DEBATE: Are Leicester too good to go down?

Sport360 staff 05:44 05/12/2016
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  • Troubled waters: Jamie Vardy and Leicester.

    James Piercy, deputy editor, says YES

    These are worrying times for Leicester but are only to be expected as the psychological impact of winning the Premier League title has had a far greater effect than what was forecast. Having climbed Mount Olympus and raised a blue flag, there has been a collective drop-off in intensity among a group of players who they themselves would admit aren’t used to such success.

    Players at the top of the game not only know how to win trophies, they also know how to keep winning trophies. It’s a subtle difference which seems straightforward but only the elite can truly master.

    It’s been a culture shock for Leicester and, as a result, their own club culture has taken a hit but it won’t take an enormous shift to turn things around, just a sharpening of the mind and a refocus on what they are as a team.

    Everything that made them great has broken down. They’re conceding far too many goals and presenting the opposition needless chances from crosses and set-pieces; incidents that were bread and butter to Wes Morgan and Robert Huth last term. That pair haven’t shrunk or lost any muscle.

    Further up the field, Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy’s chemistry has broken down to such an extent that passes between the two since September doesn’t break double figures. That can only last so long.

    The N’Golo Kante question is yet to be answered, leaving Danny Drinkwater too much to manage, but Daniel Amartey has shown signs of promise while Nampalys Mendy has been riddled with niggling injuries.

    Ranieri’s stoicism in selection was a major source of so much prosperity in 2016/17. Now, he’s reverted to type as the Tinkerman with the number of starters already matching last season: 19.

    Injuries have played their best, as has the Champions League, which has sucked in so much of Leicester’s attention. That will eventually pass, helping Leicester concentrate on matters closer to home where their new rivals are of far lesser quality.

    In a league with Swansea, Hull, Burnley, Watford, Crystal Palace and Saturday’s conquerors Sunderland, they’re far too good a squad to get sucked into that group come May.

    Matt Monaghan, reporter, says NO

    The hackneyed phrase ‘too good to go down’ is usually reserved for teams of far-greater calibre than Leicester City. But for last term’s upstart Premier League winners, this is the only realistic defence they have got left after a 2-1 defeat to Sunderland made it a sorry 13 points from 14 games.

    Only two points and three places now separate them from their latest conquerors, who reside in the dreaded final relegation spot.

    For context, Jose Mourinho can breathe a sigh of relief as his imploding Chelsea side had 15 points at the same stage last term. Even more damningly, the Foxes had 16 more on the board after 14 games played when they stunned the sport with their insurgent success.

    With a pernicious 50 per-cent loss ratio in the Foxes’ possession and boss Claudio Ranieri declaring “everything is wrong”, the potential to embarrassingly fall through the trap door back into the Championship – the fearsomely-contested division which they last resided in just two years ago – cannot be dismissed.

    They look like an ordinary team who accomplished an impossible feat. In every respect domestically, the Foxes have been appalling. At the start of December 2015, Ranieri’s troops had scored 30 times and conceded just 14.

    Those figures have now been flipped, with a telling goal difference of -7 registered after letting in 24 and scoring just 17. This is only three better than Sunderland.

    PFA Player of the Year Riyad Mahrez’ minutes per goal or assist ratio has rocketed to 272 from last season’s 109. England striker Jamie Vardy is now 16 games without a club goal after scoring in a record 11 consecutively a year ago.

    The seismic impact ceaseless France midfielder N’Golo Kante has had at leaders Chelsea, allied with Leicester’s decline, also exemplifies a ruinous loss. Not even a run to the Champions League knockouts can provide insulation.

    Celta Vigo made the round of 16 in 2003/04 and were promptly relegated from La Liga. Manchester City’s egregious 1937/38 title defence is the only one to end with relegation in England. This group could soon gain celebrated company.

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