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Football News: Leicester City Premier League season so far

Leicester City Premier League season so far
Image from: hopwood.co.uk

Results so far:

A v Hull City 1-2
H v Arsenal 0-0
H v Swansea City 2-1
A v Liverpool 1-4
H v Burnley 3-0
A v Manchester United 1-4
H v Southampton 0-0
A v Chelsea 0-3

When we talk about 'after the Lord Mayor's show' in future, we could well use Leicester City's start to the 2016/17 season as the prime example of that phenomenon in action. Following the euphoria of last season, this season has been a comple damp squib by comparison, despite the addition of the Champions League to the mix. In fact, it seems the players have lost focus on the Premier League, as they seem totally caught up in the hype around UEFA's premier competition.

To be fair, the poor results can be put down, in large part, to the loss of their best, and most important, player to Chelsea. N'Golo Kante's summer transfer may have brought in a significant fee, but it has left a huge gaping hole in midfield, which is nigh-on impossible to fill. Danny Drinkwater is still playing well, but the midfield two is being overrun now they lack Kante's bite, workrate and mobility to fill the gaps. Where Kante could be hassling players in the attacking third and still get back to be a presence in the defensive third, his replacements are simply incapable of doing both.

Claudio Ranieri has an impossible task to find a way to recreate the heights of last season after losing the lynchpin of the side, a task made all the more difficult by the usual big boys stepping up their games for this season. It may even require Ranieri to completely abandon the formation that he built the success on, as a midfield four is just too open with his current players. Unless he can find a way to increase the cover in midfield using the wide players to fill in or dropping a forward in, he will have to consider changing the way they play.

All in all though, I doubt any Foxes fan would be unhappy at the current situation around the club, with Champions League football and a fairly safe mid-table position in the Prem. Though it is a huge downward step since last season, no one really expected them to be able to challenge again this season. All they would really ask for is some consistency, to perform as well in the Prem as they do in Europe.

Written by Tris Burke October 19 2016 07:29:54