Former Football League boss Danny Cowley has had his say on Leicester City and what’s allowed them to be dominant in the Championship so far this season.
Leicester City beat Watford 2-0 in the Championship on Saturday, reopening a three-point lead at the top of the table.
Enzo Maresca took charge in the summer and many backed him and the Foxes to be a success, but few would’ve predicted just how dominant they’d be in the league this season.
After the opening 17 games of the season, Leicester have won 14 and currently sit on 42 points; 10 points ahead of Leeds United in 3rd who were relegated along with the Foxes last time round.
What makes Leicester City so dominant?
Leicester’s style of play has been a breath of fresh air.
Burnley showcased the same methods last time round in that they completely changed their ethos following relegation, though many would say that Leicester are much more impressive than Burnley were last season.
And having his say on the style of play and what it is that makes Leicester City such a force under Maresca, former Lincoln City, Huddersfield Town, and Portsmouth boss Cowley said on talkSPORT’s EFL All Access podcast:
“He’s obviously got a clear identity and a clear philosophy and way he wants to play. He’s been able to implement that at Leicester City and I think the way that he works has obviously inspired the group of players. Sometimes when you get relegated from the Premier League you can get that hangover and some players want to leave because maybe… they haven’t just signed for Leicester City they’ve signed for the Premier League… But there hasn’t been that.
“There’s been a real collective response to the relegation, and they’ve just got so much clarity, and because they dominate the ball so much that when they do lose it, they’re so fueled and have so much energy to be able to win it back really really quickly. As a consequence of that; their field position and the way that they can dominate territory has allowed them to be very very successful.”
Quality and quantity for Leicester City
Not only do Leicester City still have a squad that could arguably compete in the Premier League, but they have a good amount of squad depth too.
They have a Premier League Golden Boot winner in Jamie Vardy and then the likes of Kelechi Iheanacho and Tom Cannon up front as well, with Patson Daka curently exiled.
Behind them there’s the likes of Stephy Mavididi who’s been a hit since joining, and Harry Winks who’s been one of the Championship’s best players so far.
And all of these players are very energetic. They can cover a lot of ground and that allows Leicester players to seemingly be all over the pitch, all the time, like Cowley suggests.
The Foxes suffocate teams and simply dominate possession, and it’s been a pleasure to watch them steamroll the league so far.
Up next though is a trip to West Brom; it’ll be a clash of two very similar styles and two very well-regarded coaches in Maresca and Carlos Corberan.