After the Leicester City goalkeepers were given a few harsh words from Carter’s report card (editor’s note: they really weren’t), next into his imaginary office is Mike Whitlow’s specialised position: left-backs.
James Justin’s Leicester City season
Appearances total – 19 / Premier League – 13 / FA Cup – one / League Cup – zero / Europe – five
Moment to savour – An England call-up to cap a triumphant return to form
Moment to forget – The long-awaited return ending in a horrific last-gasp defeat against Spurs
The future – Making the left-back spot his own, adding more goals to his tally and a chance of making the plane to Qatar 2022
‘JJ’ as he is affectionately known has been one of many casualties this season, only making his first appearance of the season in January as he recovered from last season’s devastating cruciate injury. Justin has the versatility to play both right and left-back and demonstrated that to good effect on his return.
Justin’s attacking prowess showed through, particularly in the home victory against Brentford with several lung-busting runs causing many problems for the bees. Brendan Rodgers seemed to manage his return on the right before closing out the season with Justin on the left where he looks more defensively comfortable but with less attacking prowess.
Being a Leicester defender he still seems to suffer from that familiar trait of not being tight enough on crosses but his engine allows him to marshal his left side well. Building up a stronger partnership with Harvey Barnes will be his future aim. On reflection, he didn’t quite hit the heights of 2020/2021, which would have been a stretch, but he did achieve enough for Gareth Southgate to believe he had earned his first England cap and give him half a chance of making the 2022 world cup squad.
Rating: 7.5/10 – chances of leaving – 5%
Luke Thomas
Appearances total – 32 / Premier League – 22 / FA Cup – one / League Cup – three / Europe – six
Moment to savour – Starting the season as the first-choice left-back
Moment to forget – Being given the run around by Bakary Saka in a home defeat to Arsenal
The future – More first-team appearances as he edges closer to a century of games
With an injury-ravaged squad Luke Thomas was thrust into the first team for the opening day against Wolves where he savoured a win and rare clean sheet. His confidence has grown from the young man who barely 12 months earlier had made his first-team debut and the game before playing a crucial role in the club’s first-ever FA cup win.
Knowing this is where much of the patience with Thomas has to be. His confidence and judgment are still at a raw stage in his career. The odd pass will go astray, and he can on occasions lose track of his man. But his persistence to continue attacking his left flank and getting tighter to his opposite number still shows signs of progression. Brendan challenges him increasingly by putting him up against star wingers like Saka which can lead to mixed results, but at this early stage of his career it will help him when he is called upon in even bigger challenges.
Some Leicester City supporters would do well to keep this in mind when throwing criticism at the 21-year-old as he continues his development.
Rating 6.5/10 – chances of leaving 0% (A loan move might not be out of the question though)
Ryan Bertrand
Appearances total – 10 / Premier League – four / FA Cup – zero / League Cup – two / Europe – four
Moment to savour – I’m struggling to pinpoint that
Moment to forget – A shoddy defensive display at Selhurst Park
The future – Away from the King Power Stadium
With James Justin out for a long period and Luke Thomas the only truly recognised left-back going into the season, the club acted swiftly to pick up the experienced and dependable Ryan Bertrand on a free transfer.
This seemed a sage move for a club in need of some reliable cover following the gap left behind by Christian Fuchs. To say Bertrand has been underwhelming has been an understatement. From September to October he featured in the Premier League four times and did little of note to keep his spot.
For a player with such pedigree, it was strange to see ‘RB’ caught out of position so often. He may well have been a victim of a poorly constructed backline that had its own problems with a complete lack of cohesion throughout. Add that to a Harvey Barnes ahead of him not used to tracking back. But at Crystal Palace his failure to link up with Barnes in an attacking sense and hold his position and shape defensively contributed largely to a second-half collapse that should have ended in a LCFC defeat.
He was afforded more opportunities in Europe, but again he featured in games where the foxes were embarrassingly exposed at the back where the fingers of blame could be pointed at his positional choices. His last appearance came at Anfield a few days before Christmas in a dramatic penalty shoot-out defeat, after he would not even appear in a match-day squad for the rest of the season which given the East midlands side’s injury woes is an interesting statement. It would not be a surprise if we never see Bertrand in a Leicester shirt again.
Rating 5/10 – chances of leaving 75% (still has one year left on his contract)