Focus: Same team, different story

It wasn’t really meant to be like this was it?

After all, this is essentially the same squad that secured a fifth place finish in the league last year. A squad which this season has arguably improved its strength and depth significantly.

But somehow Leicester prop up the Championship table after eight matches, reeling off the back of a truly woeful display at Fratton Park on Friday night which saw the home side stick six past a hapless Foxes defence.

Allowing Nigel Pearson to join Hull was always going to be a poor decision, but that is another argument for another day.

Regardless, the set-up at Leicester simply could not have been any better for the incoming Paulo Sousa. Leaving Swansea with a formidable defensive record, Leicester fans were told to bring a good book to matches by Swans supporters.

We’re still on page one. Well actually, the book has already been torn up in frustration – and that was in the first half of the opening game.

Leicester themselves boasted a more than respectable defence under Pearson for two seasons, paving the way for Sousa to simply slot in where his predecessor left the state of play.

A frightening 18 goals have hit the back of the City net already, posing serious questions as to what exactly has happened to a team who practically defined the word solid last season.

In truth, little on the first team front has changed. Few of Sousa’s summer signings have made the first team on a regular basis so far, and even the formation is similar to Pearson’s eventual 4-3-3.

Granted luck has not been on our side unlike last year, but there are too many things that are fundamentally wrong this time around. Mainly the back four, with usually dependable performers such as Bruno Berner and Jack Hobbs a shadow of their true selves.

Then there’s the front three situation. Lloyd Dyer and perhaps Steve Howard aside, City have been about as threatening as Joe McElderry in a Royal Rumble.

Martyn Waghorn, arguably Leicester’s most gifted forward, is wasted on the wing. Last season he was used at the forefront of the City attack in the absence of Matty Fryatt, a position in which the youngster excelled in.

Fryatt himself is testing patience. His return from injury has seen performances of a worryingly lacklustre nature, disappointing for a player we all know can produce so well on a regular basis. Something just isn’t quite right here.

Tonight sees a trip to Norwich City, a side this season aiming to emulate exactly what the Foxes achieved last year with a play-off finish in the aftermath of League One success.

While there is still a long way to go, this day and age in football commands relatively instant success. Another defeat this evening could see an already-sweating Paulo Sousa clinging onto his job for dear life, regardless of the votes of confidence from Milan Mandaric.