Leicester City triumphed over West Ham United, but fell short of Premier League survival after an abysmal campaign. Here are three culprits who have to go.
The Premier League season is over and the King Power club have been relegated. We had better xG than previous campaigns, and we equally saw what should have been a good team. Nevertheless, after a win against the Hammers, Everton were the ones who sealed our fate. Well, the Foxes should not have been close to relegation, so clearly there was an underperformance.
I shall give an honourable, or dishonourable mention, to former head coach Brendan Rodgers. The Northern Irishman lost his grip on the situation, failed to manage the players well, and threw away those who could have been helpful. Although not a player, the manager should have been removed far earlier to provide an opportunity for survival.
Leicester City’s main man
37 played, 19 starts, only seven goal contributions, equating to 0.34 per 90. The highest underperformance in a player judged on those metrics. Can you guess the player? It was Jamie Vardy – a legend, a star, and the one who awakened at the end of the campaign when all was almost said and done.
I take no pleasure in listing the former main man and talisman for this situation: afterall, Kelechi Iheanacho should have been starting ahead of ‘Vards’, and it was a Rodgers decision to do otherwise. Nevertheless, there are several aspects of his game plus about him in general, which must be improved going into the next season. Firstly, involvement. 12.7 touches per game according to Sofascore. Let us compare that to 53.6 per game for James Maddison, or 18.6 per game for our alternate Nigerian striker.
Clearly, throughout the season, our strikers have not been involved but for a few passages of play, yet Vardy has been particularly upsetting. The English striker could have been far more impactful. Additionally, a lack of confidence did not help the situation. A series of failed attempts at goal, misplaced passes, and truly depressing passages of play really understate the terrible season the Foxes have had. Leicester City’s talisman English striker has shown but mild glimpses of his former self.
The Brazilian flare
Tete joined to much fanfare in January. He was thought to be the answer to our RW problems. After all, we have had no RW and certainly no prolific goalscorer or assist-maker. It turns out, Tete had so much promise but so little impact.
In his first set of fixtures, the player scored, assisted, and looked impactful if out of his element against Premier League opposition. The King Power club would have been fine if that two game purple patch remained. But, it did not remain and the remainder was disappointing at best, abysmal like the rest at worst.
The Brazilian underperformed on goals, underperformed on possible assists, and underperformed on the initial promise: intensity, explosiveness, and an attacking acumen. In absence of these key facets, I would have preferred us to retain either Marc Albrighton or even Ayoze Perez.
Finally, Luke Thomas
A breakout star turned villain. From the loss of James Justin to the signing of Victor Kristiansen, Thomas was at one point our preferred option at left back. Yet, he fell short and became less than impressive: losing his place to the Dane and then the integration of Timothy Castagne at left-back when Ricardo Pereira went to right-back.
In this season, we have seen poor positioning, a lack of aggressive football, and a failure to create anything. The only time this changed was in the last few fixtures where Thomas took back the starting spot from Kristiansen. Further, the player was only ever involved in two clean sheets for Leicester.
Now, this in itself is not destructive to his reputation – the whole side was atrocious – yet 0.1 possessions won per game is particularly terrible. I think the less said the better. The English left back has got to do significantly better for the Championship campaign.
Onwards to the EFL for the King Power club. A campaign of renewal, change, and upheaval. Many players will leave, and many will remain. Up the Foxes.