What last year was a dream come true, this year it's only been a ride downhill.
Leicester, who won the 2015/16 Premier League, only seem to keep falling down every time in the league.
So the question that's due is what has happened to Leicester City this season?
To be fair, it's a lot of factors, but it can be boiled down to five. First being, is Leicester playing that bad?
I'd say no, they've struggled in the Premier League with only five wins, but they've shown they have the quality to stay up. It's not a huge squad either, also the pressure of performing like last year can haunt any team and now with Champions League competition, which is one they've never competed in before, all of this can be a lot of stress for the squad.
The Vardy-mania seems to be over, why?
Although Jamie Vardy scored a whopping 24 league goals last year, his conversion rate has improved this year. While only netting five league goals, he's been a clinical striker. The only problem is he hasn't gotten enough chances. Even with making runs to the box every game, the chances don't appear, and with that, the goals haven't come along.
Earning the 2015/16 PFA Player Of The Year Award, what happened to Mahrez?
Last season, the Algerian midfielder scored 17 goals and made 11 assists. Impressive numbers, but the problem is he hasn't done the same, not even close. With only three goals and two assists, all coming from penalties, the problems seems to be his skills. The lack of wit and tricks with which he fooled players last year has been gone.
What happened to the defense?
Several things happened, without Kante, the defense lost its solidity, without a star player to pull strings around, the team has worked less and conceded more. Also, with an aging backline of 32-year-olds, the players have been exposed; both physically, with a dipping work-rate and have been out-run in many cases.
The most important of all, losing Kante to Chelsea
Ever since the Frenchman left for the Blues, Leicester hasn't been the same, Kante was the glue to this team. Anchoring the midfield, arranging the defense and facilitating the attack, he did it all.
Claudio Ranieri has tried to find a replacement with new signings Nampalys Mendy, Wilfred Ndidi and using Daniel Amartey. The problem is none has come close to filling the gap, it was Kante's ability to break up play and go on the counter-attack, at most times it felt like there were two players on the field instead of one.
With all this said, the positive is the team doesn't look like its getting relegated, with performances that bring shades of last year, in the Champions League and the FA Cup, the squad now looks to improve on Premier League matches and looks like staying up.
