider the position of our otherwise brilliant head coach. They could also bring in a new set-piece coach and exclude Rodgers from that though.