**MAMMOTH POST ALERT** - General Melchett look away now
I'd also like to see Arsenal win it, though I would very much like to see Leicester finish top four.
A couple of pages ago I pointed out Leicester's results last season that lead to their supposedly "miraculous" run of form. The point I was trying to make was that, in isolation, none of their results were that surprising. What's been incredible is that they have maintained their form and ruthlessness. Here is a summary of their results this season, which see them majestically top of the league:
Beat (at home): Sunderland, Villa, Crystal Palace, Watford and Chelsea
Drew (at home): Man U, Tottenham
Lost (at home): Arsenal
Beat (away): West Ham, Norwich, West Brom, Newcastle, Swansea and Everton
Drew (away): Bournemouth, Stoke and Southampton
So - pick a result out of their in isolation which you think is unusual? I think probably only beating (a) Chelsea at home and (b) Everton away. The former, to be fair, was against a team in disarray and in virtual open mutiny against their manager, so Leicester were in the right place and the right time. Against Everton they got some lucky breaks, but still did well and that is probably their standout win. Funnily enough, both of those results have come in the last two games, with their confidence high and which has lead them two points clear at the top. So you could argue that until that point they had achieved no results which were extraordinary. There are a couple of results that look very good (beating West Ham away, though even we should have managed that, and draws against Man U and Tottenham at home and Southampton away (despite their poor form) are strong results).
That shouldn't take anything away from them - the way they have maintained that form is incredible, with only the crushing defeat to Arsenal (probably the only other consistent form team in the league) being their bad performance. But the key is they have played to the maximum of their abilities virtually every game, and especially against the teams outside the "big six" they have been utterly ruthless and are reaping the rewards.
We cannot expect to emulate them, but it just goes to show what we could do.
It will be interesting if and when they have a bad run whether they can recover like they bounced back from the Arsenal loss this season and the Chelsea loss last - they are away to Liverpool and Tottenham and home to Man City and Bournemouth in the next four games - tough games except perhaps Bournemouth but they are in good form. Then they have a tough first three matches in February followed by a game against us. Their final tough stretch is away to Man U, home to Everton and away to Chelsea in the final three games. It will be interesting to see how they ride those tough periods. I also wonder whether teams will treat them with much more respect the second time they play them, which will in turn mean Leicester find the opposition deeper and harder to break down.
A fascinating season!
