Best performance of the season
For a long time in this game it looked, not for the first time this season, that Leicester were going to throw away a hard-fought lead. The Foxes scored early with a stunning strike by Jordan James. Then they sat back and allowed the Swans possession in the attacking third. Their efforts on target were tame but it was almost like we (the fans) were waiting for the home team to score.
And sure enough, on the 70th minute Wout Faes recklessly hauled down a Swansea striker and Adam Idah converted the penalty. Here we go again we thought.
But, to their credit, the Foxes then delivered their best 20 minutes of the season. Seven minutes later Abdul Fatawu scored with a trademark screamer after cutting in from the right. Less than ten minutes later Jannik Vestergaard headed in to make the game safe. And it could have been even better with James hitting the post, Julian Carranza clear on goal but unable to beat the ‘keeper and, last but far from least, Fatawu hitting the bar with an audacious chip from the half-way line.
Right personnel?
It seems churlish to question the team selection of Marti Cifuentes. He was certainly right to pick Ricardo Pereira over Hamza Choudhury. The Portuguese offers more going forward and is a better all-round player. He might also, as some suggested, have dropped Luke Thomas after his mauling by Wrexham’s Issa Kabore in the last match. In actual fact, Thomas had a decent game against the Swans.
More controversially, the Leicester boss went with the same forward line with Patson Daka getting another run out as a central striker and Bobby De Cordova Reid continuing in the number ten role. Both struggled though being particularly guilty of not holding the ball up well enough especially in the first half.
Of the others, the defence was sound enough except for Faes’ aberration. At this level, Vestergaard is a very good player. James was outstanding and looks a very good buy. Fatawu was good on occasions although he does telegraph the switch inside and rarely goes down the line to use his right foot. Jeremy Monga, too, showed flashes of why he is so highly regarded.
A glass half full or half empty?
It is possible to take a positive or negative approach to Leicester’s season so far.
On the negative side, the club’s need for additional signings has been apparent for some time. One very revealing statistic is that the three central strikers - Jordan Ayew, Patson Daka and Julian Carranza - have just one goal between them in the first nine Championship matches and the Foxes are 17th in the expected goals table. City boss Marti Cifuentes claims this is not a problem but then he would say that wouldn’t he? At this point during the last Championship season Leicester competed in they had already amassed 24 points and were sitting proudly at the top of the table.
This week, the out-going CEO Susan Whelan’s parting shot that the club’s financial malaise will be felt for some time was a reminder that Foxes’ fans will not be welcoming additional high quality arrivals any time soon and at the same time are likely to have to face a very unwelcome points deduction for overspending in the past.
This season, City will have to rely on the players that are already at the King Power Stadium and further departures in January can’t be ruled out. Whether the current squad is good enough to mount an effective promotion bid remains an open question. The evidence from Saturday, to end with a positive spin, suggests they might be.
On the positive side, too, this has been a decent start to the season with only one defeat and that, against Preston, shouldn’t have happened. Yes, it is true that there have also been four draws. But in one of these the Foxes were down to ten men for the majority of the game and in two of the others the team were well on top. Third in the table, three points off the top and seven games unbeaten. Not bad at all. All of this too when the Leicester boss only arrived half way through preseason.
It is noticeable, too, that the clubs at the top - currently Middlesbrough and Coventry - are not streets ahead of the others. They are catchable. It is also undoubtedly true that there is more to come from the Foxes.
It remains to be seen, of course, which perspective is more accurate. For now, I leave that choice up to you.