Why Leicester can win the Premier League.

            For a team who was last this time last year in the premier league, Leicester has quieted the naysayers and proved that they deserve their current spot in the league. Now, at the time of writing this, they are tied with league leaders Arsenal going into the New Year. Why such a drastic improvement this year? What changes have been implemented in order to change a team that had 5000/1 odds to win the league at the start of the season, to a team that now has 10/1 odds?

            The biggest difference is manager Claudio Ranieri. It seems that players have adapted his high intensity regiment and have prospered under his tactics. With many saying Leicester have had the signing of the year in N’Golo Kante, the team have gelled together amazingly and are true contenders to win league.

            Everybody thought that Leicester’s recent schedule would prove to be the end of their season. Dating back from November 28^th, Leicester has played United, Swansea, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool and City. Their only loss coming to Liverpool in a 1-0 defeat. They tied United and City 1-1 and 0-0.

            Ranieri warrants a very intense style of football. Usually utilizing a 4-4-2 formation, he has his players coming back to defend while keeping only Vardy near the top of their half in order to start the counter or to put pressure on the opposing teams defenders which he does so well. The team as a whole makes it so hard to play against; closing down other teams within seconds and not giving you any free space.  From there, Leicester keeps it very simple. Working the wings with Mahrez and Albrighton providing pace, skill and excellent crosses to the box. The difference with Leicester is that they get more players in the box than other teams do. When the ball is on one wing, players rush to the far post and flood the area. Many of Leicester’s scoring chances and goals result from gaining control on the outside of the box from crosses that have been deflected out by opposing defenders or from direct crosses to either Mahrez or Vardy. Obviously, there have been some outstanding individual efforts by Mahrez and Vardy in particular but on a team level, this is what Leicester does.

            What personally interests me the most about Leicester is their passion and perseverance towards the game. They are relentless. Leicester has only been shut out twice this year and it was away at Liverpool and home to City. What’s interesting about this is that they rank last in league in home possession with 41.6% and 14^th in the league for away possession with 43%. This shows that possession is not as big of deal as it may seem if you have a high conversion rate—which they do. In fact, Leicester has the best conversion rate in the league converting 22.2% of their shots.

            Another attribute Leicester possesses that can lead them to the title is their ability to not falter when they gain the lead. 13 times Leicester has lead this season, and they have won 11, only dropping 5 points. On the flip side, Leicester has fallen behind 8 times this season, going on to win 2 of these and draw 4. They rank first in points from behind and second in points after taking the lead.

            This team and what they have accomplished is not a fluke. This run of form is not luck. It comes from buying in to the manager and his tactics and coming together as a squad. Watching Leicester is a lot like watching Southampton move up the rankings within the past 3 seasons. They play as a proper team and work for their results. Leicester is the only team to have 2 players in the top 10 for scoring this year. If they can continue to produce the way they have for the first half of the season, than they will be serious contenders for not only champions league football, but for the Premier League title. The questions remain surrounding their ability to keep their top players, especially Mahrez for next season, but that is another article in itself. 

What now for Chelsea? A Jose Mourinho Write Up

In a day where football managers are lucky to last 2 seasons unless they win the champions league or their respective league title, it isn’t all too surprising to see Mourinho get sacked. But, is this what is needed for Chelsea? Will this do more good than harm to the Chelsea football club? Let’s take a look.

Three years ago Jose Mourinho returned to Chelsea after leaving in 2007. From 2004-2007 Jose won the FA Cup, two League cups as well as two Premier League titles.  From there, his relationship with the still current owner, Roman Abramovich became troubled and Mourhino quit despite having three years left on his contract.

When Jose Mourinho replaced Rafael Benitez in the summer of 2013, fans were no doubt ecstatic. The self-proclaimed “special one” was here to lead Chelsea to their first title since 2009-2010.

The first season back for Mourinho was not one he hoped for but was none the less a good start back at Stamford Bridge. Mourinho’s Blues finished third in the league, 4 points behind the leaders Man City and 2 points behind Liverpool. Jose revitalized Cheslea fans once more and there was a plethora of optimism for the next season.

The fans were right. The 2014-2015 Chelsea squad dominated their opening 14 games. They went 14 games without a loss to start the season with only 3 draws. The draws came from Manchester City (1-1), Manchester United (1-1) and Sunderland (0-0). Their first loss came to Newcastle of all teams in their 15^th game. Chelsea went on to top the premier league with 87 points, accumulating only 3 losses the whole year.

A quick recap of Cheslea under Mourinho--3 Premier league titles, 1 FA Cup, 3 League Cups and a Community Shield Trophy.

But why, after just 16 games this year has Mourinho lost the faith of the owner and the rest of the board? This season has been abysmal by any standard, with the worst start through 16 games by the previous year’s champion in premier league history. There are a lot of questions surrounding Jose and the relationship with his players- Costa, Hazard, Matic, Fabregas and Ivanovic all coming under heavy criticism from the media and Jose himself.  

Why sack him now? Why sack a manager who has proven he can win at any team he decides to work for. It doesn’t seem right. This is very similar to Carlo Ancelotti and Real Madrid last season. Ancelotti won the Champions League his first season in charge but failed to claim any other trophy the following season. Does this warrant his firing? A manager who leads his team to the most proclaimed trophy outside of international football, is fired the next season because he didn’t win anything. They still finished second in La Liga.

It seems like owners and board members are not willing to give managers a chance anymore.  It does not matter what their track record was coming into the club. The only thing that big clubs want to see are wins and trophies which is very understandable, but what about developing a team? Giving the managers some time to develop and produce a side that can contend year in and year out. Letting the managers sign young and mature players to plan ahead; a solid foundation for years to come. Sir Alex Ferguson did it best, but he also had the owners full support in the matter which made all the difference.

The constant turnover of managers at small and big clubs has become apparent within the last few years. The average stay for a manager in the Premier League is now only 2.22 years. I seriously doubt any manager, even the great Sir Alex Ferguson could produce a season where he would please everyone within that time.

Only time will tell what this decision by Abromovich will do to Chelsea this season, but in my opinion I don’t think it will do much. With an owner who has gone through 12 managers since 2000, there is little chance that a new manager will come in and make as big of an impact as Mourinho did during both of his terms.