Jannik at the disco: Vestergaard deserved the Preston party as much as anyone
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, when we can relax and celebrate all the individuals who have made this season a success for Leicester City.
Our current number 23 may have cost a fortune considering what he contributed up until last summer - but what a change since then.
Standing in the Bill Shankly Kop at Deepdale on Monday night and watching the players and staff on the pitch soaking up the club’s success, it was impossible not to wonder what was going through the minds of some of those celebrating.
Some of them have been on the end of torrential abuse at various points, both online and from the terraces, with varying degrees of merit. Danny Ward. Jon Rudkin. Patson Daka.
Of course it was a moment to forget all that and revel in the positivity, and as a result it was one of the best Leicester away ends of the past 30 years. But it also felt a bit like celebrating putting a plaster on after punching yourself in the face. It was purely righting a wrong.
In that sense, the first two years of The Fosse Way have been tumultuous - a relegation and a promotion. No one player’s story sums up the journey we’ve been on in that period more than Jannik Vestergaard.
The turnaround
Vestergaard, through little real fault of his own, became something of a joke figure during our first year. The running joke being that we were paying this bloke tens of thousands of pounds a week to do nothing and the uses we found for him in that time ranged from some kind of giant doorstop to… replacing our best player.
Contrasting fortunes for the two protagonists this weekend, James Maddison anonymous again in Tottenham’s biggest game of the season while Vestergaard was lynchpinning his way to Leicester’s 31st league victory and securing his winner’s medal.
With one game remaining, Leicester have scored 89 goals, one fewer than Ipswich and four more than Southampton. The goals conceded column is a completely different story, with Ipswich shipping 57, Southampton 62 and Leicester just 39 - two fewer than anyone else.
At the heart of this defensive solidity, both in terms of securing possession and being reliable when faced with a tricky opponent, has been Vestergaard. It’s a complete 180-degree turnaround from the days when any Leicester fan would shiver when seeing his name on the teamsheet. We’ve essentially gone from never wanting to see him in a Leicester shirt again to wanting him to play almost every game.
Of course that is mainly because of the dip in opposition’s quality but we may end up being the only relegated team to bounce back at the first time of asking. Ricardo Pereira summed it up perfectly on the pitch at Deepdale after the title had been secured: at times we made it look easy, but it wasn’t easy.
Vestergaard has made his role look straightforward when it’s clearly not. To be the last line of defence playing risky passes from the back is a task enough but quite often, particularly recently, he’s been leading the press deep into the opposition half too. That’s a long way to get back for a player not blessed with pace.
Despite this, and unlike his main centre-back partner Wout Faes, he’s been dependable throughout and there’s always been a feeling of reassurance when he’s in the side.
What will I remember from this season? The magic moments in recent weeks, yes, but other than goals and iconic games, it’d be one sight in particular: Jannik Vestergaard with his foot on the ball with all the field ahead of him, weighing up his options.
It hasn’t always been a popular sight, and not just for the Gerrit Forward brigade. When we were still tapping it around at the back away at Bristol City, I about had a meltdown.
But you have to say it’s worked. Back when Leeds and Southampton were struggling to adapt to the league, The Idea hit the ground running and the previously hapless Vestergaard was suddenly integral to Leicester City’s success. We’d all rated Conor Coady’s signing as crucial, but it’s purely Vestergaard’s excellence that has left many questioning why we spent so much on Coady.
Trademark moves
It would be easy to look at Vestergaard’s number of touches and pass completion without watching games and think he’s just knocking it about at the back endlessly, but there’s clearly been more to it than that. He’s mastered the feint to play a right-footed pass before shifting his body away from a pressing opponent to stroke a left-footed ball to someone like Ricardo or Harry Winks instead.
There’s been the odd mistake when doing that kind of thing. Of course there has. But not many in the grand scheme of things, and very few that have led to an opposition goal.
I’ve also enjoyed another trademark Vestergaard move, when he dummies to pass to one player and then The Idea, bringing an extra body into midfield, has presented another potential pass so he plays a no-look pass to the second player instead and we’re away.
What else? Almost one of the greatest Leicester goals ever scored away at Bournemouth (for which I will boo Alex Scott when we play them next season for clearing it off the line). The barnstorming run through the middle to create havoc at home against Birmingham which eventually led to Mavididi’s vital late winner. The wheeling away in celebration after these recent big goals like the Angel of the North on wheels.
When it came to the biggest celebrations of all at Preston, Vestergaard was on the periphery a little bit. While nobody would have expected to see him leading the dancing instead of Abdul, hopefully it’s just his personality and there’s nothing residual from his previous relationship with the fanbase.
Because this is far from the first time we’ve seen a player turn his status around with the fans. Jimmy Willis, Danny Drinkwater and even Jamie Vardy stand out as players who were written off at one stage or another and then achieved success (some slightly more than others).
And so to next season. We know Vestergaard is too slow for the Premier League. We had a reminder of that in the FA Cup quarter-final at Stamford Bridge when Chelsea looked like they were playing a different sport at times, and they’re not even any good. We have no idea yet whether Vestergaard will even be here next season.
At least now we, and he, can look back with satisfaction rather than regret and say he’s done his bit for the football club, done as much as anyone this season to right the wrongs and get us back where we belong.
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