Flexible Brendan Rodgers could be natural fit at evolving Leicester City

Time is not something habitually afforded managers in the modern age. Whatever Brendan Rodgers’s motivations for taking the Leicester City job now, rather than waiting until he had perhaps completed another treble in Scotland, and whether or not it was worth torching his reputation with Celtic fans, by taking over at Leicester for the final three months of the season, he has given himself a useful preface. He can find out about his players, experiment with various tactics and work out what may need strengthening in the summer and, whatever happens between now and May, it will all be forgotten once next season gets under way.

The early signs are promising. When Rodgers was appointed, there was perhaps one major doubt, albeit one rooted in stereotypes that have perhaps ceased to be true, if they were ever fair in the first place. When Rodgers first began to establish himself at Swansea, he was very clearly a possession-based coach. The ball was to be treasured. It produced attractive, effective football, but there were occasions when it felt they were holding the ball for the sake of holding the ball. That’s always a potential issue of that style and it is not necessarily the worst fault to have but bad Swansea was sideways Swansea, endlessly recycling the ball and getting nowhere.

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One of the reasons Claude Puel was so unpopular at Leicester – with fans and it seemed with at least some players – was his extreme caution in possession, although it is also true that that focus on negative possession was part of a more general practice of dullness so consistent and so radical that it felt at times performative. They never hit the same heights as Rodgers’s Swansea, but the lows were not dissimilar.

When Leicester won the league three seasons ago, their game was based on getting the ball forward, exploiting the pace of Jamie Vardy running in behind the defensive line. The disjunction between that style and what Puel was demanding was part of the reason for his demise. The concern was that the instincts of Rodgers – or at least the Rodgers of the early part of his career – was not a natural fit for this squad.

But Rodgers is not the same coach now. He is more flexible, perhaps a result of his time at Liverpool when the need to fit in Luis Suárez, Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling forced him to a more direct approach. And perhaps Leicester are not quite the same side either. Certainly when set up as they were on Saturday, with Youri Tielemans, James Maddison and Harvey Barnes strung in front of Wilfred Ndidi, with Demarai Gray offering extreme pace on the right, even if he was not at his best against Fulham, this is a team of high technical proficiency.

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In the first half it all seemed almost too easy for them as Fulham blundered hopelessly about in midfield. At times, it was like picadors scampering around an ageing, arthritic bull– and they were the good moments for Fulham; at other times, it was like the bull had been dead two weeks already. That Scott Parker then managed to coax a more effective performance out of them in the second half says much for his powers of resuscitation.

It may also be that their comeback was indicative less of an improbable recovery than of Leicester’s patchiness, their inability to exert the control in midfield Rodgers later spoke of them needing to develop. As it was, two Leicester substitutions turned the game back their way with two typical Vardy goals.

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Vardy’s frustration with Puel was barely concealed by the end, but he is presumably happy enough with Rodgers, his two goals both the result of astute play from that creative midfield – the first a through-ball from Maddison, the second a run and cross from Barnes. Rodgers stressed the need to have greater control in midfield – presumably through a combination of better positioning and more discerning pass selection – but also spoke of how valuable a player like Vardy can be. He admitted he had been surprised by how good Vardy is tactically, by the way he leads the press, and stressed the need for the midfield to play close to him, partly so he doesn’t become isolated, partly so the interplay is less direct and partly for the sake of counter-pressing, picking up the pieces or pressurising opponents when the ball is lost. Whether than can be achieved with four creative midfielders plus Ndidi is debatable, but if it can, Leicester could be hugely attractive to watch.

There will be far tougher challenges than Fulham ahead but Rodgers was clear about the improvement necessary both in the midfield and the press. He has always talked a good game, of course, but here there is a sense that the changes in his ideas and the changes in the make-up of his squad may end up meeting happily in the middle.