KING POWER STADIUM – It’s better to be lucky than good and Leicester City supporters will hope that Ruud van Nistelrooy ends up being both.
They chanted his first name on repeat after an improbable equaliser against Brighton. At least a quarter of Leicester’s home support had already left, a game given up as lost. Those who call this place church should know better than to believe anything is impossible.
Jamie Vardy was the difference maker again, the master of sensing a flaw and exploiting the smallest opportunity to his own maximum gain. The ball fell twice in Vardy’s favour all match. He stabbed home a goal with the first chance and then assisted Bobby De Cordova-Reid’s equaliser with the second. An abject home defeat became another step forward.
Quite what it means in the longer term, who is to know. Van Nistelrooy has not had much time with these players, given the midweek league assignment. But he must have learnt that playing out from the back will be a risky strategy until improvements have arrived in training or new players have joined in January. The size of Leicester’s budget, given PSR concerns, is a topic of fevered discussion between supporters.
For all the positives of the West Ham win, it papered over cracks that were evident again on Sunday. By half-time at the King Power, Leicester had allowed 41 shots, 15 on target and almost 4.0 xG in their previous three halves combined. They are dangerously open in midfield and then the central defensive pairing – Jannik Vestergaard and Conor Coady – lacks the pace to fill the gaps.
The problems start with the in-play strategy to get the ball down the pitch. We are used to seeing Premier League sides pass out from the back, but there are levels. Whilst Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton were breaking presses and springing counters at will, Leicester’s passing in their final third is slow and often without obvious purpose.
It invites pressure that typically ends in one of two ways: Mads Hermansen, Coady or Vestergaard knock the ball long to clear the panic, which sometimes works out and sometimes doesn’t, or Brighton turned the ball over high up the pitch. If Leicester were lucky, they won a throw-in.
As such, the mood in the King Power is often not pleasant. We can understand why the Steve Cooper project did not work out because of who he is, who he had managed and how the football looked. Leicester supporters believed the former Nottingham Forest boss was stymying this team by being too risk-averse. Perhaps he was just scared of those defensive options. They were largely the ones who were relegated two years ago.
The other reason for Cooper’s troubles, we were told, is that Leicester’s players didn’t take to him. If there is much to solve tactically, and a solution to allowing so many shots a priority, perhaps there has been an attitude shift in these players. Van Nistelrooy will benefit from being a new face that people want around.
Most importantly of all, only the result is king when you are trying to stay in the Premier League. Leicester have allowed 56 shots in their last two matches, both at home. They have Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester City and Aston Villa in their next six matches and may have to ride their luck again.
But they have taken four points out of six to keep their heads above water and that is all that matters for now. Your home form can keep you up in your first season back up. Ask their former manager and their near neighbours about that.
