FOXES LACK CUNNING WITHOUT LENNON
Lennon finally completed his move north of the border in December, and Leicester have visibly struggled during the eight Premiership matches that they have played since then. Taylor's side have won only twice and lost five times, which compares unfavourably with the results that were gained when Lennon was at the club.
During the opening 16 games of the 2000-01 Premiership campaign, while Lennon was at the club, the Foxes won eight matches, and lost only three times.
Where Lennon is missed the most is in his role protecting Leicester's back three. The Foxes kept clean sheets in exactly half of the league matches that he played in before his move to Scotland, and have since made just one shut-out.
Indeed, they are conceding far more frequently than they had previously, leaking 1.75 goals per game - on average one goal per match more than when Lennon was at the club.
However, Lennon's creative influence has also been sorely missed. None of Leicester's current midfielders can compete with the former Crewe player's passing accuracy.
Before his transfer, he had found a team-mate with 82% of passes, which is significantly better than Muzzy Izzet (77%), Robbie Savage (68%) or Lennon's supposed replacement Matthew Jones (68%) have managed this season.
Indeed, it is worth noting that despite leaving the club two months ago, Lennon has still made more successful passes than any player in the entire Leicester team except Izzet and captain Matt Elliott.
Taylor recently said of the Northern Ireland international: "It is fair to say we are not the same team without him. You need leaders on the park and Neil Lennon could do that."
Recent results clearly support his view, and while younger players such as Jones and loan signing Junior Lewis may eventually fill the void that Lennon has left at Filbert Street, the club will surely suffer in the long run while they are without a player of his character and calibre.
