Who’s to blame for Leicester relegation? Part 7: attacking midfielders

Attacking midfielders seems too aggressive a name for certain meek footballers – forward-facing midfielders would be more accurate. Anyway how did they contribute to the modern Leicester City debacle?

James Maddison – Leicester City Games (32) – Goals (10)

Leicester City’s star man has had quite the season, ten goals and nine assists have put him at the top of every Premier League club’s wishlist. His form going into the World Cup (I feel like I’m writing that on repeat for a lot of these reviews) was second to none and there was no way Gareth Southgate could omit him from the tournament squad despite previous snubs. Come to think of it there is a very loose argument that Gareth Southgate might be to blame for Leicester City being relegated.

Maddison went on to watch all of England’s games from the bench. Admittedly he was injured for the first couple of games but was available to be involved in any of the other three games. Especially after going 3-0 up against Senegal in the 57th minute, picking Maddison would have been a relatively low-risk look at top talent. But alas, Southgate instead pipped for his trusted confidantes – £70million rated Mason Mount anybody? These England squads feel like perfect tapping up opportunities for players to speak with teammates and get word to prospective clubs about their availability. Maybe I’m just paranoid.

Following the World Cup, City were pathetic for five months bar the occasional result and just like everyone else at the club Maddison’s form dropped off a cliff. He seemed distracted and not able to perform at his best. He no longer bossed games and continued to be easy to bully. Perhaps he wanted to be the centre of attention too much, demanding the ball and doing some elaborate step-overs and skills to show the world he was still very good.

Overall in 2023, Maddison scored only two goals from open play and a penalty, added to his five assists. Despite the occasional memorable moments, two at the King Power stick out for many. A horrific back-pass that gifted Bournemouth a win and a penalty miss against Everton that was pivotal in helping keep Everton up and relegating the Foxes.

I’ve spoken enough about his in-season social media pratfalls, despite the media praise Maddison still has lots of maturing to do, just ask Rob Tanner. So let us just focus on a line from ‘Madders” closing statement for the campaign and probably his Leicester career.

"We take responsibility for that & the negativity that comes with it & continue to stick together"

Was this supposed to be a private message for his agent?