Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall: All eyes on you, maestro
All eyes on us, Leicester City. And not necessarily for the right reasons. After the international break, we’ve got 9 games to control our own destiny on the pitch. We need everybody firing on all cylinders, nobody more than Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
When the international break ends, Enzo Maresca faces another first for his tenure at Leicester City. Assuming the latest financial news hasn’t made him give up. Leicester City will be trying to regain the top spot. We’re only second by a single goal, a fine margin.
It’s being viewed as a nine-game season, a fresh start. Notwithstanding any international issues, we’ll have a clean bill of health in the squad. There’s no other football distractions with the FA Cup chance gone.
It seems fairly obvious to say that if your best and most creative players find themselves in a bit of a slump, your team may well experience a slump too. Other clubs had theirs earlier into the season, ours just so happens to coincide with some delightful off-pitch issues.
There’s a few names you feel will be key in this final stretch, having Ricardo back for example. But we need some to really step up and I’m looking at our midfield maestro, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. He’s not always been performing to the best of his abilities in recent games but at Chelsea, he was the outright star and it’s almost criminal that all he got to show for it was one assist. He deserved more.
At Stamford Bridge, he was everything a fan needs and wants from their players. He looked determined, hugely up for the contest and if we were to get goals (of our making), you knew he’d be involved. There was a spark about him that we’ve missed in recent weeks.
In that first half, he was the beating heart of our team. We needed to clone him for the energy he had and to assist him when he repeatedly surged forward only to find he had no support or options to work with. That’s the Dewsbury-Hall we need until the end of the season.
Heart and soul
In terms of output, nobody can deny Dewsbury-Hall is having his best season yet for Leicester, with 10 goals to go with 12 assists. It was such a good start to the season for him. It’s not a surprise he’s drawn interest from Premier League sides. Whereas his development appeared to have somewhat stagnated under Rodgers, it has flourished under Maresca, as he’s been given a bigger, starring role, with more responsibility in the final third.
Whether that was always intentional or a by-product of not really replacing James Maddison, it was reassuring to see his output increasing, to help plug a gap. Even plagued by injury, we were so reliant on Maddison last year to provide magic and this season, it’s a whole new cast who have been asked to do so.
Dewsbury-Hall is vital to that, so if he does look even slightly tired or has an off-game, it’s more noticeable. There’s something about him that makes a lot of us hold him to higher standards, and possibly not cut him the same slack we afford others.
Rarely do players have a perfect season where they don’t dip in form at any point. It’s hard to pinpoint why it isn’t clicking with Dewsbury-Hall as consistently lately. He’s mentioned before that being a fan does mean things, both positive and negative, impact him more, and based on how we’ve all been feeling over the last few weeks you wouldn’t blame him if that is on his mind.
The stats also show he’s very close to the top of most fouled players in the Championship this year. Our tactics have been somewhat found out of late and clubs are more conscious of disrupting him and stopping him where possible. It’s not an excuse and the look on his face sometimes suggests he knows it could be going better.
Something really bothered me in the crowd at Hull away recently. It was a performance that lacked some cutting edge quality and a few of the players capable of providing that weren’t quite up to it. Dewsbury-Hall fell into that category, he didn’t have his usual energy or movement. But a bloke behind me accused him of “not caring”, which has stuck with me.
Go back and watch the second Vardy goal from Hull or replay the Stephy Mavididi equaliser at Chelsea, it’s a fabulous strike, so you won’t regret it, but focus on Dewsbury-Hall’s face in the celebrations. Tell me that’s a player who doesn’t care. In the world of today’s football, we all need our hills to die on and arguing the case for Dewsbury-Hall is one of my current ones.
We’ve had players who haven’t cared, it’s blindingly obvious when they don’t, when their heads are already elsewhere. They can simply shrug off a last minute equaliser or goal for the opposition, they just saunter off the pitch without wanting to go around and clap the fans. I don’t believe KDH will ever deserve that particular criticism.
Actions speak louder than words, he took longer to post on social media about relegation last summer, but equally we didn’t really see him for a while. Whereas others seemed to not worry about posting their holiday snaps, he was silent. When he did return more publicly, it was one of the only ones that felt sincere. I always think back to the photograph of him and Luke Thomas looking pretty deflated after the loss at Fulham. Not many others seemed so publicly concerned for our fate.
A home grown star
It’s fascinating to look at all of the neutral fans who watched the Chelsea game and how he is viewed. Outside of Leicester, people rave about him. If neutral fans talk to me about Leicester, he’s the player I’m most often asked about, coveted by those in our league I speak to.
I’m a staunch defender and I’m firmly of the belief that we are a better team with him in it. Memories of him being substituted against Brentford last season and the way we collapsed after may have cemented that belief.
Amongst our own fanbase, the love isn’t always matched. Some were bemused by the level of the early season fawning in the media. Perhaps because we do see every minute of every game and consistency is key. Perhaps because we know when he’s on it, he’s so good that we just demand more of that and we want to see it every game. He’s the local lad and I do wonder if that tips to additional pressure sometimes.
It would be a timely return to have Dewsbury-Hall back to the form of summer and autumn, pulling the strings in midfield and notching more goals and assists. If we are to keep our spot in the top two and get promoted, he will be fundamental to that.
There’s something about hearing him interviewed and the way he talks about the club, he’s clearly proud to represent us and it provides an extra edge for wanting us to succeed and giving his all.
Then comes the issue of trying to hang onto him. Not just due to the interest that was sniffing around in January, but he is likely one of the only assets we could actually make real money on. Given the mounting charges and the seemingly impossible June deadline, it’s a tense time.
Assuming we actually get promoted, that pressure doesn’t shift. It has shades of the Matt Piper situation. I don’t believe Dewsbury-Hall would want to leave, he was quick to come out and reiterate his all-in position for the team after the January Brighton talk when he definitely didn’t have to.
Not everybody is convinced by him at the top level but I’d love to see him there again with more experience and having developed this year. Based on how he looked against Chelsea, he appeared more than ready.
There’s something about having a local lad who is a Leicester fan in the team. It adds a sense of determination and care that’s otherwise hard to match. I would still love to see him take the captaincy assuming we could retain him. It just feels like there’s more to come from our number eight.
