Monday 16 April 2012

#ibelieve?

Consistency the key for Championship success

A lack of consistency has been Leicester's downfall this season

Another defeat to a lower league side emphasises Leicester City's biggest problem this season: winning against struggling sides.  The Foxes have been beaten by five of the bottom eight teams in the Championship (including losing both home and away against Barnsley, Bristol City and Millwall), a record which is completely baffling, considering that Leicester have beaten five of the eight teams above them (including home and away wins against automatic promotion contenders Southampton).   Had Leicester drawn those five games lost against lower league opposition (or simply won two of those five), they would still be firmly in contention to make the play-offs.

The old cliché rings true here – the table does not lie.  When at their best, Leicester have played some truly wonderful football this season.  But they have also been outclassed by other teams in the Championship.  Regular changes to the team have failed to yield a consistently strong line-up.  There are areas of concern in several places, and even if Nigel Pearson somehow pulls off a miracle in the last three games of the season, he will surely spend most of the summer rebuilding in order to create the consistency similar to that he during his first spell in charge.

Clubs cannot buy success at Championship level.  One only needs to look at the teams in promotion contention this season.  Reading sold two of their key players in the summer (Matt Mills and Shane Long) and the Royals are now top of the league, looking the favourites to be crowned champions in three weeks' time.  Nigel Atkins has stuck with roughly the same Southampton team crowned champions of League One, and look likely to secure back-to-back promotions (as Norwich City did last year).  Birmingham, Blackpool and West Ham were all relegated from the Premier League last season, and so, if anything, have had to consolidate having lost key players, but still maintained a strong core to rebuild from.  Leicester City, on the other hand, spent millions this summer, and their team, looks completely different from last season and look destined to finish outside the play-off places as they did in 2011.  It is difficult for the team to be consistent on the pitch when the club is not consistent off the pitch.

Whatever happens during the final three games this season, Nigel Pearson is still a fan favourite.  He enjoyed two very successful seasons with Leicester, and the club not parted ways with the manager, they would more than likely be in a better position than they are now.  But it is very important that the owners give Pearson another season to bring the belief back to the King Power Stadium.  This team is capable of reaching the Premier League, but it must become stable before it achieves real success.

Sunday 8 April 2012

(La la la la la la) Ben Marshall


Why Leicester City's newest prospect is something for Foxes fans to get excited about


Ben Marshall has already become an integral part of this Leicester City side
© Ben Sutherland, Flickr

Five games remaining.  Five points outside the Championship play-off places.  Following what can only be described as an inconsistent season, Leicester City somehow still find themselves with the slimmest chance of making the play-offs for the second time in three years.  However, even the most optimistic Foxes fans will struggle to persuade others that promotion is still a possibility, bearing in mind that Leicester's fate this season is no longer in their own hands.  Realistically, they must win all of their remaining games, and rely on other play-off contenders slipping up.  The latter is possible, as all the teams currently occupying third to eighth in the Championship have struggled for recent form, winning four out of their last ten games at best (Leicester have won five of their last ten).  The former is the problem.  Nigel Pearson's side have only put up back-to-back wins once this season – something which has harnessed Leicester's success during this campaign. 

But regardless of how Leicester's season pans out in terms of league position and play-off possibilities, there is a reason to be optimistic next year – and that's the signing of Ben Marshall.

Marshall's move to the East Midlands was a real accomplishment for Nigel Pearson.  Several teams were supposedly interested in signing the Stoke forward in January, although many Leicester fans will probably hold their hands up and admit that they did not know much about Ben Marshall before his transfer.  Although previously a Stoke player from 2009, he never started a competitive game for the Potters and spent the last three years on loan at various lower league clubs.  After suffering a broken leg in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy final in 2010 while on loan at Carlisle United, Marshall impressed at Sheffield Wednesday at the beginning of this season, scoring five goals in 22 appearances, and Gary Megson's inability to keep the 21-year-old at Hillsborough allegedly contributed to the former Foxes manager parting ways with Wednesday earlier this year.

Since penning a three-and-a-half year deal with Leicester City in January, the youngster has already made a real name for himself at the King Power Stadium.  In just nine appearances for Nigel Pearson's side, Marshall has scored three superb goals (most notably in the Foxes 5-2 FA Cup quarter-final loss against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge), and also has been credited with three assists.  His style of play is incredibly positive, and, although signed predominantly as a winger, has experienced considerable success playing just behind Jermaine Beckford in the middle of the pitch.  Marshall's confidence is also sky high, having proven to Nigel Pearson that he is worthy of a spot in Leicester's starting eleven. 

What's positive is that Ben Marshall is a Nigel Pearson signing.  Due to the timing of Pearson's return to Leicester City, his opportunities to make changes have been limited.  In theory, he inherited a squad that wasn't his – with the exception of a few players signed during his first spell with the club, namely Lloyd Dyer, Richie Wellens, Andy King and Steve Howard.  That's not to say that Pearson is necessarily unhappy with his squad, but he clearly felt the need to make some alterations in the January transfer window.   The addition of Wes Morgan indicated that it was thought that more depth was required in defence.  The addition of Danny Drinkwater indicated that a spark was needed in midfield.  Both have impressed since signing, and Ben Marshall is no exception to that small group of new signings.  

Regardless of what division the Foxes are in next season, there is little doubt that Nigel Pearson has found a player to incorporate into his side, and possibly develop a team around.  Players are likely to come and go in the summer to help solidify some consistency at Leicester City, and if Pearson continues to find more hidden treasures like Ben Marshall, next season promises to be one for the Blue Army look forward to.   But in the meantime, he could be the catalyst needed over the next five games to spark a dramatic finale to Leicester's Championship campaign.

Leicester City 4 Doncaster Rovers 0 - 7th April 2012


Foxes boost playoff hopes with resounding victory

Leicester have won eleven times at home in the Championship this season

Leicester City maintained their slim playoff hopes with a comfortable 4-0 win over relegation-threatened Doncaster United at the King Power Stadium.

Danny Drinkwater netted in the first-half following David Nugent's clever knock down, before Lee Peltier doubled the Foxes advantage after the break when his low cross somehow crept underneath Doncaster goalkeeper Carl Ikeme.

Ben Marshall put the game out of sight with a sublime curling strike from twenty yards, before substitute Paul Gallagher added a fourth with just minutes remaining.

It was a resounding victory for Leicester who are now unbeaten at the King Power Stadium since January, and one that closed the gap on sixth-placed Cardiff to just five points with as many games remaining in this Championship campaign.

Leicester came out swinging from the kick-off with David Nugent testing Carl Ikeme with a fierce strike from 30 yards, before Wes Morgan's clever header back across goal from a corner kick was almost turned in by Jermaine Beckford.

Beckford – who was showing no signs of any apparent fallout with Foxes manager Nigel Pearson after last weekend's 1-0 loss to Peterborough United – might have opened the scoring after five minutes after collecting Lee Peltier's ball into the Doncaster penalty area, but his shot lacked power and was easily cleared by the visitors.

At the other end, James Coppinger's shot from just outside the penalty area flew inches wide of Kasper Schmeichel's far post, while Giles Barnes came close for the away side moments later after a mix-up in defence between Sol Bamba and Wes Morgan.

Ben Marshall fired over the bar after initial good work out wide from Lloyd Dyer, before another defensive mistake gave Chris Brown the chance to give Doncaster an early advantage, but his shot failed to trouble Kasper Schmeichel.

Midway through the first-half, former Rovers captain Richie Wellens rose to meet Ben Marshall's out-swinging free-kick, but his header flew inches over the crossbar. 

The deadlock was eventually broken with just over ten minutes remaining in the first-half when David Nugent cleverly headed down Wes Morgan's long ball into the path of Danny Drinkwater, whose half-volley beat Carl Ikeme and clipped the inside of the post on its way in.

It was a cleverly worked goal from the Foxes, and Drinkwater's first since joining Leicester at the beginning of the year.

Doncaster looked good value for adding an equaliser before the break but Kasper Schmeichel did well to save James Coppinger's well-hit effort from outside the penalty area.

Leicester doubled their advantage two minutes into the second-half when Lee Peltier fired a low near post cross into the six yard box which initially appeared to have been comfortably dealt with by Carl Ikeme, only for the ball to squeeze underneath his body and across the goal line.

It was an agonising goal for Dean Saunders' side to concede but just the stroke of luck which some Foxes fans would argue their side has not received so far this season.

With the Foxes now in control, Paul Konchesky and Lloyd Dyer both had chances to extend the lead, but Ikeme this time was equal to both efforts.

At the other end, Chris Brown inexplicably headed over from six yards when it seemed easier to hit the target – a moment which summed up the visiting side's day.

With ten minutes remaining in the game, Ben Marshall added a third to Leicester's tally when he picked the ball up on the left-hand side of the pitch before cutting inside and firing a stunning twenty yard curling strike past the helpless Ikeme.

It was Ben Marshall's third goal for the Foxes and one which added to his collection of outstanding strikes as the youngster continues to make a real name for himself at the King Power Stadium.

With Doncaster on the ropes, Marshall and substitute Paul Gallagher came close to furthering the Foxes' lead with successive efforts on goal, before Marshall struck the crossbar with a looping shot which had Ikeme well-beaten.

Gallagher added a fourth for Leicester in the dying moments of the match, latching on to a dissecting pass from Andy King and firing into the bottom corner of the goal from eighteen yards.

It was the Scotsman's tenth goal of the season and a good confident boost for the out-of-favour forward who has seen his chances limited in recent weeks due to injury.

The final whistle put Doncaster out of their misery as they slip further into relegation trouble, while a comfortable home win for Nigel Pearson's side reignites their playoff hopes for this season.

Man of the match – Ben Marshall