He was likely full of festive cheer as he picked out his Leicester City Christmas jumper and blue Santa hat and set off for the match against Wolverhampton Wanderers, eventually taking his seat behind the goal in The Kop on Sunday.
The Leicester fan in question probably enjoyed his free pre-match beer, too, courtesy of the club, full of hope. But as Wolves’ second goal rolled across the line, that same fan could be seen bent over double, head firmly clasped in hands, disbelieving of the shambles he had just seen.
No one would expect such lamentable defending from a Premier League side.
Leicester’s situation is no laughing matter. The need to stay in the Premier League is serious stuff. But Sunday’s dreadful 3-0 home defeat to fellow strugglers Wolves leaves them just two points above the relegation zone.
Ruud van Nistelrooy said when he arrived as manager just four games ago, to replace the sacked Steve Cooper, that his tenure was a fresh start for all the players and that he would assess their individual abilities and mentality in due course. The Dutchman is learning quickly about who has the stomach for the fight.
Cooper was sacked because of an apparent disconnect between the players and his approach, but for too long this season these players have avoided accountability. There can no longer be a defence for this Leicester defence. Cooper flatly refused to criticise any individuals publicly, but his loyalty was not rewarded. Van Nistelrooy can’t make the same mistake.
With a Boxing Day trip to league leaders Liverpool followed by a home clash with Manchester City, it was important to get a result against a Wolves side also scrapping for their lives near the foot of the Premier League. In his matchday programme, Van Nistelrooy spoke about how vital home form would be, especially against the sides around them.
What Leicester actually produced was a performance littered with errors in and out of possession, particularly defensively, that belied their Premier League status.
Wolves won with an xG of one. Leicester, who have kept just one clean sheet this season, have conceded 37 goals in 17 league games at an average of over two goals a game, with seven goals conceded without reply in the last two fixtures alone. Such defensive generosity has to stop. If they don’t improve, they will not survive.
A lot is said about tactics and structure, about a preference for a back three, four or five, and though such things are important, there still needs to be a desire from the players to defend properly and to take personal responsibility.
Wolves’ first goal was a simple, clipped ball over the top by Nelson Semedo that should have been gobbled up by the 6ft 5in (196cm) Jannik Vestergaard. Instead, Goncalo Guedes hooked his volley past Danny Ward in the Leicester goal from an acute angle.
What James Justin was thinking when he allowed Matt Doherty’s crossfield ball to go into the path of Rodrigo Gomes for the second goal only he will know. How Ward failed to deal with the bouncing ball as Gomes desperately lunged at it is another puzzlement.
Another clipped ball over the top led to the visitors’ third. Guedes played a simple pass inside for the unmarked Matheus Cunha, left to run free by Boubakary Soumare, who beat Ward again, though at least the Welshman got a hand on this one but could only push it against the post.
Ward replaced the injured Mads Hermansen at half-time at Newcastle on December 14 with Leicester 1-0 down, but he conceded three goals in that second period. By the end of the first half against Wolves, he had let three more in. In the 83rd minute, he made his first and only save, which drew derisory cheers from the home fans.
Justin was also jeered as he was withdrawn early in the second period. It is difficult not to feel some sympathy for a player who bore the brunt of the discontent that stemmed from the fact that most of the goals conceded under Cooper came from the right side. But he received little support in that time from Wout Faes, the right centre-back who was an ever-present under the management of Enzo Maresca and Cooper. Though Van Nistelrooy has not favoured Faes in his starting line-up, little has improved in Leicester’s defence.
Problems in the back line have a knock-on effect in every other facet of play, specifically reducing players’ confidence to join attacks.
Leicester want to sign a new central defender in the January window, but unless they can conjure up a signing who has the impact of Robert Huth in the great escape season, the German arriving in the January transfer window of the 2014-15 season with Leicester bottom of the table, improvement has to come from within. Van Nistelrooy has to find solutions with the personnel he has. A new signing can only help if his team-mates make a concerted effort to do better.
At the end of a practically redundant second half, a fan held up a cardboard sign that read: “All I want for Christmas is three points.” The number three had been crossed out, probably at half-time, and replaced with the number one.
Yet, so poor were Leicester, even that was wishful thinking.
(Top photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images)
