Today is part two of Colin Hall’s look at last season and his thoughts for on next season…
Which player did you think underperformed the most last season and why?
The obvious answer would be Riyad Mahrez. As with Eden Hazard the previous season, he rarely seemed entirely at ease with the Player of the Year tag, as it ensured he attracted more attention from opponents than he was able to deal with.
While there were plenty of occasions when players around Riyad could have given him more support than he received, and others when management looked bemused about how to deal with him, there were also far too many times when he gave the impression that his mind was elsewhere. Unless and until his attitude changes, his hopes of moving to a side who appear in the Champions League on a rather more frequent basis than we do will probably remain unfulfilled.
However, mention should also be made here of the disappointing campaign from Danny Drinkwater. Never the best retainer of possession at higher levels, his weaknesses became more apparent in the absence of Kante to retrieve the ball for him. It's also evident, as it was in 2014-15 , that a 4-4-2 formation does not show him at his best. In fairness, though, he was the one player in the City squad for whom there was no direct replacement, which meant that he had to play in a number of games when he was far from fully fit.
There were also a number of games in which Jeff Schlupp failed to do himself justice before his mid-season move to Crystal Palace. How and why Sam Allardyce saw fit to pay a reported £14m for him is a question only “Big Sam” can answer.
What were your views on the signings made during last season?
Ron-Robert Zieler – nowhere near as assertive as Kasper, so didn't have the same secure relationship with the back four. On last season's evidence I'd be seriously worried if he takes over as first-choice keeper.
Luis Hernandez – was shuffled between right-back and centre-back, but didn't impress in either role, with the exception of the long throw that set up the opener in Brugge. He clearly didn't take to English football and looked far happier when he joined Malaga in mid-season and returned to La Liga.
Papy Mendy – was always on a hiding to nothing as the replacement for Saint N'Golo. A bad ankle injury on his debut against Arsenal kept him out for months, and his return coincided with the shocker in Porto when Claudio sent a virtual B team. I'll reserve judgement until next season when he's fit and settled.
Ahmed Musa -signed as cover for Vardy, he showed great promise with a superb showing in Stockholm against Barcelona in pre-season, but couldn't reach anywhere near that standard in the league or Champions League. He produced a match-winning performance in the FA Cup game at Everton, but if he moves on this summer, his departure won't be widely mourned.
Bartosz Kapustka – another player who had trouble adjusting to life in England and was never more than a fringe player. With a World Cup next year, and Poland likely to be a part of it, I wouldn't be surprised if he moves on to seek regular first-team football.
Islam Slimani – last summer's flagship signing never quite made the impact that he and we had hoped. A succession of injuries meant he was unable to build on a stunning league debut against Burnley, though he did contribute crucial winners and assists in the Champions League. A bad miss in the closing minutes of the final game of the season did not exactly silence the growing number of critics among the Foxes faithful.
Molla Wague – loan signing who looked assured on his debut before suffering an injury. Impossible to tell how he would have fared against higher level opponents, though.
Wilfred Ndidi – without doubt, the most impressive of the City intake. A superb debut at Everton drew comparisons with Patrick Vieira and Yaya Toure, and while he suffered subsequent fluctuations in form (understandable for a player who is still only 20), his goals against Stoke and Watford provided further indications of his considerable potential.
For match reporters who attended away games, which ground gave you your best away experience and why?
The Jan Breydel Stadium, deep in the western suburbs of Brugge, was the scene of my most cherished away day in many a season. During the day, the sun had shone, the beers had flowed and thousands of Foxes took over the city (in a completely peaceful, non-aggressive manner) and had the time of their lives. All that was needed was for the team to do us proud – and they most certainly did. The 3-0 scoreline did not flatter us at all. It was the perfect way to introduce ourselves to the world's biggest club competition!
Moving onto next season
What changes do you think are necessary to improve on this year’s squad?
There are a number of alterations which need to be implemented, involving tactics as much as personnel. The counter-attacking style that worked so well under Claudio is in need of modification, as opponents have worked out how to counter that. The days we could keep on winning games with less than 40 per cent possession have now passed.
With four extra midfielders returning to the squad before we have even ventured into the transfer market, a switch to a three-man central midfield might also serve Shakespeare well and provide extra protection for the defence. There were too many times last season when we were outnumbered and over-run in the centre of the field.
Some careful pruning of the squad's fringe players may also be needed. Apart from the players previously mentioned, I think we should look sympathetically at reasonable bids for Yohan Benalouane and Leonardo Ulloa. Both of them are at the stage in their careers where they need regular first-team football, which isn't likely to be available for them at City.
While watching Premiership games during the 2016/7 season, which player from another club would you advise Shakey to sign?
Harry Maguire has caught my eye in the past, and his arrival at the club is a welcome statement of intent. The price is a little on the steep side, but is a reflection of the inflated transfer market Premier clubs now have to deal with. Let's hope he turns out to be more of a Matt Elliott than a Matt Mills.
Gylfi Sigurdsson is another who has been regularly linked with us. He could certainly do a job, but fear he may prefer a move to a club with European competition to offer him. Should this prove to be the case, a move for Ross Barkley might not go amiss, especially if we can offer him more game time than rival suitors might do.
What would you set as the target(s) for next season?
As long as we recruit well, and make a decent start (far from guaranteed given the August/September fixtures), I think we could make a significant improvement on last season's final position. As ever, though, the first target will be to reach 40 points, to ensure we are more or less guaranteed another season of top-flight football, and then, depending on how soon that target is reached, reassess what might be achievable afterwards. I'd certainly hope for at least 50 points this season and a place in the top 10.
I'd also like to see Shakespeare give the cups more priority than they've had in recent years. The turnout, particularly away from home, for the FA Cup ties in the last two or three seasons show that competition still matters to Foxes of a certain generation. If the likes of Stoke, Hull, Palace and Wigan can all reach finals, as has happened this decade, there's no reason why we can't do the same.
Any other observation you would like to make
The two issues I raised in last season's review remain pertinent now, and perhaps have become even more so.
I was never keen on the idea of putting an under-23 team into the Football League Trophy and last season's experience confirmed my worst fears. I was one of the 600 who braved the elements to attend a particularly dismal home defeat by Walsall, in which many of the younger players (Barnes apart) showed they were nowhere near ready for senior football. It's a distraction the club does not need and I hope that when the invitation is offered again, we will politely decline it. There are other, better methods, of developing talented English-based players.
The other matter concerns the expansion of the stadium. With several neighbouring clubs continuing to struggle, the window of opportunity remains for us to extend our fanbase throughout the Midlands and beyond, giving us the chance to become a regional powerhouse for a very long time. Season tickets for 2017-18 have sold out (the fourth season in a row this has happened), showing the continued high community interest in, and support for, us.
There is no doubt that games against the top clubs could attract crowds of 40000 plus to King Power Stadium. Other games could do likewise with the deployment of the types of imaginative, innovative marketing we saw during the venue's early years.
At a time when several Premier clubs are either extending their stadiums, or relocating to new ones, to make their ambitions clear, our owners need to do likewise in order to compete in the upper reaches of the league on a regular basis.
It would not be in their interest, or ours, for City to become another Stoke or West Bromwich, seemingly content to merely make up the numbers season after season. We have shown we can be better than that. Maybe we can build to reach those heights again!
The views expressed in this report are the opinions of the Trust member nominated to file the report only and do not represent the views of the Foxes Trust organisation