The Godfather, goals and ‘Gulls - Hazzetta dello Sport 2024/25: Brighton (H)
‘Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in’: the words of Michael Corleone from Godfather III were ringing in my ears as I walked out of the King Power Stadium on Tuesday.
The full kaleidoscope of emotions to be a regular Leicester City matchgoer were illustrated from Saturday to Tuesday evening. Somehow, I didn’t leave until the 85th minute at Brentford and then had time to mull over that performance in a lifeless Chiswick boozer; drinking London Pride and noting how the Christmas decorations were as sorry as our display. As often is the case, the time between 2.59pm and 4.55pm are the most miserable of any day at the football.
Then it flip-flopped on Tuesday evening, even if it was an evening fraught with nerves.
The remedy to the anger of the weekend was found within ninety seconds. A Vardy goal. The sort of goal he got regularly in his younger self but now rarer. Ball behind the back line, he races through and eyes the keeper up before beating him. The delay for VAR killed the instant joy but did provide the chef’s kiss moment of West Ham fans repeating the most unoriginal chant about his wife throughout the delay, then for that to die down as the goal is confirmed.
We had jeopardy but we had that Saturday too. However this time, the players fought with the lead in their favour. In stark contrast to the previous game, there was notable teamwork regardless of how patchy the first half defending was. If one player didn’t win the ball, another cleared up.
No more evident in the transformation of the central midfield two, Bouba Soumare and Wilf Ndidi, who went around like a pack of dogs to make the game as scrappy and interrupted as possible. At Brentford, they sluggishly made their way around the pitch and consistently failed to put pressure on the ball.
You may wonder what Ruud van Nistelrooy exactly said in the last two days that saw such a transformation, but the post-match interview watched when getting back home answered that.
His confidence is humble but also assured. He pointed out the bad parts of the victory and kept the tone of it sensible. It feels different from Steve Cooper’s musing which gave a sense Cooper didn’t believe in the squad and would look to find an external reason for poor performance, often referees.
Equally however, you do question the environment within the club whereby the players appear to ‘switch on, switch off’ subject to if they are happy with the manager or not. At Brentford, I expected a performance whereby the players recently facing a lot of criticism would work hard and slug it out. It was in fact weaker than before. Although the bizarre 3-4-3 tactic might answer why it didn’t look pretty as it badly lacked cohesion.
Unfortunately, we are now faced with a couple of tricky fixtures which may make it hard for van Nistelrooy to eke out some more points. One of the huge positives in winning on Tuesday was how the midweek fixtures played; it could have been a very different table. Another advantage to ourselves is Brighton play on Thursday, and we have a good couple of days rest over them. Given their high pressing system, this is a big benefit.
An intrigue centres around a reference made by van Nistelrooy in his pre-match interview. He spoke of different tactics for different teams rather than an absolute defined system he will play. Therefore, it remains to be seen if there is a shuffle in formation or shape. Similarly, will Jamie Vardy play three times in nine days given Patson Daka’s welcome but surprising impact on Tuesday evening. Unfortunately, Facundo Buonanotte will be unavailable as he can’t play against his parent club and that leaves a slight headache in suitability of other players in the squad to his role.
Brighton have quietly been consistent this season to be currently 5th in the table, Fabian Hurzeler’s management getting the best out of Joao Pedro and the attacking unit of Albion. However, they have also had some bad results which give the Foxes hope. They have dropped points in draws to the current three in the relegation zone (Wolves, Southampton and Ipswich) and appear to have difficulties when teams drop deeper. A sneaky draw would be more than helpful with bigger challenges to the festive season to come.
On a slightly different but indulgent note, thank you to all those who’ve passed on kind words regards me getting on the Foxes Trust board. Writing for The Fosse Way originates the roots of the idea I suppose. It made me appreciate there is a wide portion of the fanbase who want to push for better fan rights and engagement.
The coming twelve months sees the task to make that louder and more active. Our aim is to increase that volume by numbers, proper debate and push the Trust on.
