The Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Newcastle United felt… normal. Leicester City were merely a footnote in the Magpies ongoing feel-good story and Brendan Rodgers was not left desolate on the touchine, but accepting.
The Foxes, with all their injury issues, were never going to win that tie. It really is as simple as that. They may be out of the Carabao Cup, but their FA Cup journey continues as they travel to Walsall in Round Four having beaten League Two’s bottom club Gillingham in Round Three.
A run in the FA Cup is possible but ultimate success like they had in 2021 is highly unlikely given what we have seen so far this term. So how does the rest of the league season unfold for Rodgers? Well, the common consensus is that once the likes of James Maddison and Jonny Evans return from injury, the side will start to pick up points on a regular basis.
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However, it isn’t that easy to shake off a losing run and Leicester are yet to win a league game since the World Cup. The Foxes have scored just one league goal since then and more importantly, this appears to be an incredibly fragile side, something you wouldn’t normally associate with this football club.
They’ve failed to pick up a single point from a losing position this term. They’ve not even managed a win when the opposition has scored a goal. This is a clearly a mismatch of a side that lacks leadership and the feeling that they will stay up this season is just that - a feeling.
In James Maddison, Youri Tielemans and Wilfred Ndidi they retain a midfield three that is the envy of most of the division when fully fit. But that’s the whole issue. They haven’t been able to put together a string of games this season, while the defence has seriously let them down.
Gambled on ploughing investment into the training ground / stadium expansion while disregarding the squad. And seems to be backfiring, dramatically.
Could we bounce back from being in the Championship with world class facilities? #LCFC
The decision to sell Kasper Schmeichel looks like a terrible one when you consider the leadership he brought to the club. When you combine his sale with the other big money transfers out of the club in recent years, such as Ben Chilwell and Wesley Fofana (thanks Chelsea), then it comes as no surprise that they have regressed in recent years.
But suppose the Foxes do stay up this term, what next? It’s as plain as day that investment is needed, given the likes of Aston Villa and Wolves, to name two, will likely increase spending in order to progress up the table. Rodgers is the right man to oversee this spending as a steady pair of hands, but are the club in the right place to remain steady in the top flight?
For many, this season’s form is just a return to the mean. Before the craziness of the title-winning season and fights for top four, Leicester were a club that were desperate to stay in the Premier League. Now, they’ve had five consecutive top ten finishes and the first FA Cup win in their history.
So even though there appears to be a short-term blip on the pitch, fortunately, the King Power group used this period of success wisely. Instead of blowing £100m on new players to attempt to compete with the big six, they spent that money on a state-of-the-art training ground. It is a move that will help them progress in the future, but it also allows them to should attract top players right now. The only issue is the balancing act looks to have neglected the squad slightly. They should be able to get away with it this season, but more will need to be done in summer.
Maddison may well eventually be sold to Newcastle, Vardy is reaching the end of his career and Rodgers may receive a better offer from elsewhere. But the building blocks in terms of infrastructure that have been put in place after that shock title win should ensure that this club can retain its Premier League status for years to come. Now it's time for those on the pitch to make sure they succeed in the present, not just the future.
