by Vir Chiniwala
WITH all the talk about renowned managers and players being worth 100 million in the English Premier League (EPL), a large section of football fans are still enamoured with last season’s surprise winners, Leicester City.
But so far, the football club’s fans have been brought back down to earth after a disastrous pre-season campaign followed by an opening day loss to minnows Hull City – making it an overall one point from a possible six in the first two games of the season.
A meek beginning just adds to the pressure, especially after rival clubs have spent vast fortunes on coaching and playing staff alike to strengthen their sides. With the world keeping a close eye on Leicester, they face a daunting challenge ahead – but that’s how they like it, according to their manager Claudio Ranieri.
The veteran recently sat down with the New York Times and in his interview, the Italian spoke of the many obstacles they had to overcome. When questioned about Leicester’s chances this season, the 68-year-old quipped: “I’m the underdog. Always will be. And I love it”.
Well, this season, Ranieri has gotten his wish. Forget title favourites, Leicester don’t look likely to finish in the top six this season. And, while people may argue that this is the same situation they faced last season, the circumstances this time around couldn’t be more contrasting.
For those who don’t know, Leicester were thrust into the spotlight after emerging as champions of England’s premier footballing division with a team perceived by many to finish on the bottom rather than the top of the pile. After beating off relegation last year, they overcame adversity after adversity, including odds of 5000-1 to incredibly finish on top with a much more modest squad compared to their heavyweight counterparts.
They became an overnight sensation due to their heroics, with their players and manager deemed inferior for much of their careers. But, they shrugged off the underdog tag by the tail end of the season and their support kept growing exponentially around the world.
They scored with their star striker Jamie Vardy, who put in 24 goals – the second-highest in the league. This was a player who just a few years ago was playing amateur football and working part-time at a factory to make ends meet. Many still keep hope that after their unbelievable feat, this year the Foxes, as they’re affectionately called, will move on to bigger and brighter things.
The club’s first appearance in the prestigious UEFA Champions League tournament beckons while most are also hoping to see the club remain in the top circles of English football. Hopes were further boosted after star players and vital cogs of the Leicester machine, Riyad Mahrez and Vardy signed new contracts with the club this summer.
Both were extensively courted by English football giant Arsenal, and while fans feared the worst, the duo surprisingly rejected the North-London club’s advances to remain at the club that made them famous. While it is heartwarming to see these footballers show sporting loyalty and reject a bigger payday, most need to accept that Leicester won’t be gatecrashing the top-tier anytime soon.
Rival clubs have spent exorbitant amounts in the off-season on top-shelf managers and players to ensure that last season’s underdog tale remains a one-off, a mere blip in a league dominated by the richer teams. Despite winning the league, the Foxes rely more on budget acquisitions due to their inferior finances compared to the established sides.
A prime example of this is Manchester United’s recently signed player, Paul Pogba.
The transfer fees paid to sign the player was £89m (S$159.67m). That mouthwatering fee paid for one player is more than what Leicester spent on their entire title-winning squad combined. It’s not just the Manchester club though, all of Leicester’s rivals – Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham and to an extent, Arsenal have strengthened their teams.
The Foxes have just entered the spotlight, unlike their counterparts and don’t have the financial backing that these teams do. Therefore, rivals can easily blow them out of the water in the race for acquiring top players, by offering two things Leicester can’t – money and pedigree. Unable to shop in the top-tier of the transfer market has already left the Foxes playing catch-up before even looking at the deficiencies in the current squad itself.
While Mahrez and Vardy were essential to Leicester’s title charge, midfielder N’Golo Kante was equally if not more pivotal to the team, with his performances in the middle of the pitch ensuring that the more attacking players could thrive ahead of him. His interceptions and overall energy during games were vital in propelling the Foxes to the title, and Leicester legend Gary Linekar even had a fairly amusing compliment to sum up Kante’s importance to the team.
If planet Earth was ever under threat from an asteroid, I'm pretty sure that Kanté would intercept it.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) April 24, 2016
In the off-season, Kante sealed a big-money move to English rivals, Chelsea and by doing so left his former side without their heartbeat. Ranieri even went on to say that “Now we (Leicester) are crying because we lost Kante.”
The Frenchman may only be one player, but his contribution was so key to Ranieri’s side that the difference without him was quite devastating.
Their first taste of the elite (without Kante) came in pre-season, with Leicester taking part in a friendly tournament involving Spanish and French League champions, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). Their defence crumbled in the absence of their former player, and they were easily brushed aside by these footballing giants. While it was swept under the rug as a non-competitive game, it was the first ominous sign of the wheels coming off the Leicester train.
Fans need to see that with all the off-season factors, be it lavish spending of others or ill-timed departures of their own, Leicester have swiftly dropped out of the elite circle of clubs. Last season was a fairytale, but the party is now well and truly over.
Featured image LCFC lift the Premier League Trophy by Flickr user Pete Woodentop (CC By-SA 2.0).
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