Of course Ozil and Sanchez have class.
Ozil’s won the World Cup with Germany and Sanchez has won the Copa America with Chile.
But Jamie Vardy is a northern fireball who plays football like an extraterrestrial ferret.
Vardy is electric and fiery but also very consistent. He scored in 11 consecutive Premier League games this season, beating Ruud van Nastelroy’s record. Keown’s old mate was obliged to Tweet his congratulations to the Leicester No.9.
Vardy’s back-story as a part-timer demonstrates the value of determination.
As a kid he supported Sheffield Wednesday, joined them as a schoolboy, but was let go at 15.
He played for Stockbridge Park Steels in Division One South of the Northern Premier League from 2001, and worked in a factory making carbon-fibre splints for disabled people, so they could walk normally. He had a trial at Crewe for a few days but they needed more experienced players at that time.
Then he played a season at Halifax before joining Fleetwood Town in the top division of the Conference Premier League.
He scored 31 goals in 36 games there. Scouser Andy Mangan, who played up front with Vardy, recalled those happy days by saying,”We battered everyone.”
By now Vardy had become well known within the game, if not by the general public, and there were 25 scouts at his last game for Fleetwood. They saw a striker who was very quick over the first five yards, always competitive, always razor-sharp on chances and half-chances, always closing down defenders with his ferocious energy.
Today’s game at noon is NOT about Ranieri & Wenger.
And the winner doesn’t win the title because there are still 12 games left. But Arsenal look unlikely to catch Leicester because if they lose today because they’ll be 8 points behind a team who are out of all other competitions.
So far Leicester have been the best team in the Premier League & that’s why they’re top.
Wenger has suggested that the pressure of leading the league might get to the Foxes. He also says that, having no Cup ties, they could get bored waiting for their fixtures to come round.
I don’t think Wenger believes that. He would love more recovery days after matches, more preparation for key games.
Mainly, I reckon Claudio Ranieri, the Italian father of this multi-national family, has tweaked what he inherited to produce a fairytale that is thrilling millions of football fans.