With just eight games left to play many Leicester City fans were quite underwhelmed by the appointment of former Aston Villa and Norwich City manager Dean Smith. Despite the fanbase’s disappointment with this announcement, some solace can be taken by the Foxes’ that he is being joined by not only Premier League legend John Terry but also former Leicester manager and part of the title winning coaching staff, Craig Shakespeare.
Shakespeare took over as interim manager back in 2017 when the club was in a similar situation, steering City to a Champions League quarter final appearance and a 12th place finish. Bringing in staff that have a deep understanding of the culture of the club could be a shrewd move by trying to instil belief and fight back into the squad.
Since LCFC fans already understand what Shakespeare brings to the table, what is it exactly that the pairing of Smith and Terry can provide and why in fact they are the right men for the job to save the East Midlands club from the depths of depravity.
Although his time at Villa ended with a whimper, Smith not only successfully got the side into the Premier League but then kept them up with an impressive 11th placed finish in the 20/21 season.
This situation where man management and motivation will be vital given the task ahead. Tactical implementation will be extremely difficult in just eight games, especially games of this magnitude. So, of course, organisation and motivation will be key in the survival of the club.
Defensive stability and organisation have been something that the Foxes have struggled with – and that’s being generous – throughout the entirety of Brendan Rodgers’ tenure with the club. Especially the last two seasons, unsurprisingly since the decline of Wilfred Ndidi, who’s exceptional defensive capabilities previously papered over the cracks of Rodgers’ fragile out-of-possession system. A system where the only tactical adjustments were personnel, thus when personnel accrue injuries or dip out of form; chasms began to develop.
During Smith’s and Terry’s last full season at Villa – their 11th placed finish – they had the seventh best defensive record in the entire Premier League. A back four that consisted of Tyrone Mings, Ezri Konsa, Matt Targett and Matty Cash. With all due respect to those four, achieving a level of defensive solidity with that unit is especially impressive.
This is the likely impact of having Terry as the side’s assistant manager. After the former Chelsea defender left Smith’s coaching staff it seemed to be the beginning of the end for his time at the Midlands club. The team seemed to lose all sense of identity resulting in the inevitable departure of Smith and his staff.
City have not struggled with finding the net this season, it has been at the defensive end. LCFC have the attacking players to get themselves out of trouble when they have to – despite not showing that recently. All they are desperate for is a defensive identity and self-belief, this is something that looked severely lacking in the feeble 1-0 loss to Bournemouth.
Yes, there will be some major doubts due to the nature of both his time at Villa and most recently Norwich. The former manager was relieved of his duties by the Canaries in December after a run of just three wins in 13 matches. It may not seem very promising for LCFC fans but giving the very nature of the short-term job at hand the combination of all three of the staff being a part of the of this saviour project could be just the right bunch to save City from the drop.