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Steve Cooper papers over Leicester City cracks as unlikely hero forced to celebrate and goal hero proves worth
Leicester City are papering over the cracks. But that may be enough. For more than an hour at Ipswich, they were second best. A promising start quickly subsided and the hosts took charge.
City were pinned back, forced to defend as Ipswich tried to make their control count. The visitors were unable to build any threatening passages of play, and between the 15th and 85th minutes they had just two shots, both long-range efforts from Harry Winks.
In fact, until the Kalvin Phillips red card knocked home efforts, there were few signs that City would get back into the game. They needed Phillips’ dismissal to give them a chance. Thankfully, they took it.
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While there was bedlam in the moment of Jordan Ayew’s 94th-minute equaliser, in the hours and days that follow, there will be concern that it merely glosses over a poor performance. That’s not a problem if it’s recognised that City weren’t great, that the deficiencies and problems are identified, and that work is done to correct them and improve the team.
But there were very few indications that Steve Cooper felt his team needed to be better. Usually forthright in his post-match assessment, Cooper seemed to suggest he felt all the better opportunities fell his team’s way at Portman Road, which ignored the two free headers Ipswich had in the first half and their period of dominance in the middle of the fixture.
There will be a feeling among supporters that City won’t keep getting away with these kinds of performances and that they need to learn to deliver solid 90-minute displays to survive. But maybe that’s a myth.
What they’ve shown so far, as frustrating as it may be for a spectator, is that merely playing well in periods is enough to get results. In none of their 10 Premier League games have they played well for even an hour. In most, it has been 45 minutes. At Ipswich, they were good for a combined half-hour.
And yet they’ve got results in six of their 10 matches. Those periods of good play have been enough. Yes, it would be nice, and it would fill supporters with much more confidence, if they were able to deliver a strong 90-minute showing, but maybe that is expecting too much of a newly-promoted side, and maybe it’s not necessary to get results either.
As much as Cooper won’t like to admit it, they have been lucky so far. They should have conceded a penalty at Southampton. Abdul Fatawu’s charge into Conor Chaplin was worthy of a spot-kick (just as Cameron Burgess’s barge into Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was last season). The red card was a red card, despite Kieran McKenna’s complaints, with Phillips perhaps fortunate his late elbow to Facundo Buonanotte’s neck didn’t get him dismissed earlier.
There will be worries that the luck will run out and that the moments will dry up. The underlying numbers are not great and do not point to long-term success, at least not in the sense of City rising out of the group at the bottom and battling in mid-table.
But they do have good finishers. They do have an excellent goalkeeper. They are delivering in key periods. So yes, they are papering over the cracks. But at least they’re doing that, and not leaving them on full display. The paper might hold strong until May.
Cooper's Hail Mary pays off again
But while they did need the red card and a last-gasp goal to rescue a point, it can’t be said that City didn’t deserve the equaliser from that period of play. They really did hammer at the door and force it down.
Defending a lead and one man light, Ipswich naturally dropped deep. When a side crams all of their players in and around the box, it can be difficult to break them down.
City managed it. Across the final five minutes of the 90, plus the eight added on, City had 13 shots, including 11 from inside the area. Before Ayew grabbed his goal, he had a golden chance to score, while Buonanotte had a couple as well. There were goalmouth scrambles too as City bombarded the box.
It was a Hail Mary from Cooper. He threw all of his attacking players onto the pitch, replacing both full-backs. When Ayew was introduced, City moved into a 2-1-2-5 formation. It felt like tactical abandon, which can lead to a mess, but as they did at Southampton, they showed they have the qualities to make those attacking gambles pay off.
They have players who can find space in a cramped penalty area, they have enough variation in their types of attacker to keep the opposition on their toes, they have the desire, composure and intelligence to keep creating chances even as hope is dwindling. It made for another unforgettable moment.
Super-sub Ayew justifying transfer approach
Signing Ayew was something of a throwback. In the days of transfer analysts and sell-on value, spending a potential £8m on a 33-year-old forward who has averaged three goals a season over the past four years is unusual at best and poor business at worst.
The experience that Ayew could bring to the City squad contributed to the club’s interest in him, and that approach was a big talking point among supporters. The consensus was that money should be spent on younger players with higher ceilings, and that Premier League experience is an overrated attribute.
But for now, it seems the transfer approach is being justified, at least by Ayew. You can’t be certain how two 20-year-olds would fare if placed in his and Jamie Vardy’s boots for that final chance, but it does feel there’s a greater likelihood they would snatch at it.
Instead, it was two players with a combined age of 70 linking up. They weren’t fazed by the desperation of the situation, knowing it may be the last chance City had. Cool heads are a benefit of experience.
Right now, Ayew is delivering. His goals have earned City three points against Southampton and Ipswich, and some might say he’s already paid back his transfer fee.
Cooper said he won’t want to be known as a super-sub and would rather be starting. But it does feel like his attributes are more suited to the latter stages. If City are ahead, he can hold the ball up, carry it upfield, and win free-kicks to buy time and relieve pressure. If City are trailing, he has the intelligence and composure to pick up good positions, find space and finish.
Coming on in either of those scenarios gives Ayew a greater purpose to his role. When he starts, he sometimes lacks energy against players, who, at that point, haven’t yet tired.
So while he may not like it, he is best as a substitute. But he’s one that has already enamoured himself with supporters, and one that can help keep City up and justify their transfer approach in the process.
Soumare defies his own pattern as he's forced to celebrate
As most of the City squad rushed to mob Ayew after his equaliser, Wout Faes and Bilal El Khannouss instead went straight to Boubakary Soumare. They acknowledged his contribution to the goal, and they wanted him and the supporters to recognise it too.
As Cooper said, it was an “amazing” piece of play from the French midfielder. He charged back to not only catch up with Sam Morsy, but then to fool him, convincing him to lean his body one way, only to dart around the other side.
He collected the ball and rushed forward with it, bullying Wes Burns for having even the temerity to try to close him down. It was met by a roar from the City supporters. Then he played a decent, if not perfect pass, to Ayew, whose excellent touch set up the rest of the move.
While there was pandemonium as the ball hit the net, Soumare, humble as he is, just trudged back towards the halfway line. But Faes and El Khannouss forced him to celebrate, spinning him around to face the fans and pointing to him, getting him the appreciation they felt he deserved from the 3,000 travelling fans. It was a lovely moment and perhaps also showed his popularity within the squad.
Now the big question comes: is he worthy of a start in the Premier League? If he plays like this, and like he did in the cup game at United, then you’d have to say yes. Certainly, in this system and with Harry Winks sitting to guard the back four and ensure they’re not left too exposed, it would suit Soumare better, allowing him to charge forward and give him some leeway if he doesn’t get back quickly enough.
His display in midweek prompted a similar response to his good showings of the past, where he leaves supporters questioning if there’s actually a talented player just waiting to be uncovered. But usually, he'd then be anonymous and he’d go back to being a flop. Well, now he’s done it two games in a row. Can he make it three?
Avoiding defeats in basement battles could be vital
City’s past four Premier League fixtures – against Bournemouth, Southampton, Nottingham Forest, and Ipswich – were picked out when the schedule was released as one of the key periods of the season. Aside from the final five games, which is the same four opponents plus Wolves, this was deemed the run that should be the most profitable in terms of points.
They come out of the run with seven from a possible 12. That’s probably the minimum you’d expect to be satisfied. Any less and you’d be concerned, any more and you’d be pretty happy.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean City now need to be worried by the fixtures they have coming up, as if the easy games have gone and the tough run begins. Because really, the past four matches weren’t simple. While it initially seemed Bournemouth and Forest would be in the cluster of teams at the bottom, that now looks very unlikely. They’re both comfortably performing better than City’s next opponents, Manchester United.
So you have to look at the overall picture. And 10 points from 10 games is good enough. Keep that up and City will likely stay in the Premier League, at least provided there are no points deductions later in the campaign.
But perhaps the biggest success when analysing the season as a whole is that City have not lost to any of the other sides in the bottom seven. Right now, it feels like the relegated trio will come from that group, and so far City are unbeaten against those sides. None of Crystal Palace, Everton, Southampton nor Ipswich can claim that.
Not only are they picking up results, they’re stopping those around them from winning. That’s what they need to do to keep their heads above water.
