What should Enzo Maresca change after Leicester lost to Leeds?
Enzo Maresca’s Idea temporarily came unstuck during Leicester City’s second league defeat of the season. There’s no question he will stick to his current approach for the trip to Middlesbrough, but what tweaks can he make to improve?
Sharpen the sharp end
Iain Wright
Although it's always disappointing to lose, with 13 wins from 15 in the bank, I don't think there is a desperate need to make wholesale changes.
If there's one thing we've learned in his short time with us, it’s that Enzo Maresca has a very clear plan and that's the path he will continue on as he tries to develop the team.
However, I don't get the impression so far that he's stubborn, therefore the perfectionist in him will definitely be looking at the small margins where we can improve the plan, rather than re-writing it.
In my view, if he is looking to push things forward, getting more from the striker position is the place to start. We've shared the goals around this season, which is obviously a good thing, but I’m still not convinced that we're operating at full capacity at the sharp end.
The team is obviously very strong and whoever is in the number 9 position will inevitably score a fair few for us, but could we strive for more? Jamie Vardy started against Leeds and was very ineffective. It goes without saying (but I'm going to say it anyway), that he is the GOAT and I do still feel he can still play a part, even at 36, but I feel that should now be generally from the bench. The inescapable truth is that his performance on Friday against a 'good team', was reminiscent of how he played for most of last season at the higher level.
As for Iheanacho, he's been as infuriatingly inconsistent in the Championship as he was in the Premier League. He simply hasn't stood out like, say, Harry Winks, as a player far superior for this division.
Even with the above comments, I'm still confident Vardy and Iheanacho will continue to score goals and push us towards promotion. However, with both out of contract in the summer, it's debatable if either, let alone both, will still be with us next season regardless of which division that turns out to be.
Therefore, if we are looking to become even better, and with an eye on the future, maybe it's time to see what Tom Cannon can do within the Maresca Machine? With such a strong team around him, it wouldn't be too much of a risk, but it may bring a very big reward.
Return of the Mac
James Knight
Two things: buy up the nation's supply of horse placentas to try to get the injury list sorted, while also encouraging the players to be a bit more positive with our passing and pressing from the front.
We clearly don't need to overreact to the Leeds game, but it highlighted how much we're missing options in midfield. The fact Maresca only made two subs was alarmingly Rodgers esque, and he's certainly not been able to rotate and keep the players as fresh as he wants to.
Then there's the fact the attacking threat has dried up a little over the past few games. I think to some extent the two things are related, where we've not been able to create turnovers and break quickly into space because the players aren't pressing with the same intensity as in the first couple of months. We need some bodies back to help with this, particularly after the international break when there's so many games.
For this weekend at least, it's surely time to get Kasey McAteer back in the side, maybe even as the #8 instead of Casadei, who's haircut doesn't seem to have had the sort of impact we might have hoped for.
McAteer just has good vibes this season, and he's a more intelligent player in this system than the Italian. Let's just hope his decision to become Irish hasn't had too much adverse effect on his ability to play football.
Start more quickly
David Bevan
We’ve been talking a lot recently about solving the atmosphere problem at the King Power. One easy way to do this would be to start halves more quickly.
There’s been a clean slate across most of the club since the summer but there have been one or two signs that last season’s crazy starts to games, when we would regularly give up a clear shot at goal within the first minute, is creeping back in. It certainly happened against Leeds.
Going further back to when the atmosphere was at its best, a key aspect of the great escape in 2015 was the way we tore into opponents from the first whistle. This team isn’t set up to do that by default, but it is still possible within this system.
The Leeds game should have been a big one but too many factors made it feel flat. Factors such as the points lead we have, the fact we don’t even think we should be in this division and, ultimately, the style of play.
If The Idea is going to succeed, it needs to be flexible enough to get the whole ground going from the start. It is possible, and I think we’re going to need it.
