Leicester's dominance in the Championship: three reasons for success

"Leicester" scored 33 points out of a possible 36 - the best start in the history of the Championship. "Leicester" scored the most goals in the division (26) and conceded the least (7). "Leicester" is 11 points away from the third place - let's remind that directly in the EPL rise two teams. Leicester have an open series of eight consecutive victories. And only one of them was won with a minimum score difference.

Already these numbers are enough to talk about Leicester's dominance in the Championship. Yes, there is a long distance ahead, which consists of 46 matches - less than 25 percent have been played. However, one can be confident that it is the Foxes who will be the ones to sustain the momentum. Not in terms of scoring, as 91.7% is phenomenal and anomalous. But it's hard to imagine the Foxes giving up top spot to anyone, let alone dropping below second place.

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In 2016, Leicester pulled off a real miracle when they became EPL champions. The Foxes' interim lead in the Championship is definitely not about magic. Let's highlight three factors of their powerful start, which should bear fruit at the finish.

Leicester have the most expensive squad in the Championship

To be frank, any club that has been relegated from the EPL, at least in the first season gets a noticeable advantage over its rivals in the Championship. It's about finances, specifically the so-called parachute payments for their piece of the pie in the huge EPL television contract. They are what allow you to expect a quick return to paradise after exile.

Judge for yourself. Even after the sale of several leaders (James Maddison, Harvey Barnes, Timothy Castagne and free agent Juri Thielemans), for whom the Foxes received more than 100 million euros, Leicester's squad is valued by Transfermarkt at 252 million euros - the first place in the Championship.

It is the first place, but not with such a gap from the competitors, as in the current table, where points are counted, not money. So it's not just about finances. After all, there are relatively recent examples of Wigan, Swansea or Stoke City, who even played in the European Cup, but could not quickly return to the Premier League after the relegation and now look safely sucked into the swamp of the Championship. They are like house cats who got the shock of being outside and couldn't find their way home quickly, leading to a sad fate. "Foxes," on the other hand, proved to be smarter and more cunning than such cats.

"Leicester" guessed with the coach

Leicester's management made a colossal number of grotesque mistakes in the off-season-2022 and already during the season-2022/2023, which led to the departure from the EPL. The missteps had to be swiftly corrected.

It seems that the main hit in the target of Leicester management is connected with the coach's persona. Enzo Maresca made a treble with Manchester City, but in the role of Pep Guardiola's assistant. But the Italian worked only 14 matches (four wins) at Parma, who unsuccessfully tried to return to Serie A. So Maresca's candidacy was not even close to obvious.

It seems that conservative Italy is not at all suitable for the style and ideas of Guardiola, which Enzo Maresca follows - the Italian resembles the Catalan not only in appearance. England is a different matter for the embodiment of this philosophy. We remember Mikel Arteta at Arsenal or Vincent Kompany (the Belgian was not on Pep's staff, but played for him for a long time), who brought Burnley back to the EPL in brilliant style.

Stylistically, Leicester look like a lite version of Manchester City, as the statistics confirm. "Foxes" are the leader of the Championship not only in points, goals scored and conceded, but also in possession (63.5%) and accuracy of passes (89%).

Style is style, but results are needed. Somehow it seems that Enzo Maresca has more merit than the management, who did not work perfectly in the transfer market when looking for replacements for the departed leaders.

They have brought in midfielder Harry Winks (bought for 11.6 million euros) and attacking midfielder Stephy Mavididi (7.5 million euros, scored two goals and made two assists, consistently gets high marks). However, there are still plenty of questions on other expensive as for the Championchip purchases. The new main goalkeeper Mads Hermansen (7 million euros) almost does not miss, but also not to say that he looks very reliable. 20-year-old forward Tom Cannon (€8.8 million) hasn't even played for Leicester yet. The most experienced Conor Coady (€8.7 million) is completely losing the competition in the center of defense and makes you wonder why they bought him.

Of course, we make allowance for the serious difference in the level of the EPL and the Championship. However, Maresca has Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who is influencing the team's game like James Maddison used to at Leicester and now at Tottenham. KDH has scored five goals - as many as profile forward Kelechi Iheanacho. Dewsbury-Hall also has four assists. Maresca has center backs Yannick Westergaard and Vaut Fas among the best on the team, not the laughingstock they often were in the EPL.

It is also striking that Enzo Maresca has worked with Manchester City's youth team for a reason. The Italian understands how to behave properly with players who are making the transition to professional soccer. 21-year-old attacking midfielder Casey McAteer has scored four goals. 19-year-old forward Abdul Fatawu (he has 1+1) and 21-year-old midfielder Wanya Marcal-Madivadua (1+0) are useful. The main defender is 20-year-old Callum Doyle. And there is a confidence that 20-year-old Cesare Casadei will open up. One of the heroes of the last World Youth Championship, which belongs to Chelsea, did not break into the basis, but managed to score one goal and make one assist.

Jamie Vardy

From the champion Leicester, only Marc Albrighton and Jamie Vardy are left in the team now. The first one almost does not play, and the second one has already had an incomprehensible youth. Vardy, at his 36, is not losing competition to Kelechi Iheanacho. He has scored five goals this season, including four in the Championship.

Vardy's importance is not only and not so much about goals. Obviously, Leicester's club legend plays a crucial role in the locker room. When Jamie runs to celebrate his goal in front of the opposing fans, it's not just about his hooliganism. It's also about how motivated and energized Vardy is to get Leicester back into the EPL for the second time in his career. And that's the attitude he's passing on to his partners.