Sacked in the evening. Only he will be here in December. After a transformational transfer window led by Russell Martin's requests, the King Power side entered their first and most defining match of the campaign against Oxford United, needing to build on the Plymouth Argyle win. Instead, they rolled over with an abysmal 0-4 defeat in a defensive disasterclass.
However, it is not purely the fault of our defence. Our goalkeeper is rubbish, the system does not work, the midfield and forwards stay too far forward to ever track back in time to support, and we still cannot create the chances needed to score goals consistently. This team needs a rework and a new system to move on.
This is Leicester City's undoing
I have said it time and again: we can have all the possession in the world; we can do well at retaining the ball, at recycling the ball; but we actually need to show a bit of bite and spark to do something with it. The weakness of Leicester is so easy to see, so easy to counter; it is embarrassing that the head coach has not even tried anything different.
"They do have a bit of consistency with their team and the players in it. I’m sure that’s helped him. It’ll be a tough game. We have to make sure it’s the game that we want it to be and implement our way of doing it."Russell Martin, via LCFC
The foundational principle of 'Martinball' is the phrase 'death by football'. The aim is to hold onto possession, to progress into the opposition half, and then pass it sideways indefinitely until space opens for a player to make something happen. If you expect your opponent to make it tough for you to follow this game plan, you have to either evolve or be excellent; we were neither. This ignorant (not necessarily negative, just focused on your game) approach therefore relies on three qualities in the team: energy, technical passing, and an active defence.
Energy: the engine of the team
To maintain the incessant passing and movement necessary to progress the ball, construct chances, and retain possession despite pressure, the team needs an engine that can keep on running. Leicester City's midfield and 'progressive' players (the fullbacks in this system) must be able to keep running forward, tracking back, and pressing heavily, all while many of their own team remain high up the pitch, awaiting them to break the press and get the ball to them.
Martin has already commented that players such as Louis Page, Jayden Joseph, Christian McFarlane, Harry Souttar, and Luke Thomas were fatigued, and in having already lost Conor Chaplin to injury twice, we cannot keep up this specific level of reliance on the defence and engine to do everything while a lot of players remain forward.
We need to rotate the team regularly. Olabade Aluko will have to start our next fixture; Warren O'Hora and Ilari Kangasniemi must start in central defence; even Woyo Coulibaly, or, goodness forbid, Wout Faes, will need to start. Additionally, Martin has to change his system.
Technical passing: the tempo and creative heart
Technical passing is a two-way street: the sender and the receiver. For LCFC's high-possession system to function effectively, it requires the sender to be able to make neat technical passes into the feet of players, despite being under pressure from all around. Louis Page has shown himself to have this quality, being able to receive the ball under pressure and swiftly move it sideways or forward, usually around an opponent.
It is also the only way to create chances in this system. The receiver needs to be dynamic in his position, able to move fluidly to open passing lanes or draw defenders a certain way to expose space for another to run into. Strangely, we have not done too poorly at creating space, but exploiting it has been horrendous. Off-the-ball players need to be instructed to rush into that exposed space and actually run beyond the defence, not come short and try a neat sideways pass; we need to break away from the defence.
If the sender has the ability to find the player, the receiver needs the ability to bait and create, with technical proficiency in controlling the ball swiftly; at the end of the day, we need a player to receive the ball and transition it into attack. If this does not happen, we get what we currently have: spineless possession.
We progress past a press successfully, the defence forms a low, compact, congested block, pressing rarely, and our players merely collect the ball in front of the block and proceed to either A) pass it back, or B) take an awkward shot. Neither is preferable in this system, yet it seems to be the instructions of Russell Martin to protect possession rather than take chances to create real opportunities. We may have the technical senders, but at best our technical receiving is being hamstrung by tactical instructions which are blind to the division we are in. That is the real death by football.
An active defence: the entire backline stands alone
When possession is lost, Leicester City do not behave like a League One team. They rely on defenders and the goalkeeper to conduct the entirety of the defensive role. That is to say, more than half the team stay high and narrow, whereas the defence must both win back possession and then relieve the press, again requiring technically gifted and energetic defenders to enable that reliance consistently.
The defence must also intelligently step up or work with the keeper to recycle possession and open a passing lane out of the high press. This does not work with Alex McCarthy, Harry Souttar, and Luke Thomas: McCarthy has about as much composure as a slug touched by salt; Thomas, under pressure, is rushed and does not communicate with his team about where a pass is actually intended for; and Souttar is just too slow in movement and not a technically gifted passer. That is not to say 'Souts' is not a good defender - he is - he just is not a systematic fit.
Again then, we are left with a simple problem: the system. The Foxes rely on a defence with the energy and technical quality to be active, intelligent, and break presses, while Martin tells his forwards and midfielders to stay up the pitch. This does not work when your team is under immense pressure and lacking confidence or composure.
What has to change
The fact is, our head coach does not have the right system for a League One scrap. Our formation, our priorities, and our foundational principle must abandon 'death by football' in favour of bite & spark, passion & hunger. The players must be instructed to take risks, to pass the ball far quicker (some players like to hold onto the ball too long), and to move fluidly to create passing lanes rather than stand stationary when, obviously, we are being man-marked the whole game around.
My recommendation will be to give Franco Ravizzoli a shot in goal, with instructions to come out to catch balls and help recycle quicker; Thomas and Souttar need to be rested; and a new formation, one which gives us a bit more at the back, needs to be instated. I propose a 3-4-1-2. Clearly, we are not making use of the wide spaces at the moment, so drawing defensive fullbacks in with two forwards and a nearby attacking midfielder/shadow striker should create space for wingbacks and overlapping centre-backs to overload the wide spaces and support recycling possession faster.
Team-wise, I would start Warren O'Hora in the centre of a back three, with Woyo Coulibaly and Christian McFarlane on both sides. Ravizzoli in goal unless we sign a better free agent. Page and Sammy Braybrooke in midfield, with John Lundstram and Liam Cullen coming on later to retain energy. On the wingbacks, Jayden Joseph and Wes Burns. Will Alves in that fluid AM role, linking at the base of an attacking triangle, as he has the technical ability and passing vision to find overlapping wingbacks and centre-backs, as well as the two forwards. Admir Bristric and Emil Riis together upfront.
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