Fans of Leicester City Football Club have questioned the judgment of the club’s Scottish coach, Brendan Rodgers, on starting unproductive English striker, Jamie Vardy over Nigerian star, Kelechi Iheanacho.
The fans, who could not hide their rage, swayed the coach for blaming the abysmal display of the team against West Ham United on injury woes, saying all the team needed was the presence of Kelechi Iheanacho in their attacking foray.
According to the coach, “we have always been unfortunate in terms of injuries, but we can only concentrate on the players that we have. We just have to keep working and get back on the training field.”
This position did not go down well with fans of the club as one Chidibiere stated he was not interested in anything the coach had to say while pointing to his countryman absence as the reason the team lost.
Another fan, Viralgeek1 queried that, “Tell me Iheanacho is injured. How do you choose Vardy over Iheanacho? Yes, Vardy was a great player but not anymore, nothing compared to the beast in Iheanacho. Not even close.”
Leicester is due to visit Norwich City on Saturday for a premier league clash. There is palpable pressure on the coach to turn things around after a disappointing 4-1 defeat in their last game.
Recall that last season, there were encomiums on Brendan Rodgers for triggering an attacking relationship between Vardy and Iheanacho. Such partnership landed them a coveted English F.A. cup, with the latter scoring most of the goals.
At the time, Rodgers said, that the top priority for him as a coach is helping players to develop.
Rodgers said it is difficult for Kelechi to adapt to Leceister’s style of play which favored one striker but was not difficult for Vardy due to his pace.
“We had to change it with injuries, Iheanacho would come in; he would be exceptional. Not just his goal, he is so happy to work hard for the team and his quality is phenomenal,” Leceister coach said.
Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel also lent his voice to the debate saying Iheanacho had all the qualities to be a top striker.
“Iheanacho is so good at the particular one where he shifts it and then puts it through defenders legs and wrong-foots the goalkeeper. He is a nightmare in training.
At the start of the 2021-2022 Premier League season, fans of Leceister expect to see Kelechi Iheanacho starting their last two games. They love the achievement recorded by the club last season due to Iheanacho-Vardy partnership.
