24 little hours - Hazzetta dello Sport 2025: Everton (A)
‘What a difference a day makes, twenty-four little hours’ goes the lyrics of the Dinah Washington 1959 classic of the same name. In the LCFC verse, that could be translated ‘What a different a win makes, three more points to the tally’. The thin sliver of light after the doom of recent weeks. These weekends haven’t appeared for a while.
Both Leicester City teams win, and Forest get walloped. The tranquil peace of climbing out of the relegation zone and Hazzetta isn’t a four figure word laboured rant.
The volume of the outrage is turned down. Albeit it still exists. There is no rest for the wicked. To make real traction, the win has to be backed up. Ruud van Nistelrooy’s harder approach towards the squad appeared justified.
The result at Tottenham arguably was a bigger victory for his reputation than Leicester City’s. Post match analysis was littered with references to how Ruud won the midfield tactical battle and could then use the Spurs’ crowds disgruntled nerves to his advantage. To be fair, we had enough practice during the week before at the King Power and this time we thrived within it.
The winner of the three (possibly four) team mini-league at the bottom will need to show consistency. Three games ago, the relegation championship included Everton but a run of form (following Moyes’ appointment) has seen them ruled out of the situation.
The Foxes at some point must also go on a three or four game unbeaten run to push them beyond Wolves and Ipswich. There was a great opportunity before the Wolves home game to establish a wider gap and Saturday has another one of those potential point swings. A win puts us within three of Everton and puts them back into the debate, but a loss sees them flying away with a nine point gap to 17th.
City have to click sooner rather than later before the strength of opposition in fixtures improves. While from late April, we have to face all those below or around us, we still have to be within touching distance.
You question if this is a false dawn or a new coming of age within the squad. Last Sunday, notably on paper, the front of three of Vardy, Ayew and Reid, looked eye-wateringly old and slow. However, they were perfect against Spurs.
In particular, Bobby De-Cordova Reid’s intelligence in setting up both goals. Reid made actual sense as a summer signing without wanting to be too revisionist. He tidily scored six goals last season for Fulham, he was on a free and joined with a reputation of being a real fighter. However the contract length appeared excessive and once we’d signed Ayew, we had two players of similar qualities. And ages.
Yet Reid has become something of a lucky charm for Ruud in his better results. A goal v Brighton, a good cameo against West Ham and two assists v Tottenham. As by chance, there’s a solution for an alternate wing option.
That’s not to say this squad doesn’t need all the help it can get. As the article recently on Fosse Way noted, there’s a demand for a centre-back with pace while others commented about wingers and/or strikers.
In an unsurprising pattern, nothing appears forthcoming on the signing horizon despite the departure of squad players. The scars of FFP remain and hint that the red line of surpassing the loss was very tight (or if not over) back in the assessment of December looming.
The early aforementioned Everton represent a challenge which wasn’t the same a month ago. Squad morale had reached rock bottom under Sean Dyche and there’s barely a difference in personnel but they are rejuvenated.
Fortunately for Leicester, Dominic Calvert-Lewin is injured which being the sort of striker our defence have an aversion to is great news. A win for City potentially drags them back into it while a loss sees Everton spinning dust towards the bottom four. While in the background, Ipswich have restbite from hammerings by hosting Southampton at home. A real potential ladder back over Leicester.
Saturday will represent the last visit for Leicester to Goodison Park unless a cup draw occurs. I’d intend to go along as a chance to see if off but given our form and a need to save pennies for further afield trips, I elected not to.
The view is crap, the comfort inadequate but it’s exactly as a football ground should be. It’s a ground I will remember fondly for a couple of visits.
In the famed 2015/16 season, after a cracking day and even better result which saw us top at Christmas, we awaited a taxi to get us back to Lime Street. As we flagged one down, a couple of locals asked if they could join us and split the fare. They waxed lyrical about our season and appeared genuinely happy for us. They took us to a pub and bought us a drink before wishing us a happy Christmas and off they went.
Goodison is also where this passion of LCFC took hold and flight for me. It was the venue for my first away day. In mid-September 1994, newly promoted City just outside the relegation zone turned up to play an Everton winless in their first six games.
We had two goals disallowed and hit the bar but with ten minutes left we were one down. I’d spent most of the day wanting to see World Cup star, Daniel Amokachi, with my own eyes. However, we got an equaliser through Mark Draper with a finish not too dissimilar to Bilal El Khannouss last weekend.
That day using Fox Travel represented a moment I got my City fever. Shame I am still bloody ill.
