Derek Whyte: Jamie Vardy’s footballing fairytale

This content was originally posted in 7DAYS UAE website at: Derek Whyte: Jamie Vardy’s footballing fairytale There’s only one person we can talk about this week and that’s the Premier League’s newest star, Jamie Vardy. What the Leicester City striker has achieved this season is nothing short of remarkable. He has 14 goals in 14 games, has broken the record for successive games scored in the Premier League (11) and looks like a certain pick for a place in the England squad for next year’s European Championships. All this for a player who only four years ago was playing non-league football in England and no one had even heard of. It’s something quite unique for someone playing at that level to go on to become a regular scorer in the English top-flight. The 28-year-old is a great example to any player who wants to make it as a professional footballer. You may not make it at first, but Vardy has proved that if you keep working hard and impressing on the pitch anything can happen. What I really like about him is that he’s not your ‘normal’ footballer. I don’t mean that in a bad way, but he has a different running style to other players and is not your out-and-out No. 9 or No. 10. Vardy’s success story is very similar to Ian Wright’s, the legendary Arsenal striker who also made his way from non-league football right up to England level. It’s great that fairytales can still happen in modern-day football, and if the Leicester City man can keep going and score half the goals Wright did Vardy’s story could end up part of football folklore. No way back for Aston Villa What’s going on at Aston Villa? Five points adrift at the bottom of the Premier League and seemingly no hope of survival judging by their recent results. Many people will say it’s a surprise to see a club like Villa struggling at the foot of the table, but for me it’s no surprise at all. Just look at the last few years. They have chopped and changed their manager too much, sold their best players and not invested anything back. Villa are a great club and I really feel for their fans, who are a superb bunch. But if you don’t invest in your squad you won’t stay in the Premier League and that’s what’s happening at Villa. They may be former European champions, but that does not mean anything. It’s going to be a long winter at Villa Park.       Read the original story at: Derek Whyte: Jamie Vardy’s footballing fairytale