THE JAMIE VARDY YEARS - SEASONS TEN TO THIRTEEN

[Thequickbrownfox]

TENTH SEASON 2021/22

 

“There’s something strange going on tonight,

There’s something going on that’s not quite right.”

(Wire)

 

On the face of it, this was a pretty decent season, but there were definitely signs that the old Leicester magic was finally starting to fade. Leicester began the season by lifting the Community Shield, then Vardy scored a fine goal against Wolves in the first league game followed by the famous howl celebration. He soon scored his 150th Leicester goal against Brighton and an excellent strike against Man United helped the Foxes to an exciting 4-2 success. However, this was typical of Leicester’s games this season. Despite some fine players, they all seemed either slightly on the wane or else not fully gelling together. This was most evident in the Europa League which could easily have seen us qualify for the next stage, but some frenetic games including a 4-3 win at Spartak Moscow, a 2-2 home draw against Napoli after leading 2-0 and a 3-2 loss at Napoli summed up the slightly scrambled nature of Leicester’s play and ultimately saw us drop into the Europa Conference League. It was a similar story in the Premier League with either enjoyable games like the snowy 4-2 win against Claudio Ranieri’s Watford with Vardy scoring twice against his former boss or the infamous sickener against Spurs that was somehow lost after leading 2-1 in the 95th minute. Then came the fateful FA cup collapse against Nottingham Forest after which the season rather pottered to its close with a burst of five goals from Vardy towards the end lifting Leicester up to a slightly flattering 8th place. The Foxes did manage to reach the semi-final of the Europa Conference League against Roma, but they were edged out 2-1 as the final flicker of the glory years was disappointingly extinguished.

 

ELEVENTH SEASON 2022/23

 

“Now I’ve swung back down again,

It’s worse than it was before,

If I hadn’t seen such riches,

I could live with being poor.”

(James)

 

This season boded ill from the moment that Kasper Schmeichel was sold. Leicester had been quite shaky at the back the previous season, but now with the great man gone, the Foxes were horribly short in defence and conceded 22 goals in their first 7 games. With the disconnect between Brendan Rodgers and the players growing by the day, a sacking seemed inevitable, but Leicester suddenly hit a run of wins and clean sheets before the World Cup during which time Vardy scored another landmark goal against Wolves making him the first player to score 100 Premier League goals after the age of 30. However, this was his only league goal pre-April as time seemed to finally be catching up with him. It was a bitty season for Vardy, as he rarely played full games and was uncharacteristically wayward with his finishing much of the time. It was telling that that the fans mourned Vardy’s decline almost as much as Leicester’s, as no one really wanted to face up to the fact that his time at the top was drawing to a close. He scored a couple more trademark goals in the relegation run-in against Leeds and Everton, but both games were only drawn, when wins were desperately needed. Relegation was confirmed on the final day as Leicester ended a largely great nine year spell in the Premier League on a horribly low note.

 

TWELFTH SEASON 2023/24

 

“Possession is nine-tenths of the problem.”

(John Lennon)

 

Returning to the Championship after almost a decade wasn’t quite the experience that many had been expecting. Back in 2013/14 it had been more like the old-fashioned, rough and tumble football that many of us had grown up with, but now it seemed a very different beast. Though Enzo Maresca did a fine job of getting the squad shipshape again after relegation and started the season winning all but one of his first 14 games, his possession based playing style divided opinion. Grinding teams into submission with constant passing wasn’t the most exciting way to win games and though it looked cultured, many fans were pining for a bit more blood and thunder. That’s not to say that it was all dull and unsurprisingly Vardy was at the heart of many of the best moments. His goal after 21 seconds against Southampton launched a 4-1 win, a fine penalty against Bristol City and former boss Nigel Pearson led to another famous celebration and a superb finish against Blackburn helped Leicester to another 4-1 win. It seemed that Leicester would cruise to the title, but a poor run of form towards the end of the season threatened to drop the Foxes into the play-offs. There were mitigating circumstances with Maresca unable to sign Sensi from Inter Milan in January much to his chagrin and Leicester also being hit with a potential points deduction for next season. After a poor run of results, Vardy rallied the troops, allegedly telling them to play to their strengths rather than risk blowing the season with Maresca’s bland tiki-taka football. Suddenly the fans had three old style football matches to celebrate with a thrilling 2-1 win against West Brom, a superb 5-0 demolition of Southampton and a dominant 3-0 win against Preston sealing the Championship title. Of course, Vardy scored in all three games as he added another trophy to his cabinet and took his goal tally to an amazing 190 for the Foxes.

 

THIRTEENTH SEASON 2024/25

 

“Heroes are ordinary people who make themselves extraordinary”

(Gerard Way)

 

It says something for the depths that Leicester have plumbed this season that the announcement of Vardy’s retirement was almost welcomed, as it gave us a chance to nostalgically celebrate his illustrious past. Obviously his great goals come to mind first, but it’s also his character that really stands out. From the rough and ready early years of the legendary Skittles vodka and the “chat shit, get banged” Facebook post, to the inventive wind up celebrations, to the cheeky spirit and sheer joy of simply scoring goals – Jamie Vardy is a rare everyman footballer in a modern age that becomes ever more anodyne and dull year by year.   Vardy is a Rik Mayall type player – someone who seems a little madcap and amusing, but has an awful lot of skill and delivers his craft in a unique and refreshing way. To score nigh on 200 goals for Leicester and win an extraordinary amount of trophies and individual awards is an achievement that will surely never be repeated down Filbert Way. He has managed to chip in with a handful of goals this season including his 100th at the King Power against West Ham, but it’s been a very muted and flat campaign to bow out on. One of the best things to come out of this season is the iconic photo of a smiling Vardy sitting amongst his impressive collection of trophies and medals. With his Inbetweeners-esque humour, Vardy may well bring his Leicester career to close with the simple, but loaded phrase – “Completed it, mate.”

[filthyfox]

Harry Kane would be creaming his pants at those trophies