27.7.99

Grassroots

by Peter Gilbert

Two months without football and two weeks to go before a new season and what has happened to Leicester City?
Well you would have to say 'not a lot'.
We've made no progress with the new ground,it now appears to be dead in the water but I'm happy at Filbert Street anyway, the only thing that really concerns me is the state of the pitch and the quality of the team.

You can keep your executive boxes, catering facilities, fancy toilets and corporate hospitality suites.....the only thing I'm interested in is the grass and the players.

I expect the grass to be good again this season;it's been fine for the last few years, you know nice and flat and green all over. The players well yes they've been fine too but they are a bit like the grass, new seeds are needed from time to time as is constant attention to ensure quality.

I know for a fact that the grass has taken a hell of a pampering but the players....... unless they've had a dose of miracle grow which encourages new growth and development, eliminates moss and weeds as well as capitalising on the strong underlying quality in existence; are in need of some serious attention.
So we can look at the pitch and players in the same light really and divide them up into categories as follows:

Head Groundsman: O'Neill
Existing Quality: Lennon, Izzett,Guppy.....all guaranteed to flourish and thrive.
Promising areas in need of some attention: Heskey,Zagorakis.
Promising areas in need of extra attention: Campbell, Wilson,Oakes.
Reliable areas which might this year require extra assistance: Elliott.
Areas that have been good but might require replacement this year: Savage.
Wild grass that require constant attention and keeping under control: Sinclair.
Ungrateful sods that should be dug up and discarded: Keller,Ullathorne.
Still in the greenhouse: Gunnlaurggson.
Hardy Perennials that keep going: Cottee.
Re-Planted elsewhere: Marshall
Moved to training ground pitches: Parker.
On the boarder: Walsh
Suspect areas of turf: goal area.

So let's not beat about the bush, we look like starting the new season with Lennon, Izzett, Guppy, Heskey, Zagorakis and Elliott representing areas that are good enough to sustain the rigours of the Autumn, Winter and Spring.
That's 6 players we can rely on to come up with the goods of various sorts.

We all know that a minimum of 15 quality players are required to see us through.

We need: a goalkeeper, a quick centre back, two full backs, a midfield passer and a prolific striker if we are to achieve a worthwhile season. I'm sure Martin O'Neill knows this and that he's trying his best to capture these elusive qualities to move the team on to the next stage of development. The worrying thing though is the disappearance or rather non-appearance of the new ground which appears to be so vital to all future developments.Is this the reason why we have not attracted new players?

The grass and the feet that run around on it are the be all and end all of any football club but they are only in evidence it would appear if the rest of the cake including the icing is there too.

Grass needs strong roots which ensure permanent growth, and it has the habit of coming good at the end of the growth period.....like now.

Long live the grass, bring on the players.....and quick.