History teaches us that Leicester always find a way to bounce back

Back in the mists of time, Leicester City were famous for three things: bobbing up and down between the top two divisions; losing FA Cup finals; and those sand dunes Jock Wallace used to make his players sprint up and down until they were sick through their nose. But events of the last few years have proper jiggered all that. Now it’s all Premier League titles this, FA Cup success that, regular European qualification the other. Oh Claudio! Brendan! Jamie and Kasper! How could you? Whatever happened to the old certainties? Our unspoken agreement? The post-war consensus? The social contract? We had a deal!

Happily for those of us who wish with all our heart that it was 1982 again, it seems Leicester are in the process of reverting to the mean. Last year’s eighth place finish in the Premier League was three spots down on the two previous seasons, meaning no European tour this time, and now they’re propping up the entire division in a manner which would put Mark McGhee to shame. Admittedly they’re only four games into the season, and a similar cold start last year didn’t do Arsenal too much harm in the long run. But Leicester’s next game is against a revitalised Manchester United, and if the length of that queue forming by the out door is anything to go by, they’ll only be able to field a team of nine players, and that’s including Rodgers himself and the janny.

Youri Tielemans is at the head of the queue. Depending on who you read, the 25-year-old Belgian midfielder is the subject of a £19m bid from either Arsenal, Newcastle or a “mystery club”, which sounds intriguing, until you come to the conclusion that the mystery club trying to get things done discreetly is almost certainly either Arsenal or Newcastle. James Maddison