It’s hard to put Leicester City’s fall from grace into perspective. Having gone from a side on the verge of superstardom when they defied everyone that has made a bet on football with their Premier League win in 2016, the Foxes now find themselves in the midst of a relegation battle.
Brendan Rodgers, who enters his fourth year in charge at the King Power Stadium, has perhaps taken the side as far as he can now — winning the FA Cup in 2020 and coming within touching distance of Champions League football on multiple occasions. However, the coach bought himself some time with a crucial win away at West Ham United.
The Foxes have been plagued by inconsistency since the start of the campaign, something not helped by the loss of key players Wesley Fofana and captain Kasper Schmeichel — neither of which have been properly replaced. Indeed, that lack of investment in the transfer market has led to Rodgers’ side becoming stale, once again relying on the likes of Jamie Vardy and James Maddison to bail him out when the going gets tough.
And it was the latter, Maddison, who provided in the win at the London Stadium. In the periphery of the relegation zone before the trip to the capital, the playmaker gave his side the lead before hobbling off with injury. It gave Leicester a platform to defend and after soaking up some pressure, Harvey Barnes doubled the Foxes lead with 12 minutes to spare. It was an impressive counter-attacking performance, and the three points on the road move Leicester up to 13th on the table despite such a disastrous start.
From losing successive games, Rodgers has looked to turn a corner in the season, and with some players getting time off to recharge their batteries due to the World Cup-enforced winter break, they have plenty of time to assess where things have gone wrong and try to go again before their next game — welcoming highflyers Newcastle United to the King Power on Boxing Day.
The reality of the situation is that Leicester just weren’t good enough in the first half of the season. This was something Rodgers was keen to emphasis. While the start to the season was far from ideal the win away at West Ham could prove to be a crucial turning point.
Three points at the London Stadium could prove invaluable, and picking apart David Moyes’ inconsistent side perhaps came at the wrong time with the World Cup around the corner, but Rodgers made it clear he will not take his position for granted and knows the pressure is on if he continues to underachieve.
“There will be moments when you have a blip and then you have to consolidate and go again,” he said. “I am very lucky here that the owners have shown a belief since the day I walked in. they have let me get on with my work without pressure.
“I know I need to win games. That’s my job. the club expected and trusted me to do that. it is a business now where managers if they don’t get it, everyone wants change.”
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