Direct football. No obsession with possession. More long passes. Little tiki-taka.

Counterattack, rather than painstaking buildup.

They have thrived, taking one week at a time, with all the wrong formulas of football. O let's call the game football for a change, shall we?

They have played more long passes than almost all teams in Europe, 6.9 percent, to be precise, against 1.1 to 1.6 percent by other European league leaders Bayern Munich, Paris St German, Barcelona and Juventus.

Possession, too, has not been their forte. Just 45.5 percent on average, third-lowest in the English Premier League. Only Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion have averaged less.

The other teams, those that until a couple of months ago were their title rivals, have sworn by possession. Arsenal lead the field with about 56 percent possession, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur follow close behind with 55.2, 55.1 and 54.7 percent. Yet only Arsenal managed to beat them both times they met.

Accuracy of their passes, too, has been the third-lowest in the EPL.

Almost all their rivals have deep pockets. The top ones have spent as much on one player as they have on the entire team.

They have played fewer players in the starting lineups than most other teams. Rotation has not been their winning mantra. Perhaps their coach, once mocked as the "tinkerman", has tinkered the least with his team and played the least number of players in the starting lineups because he doesn't have a deep reserve. Perhaps that has been a blessing in disguise, for it helped the players to be more cohesive.

Until a week ago, seven of their players had been in the starting lineups in 32 or more games. Compare that with four for Spurs, two for the Gunners and one each for the Red Devils and City.

Their philosophy, too, has been different from the rest of the teams in Europe. They have made the best use of the resources at their command. They have used the long ball not because they are a physical side or less skillful, but to exploit the pace of their ace striker, who has earned the title of the Footballer of the Year.

Yet they have proved the bookies and football pundits wrong.

Indeed, the wily Foxes have outfoxed them all. But how dare they do that? Who gave them to the right to humble the behemoths of English football and their shining stars that cost the earth? Such audacity cannot be forgiven.

They deserve the sternest punishment.

They should be punished for making poorer teams dream again. They should be punished for surviving relegation last year this time and winning the league this season. They should be punished for bluffing everyone. They should be punished for restoring the glory of football. They should be punished by being elevated to the Football Hall of Fame, if there is one.

And perhaps their name should be changed from The Foxes to the Jackals.

But for now, long live The Foxes!

Contact the writer at oprana@hotmail.com