What lies in store for Leicester City as the 2024-25 season starts?

Posted: August 13, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Football, Leicester, Leicester City FC, Premier League, Sport | Tags: , , , | Comments Off on What lies in store for Leicester City as the 2024-25 season starts?
New signing Caleb Okoli – can he settle quickly at King Power Stadium?

Leicester Voice editor Colin Hall spoke to the Foxes Trust about the prospects for Leicester City on the club’s return to the Premier League.

FT: What changes (if any) to our playing style would you like our new manager to develop for our first season back in the Premier League?

CH: Steve Cooper needs to find a system which suits the strengths of the squad he has. If he can build a solid, disciplined, organised defence – and there is more than sufficient quality in his squad for him to do that – then that will provide a platform for the team as a whole to compete at a higher level.

FT: What playing positions do you think need strengthening and what do you consider the most important type of player needed?

CH: A striker (maybe even two) and a creative midfielder to replace Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall are absolute musts for the coming season. We also need players with a strong, positive mental attitude who will not shrink – as some have done in recent seasons – in the face of tough challenges that undoubtedly lie in wait for us. Whereas the 2016 squad was full of natural leaders, this one is far less so.

FT: Would you be looking to add some experience to a fairly youthful squad or would you continue bringing in younger players and develop them?

CH: If Cooper can maintain the balance between youth and experience that his predecessor at City did, that will be a definite plus. However, the well-documented financial circumstances may ensure that academy players are given more of an opportunity this season. Whether enough of them can step up to the standard that the top flight demands will be a key factor in the outcome of the forthcoming season.

FT: What are your expectations and fears for next season?

CH: The points deduction, if one is imposed, will be nowhere near as draconian as many fans are dreading. It would defy logic – and possibly the law too – for City to face a harsher penalty than either Everton (serial offenders) or Forest (whose efforts to comply with PSR did not appear to be unduly strenuous), especially as, unlike them, we were actually relegated and had to deal with the financial penalties that ensued from that.

But the pre-season games have already shown where the main issues are likely to arise. Unless and until we can find sufficient creativity and firepower, a long and unpleasant winter lies in wait for us.

FT: What is your prediction on where we’ll finish at the end of the season?

CH: My heart says we’ll show enough to defy the odds and the sceptics as we did in post-promotion seasons in 1997 and 2015. My mind, though, is giving me a rather bleaker message.

The full version of the interview will appear later this month on the Foxes Trust website.

Home sweet home will be a banker this weekend

Posted: September 19, 2020 | Author: | Filed under: Leicester | Tags: , , , | Comments Off on Home sweet home will be a banker this weekend

After a truncated round of opening Premier League fixtures saw SIX out of eight visiting sides claim victories, there looks like being a sharp swing back to the hosts this weekend.

Indeed, it is highly likely that teams travelling during Game Week 2 will not manage a single away win between them.

Here’s my forecast of what’s likely to happen over the coming days.

Everton vs WBA (Sat, 12.30): Carlo Ancelotti’s side are brimming with confidence after an impressive victory at Tottenham last week. They should have too much for visitors whose deficiencies at Premier level were ruthlessly exposed in a heavy home defeat by Leicester.

Prediction: 2-0

Leeds vs Fulham (Sat, 15.00): Elland Road, hosting its first top-flight fixture since May 2004, is a venue where the absence of a crowd will be particularly regretted. However, this should not affect the outcome of the clash between newly-promoted sides, of whom only one appears to possess the quality required to survive in the top flight.

Prediction: 3-1

Manchester United Vs Crystal Palace (Sat, 17.30): After an extended – and somewhat troubled – close-season, the red devils open their campaign against relatively-modest opposition. Palace sprung an almighty shock by winning 2-1 here last season, but the power of this United side is expected to prevail in this occasion.

Prediction: 2-0

Arsenal vs West Ham United (Sat, 20.00): Another London derby for a home side whose class was evident in last week’s comfortable win at Fulham. Their strikeforce will enjoy an evening against visitors whose troubles on and off the field are already affecting form.

Prediction: 3-1

Southampton Vs Tottenham (Sun, 12.00): Having shown such promise during last season’s run-in, the saints have disappointed to date this time around, failing to find the scoresheet in two defeats so far. However, the distractions faced by cup demands on TWO fronts by their visitors presents a valuable opportunity to improve this record.

Prediction: 2-2

Newcastle vs Brighton (Sun, 14.00): The magpies are in a buoyant mood after a strong start to the season. New signings have settled quickly and should again make their presence tell against visitors whose defensive frailties are already rendering them vulnerable.

Prediction: 2-0

Chelsea vs Liverpool (Sun 16.30): A stiff test awaits the champions against a much-revamped side eager to recapture their club’s past glories. With both defences struggling to command authority so far, a feast of goals is on the cards at Stamford Bridge.

Prediction: 2-2

Leicester City vs Burnley (Sun 19.00): A somewhat surprising choice by the BBC as their prime-time Premier offering to viewers this weekend. The Foxes haven’t always done themselves justice in their recent fixtures screened on mainstream TV, but should have the quality required to see off the challenge of the clarets.

Prediction: 2-1

Aston Villa vs Sheffield United (Mon 18.00): It is devoutly hoped that the technology-failure that enabled the home side to claim a crucial draw in last season’s clash between the sides will not recur. Nevertheless, Villa fans will be eager to witness the impact made by recent new recruits, who should be able to secure parity in more legitimate grounds here.

Prediction: 1-1

Wolves vs Manchester City (Mon 20.00): The former champions face a tough test in their season-opening fixture against opponents who overcame them home and away during 2019. On those occasions, the pace of the Wolves attack proved a powerful threat, and both sides have more than enough to find the scoresheet again here.

Prediction: 2-2

Away form key to destiny of Premier season

Posted: January 2, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Football, Leicester, Leicester City FC, Premier League | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Away form key to destiny of Premier season

Claudio Ranieri

Few teams on the planet surprised and delighted their followers more than Leicester City did during 2015.

After looking racing certainties during the first quarter of the year for a return to lower-league football, the Foxes mounted a miraculous recovery to pull out of the Premier League relegation zone, and ended the season in a comfortable 14th place.

However, after a turbulent summer which saw the departures of both manager Nigel Pearson and influential midfielder Esteban Cambiasso, another season of struggle was widely forecast.

Instead, though, the installation of veteran Italian manager Claudio Ranieri (pictured above) into the King Power Stadium hotseat has seen City enjoy what to date has been their most successful season in generations.

At the halfway stage, the club are in second place, trailing leaders Arsenal only on goal difference and well ahead of former champions Manchester United and troubled current title-holders Chelsea.  With six wins on their travels to date, City – for the first time in Premier history – boast the best away record in the league.

Many fans, who previously would have settled for a season of solid mid-table consolidation are now dreaming of a place in next season’s Champions League.  Some are even entertaining the notion that 2016 may be the year Leicester lands its first ever top-flight title.

The experienced and astute Ranieri has taken great care not to give any sustenance whatsoever to such fantasies.  He has insisted that his squad takes each game as it comes, and focuses primarily on securing Premier status for next season.

With 39 points already banked – just 2 short of the total achieved for the whole previous campaign – that mission can now be regarded as being safely accomplished.

The question is now whether the side can continue the momentum that it has built up in the past few months.

As the transfer window reopens, Ranieri faces the dilemma of how to add to the current quality and depth within his squad without threatening the team spirit which has played such an important role in progress during the past year.

While the club’s ambitious owners will make funding readily available, Ranieri’s spending power is unlikely to match that of his direct competitors.  But the scouting network at his disposal,  which has unearthed so many comparative bargains in recent years – such as Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and N’Golo Kante – can be trusted to deliver for the club once more.

The most significant challenges are likely to come during the next six weeks, when the Foxes are due to visit all three of their closest rivals for the Premier crown.

The outcome of the trips to White Hart Lane, the Etihad and the Emirates may well be paramount in determining that of City’s season in general.

Ranieri may be tempted to succumb to the pragmatic, cautious instincts that afflict so many of his managerial contemporaries and which have been prevalent for many years within the top levels of the game in his homeland.

That course of action, though, would not be in the best interests of either manager or club.  Throughout his tenure – and that of the closing months of his predecessor – City have gained plaudits as well as points by their bold, positive approach, and the players are evidently most comfortable with it.

Many factors, such as injuries, suspensions or the impact of cup competitions, may also influence the remaining months of the season.

But there is every reason to anticipate that the Foxes – even if they fall short of the ultimate prize – will record achievements during the coming year which will not only confirm their position as a genuine top-flight force, but will be remembered with awe for generations to come.

 

 

Foxes look to confound the critics again

Posted: August 17, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Football, Leicester City FC, Sport | Tags: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Foxes look to confound the critics again

After a turbulent season, capped by one of the most dramatic escapes from relegation in Premier League history, Leicester City might have wished for some peace and tranquility during the summer.

Instead, the club was plunged into further turmoil.

Incidents on a post-season tour of Thailand resulted in the departure of three junior players and – ultimately – manager Nigel Pearson too.

Weeks of intense and frenzied speculation about potential successors followed, before the owners eventually appointed veteran Italian Claudio Ranieri to fill Pearson’s shoes.

Many fans voiced doubts about the appointment, especially after talismanic Argentine midfielder Esteban Cambiasso rejected the offer of a new contract at City.

But a run of impressive pre-season results, together with moves in the transfer market to strengthen key areas of the side, have helped to ease many of these worries.

In addition, the pursuit of veteran Serie A midfielder Gokhan Inler and Copa America winner Charles Aranguiz as potential replacements for Cambiasso has sent a strong message about City’s ambitions.

The squad has considerably more quality and depth than it did this time last year, with the arrival of Bundesliga stars Christian Fuchs and Shinji Okazaki, plus French duo Ngolo Kante and Yohan Benalouane boosting competition for places.

Many of the established stars will also benefit from the extra year’s experience of top-flight football.

In particular, Jamie Vardy, whose form during the end-of-season revival was rewarded with an England cap, and Algeria winger Riyad Mahrez have already served notice of their threat to trouble opposition defences on a regular basis.

Meanwhile in defence Robert Huth, now signed from Stoke on a permanent basis, should ensure that the City back line will prove rather more resilient than it did for much of last winter.

If Ranieri can conjure the same fighting spirit that the Foxes displayed during last season’s closing weeks, a more comfortable campaign lies in wait.

The media pundits who forecast relegation for City in the wake of high-profile departures may well be forced to eat their words.

Originally posted at http://ultrafox1963.tumblr.com

More sporting glory for Leicester in 2013?

Posted: January 1, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Basketball, Cricket, Football, Hockey, Leicester, Leicestershire, Speedway, Sport | Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off on More sporting glory for Leicester in 2013?

For a city of around 300000 inhabitants, Leicester has often punched above its weight in sporting terms.

Indeed, the city has often taken great steps to promote and honour the teams and individuals who have contributed to such a rich sporting heritage. The sports statue near the Clock Tower is the most prominent example.

But as the new year dawns, what are the prospects of further honours for our local clubs?

The main focus will fall upon Leicester City, seeking to end the years of exile from the Premier League. Nigel Pearson’s side is currently well-placed to earn a playoff slot at least, but will be hoping for more.

A return to the top flight football would offer the global profile the club’s Thai and Chinese owners so keenly crave, as well as ensuring financial stability for years to come, with TV revenues set to rise sharply next season for Premier clubs.

By stark contrast, a further season of failure would incur yet another tour of some of English football’s less salubrious venues, with continuing attendant heavy losses threatening City’s long-term viability.

With these factors in mind, the 2013 playoffs will be particularly intense and frenetic, requiring considerable reserves of character, resilience and mental strength among players and management alike.

Unfortunately these are precisely the qualities which this City side have too often lacked in recent times. It is far from certain whether it would be able to withstand the burden of expectation to overcome this challenge.

On the other side of Aylestone Road, similar concerns arise regarding Leicester Tigers. Although the side secured victory in the LV Cup last year, the Premiership and Heineken Cup will again assume higher priority in the coming months.

At present, however, success on either front appears unlikely, with the side’s form away from Welford Road being more fallible than players, management and supporters would wish.

While is possible that Tigers may yet reach a ninth consecutive Premiership final, few would be confident in its ability to defeat whichever London/Home Counties franchise emerges this time around to command the allegiances of the majority of the Twickenham crowd.

A fairytale script would demand that skipper Geordan Murphy caps a glittering career by lifting another title crown. But suspicions remain that the side is not the force it has been in seasons past.

Meanwhile, expectations are somewhat lower for Leicestershire County Cricket Club, as they prepare for the current season.

With new captain Ramnaresh Sarwan at the helm for four-day matches, the Foxes will hope to improve on last season’s 7th-place finish in the County Championship 2nd Division.

However, it is unlikely that the progress of the relatively young squad will be enough this time around to secure promotion. Instead, hopes will be directed, as in previous years, towards success in the T20 and 40-over competitions.

The club will also be anxious to see a drier and warmer summer to attract higher attendances and exploit the interest in the sport generated by another Ashes series.

It is in hockey and basketball that the city’s sporting hopes are most likely to bear fruit. The Leicester Hockey Club are well set to defend their Championship crown, currently lying 2nd in the Premier League, while Rob Paternostro has built the strongest Riders team for a decade, and will hope to secure at least one trophy during the current season.

In addition, the Leicester Lions speedway team will be serious contenders for the Premier League title in their 3rd season at Beaumont Park, having risen from a wooden spoon place in 2011 to the playoffs last year.

The fortunes of all these sides, and others flying the flag for city and county, will continue to be keenly followed by sports fans. We wish them every possible success during the next 12 months and beyond.