The Fosse Way

With the 2023/24 bridge wars either on hold, or pending the return visit, our M69 rivals Coventry were the visitors to the King Power. A game that promised goals, surely? While it was Leicester’s most complete performance so far, our finishing let us down.

The stage was set nicely for Leicester’s toughest test yet. A lunchtime kick off against Frank Lampard’s Coventry, who had been scoring lately for fun. 

Union FS had a Tifo prepared for the Kop and the atmosphere pre-match was lively as you’d expect. The big screens showed how we nicked a tight game last time out at the King Power in 2023, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall bagging the winner as fans were dissecting the team news.

There was a first start for Jordan James, who replaced the suspended Aaron Ramsey. Harry Winks and Ricardo Pereira started in place of Oliver Skipp and Hamza Choudhury. On paper, this looked like the strongest side we’d put together so far. Maybe the only surprise squad inclusion was Victor Kristiansen, on the bench after a recent injury. 

Ricardo more than earned his start after several impressive substitute performances to remind us all once again that without injury, he’d have been long gone, flashing his skills on a much bigger stage than the King Power. At this level, he is a cheat code.

If the Oxford game left a lot of questions unanswered, this M69 derby provided some answers and a fair amount of reassurance. This was the best Leicester City performance so far under Marti Cifuentes. Which is why it feels a little like two points dropped; we lacked the clinical edge up front to reward a more complete display. 

The game had an often frenetic energy to it, periods of end to end action but not many clear-cut chances for either side. The away side may feel they could have done better with a Jack Rudoni chance in the second half, but Jakub Stolarczyk made a good save and while the defending wasn’t perfect, it was enough.

A little like their respective away end, Coventry seemed a little subdued. Their danger men, Rudoni, Sakamoto and especially Haji Wright were kept quiet. Jay Dasilva would have been relieved to end his afternoon of torment at the tricky feet of Abdul Fatawu with just a yellow card and no goals conceded. 

A draw suits the away side more but there was promise in the display and plenty of things for Cifuentes to think about. Primarily that with an actual striker on from the get go, we probably would have won.

The frustrating Jordan

For everything that was encouraging, you could list two or three things that were teeth gnashing levels of frustration. The chief culprit being our efforts on goal, the general movement in the final third and lack of bodies in the box. 

Restoring Winks and Ricardo to the side alongside Abdul Fatawu, plus adding in the new ingredient of Jordan James meant we had plenty of players making passes and putting crosses into the middle, but we failed to capitalise on them.

On the site last week, we asked if Jordan Ayew is the problem or a possible solution. This game very much implied he’s a problem, at least when deploying him as the lone striker. We cannot keep doing this every week and expecting results.

He is too easily drawn inside or wide leaving the box empty, and his lack of pace was a problem against a defence who could beat him to the ball almost every time. In one moment of madness, he appeared to be clearing the ball on behalf of Coventry and patience was worn thin by half time. 

We’ve heard this week that Marti has been working with Bobby Decordova-Reid to turn him into more of a 10, but this is the role Ayew would be more suited to. Allowing us to deploy Patson Daka or Julian Carranza into the forward role. 

The other positional issue from this game was Stephy Mavididi. We all expected him to pick up where he left off from the last Championship campaign but it’s been a disappointing start so far. He hasn’t taken a player on as often as we’d like and his finishing has been lacking. 

Case in point when he found himself in a one on one with Carl Rushworth. It should have been the deciding goal but he fired straight at the Coventry goalkeeper. 

Rushworth was given the man of the match award from the Sky crew, but if he was always there to save, part of that was down to us lacking that killer edge in front of goal. A few players tried their chances, Ricardo made several runs into the box again which didn’t come off. Fatawu had his shots and James showed he’s going to be a danger sooner rather than later. Yet we couldn’t break the deadlock.

Some of this comes back to our frustrating inability to make a set piece count. Our efforts today were poor, and it seems like such an obvious place to look for quick improvements. We rotated who took the corners and free kicks, but never really made the Coventry defence worry with the resulting attempts. 

Cifuentes may be frustrated that we couldn’t turn those chances into a goal to take the three points, but the performance will be a key takeaway. On the attack, if we could iron out the Ayew and Mavididi issues, we will score regularly and some of the goals will be a sight to behold. 

The good Jordan

While limited for time and being down to ten men at Oxford on his debut, excitement has been building around James. His presence in our starting eleven felt like adding that missing puzzle piece. Perhaps it’s also because there’s a loan to buy option, making falling for JJ 2.0 less of a problem this time.

It was an impressive display from the Welsh international, driving us forward and not just creating chances but trying to get onto the end of them. He came close twice, once in each half. Post-match he seemed disappointed with how he’d taken those chances, coming across well.

He’s got an impressive physicality and good work rate. At Oxford he made a couple of excellent tackles and he built on that in the derby today, adding in some recoveries too. 

He fulfilled that box to box duty we’ve been lacking. Getting him up to playing the full ninety minutes will be key to our success and it’s reassuring to think he’ll be contributing some goals sooner rather than later.

When JJ 2.0 stepped up to take a corner, if it was a good corner, he could have been a cult hero instantly. It wasn’t the worst we’ve seen but it also didn’t end up in a goal. On another day, though, his scuffed shot would have been hit perfectly. He’s already got us excited with these early displays. 

James wasn’t the only midfielder who made a big impact. We saw glimpses of Harry Winks looking motivated and back at it against Oxford and he continued that here. 

What a difference one position change makes, Oliver Skipp had just been playing checkers while Winks has strolled in and immediately started playing 4D chess, leaving him bemused. It’s impossible to imagine how Skipp gets back into this side now without injuries. Winks is another must start spot alongside Fatawu and Ricardo.

There is a question to ask of Boubakary Soumare. Having Winks and James around seems to highlight some of his shortcomings, largely that for all his possession, the end product is virtually non-existent. Whereas Winks and James were looking to run or get the ball forward, his own movement was more limited.

Time to tweak

Marti will have plenty to think about again before we face West Brom on Friday. Julian Carranza’s cameo was intriguing if not a standout performance. He had a couple of good touches and was trying to link up with his teammates. Sadly his appearance coincided with a slight dip in our performance at that stage of the second half, one in which we’d largely looked on top. 

The two key spots that feel up for grabs are the left wing, Mavididi really needs to show us something new and more consistent to keep that spot, along with Ayew’s role. Is Carranza ready to start or is it another chance for Daka? 

Something that could be coincidental is that the defensive frailties seemed more apparent once Ricardo was taken off. Coventry did look to push a little more, their propensity for a late goal taking over, but the little mistakes were there. Ricardo’s replacement, Hamza Choudhury added some unwanted chaos, misplacing passes and losing his man. But Jannik Vestergaard and Wout Faes also both had a couple of careless passes straight to the away side, or missed a tackle and misjudged a ball. We got away with it but there were a few moments of riding our luck.

One thing that’s increasingly apparent is the more robust look of this side. The game felt more controlled in parts than we’ve seen before. While we could make life easier on ourselves, better options up top would mean we aren’t forced to play out from the back 100% of the time for example, you can see what we’re trying to do. 

West Brom should provide another tougher test for the side. We’ve had happy days at The Hawthorns over the years but the thought of going back without Vardy is a strange one. Marti has to resolve our striker problems if we want to come away with a win. 

A final thought on the atmosphere and fan expectations. The atmosphere wasn’t where you’d expect it to for an M69 derby, but that also goes for the Coventry fans. Perhaps the lunchtime kick-off played a part, but we know our atmosphere is a work in progress. In part, that should come once fans are more convinced. Post-match reactions tell their own story.

Personally, I saw the positives and there’s already been more to enjoy than last season combined (ignoring Vardy’s farewell), but a lot of fans seem disappointed and less positive. Marti’s not coming in for flack yet, but there’s definitely more to do to get the King Power bouncing again.