Leicester City’s healthy full-back problem; who should start opposite Ricardo?
Remember the days where Leicester City barely had one fit full-back in the squad? Thankfully Enzo Maresca has quite the opposite problem, more good full-backs than available spots in the team. Is there a way to house all three within the same side? We managed it for a period against Stoke, but do we need to?
Perhaps the initial honeymoon period of his new job has worn off for Maresca (after last month’s incessant questions about transfers and money), but despite our seat at the head of the Championship table and how much more fun this season has generally been, there are problems for the Italian to solve. Some of them will give him cause for concern, our big match record, currently having just one fit striker. Then there are the happy problems, like how do we fit Ricardo Pereira, James Justin and Callum Doyle into the side?
There's always a lot of discussion around a team's problems, Foxes fans are incredibly familiar with sweating over having just one fit striker, or defensive casualties piling up. You don't often get to debate the happy problems a manager has even when top of the league and ten points clear. Enzo Maresca won't lose any sleep over a happy problem like having more fit and capable full-backs than places in the team but it does give him options to consider and different tactics to deploy. We've seen some of them already.
Choose your full-back
After years of relying on loanees to pad out our back line and then the positions being seemingly injury cursed, it’s quite nice to be talking about the problem of how we play them all, or do we even need to?
Maresca will have his favourite pairing and reasons for selecting each of them individually, they all bring something different. Dream big with me (and forgive my lack of graphic design skills) and imagine cards with the stats and strengths for all three of them. Pick your style; EA FC, Pokemon or whatever classic video game you favoured. All of them offer something a little different, varied strengths and weaknesses. But which is the most desirable card, the first choice? That’s easy.
Ricardo: He's gold, diamond or whatever the key colour is. One of the first names in the team every week if he's fit and not just because he is our captain. He adds a touch of class, and he ensures Harry Winks looks supported in midfield. He's been vital at both ends of the pitch this season and whether it's on the left or right, he's going to start.
His only real weakness can be his height but it’s less problematic with the likes of Vestergaard and Faes in the side. His biggest strength? He’s pretty well rounded in all aspects, fast, great vision, hard worker and creative now with added bags of experience many others in the side don’t have.
Justin: At one point he probably should have been breaking into the England team and we'd have been debating how to hold onto him. Injuries are cruel though and it's been a steady road back. He’s still young and hasn’t hit his peak yet. His biggest asset is his pace, bombing up and down the wing, just as apt in supporting the wingers as in defending.
He’s got the ability to play on both sides too and look just as comfortable on either. Based on our injury record, it seems unlikely a full-back who cannot do it all would prosper in this Leicester team. Not great for our next option (although I’d go to bat for him anyway) but a huge asset for Justin.
Doyle: The one we shouldn’t get too attached to and the one who’s adapting to the role. Not an actual full back but not lacking in effort when played there. His biggest weakness is speed. What he may not have in turn of pace and speed though, he has in silky, ball control, passing skills. Plus a pleasing doggedness to get the ball. He feels a little more traditional in his defensive work, not shy in a tackle or the physical side.
Maresca's style of play doesn’t often require, or want, the sixty-yard pass across the field to pick out a winger or striker but Doyle is one of the best we have at doing it. I'm still thinking of his sublime pass to Tom Cannon at Millwall in the FA Cup. Biggest strength? Powerhouse of a left foot, but he’s also got a great forward passing attitude.
This isn’t even taking into account Hamza Choudhury who has filled in for Ricardo this season on occasion or that in the summer there’s the Victor Kristiansen situation to deal with. But the three mentioned above feel like the first team choices for now.
Versatility and options
You don’t have to limit yourself to picking just one. All three players can do a multitude of things and fit into certain styles and tactics more easily. Which perfectly fits into Maresca’s general ethos. Did I imagine back in August that I'd be writing an article about full-backs and discussing Callum Doyle as one? No. Like most, I sort of assumed we signed him on loan to be a centre back.
However, he's only really had one crack at that position so far and that was in a new look backline. My crack theory that Doyle was the secret fix to Conor Coady looking comfortable in a Leicester shirt hasn't come to pass yet but maybe there's a bigger part to unpack there. For Doyle though, prior to his injury, he'd locked down the left back spot. In the future it wouldn't be impossible for him to move forward either, with his passing range and eye for getting the ball up field.
James Justin and Ricardo Pereira offer the next level up in versatility again, adept at playing on both sides of the pitch and Ricardo already bossing things in an inverted role that sees him spending a lot of time in our midfield. Less of a traditional full-back role but essential to the modern game and it will be the norm soon. It’s clear that Ricardo is essentially the non-negotiable choice so it largely comes down to whether you prefer Doyle or Justin in the left back role.
Maresca must relish these options. It makes sense that against a team who will really come out guns blazing and attack us, the buffer of speed between Justin and Ricardo seems the more sensible duo. But in other games, Doyle feels the perfect choice, assuming he won't be asked to be in one on one foot races often. It’s our newest recruit that is yet to add a goal to his game but you sense it’s coming, the youngster got close again after surging forward at Stoke. Justin and Ricardo aren’t prolific scorers but like the whole team this year have contributed to the goals and assists.
Do we need to solve the problem of how do you fit them in a team? Maybe not, but there’s an argument that none of them have done anything wrong and deserve to play. There is a way to incorporate all three and Maresca chose to test it recently.
The Stoke experiment
With Doyle and Ricardo starting at Stoke, you may have expected to see one of their names pop up on the fourth official’s board in the second half when Maresca brought on Justin. Instead, Mavididi made way, largely down to an earlier booking. Fatawu switched to the left to replace him and Justin seemed to occupy the vacant spot on the right.
All three on the pitch at the same time is doable in the right situation and this was an experiment I wondered if Maresca would try at some stage. Given Justin bagged himself an assist just three minutes later, there’s an argument for this not being the last time we see it. With the ability to play both sides, this could easily be switched up to cover a Fatawu absence or substitution too. Ricardo could easily interchange with Justin in that scenario and it offers double protection if we were to face a team who favoured our right side to attack.
Maresca’s selections so far have been hinged on availability to an extent. Doyle had looked like a lock-in at left back prior to his injury that allowed Justin a good run of games to impress. Lately with the full complement available, the Italian has been able to rotate and be selective.
With Watford away, the odds favour Justin and Ricardo starting. The Hornets are a team with pace to spare and this is Doyle’s biggest weakness. Justin has the best chance of stopping the faster wingers and potentially adds some additional bonus. However, even with his assist to Vardy, his passing range isn’t quite as impressive as Doyle’s so it does feel we miss that in possession. Maybe Maresca will surprise us all and start all three!
