Leicester Rising: Ranieri's skulk of Foxes is out on adventurous hunt

A fairytale, an uprising, a triumph of the proverbial dark horse. Call it what you may, Leicester City's two-point lead at the top of the English Premiership is definitely the story of the season, which is about to enter the most frenetic phase. In this still unfolding, fascinating story, Nigel Pierson is the fall guy who must be lamenting his sacking at the end of the last season after saving the Foxes from the indignation of Championship football. And the new incumbent, 'Tinkerman' Claudio Ranieri, would surely send Gary Lineker a Christmas card, thanking the former England striker for having shown immense 'faith' when the Italian was introduced to the King Power Stadium in July earlier this year."Claudio Ranieri is clearly experienced, but this is an uninspired choice by Leicester," Linekar had said. "It's amazing how the same old names keep getting a go on the managerial merry-go-round." Born and nourished in Leicester, Lineker would now be immensely happy to have been proved stupendously wrong. A common joke about Leicester is they are always trying to avoid the drop. Even after snubbing Jose Mourinho's Chelsea 2-1 on Monday night, Riyad Mahrez didn't forget to remind the world that Leicester is happy that they are staying afloat.Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri. (Reuters Photo)Even Ranieri is afflicted by the relegation phobia. "For our fans we are top of the league, for my players we need another five points. Let me achieve 40 points, then I'll think about what is the next goal. But until 40... I think only 40 points." The audience laughed but the 'Tinkerman' did not.The Italian's 29-year managerial career has spanned 14 clubs across five countries, including Chelsea, Juventus and Atletico Madrid. The epithet 'Tinkerman' that sat uneasy on Ranieri's head does not ring pejorative anymore. Not that the Italian hasn't changed anything after taking over from Pearson. He switched Jamie Vardy's position from the left wing to a more central position. Halfway through the league, the 28-year old is the top scorer in Premiership with 15 goals.Ranieri followed it with another crucial tweak. He employed Riyad Mahrez and Marc Albrighton as inverted wingers.Mahrez spent more time on the bench under Pearson than on the pitch. Stats show that the Algerian has completed more dribbles than anyone in the EPL this season. Add to it the 11 goals he has scored. If Vardy is grabbing headlines with non-stop finishing, then Mahrez is the cause, the reason and the orchestrator from the right flank. Albrighton's conversion to a left-winger is one more tactical twist that Ranieri brought about. With both flanks flying, the Foxes were never in dearth of energy in attack.New-signing N'Golo Kante and Danny Drinkwater, a United Academy product, took care of the midfield bereft of Esteban Cambiasso's combative experience. Kante has had more interceptions than anyone in the league and ranks third for tackles.He may turn out to be a one-season wonder but the Frenchman of Malian descent has already drawn serious comparisons with Claude Makelele and the irrepressible Paul Scholes. At 5ft 5 inches, Kante is one of the shortest players in the EPL, but has impressed with his tenacity and speed.The resemblance with Scholes doesn't stop at the stature. Even as Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney were the most talked about, Scholsie used to be the key which helped Manchester United turn matches, week in week out. Ask Alex Ferguson. He is the man who mattered most and still the reference point at Old Trafford.It is the sum of the whole that makes the story of Leicester most interesting and equally unpredictable. A squad of less than £30 million has mastered the art of dismantling expensively assorted sides guided by managers with egos more in flated than their bank accounts. The match against Chelsea is just another example. For Leicester, Vardy or Mahrez is scoring every single game; for Chelsea Diego Costa has scored just two in the last 11 games and Manchester United haven't won any in their last five.Jamie Vardy celebrates with Riyad Mahrez after scoring a goal. (Reuters Photo)The contrast is stark and telling. And it would be unfair if Steve Walsh's contribution is ignored in the Leicester uprising. Walsh was the scout for Chelsea for 16 years till Roman Abramovich sacked him. The current Leicester squad is almost handpicked by Walsh. Vardy was lifted from non-league wilderness and Mahrez from Le Havre. He spent hours to convince Ranieri to buy Kante from French club Caen.Leicester's golden race will come to end. It has to. Arsenal, EPL's form team, were not bothered by their upward thrust. The Gunners won 5-2 and Leicester are yet to face Pellegrini's Man City.Maybe, the Christmas week will test the depth of the squad as Ranieri will find it difficult to replace Vardy or Mahrez in case of injury or burnout. Both were substituted against Chelsea, as Ranieri wanted to save them for bigger battles ahead.There are big battles ahead but a Champions League berth may still be a realistic option for the Foxes this season.One of the few in the English top-flight who went through the rigours of playing in the lower divisions, Vardy has been the story of the season.On a salary of 30 pounds per week in 2007 at Stocksbridge Park Steels, the Sheffield-born striker etched his name in the record books when he scored in 11 consecutive EPL matches, eclipsing Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy's record for Man United in 2003.On Vardy's rise at Leicester, manager Claudio Ranieri said, "He's one of the best strikers in the world right now. In fact, I would not say he is any less than Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi at this point of time."Even Liverpool legend Ian Rush, in a recent interview with TOI, named Vardy when asked who reminded him of himself. England manager Roy Hodgson too has given him a call up.Signed by Leicester from French second-division team Le Havre for 500,000 pounds in 2014, the Algerian may not have made the headlines as often as Vardy, but his contribution to the team has arguably been even greater. He has been involved in 18 goals this season ­ scoring 11 and setting up 7 ­ in the 15 games so far.Mahrez's delivery for the opening goal on Monday night epitomised the partnership he has struck up with Jamie Vardy. As he curled the ball over a static John Terry and across an inert Kurt Zouma, a great run by Vardy seemed simply regulation, as if Vardy was meant to get his foot to the ball.Then, when he brought the ball down, danced with it around Azpilicueta, before caressing it past Courtois, it was a delight to watch.Since his last stint in the English top-division - as Chelsea manager- Ranieri has accrued a lot of experience across Europe. The 64-year-old has managed seven teams in the interim, including Juventus, Roma, Inter Milan and most recently the Greek national team before returning to England.Having spent close to 30 years as a manager, he doesn't have much to show for in his trophy cabinet and has had his fair share of disappointments ­ most famously when he was sacked by Roman Abromovic in 2004 after failing to make the most of the new investment made by the Russian billionaire. The absence of trophies, though, is an aspect that the Italian doesn't mind. In 2008, after his team Juventus had suffered a 3-0 loss to Hamburg, he said that he was not like Mourinho and that he "didn't have to win things to be sure of himself".