This Leicester City team could be even better than the title winning side
Brendan Rodgers made a bold decision when he walked away from a third successive domestic treble at Celtic in February and return to the Premier League with Leicester.
The former Liverpool and Swansea boss took a lot of flak and the switch could have gone either way – he had lots to lose and not much to gain – but he knew his work in Scotland was done.
So far it is working out very well. After seven games of the new season they are third, above Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester United, and a top-four finish could be on.
Read more: Underperforming former champions cancel each other out
It turns out that Leicester, 5000/1 title winners in 2016, are not the one-hit wonders that some sceptics believed them to be.
The Foxes have actually had some tough fixtures already, against Chelsea, Spurs and United, but their consistency has proven a valuable asset while others around them have fluctuated wildly.
It shows what can be done if you can carve out a good little run – you quickly march up the table, and few clubs in the division can boast the positivity currently around the King Power Stadium.
A model to buy into
Recruitment was a key factor in their famous title win and once again Leicester have excelled in an area that is often hit and miss.
They have gone for a certain type of player – pace, tons of energy and the right age profile – while managing to balance the books with the odd big sale, such as that of Harry Maguire to United.
Crucially, they have also kept key men like Jamie Vardy and Kasper Schmeichel.
Vardy is such a strong personality and a great goalscorer but he is more than that. His team-mates will appreciate what a potent disruptor of back lines he is – an overlooked attribute that gets his colleagues on the front foot.
And then they have Rodgers, a manager who knows how to put a team together in a style that is conducive to success in the Premier League.
His is a model that they can all buy into – and that has been a common theme at all of the winning teams that I was part of.
I think this is potentially an even better Leicester team than the one that topped the table.
Claudio Ranieri’s side were built on an extremely compact and solid back four, with Wes Morgan and Robert Huth at the heart and N’Golo Kante perfect in front of them.
But Rodgers’ team are just about as strong defensively, with the experienced Jonny Evans backing up the aggressive Caglar Soyuncu, two good full-backs and the underrated Wilfred Ndidi in the Kante role.
And with James Maddison and Youri Tielemans creating in midfield, and Ayoze Perez and Harvey Barnes providing balance on the flanks – they have a lot more going forward.
Realistic goal
The biggest threat to Leicester’s momentum will be injuries, as their squad isn’t as deep as some of the biggest sides’, and especially to Vardy.
They also need to accept that they will have a bad month at some point, because all teams do. It is a case of trying to scrape through that spell without losing confidence.
But their absence from European competition can help. As we’ve seen with other clubs, the extra games can be a burden; instead, Leicester will be able to plan and rest better.
This Saturday they visit Liverpool in a game they would be delighted to take a draw from. But after that they have a run of very winnable games which represents a chance to consolidate their position.
I have no doubt that Rodgers will feel that finishing in the top four is a realistic goal this season.
What’s more, though, I think the players will believe it too. Some of them defied all the doubters to win the title, so fourth place will not feel beyond them at all.
Main image credit: Getty