Taggart's Assessment On Leicester's 'Incredible Journey' So Far

- Leicester City sit third in the Premier League and are into the semi-finals of the Emirates FA Cup
- Foxes legend Gerry Taggart has provided his personal assessment of their progress
- Taggart believes City have shown admirable resilience and tactical flexibility in 2020/21
- The former Northern Ireland defender also picks out some of his most impressive players 

A unique campaign has included many highlights for the Foxes – including victories over the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United – and Brendan Rodgers' men currently occupy third place in the Premier League standings. 

Following last season's fifth-placed finish – the Club's second best-ever standing in the Premier League – Rodgers added to his squad with the permanent arrivals of Timothy Castagne and Wesley Fofana in the summer, while Cengiz Ünder signed on loan from AS Roma also.

The performances of those new players, combined with the commendable improvements made by some of City's existing stars, have particularly impressed former Foxes defender Gerry Taggart, who covers Leicester regularly on LCFC TV and LCFC Radio.

Speaking during the current break in domestic action, the ex-Northern Ireland international looked back on a memorable campaign so far, firstly highlighting the admirable way in which Rodgers' men unshackled themselves from the end to a splintered 2019/20 campaign. 

"Firstly, there were a few issues and a few concerns after last season," Taggart said. "There were a few murmurings from fans and pundits alike and, going into this season, as far as the bookies were concerned, Leicester probably weren’t among the favourites for European football.

"Nothing's been achieved yet, but it’s been an excellent turnaround from Brendan and the players. There was not too much investment in players, which is understandable in the circumstances, and you’ve got to say Leicester are sitting in a healthy position.

"Some players burst onto the scene last year. Some players were biding their time, or waiting to burst onto the scene, but this season that has definitely taken shape. I think the likes of Harvey Barnes and James Justin have been brilliant – and Timothy Castagne and Wesley Fofana have come in and hit the ground running.

"[Çağlar] Söyüncü's improved immensely. Rodgers has got three centre-backs who are as good as anybody in the league and he’s got some exciting forward players in the likes of Barnes and [James] Maddison.

"The full-backs can play any formation you want them to. They’re incredible. As far as I’m concerned, there’s every reason to be confident for the end of the season."

Leicester's 2020/21 to date has been defined by their resilience in spite of injuries. At any point in time, a key player has regularly been absent, with as many as eight being on the sidelines earlier in 2021. However, Rodgers and his players have regularly found a way to secure results regardless. 

Such circumstances have allowed other players to shine, such as Justin during Ricardo Pereira's recovery, while injuries to numerous attacking players prompted a change in shape, affording Kelechi Iheanacho with more opportunities. The Nigeria forward has scored seven goals in his last four outings.

"When you’ve got Maddison, Barnes and Justin all out as they do right now, it’s three of your most exciting players," Taggart added.

"You’ve got a bit of a headache in that scenario, but Brendan has gone to two up top. He’s only done it once or twice before. I remember he played a diamond at Aston Villa last season (a 4-1 Premier League victory) and Iheanacho got on the scoresheet.

"Rodgers may have been forced into playing that way because of the injury situation at the time, but Kelechi’s stepped up to the plate and he’s produced the goods. He’s been incredible. It’s all about creating an environment where the players are happy, comfortable and hungry.

"I think playing alongside Jamie [Vardy's] helped him too. That partnership, when you look at the goals for Kelechi, Vardy’s been front and centre in their creation. Whether he’s touched the ball or not, just his movement creates the space, particularly for Kelechi’s goal against Burnley a few weeks back.

"His movement there was vital. On Sunday (in the 3-1 win over Manchester United), it was vital again for Youri Tielemans’ goal as well. He just shifted one of the defenders out of the way. He’s playing a pivotal, albeit different, role at the moment.

"It’s Kelechi and Youri who take the plaudits, but it’s unselfish play from Vardy. Kelechi’s definitely benefitted up front with a partner and not playing on his own."

Taggart believes much of City's success under Rodgers – who has a win ratio of 53 per cent after exactly 100 games in charge – can be attributed to the Northern Irishman's man-management abilities. His understanding of the personalities in Leicester's squad is key, the 50-year-old says.

"As a manager or a coach, you have to understand the dynamics of a dressing room," he continued. "It’s as simple as that. The coaching comes later, but you have to understand the personalities in that dressing room and how they function and how to get the best out of them.

"As a manager that’s rule no.1 and Brendan has shown in the past that he knows how to make his team comfortable and come in and work every single day.

"Then, there’s the coaching side, and you’ve got to say, no players are going to go into the training ground and have an issue with it. He plays a style of football that players would give their right arm to play. They’ll love it and the training sessions will be really enjoyable.

"Brendan understands how the players tick and that’s where the harmony comes. We’ve seen that with the likes of Iheanacho, who’s starting to put in some really good performances."

Leicester have also shown versatility throughout the season so far, with Rodgers deploying a host of different tactical systems and shapes to keep opponents guessing – something Taggart was keen to highlight in his assessment of the squad's recent progress.

"Brendan has slightly changed his systems," he added. "We play counter-attacking football sometimes, rather than always a high press. He’s sometimes changed a 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1 and, overall, it suits the players. Tielemans has come into a more deep-lying role.

"That has definitely suited him. He’s arguably the Player of the Season for me. There’s one or two others, but I think he just about gets it for me. Again, you’ve got to put some of that down to Brendan. He’s understood that moving Tielemans a little bit further back can really bring out the best in him.

"We’ve also seen the three centre-backs at the back who have all been brilliant. Brendan has the personnel in the team to play various systems. They can go from one system to another and nobody would know, looking at the performances, that anything had changed. That’s absolute quality.

"It’s been an incredible journey so far."