Leicester City’s steady transition away from Jamie Vardy as the main man up front usually sparks heated debate. Some people, according to Jack Holmes, should respect the great man more.
Being back on Twitter has reminded me of why I had been away for so long. To paraphrase Pat Murphy, the strategy is to have a hot view based on nothing more than vibes and to constantly double down on it. Returning has done little to alleviate my “permanent agitation.”
If it isn’t stating Wolves are the finest team ever to play in the Championship, it is Leeds having the best squad ever at this level – even some of the stuff written about us irritates me. I try to ignore it, but sometimes I can’t – and last week someone posted something that truly hit home for me.
Someone wrote this in reaction to last week’s edition of the BSLB podcast….
“‘[Leicester City] will be unable to sign a striker who will perform well for the club while Vardy is here… Hunters hunt alone, and he has [obstructed] the route of those who could replace him.”
People have the right to their own opinions, but don’t expect them to exist in an echo chamber if you put them out there. I dismissed it at the time. I didn’t believe it was worth my time, and judging by the number of notifications we were receiving, I didn’t think I needed to get involved.
However, it kept coming back to me throughout the week. With each participant linked with a transfer away, I questioned if those who departed were actually satisfied with what they had. Tielemans to Villa, Barnes to Newcastle, Rodgers to Celtic – now we can add Castagne to Fulham and, possibly, Daka to Bournemouth and Ndidi to Forest to the list. Consider reading the results back to Castagne in the style of that infamous episode of “Come Dine With Me.” “£13 million to Fulham, Timothy, and you defend the backpost with the grace and decorum of a reversing dump truck.”
It’s a sad sight. These players were formerly involved in Champions League football. They’re mostly not playing now, relegated to mid-table or worse, a relegation scrap. I’m not sure what caused their fall from favor – was it Rodgers who made them appear better than they were? Were they simply driven at the time? It’s quite difficult to say. Many of their aspirations have come true thanks to Jamie Vardy.
This is why the remark about Vardy irritated me so badly. He has made a lot of guys at this club look better than they were – he made a mid-table club challenge at the top. It’s worth remembering that even when he wasn’t scoring goals, he was still contributing elsewhere because of his selflessness and ability. That’s what elite players do, and Vardy was unquestionably elite in my opinion. I say ‘was’ because it’s evident that his finest days are behind him, but in brief periods recently, you can still see that talent and threat.
I believe we sometimes take it for granted. I finished it. I believe we’ve all done it. Conversations about who can succeed him, who fits best in the Maresca system, and all that stuff happen swiftly. But for this season, which appears to be Vardy’s final, I’m just going to savour the final moments of his career. I’ve been saying all summer that everyone can all leave except him, and I mean it.
More than 100 Premier League goals, a Golden Boot, Player of the Year, an FA Cup, a Community Shield, Premier League and Championship winners’ medals – we’ll never see the likes of Jamie Vardy again. It’s the stuff of nightmares. We’ve lived in the age of a true club legend. His story will never be told again, and he deserves every dime we’ve given for him, or straight to him.
A few years ago, in some bizarre corporate exercise I was asked to list my greatest fears. Having less responsibility in my life back then than I do now, I said ‘Vardy’s going to retire in a few years and I’ve no idea how to replace him’. I’m not sure this was what the person asking had hoped for, but I genuinely meant it. It’s no coincidence as soon as his form dropped we were relegated, and that’s not his fault in any way, shape or form. There’s simply no argument to suggest he’s held the club back in any way at all. He’s been the talisman for this club and he’ll go down in history.
The comment described as “a controversial truth” is nonsense – there is no finer player to learn from, and he deserves every year we’ve given him. He is free to depart whenever he wants. We as fans (and I recognize that we are a vocal minority) cannot decry player devotion when they move on to greener pastures, but then complain when they stay too long. As far as I’m concerned, he can have a contract till he’s 70.
The image of Vardy walking onto the pitch on Saturday, to be greeted by Ricardo quickly throwing him the armband and then proceeding to rattle into tackles and wind up the Rotherham supporters was magnificent. We may not see that beyond this season, and if he does retire, it will be a very sad day for all of us.
If you can’t understand it, you don’t deserve the ride we’ve been on.
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