I can't let Leicester City's fantastic achievement of winning the English Premiership go without mention. Looking certain for relegation halfway through last season and 5,000 to 1 against winning at the start of this season, they have defied the odds and deservedly won the title with 2 games to spare. And they have done it with a bunch of players who are basically the same as were staring relegation in the face last year. This is a team which has been assembled at a cost of a small fraction of what the big name clubs in England spend. It is absolutely remarkable by any standards. It is not often that an un-fancied team comes through to win a big cup competition but this is a much, much bigger achievement than that. Winning a cup requires maybe 2 or 3 excellent performances and maybe a bit of luck. To win a league of 38 matches requires consistency over the whole season. To have done that in one of the strongest leagues in the world is astonishing. This is truly one of the great stories, not just of football, but of any sport.
What it shows without doubt, is that the team is greater than the sum of it's parts. Of course you need good players, but you need to play to their strengths and to get the best out of them. That is what Ranieri has done. He has come in and assessed the players and developed a way of playing that suits the team. Leicester have shown the world that football is a team game - and how!
But there are some interesting coincidences in Leicester's success. The last time a Midlands club lifted the English title was in 1981 when Villa won. Villa, of course have been relegated this year but back in 1981 Leicester were relegated. The previous time a Midlands club won the title was in 1978 when Nottingham Forest won. It so happens that Leicester were relegated in that season too!
A further quirk here is that after their title successes, both Forest and Villa then went on to win the European cup the following season. Leicester surely can't repeat that - can they?
I can't let Leicester City's fantastic achievement of winning the English Premiership go without mention. Looking certain for relegation halfway through last season and 5,000 to 1 against winning at the start of this season, they have defied the odds and deservedly won the title with 2 games to spare. And they have done it with a bunch of players who are basically the same as were staring relegation in the face last year. This is a team which has been assembled at a cost of a small fraction of what the big name clubs in England spend. It is absolutely remarkable by any standards. It is not often that an un-fancied team comes through to win a big cup competition but this is a much, much bigger achievement than that. Winning a cup requires maybe 2 or 3 excellent performances and maybe a bit of luck. To win a league of 38 matches requires consistency over the whole season. To have done that in one of the strongest leagues in the world is astonishing. This is truly one of the great stories, not just of football, but of any sport.
What it shows without doubt, is that the team is greater than the sum of it's parts. Of course you need good players, but you need to play to their strengths and to get the best out of them. That is what Ranieri has done. He has come in and assessed the players and developed a way of playing that suits the team. Leicester have shown the world that football is a team game - and how!
But there are some interesting coincidences in Leicester's success. The last time a Midlands club lifted the English title was in 1981 when Villa won. Villa, of course have been relegated this year but back in 1981 Leicester were relegated. The previous time a Midlands club won the title was in 1978 when Nottingham Forest won. It so happens that Leicester were relegated in that season too!
A further quirk here is that after their title successes, both Forest and Villa then went on to win the European cup the following season. Leicester surely can't repeat that - can they?