Championship: Leicester City flatter to deceive again?

Leicester face Burnley tonight in the Championship, with both teams sitting on six points just one above the relegation zone, the game offers the winners an opportunity to propel themselves into the top 10.

Do that and Leicester will be where they want to be, on the fringes of the play-offs, and on track for their most realistic goal.

But will this be another season of disappointment for the Foxes? Leicester are still reeling from Sven Goran Erikssen's failed stint in charge, which saw relatively decent investment, and plenty of talk of promotion.

In the end it was a big let down, players and manager failed to walk the walk, and they have arguably gone backwards since his appointment, standing still at best.

Nigel Pearson is in charge now, and has a squad of good players at his disposal, even if they are not performing at present.

In the club's ranks are Jermaine Beckford, still to score this season, Kasper Schmeichel, Wes Morgan, Ritchie de Laet, Shaun St Ledger, David Nugent, and highly rated teenage defender Liam Moore.

Moore has been linked with a move to the Premier League, but the weekend's defeat to Wolves showed he still has a lot of learning to do, and will surely be best served staying at Leicester for now.

It was in 2008-09 they were promoted from League One, and they have stood still while watching Southampton and Norwich make the transition all the way from the third tier into the Premier League.

But while they made it look easy, the Championship is not an easy division to fight your way out of. Leicester put a good run together towards the end of last season, but could only finish in ninth, with much inconsistency.

Sven came in last summer, and you almost can't blame the board too much for such an ambitious move, even if the money frittered away on his appointment would, in hindsight have been far better spent on the playing staff.

In November the club made a remarkable U-turn in re-appointing Pearson as boss, but there is a lot of work to do if he is to lead them to where they ultimately want to be.

Leicester are one of the league's best supported clubs, and are one of a select group of clubs in English football to have won more than one domestic trophy over the past 20 years, thanks to Martin O'Neill's dual League Cup successes.

They seem a long time ago now, and the club need a win over Burnley tonight as it offers a real indicator of the direction the season will be heading in.

Lose, and they will miss a big chance to climb into the mix at the top and be looking over their shoulders at the drop zone. Win, and the players will have a considerable confidence boost before they travel to fourth-place Hull at the weekend.

The club have a good squad of players, there are worse around in the division, Crystal Palace and Millwall for example, who currently sit above them and level with them respectively.

A financial deal to change the club's ownership arrangement took place yesterday, with Thai company King Power International in charge at the Walkers Stadium.

Vice-chairman vice-chairman Aiyawatt Raksriaksorn said: "The last two years have been an incredible experience and we firmly believe we have the key elements in place, both on and off the pitch, to take Leicester City back to the Premier League."

Whether this proves to be just the latest in a line of false dawns for the Foxes, who had such high hopes when Sven arrives, we will see. A loss to Burnley tonight would not be a step in the right direction, and it is imperative the club get the three points.

What do you think Leicester can achieve this season? Is Nigel Pearson the right man for the job?

image: © lefty1007

Dan Coombs

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Dan Coombs is a writer who is keen to embrace the internet revolution. He first started writing for us in June 2011 and commenced his new role as Sports Editor in February 2012.

As a trained journalist he has met famous faces from Mr T to Boris Johnson. He once featured in an England World Cup music video too, but it did not make the charts.

He grew up wanting to be a Formula 1 driver, but it looks like this dream has passed him by. Instead, he hopes you enjoy reading his writing on our site, as we seek to debate the day's sporting hot topics.