Well,
@twietee, I think there are a number of reasons for Leicester's success.
The first one - the obvious one - is that the other 'titans' all managed to implode, indulge in narcissistic navel gazing, or under-perform simultaneously - a wonderful and thrilling sight.
Manchester United have been sluggish and haven't found themselves since the departure of Sir Alex, and cannot work out whether they wish Louis van Gaal (what a marvellously bizarre quote - 'this is only allowed in sex masochism', a bizarre image wrapped in slightly cockeyed English) to remain, jump, or be pushed.
In recent times, since they announced the successful wooing of Pep Guardiola, Manchester City, too, have had manager issues - as it is clear that Manuel Pellegrini is no longer quite as massively motivated as he was (and neither are his players). Basically, City - players and manager both - are less interested than they might have been in finishing competitively in the Premiership.
Then, there was Chelsea: Chelsea's self-destruction started on the very first day of the season, with the disgraceful treatment of Dr Eva Carniero, and The Pompous and Narcissistic Special One imploded dramatically leaving his usual scorched earth disaster behind once he was compelled to depart from Stamford Bridge. For that matter, Chelsea only re-discovered something vaguely resembling ambition (but ambition tempered with real revenge) when they played Tottenham last night.
And Arsenal ambled along, content with the security and predictability of a guaranteed fourth place, but with little ambition to stray into the stratosphere and offer a serious challenge for the Premiership title.
All of this drama helped Leicester, both by derailing the titans, and by serving to distract the attention and the gaze of the media and others, so that Leicester were spared pressure and attention until very late in the season.
However, that also overlooks several other elements of this fairytale for Leicester. Their team worked, and their coach - the charming, cheerful, dignified and entirely engaging Claudio Ranieri finally found a setting where he was able to come into his own, and have his belated and well deserved date with destiny.
In any case, Claudio Ranieri has managed the team superbly, winning their confidence early on by stressing his respect for what his popular and well liked predecessor had achieved, and how little he intended to tamper (or tinker) with most of it.
He set them achievable targets ('first, let us get 40 points'…), and clearly took great pains with creating an atmosphere where the players felt respected and trusted and were allowed to enjoy the experience of the season. He prioritised short term goals, and - with wit, example, encouragement, kindness and an engaging personality - kept the pressure off Leicester until almost the very end of the season when the pundits belatedly noticed that they had been top for months and showed every sign of staying there.
Much has been made of the fact that Leicester have been fortunate to have had few injuries all season, and this is true. However, Ranieri has also been careful and thoughtful in husbanding his resources; not only were Leicester not distracted - and/or worn out - with cup runs, - Claudio Ranieri also instituted a policy whereby the players got two days off a week.
Italian and French society treasure their holidays, and believe that a good life is one where a work-life balance is in place. Two days off a week allows for recovery, and it may mean that players are less prone to injury to start with.
Nigel Pearson had left a solid team in place, - players who - for a variety of reasons, felt they had something to prove and who have a very good sense of how to play together as a team.
They played for and with each other, and have offered an extraordinarily valuable lesson that intangibles such as self-belief, an extraordinary team spirit, a willingness to graft for one another, hunger, and pride and passion must come from within, and that these are things that cannot be guaranteed irrespective of the salary paid. Motivation matters more than money.
Leicester City's players
cared about the outcome of every game, and played with the sort of high octane intensity which suggested that every result mattered hugely to them. They cranked out the 1-0 victories when it mattered, but were capable of élan and elegance too, fought with passion when they went behind, tore into opponents on the counter-attack with lightning fast, intelligent positioning, while sometimes playing with pretty limited possession.
Their mastery of the old solid skills of the English game, - defending well, scoring consistently, playing for each other, - and the fact that they constructed a team with the necessary elements to do well - such an excellent defence (they lost three games all season), a superb goalkeeper who finally could emerge from the magisterial and commanding shadow of his gifted father, speed, positioning, team work, and a knowledge of what they were doing and why they were doing it - was not noticed for a long time.
Many of the titans - with egos and salaries to match - have forgotten that the team is what matters, not the individual.
Their good spell started at the end of last season. Moreover, this season, they have been top of the table almost all of the time since November - something which remained largely unremarked upon (primarily because nobody thought it would last) until around February.
This is a fantastic achievement, and one that will awake the romantic in every kid. There will be young kids this week who will have lost their hearts to Leicester, and to football, and will still be following them doggedly in half a century's time.
Indeed, of that team, whatever else some of them may individually win in the rest of their careers, nothing will replace the fact that they will be seen as having been part of a legend. This is what they will be remembered for, - and, I will wager, it is what they themselves will look back on, warmly, in years to come.
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You cant have two miracles in one season.
The point im making is if City or Chelsea had been in spurs position they probably would have had a better chance of reeling them in.
Not this season. Because of the internal turmoil and giddy distraction caused by managerial changes, neither City nor Chelsea were in any position to mount any sort of a serious challenge. Moreover, it is clear that their players weren't especially motivated.
And, by last night, - indeed by last week - all Leicester had to do was not lose. They had built up a nice cushion, and the point was even if Spurs had won everything, Leicester still would have had to lose for Spurs to be even in contention.
Leicester held their nerve and shape - as was clear in the West Ham game when Jamie Vardy was dismissed.
