Chelseas NGolo Kante lines up against his former club Leicester live on Sky Sports 1 HD on Saturday. [url=http://www.authenticbillsfanatic.com/c-22-bills-charles-clay-jersey .aspx]Charles Clay Jersey[/url] . His departure has left a gaping hole in the Foxes midfield, writes Nick Wright... When NGolo

Chelseas NGolo Kante lines up against his former club Leicester live on Sky Sports 1 HD on Saturday. Charles Clay Jersey . His departure has left a gaping hole in the Foxes midfield, writes Nick Wright... When NGolo Kante arrived at Leicesters Belvoir Drive training ground for the first time last summer, the story goes that he was mistakenly directed towards the schoolboy players. The little Frenchman did not look like much at 5ft 6ins, but he soon set about defying the doubters, and over the next nine months he was a towering influence in Leicesters historic season.By the end of it, Steve Walsh, the head of recruitment who brought Kante to Leicester from French side Caen, had made a habit of telling the same joke. We play three in midfield, it went. We play Danny Drinkwater in the middle with Kante either side. Kante had been the driving force behind Leicesters title triumph, and Claudio Ranieri echoed Walshs comments after the midfielders £32m departure to Chelsea in July. If Chelsea bought Kante, its because he played as two players last season, he said. The referee counted 11 but we were 12.It was a typically good-humoured response from Ranieri, but adapting to life after Kante has been no laughing matter. The 25-year-old made more tackles and more interceptions than any other player in Europes top-five leagues last season, and seven games into the new campaign the champions sit 10 points off the top having struggled to fill the sizeable Kante-shaped gap in their midfield.Without Kantes superhuman energy in midfield, Leicester have become far more vulnerable at the back. Leicester are averaging 16 tackles and 14 interceptions per game compared to 23 and 22 last season, and with Wes Morgan and Robert Huth no longer afforded the same protection, the Foxes are now facing 5.3 shots on target per game instead of 3.7. Leicester defensive comparison (all stats per game) Season Tackles Interceptions Shots on target faced Goals conceded 2016/17 16.0 14.0 5.3 1.6 2015/16 22.9 21.6 3.7 1.0 Its little wonder theyre struggling, and its a headache for Ranieri, whose Kante succession plans were dealt a considerable blow when summer signing Nampalys Mendy hobbled off with an injury during Leicesters 0-0 draw with Arsenal back in August. Leicester had high hopes for their latest young recruit from Ligue 1, but Mendy has spent the last two months on the sidelines. Nampalys Mendy was injured during Leicesters draw with Arsenal Danny Drinkwater has taken on more defensive responsibilities in the meantime, averaging 4.3 tackles per game compared to 3.0 last season, and he has been partnered in midfield by the 21-year-old Daniel Amartey, a January signing from Danish side FC Copenhagen who spent the formative years of his career playing as a right-back. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just ￡6.99. No contract. It has been a baptism of fire for Amartey, who only played 102 minutes of Premier League football in his first six months at the club. The Ghana internationals defensive numbers pale in comparison to Kantes contribution last season, and he was overrun during Leicesters heavy defeats to Liverpool and Manchester United.Ranieri refused to blame the youngster, however, instead pointing to a lack of collective effort from his attacking players. It is about how the midfielders play together, he said. If the strikers dont help Drinkwater and Amartey, or if the wingers dont close narrow, then it is difficult. That happened against Liverpool. Daniel Amartey has been drafted into Leicesters midfield The stats back Ranieri up, with Riyad Mahrez, Marc Albrighton and Jamie Vardy all averaging fewer tackles per game than last season, but there have been signs of improvement in recent weeks. Leicester kept consecutive clean sheets against Porto and Southampton before the international break, and Ranieri feels Amartey is adjusting to his new role.I think Daniel improves a lot, said the Italian. I am very happy with him. He played so many matches on the flank in his previous team and sometimes in the middle as centre-back or central midfielder. Ive always believed his best position is as a central midfielder. Slowly, slowly, he is only 21 years old. It is not easy to take this position.Amarteys improvement is encouraging but he cannot compete with the dynamism of Kante, who averaged 64.0 sprints per 90 minutes last season compared to Amarteys 46.2. Its a considerable difference, and it partly explains why Kantes absence has upset the teams balance so much. NGolo Kante has played every minute of Chelseas Premier League campaign While Morgan and Huth have been exposed at one end, Leicester have become less effective at the other. Kantes driving runs through midfield were a valuable link between defence and attack last season, and Drinkwaters increased defensive workload means he is creating just 0.7 scoring chances per game compared to 1.3 last year. Leicesters attacking threat has been compromised. They have only scored eight goals in seven league games.Now everybody must understand that there is no Kante so we have to be more close, more attentive, said Ranieri earlier this season. We have to think different and close space quicker. We must be smarter.Leicester are having to change their approach and its taking time for it to come together. Kante may not have looked like much when he arrived, but he left as a giant. The midfielders role has changed at Chelsea, but Saturday afternoon could still provide a reminder of what Leicester are missing.You can watch Englands tour of Bangladesh, plus Premier League football and the British Masters on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy three months at half price! Also See: Mahrez: Arsenal made contact How did your internationals do? Lorenzo Alexander Jersey . -- The Orlando Magic finally are showing the patience in critical moments that coach Jacque Vaughn has been waiting for all season. Logan Thomas Jersey . The 17-time Grand Slam champion, who lose three straight finals in Monte Carlo to Rafael Nadal from 2006-08, has not played in the tournament since 2011, when he lost to Jurgen Melzer in the quarterfinals. http://www.authenticbillsfanatic.com/c-50-bills-ramon-humber-jersey.aspx . Jurrjens signed a minor league contract with Cincinnati in May, and was 2-3 with a 4.46 ERA at Triple-A Louisville. He has a 53-37 record with a 3.63 ERA in seven major league seasons, including five with Atlanta.TORONTO -- Wasted season or expensive experimental test run? The much-vaunted 2013 Toronto Blue Jays returned to the drawing board after a season rife with underachieving closed Sunday. Questions abound after the dismal campaign. "We got off to a slow start and obviously it continued the entire year," GM Alex Anthopoulos said by way of understatement. The season opened April 2 with a home sellout of 48,857 fans at Rogers Centre for a 4-1 loss to Cleveland. Fast forward to Sunday and only two players -- shortstop Jose Reyes and catcher J.P. Arencibia -- remained in the starting lineup. And Reyes missed some 66 games inbetween with an ankle injury while Arencibia came into the season finale batting .195 with 21 home runs and 147 strikeouts in 473 at-bats. It seemed fitting that prior to the ceremonial first pitch Sunday, the PA system played "Pick Up the Pieces" by the Average White Band. The Jays finished last in the American League East at 74-88, compared to 73-89 last season when they finished fourth in the division. Fan Appreciation weekend closed out with an exciting but failed comeback in a 7-6 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays before a loud crowd of 44,551. Despite Sundays six-run rally, its has a been a rocky road for the Jays -- and a long long way from the optimism of spring training. "Its an exciting season. Everybodys seen the moves," star outfielder Jose Bautista said back in February. "All the bodies are here now. Its all on us now to perform. "We love that challenge and we have a confident, good group of players together. I think were going to go out and have a lot of fun and hopefully we remain healthy. If all that happens, the season should take care of itself. We should be in the playoffs and hopefully the World Series." Manager John Gibbons was slightly more circumspect back then. "We expect to win some things this year ... Weve just got to step up and answer the bell and fulfil those things. But that wont be easy. Theres a lot of good teams in the league." Owner Rogers dug deep into its expansive wallet to fund the new-look Jays, with the 2013 opening day roster coming in at a season salary cost of US$119.3 million (up from $83.7 million) the previous year. The expected starting rotation -- R.A. Dickey, Mark Buehrle, Brandon Morrow, Josh Johnson and Ricky Romero -- cost $46.75 million alone. It went south quickly, finishing with a combined 30-36 record -- with Dickey and Buehrle accounting for 26 of those wins. "I never would have expected the rotation to be the weak link on this team coming into the year. I would probably have said the bullpen was the area we were most exposed in," said Anthopoulos. Johnsons 2-8 season came at a cost of $13.75 million. Anthopoulos hardly mentioned the big right-hander Sunday, which suggests a qualifying offer might not be forthcoming. He did speak optimistically of Morrow making a return, however. The Toronto GM said he expects to learn his payroll number in October, although the figure will be fluid with case by case re-evaluation. "Were certainly not going to go backwards, from that standpoint," he said of the salary total. "Well continue to move forward." In his end-of-season media meeting, Anthopoulos kept returning to stability of starting rotation, or lack thereof. "Right now we have (pitching) voluume. Cordy Glenn Jersey. The question is is the quality of that volume enough? .... Were going to look to improve, no doubt about it. We have to." For Anthopoulos, even with great everything else, the team wasnt going to get to the playoffs with the kind of starting pitching it got this year. The Jays starting ERA (4.77 going into play Sunday) ranked 29th in the 30-team majors. And it seemed somehow fitting that pitching coach Pete Walker made a trip to the mound after just two outs in the first inning to speak to Todd Redmond, with a reliever already warming up in the bullpen. The bullpen was far better on the season, ranking 10th in the majors with a 3.39 ERA. Toronto ranked 16th in hitting in the majors, with a .252 average prior to Sunday. The team ranked fourth in homers, with 185. In addition to shoring up the starting rotation, help is needed at second base while the verdict may be out on catcher. And the team needs depth. Its bench was threadbare many games. Injuries certainly cost the Jays. Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, Melky Cabrera, Brett Cecil, Maicer Izturis, Johnson, Morrow and Colby Rasmus, almost a third of the opening day roster, finished the season on the disabled list. Some of the injuries were of the rare or freak variety. Doctors found a benign tumour on Cabreras spinal cord. Pitcher J.A. Happ was sidelined after getting hit on the head, injuring his knee as he toppled. Rasmus exited after talking an accidental ball in the face from a teammate. The season also started on a disconnect with players missing a chunk of spring training due to the World Baseball Classic. Anthopoulos has decisions to make. He said the team will likely look to improve via trades more than free agency, saying the available menu does not look that strong. He said he has bullpen assets that could be used in trades. Nothing seems off the table. "No one has a no trade clause," the GM noted, adding "If we can improve in any area ... well look to do that." The team has options on Adam Lind, Mark DeRosa, Munenori Kawasaki and Casey Janssen. Topics up for discussion include what can be done to reduce the injuries that have ravaged the team the last two seasons. Also whether anything can be done to improve the artificial turf before the plan to replace it with natural grass is put into place. On the plus side, Gibbons will return as manager with a vote of confidence from Anthopoulos. "His in-game (management) is outstanding. Thats always been a strength of his. I think it comes down to myself as a general manager giving him a better rotation to work with." Ryan Goins and Anthony Gose showed like they belonged in the final weeks of the season. And Toronto has a choice of arms when it comes to fifth starters and beyond. But while there is an upside to those pitchers, says Anthopoulos, theres isnt a level of certainty. And there was a buzz about the team, with Kawasaki becoming an unlikely fan favourite for his quirks and occasionally timely hitting. Season attendance at the Rogers Centre was 2,536,562, up 436,899 from 2012. "Support has been great ... Whats been proven to everybody is this is definitely a baseball town," said Anthopoulos. "It has tremendous interest in the game." The question is what will the team need to do next year to keep the fans coming back? Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '