After being rejected, I became Shi Yijiao

Chapter 420 Is Leicester City a flash in the pan?
From the perspective of Pan Yi's traveler, in his previous life, Leicester City in the 2015-2016 season was able to win the championship. In fact, a large part of the reason was the weakness of the Premier League's traditional power.

Leicester City's championship score is only 81 points, only higher than Manchester United's 2010 points in the 2011-80 season, which is the lowest championship score in the Premier League in the past ten years.

What's even more frightening is that the score from No.2 is only about 70 points.

This shows how chaotic the Premier League is this season and how unstable the performance of strong teams is.

Let’s talk about Chelsea in the previous life. The aging of the defense is hard to guard against. The important players who won the championship last season, such as Xiaofa, Costa and Hazard, suddenly lost their condition.

The magic bird Mourinho is no longer miraculous, and he was dismissed in the third year after entering the palace for the second time. Chelsea fell out of the championship team early.

Then there was Manchester United, who cleaned out all the strikers before the season and only bought Martial at the last minute.

In the end, the offense was misfired, and the number of goals ranked in the middle and lower reaches of the Premier League. They were unbeaten in six rounds in the middle of the season, giving up the initiative in the championship.

Manchester City introduced De Bruyne, a big European favorite, but suffered from injuries caused by an expensive lineup but the oldest Premier League team, as well as rumors of a coaching change that have been spreading wildly, resulting in big ups and downs in state and too many losses. Finally, in February Lost the championship initiative after the three-game losing streak.

Arsenal, as always, began to suffer more injuries after the Christmas schedule and collapsed habitually. They only won five rounds in March [-]th and began to compete for four.

Tottenham have set off a youth storm this season, leading the Premier League in terms of goal difference.

They bit Leicester City after the mid-to-late game, but suffered from the unstable state of young players at the beginning of the season, too many draws, and unfortunately lost the championship.

Liverpool has been in turmoil this season. Benteke lost his instruction manual and has been unable to integrate into the team for a long time. His tactics have been changing and his results have been collapsing.

After the coaching change, coach Klopp lacked time to adjust, his state fluctuated greatly, and he withdrew from the championship team early.

That is to say, each BIG6 has its own difficulties and problems, which may lead to a "seventh person" taking advantage of the gap and taking the other bird's position.

Even if one of the six strong teams performed normally, there is no need to be as hopeless as the [-]-point Manchester City later. As long as they can score [-] points, Leicester City will not be able to counterattack successfully.

But it is precisely because of such a "coincidence" that the myth of a dark horse winning the championship with a compensation of 5000 really appeared.

Of course, you need to be strong to strike the iron, and the BIG6 broke down together, so why didn't Southampton or West Ham win the championship, but Leicester City?

This is undoubtedly inseparable from Ranieri's command and the common explosion of his players.

The reason why the dark horse is called a dark horse is that the pre-season performance is not optimistic, but the performance is amazing and unexpected.

But the biggest weakness of the dark horse is that the lineup is weak and lacks a deep bench like a traditional tycoon. Once the main player is injured and absent, the team's strength will simply plummet.

However, Ranieri's team played very steadily, and the players did not have major injuries. Vardy, Mahrez, Schmeichel Jr., Kanter and others under his command also showed phenomenal performances. won the championship.

Although the situation in this life is slightly different from the previous life, for example, Kanter was replaced by Mikel, for example, Vardy has been tempered and matured by Hamburg and Pan Yi, but the overall situation is not bad.

It can even be roughly considered that Mikel is a little weaker than Kanter in the previous life, but Vardy in this life is a little stronger than the previous life, so it is equal.

It is precisely because of this that Leicester City also quietly climbed up after 15 rounds.

Of course, this time they have one unlucky point: that is, in the BIG6, there is a team that is not so lazy!

That is Pan Yi's Chelsea.

Not only did he not drag his shoulders, but he also broke Arsenal's unbeaten record, and he is constantly extending and expanding this record...

In other words, it is almost impossible for Leicester City to "replicate" the success of the previous life.

For Ranieri and his Leicester City in this life, there is actually nothing to regret.

They don't have the memories of previous lives like Pan Yi, and they don't have the emotion of "gaining and losing again".

After all, as a relegation team last season, they actually have a chance to compete for a place in the Champions League this season. This is already a great success!
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"Raieri used suitable tactics for this team, coupled with the strong execution ability of the players, it made this Leicester City reborn, we can't take it lightly."

In Chelsea's Cobham training base, Pan Yi is also discussing the opponent's tactics with the coaching staff.

On the tactical board beside him, various circles and lines have been drawn densely, representing the players and running routes of Leicester City.

On the big screen in front of the conference table, the video of Leicester City's recent game is being shown.

Before each game, Pan Yi will explain the opponent's tactical thinking in detail with the coaches, and then discuss the solution together.

The last thing is to assign the corresponding training tasks and let the players practice according to the latest tactical instructions.

This is what Pan Yi does before every game.

And today, because I have to prepare to face what I think is "the most threatening opponent of the season", the preparation work will be done more fully.

"Ranieri's tactics have always been characterized by a strong Italian style-tough and steady, with defense first."

"After coming to Leicester City, Ranieri poured Italian defensive thinking and modern high-position pressing into England's traditional long-pass counterattack."

"On defense, take the initiative to give up the ball. Except for Vardy, every player in the frontcourt retreats to their own half-court area to narrow the distance between each other."

"Players form teams of two, quickly flank, press the ball wide, force the opponent to attack from the wings, and pass the ball into the penalty area from both sides."

"At this time, the defensive players piled up in the penalty area have long been prepared for this. The two traditional central defenders have a steady and powerful header. It is difficult for the opponent to rely on a high ball to enter the penalty area to get a chance to score."

In fact, Ranieri's tactical thinking is simply to defend and counterattack.

After all, the team's strength is definitely far behind the traditional strong teams, and the team now has a counterattack weapon like Vardy, so it's not for nothing.

Even when Leicester City faced teams other than BIG6, such as weaker teams like Southampton or Bournemouth, they still played steadily in defense and did not advance aggressively at all.

Leicester City are ... 18th in the Premier League in terms of ball possession so far.

A team ranked No. 2, ranked 18th in ball possession rate, which is outrageous at first glance, but it also shows that Ranieri is determined to play defensive and counter-tactics.

Of course, Ranieri also has his own set of ideas. In order to achieve the tactical goals that Pan Yi just mentioned, especially the defensive thinking, he also actively made a lot of preparations before the season and introduced a number of players who adapt to him. A tactical player.

For example, the traditional tall central defender Huth;

Tactical forward Shinji Okazaki, who is more important than scoring goals;
Fuchs, a full-back who has an excellent cross but never assists easily;
And, an important midfielder - Kanter in his previous life, and Mikel in this life.

Of course, if Leicester City only knows how to defend, but has no counterattack efficiency, it will definitely not reach its current height.

Pan Yi immediately began to explain the main points of Ranieri's anti-reverse tactics.

"Once the Leicester City backcourt players steal the ball, the Leicester City players will enter the counterattack state in just a few seconds, and the speed of transition from defense to offense is the highest in the Premier League."

"The player who steals the ball will not hesitate to make a long pass to find Vardy who has already started or Mahrez who is plugging in at high speed on the other side, and quickly forms a counterattack with more plays and less."

"Shinji Okazaki who starts from the midfield and quickly follows up will press the opposing defender on the other side, attracting their attention and creating space for the second attacking players behind him."

Vardy, Mahrez, and Shinji Okazaki, these three are the most important offensive points for Leicester City.

In general, Shinji Okazaki is responsible for the feint (if you don't defend against him, you will really attack), Mahrez is responsible for the breakthrough, and Vardy is responsible for the quick sprint and shot.

To prevent Leicester City's attack, it is necessary to prevent these three people.

Compared with ranking 18th in ball possession rate, there is another outrageous statistic. Leicester's pass success rate is the lowest in the Premier League, 20th!

what does this mean?
This means that Leicester City's offense this season mostly relies on long passes and counterattacks.

Because of short passes at close range, there are fewer backcourt kicks. Many of them are simple and rough passes behind the ball and threatening balls. Of course, the pass success rate is low.

In the positional attack, Leicester City's back line is extremely deep, and it is never easy to press.

The two full-backs, Simpson and Fuchs, did not press the attack at all without Ranieri's instigation.

In this case, Leicester City's offense relies on the interspersed movement between the frontcourt players and the dribbling and flashes of personal ability.

Relying on Mahrez who broke out this season, Leicester City ranks among the top in the Premier League in terms of personal dribbling opportunities, and Mahrez's passing data also ranks second in the Premier League.

Once the ball is lost in the frontcourt, Vardy's first batch of undefeated runners will immediately press and defend. Drinking Water God Linkwater and Mikel will organize a second pressing line behind him to support and prevent the opponent from forming. Offensively, forcing a pass error.

Because of the quick counterattack in the frontcourt and the resolute execution of the players, it is difficult for Fox City's opponents to adapt to such a resolute and high-pressure frontcourt counterattack.

Once such a round of counter-robbing in the frontcourt fails to grab the ball, the Leicester City players will immediately retreat under Ranieri's tactical arrangement to defend and return to the routine of forcing the opponent to attack from the side.

There is also Schmeichel who gets the ball from the backcourt and quickly counterattacks with big feet, which is also quite effective at times.

Leicester City's tactical system is not complicated, that is, the offense relies on a strong counterattack, and the defense relies on the on-the-spot counterattack in the frontcourt and the traditional frontal number in the backcourt.

But relying on Ranieri's strong kneading ability and the surprisingly strong tactical execution of Leicester City players, they have achieved their current results.

"So, how to crack such a team that is resolute in counter-defense?" Arteta asked at the right time, "It feels like they are a bit like Atletico Madrid, with strict defense, giving up ball possession, and emphasizing a simple and efficient defensive counterattack strategy. "

"That's right, you can think of them as Atletico Madrid in the Premier League, and they are indeed arranging buses." Pan Yi nodded, expressing his agreement with his apprentice.

"When we face a team like this, one of the scenarios that can be imagined is that we control the ball throughout the court and then play around their penalty area."

"But in this case, it is likely to fall into one of their favorite routines. In other words, they have been playing like this this season, and they are very adaptable to such pressure."

"And once they get the ball and launch a quick counterattack, Mahrez's possession and breakthrough, Vardy's speed and shooting, may cause a fatal blow to us."

"But like any tactic, there are advantages and disadvantages to playing the bus. When a team plays the bus, they will naturally defend in the middle. This means that the space on the left and right sides can be exploited... ..."

Pan Yi rearranged them on the tactical board, and put the chess pieces representing Chelsea players on the corresponding positions on both sides.

Then, he pressed the remote control, and another game video played on the screen.

"When it comes to controlling the ball against the bus, which two teams do you think of? That's right, it's Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid."

"Barcelona always have to face the teams with the bus in the league, and Atletico Madrid are the strongest opponents. But Barcelona can always break the opponent's defense, and one of the ways they break the opponent's defense is in the penalty area. Quickly mobilize the pass around."

"Iniesta, Messi, Neymar and Suarez are all capable of playing at such a pace that it is difficult for opposing players to get back in time and find the right defensive position."

"Look at this shot. After Neymar gets the ball in the dangerous area, Albara goes to the side and puts it on quickly. Then, Alba gets the ball in the dangerous area."

"Although Atletico Madrid has the upper hand in terms of numbers in the penalty area, Messi and Rakitic have gained a lot of space at this time. This is very important. You can see that Atletico Madrid's players are paying attention at this time. Where."

"Atletico Madrid players are watching Alba, but no one pays attention to Messi's running. In this way, as long as the Argentine runs to the right position, he can shoot."

"Then the next shot, Alba puts the ball into the danger zone and Messi rushes to score."

"Note that there were nine defensive players in the box, including the goalkeeper, but Messi managed to find a kick. This is a typical way to break the bus."

"Although we don't have Messi, we have Hazard, Bernardo Silva, and Harry Kane. They can also tear through their defense through such cooperation."

"Of course, in order to achieve such a tactical goal, I will also make some adjustments to the initial formation and starting lineup..."
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While the Chelsea coaching staff was studying tactics, a Premier League preview program on Sky Sports was also going on at the same time.

Several guests are arguing fiercely about a question, that is:
Is Leicester City just a flash in the pan?
Lineker believes that Leicester City is the Southampton of last season, and it won't last long.

There is of course a basis for this.

In the last season, that is, in the 2014-15 season, the big dark horse Southampton had been at the forefront of the standings before the Premier League game at the end of November when the main central axis was hollowed out before the season. Leicester City are better.

But in December, Southampton started a serious injury wave, and finally only finished eighth.

Leicester City, so far this season, also fit every weakness that Southampton had before the start of last season.

First, the players are unknown and their strength is doubtful.

Second, the new coach took office and was not favored.

Third, the lineup is weak, there are too many new players, and there are doubts about running-in.

This is also a problem with general dark horses.

And why can Leicester City run to the second position now, second only to the super team Chelsea?
Lineker also listed Leicester City's first 15 rounds of this season's schedule.

It can be seen that most of the top six teams last season, Leicester City met on the Christmas schedule, and the teams in the first half of the season were all mid-lower teams.

Different from the intensive schedule of the upstream teams due to European missions, the midstream and downstream teams almost play once a week at the beginning of the season.

Sufficient rest and dominant physical condition, supplemented by suitable tactics, make the beginning of the season every year a time when dark horses emerge.

Similarly, upstream teams have more national team members and need to travel a considerable distance to participate in international competitions on international competition days, resulting in physical decline and potential injuries.

Downstream teams have few national team members, but the international match day has become the best time for tactical improvement and training.

Still take Southampton last season as an example. Their schedule also began to encounter strong teams in December, and then their performance began to decline.

Therefore, based on experience, Lineker is not optimistic that Leicester City will be able to grab points after losing to strong teams around the Christmas schedule.

"If Leicester City can still rank in the top four after the Christmas schedule, I will host the show in my underwear!" Lineker finally said.

This drew laughter from everyone in the studio.

Carragher said: "Gary Neville bet that Pan Yi's Chelsea could not remain unbeaten, so he took off his clothes and sat here. You are good, now you want to take off your pants!"

Zola also said: "I'm afraid you are going to lose. Don't forget, Pan Yi has always been optimistic about Leicester City, and even said so before the start of the season. Therefore, I also believe that Leicester City can continue to win. Black to the bottom."

Lineker shook his head firmly: "Instead of believing that Leicester City can enter the top four, I might as well believe that Gary Neville will become a great coach."

Just a few days ago, the Valencia Club officially announced that it had signed a contract with Manchester United star Gary Neville, who officially became the head coach of Valencia!

Regarding Gary Neville, Valencia wrote on its official website: "Throughout his career, he has shown excellent leadership. In English football, Gary Neville has proved himself, we are sure It was the right choice and he will lead the team until the end of the 2015-16 season."

Carragher laughed: "Compared with the two, I still believe that Leicester City can succeed. I even doubt whether Gary can stay in Valencia until the end of the season..."

Roy Keane also came over and said: "I still believe in Gary's ability. I don't think Ranieri is very good, and I feel that he is not much better than Gary."

The 64-year-old Italian Ranieri has been hailed as a "tinker" in his career, a coach who is similar to firefighting and transition.

In nearly 30 years of coaching career, he has not won any top league championship.

"Tinker" has also changed from representing his ability to quickly pinch the characteristics of the team's strong combat power to a mocking and ironic title.

Before Ranieri came to Leicester City, Fox City hadn't enjoyed the joy of relegation enough. There was news that three players in the team had filmed sex videos and racially discriminated against them during the Thailand tour.

Leicester City executives quickly fired three young players, as well as the father of one of the players, the head coach Pearson who led the team to miraculously avoid relegation.

So at the beginning of Ranieri's tenure, the media's tone was quite consistent-he came to "fix the pot" again.

At the beginning of taking office, Ranieri faced the relegation minister of last season. The veteran Cambiasso refused to renew his contract-Cambiasso, as the absolute core of Leicester City last season, was famous for his superb health care playing Premier League.

The loss of Cambiasso has cast a shadow over Leicester City's prospects for the new season.

Therefore, Roy Keane is not optimistic about Leicester City, but he analyzes it from the perspective of the coach and the internal problems of the team.

"Perhaps, we still have to wait for the top two direct confrontation between Leicester City and Chelsea before we can make the most accurate judgment."

Alan Shearer, who has been silent by the side, finally said:
"Leicester City played really well this year. We all know Vardy. He is the Bundesliga Golden Boot and the Champions League champion. Of course, his strength goes without saying."

"But other players can't be underestimated. Especially Mahrez, if he can play against Chelsea, then they really have the possibility of making a big splash in the Premier League this season."

On January 2014, 1, Leicester City announced the signing of the Algerian winger Mahrez from Le Havre in the French second division, with a transfer fee of 11 pounds, to play in the English Championship.

At this time of the season, Mahrez has already relied on his outstanding performance, and the German turning price has reached 5000 million euros, which is a 100-fold increase compared to two years ago.

He was also dubbed by fans as the real "thigh" standing behind Vardy.

And his life trajectory is somewhat similar to Vardy's. He almost couldn't play football when he was young.

Until he was 19 years old, he joined the youth team of the French fourth-level professional team and participated in the French seventh-level league. Before that, he was just a street football fan - excellent dribbling, excellent sense of the ball, but thin and thin, Without the slightest tactical awareness.

It wasn't until he was 22 years old that he finally played in the first team, and then he was brought to Leicester City, and finally in the 2014-2015 season, this former street boy played in the top league.

Amazing ball sense, excellent dribbling, thin body, poor pass selection, poor defensive ability, poor shooting skills... This is the general impression of Leicester City fans before the miracle relegation.

Then came the critical period of relegation, and Mahrez's performance improved.Against Southampton, the dark horse of the season, the Algerian scored two goals alone, ensuring the team's successful escape and relegation success.

In the 2015-16 season, he ushered in a complete explosion. His excellent dribbling ability and passing made him established as the absolute core of Claudio Ranieri.

With his excellent left foot skills and superhuman flexibility, the Algerian who was almost blocked out of the professional league due to his thinness has become the most pleasing technical player this season. Many of his goals are enough to load the best goal of the season ranks.

At this time, Carragher also agreed: "To be honest, what Mahrez did with his left foot, I have only seen Messi do it. If he keeps like this, I have no doubt that he will do it." Become a real star, and may be poached by big clubs in the future."

"Well, it seems that you are quite optimistic about these players from Leicester City." Lineker said helplessly, "But I also wonder if you were influenced by Pan Yi's remarks..."

"Anyway, Pan Yi will soon lead the team to face this year's dark horse. Let us wait and see what a good show it will be!"

(End of this chapter)