The fairy tale rise of Jamie Vardy

Jamie Vardy is one goal away from making Premier League history

Even though Leicester City’s exploits this season is no less than a fairytale, there exists another fairy tale that has been making the rounds all over England. And that is of Jamie Vardy.

The meteoric rise of Jamie Vardy cannot be unnoticed in the footballing world; from playing for Fleetwood Town in the Conference Premier (now known as the National League), the fifth highest division in the overall English football league system, till as late as 2012 to being the top scorer in the English Premier League for Leicester in 13 matches.

His red-hot form is one of the reasons for Leicester’s surprisingly superb season so far, sitting pretty on top of the league table above heavyweights Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City. Here is the analysis of what went right for Vardy this season.

Improvement in his own game

Jamie Vardy is regarded as a player who will work really hard for the team. He runs relentlessly towards defenders, pressing really hard. Along with a decent goal scoring instincts, he has enough quality to be a half-decent striker in the Premier League.

But he was naive and erratic. He lacked experience playing in the top division, which may explain his 22-match goal drought last season.

However, he ended the season on a high. There was a definite improvement in his game. He scored some important goals, which catapulted Leicester City out of the relegation zone. He also earned his first international call-up for England for the friendly matches after the season.

But Vardy caught everybody’s attention this season as he looked a more refined player than last season. With improvement in his technical abilities and using his raw pace, he terrorised defenders and scored goals for fun.

His aerial ability improved leaps and bounds, and his ability to score goals from either foot made him a lethal striker. His shot conversion rate has been phenomenal and tackles won as a striker has been second to none.

With his astounding finishing, he has scored 13 goals in 13 matches for Leicester and is now the leading goal scorer in the league. And equalling Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record of scoring in 10 consecutive matches in the league got him a bit more attention from the media.

The players around him

There is no doubt that Jamie Vardy has been great this season, but a lot of credit should go to the players playing alongside him. One of them is Riyad Mahrez. A relatively unknown player last season, he burst into the scene this season with his exceptional display, scoring seven goals and assisting six.

Mahrez, along with Marc Albrighton and Jeffrey Schlupp, has formed a formidable attacking group with Vardy, who are fast, pacey and work tirelessly both on and off the ball. A special mention to Danny Drinkwater, who has been a revelation as a box-to-box midfielder who seamlessly joins the attack, making Leicester a goal-threatening attacking team.

Jamie Vardy (L) has grown in leaps and bounds under the management of Claudio Ranieri (R)

Claudio Ranieri’s tactics

Being Italian, one would expect Ranieri to be a manager who would give a lot of importance to defence. But as it turns out, he is quite an anti-Italian in that respect.

His team has been playing one of the best attacking football at the moment, and even though Leicester City’s defence is not particularly great, the team makes it up with its aggressive attacking display.

Off the football, he seemed to have instilled the never-say-die spirit in the team, which is evident from the games away at Stoke and Southampton, where Leicester managed to get a draw after conceding two goals first on both occasions.

The style of play deployed by Ranieri is direct, in-your-face attacking football, giving no respite to the opposition defence and midfield. And the style suited the majority of players, including Jamie Vardy.

The style of play proved to be making Vardy play to his strengths – using his pace and willing to press to give defenders nightmare. It is quite evident from Vardy’s play this season that Ranieri has worked really hard on Vardy, improving his aerial ability and accuracy in goal and making him the goal machine of the team.

Can Vardy continue his rich vein of form?

Leicester City has a very tough list of fixtures till the year end, facing Manchester United, Swansea, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool and Manchester City. These fixtures may answer Leicester’s fate as a top 4 team in the league.

But, it will also be fascinating to see how Vardy fares against these tough sides having a stronger defence than most of the sides he played against till now. In the long run, surely there will be a phase when his form drops. So, it would be interesting to see how he turns around his form then. If he is able to turn his form, it is well and good. Otherwise, this goal scoring form of his will be termed as a fluke.