Jamie Vardy and Brendan Rodgers approaching crossroads - but is it too late for both?

When Jamie Vardy was playing for Fleetwood Town, he probably did not entertain the idea that he would be a Premier League winner. He probably didn’t imagine that he would do it as remarkably as Leicester City did, and he almost certainly did not believe, really believe, that he would one day be the Premier League top goalscorer.

Thanks to some excellent scouting work, he can now consider himself the best striker in what remains probably the best league in the world. In terms of individual honours, only a few beat this achievement.

Vardy has two more years left on his City contract, and when it expires he will be 35. There will be nowhere else to go but down. There will be no great opportunity to win the Champions League or to see out his last year with a great European side. His swansong will probably be in China or America, to top up his pension.

He may wonder, though, if he has made the right choice. Next year will be in the Europa League rather than the Champions League. Four years ago, at the height of his powers, he was close to a move to Arsenal when Arsene Wenger was still in charge.

Vardy would have brought some of the old-school unpleasantness to Wenger’s modern, shiny Arsenal. They were a brittle side with no sharp edge, more of an aesthetic project than a machine built for winning things. They would have given him more prominence, more money, and more chance of staying in the national side too, but in the end, he decided to stay at Leicester after doubting something, either the club or himself.

His career is an odd one. Even five years ago, he would not credit where he is now, but looking back on the chance that he eschewed he may regret not seizing more of the opportunities to leave a bigger mark on English football. That is not to undermine what he has done, merely to point out his peculiar situation.

There is something similar going on with his manager, Brendan Rodgers. At Swansea City he was clearly quite confident in his own abilities, but his swift move to managerial savant, with the broadsheets at his feet, was unexpected. He likes the sound of his own voice and clearly believes he is absolutely great, and for a while at Liverpool he almost had enough supporting evidence.

In his last season at Liverpool, things fell apart. The departure of Luis Suarez and the arrival of Mario Balotelli and other bit-part players was not enough to keep them in contention for Champions League places. He was a figure of ridicule because of his slightly ludicrous comportment, but overall he left the club as an impressive manager.

The move to Celtic was a move down, no question about - as Alex Ferguson might conclude - that. But he delivered all the trophies he possibly could and developed some of their best youngsters in years. Celtic fans might grumble, but you can only win the leagues you are in. He earned a move back to Leicester City, and steadied a shaking ship.

While he has been assisted by some excellent scouting, it is Rodgers who takes responsibility and credit for the end product. Players like James Maddison, James Justin, Ben Chilwell, Harvey Barnes, Youri Tielemans and Caglar Soyuncu have all improved under his watch, and he got them within one game of Champions League qualification.

That game, though, matters. Because being fifth for one season wins you very little. There is no trophy and these days, more importantly, there is no Champions League money. There is nothing to make your best players stay and nothing to attract your top targets if they have competing offers from elsewhere. Leicester could offer time on the pitch, but no top-level European exposure.

So Rodgers and Vardy find themselves in similar positions. Years ago these problems might have seemed like fantastic places to reach, but after previous highs, recalibrated expectations and dreams, there may nevertheless be a hint of regret they did not manage to reach even higher.