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English Premier League: Leicester season review – Collapse and progress

By Nhan Doan

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 13: Kelechi Iheanacho of Leicester City gestures during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City at Wembley Stadium on May 13, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Henry Browne/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Kelechi Iheanacho
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 13: Kelechi Iheanacho of Leicester City gestures during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City at Wembley Stadium on May 13, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Henry Browne/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Kelechi Iheanacho /
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The Foxes had European competition in sight for most of the second half of the season, but a late-season collapse left the team outside looking.

Leicester Season Review

So many promises only to be undermined. There were ups and downs but Leicester City might have asked what could have gone differently to excuse for its failure to qualify for Europe.

Leicester entered the season with a relatively successful summer. The team was able to retain most of its key players from the title-winning campaign in 2016. In addition, Harry Maguire, Vincent Iborra, Adrien Silva and Kelechi Ihenacho were signed to strengthen its relatively thin squad.

A surge in the second half of the 2016-17 season which saw coach Craig Shakespeare replicate the winning formula had Leicester considered to be the favorite for the third Europa League spot. In the end, it fell short by seven points.

Leicester earned just six points in the opening eight matches. This torrid start saw Shakespeare out on the road by mid-October. The horrendous scheduling which saw Leicester face Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool during that run didn’t help the departing manager, but the lack of defensive options was clearly seen.

The Foxes lost Robert Huth for the season and new signing Aleksandar Dragovic didn’t make his Premier League debut until Boxing Day. Harry Maguire and Wes Morgan were the primary center back pairing alongside with aging fullbacks Danny Simpson and Christian Fuchs. The aging defensive line was exposed as Leicester conceded 13 goals out of seven matches at the time of Shakespeare’s firing, fourth-worst in the league.

Claude Puel was announced as Shakespeare’s replacement. Puel, who was fired from Southampton because of his pragmatism approach, was what Leicester needed. Over the course of the next few months, Leicester demonstrated the football that won them the title in 2016. A 2-0 victory against Watford on Jan. 20 amid Mahrez’s drama saw the Foxes climb to seventh for the first time in the season, which culminated a respectable run of eight victories out of 15 matches.

Unfortunately, Leicester stayed at seventh for only one matchday. The Foxes could only win three out of the remaining 13 matches. Leicester ended a rather disappointing campaign in ninth with 47 points, scoring 56 and conceding 60. The team had the pieces to produce entertaining counter-attacking football. The error-prone defensive line derailed the process.

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