Neil Humphreys: Don’t blow another season, Leicester
Too many injuries and fear factor may trigger Foxes' collapse
Brendan Rodgers will say otherwise, but history has a nasty habit of repeating itself.
A second collapse in consecutive seasons looks a possibility for Leicester City.
Only the most jaundiced cynic would welcome such an outcome. In the interminable age of avarice, the Foxes are among the most well-run clubs in elite football.
| LEICESTER CITY | ARSENAL |
| 1 | 3 |
| (Youri Tielemans 6) | (David Luiz 39, Alexandre Lacazette 45+2-pen, Nicolas Pepe 52) |
Since their title-winning Disney tale of 2016, they have sold prized assets, recruited wisely and benefited from one of the most successful scouting networks and coaching models in the English Premier League.
In short, Leicester do not deserve that encroaching, unwelcome sense of deja vu.
Last night's 3-1 home defeat against Arsenal wasn't a disaster in itself, but the manner of the loss and the inability to rouse a response hardly point towards a happy ending.
And the growing injury list seems unspeakably cruel.
Rodgers' coaching ethic and the Foxes' eye-catching playing style warrant karma of a kinder variety, rather than a dressing room with wounded playmakers.
Harvey Barnes was the latest to fall. Last night, he was stretchered off with his knee in a cast. One skilled craftsman is a blow, but two feels like the makings of a crisis.
Leicester were already struggling without James Maddison. One of the season's brightest stars has made the Foxes fizz on the counter-attack, exploding forward with such effervescence as they fed Jamie Vardy.
Maddison and Barnes were tipped for England selection for the delayed Euro 2020 championship at the end of the season. This morning, the odds are slim on the pair of them reaching the end of the season.
Their absences can be added to a list that already includes Wesley Fofana, Ayoze Perez, Dennis Praet and Wes Morgan, players with less influence on Leicester's weekly efforts, certainly, but a reminder of the club's depleted resources.
Liverpool's tale of injury woe has been repeated on a loop since Virgil van Dijk was poleaxed. With a smaller squad and fewer resources, the Foxes reached the top three.
They are still there. But form, momentum and recent performances are not with them.
NOT PSYCHOLOGICAL
A similarly bright start to the campaign ended in an anti-climatic, fifth-placed finish in 2020. Rodgers insists that last season's late decline isn't a psychological factor this time around, but events of late indicate otherwise.
In a strange game of poker between the Leicester manager, the EPL and the Europa League, Rodgers bluffed with a weak hand against Slavia Prague.
A winnable tie was needlessly thrown away as he went all in on the Arsenal game only to lose both.
Initially, the gamble appeared to pay off with an early lead through Youri Tielemans, but Maddison's absence and a tired Vardy forced a Foxes retreat.
Their intoxicating counter-attacking approach is content to concede possession as long as Vardy occasionally receives the ball and slips his marker.
Neither happened. Arsenal sensed weakness, the outstanding Nicolas Pepe took charge and the Foxes were worryingly brushed aside with minimal fuss.
Leicester's 4-4-2 was an attempt to manage Arsenal's strength on the flanks - which failed in any case, both Pepe and Willian flourished - but the formation also left Tielemans and Ndidi exposed in midfield.
The hosts didn't manage a single shot on target in the second half.
A dogged Vardy looked every one of his 34 years. He could use a rest. With Maddison and Barnes out, he's unlikely to get one.
Upcoming fixtures against Burnley, Brighton & Hove Albion and Sheffield United are all winnable games for any side serious about their top-four aspirations and the Foxes must target all nine points to ensure the current wobble ends quickly.
But their injuries, a weary Vardy and a glaring lack of attacking alternatives hint at a familiar outcome unless Rodgers conjures a Plan B.
Hopefully, there's still time.
Leicester should be making a little history this season, rather than repeating it.
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