Page 49 - JPGS Magazine

LEICESTER CITY

As a lover of the beautiful game, I expect surprises. But never did I
expect minnows Leicester City, with their supposedly ‘unfit’ manager
Claudio Ranieri, to pull a fast one over the Premier League and send
shockwaves stunning the entire world of football. The oddsmakers gave
them a 5000 to 1 chance of winning the PL, meaning that if the league
was simulated as it is with its financial standings, squad depths,
managerial attributes and European competition 5000 times, Leicester
City would only win it once. It brings a smile to my face when I say, ‘one
was all they needed.’ The bookies said that they had their money on the
Italian Claudio Ranieri for being the first gaffer sacked in the Prem. I

don’t think they’ve ever been that wrong. But what was it that gave the
Foxes the winning edge, the differentiating factor? Was it their
underdog status? Was it their lack of competition? Or was it simply that
the other clubs weren’t good enough? I’ve done a bit of research, and
found 4 main factors that contributed to the unprecedented success of
the Foxes, and as to why they deserved it.
Squad Strength

An indubitable factor in Leicester’s historic success is their remarkable strength in every
department on the pitch in terms of players. They had reliable and consistent hands in net,

with PL winner’s son Kasper Schmeichel; two invariably sturdy stalwarts at the heart of
defence in captain Wesley Morgan and Robert Huth; two catalysts in both attack and
defence in Daniel Simpson and Christian Fuchs, both of whom have among the highest

challenge success rates in the league for fullbacks. In the middle of the pitch, Leicester had
the tenacious and aggressive duo of Daniel Drinkwater and N’Golo Kanté, with Drinkwater
assuming the role of deep-lying playmaker and Kanté as a workhorse and a box-to-box

midfielder. On the left flank, the Foxes had a secondary playmaker in Marc Albrighton,
whose pinpoint crosses and surging runs produced moments of magic for them. On the right
side, they had none other than the wizard on the wings, Algerian breakout star and player of

the season Riyad Mahrez, whose quick feet and unpredictability left defenders on the floor.
Up front, they had the versatile centre forward duo of Shinji Okazaki and the unparalleled
Jamie Vardy, who consistently and without fail put the ball in the back of the net for

Leicester.

Devotion

Wrongly given the underdog status in the Prem, Leicester must be grateful for all the harsh
critiques given to them by pundits all around the globe. This made teams underestimate the
Foxes. Leicester’s lack of European competition made them focus entirely on the league, and

made the difference playing against the big name clubs, the European heavyweights such as
Chelsea and Manchester City. Training sessions were set up in which the players learnt the
playing styles of their main rivals, and undeniably made a difference come game day. Shows

that if you’re committed and make no compromises, success is inevitable.

ADAM USMAN