DEAR NDIDI AND LEICESTER CITY GIVE US ANOTHER DREAM
In 2015/2016 season, Leicester city football club did the unthinkable, from battling to survive the drop a season before to battling and eventually winning the league in the process, surprising the Manchesters, Liverpool, Chelsea and the ever underachieving Arsenal.
Notable names like Kante, Vardy, schmaichel, Mahrez and the old untiring legs of Robert Huth and Wes Morgan where instrumental to the fairytale run. Though as a club whose status quo was battling relegation, they had good enough quality scouts who had the eyes for spotting cheap but quality and talented players. One of their best players in the fairytale became the most sort after bride and was eventually snapped up by Chelsea, then the question of who to fill the shoes he had left and then the challenge of playing in the UEFA champions league and staying up in the league.
Leicester did the job early making couple of signings, in came Ahmad Musa who of course became the record signing of the club and in January Wilfred Ndidi relatively an unknown name-though a fast rising household name in the Belgium league came in as a replacement for the hardworking Kante who had left. Ndidi came in relatively unknown and to some Nigerian beer parlour fan, he should not have made the move but he had something to prove. Though torrid was the time he had while under Claudio Ranieri the Italian but he kept on adapting and understanding his new environment.
Meanwhile, the team was back to were they were suppose to be- fighting relegation but were going relatively well in the continent, qualifying for the knockout stage without losing a home fixture, yes, many including me argued that they were in a relatively easy group but their European form could not be replicated in the league. Pressure was mounting high on the coach and maybe he lost his dressing room but the board came up to give him the dreaded deceptive vote of confidence but his time in Leicester city was coming to an end. Things moved from bad to worst and in the round of sixteen in the champions league, they were fearless while away to Sevilla and the scored the much needed away goal but that proved to be the end of his tenure in Leicester city. For me the sack letter was prepared when they were two nil down and when the team arrived in England he was served and his end came. But his end meant the beginning of another's, in came his assistant Craig Shakespeare and then the dream continued.
The sack of Ranieri and the coming of Shakespeare proved to be the starting point of the resurgence of Wilfred Ndidi but for our assistant captain, the nailing on the coffin to his time in Leicester. Ndidi grabbed the opportunity with both hands and capped it all with a fine goal and an assist. He has since kept hold of the starting shirt and relegated either Mendy or Amartey to the bench and forming a wonderful partnership with Danny Drinkwater and has so far proven his quality.
In the first leg of the quarter final match away to Athletico de Madrid, Leicester gave a wonderful account of themselves as English champions but for the one second of referee wrong judgement which saw the home team being awarded a penalty that was eventually converted by Antoine Greizmann, they would have come home still dreaming but that wasn't to be. It ended one nil and oh they knew that April 18th was definitely a date they had to fight to keep dreaming.
This date will definitely remain sacrosanct in the hearts of everyone connected to the football club Leicester city, they had all to fight for but for the doggedness of the Athletico defence our dream would have continued, Ndidi came close twice but he just couldn't hit the target, interesting fact about his game on the night was that he knew exactly when to defend and when to attack. Leicester pilled the pressure but it was the night were it was never to be. It ended in a drew but they had given all.
Everyone connected to Leicester city football club can learn from what they have experienced, keeping their heads high enough to fight against the drop, Ndidi can build in the experience of playing in the champions league and then forge a successful career for himself.
Generally, Ndidi has put himself among the elites of the game and one can hope that he continues in such stribes now that our national team captain is near the end of his career. He had given given me something to expect and I dare say with such performance he has given as the assurance to keep dreaming and believing........
Robert Samuel
Smartpalo19
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