JibrinLeicester City could receive vital dividend on £30m spend as howler put in context
Leicester City produced a defiant and committed display to draw with promotion-chasing Middlesbrough
Leicester City defied all the pre-match forecasts and returned from Middlesbrough with a 1-1 draw and genuine cause for optimism they will not endure a second consecutive relegation.
After being pressed back early Gary Rowett’s side grabbed the opener when Caleb Okoli headed home Divine Mukasa’s right wing free kick to hand the Foxes a foothold in the contest.
Riley McGree was afforded the opportunity to equalise in first half injury time but as much as Boro piled forward in the second half in an attempt to find a winner, in truth Patson Daka had and squandered the best prospect of that either side could manage.
In the end it finished all square and City remain in the bottom three – yet somehow the evening felt like a positive one. Here are our key points from the game.
Missed opportunity
Had City been offered a point before they set off for the Riverside they might have been tempted to take it rather than risk their luck against arguably the most relentless and persistent side in the Championship. Certainly when the game started Boro smothered, almost suffocated City and it looked as though it would be a very long evening.
However, as the final whistle blew a couple of hours later, they might have been tempted to wonder if a point could actually have been all three against a side that struggled to break them down.
Had Okoli launched the ball upfield with a minute to play before half time, instead of gifting it to the opposition, City would have gone in at the break a goal to the good and with the job half done. Remove that single error and they have a first clean sheet since September, an away win, three points and are out of the relegation zone.
But it would be unfair to view it that way. No-one made more clearances than Okoli, no-one won more headers, only Oliver Skipp blocked more shots – and no-one scored more goals.
The 24-year-old delivered a brave display that saw him play half the match in a headband after he collided with Alan Browne trying to clear a corner.
For so long this season City have been a soft-touch at the back, against Boro they were anything but and Okoli more than played his part in that.
Tough talking
What Rowett called the ‘easy narrative’ around City is that they lack fight in defence but have quality and are capable of ‘moments’ in attack. Last night it was the other way around.
Rowett lamented that when his team did have opportunities to break, they were unable to string enough passes together to make them count. Mukasa and Bobby De Cordova-Reid can probably be exempted from that minor criticism, although the latter faded in the second period.
But having lost the attacking penny, on the banks of the Tees Rowett discovered a defensive pound because his team was organised and committed. How often have we been able to accuse City of that this season?
Yes Boro had periods of territorial dominance, spells when City had nine men back in their own penalty area and there were two or three passages of play when the ball seemed to fly around the Foxes’ box just needing a touch to undo all the good work.
But if there was a touch to be made, it was a blue boot or body that made it. If it wasn’t Skipp, it was Okoli, or it was Ben Nelson or Harry Winks. City’s resolve was commendable and a far cry from the gutless capitulation to Southampton.
After Saturday’s second half and – get this – two halves at Middlesbrough, it is tempting to assume City will stay up. With a new-found backbone bolted on to the undoubted quality of Abdul Fatawu, Winks, Stephy Mavididi and, when he’s fit, Jordan James, I’d be surprised if they didn’t now creep away from the danger zone.
Winks has a Skipp in his step
Speaking of Skipp and Winks, Tuesday night was the 17th time they have featured together in a City shirt – if they do so again against Norwich on Saturday they will equal their total at Tottenham.
After the first relegation Enzo Maresca purchased Winks from Spurs in the summer of 2023, a £10million outlay to help the Foxes return to the Premier League.
A year later Steve Cooper paid Tottenham a reported £20m for the services of Skipp yet last season the pair started only three Premier League games together.
This season they’ve started seven Championship fixtures in tandem. It’s meagre dividend for a £30m investment. Yet they have begun the last four matches and played the full 90 in the last two.
The departure of Boubakary Soumare and injuries to Hamza Choudhury – and even Jordan James – have probably forced that upon Rowett, although Joe Aribo is an option.
The former Spurs colleagues have an opportunity to salvage something from what has been a poor time together at the King Power and last night even their fiercest critic would have to admit they laboured away in the middle of the park, blocking up space and ensuring Boro had to go round them rather than through.
A fight to avoid relegation to League One wasn’t what either of them signed up for but if they can reproduce last night’s display another dozen times they will grant Rowett’s side a very solid platform.
That won’t be a repayment on £30m but the financial pitfalls of third tier football are much better avoided.
Baggies bounce
As they travelled back down the M1, with a point in their pocket and rising confidence City would only have needed to glance at the league table to remind themselves of the danger they are in.
Improving performances are all well and good – and this was a much-improved effort – but at this stage of the season results matter more and they are still deep in the relegation mire.
West Brom drew at home to Chartlon, an outcome that saw Eric Ramsay sacked after just nine games – and no wins, while Blackburn were beaten by Bristol City. It’s watching other results time.
City have rolled the dice after parting ways with Marti Cifuentes and it seems they have done the right thing. Rowett’s arrival has lifted the mood and elevated performance levels if not produced actual wins. It’s only fair to ponder if the appointment could have been made five games earlier.
Rovers have had a real boost since Michael O’Neill replaced Valerien Ismael – and now Albion will be hoping for a similar ‘new manager bounce’, with James Morrison back as interim just six weeks after his last stint. The former midfielder has had two previous goes as interim and has overseen a win and two draws from his three games.
The fear of dropping into League One is forcing the likes of the Foxes, Rovers and Baggies to make decisions for the short-term and it seems plausible one of them is going to have left it too late. It will be fascinating to see if Morrison can inspire a response at woeful West Brom. Rowett will be hoping he can’t.
Jibrin
