Wednesday 11 November 2015 11:40, UK
What makes Jamie Vardy special? With the help of former team-mates, coaches and scouts, Adam Bate examines his self-belief and a history of success. Can he continue the journey with England?
There is a trend with Jamie Vardy. He might not have grown up in the plush surroundings of Chelsea's Cobham academy or been groomed to expect a leading role at the Theatre of Dreams, but his teams tend to succeed.
Vardy was promoted to the top flight of the Northern Premier League with Stocksbridge Park Steels and promptly won that division with Halifax Town. He has since topped the Conference Premier with Fleetwood Town and the Championship with Leicester City.
His penalty in the win over Watford on Saturday means Vardy is the first Englishman in Premier League history to score in nine consecutive matches. He's five clear of the rest as the division's top goalscorer.
As a result, those expecting him to be cowed by the experience of playing for England have been in for a shock. Just happy to be there? Pinching himself? Telling all and sundry that he thought the initial phone call was a hoax? For those who know Vardy, it doesn't ring true.
Fleetwood chairman Andy Pilley remembers a "lively" character - he once wrapped the chef's car in cling film - but one with extraordinary "self-belief" too. Someone for whom playing in front of a handful in non-league or at Wembley for England would make little difference.
Vardy's agent recalls his mother laughing at the suggestion her son could play for England. However, the man himself didn't necessarily share her incredulity. Perhaps he would have done if he'd stopped to think, but as anyone would know from watching him in action, that's not Vardy's style.
While Kasper Schmeichel recently told Sky Sports that Vardy had a "tough time" on the pitch upon his arrival - he endured a run of one goal in 20 games during his first season with the Foxes - team-mate Paul Konchesky chuckles at the notion that Vardy struggled to adapt off the field.
He'd come from Fleetwood and been the main man there really. He settled in really quickly and wasn't afraid to say what he thought.
"He was very confident," Konchesky told Sky Sports. "He'd come from Fleetwood and been the main man there really. He settled in really quickly and wasn't afraid to say what he thought. That's the confidence that sometimes you need and you can see it with the way he's playing on the pitch."
As ex-Leicester forward Paul Dickov puts it, Vardy is "completely different to anything else out there". With manic pressing and a directness trained out of academy talent pre-puberty, there's a sense in which he's presented a problem that Premier League defenders had forgotten how to solve.
Rob Mackenzie, Leicester's former head of technical scouting, was aware of Vardy well before most and the statistics he and his colleagues captured support this view. "He was someone we watched at Stocksbridge Park Steels and monitored throughout his non-league days," said Mackenzie.
"Because no data is available on the Conference, we downloaded games ourselves and coded them in house in order to generate our own data on him and highlight him as a player we wanted to sign. Vardy's work rate was always used as a barometer when we compared strikers."
Now he's the benchmark for the entire Premier League. In terms of combined tackles and interceptions, Vardy has made more than any other top-flight striker. England coach Gary Neville says "he sets the tempo and the tone for the rest of the team" and it's a fierce pace he's setting.
"I think a lot of people don't see that in a forward these days," added Konchesky. "He's quick as anything and doesn't give you a second on the pitch. He runs like mad and always wants to close the ball down. He's so hard working. I think that's what he's always done."
What he hasn't always done is finish, but with 12 goals in a dozen Premier League appearances for Leicester this season, that's changed in dramatic fashion. His conversion rate is respectable and, crucially, repeatable - he's getting into the positions that bring chances on a regular basis.
"I always knew what he had," said Konchesky. "But this season he has brought the goals as well and it's been a big improvement for him. Everybody now looks at him as a proper forward rather than just a hard-working forward. Now, he's got everything that you need."
Kevin Phillips agrees. Derby's assistant manager is a former team-mate of Vardy's and worked closely with him as Leicester's striker coach last season. He welcomes the improvement he has witnessed. "I have always said that Jamie has everything," he told Sky Sports.
"The only thing I would ever have questioned is whether he could score regularly at the highest level. He has certainly proved me wrong. His two goals against Arsenal this season showed me that he's taken on board everything he's been told.
"He's a threat. He's absolutely rapid. You saw his goal against West Brom. There's nobody in this league who would have caught him. I know Harry Kane has hit a bit of form but Jamie has got something unique. He stretches defenders.
"Harry Kane likes to come short and Wayne Rooney likes to come short but Jamie is always playing on the shoulder. So he'll definitely be in the squad if he stays fit but hopefully come the Euros he's still banging in the goals and it'll be hard to leave him out."
Vardy's first four games for his country have not brought a goal, but that's not the whole story. In 202 minutes with him on the pitch, England have scored 10 goals without reply. From Stocksbridge to St George's Park, Jamie Vardy is a winner. Let's find out what Spain and France make of him.
