Football on grass
There were at least two reasons why the Rams were not ideal opponents for Leicester. Unlike the Foxes, Derby went into the game in good form. Prior to Saturday’s encounter, six of their seven victories have come in the last eight games. Second is the way that the East Midlands club plays. They have the lowest percentage possession (40%) of any team in the Championship. Their game plan is to sit back, soaking up pressure and rely on the counter-attack. This had the potentially to expose Leicester’s key weaknesses, a lack of pace at the back and an inability to break down packed defences.
Luckily for the Foxes, football isn’t played on paper. Leicester came out of the traps quickly and were two goals to the good, courtesy of Bobby De Cordova-Reid and Oliver Skipp, after only 15 minutes, thus negating Derby’s game plan. A third from Jordon James before half time effectively settled the encounter. There should have been a fourth too with Jordan Ayew judged, incorrectly, to be offside when he powered in a header from a terrific Luke Thomas cross.
In the second half, the Foxes defended too deeply and invited Derby pressure and it was no surprise when Sondre Langas headed one back for the home side. Some stout defending by Leicester, though, saw the game out and secured the valuable points.
Oliver’s army
There were a number of good performances by Leicester players. Jordan James and De Cordova-Reid were exceptional and the centre backs – Jannik Vestergaard and the returning Ben Nelson – rebuffed everything that the Rams threw at them.
Special mention must go, though, to Oliver Skipp. Since arriving at the King Power stadium, he has struggled to justify his £25 million transfer fee. With Boubakary Soumare and Harry Winks both absent, presumably with injury, Skipp got his chance to play in his favourite defensive midfield position rather than as a makeshift centre back as he had been in the last game.
He was outstanding against the Rams, constantly protecting the defence through tackles and interceptions. He also had time to start some attacks as well as arriving in the six-yard box to score the second goal with a clever finish. The absence of Winks seemed to rejuvenate his game and he is an automatic starter for the next match.
Welcome relief
This was a much-needed victory for the Foxes. Defeat would have put the Leicester boss in extreme danger but he is safe, for now.
We shouldn’t let one victory, good as it was, cloud our judgement about Leicester’s poor season. There have only been five victories in the last 15 Championship matches. During that period, the Foxes have conceded 21 goals and scored the same amount. Only 27 points have been won this season out of a possible 57. With a points deduction looming, a relegation dog fight becomes more likely, whatever Jordan James thinks.
Foxes’ fans were happy today but there remains a disconnect with the players, or at least some of them. We know things are really bad when supporters not only boo players but try to ridicule them too. One post on the Fosse way website is titled ‘Confessions of the world’s first comic professional footballer’. Any guesses?
One response to all of this is to say that younger supporters have been influenced too much by the club’s heady success in the past decade or so. Normal service has been resumed older supporters will say. They will point you to the fact that between 2005 and 2009 the Foxes failed to finish in the top half of the Championship for five seasons running, one of which was spent in League 1.
However, as Jordan Blackwell has written, Leicester’s current position – 34th in the football hierarchy before Saturday afternoon’s results – is worse than the average finishing position in the club’s history, which is 22nd.
Still, the victory at Pride Park gives the team something to build on. On to the next one.