106 appearances / 16 goals
1 Championship winners medal – 2014
1 Young Player of the year – 2013
“DDDDEEEEEEENNNNNEEEEEYYYYYYY’ – some Sky Sports commentator
When assessing the highlights of any players tenure with Leicester City, you try and focus on the positives especially from such a talented player. But in assessing Anthony Knockaert i’ve had to go to a pretty dark place. Vicarage Road. May 12th. 2013. Gulp. Go on. click the link, i dare you.
In fairness you would think that given all that Leicester have achieved in the past 4 seasons that this sort of moment could be laughed off. It really can’t. Given the article i thought it necessary to watch all the pain again on YouTube and it still makes me wince. But after watching the video again something else becomes clear. It would have been 25,000 times worse for Anthony Knockaert.
As the game was ticking down to extra time Knockaert managed to get himself in a position where contact was likely and he won the penalty. Every Watford fan would tell you he dived and you can see why. The replays looked soft at best. But the penalty was given and for reasons best known to himself he took to the spot. He took it with the strain of guilt around him seeming to drag a weak effort into the body of Almunia, but all was not lost as he seized on the rebound only to meekly toe poke it back at Almunia. With the reality setting in of an opportunity missed he watched the hornets zip up the pitch and within seconds the ball was in the box where Schmeichel inexplicably does a star fish jump and leaves the empty net for Troy Deeney to smash in a moment of football history. As the celebrations of delirium spilled onto the pitch the camera cut to Knockaert on his haunches trying to process everything that was happening, never has a man needed the ground to swallow him up more.
Rewind to August 2012.
Signed from Guingamp by Nigel Pearson after reported interest from Liverpool, Knockaert didn’t take too long to announce his talent to the foxes fans. His first goal coming in the league cup. But most notably were his first league goals at Huddersfield Town where he smashed a 35 yarder into the roof of the net and then converted a cross with a scorpion like kick in off the bar. If this was the Premier League it would be showcased everywhere. It was clear this was a special player.
At only 5,7″ Knockaert has a low centre of gravity, he also has incredible ball control and a wonderful array of tricks, he’s a player that gets you out of your seat and makes you love football. Loves a Cruyff turn as much as a rasping free kick in off the crossbar. He is what they call box office and was entertaining Leicester fans for a large part of the 2012-2013 season. That was until spring when an alarming downturn in form for the whole club saw them drift from February top of the table to outside the play off places on the last day of the season. A win against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground (who i’m told have won the European Cup twice, although i’m not sure i’ve ever heard a Forest fan mention it) would possibly secure a play off place. With the game poised at 2-2 and Leicester breaking away into a counter attack, Chris Wood squared the ball where Knockaert gleefully slotted in the winner in front of the delirious Foxes fans. I couldn’t make the match but i remember doing a Klinsmann on my kitchen floor whilst listening to Radio Leicester.
After the play off defeat at Vicarage Road, Knockaert admitted that it was a “nightmare”. But he was still crowned young player of the year and won the goal of the season.
‘You can miss a penalty, that happens, but they scored just a second later. That is what hurt me. After a week I was already thinking about the next season.’
But like all the Leicester players he got through pre season and hit the ground running with result after result. Knockaert was struggling to find the net until a lunchtime kick off, at of all places Vicarage Road. Quite why the media personnel at Watford felt the need to play the commentary from ‘that’ game before this league encounter is curious. Needless to say Leicester battered them 3-0 and Knockaert smashed in his first goal with the emotion pouring from his face, he’d got the monkey off his back and gave the Leicester fans an indication of his determination. The season went on like that as Leicester romped on to become the league champions. Knockaert was a chief instigator and a constant menace to the opposition. Dropping his shoulder and drifting between tackles with ease. He even found time to help a young man by the name of Riyad Mahrez settle in after his move from Le Havre. As the season closed to its inevitable Premier League destination the feeling was that Knockaert could take the most hyped league in the world by storm. If his performances at the end of season awards ceremony were to be an indication then it would be entertaining and right on the edge of being uncomfortable. Singing your own chant to the supporters can be deemed strange, but he is cheeky and exuberant and that is an endearing side to his character that just makes you want to smile.
But what happened next was unexpected, which is a sentence that was regularly used regarding Leicester City for some time. Given a starting place in the opening game of the 2014/15 season against Everton, Knockaert lasted just over an hour before being substituted. It was a difficult introduction to the Premier League which he never quite recovered from. He tried some tricks that just didn’t come off, he looked sluggish and off the pace and some were questioning his off the field lifestyle. It never really happened for him that season as Leicester drifted towards the bottom of the league, 11 appearances and no real impact even as Leicester produced their soaring comeback. Riyad Mahrez on the other hand was starting to really hit form and was now a mainstay in the side. At the end of the season Knockaert rejected a new contract and strangely moved to the Belgian league to play for Standard Liege.
But it was only for 6 months as the rejuvenated Brighton & Hove Albion brought him back to England. After play off heartbreak (not nearly as dramatic as before), he was a key component of Brighton’s promotion achievement in 2016/2017 and his character has been adored by the seagulls fans ever since. He was crowned the EFL Championship player of the year and heads into his second crack at the Premier League in even better shape than before. He is fitter and more direct in his play and surely this time he will take the Premier League by storm. I, for one will happily clap his name when he comes back to the King Power Stadium, he wears his heart on his sleeve and gives everything whilst doing it with a touch of flair. For him being at a football club is like having a family, which is relevant when you consider he has lost both his brother and father in his mid 20’s. Even suffering the worst finish to a game ever isn’t as bad as losing your loved ones.
Verdict – Quality but we should have seen him at his best in the Premier League
rating – 8/10
Better than – Ben Marshall
Worse than – Riyad Mahrez
Most Likely to…….become a cult hero in the Premier league.
least likely to……..give it large if scoring for Brighton at the King Power
lCFC1884 