FourFourTwo UK – September 2019

FFTVERDICT

FourFourTwo Season Preview 2019-20 21

JAMIEVARDY

Obviously.Heturned 32 inJanuary,butstill

playslikea 12-year-oldtyroonthestreetsof

Sheffield.EighteenmorePremierLeaguegoals

in2018-19meanit’snow 75 inthelastfour

seasonsfortheFoxes’unfalteringtalisman.

KEY PLAYER

6

TH

VIEW FROM THE STAn DS

DAVID BEVAN @DB_WRITING

The big talking point among the

fans is the capture of the gifted

Youri Tielemans. So many fans

offered to drive him back here,

Monaco was in danger of turning

from Formula 1 into Wacky Races.

This season will be different

because we have a universally

appreciated manager who will

stay for the season. Hopefully.

Our most underrated player is

Ricardo Pereira, who shouldn’t

be playing for us in all honesty.

Look out for the left-sided Luke

Thomas. He might be next in line.

The best away ground is Selhurst

Park. Give me a traditional ground

with good acoustics over a decent

view, any day of the week.

The best away fans are not in the

Premier League, usually. Aston

Villa will go into the top three.

The opposition player I secretly

admire is Wilf Zaha. Fantastically

entertaining to watch, he loves his

club and seems like a nice chap.

The one change I’d make to the

club would be to add some white

pinstripes to our home shirt, as

per our 1983 classic.

The pantomime villain will be

VAR. I hate it. I’m not a dinosaur

or a luddite: it’s ruining the game.

The fans’ opinion of the gaffer is

total popularity, no pressure. Well,

maybe not but he’s perfect for us,

especially with our current crop of

youngsters. He’s returned pace to

our passing and the football has

been brilliant to watch.

If he left, he should be replaced

by Jamie Vardy. Player-manager.

Press conferences would be a joy.

We’ll finish 6th. Go on, print that.

Oh, you have. Now I’m in trouble.

FIVE-POIn T PLAn

1

SWITCH ON FROM THE START

Last season, only three Premier
League teams conceded the first
goal more often than Leicester (23
times) – and all of them went down.
No one leaked more goals (11) in the
first 15 minutes, and 71 per cent of the
Foxes’ goals arrived after the oranges.
Who knows where they might have
finished if they hadn’t had to work
so hard getting back into matches?

2

BACK UP VARDY BETTER

It’s not easy playing second fiddle
to the ex-England striker, but that
doesn’t mean it’s impossible to do
it adequately. The now-departed Shinji
Okazaki was never a great goalscorer,
but Kelechi Iheanacho – one goal in 30
appearances last term – also struggled
when called upon. Signing Ayoze Perez
seems like a good idea in this direction.

3

MAKE THEMSELVES

AT HOME

Leicester only picked up two more
points at home than they did away
in 2018-19, which says more about their
fallibility at the King Power Stadium
than their prowess on the road. Puel’s
miserable football was far too easy to
defend against as opposing sides could
sit back and then spring counters, and
now it’s on Rodgers to make Leicester’s
home a place to be feared once more.

4

DON’T MUG OFF THE CUPS

A pitiful defeat to Newport in the
FA Cup Third Round contributed
to Puel’s demise, exacerbated by
league form that was condemning the
Foxes to mediocrity. Weakened teams
often backfire and Leicester should be
trying harder to reach Wembley for
silverware, having reached the last of
their four unsuccessful FA Cup finals in

1969. It’s a lot sexier than finishing 9th.

5

TRUST IN HARVEY

One goal and two assists in 16
Premier League appearances last
season didn’t do Harvey Barnes’
breakout season at Leicester justice.
An excellent loan spell at West Brom
prompted the Foxes to recall him at the
turn of the year, and the 21-year-old
responded with a string of encouraging
performances which offer huge promise
for the campaign to come. If he can
get his eye in early, expect excellence.

SEASOn PREVIEW

TheCounting

House, just around

the corner, has

a friendly mix of

fans and is next to

a big Morrisons if

you’re in need of

a pre-game sarnie.

@UFS2013is a set

of fans who try to

improve the King

Power’s atmosphere

and get involved in

social action to

recreate the old

Filbert Street spirit.

Noteamhas

reached more

FA Cup finals

than Leicester’s

four without

winning one.

If youdon’tdemolisha packet

of Walkerscrisps while in the

city, Gary Lineker will be round

with his heavies. Probably.

Leicesteris crackingforacurry: try

Kayal or Mithaas on Narborough

Road. Or visit Richard III’s tomb,

now he’s no longer under a car park.

MATCHDAY PACK

AWAY PUB

SIGn ATURE DISH WHILE YOU’RE HERE...

DID YOU MUST FOLLOW

K nOW...?

AUGUST

11 Wolves (h)

18 Chelsea (a)

24 Sheffield United (a)

31 Bournemouth (h)

SEPTEMBER

14 Man United (a)

21 Tottenham (h)

28 Newcastle (h)

OCTOBER

5 Liverpool (a)

19 Burnley (h)

26 Southampton (a)

NOVEMBER

2 Crystal Palace (a)

10 Arsenal (h)

23 Brighton (a)

30 Everton (h)

DECEMBER

3 Watford (h)

7 Aston Villa (a)

14 Norwich (h)

21 Man City (a)

26 Liverpool (h)

28 West Ham (a)

JANUARY

1 Newcastle (a)

11 Southampton (h)

18 Burnley (a)

21 West Ham (h)

FEBRUARY

1 Chelsea (h)

8 Wolves (a)

22 Man City (h)

29 Norwich (a)

MARCH

7 Aston Villa (h)

14 Watford (a)

21 Brighton (h)

APRIL

4 Everton (a)

11 Crystal Palace (h)

18 Arsenal (a)

25 Bournemouth (a)

MAY

2 Sheffield United (h)

9 Tottenham (a)

17 Man United (h)

FIXTURES

Revitalised under Magic

Brendan, the Foxes are

gunning for the top six.