Schmeichel’s absence delays vital work on their set-pieces
CAPTAIN GIVEN EXTRA TIME OFF AHEAD OF WINTER WORLD CUP
LEICESTER City’s season has started how the previous one ended, with set-piece defending the dominant talking point.
In truth, the corner and freekick conceded to Notts County were not of any real concern.
The second half defence included two development squad trialists and a teenage right-back at centre-back.
They are not the players Brendan Rodgers needs to improve.
And anyway, while the manager has promised his side will be better at defending set-pieces in the upcoming campaign, expecting him to have fulfilled that pledge already is unrealistic.
There are international players who are only just returning to training, and there is little point practising, analysing, and talking through those routines without the whole squad present.
But it does make the decision to give captain Kasper Schmeichel more time off an interesting one.
Rodgers says that because the Dane is facing a big season, with the World Cup in the middle of it, he is being allowed an extra week’s rest.
He is not the only City player who will be going to Qatar, though.
Barring anything drastic, Youri Tielemans, Timothy Castagne, Daniel Amartey, and Papy Mendy will be there too, albeit whether all of those will still be City players at that point is uncertain.
And while Schmeichel may play more club football than any other City player in the run-up to Qatar, life as a goalkeeper is not as physically taxing as it is for an outfield player, so it is not clear why he needs more time off than those others going to the World Cup.
His absence will inevitably lead to more questions over his future.
Previously, it looked as if it would be Schmeichel making the call over the end of his City career, his standing in the game earning him a move to a team competing in Europe when that could no longer be offered at the King Power Stadium.
Now, it feels more likely that the club will make the decision, cutting ties with their captain in favour of a younger model.
City have been scouting the goalkeeper market in the months leading up to the transfer window.
But if Schmeichel is staying and will be the club’s number one next term, as Rodgers has suggested publicly, there is a different problem at hand.
His extra week off prevents City from drilling down into where their set-piece defending has gone wrong and starting the process of correcting those issues.
The business of last season’s schedule did not allow for a great deal of time on the training pitch, and so pre-season is a perfect occasion to address the team’s problems.
Defending set-pieces is something that requires roles for all 11 players on the pitch, and the goalkeeper is one of the most significant.
Now, any work done in Evian this week won’t be as effective because the number one won’t be involved.
The small details matter, and knowing where the goalkeeper is going to be positioned and the scenarios in which he will attempt to claim the ball are intricacies that need to be understood.
It’s common knowledge now that City are poor at defending corners, and the opposition will look to exploit that next season. City cannot afford to be slack in their preparation.
Once Schmeichel returns, City will have three weeks to improve. Given the damage their woeful set-piece defending did to their Premier League fortunes last term, that’s three weeks that could make or break City’s season. That’s probably one fewer week than they should have.