Leicester City: The Defence in Numbers

#ibelieve is finally over. It is now officially time for Leicester City fans everywhere to peer out from behind the hashtag and face the harsh reality that the playoff ship has already sailed off towards the horizon, leaving the Foxes far behind on the empty docks, gazing forlornly at their expensive first class tickets.

With Leicester City’s pathetic 2-1 defeat away at Millwall on Saturday followed by Tuesday night’s utterly dismal pedestrian 0-0 draw at home to Burnley, the final two games of this Championship season have been rendered all but meaningless – with nothing left to fight for other than a stubborn determination to finish higher than Derby County and to try and avoid the downright embarrassment of a Pearson-less Hull City smugly looking down on us from above. Oh, and Foxes Never Quit. Shouldn’t forget that now, should I...

As the time is now upon us to rebuild for next season, I thought it poignant to investigate our Achilles heel. The defence has arguably cost us more points than anything else this season – Blackpool and Watford away spring painfully to mind. Despite having a queue of centre backs longer than at a scouse dole office (and worth infinitely more), we have shipped 52 goals in the 44 games so far this season. Out of the top ten, only Blackpool have conceded more (57).  Something is seriously wrong. So, let the post mortem commence.

Paul Gallagher is a luxury Leicester City cannot afford

Paul Gallagher's first-half penalty and second-half free-kick saw Leicester City secure a much-needed 2-1 home win against Carling Cup finalists and promotion-pushing Cardiff City at the King Power Stadium this afternoon.

He may have scored both goals for the Foxes - who are still a hefty seven points off the Championship playoff places - but in my opinion he should be nowhere near the Leicester team sheet. Not now, nor for the foreseeable future.

I will give him his due, he does have the odd touch of quality. He has the ability to score some absolute wondergoals, as he demonstrated with his two 30-yard screamers against Crystal Palace in November. He also takes a very good penalty. He still has a 100% record for the Foxes from the spot with his unique back-to-goal run up technique. His delivery from set-pieces is also of a high standard...sometimes.

Unfortunately for Paul, he is not playing American Football. You cannot succeed in a footballing side just by being able to convert from deadball situations. I would hope that most of the eleven players in the side would be able to consistently hit the back of the net from just 12 yards away. Paul Konchesky, one of Leicester's best players this season, is also a proven free-kick specialist.

'Gally' is a luxury we cannot afford.

Why Harry Redknapp should not be the next England manager

With the breaking news that Fabio Capello has resigned as manager of the England football team, the cries for Harry Redknapp to take over the reigns have already begun to swarm their way over Twitter. He is already the odds on favourite with the bookies to proceed Capello.

Perhaps rightly so. Redknapp is a very good manager. In his first full season at Tottenham Hotspur in 2009-10, he lead them to their most successful Premier League season ever, finishing fourth and giving them the chance to qualify for the Champion's League - the most prestigious competition in European football. His managerial credentials speak for themselves and I do not wish to bore you so soon with endless reems of facts and figures.

He is arguably the best English manager in football.

And this is precisely why he should not be the next England manager - for his own sake.