LEICESTER, ENGLAND - JULY 09 : Leicester City manager Steve Cooper during the Leicester City Pre-Season Training Session at Seagrave Training Complex on July 09, 2024 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)
Leicester City fans should be expecting a big change in system and style from last season if Steve Cooper’s first game in charge is anything to go by.
Leicester City won the Championship last season playing an incredibly possession-focussed style of football.
That was under Enzo Maresca who has since departed to take over at Chelsea and his philosophy was perhaps unsurprising given he had acted as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City.
In the appointment of Steve Cooper, the Leicester hierarchy showed that they were not necessarily wed to the idea of continuing this approach.
The appointment of the Welshman was a somewhat divisive one given his association with rivals Nottingham Forest but Cooper has made positive first steps as Leicester beat Villarreal 2-1 in the first friendly of pre-season.
How Leicester set up in their first game in preparation for the Premier League could give real insight in what Cooper will ask of his players in the upcoming season.
Steve Cooper back to basics with Leicester City formation
Leicester triumphed over their La Liga opponents in the behind closed doors friendly on Saturday, with Jamie Vardy and Stephy Mavidi scoring the Foxes’ goals and an unfortunate Harry Souttar own goal getting Villarreal on the scoresheet.
At this stage of pre-season the result does not really matter, but a win in his first game in charge of the club will be pleasing to Cooper nonetheless.
There has been a lot of speculation over what system Cooper will play at Leicester, with the former England under-17 World Cup winning manager having used a number of different formations in his time as a coach.
Surprisingly, it would appear that Cooper has gone very much back to basics with his approach, albeit with a slight twist.
Cooper lined his Foxes side up in what looked a simple 4-4-2 shape out of possession, but with the ball it looked as though Leicester were playing with wing-backs to provide the width.
Given Cooper has often played with a back three or a 4-3-3 formation, this is a surprising decision from the 44-year-old but perhaps reflects what he feels best suits the players at his disposal.
Cooper tactics a big change from Enzo Maresca
Cooper is a manager that has historically liked his sides to keep the ball, but is nowhere near as obsessive about dominating possession as Maresca.
This may be deemed good news by some of the Leicester fanbase, who often found the football a little tiresome despite the positive results last season.
What was interesting to see was that both Leicester goals – Vardy’s in particular – came from Cooper’s side playing a little more direct with a long ball forward in the build-up.
This was a rarity under Maresca, who concentrated on intricate patterns of play and getting a full-back to invert into midfield gradually to help with the build-up.
Cooper’s tactics may actually see Leicester better equipped to deal with the step up to the Premier League where they will face a higher calibre of oppositions and may benefit from being more direct at times.
It will be interesting to see if Cooper sticks with the 4-4-2 as pre-season develops but it certainly looks a system he will consider come the start of the season.
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