Would the real Kenton stand up

Leicester fans will remember Kenton as he made eleven appearances for Leicester whilst on loan from Southampton two seasons ago. Unfortunately some Leicester fans will probably remember him best for giving away the penalty which knocked Leicester out of the quarter finals against Blackburn in the 2004/05 season.

Although Leicester fans have seen Darren Kenton play and may be able to guess his strengths and weaknesses, we decided to contact the editor of vital Southampton and ask their opinion on the defender.

What strengths does the player have?

He main strength seems to be that he is a very quick player, which allows him to make some vital interceptions. He will definitely add a bit of pace to your back line.

What Weaknesses does the player have?

Unfortunately he is a very inconsistent player, he did he had some brilliant games for us especially in the season when we were relegated from the Premiership. The game I remember the most is against Arsenal at Highbury. The only problem was that he was unable to reproduce his top form every week. This meant that he struggled to keep his place in the squad, last season he hardly made any appearances due to his inconsistency.

Another weakness that Kenton shows is that sometimes he makes rash decisions, which seem to cost us. Although I suppose you realise that after his loan period for you a couple of seasons ago.

Are you upset to lose the player?

I wasn’t particularly upset to lose him because he wasn’t really a regular starter; he struggled to hold down a first team spot due to his inconsistency.

If we were to play you in a cup match would you boo the player?

I don’t think so; many Saints fans will be unfamiliar with the player because he rarely featured. Also he parted company with the club on amicable terms, we released him rather than sold him so have no reason to criticise him for playing for another team.

Editor of Vital Southampton.

From taking on board the comments on the Southampton fans, it seems that Kenton’s loan period for Leicester was a brief glimpse at what Foxes fans can expect from him in the coming season. Although he will bring some much needed pace to the defensive line, his inconsistency and rash decisions could lead to him struggling to keep a regular starting place. Especially when you consider the defensive options Leicester have, which currently include McCarthy, Kisnorbo, Stearman, Maybury, McAuley, Johansson, and Gerbrand. Although some Leicester fans doubt Leicester will have all these defenders at the beginning of the season, with rumours of interest for both Richard Stearman and Patrick Kisnorbo.

Hopefully Rob Kelly can get the best out of Kenton as there is no doubt that he is a very good player, with a few games back to back maybe he will grow in confidence and Leicester will see the real Darren Kenton.