Hounds catch up with Vardy’s Foxes

THIS time last year, Jamie Vardy was six matches into his record-breaking run of goals in 11 consecutive Premier League matches, and there was nothing quite so inevitable of a Saturday afternoon — and Leicester City almost always played on a Saturday then — as a Vardy goal alert.

By Halloween, he was on eight straight matches and his fame growing fast. Vardy was on the hot streak of his life, of any Premier League goalscorer’s life for that matter, and the goals kept coming.

One year on and the story is different again. The Champions League win over FC Copenhagen marked his ninth straight match without a goal.

One might argue that the last few weeks is nothing more than a footnote in the Vardy story. Yet it will be fascinating to see how he responds.

Alan Shearer has told Vardy to stop “sulking” and Michael Owen said in an interview before Tuesday’s match that Vardy was “not a natural goal scorer”.

With 70 England goals between them, that is quite a case for the prosecution.

Certainly against Copenhagen on Tuesday, Vardy worked hard. It was the No 9 who crossed for Islam Slimani to head the ball down for Riyad Mahrez’s winner.

As for scoring chances, it was hard to recall one for Vardy. The popular theory is that Leicester and their striker have been figured out by opposition teams and while that may be the case it would be right to say that Leicester have changed too.

At the cost of £29.7-million, it is understandable that every effort is being made to play Slimani, who did well against Copenhagen. Last season Shinji Okazaki occupied that role and worked back towards his own goal with such ferocity that Leicester looked as if they had an extra midfielder. That was crucial for a team that thrived on winning the second ball and building attacks high up the pitch.

With N’Golo Kante in the team, picking up possession and keeping it was easier. Kante’s absence doesn’t just affect Leicester defensively, it has an impact on everything. The pace with which Leicester counterattacked has diminished.

Vardy’s new autobiography details the slow transformation of his career from when he was still turning out for the Anvil pub team in the Sheffield Imperial Sunday League to becoming an England international. While it wasn’t an effortless rise, each stage was accomplished with something to spare. Now the margins are finer.

No footballer can rely on the stars to align every season and Vardy knows better than most about grasping opportunities when they come. Having been asked to make progress year on year, this time the challenge for him is to do it all over again.—©