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| Baptism of Fire:An uneasy start to the season for Sven. |
With ten games already
past this season, and yet another irritating and unwelcome international break
blocking the progression of the Championship, I've decided that now would be a
good time to look at how Leicester's much documented and prolific
squad has ultimately dealt so far. Sven's transfers were at the very
forefront of transfer related media over the Summer, and divided opinion
nationwide on whether they were inspired, or just a case of a Swede going mad
with money influenced power.
...Before I start
getting personal with the teams squad, it would probably be wise for me at this
point to stress that im not by any stretch of the imagination going to
rate/provide ill judged shallow views on the team; I've not missed a home match
so far this season (quite proud of that if im honest), and have attended the
two local away derby's so far (Coventry City and Nottingham Forest).
In all honesty, one of the aspects of going to the King Power Stadium on
Saturdays that I absolutely cannot stand is the apparent urge for a player to
be either Subbed, rollocked, or in extremely exaggerated cases, sold; all for
the sake of a misplaced cross or a lack of judgment on pitch. Anyway, needs
must...
1. Kasper Schmeichel
Since Kasper's shock
move from North Yorkshire to the East Midlands over the summer, the son of
Peter has been nothing other than inspirational in launching the Foxes into a
relatively successful first ten games. With a daring mouth and commanding
leadership qualities, 'Kasp' undoubtedly displays qualities that
made his father one of the great keepers in the games history, Within
the melee of the Foxes turbulent high scoring opening month this
season, many fans would argue that other than the man between the sticks, the team
was largely under performing; it's reliability and resource for
inspiration such as this that is essential in any man's ideal number one
keeper. Furthermore, the Swede has become nothing short of a fans favourite: A
very public and obvious attempt at riling his outfield team mates during
the home loss to Reading in particular stands out in my mind, as the Kop end
cheered the guys name in a game which in all truth we had little to cheer
about.
Despite conceding a
pretty woeful 11 goals in 6 games, a more detailed account would put to
bed the question of Kasper's ability, and instead point the finger towards
a shakey back four and a complex, misunderstood formation. With all this
taken into account, and putting to one side the bizarre unnecessary
sending off in the eventful Forest away fixture, Leicester's new shot stopper
has been potentially Leicester's finest acquisition, in turn earning him a
player rating in my eyes of 9/10.
2.Paul Konchesky
Konchesky has been
a revelation at Leicester so far this season, after the Roller-coaster
recent years of his career. From the heights of club captain at established
Premier League club Fulham, to the lows of being a figure of hate and abuse at
Anfield (and obviously even lower than that, a loan move to that red team in
Nottingham). A permanent move south of the big league however has proven
fruitful for 'Konch'. After starting every game thus far this season, the left
back has always put in a good shift for Sven's team, using a cocktail of
attacking nous and defensive stability that closely resembles
the characteristics of Kyle Naughton, of whom Leicester were blessed with for
the majority of last season’s campaign on loan.
It's with
no surprise that Konchesky has been able to settle in well at his new
club, having been no stranger to adaptation over the last few seasons of
course. This said, I think it goes without saying that no-one, not
even the gaffer himself, would have expected the level of
defensive excellence and attacking wing play that has been successfully
portrayed by the English left back. Personally, all that is needed to
cement his place as a City stalwart is 'Konchesky Cracken': a rocket-like shot
to riffle into the top right corner of the unexpectant opposing keepers net. Until
this inevitably occurs, I think we'll leave the guy on a solid 9.0 rating so far this term.
3.Sol Bamba
'SOL SOL BAMBA' *drum
drum*; Perhaps the most overly used chant that circulates around the
King Power Stadium on a Saturday afternoon. Other than a handful of goals
scored in Sol's first few games for City last January, this chant has
almost always been projected in response to the fantastic technical ability and
calmness of temperament that Bamba is blessed with, and has accordingly
blessed the Leicester faithful with. Thankfully, a wave of rumored of
Premier League interest was beaten off over the summer, with the Ivory Coast
defender extending his deal since the start of the season until 2014.
What always
strikes me as being nothing short of amazing with Bamba, besides his immensely
cool name, is the fear he puts into me with every touch of ball; never have I
seen player look so out of control whilst being 100% in control. It rings close
similarities with the Peter Crouchs' and Nikola Zigics' of this world. Clumsy
is always a harsh word to describe a player, but in this sense, it should be taken
as a compliment.
More than once
have I heard the elder statesmen at the stadium emit their disliking
for his calm, 'good things come to those who wait' style of defending, with a
preference from their point of view being perhaps more towards Bamba's no
nonsense partner in Centre defence, Matt Mills. However, the simple fact is
this: Whilst Mills has stumbled through the first ten games, Bamba has marched
confidently and successfully; diffusing threat after threat, with the
occasional incorporation of fancy footwork and technical ability being able to
actually ignite an attack on the opponents game. In fact, to describe this
man's performances so far this season in one word? Faultless.
Other than 'more of the
same please Sol', I really struggle to see what Sven can say to one half of his
Centre back partnership; with Sol Bamba very much starting this season where he
left off last. Sol therefore continues the trend of premature high ratings,
with a rounded score of 10.0
4.Matt Mills
Number four is where
things start to get rocky. Matt Mills arrived as part of Sven's revolution
over the summer months, in a deal that amounts to a fee of £5 million; a sum of
money that quite frankly is a ridiculous amount of money for a inter
Championship transfer. With this in mind, Mills arrived with an obvious amount
of pressure being put on his shoulders, even before Sven decided that
'Millsy' would be the club captain for this seasons campaign. From a fans point
of view it seemed as if there was no confidence in the influential player; a
lack of judgment, mental ability and communication with his defensive buddies
are just a few elements of downturn in his performances thus far. The lowest of
the lows for Mills' start to the campaign arrived in the form of an own goal,
against the internationally recognised and mind blowing League Two side,
Rotherham United. The general perception is that it has been the well
documented pressure that has ultimately gotten the better of Mills so far this
season; a woeful run of performances for the 'team leader' led to his place in
the starting XI being handed to Shaun St.Ledger for the visit of Bristol
City. Now, when a manager feels the need to place the team captain on the bench,
you know full well that there are serious issues to be dealt with. A
captain is said to be the beating heart of any sporting team, so when the heart
isn’t beating, neither is the team as a whole. Beaten would be a more
appropriate term. Thankfully for City, Mills has recently shown signs of why he
is one of the very best English centre backs
in English football; two excellently commanding and strong
performances against both Brighton and Derby at the King Power Stadium have not
only demonstrated his own capabilities, but inspired the team around him,
with much more of a demographic sense of belief and passive movement being an
end of result of Mills return to form.
In all honesty,
Mills has had a shocker. For a player of his caliber and quality, a string
of awful performances simply isn't good enough for a £5 million pound
club captain. Premature signs of recovery, but not there yet... player rating, 5.0.
5.Lee Peltier
Peltier was Sven's first
signing over the summer months, seemingly being a catalyst for the
signings that as everyone knows, followed in there droves. Peltier obviously
impressed early on during his time with City; being placed in the starting XI
for the Foxes' first league game of the season away at Coventry. This is
despite the player having never played above League One level. Peltier
seemingly went on to justify his conclusion however, by clinching the only goal
in a 1-0 win that can be considered safely as a poor 90 minutes. 'Pelts' great
first impression was short lived however, after a hamstring strain cut
short his debut game for Sven's men. Since returning to fitness, the former
Huddersfield man has looked promising; a rough diamond for sure. Flashes of
great pace and crossing technique has seen the right back being placed straight
back in the starting XI, ahead of proven former Premier League player John
Pantsil. From a personal point of view, Peltier offers to Leicester what
Patrick Van Aanholt couldn't quite last year, yet not a level of sheer end
quality and performance that the Foxes' were blessed with during the last
campaign with Kyle Naughton.
More positive than his
performances to date however, is the fact that Peltier is in the same squad as
Paul Konchesky; a player who generally speaking is what Peltier
is aspiring to become. Should Konchesky be bale to become that arm
around Peltier’s shoulder and nurture and sand down the qualities of
which the young defender clearly holds, then Lee Peltier may well be a case of
'watch this space'. So far however, Peltier’s promising performances have earn’t
him in my eyes, a player performance rating of 7.0
6.John Pantsil
Pantsil was seen as a
major coup for City over the summer, after his move from London team, Fulham.
However, after moving to the King Power Stadium, Pantsil has found his chances
in the starting line-up few and far between; the versatile player having only
made four starts thus far this season. This is largely down the form and
promise that has been displayed by Pantsil's fellow priority right back, Lee
Peltier. That said, both players are vying for the starting place from two very
different angles; Pantsil's array of experience in European and International
level have/will prove invaluable to City's promotion push this season, whereas
the hunger and youthful promise showed by Peltier are proving to
cause Eriksson with a serious headache, all be it, a welcome one.
Although he may
not have been first choice so far, what the City faithful have witnessed from
Pantsil so far has been promising. Panstil's number pone quality that he has
displayed in abundance so far this season has been his vision and movement, which
have made his presence a serious threat to opponents this year
especially when City are looking to the counter attack. It is also important to
remember that Pantsil suffered a tough end of season/summer, with an injury
suffered during his swan song days at Fulham towards the back end of last year.
With all this in consideration, it's safe to say that Pantsil in large has made
a solid start to his time in Leicester, despite being at metaphoric loggerheads
with counterpart Lee Peltier for his place in the starting XI. When Pantsil has
turned out, he has looked nothing less than strong, both with his
attacking prose and defensive contributions, and for this reason, nothing
less than a solid 7.0 can really be used to sum his early career at the Foxes
up.
7.Shaun St.Ledger
Out of all the new
summer recruits that Sven brought in over the transfer window, it has to be
said that Shaun St.Ledger has been the one to find it toughest in terms of
match time and performance. There are several reasons for this; the
most prominent reason being that in terms
of competition for his centre back role, St.Ledger is up against
established star signing Matt Mills, aswell as the central rock of the defence,
Sol Bamba. Because of this, there really isn't much to read into St.Ledger so
far. His only start so far came on the back of Sven's radical decision to drop
captain Mills from the starting XI, due to poor performances. This chance came
against Bristol City, a game where St.Ledger was at the very heart of a
performance that can be rendered as nothing less than shocking; by far the
worst performance by Sven's men to date this season. The player himself was at
the epicenter of blame for the second goal in the 2-1 defeat; hesitating on
progressing the ball up the pitch, leaving himself open to a tackle by Bristol
City winger Jarnal Campbell-Ryce, prior to the eventual outcome of Nicky
Maynard/Bristol City's second goal contributing to the 2-1 loss. This teamed
with an overall shakey and soft performance all round which bleed the term
'rusty' all over it, put to bed any hope of breaking into the first team for
good.
In a sense then, the
St.Ledger story so far has to be a case of 'you had your chance, and you blew
it'. Harsh, but at an ambitious, fiercely competitive club like
Leicester nowadays, that's how the cookie crumbles.
So unfortunately... 3.0.
8.Andy King
Baring
in mind that Andy King is now an established member of the Leicester City set
up, this year so far has been anything but plain sailing for King. In a hugely
congested, highly contested midfield this year at Leicester, King much like his
midfield counter parts has not been guaranteed a starting spot all season,
ultimately only making 7 out of 10 possible starts. Although some pessimistic
fans may put this down to an apparent lull in form for Kingy,
yours truly along with the man himself have put it down purely to the
squad rotation system that is seemingly in place at the current time. In other
words, King has become a high profile innocent victim to the vast expenditure of
Sven's summer spree; empathized by the fact that he simply has too
many first team mid fielders this season.
Away from the
squad selection politics, Kings Performances have been nothing below solid so
far this season, carrying on the trend from the last campaign. His ability to
seemingly pop up from the wilderness with a well timed run, and the vision and
finesse in his passing ability has earn't him a title as
the play maker in the squad. Nothing sums his performances up better
than the cliché phrase 'wise head on young shoulders'. Should Leicester
fail in their expected promotion push this year, and on the back of previous
seasons performances and his evident contributions so far this campaign,
the 2010/11 campaign may be his last in a Leicester shirt.
Talent in droves, and a
mentality and assist rating that should rightfully put him in any
Championship/Premier League team, King has proven time after time that he is
the real business when it comes to mid fielding quality,
with his performances so far this season only stressing that further: 8.0.
9.Neil Danns
In my own eyes, Neil
Danns was Leicester's finest summer signing. A proven talent at Championship
level, Danns was one of the stars of the league last season, demonstrating his
perfectly executed traits of blistering acceleration and fantastic technical
ability. His performances in early games at the King Power Stadium have been no
different; having made six starts and two appearances as a sub, 'Dannzy' has
been essential in midfield, helping to cure the chance creation issue the team
suffered with early doors. Not once have I seen a game so far at home this
season in which Danns hasn't been at the heart of any build play when he has
been on pitch, with his favoured role being to pick the ball up from either of
the two central defensive mid-fielders and progress the ball up the
pitch via his blistering pace (often successfully creating more than a half
chance).
However, much like with
Andy King, Danns has fallen victim to the issue of squad rotation. In actual
fact, Danns has more than this against him, in the form of another summer
recruit, Gelson Fernandes. Fernandes has been a likened to Danns in
terms of style and what they have to offer on pitch, which has caused the
gaffer to think more than twice on how to accommodate the
two personalities within the same starting line-up, with
the preferred choice so far being to start one ahead of the other.
Although Danns has
seemingly settled in well, the start to the season has set the trend that to
consolidate his place in the starting XI, he needs to produce a string of
future performances better then 'well'. So far though, a standard 7.0 seems to
fit the bill for what has been a strong start in a difficult environment.
10.Ritchie Wellens
Bare with me here, but
im about to relate Wellens' to general figure of hate in Leicester; Robbie
Savage. Before you all scoff and laugh at this comparison, cast your mind back
to the traits that made Savage a fan favourite at which ever club he was at: unnecessary trickery,
a fully blown wind up merchant, and flashes of quality that suggest he really
isn't as bad a player as you may initially think. Yes, all these traits also
describe Wellens, a type of player that every team absolutely needs. Not for
their footballing ability, but more so for the mentality and personality that
inspires and escalates any footballing fixture.
This season Wellens has
been predominantly integral as holding midfielder, with this role and
his ability allowing him to dictate the pace of a game with his excellent range
of passing, which is vital in progressing the ball forward
(especially effective when involving Neil Danns on the end of a cross).In
the grand scheme of things, Wellens is the heart and soul of the team; a reliable
figure who rarely makes mistakes and is involved in an attack/defensive manoeuvre
at least every game.
Solid, aggressive, and a
player who wears his heart on his sleeve, Wellens is an essential part of
the City Set-Up who is loved by players, fans, and management alike. Nothing
less than a 9.0 would do him, or his performances justice.
11.Yuki Abe
By my own admission, I
really am not a fan of Yuki Abe. No, actually rephrase that: 'I really am not a
fan of Yuki Abe at Leicester City'. There's no doubting his quality; a quick
glance at his two domestic titles in Japan and a string of solid performances
in the 2009 World Cup in South Africa go someone way to proving that. However,
since moving to Filbert Way at the start of last seasons campaign, Abe has rarely
shone. A handful of performances last year, and an almighty 'man of the
match' display against league toppers Southampton this year are Abe's only
limelight moments, with the majority of his appearances consisting of sloppy
reactions, ill judged passes, and more hesitation and indecisiveness than
a Coalition government. This, I feel, is more down to the fact that Abe
simply hasn't been able to adapt to the distinctive pace and style of English
football. There is undoubtedly a place for a player in the Defensive
Midfielder role at Leicester, but so far during his stay in the East Midlands,
Abe really hasn't fulfilled it. I personally feel that Leicester’s
early season defensive issues have been somewhat catalyzed by the errors
and lack of composure displayed by Yuki.
Saying this, Yuki's
finest hour so far this year came in the form of his display against
Southampton. Strangely enough, this was down to Sven seemingly giving Abe a
free role, allowing the Japanese international to pursue his
footballing contributions further up the pitch. Since then, Abe has been nailed
down to his orthodox defensive role, which would appear to be
more harmful than helpful for both self and club. Based on this, I believe
nothing more than a 5.0 would do his performances justice.
12.Gelson Fernandes
Surprise of the
year so far. A late addition to the Foxes ranks, Fernandes arrived on a season
long loan deal from Chievo, with a view to a permanent deal come the seasons
conclusion. Based on his performances so far, that permanent deal is becoming
much more probable than possible. A flurry of pace, technical skill and
acceleration that has left defensive lines standing in his wake so far this
season, has placed him in all of Sven's ten starting line ups so far this
season, bar one. It has to be said that Fernandes is uncannily similar in style
to Danns, which has caused selection issues as already stated.
Fernandes achieved hero status as early as the Forest away fixture on
the 20th August, after he put away Leicester's second goal of the game, after
setting up the first. Since then, Fernandes has gone
from strength to strength in the ranks, getting more and more
influential and inspirational to his team mates around him. It would be a crime
to rate his performances in general so far as nothing less than deserving of a 8.5 rating.
13.Lloyd Dyer
Dyer for me, is one of
the finest wingers in the division. In many ways, I find myself relating his
part-time player role at City so far this season to that of Martyn Waghorn's
last year: too good to still be benched. This is a shame. Not only is Dyer a favourite
with the faithful (much like Waggy), but his blistering pace is almost
incomparable to almost any other flank player. In essence, Dyer has fallen to
the bench this year more because of the formation set up as oppose to
his personal form; the 4-5-1 formation that has commonly been used this year
simply freezes Dyer out of the equation, with the manager more prone to use two
holding mid fielders instead of a set of attacking wingers. I’m
worried. If this pattern of rare substitute appearances continues, could we be
about to witness another top quality player leave Leicester?
Following in the footsteps of former favourites Matty Fryatt, Jack Hobbs and
more recently Martyn Waghorn? I really hope not, it sends out all the wrong
messages and surely defies logic.
When Dyer has been on
the pitch this season (1 start, 2 sub appearances), he has displayed the type
of form that has earn't him his highly regarded reputation; an
alternative, a 'super sub' in his own right. I wish Sven would throw more chances
his way. I wish he wasn't currently so low down the pecking order. I wish that
I could give the guy a performance rating higher that 5.0 because of
his foreshortened match time.
14.Darius Vassell
In a nutshell; Vassell
is that one player in the team that always puts 100% into every second of a
game... ...but without a reliable/common end product; despite the former
England International having scored three goals in all competitions so far this
season. Vassell's season started off with a bang, literally. Within the opening
20 minutes of the campaign at Coventry's Ricoh Arena, Vassell found himself
taking the walk of shame, after a wreck less challenge on Cov
midfielder, Richard Keogh. This marked the start of
a turbulent opening ten games for the pacey attacker; on his return
to the fold after his suspension, Vassell displayed the true grit and
determination in his willingness to pursue just about any ball; resulting in
the reward of a goal during the impressive team performance against
Southampton, five games in to the season.
The main issue with
Vassell is that he digs himself into a hole far to often when on the attack and
in possession. For example: Darius receives the ball deep inside the opponents
half, runs at/past one, maybe two defenders, before eventually running directly
to the corner post like a man possessed, and simultaneously losing any
chance for an assist or shot at goal. However, in general terms, it’s this
energetic side to Darius that just oozes the word 'effort'. And effort in this league
goes a long way in just about every possible avenue. A Performance rating then,
an above average 7.0.
15.David Nugent
Ask just about any
football fan in the nation about David Nugent, and providing they are to some
degree mentally stable, they will utter the words 'top class' and 'reliable' at
least twice during a brief summary. It's this reputation as a fully
blown goal grabber that caught the attention of Sven, alongside the fact that
Portsmouth were more than prepared to offload the prolific striker as part of
their financial cleansing programme.
Nugent almost
immediately made an impact on the squad, even if his goal scoring record wasn't
paying this opinion justice. Let me explain...
For the first three
games of the season, Sven Goran Eriksson stubbornly insisted that his
eleven men would revolve around a single target man upfront; regularly trying
the lofted pass in an ugly 'route one' kind of fashion. This set-up
metaphorically shouted 'desperate', and with Nugent standing at
an average height of 5' 11', it was never going to prove fruitful.
Having realised this two games into the season, Sven allowed Nugent the support
of attacking midfielder Gelson Fernandes, who's newly gained license to be
offensive resulted in him setting up Nugent for his first goal of the season
in the 2-1 home loss against Bristol City.
Since then, Nugent has
made only three appearances; scoring in two and going off injured within three
minutes in the other...
All the signs are
promising for Nugent and Leicester, with the quality that has been with Nugent
throughout his top-end career beginning to once again shine through in a foxes'
shirt... 7.0.
16.Paul Gallagher
Gallagher is another one
of my disgruntled dislikes at Leicester City. His tendency to be hit
or catastrophically miss is a factor of his presence at Leicester that I just
cannot comprehend. None of the less, I'll try and put my personal
prejudice's to one side for now.
To cut a short story,
errr, short; Gallagher has had a pretty lackluster start to the campaign; first
of all being played in a supportive role to the loan striker (Nugent), and then
eventually becoming a bit of a bench warmer/last ten minutes alternative. Since
this started to become a trend in the squad, Gallagher has found himself with
a lengthy ankle injury, which has kept him in the treatment room since the
Barnsley away fixture on the 10th September. This makes it pretty hard to give
a meaningful rating, but I figured that a player who has been a key fixture in
the starting line-up deserved some sort of personal review. So far, so not
good... 4.0
17.Jermaine Beckford
Sven's hunt for a
mega bucks big name striker was ended on deadline day of this summer’s transfer
window after Jermaine Beckford surprisingly decided to drop down a
division to join the Foxes' revolution. Since this big name, big money, big
publicity move, Beckford really hasn't got himself off to a so called flyer.
After making four starting line-up appearances, thanks in part to the injury
lay off for David Nugent, Beckford has failed to hit the net once, despite a
whole host of chances falling in his favour. A free header against Middleborough away
springs instantly to mind, missing the large target from within the 6-yard
area. Despite the goal shy start, Beckford has shown hints of the quality that
he undoubtedly possesses. A successful run in
possession against Barnsley for example, breezing past not one not two but
three opposition players was the first of many enigmas that suggest that the
theory of 'brilliant Beckford' may be imminently about to come to
life... A 6.0 rating so far however, does his return to the Championship
perfect justice.
18.Jeff Schlupp
Another product of the
fruitful developments within the Leicester City academy, Schlupp has quickly
risen into the first team fold, having spent last year terrorising defenses as
part of the City youth team. A fantastic debut hat-trick in the 4-1 win against
Rotherham in the League Cup, and injuries to both Nugent and Gallagher both
accelerated the young striker’s introduction to the big boys, and
this appeared to show in his first league appearance against
Southampton, where he looked quite frankly like a child who had been thrown in
at the deep end. Since then however, the only way has been Schlupp; finding his
feet gradually game by game, came to a head when 'Schlupp Puppy' bagged
Leicester's third goal in the demolition of local rivals, Derby County.
A star for the
future undoubtedly, with the early signs of his professional career
clearly demonstrating that Schlupp is made of the right schtuff.
Player rating of anything lower than 8.0 would surely be harsh on
this mere 'schluppy' in the big dogs world (okay, enough of the name related
adaptations, I know I know).
That pretty much
concludes my ten game review of Leicester City's season so far. I am fully
aware that certain players in the ranks have not been mentioned, but this
is simply down to the fact that their lack of match time really
hasn't allowed me to cast a critical eye or analysis over their campaign so
far.
Once again, feel free to
leave any comments below.
