As a big time European soccer fan, this season has been extremely important for the development of the Premier League. As the usual top five clubs are struggling to find their form, clubs, Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur, have taken the reins on the title race that is coming to a close. With top clubs, Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal, all out of the race to win the league and the last two spots in the top four changing within each week, the two top teams in the Premier League right now seem to be two unexpected teams that are changing the game. The real story here is behind the team who tops the table right now with 76 points so far this season, Leicester City, with their starting striker, Jamie Vardy.
About a year ago, this team was dead last in the league and was fighting to stay in the league and not be relegated to the league below. On the last day of the season, Leicester City ultimately had enough points to stay in the top league and survived another relegation battle.
At the beginning of the season, there was no trace of a miracle, as the first few weeks show how unpredictable the league can be until the top clubs start showing their dominance by week six or seven. However, this year was different. With the defending champions, Chelsea, clearly lacking form quickly into the season, Liverpool's recent history of missing the top four all together and Manchester United's long term misshapen team and management system, Manchester City and Arsenal were clear title favorites from very early on. However, along with City and Arsenal's title chase came fierce competition from very unlikely clubs who clearly asserted their dominance after City lost form when Pep Guardiola was announced as their new manager starting after Euro 2016 this summer. As usual, Arsene Wenger's Arsenal team showed just how fragile their bones are, with half the team injured by Christmas and the other half showing once again that they're paid way too much for their lack of talent. Eventually, soccer fans began to realize who was making their way to the top, and it was certainly the last team anybody had expected.
With a new manager leading the team, and a few very inexpensive new players, Leicester CIty has taken the Premier League by storm with the likes of Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez, N'Golo Kanté, Captain Wes Morgan and the new and improved Kasper Schmeichel in goal. The team is extremely close to doing the impossible by going from dead last in the league one season to the top of the table in the next season and leading the league by eight points. The unbelievable nature of this miracle shows how different the English Premier League is from every other league in the world. Leicester City has shown all teams across the world that anything is possible no matter how much money your team doesn't spend on expensive players and where you may stand in the league the year before. As a whole, the team has worked wonderfully as a unit, but of course out of everybody, Jamie Vardy is in the spotlight.
Jamie Vardy is an enigma of a Premier League player. Vardy began his professional career in 2007 with Stocksbridge Park Steels and spent three seasons there before joining FC Halifax Town in 2010. Lucky for him, he scored 26 goals in his first season, which earned him extra attention from Fleetwood Town where he was signed next; he then scored 31 league goals in the next season. In May 2012, Vardy finally signed for Leicester City where he has been playing ever since. While all of this background is quite important, his personal life story adds more to the thrilling success of his Preimer League club team. In 2007, Vardy was arrested for assault after sticking up for his deaf friend who was being bullied outside of a pub. He was then placed on house arrest, which actually limited his playing time while he was playing for Stocksbridge Park Steels. His 6 p.m. imposed curfew imposed on him by the courts meant he would only get about an hour of playing time per game before jumping in the back of his parent's car to rush home for curfew, according to his article in The Telegraph earlier this season.
Vardy's own personal motto of "Chat shit, get banged" has clearly gotten him far this season with 24 league goals this season, plus a call up and two goals for the English National Team. Jamie Vardy's evolving form has shown the rest of the Premier League that this 29-year-old striker means business this season.
The club's enormous success has already earned them a definite spot in the Champions League next season for the first time in the club's history. With the title race raging on, contenders, Tottenham Hotspur, are just as desperate for the title as Leicester City. At this point in the season, Leicester needs only three more wins to clinch the title for the first time in the club's history. While their rare form and unwarranted league win might be a huge surprise to all of us who follow European soccer, this means serious news for the English Premier League, who may not be able to call themselves the best league in the world anymore. With an agonizing schedule and a never ending season, the Premier League by far offers the most competition and more edginess that any league in the world has seen before. Unfortunately, this becomes somewhat negative when teams like Leicester City, who typically don't play in all Europe competitions and exit league cup tournaments early, can win the league while top clubs consistently struggle to find form. If the Premier League schedule continues this way, the typical top five clubs may continue to lack flexibility and endurance to win major trophies and, as a result, will spend more money and fire more managers until they feel they can get it right.
In the meantime, we should all sit and watch as a historic moment comes to pass us, when a team who finishes last in the league turns it around and wins the league the next year. Leicester City's story is absolutely mind blowing, and many soccer fans and even top tier teams are holding their breath each time Leicester City plays a game. With everyone waiting for the demise of the team, they continue to prove us wrong week by week as each player continues to surprise us with their new found skill and prominent motivation to keep pushing harder to win the title that they've never achieved before. It's a typical underdog story, one where people will look back as Jamie Vardy and Leicester City continue their huge party in the 2015-2016 soccer season.
