After the disastrous Burton home game, Leicester had a chance to put things right. With maybe a little added pressure that another loss, or sub par display would only ratchet up the concern and voices of frustration for the next home game, this Saturday.
It’s been a tough couple of years for Leicester City season ticket holders. Home wins, and home goals, have been in short supply. Perhaps more importantly, there’s not been a lot to actually get behind in terms of performances.
Russell Martin’s side certainly weren’t perfect against Plymouth, there’s lots of work in progress. But it was the type of performance that had the crowd on their feet, cheering and chanting. It was fun for the most part, and we didn’t say that much last year or the one before.
The personnel have helped to shift the dial. It’s less of the same old faces and more of the kids who, while not entirely finished products, have the right attitude and talent to boot. Martin named four of our own youngsters in Louis Page, Jayden Joseph, Will Alves and Sammy Braybrooke and two of the young loanees, Harry Howell and Christian McFarlane.
He kept faith in the centre back pairing of Harry Souttar and Luke Thomas, as well as starting how we finished the MK Dons game, with both Asmir Bristric and Bobby De Cordova-Reid on the pitch.
The gameplan was dealt a very early blow when Jakub Stolarczyk had to get physically involved in the first minute to prevent Ronan Curtis having a clear chance on goal. Stolarczyk went down in some pain and had to be stretchered off, Alex McCarthy on to replace him.
When we did get onto the ball, the attack was looking potent and if we just had a little more firepower in the middle to put chances away, there’s plenty of crosses and balls that could come into the box. Things were less convincing when Plymouth got the ball, but between some good saves, a bit of luck and some poor movement and/or finishing from the opposition, we weathered those moments.
After throwing everything but the kitchen sink at MK Dons and not getting a goal, scoring in any way was the key. Coming away with a 2-0 win, goals coming from Alves and Howell, is exactly what many Leicester fans ordered. All eyes would turn to the transfer window to see whether we could pick up any other wins there.
Energy on and off the pitch
Getting the first win on the board is always important, but doing it at home in a double header week of games at the King Power even more so. The crowd deserved this after the balloon deflated so quickly against Burton.
Queues to get in, the usual chaos with digital tickets, showed that this wasn’t going to be a terrible attendance. Plymouth didn’t sell out the away end, understandably so, and there were gaps in the stands generally, but that didn’t feel like it impacted the atmosphere. The pre-match optimism for a win may have been wavering but the chants suggested the attacking play against MK Dons had given a number of fans something to feel positive about.
We were rewarded too, Martin’s overuse of the word energy for what he wants showed itself and if we can put in more performances like this, it could be an entertaining season. There was more urgency and speed in the attacking play, helped by the likes of Alves and Braybrooke whose default setting is to turn, run and or pass forward.
Having Howell on the right wing, who’s looked so lively in the spells we’ve seen, also contributed. There’s still the element of intricacy in the play as you’d expect from Russell-ball but Alves and others brought a more direct, cutting edge.
While the players were busy taking care of business on the pitch, there was also plenty going on off it. The transfer window slammed shut but we managed to do some more business. Perhaps crucially, we held off Manchester United to keep Louis Page. It feels like a key moment for us to retain one of the hotter younger prospects, even if we’ll face the same interest again come January.
Reinforcements came in the shape of Emil Riis, adding another actual striker to the squad. As well as John Lundstram on a free transfer and an undisclosed fee for a centre back, Warren O’Hora from Hibernian. We also took our third Brighton loanee, Kamari Doyle, who’s a CAM to bolster that position as well.
On the departures side, we got Stephy Mavididi out to Watford and Oliver Skipp to Charlton, albeit only on season-long loans. It’s not as wholesale a clearout as we’d have hoped, but it’s a start.
There were the usual moments of hope that didn’t last particularly long. Reports and posts that Wout Faes was heading to West Ham were quickly downplayed and thus celebrated by Hammers fans. We get it. Thoughts that Mavididi would be bought, rather than loaned, also petered out. But in a window where we needed to offload a large number of players, we always knew the odds of getting all gone was slim.
But there’s still time, other transfer windows abroad haven’t closed and at this stage, few would argue if we went down a Jannik Vestergaard route of paying Faes off just to be done with him. Where that leaves Caleb Okoli and Woyo Coulibaly is harder to say. Serie A clubs felt like the most likely to be interested but their window is closed now as well.
Songs for Braybrooke, praise for Alves
Did you also go to sleep with ‘Braybrooke, Leicester can’t play without you’ (to the tune of love really hurts without you by Billy Ocean if you’ve not yet heard it) running through your head? This excellent chant went on for large portions of the second half. Peppered with other chants for the likes of Jayden Joseph to keep the moments of silence in the Kop few and far between.
Braybrooke deserved this outpouring of love in the same way that Alves deserved his goal. Both have been instrumental so far this season in trying to make it happen for Leicester. Against Notts County, Alves was in every good move and unlucky not to have scored. Braybrooke was equally impressive in that draw. Both have taken their experience from loan spells at this level or League Two and grabbed their first-team opportunities with open arms.
There’s a speed and vigour to their style of play. It’s impossible not to love Alves, he’s a player who every time he receives the ball is quick to take on his man/men, or smart enough to put through a neat pass to a team mate. It’s a style of play that brings a smile to your face, watching him cut into the middle and just fearlessly press forward every time.
There was a moment in the first half where he linked up with Christian McFarlane to fire us off down the pitch, crucially getting the ball well out of our own half. He’s not afraid to cross it either, though this part of his game suffers from us not having the typical big man profile up top.
In central midfield, Page and Braybrooke were everywhere. The latter can perhaps only be chastised for not taking his chances, after coming so close at MK Dons, he opted to shoot less this game and instead fed the likes of De Cordova Reid, who didn’t capitalise on those chances. Page found himself in the same position, having threaded a lovely weighted ball through to Bobby, the shot was put wide.
It was a shot from Braybrooke though that could only be parried and landed at Howell’s feet for him to slot home. Having our youngsters at the core of the team paid dividends. The swarming speed at which they surged forward when one of them got the ball, the positions they moved into to cover one another and the determination to always get it forward is so refreshing.
By the end of the game, they looked like they’d run themselves into the ground, Howell didn’t see out the ninety as he continued to build match fitness and presumably taking off Joseph was also preservation in a three-game week. He was another player that impressed and was up there again as one of the best performers on the pitch.
For Braybrooke, and for Page, their role comes with more risk, but this was another good display regardless. There’s a general risk with how young the outfield team is that there will be rogue and misplaced passes that turn over possession. The decisions made won’t always be the right ones, but there’s more forgiveness and understanding. It’s worth it too because when they’re combining, it is starting to look great.
Given Braybrooke now has a chant, it’s about time we got one for Alves too.
An early villain to hero story
There’s still an element of chaos to Leicester when the ball is given away or the opposition break. We gave ourselves more problems last night in the first half with the dedication to passing out from the back, but constantly choosing the harder option through the middle with more bodies to clear and navigate. Those with nervous dispositions would have struggled to see the faffing and teams with more clinical finishers would have punished this Leicester side.
Is it too early in the season for a redemption arc? Alex McCarthy thinks not. His first half after replacing the injured Stolarczyk was at risk of causing a Danny Ward style revolt in the stands. When he made a save or successfully passed it out, there were some sarcastic cheers and his sheer insistence on short, risky passes almost cost us.
Yet in the second half, he pulled off four great saves to protect a second consecutive clean sheet with quick reactions and strong hands. The kind of saves he looked slow and incapable of making in the last home game against Burton. There were less risky passes out through the middle for Plymouth players to intercept and it was a much more controlled display.
This isn’t the only contender for an early villain to hero story either. If you’d said to Leicester fans pre season that Luke Thomas would look good playing Russell Martin-ball in a centre back role, we’d have probably asked what drugs you’d taken. But here we are, two games into a rejuvenated Thomas renaissance. He’s looked like a different player while playing out of position.
Next to Harry Souttar, another one we’ve managed to retain this window, they look ok. There’s certainly less heart in mouth moments than with Okoli or with Thomas finding himself beaten by another winger. Souttar had a few standout moments of his own, taking command or surging forward to contribute to the attack.
One other point of note is that Russell Martin was absent as the players did their lap of the pitch to clap the fans and get their plaudits. Martin was content for his players to have their moment. He’s not made it about him in either home game so far which is refreshing.
He has a balance to strike now, one that feels like he’s more likely to achieve than his predecessors. We’ve strengthened the squad for the most part with more experienced players. Choosing the moments to use them, and protecting the excitement and energy that largely comes from our younger players, will be key.
But to credit Martin, he talked a lot about the academy prospects and wanting to use them. They were all key to this first victory and they deserve the chance to try and double that tally. Oxford are next up.
