Looking at football in the back mirror and also addressing a few points for the future as we talk in Leicester perspective.
Gordon Banks and Jamie Vardy are the two opposites on a list of great players at Leicester, a goalkeeper and a forward, but in our view they are in real the two most valuable players the club have ever had.
Gordon Banks left Leicester in 1967 and two years later they were relegated. His presence was by Sir Alf Ramsey seen as vital, but Matt Gillies decided to give another goalkeeper a chance to get a fantastic path into life of club and international football.
Peter Shilton became the answer, as his talent was massive, but still at first not the talisman of a player that Gordon Banks was. Sir Alf Ramsey had no plan to drop Banks from his team, and kept Shilton on a distance. Banks had his eye accident in 1972 and again England suffered and lost out on a World Cup qualification as Peter Shilton made a fatal mistake against Poland as they secured their 1-1 draw.
Jamie Vardy is still, at 35 soon to be 36, a player Leicester will see grand difficulties to replace and if they decide to end his Leicester career next summer hopefully Brendan Rodgers knows the price he must pay and how this club will look like without his unique and very special presence for the team.
To see how a sale or a move will change a team is difficult to predict, but hopefully it will be possible to live on with succes at Leicester as new players comes in. Difficult to see when an iconic player is ready for departure as you need to pass it carefully. Players do not live on forever, and looking back at previous great periods, you might have sold players too early or kept them too long.
A player passing 30 years of age is not an old man as experience is a vital factor in football. You need to have that perfect blend as you move forward. We have seen how wrong it can all go from one season to another when you lose a certain player or make signings that are not perfect.
N’Golo Kantè shocked everyone when he wanted to leave Leicester as no one thought he would move on after just one season. Kantè was the perfect fit as Claudio Ranieri did see his rise and fall in the presence of this player. A difficult situation occured for Leicester that summer with uncertainty of Vardy and Mahrez as well and signings were done to add quality for that purpose. Vardy and Mahrez stayed and the signings of Musa and Slimani became unsettling for everyone. Mendy joined as well as Kapustka and Zieler without really being players needed in the first team set up at the time.
To get the player you are chasing is a difficult task as they look for a perfect fit to progress and hopefully get a new challenge in their career. To get a good payment is of course important but also a chance to play at a regular basis is vital.
Leicester at the moment is in transition, but still keeps their momentum as players such as Ndidi, Maddison and Barnes needs to take more responsibility to take over from those in their mid 30’s. Fofana will of course be important but as one of the youngest players in the set-up not really seen as a captain potential, just yet. Pereira, Castagne and Justin are other players hopefully taking on their tasks as they will be important when Schmeichel, Albrighton, Vardy and Evans are moving on.
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