How Jamie Vardy continues to improve with age

[urban.spaceman]

 

How Jamie Vardy continues to improve with age

Jamie Vardy has scored in his last five games for Leicester City Credit: Reuters

It was four years ago last week when Jamie Vardy raced onto a no-look pass from Christian Fuchs, directed a shot across David De Gea and secured his name in Premier League history.

That goal against Manchester United was the 11th consecutive game in a row Vardy had found the net, and it tells you everything about his current form that Leicester fans are now wondering if he can threaten his own record.

Vardy will face struggling Everton on Sunday having scored in the last five games and proving once again that, backed by statistics, he is arguably one of the most under-rated forwards operating in world football.

He will be 33 in January, on course to beat Didier Drogba by becoming the oldest Golden Boot winner since the introduction of the Premier League, and has been revitalised under Brendan Rodgers. 

“Jamie's playing consistently at a very high level,” says Rodgers, who identified Vardy immediately as the focal point of his Leicester revolution.

“For me, it's like having two players up there because of his work and his threat. People sometimes ask me: 'Why don't you play with two strikers'?

“Well, when you have the likes of him and Luis Suarez, who I had at Liverpool, it's like having two. They are so good and offer such a threat.”

Vardy has benefited from stepping away from the international stage Credit: reuters

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What is the secret? Most of it is down to Vardy himself, his commitment away from Leicester’s training ground, and the sports science team. He is now far removed from the forward who initially made his name on the wind-blasted, gnarled terrains of non-league football.

He is still sticking to his pre-match routine of omelettes, Red Bulls and a double espresso, while he has even installed a cryotherapy chamber in his Lincolnshire home.

Vardy’s pre-season stats were remarkable: his body fat was 7.5 per cent and he was recording times of 9.3 metres per second from sprints in training. His decision to effectively retire from England duty has enabled him to focus purely on Leicester, and recovery.

That lightning pace is undiminished, as he proved against Brighton last weekend when he turned on the afterburners for the opening goal, setting up Ayoze Perez.

“I think most players do get better because of experience but the most remarkable thing about Jamie is that he's quicker,” says Rodgers.

“If you talk to him, he feels great, he feels good in his game. He’s playing in a really aggressive game that suits him and obviously tactical ideas that allow him to conserve his energy.

“He's got a freshness. During the international breaks he's got that extra bit of recovery time and he’s not travelling. Not just physically, but mentally as well. There's no doubt that at his age it will help him, considerably.”

Vardy’s resurgence is propelling Leicester towards a brighter future and also exposing just how bewildering the final months were under Rodgers’s predecessor, Claude Puel.

While Leicester are only focusing on the present, Puel got it all wrong with Vardy and it can be easy to forget just how different things were 12 months ago.

Puel frequently dropped the striker and neutralised him by playing a ponderous, possession-based style of football which was lacking the intensity Leicester are renowned for. Vardy was marginalised, wasted and frustrated.

It will be argued by the Puel sympathists that the Frenchman was planning for the future, reshaping an ageing squad, but not working out how to get the best out of Vardy ultimately finished him.

Since Puel’s departure last February, Vardy has scored in 15 of the 24 league games under Rodgers in a high-tempo, pressing approach. Those goals are only fueling the belief that Leicester will return to the Champions League next season, after that memorable campaign in which they reached the quarter-finals.

“The numbers and goals Jamie’s got to at this stage are remarkable. Maybe coming into the game late and not having so many miles on the clock will help him, I hope it does,” says the Leicester manager.

“You cannot see the drop-off. We’ve seen players who have been super-fast and then there’s sadness when they lost that speed, it comes to everybody - but you look at Jamie, he’s absolutely still flying and long may it continue.”

[davieG]

https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/11874857/jamie-vardys-masterclass-in-goalscoring

 

Jamie Vardy's masterclass in goalscoring

[The whole world smiles]

1 hour ago, urban.spaceman said:

 

How Jamie Vardy continues to improve with age

Jamie Vardy has scored in his last five games for Leicester City Credit: Reuters

It was four years ago last week when Jamie Vardy raced onto a no-look pass from Christian Fuchs, directed a shot across David De Gea and secured his name in Premier League history.

That goal against Manchester United was the 11th consecutive game in a row Vardy had found the net, and it tells you everything about his current form that Leicester fans are now wondering if he can threaten his own record.

Vardy will face struggling Everton on Sunday having scored in the last five games and proving once again that, backed by statistics, he is arguably one of the most under-rated forwards operating in world football.

He will be 33 in January, on course to beat Didier Drogba by becoming the oldest Golden Boot winner since the introduction of the Premier League, and has been revitalised under Brendan Rodgers. 

“Jamie's playing consistently at a very high level,” says Rodgers, who identified Vardy immediately as the focal point of his Leicester revolution.

“For me, it's like having two players up there because of his work and his threat. People sometimes ask me: 'Why don't you play with two strikers'?

“Well, when you have the likes of him and Luis Suarez, who I had at Liverpool, it's like having two. They are so good and offer such a threat.”

 

Vardy has benefited from stepping away from the international stage Credit: reuters

 

You are following Leicester and can read the latest stories about them in My Feed

What is the secret? Most of it is down to Vardy himself, his commitment away from Leicester’s training ground, and the sports science team. He is now far removed from the forward who initially made his name on the wind-blasted, gnarled terrains of non-league football.

He is still sticking to his pre-match routine of omelettes, Red Bulls and a double espresso, while he has even installed a cryotherapy chamber in his Lincolnshire home.

Vardy’s pre-season stats were remarkable: his body fat was 7.5 per cent and he was recording times of 9.3 metres per second from sprints in training. His decision to effectively retire from England duty has enabled him to focus purely on Leicester, and recovery.

That lightning pace is undiminished, as he proved against Brighton last weekend when he turned on the afterburners for the opening goal, setting up Ayoze Perez.

“I think most players do get better because of experience but the most remarkable thing about Jamie is that he's quicker,” says Rodgers.

“If you talk to him, he feels great, he feels good in his game. He’s playing in a really aggressive game that suits him and obviously tactical ideas that allow him to conserve his energy.

“He's got a freshness. During the international breaks he's got that extra bit of recovery time and he’s not travelling. Not just physically, but mentally as well. There's no doubt that at his age it will help him, considerably.”

Vardy’s resurgence is propelling Leicester towards a brighter future and also exposing just how bewildering the final months were under Rodgers’s predecessor, Claude Puel.

While Leicester are only focusing on the present, Puel got it all wrong with Vardy and it can be easy to forget just how different things were 12 months ago.

Puel frequently dropped the striker and neutralised him by playing a ponderous, possession-based style of football which was lacking the intensity Leicester are renowned for. Vardy was marginalised, wasted and frustrated.

It will be argued by the Puel sympathists that the Frenchman was planning for the future, reshaping an ageing squad, but not working out how to get the best out of Vardy ultimately finished him.

Since Puel’s departure last February, Vardy has scored in 15 of the 24 league games under Rodgers in a high-tempo, pressing approach. Those goals are only fueling the belief that Leicester will return to the Champions League next season, after that memorable campaign in which they reached the quarter-finals.

“The numbers and goals Jamie’s got to at this stage are remarkable. Maybe coming into the game late and not having so many miles on the clock will help him, I hope it does,” says the Leicester manager.

“You cannot see the drop-off. We’ve seen players who have been super-fast and then there’s sadness when they lost that speed, it comes to everybody - but you look at Jamie, he’s absolutely still flying and long may it continue.”

Did Puel constantly drop him? I only remember it happening once in the league.

[HankMarvin]

Basically he has drunk so much wine and Port he has became a vintage

[Tom12345]

“Puel frequently dropped the striker and neutralised him by playing a ponderous, possession-based style of football which was lacking the intensity Leicester are renowned for. Vardy was marginalised, wasted and frustrated.

It will be argued by the Puel sympathists that the Frenchman was planning for the future, reshaping an ageing squad, but not working out how to get the best out of Vardy ultimately finished him.“

 

I am not saying the article about the greatness of Vardy and Rodgers is incorrect, but in order to give it more dramatic effect, the sensationalism of journalists amazes me. See above quote. 

 

No, in fairness, Puel DID NOT “frequently” drop Vardy! He was dropped ONE game after an alleged spat. Puel in fact often said what an important player Vardy is to the team and talked about teaching him new techniques to prolong his career!! You can look it up.

 

I am not defending Puel, but I hate this aspect of journalism. Sensationalism and often outright lies to change history just to sell stories or to make a point.

Edited 1 December 2019 by Tom12345

[Tom12345]

50 minutes ago, The whole world smiles said:

Did Puel constantly drop him? I only remember it happening once in the league.

Agree. See my post above. 

[foxfanazer]

9.3 metres per second? That can't be right can it? 

 

Anyway a great piece about the legend himself 

[Leicester_Loyal]

45 minutes ago, foxfanazer said:

9.3 metres per second? That can't be right can it? 

 

Anyway a great piece about the legend himself 

Bolts 9.58 seconds record is 12.27 meters per second for a comparison.

[womp]

I dont think he has improved with age but is being used a lot better.

it would be interesting to know how far he traveled in a game in the past compared to now.

[Wolfox]

4 hours ago, Leicester_Loyal said:

Bolts 9.58 seconds record is 12.27 meters per second for a comparison.

New career for Vardy maybe?

 

Percy has had a bit of mare here…. A nice article bar a couple of glaring inaccuracies…

Edited 1 December 2019 by Wolfox

[TommyK]

It won't be that pace other 100 meters through. Vardy is lightening over short distance. 

[deanolegend1989]

Vardy is doing unreal but in my opinion its not an improvement, just the fact we are a better team so we get more chances, which gives him the opputunity to score more.

 

Under Puel we played most of the season with Mendy and Ndidi, an absolutely static midfield with no forward passes. I can remember(Id rather not) so many games where Vardy was absolutely icolated. In fact Id go to say last season Vardy actually was more impressive..in terms of how clinical he was compared to actual genuine service.

We had no creativity or class but Youri came in and now we are seeing the difference. We had Kantes box to box engine and Riyad so we had quality and then when we lost it we had so many average players it was harder..With Youri its made us dominate midfield and have more forward creativity. Top strikers are only as good as the service they get..We are just seeing now what Vardys always been - A world class striker.

Last season he was on the bench vs Brighton(ridiculous decision at the time) Maddison sent off, 1-0 down away comes on and plays a blinder , gets an equaliser and we get a good point.

Chelsea away scores a great finish from the only sniff he really had.

Spurs away he came on and scored not long after missing a pen(again he should never be on the bench!).

The one the sticks most is our away match at Everton. We had the most awful formation and selected a million defenders. We had Ricardo Simpson both in and also had Mendy Ndidi and Choudry all playing..literally probably one of the most defencive ive ever seen us set up, we were awful, Everton were awful..both teams wouldnt score in a month of sundays..Then one chance...Jamie Vardy, great first touch, cracking finish..1 chance 1 goal with his weaker foot to win a crucial away game.

 

Long story short, he is and has always been an absolutely world class clinical striker. He doesnt get as many headlines in the seasons we struggle in as a whole because he scores less(less chances and dominance in games obviously).

We get a good cohesive team in 15/16 he scores 24..this season weve finally got another good winning team with no passengers and hes on course for 20+ yet again. If he played in teams dominating the league like City or Utd of 90s-00s he would of got 25 a season all through his 20s.

Hes not 'getting better' hes just doing what he always could of done if he didnt have such awful service.

[Royston.]

"Brendan, why dont you play 2 strikers?"

 

"Because Jamie is like two strikers in one....

 

and Iheanacho is shit!"

[dynamark]

Just to be clear of you run(bolt) 100m in under 10 secs than that must just over 10 metres per second.

But JV efforts are often 30-40 metres so its doable

[NaijaFox]

14 hours ago, The whole world smiles said:

Did Puel constantly drop him? I only remember it happening once in the league.

Whatever Puel was doing marginalized Jamie.

 

Claude deserves considerable credit for the talent he brought in, but the on-field product he served up was most gruel (‘Puel-Gruel’ ).

[eblair]

6 hours ago, Royston. said:

"Brendan, why dont you play 2 strikers?"

 

"Because Jamie is like two strikers in one....

 

and Iheanacho is shit!"

Sorry for doing this W ould have said the same 6 hours ago, but long live King Kel

Edited 1 December 2019 by eblair