The Leicester City storm struck, suddenly and sublimely, and only now – as our ears ring and our hearts thump in the raw, glorious wreckage of the aftermath – can we truly see how singular it is.
It wasn’t forecast – a quick look at every single pre-season prediction article emphatically proves that, just skip straight to the “relegation favourites” section – nor was it even anticipated, intuitively, in the gut or the gammy knee.
It began inconspicuously, a fluttering leaf plucked by the wind from a tree, a ruffling field of wheat sprayed suddenly with a cold handful of rain.
The Foxes only had three wins in their first seven games, but the explosive potential was there, as 4-2, 2-2, 3-2 and 5-2 scorelines littered that opening stanza.
Then the winds really started, with eight wins in their next ten games, as the old, comfortably nailed-down Premier League concepts were lifted slightly off their foundations, gold-plated smirks trembling, scepters rattling.
Like the memorable bovine-themed scene in Twister, Ruud van Nistelrooy’s consecutive games goal-scoring record flew by, dazed and mooing as it was swept up and consumed by this irresistible maelstrom.
There was a brief lull, that many smugly – and incorrectly – identified as the end to this plucky team’s run. It was, in fact, only the eye of the storm passing over, as after a period of one win in four matches between Christmas and mid-January, the tempest returned, with the Foxes unbeaten for the next month.
From all areas of the team, forceful pressure was applied.
Kaspar Schmeichel, with that barrel chest, batted away shots on his goal with contempt. His father must be bursting with pride.
Robert Huth, all gristle, hardened connective tissue and menace, shouldered and elbowed opposition strikers into pulpy jelly.
N’Golo Kante, far and away the most prudent midfield tackler in the world, nicked the ball away from countless rivals, with supernatural ease.
Riyad Mahrez, leaning drolly on the hard running of Jeffrey Schlupp and others, sparkled and dazzled, every step-over a breathtaking, Astaire-like soft-shoe into the sublime upper tiers of athletic, rhythmic movement.
And then, of course, Jamie Vardy, the jet, whose finishing over this last, tense stretch has been so vicious, so unerring, those legs of his might have been bolts of lightning.
No stone was left unturned, no tree left unsplit, and as it dawned on everyone that there would be no shirking of this, Leicester only tightened their resolve.
Their final run of games has been a masterful clinching of a title, to the point where, when the treasured footage of Vardy, Mahrez, Kante, Wes Morgan and the rest celebrating their triumph finally arrived, it almost seemed inevitable. As the mighty squall whoops and hollers off over the sea, the scattered remains have begun to twitch, fumbling with numbers like 5000-1, babbling almost, clearly having difficulty adjusting to this harsh, new paradigm.
Except there is no new paradigm, at least not one that can be confirmed yet. As golden an opportunity as this is, it feels that, with a near-clean slate on which to rebuild, the same old structures will be re-erected, the same old clubs will spend the same old oceans of cash, and the familiar status quo will be reasserted.
Of course, Leicester have been defying the doubters all season, so they may well win the league again. But it would be foolish to rely on next season’s Chelsea being the same pallid team they were this term, or for Manchester City to announce halfway through the 2016-17 campaign that Pep Guardiola is to be replaced at the end of it, or for Liverpool not to have further evolved into a Jurgen Klopp-monster of running, pressing and scoring, or, indeed, for youthful Spurs not to have matured and grown as a result of their harrowing experiences this season.
Arsenal, Manchester United, West Ham, Southampton: the list of genuine threats is a long one, and with new managers and new money, it would be a surprise if 77 points with two games to go is enough to clinch next season’s premiership.
Furthermore, as horrible it is to say so soon after they’ve done the near-impossible, the threat of this team being broken up is a real one. Leicester have suffered fewer injuries than any other team this season, with squad continuity a hallmark of their success. The removal of just one of Vardy, Mahrez or Kante from the squad – regardless of the money it takes to crowbar them away – could be a blow that brutally winds.
Bids will come, particularly for Mahrez and Kante, and Leicester’s resolve will be tested. Champions League football, and the allure and money that brings, will help them keep hold of their stars, as well as attract more. But new stars, from abroad, will also arrive at other teams. The Premier League is still very much a buying league, and covetousness abounds.
Perhaps this sort of experience is just as rare as it seems, something that might happen once every 20 years, if that. The terrestrial lords, whose palaces have been blown down, will welcome another two decades of mundane stability, but those who have been forced underground by the might of the ruling classes need to cherish this moment, if only vicariously.
This season might be flawed, but it is a paragon of sporting exhilaration, of underdog miracles, a season to be treasured, kept safely in the tissue-paper lined memory boxes of every football fan who was fortunate enough to witness it. There will be stories told, wistfully and wet-eyed, of the deeds of Vardy and co.
Next season may return us to business as usual, but we’ll never forget Leicester’s wondrous title, and our hands, in the years to come, will trace nostalgically over the scars this great storm left on the aristocratic structures of English football.
BtoPower3
Roar Rookie
You only lose your head if Foxes win the premiership again next year.
Doug Graves
Guest
Top 10 next season: 1) Man City (Pep will see to it) 2) Chelski (Will spend enough to get back up here) 3) Spurs (St Totteringhams day now a distant memory) 4) Liverpool (Klopp is not a flop) 5) Arsenal (#WengerOut) 6) Man United (#VanGaalOut) 7) Leicester (Not up to Champions League, should hope to finish 4th in group stage and concentrate on EPL) 8) Southampton (Same old bumbling Saints) 9) West Ham (Playing in Europa League will hamper their season) 10) Stoke (Classic mid table club)
marron
Guest
A billionaire Thai.... But Saudi money is better at winning, we all know that.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
"but the ‘far more likely’ to get relegated." I'm cheating when I say that. There's more ways to get relegated than win the premiership. Of course it's always going to be easier to get relegated than win the title because of this. "Leicester were in the top 30 richest clubs in the world at the beginning of the season" Sound argument, but it's all relative. 17 of the top 30 richest clubs were in the EPL also. Many just look at the top when determining the strength of a league, yet don't bother looking at the depth. The EPL is the most brutal, capitalistic...dog eat dog football league in the world. It's tough to stay up - that's why it's considered the best!
nickoldschool
Guest
Don't think its 'sound logic' at this stage rick, more of a very loose extrapolation. Leicester will be richer in 16-17 than they were in 15-16, they have the backing of a rich Thai and all their players are now worth much more than they were 12 months ago. So if they achieved an epl title with say 20% of Chelsea, City, Man U etc budget 'logically' they should do ok with 40% (wild guess)? What bothered me in your assertion is not so much that they probably won't win another epl next year, it's hard for everyone to go back to back after all, but the 'far more likely' to get relegated. Leicester were in the top 30 richest clubs in the world at the beginning of the season, they will most probably enter the top 20 this year, so as of now they don't have any financial issues a la Pompey or Leeds a few years back. Based on finances alone, they will probably be a top 8-10 team. Then if (something we don't know yet) they manage to keep their players and add another 2-3 very good ones I think they will have a very decent roster, enough to aim for a top 8 finish (not saying they will). Things change, 12 months ago having Vardy, Kante, Mahrez or Okazaki in an epl roster was seen as average. Now most EPL teams would swap pretty much any 4 of their team for those guys. Ask Man U if they would rather have schneiderlin, fellaini, mata and Rooney or those 4.
Kaks
Roar Guru
If Leicester winning the premier league was 5,000/1 odds, then the four years that Brian Clough won promotion, won the league, won the European cup and then retained it would have been 5,000,000/1 odds.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
Money...simple as that. Teams like City, United and Chelsea will just keep pouring more resources in until they win. LC is no template for success. There's no reason at first glance why they won the premiership. Sure, we can analyse it further and learn from it, perhaps even take some small ideas; but I doubt it's a template for success other clubs will follow in great detail. Now if some Saudi prince decides to buy LC....well I might change that statement. It's just predictions based on sound logic, that's all. We could all be boring and say nothing until these events unfold before us, but that would make this site pretty boring.
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
Rick, how can you say that without even knowing the 20 teams' rosters for 16-17? Based on Leicester's name alone?
The Phantom Commissioner
Roar Rookie
Oh Rick you're so brave!
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
Experts sometimes get things wrong. I love all the people who badmouth the ones who try to make predictions based on solid logic, yet are afraid to make their own predictions - the 'genius in hindsight' Roarers so to speak. I'll put my head on the chopping block though and say LC are far more likely to be relegated next year than win the premiership again.
Ian
Guest
Unsurprisingly some of the experts who couldn't believe a lowly team like Leicester could win and week after week said they were no good and wouldn't finish on top - now come up with.......'they will be relegated next season'.........just so they have something to hang their hat on.
rueben
Guest
' it will all be guesses in 2017
Fussball IUL
Roar Rookie
You're right Spruce Moose. So, perhaps, analysts need to start digging a bit deeper - beyond the glib "Big 4 will win the league". Do some research on new recruits. Then, when you've watched a few games, start opening your mind to what you're actually observing on the park, rather than the inane: "these sort of teams always fail". The best analysts - be it sport, economics, weather - are not rigid in their forecasts, but adapt as new data presents.
spruce moose
Guest
"The smart analysts will spend more time analysing, & learning from, season 2015/16; than trying to make daily guesses about the future." That's what they did for this season Fuss. They analysed 2014-2015 and lessons from that season and were way wrong. My advice is to sit back and enjoy the next season, hopefully it will be just as crazy.
Kaks
Roar Guru
"It’s pretty difficult to take any predictions about next season seriously, when there was no one on the planet who got this season’s predictions correct." However the predictions for possibly the last 20 years in the EPL were business as usual.
Vas Venkatramani
Roar Guru
There's no point in trying to make predictions about next season while we're still in this one - the change in players, managers and so many other variables will come into play. What this season has proven though is that having money is no longer as big a factor as it was a few years ago - all the teams in the Premier League will have money thanks to the new broadcasting deal. The real factor for success will be who can manage a team best, whether it is a team of 50m pound players, or 5m pound players.
Punter
Guest
Na not from me. This was a great story, one of the great stories, but this was one of the weakest premierships in living memory. Chelsea self exploded, Man U is anyone's guess, Man City poor and inconsistent, was Arsenal's to lose and they choked, Liverpool, so sad, only Spurs excel but again fell short. Great fairytale, but this Liecester team is a long way from Madrid teams, Barcelona, they said that at beginning of season about premiership, so anything can happen, but no my money not on them. That Notts Forest side was from a different era and Brian Clough is about 4 levels above Raneri.
Bryan
Guest
Perfect storm all coming together. Arsenal who have been meh for years, Tottenham who are going ok, but are forced to sell their best player every 2nd year (Bale Modric etc) Man U continuing to fall to pieces after Sir Alex Chelsea having the inevitable Mourinho explosion at the start of the year and their best player, Hazard, having possibly one of the worst seasons ever seen in such a good player And Man City basically saying stuff this year, we want next year. So it was ripe for someone to to surprise. But that surprise actually winning the damn thing, and being a basically relegation favourite is crazy. They had maybe 4 players who have been overlooked by other teams have some of the most stunning form ever seen out of absolutely no-where. Either brilliant recruiting or amazing luck and likely both. The lack of injuries helped, dropping out of the cups early too. They basically played with the same 11 all year. They can't do that next year with Champions League. Recruiting will be interesting, especially looking at how much they put into the budget. I don't see them going all out to become a new top team, they just don't have the money ownership or supporter base / shirt sales to manage it year in year out. If they did, they could explode like leeds. But aim for where everton was a few years ago. Europa League consistently, top half of EPL.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
Sounds like a ballsy prediction there Punter. What are you saying... :)
ChubbzyK96
Guest
Yep in 1936-37 ManCity won, then were relegated in 37-38, despite scoring the most goals and having a positive goal difference!