The biggest cojones on the planet and starting to love football again: Leicester City’s season so far
With the Championship season on hiatus and Leicester sitting pretty at the top of the table, we asked our writers to review the season so far…
My pre-season prediction was…
Matt Jedruch: 3rd place. I underestimated Enzo’s influence and the quality of our squad, and thought the standard of Southampton and Leeds (and the rest of the league) would be much higher.
Adam Hodges: 10th. As Principal Seymour Skinner once said, "prove me wrong kids, prove me wrong" and I'm glad to say Leicester have this season. The ability to wear down teams with the sheer number of possession has shown that we are a class above - long may it continue.
Iain Wright: Well, hands up, I got this one totally wrong... sort of! I thought we'd struggle initially, I might have even said on a WhatsApp chat we may not win in August. The reason for my concern was the chaotic pre season, combined with the huge number of question marks remaining over who would still be here come 1st September. I did also say that, ultimately, once things had settled down, we'd do well, so I'll cling onto that part of my prediction!
Jamie Barnard: 3rd - I felt there was too much wrong off the pitch for things to be able to go too well on the pitch. I’d be very happy to be proved wrong on this one! (Provided it’s 1st or 2nd)
Becky Taylor: A bottom half finish at best, so much so, I bet two people £100 we would finish bottom half (Shall we set up the GoFundMe? - Ed.). I was fully engulfed by the doom and misery of last season, I could only see the downward spiral continuing.
James Knight: 1st. I may be way off on many things, but calling this potentially “the greatest team the Championship has ever seen” in our pre-season predictions has aged well. Just don’t scroll down.
My biggest surprise is…
MJ: The reimagination of Wilfred Ndidi.
AH: Ndidi - His transformation has been exemplary between last season to now. He has gone from being slow out of possession and conceding penalties to dribbling in the opposing box and forcing defenders to concede penalties. A surprising playmaker who really made the difference when he came on second half against Stoke.
IW: Ndidi in an advanced role. He’s showing the qualities that he has (ball winning) higher up the pitch, and consequently away from our goal, where frankly he'd become a liability. What has been a surprise has been the impact he's had with dribbling, passing and scoring. He's been brilliant, and it's great to see a smile back on his face. The big question is, what do we do about his contract if we go up? Despite his displays so far, he didn't look that great vs. Liverpool. It's one of many big decisions on the horizon, if indeed he wants stay.
JB: Mads Hermansen. I’d seen the compilation videos when he signed and thought we’d got one of these en vogue keepers who are good with their feet but average at the basics. It turns out we’ve snagged a top class keeper, with the biggest cojones on the planet when playing out from the back, but one that can also keep the ball out of the net. He’ll be at one of the biggest clubs in Europe within the next 5 years.
BT: How quickly Enzo has turned things around. To change the culture, get everyone aligned to his ideas and have it firing almost immediately has been nothing short of miracle work. Not forgetting the Jannik Vestergaard turn-around he facilitated.
JK: How easy it’s been. Partly this is obviously down to the manager and the fact we have loads more money than everyone else, but at the same time…I’m refusing to learn anything about the league until we play a team that looks vaguely like a professional outfit.
Our best player has been…
MJ: Harry Winks. As expected, he hasn’t put up any traditional ‘numbers’, but he is essential in Enzo’s system, and has been incredibly consistent. He also appears to have had an overwhelmingly positive effect off the pitch.
AH: Mads Hermansen. For Maresca Ball to work we needed to build from the back and the Danish goalkeeper does this with ease, often coming out in as an additional centre back. He's a great shot stopper as well.
IW: Mads Hermansen. Some may say it's a strange choice, as the reality is that he's not had a lot to do, but what he has done has been truly excellent. He's made some fabulous saves, such as the one vs Coventry at 1-1 that probably turned no points into three. He's also like a midfielder on the ball and fits precisely what Enzo needs. Yes, it's a lower level, but having a competent goalkeeper has set the foundations for the rest of the team. I think we could already double our money on Hermansen (not that we'd want to) and may well have a superstar on our hands.
JB: Harry Winks. He makes everything tick but he’s also got the grit that we were badly missing last season. I’ve seen him squaring up to players twice his size and berating referees for bad decisions. An injury to him is one of the few things that can stop us absolutely strolling the league this season.
BT: Hard to pick. It's a credit to the system that everyone is playing a huge part in the successes. The days of relying on one or two players are gone. Winks and Hermansen are pivotal to the system, they probably get the most credit from me as all other positions I'm happy with the rotation, but those two keep everything ticking.
JK: Winks, in the sense that he seems to be playing the leadership role we all expected to see from Conor Coady. But you have to give a lot of credit to the midfield as a whole for endlessly dominating teams - Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is on pace for 20 goals this season and half of us still think he might secretly be crap.
The biggest disappointment so far is…
MJ: Groans in the crowd. It has improved as the season has progressed, but there are still certain fans who think they know better despite a record-breaking start.
AH: Cesare Casadei. I had high hopes for the loanee and he has seemed a little lost and at the moment he is not showing the creative flair you want to see in a #10. Hopefully he can grow in the role.
IW: Unlike last year, I'd have to say I've not got one at first team level. Therefore I'm going to say the deafening silence on the proposed stadium development. As I detailed in an article a year ago, it's not just the extra seats, it's the enhancement of the facilities that's equally important. It'd be nice to hear something, anything, as to what the board are thinking.
JB: The lack of change in leadership off the pitch at the club. We’ve heard the club have palmed off the Foxes Trust and their questions about the lessons learned from the failures of last season and the review by Rudkin and Whelan hasn’t seen the light of day. There’s been little to zero accountability for the disaster of last season (which only looks worse as each week passes with this squad dominating the league)
BT: The lack of £30 cap on away tickets in the Championship: up to £37 for QPR away is honking. Leicester's choice to not agree reciprocal pricing with clubs and even suggest they approached clubs and “didn't hear back” is a disappointment, albeit an expected one.
JK: The injuries, particularly as they keep hitting players I’m excited about. Coady, then Tom Cannon turning up with a broken back, then McAteer doing his hamstring.
My favourite game was…
MJ: Southampton. It was nowhere near our best overall performance, but the combination of a Jamie Vardy goal and celebration, getting one over on Southampton/Russell Martin, and Ndidi sending Harwood-Bellis for a hot dog wins it for me.
AH: Southampton. I wasn't at St Mary's and instead watched the game in a Leicester curry house. I had barely sat down when Vardy took the lead within seconds. The goals kept coming and it was great to take revenge on Southampton who shockingly did the double over us last season.
IW: Southampton. Not only was it a fabulous result and a statement win, Russell Martin's post match interview was one for the ages!
JB: Stoke at home. For that moment, 20 minutes in, when the scoreboard showed the possession stats at 90%-10% in Leicester’s favour and the ground almost collectively gasped. They were a decent Championship side and we looked a planet apart. All topped off with Vardy being Vardy.
BT: Southampton. The pain of a horrendous journey there was relinquished within 30 seconds as Vardy put us ahead. Everyone called this game “the real test” after an “easy start” and we got a comfortable result to really kick us on. It took me a while to decide on that answer, what a lovely dilemma to have.
JK: Coventry. Feels like it was ages ago, but KDH swaggering around with his socks round his ankles and mugging them off at the end on their big day out was great stuff.
The thing I love about Enzo Maresca is…
MJ: His uncompromising nature. Crucially it hasn’t translated to arrogance or complacency, he just knows that his methods will bring success, and he has invigorated the entire club as a result.
AH: His approach and belief in the system he is determined in playing, which is bringing a smile back on the faces of the Blue Army.
IW: He looks and sounds like he wants to be here! Anyone looking in would think that'd be the most basic of requirements, but we all know that hasn't been the case with a number of LCFC employees, in a few departments, over recent times. He's been a breath of fresh air so far and long may it continue.
JB: He’s already shown that he’s not afraid to say it as it is. He’s called out the home atmosphere, he showed his disdain for the shambolic pre-season tour, he intimated his disappointment at the transfer activity in the summer and he’s not been afraid to drop players. The man is unerring in what he stands for but does it with grace and respect (unlike the guy in charge this time last season…)
BT: He's made me love going down to the football again. I'm not sure he's put a foot wrong yet. From calling out the moaners in the home support, to picking complete curveball line-ups that won comfortably, he's put himself out there and delivered. His aura has rejuvenated the club, what a guy.
JK: That he’s not scared of making decisions. There’s been numerous calls he’s made so far that would’ve got him a load of stick if they went wrong - the passing out from the back, mass rotation, Vesty’s resurrection. He doesn’t care, he makes the decisions he thinks are best for the team. That’s what you want to see.
