Leicester City’s 2015/16 campaign will always stand as a beacon of what’s possible for clubs in England outside of the established and uber rich top six team in the country.
Claudio Ranieri’s troops delighted everyone last season: their own fans, neutrals and even followers of other clubs by doing the unthinkable and breaking that monopoly.
Their success took everyone by surprise, but they deserved every bit of it and were by far the most consistent and even enjoyable team to watch across the campaign.
This season that success has looked as far away as it ever did, with the club currently languishing in 15th place, just one or two bad results away from a real relegation battle.
It’s a far cry from the exploits of last season but perhaps illustrates just how momentous that Premier League win was.
Where has it all gone wrong for the Foxes and can they become contenders again?
Here are the FIVE things missing from last year that Leicester badly need…
Underdog spirit
Success comes with a target on your back. When you’re the best around, you are the measuring stick by which teams test themselves week in, week out.
A massive part of Leicester’s success last season was their ability to harness an underdog spirit, a feeling that they were unified together against a shared cause. It’s the type of squad feeling you don’t usually see in the Premier League with inflated wages and even bigger individual egos the norm.
Now that’s gone, you have a team struggling to live up to their billing playing teams determined to get one over on last season’s champions.
It’s a massive shift in perception internally and externally from last season and is directly contributing to a series of poor league results.
N’Golo Kante
Put simply, N’Golo Kante is a force of nature. The French international is currently enjoying a second season of league success at Chelsea, and is well on his way to lifting the league title for a second successive year.
He was arguably Leicester’s most important player last season away from the Foxes’ headline-grabbing goalscorers. His dynamic displays in midfield gave Leicester a combative nature that was hard to counter, and was at times seemingly everywhere on the pitch at once making tackles and interceptions.
He’s playing a more restrained role at Stamford Bridge this season but has been no less effective and it’s no surprise that the Blues are flying high at the top with him in their midfield.
Jamie Vardy’s party
Jamie Vardy’s goalscoring exploits last season set Leicester on their way to glory. His form in the first half of the season, in particular, was glorious and gave the Foxes the belief that they could keep winning and do the impossible.
He scored 24 league goals across the campaign, also contributing six assists, but that contribution has dried up and he’s failed to replicate anything near that success this term, aside from in one game against Manchester City in December.
The England striker has only scored five league goals this term, including that hat-trick against Guardiola’s side at the King Power Stadium.
Sadly for Leicester, no-one else has been able to step up to the plate and it’s indicative of their campaign so far that he remains their top scorer.
If he can find his form again then the Foxes will likely end the season safely midtable but if the drought continues, it will be an edgy few months at the tail-end of the season.
Premier League focus
Winning the league meant Leicester City would have the opportunity to test themselves against the best that Europe has to offer, flying straight into the group stages of the Champions League.
The underdog spirit we talked about previously was well and truly alive in this competition as they picked up some massive results to qualify for the last 16 of the tournament.
That has come at a cost though and has likely directly impacted on their Premier League season with their focus and efforts channelled into European action.
It’s been a remarkable continental campaign for Leicester and full credit to them, but they’ve failed to fight on both fronts this term so far and need to address that heading into the knockout stages.
Mahrez’s magic
Like Jamie Vardy and N’Golo Kante, Riyad Mahrez was a massive part of Leicester’s success last season. The Algerian international performed way beyond what anyone thought he was capable of and provided a contribution that drove the Foxes towards the title.
With eleven assists and a massive 17 goals, he was arguably Leicester’s most consistent player across the title-winning campaign but, like Vardy, he has reverted the form of previous seasons this term. He’s only managed three goals and two assists in the league.
In Europe, though, he’s excelled, showing he still has the ability to be a massive performer when motivated and with the right attitude to his game.
Whether Ranieri can tap into that in the closing stages of the season remains to be seen but if he can, it’d go a long way to getting Leicester back to their best.