LEICESTER, ENGLAND - JUNE 21 : Leicester City unveil the new manager Steve Cooper at the King Power Stadium on June 21, 2024 in Leicester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)
“You don’t have any results given to you in this league. You really have to earn whatever you get. Part of that is being ruthless. Do we want and need to be ruthless in games to get what we want? Of course.”
That was Leicester City manager Steve Cooper on Thursday when he sat down to preview his team’s clash with Aston Villa. It was a spot-on assessment. But heeding his own words is more difficult in practice.
Because it’s not just the players who have to be more ruthless, it’s Cooper too. There was an opportunity there against Villa, and it felt like Cooper didn’t take it until it was too late.
Lamare Bogarde was very clearly Villa’s weak point. A 20-year-old centre-back who had never played above League One level had been thrown in at right-back for his Premier League debut. It showed. He looked nervous, in and out of possession.
Ayew was having a good game and did not necessarily deserve to be substituted. But if Cooper had taken the ruthless move, he’d have recognised Bogarde’s vulnerability and brought Stephy Mavididi on at half-time.
Even in midweek against Tranmere, Mavididi showed he can be frustrating. But the evidence of the past year also shows he’s the best one-on-one player attacker City have to play on the left wing.
To bring him on at half-time would have been a real show of intent. But having not taken that opportunity, another chance to introduce Mavididi presented itself in the 55th minute, when Bogarde got booked. Now he was on even shakier ground. Again, Cooper stuck with the same 11.
It was not until Jhon Duran, one of Villa’s substitutes, put them 2-0 ahead that Cooper made changes, including Mavididi. Five minutes later, the winger tore past Bogarde to set up Facundo Buonanotte’s goal.
Six minutes later, Bogarde was withdrawn, with Kosta Nedeljkovic coming up. The Serb is even younger than Bogarde, but is slightly more experienced, is a natural right-back, and wasn’t on a yellow card.
It was a change made by Unai Emery as part of Villa’s plan to shut the game down. They slowed down their own possession and fought to win soft free-kicks. They could do so knowing they still had the lead.
But if Mavididi had come on 20 minutes earlier than he did, or even 10 minutes earlier, and he had breezed past Bogarde to earn City an equaliser, rather than merely give them a lifeline, it could have been a different game. Villa would have had to keep looking for a second goal, and there would have been more space for City to work in.
Cooper has said he felt City could have come away with a better result in all three of their Premier League matches so far. Against Villa, not bringing on Mavididi or attacking players earlier felt like the moment where the points were won and lost.
It would have been a brave decision to take off Ayew at half-time and put Mavididi on, and of course it is easier to say it should have been done in hindsight. But calculated gambles may be required for City to pick up points this season. Fortune favours the bold, and all that.
The good news is that Cooper is a reflective manager. He’s not afraid to analyse his own tactics and decisions. It doesn’t feel like a lesson that will go unlearned.
