Run Of The Mill

Run Of The Mill

Jamie Barnard on how defeat at The Den for Leicester City exposed midfield deficiencies which could threaten their promotion bid...

 

Let em come, let em come, let em come, we’ll only have to beat em again. Well Leicester City came, and Leicester City were beaten. Again.

Recent history tells you that ‘The Den’ has been anything but a happy hunting ground for The Foxes, fresh in the memory resides the excruciatingly postponed nail in the coffin of last season so ruthlessly hammered in place circa mid-April in South Bermondsey. As hope sprung more ephemeral than eternal, for a fleeting moment those speculative ‘what ifs’ inhabited the creative mind of Leicester City fantasists. Such misconceived optimism habitual in its nature for a Leicester City fan.

But with admission to The Lion’s Den came a reality check, complimentary in price if not delivery from those lining the terraces to watch their tribal ‘Wall’. Leicester were soundly beaten 2-1. Turned over, out-fought, mugged off. Their season was ended the Millwall way, promotion hopes were evanescent.

To the Millwall fan, the footballing pleasures be simple. Honesty, commitment and effort. Base requirements and the essential building blocks of a team fit for the shift, fit for the shirt. In each of these areas Pearson’s side, if at that time only in name and not in nature, were left wanting. Glaring deficiencies highlighted in the stark contrasts to their adversaries.

Perennial underdogs, at Millwall Kenny Jackett has built a side with a bite every bit as bad as their bark. Just nine months on from that conquering of Leicester at The Den the more things seem to change, the more they stay the same. From hunting pack to promotion pack, Jackett’s men have flirted with the play-offs so strongly they look odds on to secure a date. From overpaid and underperforming, Nigel Pearson has built a team that on its day can beat any other in the division. Yet last Saturday Leicester were the latest to join the line of teams sent packing from The Den.

Déjà vu.

Whimsical, thoughtless, sterile. When Millwall took the battle to Leicester the response was as chilling as the December wind from Cold Blow Lane. Leicester withered. As the trademark vitriol rolled from the stands of the Millwall end, in the Leicester one the same question resounded countless times: where is Leicester City’s midfield enforcer?

Neat and tidy, at times Andy King and Danny Drinkwater can be two of the finest midfielders outside of The Premiership. In the scrap at The Den, they were afforded neither the time nor space to display such talents. When a midfield battle ensues, too often have they displayed a tendency to go to ground; not in the tackling sense. Give them possession and they are supreme, give them altercation and they are subdued. It is in times like these that Pearson needs that extra midfield dimension.

Cast into the shadows, the forgotten man, sent on loan to Bristol City, the name of Neil Danns has not been heard with such regularity since the post-match dissections of the Burton Albion League Cup horror show during which he was woeful. Later speaking on Danns’ absence from the team, Nigel Pearson reiterated the importance of togetherness, desire, professionalism and commitment. The implication was that Danns had displayed none. 

 

A man more likely to keep a congratulatory tweet than the ball, more likely to record a song for YouTube than a match-winning display, Danns is not the answer to Pearson’s problem. Energy he may have, right may be the things that he says online or in a paper, but when it comes down to it, with Neil Danns the end product is invariably flattery with a penchant for deception.

So to January Pearson must now look, and top of the bill must be a central midfielder wretched by nature but with the influence to help City win in his image. Leicester have to start winning ugly if they are to contend for the automatic promotion spots. Recent form has seen Leicester slip from the summit of the table down into the promotion pack through a propensity to play the intricate football that has seen them dominate opponents this season.

At times Leicester City have been unplayable, but in the heat of the battle at Millwall they melted again. A midfield general to master the battles that will win Leicester City the promotion war is all that Nigel Pearson wants this Christmas.