Hazzetta dello Sport: Plymouth Argyle v Leicester City
The scheduling Gods have turned their fire on Leicester this week, sending them on two long away trips in four days and raising the ire of both Enzo Maresca and our quasi-continental correspondent.
The broadcasters have decided that, once again, you won’t be able to peruse this piece with your Hazzetta coffee on a late, relaxed Saturday morning before a big game.
Instead, can I interest you in a peruse at those lovely services at Gloucester? A scan once you reach your accommodation before the antics of this evening? Or maybe a slightly-tipsy study after a post-work pint?
The journey down the M5 (or the counting down to finishing time) on this Friday comes with a feeling of dread rather than the excitement you would normally associate with a promotion bid during April.
We all feared it. That the ‘perfect’ day last Saturday would be wasted. So it proved. Being a football fan at its worst can be like an awfully annoying illness that you just can’t shake. Leeds and Ipswich dropping points didn’t prove to be the healing factor but rather acted more like salt in the wounds.
Our mental frailties, the slow build-up play and the lack of notable action from the bench were all there in the loss to Millwall. What momentum there was has been firmly halted. It’s felt like you have watched that performance on repeat for weeks on end. It’s worth mentioning that Millwall had lost to Rotherham 180 minutes of football ago, and they had claimed just one win in their fixtures against the top half before we turned up on their doorstep.
Step forward Plymouth Argyle. With one goal and one point in six home games.
I struggle to think of a more frustrating season, which is at odds with our table position and points tally. As human beings we are complex, but football makes us harbour simpler aims. The feeling of being stood in an away end, defeated, after battling train strikes, road closures, daft kick-off times and any other nonsense the footballing authorities can throw at you to be there, is as gutting as anything else.
We just want the team to show the sort of effort and desire that matches our own. In the pseudo talk of tactics, it feels at times like those basics of competitive sport go missing. Run hard. Win tackles. Be proud. Fortunately, the sadist part of me must enjoy it all. Home Park. 8pm. Friday night. I’d rather be frustrated amongst others in the away end than between the four walls of my home.
Rarely does the Hazzetta take on just a personal express of emotions. Let’s bring the mood up. It’s now down to four wins to be promoted with five games to go.
Amazingly, the last three sides we’ve faced were all 20th and two points outside of the relegation zone when we turned up while Plymouth, in a mad, continuing trend, are our third consecutive opponent on their third managerial appointment of this season, albeit the latest one is a temporary stopgap until the end of the season.
First, Steven Schumacher departed as he became the latest fool to think he could make it work at Stoke City. That was a shame, as Argyle looked reasonably sound and mid-table before his departure.
Enter Ian Foster, who made his reputation winning the 2022 Under-19s European Championships with England. He embarked on a tenure that produced four wins in nineteen games with a final run of five straight home defeats without scoring a goal. Unsurprisingly, he got the sack.
Now, Neil Dewsnip is in charge, otherwise known as Plymouth’s version of Jon Rudkin. A wry smile comes to mind when we’ve had our Jon take that role himself as a caretaker for City. There’s not a chance he would slum it now in such a position or even dare to turn towards an away end to applaud.
Their poor home scoring run was halted on Tuesday night with an equaliser in a 1-1 draw to Queens Park Rangers. That would have been a relief for both Plymouth and Leicester, as it means we can’t be the ones who end yet another barren goalscoring run.
Argyle have suffered from being wedded to their principles to play football in a possession-based manner (insert joke here - Ed), use young players and develop managers. As the season has worn on, that’s proven their downfall. They are badly in need of a result amidst a hugely competitive relegation scrap.
The positive side of the Plymouth Way means they possess one of the Championship’s standout players this season, Morgan Whittaker, whose 19 goals and 8 assists resulted in the interesting proposition of a bid from Lazio in January. Equally, their goalkeeper, Michael Cooper, is a fine prospect (with Leicester City supporting parents).
To give Whittaker as little responsibility defending as possible, they use a 3-4-3 formation and try to utilise that front three in quick transitions. The difficulty and downside is that when they don’t have as much of the ball that can turn into a five man backline or their midfield gets overrun.
As for team selection for Leicester, you just assume it’s the standard nine we always field plus the variation at left-back and upfront. Both positions have no outright ideal candidate and the #9 is becoming a real concern.
Patson Daka’s confidence has all but disappeared to the point he struggles to control the ball. Jamie Vardy is prone to absolute stinkers when starting. Kelechi Iheanacho might as well be released into the Bosman wild early. All the while Tom Cannon must be thinking how much life would have been better if he elected to join Middlesbrough instead on August deadline day.
Enzo Maresca’s press conference suggested Kasey McAteer is ready to return to the squad. His emergence this season has been a massive surprise given his previous ineffective loans at Forest Green and Wimbledon. He also happens to be one of Maresca’s inner circle of fifteen players he trusts and is happy to alter the starting eleven for. Compare that to Wanya Marcal, and it’s a little odd how the latter hasn’t been given more of a chance.
It’s our act again to be first up for this weekend’s nerve-inducing action. We can only hope for the comfort of sitting back to watch everyone else after we’ve picked up our own three points, waiting to see if they can handle the pressure.
The more intriguing game of the two promotion rivals is Middlesbrough’s visit to Portman Road, armed with the best form in the division. Unfortunately, their draw with Hull midweek probably makes playoffs qualification impossible, but they should still present a stiff test to the Tractor Boys, who followed up their dramatic win over Southampton by failing to score in consecutive games.
You’d expect Leeds to run through a poor Blackburn Rovers side at lunchtime on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Saints themselves are still lurking within striking distance, despite being written off after that loss at Portman Road. If they win their two games in hand (one of which is against Leicester), they are four points behind the automatic promotion places and go to Elland Road on the final day.
From June last year, into pre-season and during the campaign, there’s always been question marks against Leicester City. Multiple posers about performance, the future, tactics, the fanbase, or finances.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that with five games left, the ending of the season remains a complete unknown. Friday’s trip to Plymouth should go some way to answering a few of those questions.
