Good news before Arsenal clash, Happy Birthday Claudio!, Mahrez keeping momentum

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Among the stories this Sunday evening is of course the news that Ben Chilwell has tied himself up until 2024, and that is wonderful. His progress this season has been fantastic and to see him, at the age of 21, breaking into the England first team is just great.

The fact that a homegrown player manage to “outfox” an experience star and a great player such as Christian Fuchs makes it even more impressive. The previous captain of Austria and one of the key players during the 2015/16 season is now just a cover.

Other news to honor this evening is the form of loan players Benkovic and Barnes, who both impress in their clubs, Celtic and West Bromwich. Talk about them returning in January are of course interesting to see, but again probably Puel will let them progress and get playing time regularly instead of bringing them back to uncertain situations at Leicester City.

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Claudio Ranieri is 67 today, big gratulations to the “magician” who masterminded that fantastic win and also still were in the Champions League competition when getting the sack at the club, flirting highly with relegation. Since leaving Leicester City, Claudio has also had a stint at Nantes, but also left the French club after a single season in charge. Claudio were earlier this season seen at Chelsea, visiting his former club and meeting up with the Italians in charge at The Blues at the moment, Sarri and Zola.

It feels like ages since Claudio left, but it was actually in the year 2017, and we are still only in 2018, how we would like that fairy story to just continue into the sunset and every season being like the one of Ranieri, what a fantastic feeling and like flying. As a Leicester City fan the most amazing feeling, never really feeling that way before, you were top of the World, and that is a good feeling, no one would disagree.

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One of the Leicester City heroes during that PL winning seaeson, Riyad Mahrez are starting to show his greatness at Manchester City, scoring a fantastic goal against Burnley in their 5-0 win. Guardiola is galvanizing Mahrez and the outcome of this season will be interesting to see, winning the Premier League again, could be the outcome.

Former foxes Kante and Mahrez could continue to lift trophies in England and Europe, and Leicester City are producing more talent and the recent England squad, including Chilwell, Maguire and Maddison is thrilling to watch. Demarai Gray who has been absent with an injury for a while, was missing the last call up, as he was another of Leicester City’s players to get a call up by Gareth Southgate in that game at King Power.

Leicester should be more optmistic in front of the game tomorrow and hopefully a surprise result will be a new chance for the England boys at Leicester City to celebrate and not just Claudio Ranieri turning 67!

October 21, 2018 0

Daniel Amartey, Norwegian influence, Leicester legend Soo and a 101 year old fan, one strange path in football

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Leicester City defender Daniel Amartey was once coached by Per Mathias Høgmo, while at Swedish club Djurgården. Hogmo is today in charge of Norwegian third tier club Fredrikstad FK.

Høgmo featured yesterday in an interview by Norwegian TV2 where he met Fredrikstad FK super fan, 101 year old Miriam Isdal, who was present at their recent game v. Grorud, ending 0-0 and giving FFK a play off chance.

Høgmo met Miriam after the game and he gave the 101 year old a hug and also appreciated her presence, but she told him clearly that she wanted a new promotion for her team and really were looking for more prominent games in the future as she wanted to see her team as good as they were during a great time in the history of the club who in 1964 were coached to a league silver medal by former Leicester City player Frank Soo.

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Great to see football unite in this way and to see a person who probably were clearly present during the days of Soo in the mid 60’s and still following her club beyond 100 years of age. The former Fredrikstad coach Frank Soo might not be well known for his days at Leicester City, never playing a single league game, just appearing in the FA Cup, and his stay was short, but he is famous from his days at Stoke City were he played alongside Stanley Matthews and also being capped as a so called “war international”. Soo is also known for being the first Asian in English football, since he is of Chinese origin.

Fredrikstad FK had a great team in the 60’s and Frank Soo returned to Norway in 1964 after earlier being in charge of the Norwegian national team for the 1952 Olympics. Soo has a legendary status in Scandinavia being part of a time were many teams in this region made great progress with Sweden’s national team being the main force, playing in the 1958 World Cup final, coached by Englishman George Reynor.

Høgmo also have a special record in football, with a cv including periods as Norwegian national coach both for women and men, winning Olympic gold with the women in 2000, in Sydney, and taking the men to the play-off’s for the 2016 Euro’s.

Hogmo coached Djurgården from May 2013 to end of the season, before taking over duties as head coach of Norway. Amartey had a clear role in the team and he really became a key player in the season you could describe as a “great escape”. During the time of Høgmo in charge European clubs became aware of Amartey and links to bigger clubs in Europe were seen, with Leicester City also then among those watching him.

Amartey continued his progress and in the summer of 2014 he made his move to FC Copenhagen, joining another Norwegian coach, Ståle Solbakken. Solbakken instantly gave Amartey a key role in the team and the progress continued, making his full debut for Ghana in 2015.

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After a great career progress with Danish club FC Copenhagen, winning the League and the Cup during his short spell. A fun fact is that Amartey, who joined Leicester City in January 2016, won the League in Denmark and England in the same season, and got two medals playing one half in each league.

The path of football is strange and via this 101 one year old women Tcf found connections to Leicester City in the strangest way. She was present when former Leicester City player Frank Soo coached her favorite team to a league silver medal, and she is there now, when Per Mathias Høgmo is in charge, also as Soo a former Norwegian national coach. Høgmo previously coaching Daniel Amartey now at Leicester City.

The paths to a Leicester City story can be many, this one might be one of those being called odd and rare, but this is not a rumor or fake news, it’s based on a very true and well documented story.

October 21, 2018 0

Arsenal v. Leicester, Match Preview, Fans View, Who’s in, Who’s out

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A new and difficult game away at The Emirates, not a favorite place for Leicester City at all. The last time we had a win away to The Gunners is as far back as the 8th September 1973, a great 2-0 win, goals from Stringfellow and Glover. You start to go nostalgic, 45 years ago, since Leicester City last had a taste of a win away.

But tradition is something, breaking it would have been fun, but can’t really see it happen, sorry. With problems in the back, not a settled defense and a few players in doubt, this looks tricky.

Arsenal have lately been in great form and their new manager Unai Emery looks as one who knows his trade and how to get this Arsenal team in shape. A difficult start has been turned into a good run, at the moment 4th in the PL table.

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You have a group of players who are starting to gel with their new signings in the summer, Sokratis, Torreira and Guendouzi all making great progress. Two other players Leno and Lichtsteiner who are also new, has not featured much.

A few injury worries in the Arsenal camp might be the hope Leicester City have. The fact that key players such as Sokratis, Cech, Koscielny, Maitland-Niles and Welbeck all are doubtful will stress Arsenal. Sokratis will definitely be missing, the rest face late fitness tests to see if they can be available.

Leno is the one believed to be in goal, a good goalkeeper who is real competitor to Cech for the job permanently. Holding will play with Mustafi in the middle. Monreal and Bellerin looks like the players to cover the back four positions.

How they will settle in midfield and up front is not easy to say, but a mix of Ozil, Aubemayang, Lacazette, Xhaka, Torreira and Iwobi is among the suggestions. Guendouzi would be in contention, so could Aaron Ramsey be.

There are no one suspended players at Arsenal, Leicester City will be without Wes Morgan, who is suspended for two games after being sent off against Everton.

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Leicester City are constantly in struggle to find a balance in their team, specially not being able to get things correctly from start, easily being a goal down after few minutes. This is surely something Leicester City must be eager to correct against Arsenal.

Mendy and Ndidi are players who like to keep possession and not really playing through those fantastic passes that Leicester City were used to with Danny Drinkwater in their middle and James Maddison is a real key now.

To get the ball forward to Maddison and from him being able to get the right passes to Vardy will be a crucial link. The question is, will Puel this time sacrifice Iheanacho to play Maddison in his preferred role just behind Vardy.

Again a question to ask, will Puel give the new man from Freiburg, Caglar Soyuncu his debut against Arsenal, hardly from start, seeing Jonny Evans replacing Wes Morgan.

Referee,
Andre Marriner, will be in charge at King Power

Last Meeting, 11 v. 11
Home: 09.05.18, 3-1, Win, Premier League
Away: 11.08.17, 3-4, Defeat, Premier League

Best Bet,
Our prediction is a 1-1 draw, this is more of a hope than really a best bet

Predicted Leicester City line-up,
System: 4-4-1-1, Schmeichel – Amartey, Maguire, Evans, Chilwell – Ndidi, Mendy, Pereira, Albrighton – Maddison – Vardy

Fun Fact,
We go all the way back to that game in 1973. Len Glover and Mike Stringfellow scored the goals. Leicester were 4th in the table after that match, and the team had no new signings. Frank Worthington was the last one of the lot to be signed a year before in August 1972. Four of the players were from the youth system at the club, Graham Cross, Steve Whitworth, Peter Shilton and Malcolm Munro. Five players, Birchenall, Weller, Glover, Rofe and Sammels were all signings from London based clubs. One of the goalscorer’s Mike Stringfellow was signed from Mansfield 11 years before, in 1962. Cross, Glover and Shilton were three others who had been at the club from the mid and early 60’s. In that season, Leicester City also won the game at home 2-0, taking place as early as December that same year.

In Both Camps,
A number of players have a life in both camps. Jon Sammels was among those in the last winning team who was signed from Arsenal for a fee of £ 100 000 two years prior to the great 2-0 away win at Highbury. Jeff Blockley, Eddie Kelly and George Armstrong all featured for Arsenal in the game as well, and they were later transferred to Leicester City all three of them. Blockley moving to Leicester City in 1975 for a fee of £100 000, Kelly and Armstrong both signed for Leicester City under the management of Frank McLintock. Armstrong had a short lived period, while Kelly stayed on and became a very important player for Leicester City in the later promotions from the 2nd tier.

Later we have seen other players also going in both directions, but the only player to actually have moved from Leicester City to Arsenal is Alan Smith. Smith joined and rejoined Leicester City on loan in 1987, just two years later he had made his England debut and won the league with Arsenal. Other names to mention are, Martin Keown, Paul Dickov, Kevin Campbell, Ignasi Miquel and of course Frank McLintock, winning “The Double” with Arsenal and playing in to FA Cup finals with Leicester City.

The big duel,
Vardy v. Mustafi, both will be crucial for their teams in this game, and with the pace of Vardy we believe that he will be a handful for the Arsenal defense.

October 19, 2018 0