Mission accomplished for Leicester City and Enzo Maresca and although it was never publicly admitted, promotion was non-negotiable this season.
After more than six months in charge, Leicester have delivered extremely consistent and sometimes breathtaking football, making their tour of the Championship a short one.
At one point it seemed inevitable that Reading’s record tally of 106 points would be eclipsed, but the events of recent months have created some unwanted turbulence.
After being accused of breaching financial rules by the Premier League, Leicester are also embroiled in a bitter feud with the EFL. Six defeats in ten games in February and April also threatened to blow the season off course, with Maresca coming under heavy criticism from supporters.
But after all the drama in recent weeks, Leicester have done the job. Their 5-0 defeat to Southampton on Tuesday night was perhaps their best performance of the season and perfectly timed to calm the nerves. Their promotion was confirmed on Friday evening by Leeds’ defeat at Queen’s Park Rangers.
Rival clubs will point to their huge budgets, and players who stayed on after relegation, and insist that missing out on promotion would have been a failure. Yet Maresca still produced results in his first full season as head coach, and his ‘idea’ ultimately worked.
“Straight back to Leicester City, play football the Enzo way,” has been the chant from the fans for most of the season.
This is the story of how Pep Guardiola’s disciple invented automatic promotion.
The seeds of Maresca’s ‘idea’ were sown in the early season. The players stayed on the training pitch day and night for the first full week of preparation as the new coach explained his playing philosophy.
One evening there was an Argentinian-themed barbecue attended by chairman Aiyawatt ‘Top’ Srivaddhanaprabha and his family. Maresca also took the players to Sapori, an Italian restaurant in nearby Anstey that features in the Michelin Guide.
Looking back on those first weeks of adjustment, Maresca says: “It was about solidarity and team spirit.
“We’ll probably do the same thing again this summer. It didn’t matter if we were relegated or promoted, it was so important to spend time together.
“That’s the moment when you can build something.”
From the first day of preparation, the players worked on ball control in tight spaces and became familiar with his tactics. Almost immediately, Ricardo Pereira was told he would play as a full-back in midfield.
Maresca’s ‘idea’ revolves around total ball dominance. It is a world of inverted full-backs, overload and physically and mentally exhausting the opponent through possession. If an opponent defends with four, Leicester attacks with five.
Some players were initially skeptical about whether it would all work. It was very detailed and required patience.
Maresca is closely involved in the training and insisted very early on that every step had to be made to the correct foot. “If you pass me the ball, and I’m right and the ball goes to the left, I need one more touch to bring it to the right foot. If it’s the wrong foot, I could lose the ball. It’s the little details, but it saves so much time.”
Two signatures in the summer were considered crucial to the plan. Harry Winks joined from Tottenham for £10 million and was Leicester’s ‘brains on the pitch’. Mads Hermansen, the goalkeeper, was picked by Maresca after being given a list of options by recruitment chief Martyn Glover.
Hermansen is the championship version of Manchester City’s Ederson and absolutely essential to Maresca’s playing style. Conor Coady noted earlier this season that the Dane is so comfortable on the ball that he could play in central midfield.
Another Glover pick, winger Abdul Fatawu, impressed on loan from Sporting, scoring a brilliant hat-trick in the demolition of Southampton.
Maresca is fully committed to his playing style and has repeatedly emphasized that he will never waver. He once memorably said, “Even if they come man-to-man in the toilet, I don’t care,” in response to teams’ attempts to stop them.
If it works, it can be devastating. In the 3-2 win over Millwall on December 13, Leicester had 78 percent of the ball. Against Rotherham there were 54 passes before Chelsea loanee Cesare Casadei provided the finishing touch with a header.
Leicester became the first ever Championship side to win 52 points after 21 games. The football was technically advanced and clinical.
Maresca sees the four defenders – mostly Wout Faes, Jannik Vestergaard, Pereira and James Justin – and the retention of midfielder Winks as essential to his game plan.
“If these five players are good, the team plays well,” he says. “The other five – the two wingers, Kiernan [Dewsbury-Hall]Dennis [Praet] and Jamie [Vardy] – allow you to win the game. If we get the process right with the back five, the team will play fantastic.”
Still, Maresca’s confidence in his idea may be where the threat of the season’s disintegration began in late February.
Accusations of boring, slow football have not gone away, even though the team was winning every week. There are fans who are still convinced that Maresca struggles to find a ‘Plan B’ and is stubborn and keeps faith in players who underperform.
Doubts about the mental vulnerability of the players surfaced after the bad period in February and April.
Maresca is not one to spin, but will certainly have to adapt his playing style in the Premier League.
Vincent Kompany adopted a similar mentality at Burnley and has had an often miserable season with 21 defeats and likely relegation.
There are also more serious problems lurking. Leicester are threatening to start taking points deductions next season after being accused by the Premier League of breaching profitability and sustainability rules.
It is understood the proposed penalty could initially be in double figures, similar to Everton’s sanction last November.
Leicester have taken a combative stance and have even threatened to take the Premier League and EFL to court, and this is unlikely to help their case as they mitigate and possibly appeal in the future.
A total team reset is also required. With the threat of further sanctions for PSR breaches next season, Leicester will be under pressure to raise funds before June 30.
Dewsbury-Hall has interest from Brighton, Fulham and Brentford and could be sold for around £30 million. Other players are likely to be sold if bids are acceptable.
Kelechi Iheanacho, Wilfred Ndidi and Marc Albrighton are out of contract and are unlikely to stay. Vardy and Vestergaard will have to take big pay cuts to guarantee a new deal.
Funds will also likely be restricted for new signings. Maresca’s dream player is one in the example of Ilkay Gundogan, someone he coached at Manchester City. The team clearly needs reinforcements.
These are all issues we will have to worry about later. Promotion was the only target; failure to do so could have had serious consequences in the short to medium term.
Leicester are back at the first attempt and undoubtedly deserve promotion despite their recent faltering. They have won 30 of their 44 games and led a crazy division for 25 weeks of the season. Maresca could still lead them to the title and 100 points.
There may be trouble ahead, but as long as there is promotion, Leicester are ready to face the music and the dance.