Cursory analysis of Leicester City’s downturn in performances and results these past couple of months identifies Jamie Vardy’s barren run in front of goal as the root cause.
In the opening half of this season the Foxes front man went on a sustained scoring spree that amounted to 17 in 18 games and in that time Leicester competed, to the surprise of some, at the very summit of the Premier League.
Since late December however, the arch-striker has drawn a blank and Brendan Rodgers’ men have similarly stumbled, to the point where qualification for the Champions League is no longer viewed as a certainty.
In those 18 games Leicester averaged 2.1 points. Since their main man has hit a fallow period they have averaged 1.1.
Yet if it’s incontestable that the 33-year-old’s decreased impact – that has largely resulted from glute and calf problems inhibiting his trademark sprints into space – has been highly detrimental to his side’s progress it could be argued that the void behind him previously dominated by the 6 foot presence of Wilfred Ndidi has been just as substantial. Today In: SportsMoney
While Vardy grabbed the headlines from August until December for his noteworthy goal-scoring feats the Nigerian was consistently doing what he does better than most but to very little acclaim. He nullified danger by breaking up play before releasing the ball without fuss to a more creative team-mate, usually James Maddison or Youri Tielemans. With Leicester on the offensive and swiftly joined by their attack-minded full-backs Ndidi would then act as a protective shield, positioning himself in anticipation of a counter should possession be lost.
If this duty sounds relatively uncomplicated there are two factors that have been significantly downplayed, the first being an acceptance of just how good the Lagos-born player is at fulfilling it. This season no midfielder has made more successful tackles; an exceptional accomplishment given that a knee injury has deprived him of 551 minutes of game-time since the beginning of the year. Only Watford’s Etienne Capoue meanwhile comes close to matching Ndidi’s number of interceptions.
Perhaps what impresses even more is that for all of this combative foraging, Leicester’s midfield fulcrum has only been booked three times and this is a testament to his immaculate timing. By way of comparison the aforementioned Capoue has been booked seven times while Chelsea’s Jorginho has seen yellow on ten occasions.
He is then not only a paragon of a Premier League holding midfielder but one that fully commits to his responsibilities without much ado and if this explains why the ninth most consistently excellent performer this season – according to Whoscored.com– receives a ninth of the plaudits of his peers it also goes some way to highlighting his immense importance to Leicester City.
“A lot of the guys that come in, they contribute so well, but when you have one of the best ball-winners in the Premier League out for a period of time, of course, you miss him”. That was Rodgers’ take after seeing his integral star return to action recently after succumbing to injury back in January against Wigan in the FA Cup. In his absence the Foxes have accumulated a worrying run of poor results that’s brought just a single league win and several losses. In his absence Hamza Choudhury has admirably attempted to fill in to scant affect.
“He’s a huge player, and our squad, we don’t have the depth to miss that level of player,” the Leicester manager concluded.
Rodgers is right in saying this and furthermore what has stood out from the disappointing surrenders to Southampton and Burnley and Aston Villa to name just three is that it isn’t simply Ndidi’s unerring ability to sniff out threats and prompt attacks that has been so sorely lacking. There is also the knock-on effect of a loss of trust becoming pervasive throughout the side when minus their insurance policy and this has often meant Maddison and Tielemans have dropped deeper to ensure safety in numbers. It’s left Leicester looking too predictable in central areas. It’s left them somewhat blunted going forward.
Then there’s the intensity that Ndidi’s skill-set propagates. A quickly executed challenge to deny the opposition possession is routinely followed by a rapid recycling of the ball to a team-mate and this injects an impetus and momentum into Leicester’s play that is invaluable. Again this is something that has been noticeably absent of late.
It will be of little concern that the midfielder looked a shadow of his usual self when given a full hour last week against Birmingham City. Right now what matters is to get minutes into his legs again and in due course get him back up to full speed.
And it will not have escaped many people’s attention that in his most meaningful contribution to date since his enforced lay-off Leicester went on to score their first competitive goal for 386 minutes and consequently secure what can currently be regarded as a rare victory.
When Wilfred Ndidi is involved Leicester City are at their very best, and we’ve already seen evidence aplenty of just how far that can take them.
By Stephen Tudor – a freelance writer on Premier League soccer
