THE JAMIE VARDY YEARS - THE FIRST FIVE SEASONS

[Thequickbrownfox]

Hi all,

 

In light of last week's announcement, I'm currently reviewing all thirteen of Jamie Vardy's seasons. Here's the first five. Of course, nobody's right or wrong - everyone has enjoyed Vardy's contribution to Leicester in different ways over the years.

 

FIRST SEASON 2012/13

 

“There is a tide in the affairs of men

Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.” 

(William Shakespeare)

 

Leicester had endured a few shaky seasons in the Championship prior to 2012/13, so the arrival of a non-league striker for one million in the summer didn’t exactly have everyone dancing down Filbert Way. He made a decent start scoring four goals in his first six weeks, including one on his debut, but there were still some underlying problems to sort out. Vardy was a heavy drinker at the time and would often turn up for training a little the worse for wear. Also it soon became clear that he couldn’t rely solely on his pace, as he had been doing in non-league football and this became more and more obvious as the season progressed with the goals drying up completely. At one stage he was so downhearted he even talked about giving up the game altogether and becoming a rep in Ibiza. Thankfully Nigel Pearson and David Nugent talked him round, though he gradually became more of a bit part player after Christmas and didn’t feature in the play-offs at all. There’s a famous picture of him sitting with Danny Drinkwater and loanee Harry Kane on the subs bench during the play-offs and after Troy Deeney’s iconic winner for Watford everyone forgot all about Jamie Vardy – for a while at least.

 

SECOND SEASON 2013/14

 

"It's a long way to the top,

If you wanna rock 'n' roll."

(AC/DC)

 

Vardy's second season at Leicester showed a vast improvement all round. He still retained his great attributes as both a character and a footballer, but they all became far more aligned to the cause. Much praise needs to go to his strike partner David Nugent who had befriended Vardy the previous season and used his experience to guide him in the art of being a professional league footballer. Add to that the fact that the nucleus of the Leicester "band of brothers" - Schmeichel, Morgan, Drinkwater and Mahrez - was starting to form, then it's small wonder that this was the most enjoyable season since the O'Neill years. With Vardy scoring 16 goals and Nugent 20, the Foxes finally had a potent pairing up front and some of Vardy's goals were starting to show his true ability - a trademark sprint from the halfway line against Millwall and a classic shot across the keeper in the top of the table clash against QPR being a couple of the highlights of a fine Championship winning season, which paved the way for Vardy's Premier League debut at the age of 27.

 

THIRD SEASON 2014/15

 

"Tea without milk is so uncivilised."

(The Great Escape)

 

Leicester's first season back in the Premier League for a decade started quite well, though it was new signing Leonardo Ulloa who was initially amongst the goals scoring in four of the first five games. This included the all time epic against Man United with Leicester fighting back from 3-1 down to register a stunning 5-3 victory with Vardy scoring his first top flight goal to put Leicester ahead. His all round performance in this game drew much critical praise, but Leicester generally struggled after this with Vardy often marooned up front as Nigel Pearson employed a highly defensive system. Leicester were bottom of the table for months until Pearson finally remodelled the system and we began to look much more effective. Despite there only being 9 games left and the situation seeming nearly hopeless, the enigmatic generalissimo Cambiasso began the renaissance with his overall tactical nous and his fine goal against West Ham began "The Great Escape" at Easter. However, almost inevitably it was Vardy who really lit the blue touchpaper with a last minute winner to seal a fine fightback win at West Brom and after that Leicester couldn't stop winning with Vardy scoring another vital winner against Burnley. With the King Power crowd electric and every game critical, this was a thrilling white knuckle ride to the end of the season as Leicester survived with a game to spare. At the time, it seemed like the ultimate triumph, but amazingly it was only the introduction to the greatest chapter in Leicester City history.

 

FOURTH SEASON 2015/16

 

“You better lose yourself in the music

The moment, you own it, you better never let it go

You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow

This opportunity comes once in a lifetime.”

(Eminem)

 

When Nigel Pearson was replaced by Claudio Ranieri in the summer, it was hard to know what to expect from the new season. After the dramatic survival, most fans would have settled for a mid table season, but quite early on it seemed that they were going to be aiming higher than that. The big story of the first half of the season was Vardy’s scoring run. Starting with a penalty against Bournemouth, Vardy then kept his scoring streak going for an amazing three months culminating in the famous Man United “It’s eleven, it’s heaven” goal that meant that he set a new Premier League scoring record of eleven games in a row which helped put Leicester in an excellent position in the league. However, it was still top four that most fans were aiming for until yet another legendary Vardy moment – the sensational Liverpool volley in February (still my favourite goal) which set Leicester up for a critical 2-0 win with Vardy grabbing the second too. When they beat Man City 3-1 in the following game, Leicester were incredibly six points clear at the top with a fairly favourable run in and when Vardy’s double beat Sunderland in mid April, the title seemed close at hand.

 

Still there was a twist in the tale in the West Ham epic with Vardy controversially sent off for diving in the second half and banned for two matches. It seemed like it could be a big miss, but Leicester still managed a win and draw in the matches without him and thanks to Eden Hazard’s equaliser against Spurs in the infamous “Battle of the Bridge”, Leicester were champions before Vardy stepped back onto the pitch and rounded off his season with two more goals against Everton taking his tally to 24 – almost as many as he’d scored in his previous three seasons combined. Winning the Premier League was an astonishing triumph with excellent performances from the whole team as Leicester employed a 4-4-2 system that hadn’t been used in football for so long, it almost seemed to be a new invention. Like Vardy himself, it was a throwback to a bygone era with robust defenders, creative midfielders and a pacy striker providing a simple, but highly effective structure for success. Having been a non-league player only four years earlier, Vardy was now a Premier League champion, Premier League player of the season, FWA footballer of the year and had won a handful of caps for England. This was obviously the high point, but there was plenty more to come from the great man yet.

 

FIFTH SEASON 2016/17

 

“Oh, what a hell of a show

But what I want to know;

What exactly do you do for an encore?”

(Pulp)

 

Leicester’s miracle title triumph had changed the club’s profile completely. The close season had been a whirlwind of interviews and travel for the players with their incredible story capturing the imagination across the world. They took part in the pre-season International Champions Cup playing against Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona and began the season at Wembley with Vardy scoring Leicester’s first goal at Wembley for 16 years in a narrow defeat to Man United. However the Premier League season began in worrying fashion with the loss of Kante proving problematic and the new signings struggling to bed in. Results were highly erratic with Vardy’s dearth of goals especially worrying. He scored a mere six before February, though this did include an excellent maiden hat trick against Man City in what was a rare win. Things came to a head in February after five Premier League defeats without scoring had put Leicester in real danger of relegation. However after Claudio Ranieri’s sacking, Craig Shakespeare took over and the old magic seemed to return. Vardy was rejuvenated and immediately scored two fine goals in a 3-1 win over Liverpool and scored a further three as Leicester won five league games in a row to pull them clear of danger. Though flirting with relegation was nothing new for Foxes fans, the curious backdrop to all this was that Leicester were tearing it up in the Champions League. They comfortably topped their group, won a thunderous classic 3-2 on aggregate against Sevilla with Vardy scoring a vital away goal and were then just edged out 2-1 in the quarter finals by Atletico Madrid. It was a curious season all round. Had their Premier League struggles been a case of “heavy hangs the crown?” Were Leicester actually more comfortable playing European football now that they had tasted true success? Despite a somewhat uneven campaign Vardy still finished the season as top scorer with 16 goals and remained Leicester’s spearhead as they looked towards the future.

[StanSP]

Nice! Can't wait to see how this story ends! Really excited

 

[filbertway]

The peak Vardy years <3

 

[FOXSE]

14 hours ago, Thequickbrownfox said:

Hi all,

 

In light of last week's announcement, I'm currently reviewing all thirteen of Jamie Vardy's seasons. Here's the first five. Of course, nobody's right or wrong - everyone has enjoyed Vardy's contribution to Leicester in different ways over the years.

 

FIRST SEASON 2012/13

 

“There is a tide in the affairs of men

Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.” 

(William Shakespeare)

 

Leicester had endured a few shaky seasons in the Championship prior to 2012/13, so the arrival of a non-league striker for one million in the summer didn’t exactly have everyone dancing down Filbert Way. He made a decent start scoring four goals in his first six weeks, including one on his debut, but there were still some underlying problems to sort out. Vardy was a heavy drinker at the time and would often turn up for training a little the worse for wear. Also it soon became clear that he couldn’t rely solely on his pace, as he had been doing in non-league football and this became more and more obvious as the season progressed with the goals drying up completely. At one stage he was so downhearted he even talked about giving up the game altogether and becoming a rep in Ibiza. Thankfully Nigel Pearson and David Nugent talked him round, though he gradually became more of a bit part player after Christmas and didn’t feature in the play-offs at all. There’s a famous picture of him sitting with Danny Drinkwater and loanee Harry Kane on the subs bench during the play-offs and after Troy Deeney’s iconic winner for Watford everyone forgot all about Jamie Vardy – for a while at least.

 

SECOND SEASON 2013/14

 

"It's a long way to the top,

If you wanna rock 'n' roll."

(AC/DC)

 

Vardy's second season at Leicester showed a vast improvement all round. He still retained his great attributes as both a character and a footballer, but they all became far more aligned to the cause. Much praise needs to go to his strike partner David Nugent who had befriended Vardy the previous season and used his experience to guide him in the art of being a professional league footballer. Add to that the fact that the nucleus of the Leicester "band of brothers" - Schmeichel, Morgan, Drinkwater and Mahrez - was starting to form, then it's small wonder that this was the most enjoyable season since the O'Neill years. With Vardy scoring 16 goals and Nugent 20, the Foxes finally had a potent pairing up front and some of Vardy's goals were starting to show his true ability - a trademark sprint from the halfway line against Millwall and a classic shot across the keeper in the top of the table clash against QPR being a couple of the highlights of a fine Championship winning season, which paved the way for Vardy's Premier League debut at the age of 27.

 

THIRD SEASON 2014/15

 

"Tea without milk is so uncivilised."

(The Great Escape)

 

Leicester's first season back in the Premier League for a decade started quite well, though it was new signing Leonardo Ulloa who was initially amongst the goals scoring in four of the first five games. This included the all time epic against Man United with Leicester fighting back from 3-1 down to register a stunning 5-3 victory with Vardy scoring his first top flight goal to put Leicester ahead. His all round performance in this game drew much critical praise, but Leicester generally struggled after this with Vardy often marooned up front as Nigel Pearson employed a highly defensive system. Leicester were bottom of the table for months until Pearson finally remodelled the system and we began to look much more effective. Despite there only being 9 games left and the situation seeming nearly hopeless, the enigmatic generalissimo Cambiasso began the renaissance with his overall tactical nous and his fine goal against West Ham began "The Great Escape" at Easter. However, almost inevitably it was Vardy who really lit the blue touchpaper with a last minute winner to seal a fine fightback win at West Brom and after that Leicester couldn't stop winning with Vardy scoring another vital winner against Burnley. With the King Power crowd electric and every game critical, this was a thrilling white knuckle ride to the end of the season as Leicester survived with a game to spare. At the time, it seemed like the ultimate triumph, but amazingly it was only the introduction to the greatest chapter in Leicester City history.

 

FOURTH SEASON 2015/16

 

“You better lose yourself in the music

The moment, you own it, you better never let it go

You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow

This opportunity comes once in a lifetime.”

(Eminem)

 

When Nigel Pearson was replaced by Claudio Ranieri in the summer, it was hard to know what to expect from the new season. After the dramatic survival, most fans would have settled for a mid table season, but quite early on it seemed that they were going to be aiming higher than that. The big story of the first half of the season was Vardy’s scoring run. Starting with a penalty against Bournemouth, Vardy then kept his scoring streak going for an amazing three months culminating in the famous Man United “It’s eleven, it’s heaven” goal that meant that he set a new Premier League scoring record of eleven games in a row which helped put Leicester in an excellent position in the league. However, it was still top four that most fans were aiming for until yet another legendary Vardy moment – the sensational Liverpool volley in February (still my favourite goal) which set Leicester up for a critical 2-0 win with Vardy grabbing the second too. When they beat Man City 3-1 in the following game, Leicester were incredibly six points clear at the top with a fairly favourable run in and when Vardy’s double beat Sunderland in mid April, the title seemed close at hand.

 

Still there was a twist in the tale in the West Ham epic with Vardy controversially sent off for diving in the second half and banned for two matches. It seemed like it could be a big miss, but Leicester still managed a win and draw in the matches without him and thanks to Eden Hazard’s equaliser against Spurs in the infamous “Battle of the Bridge”, Leicester were champions before Vardy stepped back onto the pitch and rounded off his season with two more goals against Everton taking his tally to 24 – almost as many as he’d scored in his previous three seasons combined. Winning the Premier League was an astonishing triumph with excellent performances from the whole team as Leicester employed a 4-4-2 system that hadn’t been used in football for so long, it almost seemed to be a new invention. Like Vardy himself, it was a throwback to a bygone era with robust defenders, creative midfielders and a pacy striker providing a simple, but highly effective structure for success. Having been a non-league player only four years earlier, Vardy was now a Premier League champion, Premier League player of the season, FWA footballer of the year and had won a handful of caps for England. This was obviously the high point, but there was plenty more to come from the great man yet.

 

FIFTH SEASON 2016/17

 

“Oh, what a hell of a show

But what I want to know;

What exactly do you do for an encore?”

(Pulp)

 

Leicester’s miracle title triumph had changed the club’s profile completely. The close season had been a whirlwind of interviews and travel for the players with their incredible story capturing the imagination across the world. They took part in the pre-season International Champions Cup playing against Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona and began the season at Wembley with Vardy scoring Leicester’s first goal at Wembley for 16 years in a narrow defeat to Man United. However the Premier League season began in worrying fashion with the loss of Kante proving problematic and the new signings struggling to bed in. Results were highly erratic with Vardy’s dearth of goals especially worrying. He scored a mere six before February, though this did include an excellent maiden hat trick against Man City in what was a rare win. Things came to a head in February after five Premier League defeats without scoring had put Leicester in real danger of relegation. However after Claudio Ranieri’s sacking, Craig Shakespeare took over and the old magic seemed to return. Vardy was rejuvenated and immediately scored two fine goals in a 3-1 win over Liverpool and scored a further three as Leicester won five league games in a row to pull them clear of danger. Though flirting with relegation was nothing new for Foxes fans, the curious backdrop to all this was that Leicester were tearing it up in the Champions League. They comfortably topped their group, won a thunderous classic 3-2 on aggregate against Sevilla with Vardy scoring a vital away goal and were then just edged out 2-1 in the quarter finals by Atletico Madrid. It was a curious season all round. Had their Premier League struggles been a case of “heavy hangs the crown?” Were Leicester actually more comfortable playing European football now that they had tasted true success? Despite a somewhat uneven campaign Vardy still finished the season as top scorer with 16 goals and remained Leicester’s spearhead as they looked towards the future.

It would take a bit of research, but it would be good to see what the general foxestalk view of Vardy was throughout the years.

 

For example, towards the end of his third season, when it looked like we were getting relegated, I distinctly remember the conversation being around Vardy's potential departure to West Bromwich albion for £7m. The main comments were along the lines of 'let's bite their hands off if they offer £7m' (no talk of 'amortisation' back then, but people saw £6m profit as good) and general bafflement of why on earth would a premier league team buy a 29 year old for £7m when he had already shown he wasn't good enough for the Premier league!

[Lako42]

14 hours ago, StanSP said:

Nice! Can't wait to see how this story ends! Really excited

 

You seen Titanic? 

[OnlyOneCity]

13 minutes ago, Lako42 said:

You seen Titanic? 

You’re such a constant Dementor!

[Lako42]

4 minutes ago, OnlyOneCity said:

You’re such a constant Dementor!

Lighten up man  

 

How would you describe the ending to Vardy's time here?  

 

The big Lebowski? 

 

Marley And Me?

[OnlyOneCity]

6 minutes ago, Lako42 said:

Lighten up man  

 

How would you describe the ending to Vardy's time here?  

 

The big Lebowski? 

 

Marley And Me?

Top Gun Maverick

[davieG]

1 hour ago, Lako42 said:

Lighten up man  

 

How would you describe the ending to Vardy's time here?  

 

The big Lebowski? 

 

Marley And Me?

I was hoping for Gunfight at the Ok Corral with Vardy as Wyatt Earp or more likely Doc Holliday and Top and Co as the Clanton Brothers

[fox_up_north]

It's proper Line of Duty stuff. 

Great first few series and then outstayed its welcome. 

[kushiro]

21 hours ago, FOXSE said:

It would take a bit of research, but it would be good to see what the general foxestalk view of Vardy was throughout the years.

 

This is pretty entertaining:

 

https://www.foxestalk.co.uk/topic/110491-bench-vardy/

[sdb]

I remember tweeting on the first day of the 2013-14 season

 

"If Leicester City win today and Jamie Vardy scores, I'll run through London naked"

 

I was not hopeful of the season ahead, especially when I saw our first line up

 

Embarrassing! 

[honeybradger]

23 hours ago, FOXSE said:

It would take a bit of research, but it would be good to see what the general foxestalk view of Vardy was throughout the years.

 

For example, towards the end of his third season, when it looked like we were getting relegated, I distinctly remember the conversation being around Vardy's potential departure to West Bromwich albion for £7m. The main comments were along the lines of 'let's bite their hands off if they offer £7m' (no talk of 'amortisation' back then, but people saw £6m profit as good) and general bafflement of why on earth would a premier league team buy a 29 year old for £7m when he had already shown he wasn't good enough for the Premier league!

I read back the vardy transfer thread after 14/15 a year or so ago, it was 60/40 between him being considered our best forward and invaluable due to his work rate and people saying you can get someone better from the continent for that money. 

 

He was a proven PL player by the end of the 2014/15 season and people were starting to realise that you would struggle to find a player with his sort of characteristics if we sold.

[OnlyOneCity]

3 hours ago, kushiro said:

 

This is pretty entertaining:

 

https://www.foxestalk.co.uk/topic/110491-bench-vardy/

Some very abusive posts. Some people should be very embarrassed.

[FOXSE]

3 hours ago, kushiro said:

 

This is pretty entertaining:

 

https://www.foxestalk.co.uk/topic/110491-bench-vardy/

Yes, that kind of thing!