By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
24 games in to this premier league season and Leicester are at the top of the table. If you are about to read this, take a break and imagine exactly where Leicester was at this time last season.
23 games in to the league last season, they were firmly rooted at the bottom of the table with just 4 wins, 5 draws and 14 loses having a total of 17 points. A year down the line, here they are leading teams like Manchester City, Tottenham and Arsenal with 50 points, three points clear.
The rise of the Foxes has been like a fairy tale. After miraculously beaten the drop last season with seven wins in their last nine games, many felt that that was just a flash in the pan or probably the fear of being relegated. But all those who were thinking on that note have certainly been proven wrong because Leicester have taken that momentum in to this season.
In the beginning
When the Foxes were starting the season they made a major change in the dressing room. The club decided to sack former coach Nigel Pearson even though he had pulled off one of the greatest relegation escape in the history of the EPL. But the man who was walking through the door at King Power Stadium was a charmer, Claudio Ranieri. Nick named the Tinker man, he is one of the finest characters in world football. He has a bag of experience across Europe, after coaching teams like Juventus in Italy, Valencia in Spain and Chelsea in England; his resume was even a bit too much for the Leicester City job.
The start of the EPL is always fluid, with smaller teams putting together some few decent results and having the chance to top the table before the big guys really get in to their stride. Some call this period the Bubble, but apparently their own bubble has not busted yet. Leicester like many other smaller teams were just hoping to get the 40 point maximum that they need to save themselves from another messy relegation fight and even when they were doing well earlier on in the season the whole team dismissed any possibility of them lifting the league in May.
The rises of the foxes have stunned the football world and have definitely won them more fans and respect from different quarters. Early this January Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger said that Leicester deserved enough respect from their opponents as title contenders, taking in to consideration their “remarkable consistency”.
His comment came after Leicester won 1-0 at White Hart Lane against Tottenham.
Their rise has also been partly because they do not have to deal with brutal midweek champion’s league fixtures. In the past, this has enormously helped teams with title challenge on their hands. Just over two seasons ago Liverpool almost benefitted from that in their fight to win the league.
They have also been helped by the parallel loss of edge among usual contenders; Manchester City continue to have a depressing away form, Arsenal struggling with inconsistency, United are still buried in post Fergusson trauma and only God knows what is happening at Chelsea. The circumstances of these teams have laid the foundation for Leicester City to blossom.
Secret to success
However it will be extremely unfair for anyone to condemn their rise to the top to mere luck; there has been some luck but a bulk of it has emerged from sheer hard work. Take in to consideration the worth of the starting eleven for Leicester and compare it to any of the top five teams in the league then you will appreciate the level of work these players have put in to reach to this level. It will amaze you to know that the entire Leicester team costs just a little over 50 million pounds, and in the summer Manchester City signed Raheem Sterling for 49 million pounds.
Jamie Vardy costs just 1 million pounds and this season he has scored more goals in the league (18 goals) than Rooney, Martial and Mata (17 goals) combined.
A lot of this development has to be put down to the growing competitiveness of the league. With TV deals swelling this gives small teams like Leicester the chance to hold on to their very best assets and compete in the seasons to come.
Players like Kante and Drinkwater have been key in cementing the midfield; Schmeichel has now started earning his own reputation as a goal keeper rather than his fathers’, Vardy and Mahrez have just been exceptional to the current form of the team and players like Albrighton, Morgan and Simpson have redefined, all under the guidance of Ranieri.
If someone is an Arsenal or City fan, the prospect of Leicester winning the league might be embarrassing and you would think that it is a little bit farfetched but looking at their current statistics you begin to believe that they can actually win it.
Leicester have scored 44 goals in the league this season, only Man City have scored more goals, 46. Their defense have not been bad either, they have only conceded 26 goals in 24 games, only five teams have conceded less so far in the league.
This Premier league season has not been anything short of bizarre with defending champions Chelsea just picking up themselves fresh, the very much attacking Manchester United team struggling with philosophy problems and failing to score in the first half of league games at home for 11 consecutive games before last nights’, and Leicester leading the way with just 15 more games to go, there is still another major twist waiting to happen. Every week, every fan of every team is on the edge on their seat with uncertainty.
The final test
The final tests for this Leicester team is already here, February. Last night they won very convincingly against Liverpool 2-0. Vardy scored a brilliant strike that was described by his manager using three adjectives; “unbelievable” “amazing” and “fantastic”. Ranieri said in a post match interview: “He looked at the keeper out of the goal and hit it. It was unbelievable, amazing and fantastic…”
Ranieri’s team is set to face Manchester City on Saturday and Arsenal the following weekend. Their test couldn’t get tougher than against fellow title contenders. With regards to the Man City clash he had already warned his players to put up their fighting spirit for the clash. .
“It is important to see my players fight and try to win…if Manchester city fight more than us, then well done to them,” the Italian trainer said.
They have been in such position before last December and they came through. If they come through this then the dream of winning the league might actually turn in to a hope. Sheila, the woman who has been doing the laundry of Leicester City players for 40 years, said she has never seen this club ride so high.
Ranieri once said: “If we are dreaming, please don’t wake us up.”
This Leicester dream has been a great one and it might actually begin to transform into a reality. If this dream comes through Leicester City’s story is set to be one of the biggest underdog story ever in the history of football and people like Sheila can actually feel the shiny Barclays Premier League crown.
No matter what happens now, many people fancy them to at least finish in the top four. Their rise to the top has taken the football world by surprise. Whether they win the league or not they have certainly won many new fans across the world.
(C) Politico 04/02/16
