By Bulldog Drummond
Known to historians as the Yo-Yos, having transferred themselves between the top tier and the second level of English football no less than 13 times, with the occasional visit to the third tier (as in 2008/9), Leicester have now had four years in the top division.
Since coming up from what has been their mainstream home of the second tier in English football last time, their record has been one of bouncing around in league positions, but we should not denigrate that title in 2015/16 as it was their third league trophy in ten years. They won League One (the third division) in 2009, then the Championship (second division) in 2014 and the Prem in 2016.
In that title winning season they comfortably beat us into second place – although the goals scored and conceded by the clubs were similar.
Their years in the Prem have however been a little varied as this table adapted from Wiki shows…
| Season | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Pos | FAC | Lge C | Top scorer | Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–15 | 38 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 46 | 55 | 41 | 14th | R5 | R2 | Ulloa | 13 |
| 2015–16 | 38 | 23 | 12 | 3 | 68 | 36 | 81 | 1st | R3 | R4 | Vardy | 24 |
| 2016–17 | 38 | 12 | 8 | 18 | 48 | 63 | 44 | 12th | R5 | R3 | 16 | |
| 2017–18 | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 56 | 60 | 47 | 9th | QF | QF | 23 |
The figures show what an achievement 2015/16 was with the goals shooting up by 22 from the previous year, and then dropping down thereafter. What is interesting however is how the defence moved from conceding 36 goals up to 63 and 60 in the next two seasons. That seems to have been the core of the problem.
The domestic cup progress for the club has however been modest although reaching the quarters in both competitions last season.
So looking at those numbers it is interesting to see how their defence is doing this season, and wondering if it will be another 60+ concession rate.
In the league they are 10th with four wins and four defeats.
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 3 | 18 | 20 |
| 2 | Chelsea | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 5 | 13 | 20 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 12 | 20 |
| 4 | Arsenal | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 18 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 18 |
| 6 | AFC Bournemouth | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 12 | 4 | 16 |
| 7 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 15 |
| 8 | Manchester United | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 14 | -1 | 13 |
| 9 | Watford | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 12 | -1 | 13 |
| 10 | Leicester City | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 12 |
If we take their eight games thus far as indicative of the whole season we might find them scoring 66 goals and conceding 57, as opposed to 56-60 last season – so a modeest improvement. Arsenal’s projection based on the first eight games is 90 goals for and 47 against – which seems unlikely (although it would be nice) and perhaps reminds us that eight games might not be enough to judge a club on.
Here is their record…
| Date | Match | Res | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Aug 2018 | Manchester United v Leicester City | L | 2-1 | Premier League |
| 18 Aug 2018 | Leicester City v Wolverhampton W | W | 2-0 | Premier League |
| 25 Aug 2018 | Southampton v Leicester City | W | 1-2 | Premier League |
| 28 Aug 2018 | Leicester City v Fleetwood Town | W | 4-0 | League Cup |
| 01 Sep 2018 | Leicester City v Liverpool | L | 1-2 | Premier League |
| 11 Sep 2018 | Fleetwood Town v Leicester City | D | 2-2 | League Trophy |
| 15 Sep 2018 | Bournemouth v Leicester City | L | 4-2 | Premier League |
| 22 Sep 2018 | Leicester City v Huddersfield Town | W | 3-1 | Premier League |
| 25 Sep 2018 | Wolverhampton W v Leicester City | W | 1-3* | League Cup |
| 29 Sep 2018 | Newcastle United v Leicester City | W | 0-2 | Premier League |
| 06 Oct 2018 | Leicester City v Everton | L | 1-2 | Premier League |
| 16 Oct 2018 | Bury v Leicester City | L | 2-1 | League Trophy |
*In extra time after goalless draw.
Leicester’s defeats have been against Man U, Liverpool, Bournemouth, Everton and Bury, the latter being a trophy match in which Leicester would have played their under 21s. So of the four league defeats three have been against clubs from last season’s top six.
After two PL wins (against Huddersfield and Newcastle – both clubs struggling near the foot of the table) Leicester then lost to Everton.
Finally if we move on to the Premier League era as a whole, Leicester have spent 12 seasons in the PL and here their record against Arsenal is poor – they have won two, drawn seven and lost 15, scoring 24 conceding 54.
As ever, figures don’t prove what will happen on the day, and much will depend on the referee. And this brings us to the final point. Leicestershire Live, a website, has this dire warning.
The referee for Leicester City’s game at Arsenal and his controversial history with the Foxes
Chris Kavanagh will take charge of Leicester City’s Premier League clash with Arsenal on Monday.
Kavanagh was the man in charge of Leicester’s 2-0 victory over Brighton and Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium last season.
That game is only one of two that Leicester have won with Kavanagh in charge, but will be remembered for a controversial incident three minutes from time.
With Claude Puel’s men taking a late 1-0 lead thanks to Vicente Iborra’s header, Kavanagh dismissed midfielder Wilfred Ndidi for a second booking.
A challenge on Shane Duffy, in which Ndidi appeared to get the ball, saw the referee brandish a second yellow and leave Leicester a man light in the closing stages.
I would direct your attention, if I may, to the phrase “in which Ndidi appeared to get the ball.” I know it is difficult to keep up, living in the provinces, because that is exactly where I live, but if one checks the modern laws of the game, “getting the ball” is neither here nor there. If it is a foul, it is a foul whether the player gets the ball or not.
But news like this travels slowly. It has got to Untold’s HQ in Northamptonshire, and so it is only another 30 miles or so to Leicester. So maybe in five or six years, they might find out.
Most club supporters are wary of the referees – it comes with being a fan. Usually Untold witholds judgment of a referee until there are a few more dots to connect than what the Leicester papers cited.
The Leicester Mercury does question Kavanagh’s work but curiously they only mention the one incident. I’m wondering if it is just to build up controversy and perhaps justify a loss in advance.
“The figures show what an achievement 2015/16 was with the goals shooting up by 22 from the previous year, and then dropping down thereafter.” Largely to do with the unprecedented 13 penalties they “won” that season.
The commentators & pundits love the phrase ‘he got a piece of the ball’ to justify a foul not being given. The ball is a whole & nowhere is it mentioned in the Laws in pieces. The foul on an opponent does not matter whether the ball was touched or not. The Laws state that the ball must be played before an opponent can be touched. The use of the shoulder to shoulder challenge is the only contact with an opponent before the ball must be played.
In every game we see players use their hands to push or pull an opponent. That is a foul but our PGMOL do have that in their ‘Laws’. I can sympathise with the officials for not giving this contact as a foul because it has become part of the game, except when it is sufficiently energetic to displace the opponent.
I particularly dislike the Law that allows shielding of the ball without having touched it to gain control. My view is that the Law should state that shielding of the ball deems the ball to have been played by the ‘shielder’. This will stop all the mess that time wastes when the ball is going out of play for a goal kick.