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Leicester Dentist - Leicester Cosmetic Dentist Leicester leicesterdentist.co.uk | Leicester Dentists: Leicester Cosmetic Dentistry, Leicester Dental Clinic dentalandcosmeticclinic.c... |
Leicester City Football Club (pronounced /ˈlɛstər ˈsɪti/), (also known as The Foxes) are an English professional football club based at the Walkers Stadium in Leicester.[2] They play in the Football League Championship, having been promoted as champions from Football League One in the 2008–09 season. The club were founded in 1884 as Leicester Fosse,[3] playing on a field near Fosse Road. They moved to Filbert Street in 1891 and played there for 110 years,[4] before relocating to the nearby Walkers Stadium in 2002. Leicester were elected to the Football League in 1894. The club's highest ever finish was second place in the top flight, in Division One in 1928–29. The club holds six Second Division titles (prior to it becoming known as the Football League Championship) and one League One title. They have won the League Cup three times, and have been FA Cup runners-up four times.
[edit] HistoryMain article: History of Leicester City F.C. Formed in 1884 by a group of old boys of Wyggeston School as "Leicester Fosse", the club joined the Football Association in 1890.[5] Before moving to Filbert Street in 1891, the club played at five different grounds, including Victoria Park south-east of the city centre. The club also joined the Midland League in 1891, and was elected to Division Two of the Football League in 1894 after finishing second. Leicester's first ever Football League game was a 4–3 defeat at Grimsby, with a first League win the following week, against Rotherham at Filbert Street. The same season also saw the club's largest win to date, a 13–0 victory over Notts Olympic in an FA Cup qualifying game.[3] In 1907–08 the club finished as Second Division runners-up, gaining promotion to the First Division, the highest level of English football. However, the club were relegated after a single season which included the club's record defeat, a 12–0 loss against Nottingham Forest.[3][6] In 1919, when League football resumed after World War I, Leicester Fosse ceased trading due to financial difficulties of which little is known. The club was reformed as "Leicester City Football Club", particularly appropriate as the borough of Leicester had recently been given city status. Following the name change, the club enjoyed moderate success in the 1920s; under the management of Peter Hodge, who left in May 1926 to be replaced two months later by Willie Orr, and with record goalscorer Arthur Chandler in the side,[7] they won the Division Two title in 1924–25[8] and recorded their highest ever league finish in 1928–29 as runners-up by a single point to Sheffield Wednesday.[5] However the 1930s saw a downturn in fortunes, with the club relegated in 1934–35[9] and, after promotion in 1936–37,[10] another relegation in 1938–39 would see them finish the decade in Division Two.[3][11] City reached the FA Cup final for the first time in their history in 1949,[3][12] losing 3–1 to Wolves. However, the club was celebrating a week later when a draw on the last day of the season ensured survival in Division Two.[13][14] Leicester won the Division Two championship in 1954,[15] with the help of Arthur Rowley, one of the club's most prolific strikers. Although they were relegated from Division One the next season, under Dave Halliday they returned in 1957,[16] with Rowley scoring a club record 44 goals in one season.[17] Leicester remained in Division One until 1969, their longest period ever in the top flight. Under the management of Matt Gillies, one of the club's most successful managers, Leicester reached the FA Cup final on another two occasions, but lost in both 1961 and 1963.[3] As they lost to double winners Tottenham in 1961, they were England's representatives in the 1961–62 European Cup Winners' Cup. In the 1962–63 season, the club reached as high as first place in the First Division, eventually placed fourth, the club's best post-war finish. Gillies collected silverware in 1964, when Leicester beat Stoke 4–3 on aggregate to win the League Cup for the first time.[3] Leicester also reached the League Cup final the following year, but lost 3–2 on aggregate to Chelsea. After a bad start to the season, Matt Gillies resigned in November 1968. His successor, Frank O'Farrell was unable to prevent relegation, but the club reached the FA Cup final in 1969 for the last time to date, losing to Manchester City 1–0. In 1971, Leicester were promoted to back Division One, and won the Charity Shield for the only time.[3] Unusually, due to Division One champions Arsenal's commitments in European competition, Division Two winners Leicester were invited to play FA Cup runners up Liverpool, beating them 1–0.[3] Jimmy Bloomfield was appointed for the new season, and his team remained in the First Division for his tenure. No period since Bloomfield has seen the club remain in the top division for so long. Leicester reached the FA Cup semi-final in 1973–74.[18] Frank McLintock, a noted player for seven years for Leicester successful period from the late Fifties to the mid Sixties, succeeded Jimmy Bloomfield in 1977. City was relegated at the end of the 1977–78 season and McClintock's resigned. Jock Wallace resumed the tradition of successful Scottish managers (after Peter Hodge and Matt Gillies) by steering Leicester to the Division Two championship in 1980.[19] Unfortunately, Wallace was unable to keep Leicester in Division One, but they reached the FA Cup semi-final in 1982. Under Wallace, one of City's most famous home-grown players, Gary Lineker, emerged into the first team squad. Leicester's next manager was Gordon Milne, who achieved promotion in 1983. Lineker helped Leicester maintain their place in the First Division but was sold to Everton in 1985, and two years later Leicester went down, having failed to find a suitable replacement. Milne left in 1986 and was replaced by in 1987 David Pleat, was sacked in January 1991 after a defeat that left City fourth from bottom. Gordon Lee was put in charge of the club until the end of the season. Leicester won their final game of the season, which guided them clear of relegation to the third tier of the football league.[3] Brian Little took over in 1991 and by the end of the 1991–92 season Leicester had reached the playoff final to the newly formed Premiership, losing to Blackburn Rovers. The club also reached the playoff final the following year, losing 4–3 to Swindon Town, having come back from 3–0 down. In 1993–94, were promoted from the playoffs, beating Derby County 2–1 in the final.[3] Little quit as Leicester manager the following November to take charge at Aston Villa, and his successor Mark McGhee was unable to save Leicester from finishing second from bottom in the 1994–95. McGhee left the club unexpectedly in December 1995 whilst Leicester were top of Division One to take charge of Wolverhampton Wanderers.[20]  McGhee was replaced by Martin O'Neill.[3] Under O'Neill, Leicester qualified for the 1995–96 Division One promotion playoffs and beat Crystal Palace 2–1 with a last-gasp Steve Claridge goal securing an immediate return to the Premiership. Following promotion, Leicester established themselves in the Premiership with four successive top ten finishes. O'Neill was the first manager to win silverware for 26 years, winning the League Cup twice, in 1997 and 2000, and Leicester were runners-up in 1999. Thus the club qualified for the UEFA Cup in 1998 and 2001, the club's first European competition since 1961. O'Neill's success made him a sought-after manager, turning down Leeds United in 1999, but in June 2000 he was lured to Celtic. He is regarded today as easily the best manager of recent years, and one of the most successful in the club's history.[3] O'Neill was replaced by former England U-21 coach Peter Taylor. During this time, Leicester's last European appearance ended in a 3–1 defeat to Red Star Belgrade on 28 September 2000 in the 2001 UEFA Cup.[21] After a long run of poor results, Taylor was sacked in October 2001. Taylor was replaced by a management team of Dave Bassett and Micky Adams, but they could not prevent City's last season at Filbert Street ending in relegation from the Premiership.  Leicester moved into the new 32,500-seat Walkers Stadium at the start of the 2002-03 season. Walkers, the Leicestershire based crisp manufacturers, acquired the naming rights for a ten year period.[22] In October 2002, the club went into administration with debts of £30 million. Some of the reasons were the loss of TV money (ITV Digital, itself in administration, had promised money to First Division clubs for TV rights), the large wage bill, lower than expected fees for players transferred to other clubs and the £37 million cost of the new stadium. [23] Adams was banned from the transfer market for most of the season, until the club was rescued by a takeover by a consortium led by Gary Lineker.[3] Adams guided Leicester to runners-up spot in Division One and automatic promotion back to the Premiership with more than 90 points. Leicester only lasted one season in the top flight and were relegated back to the newly labelled Championship, previously known as Division One. When Adams resigned as manager in October 2004 Craig Levein was appointed boss. This would prove to be an unsuccessful period and after 15 months in charge and flirting with relegation Levein was sacked. Assistant manager Rob Kelly, took over as caretaker manager, and after winning three out of four games was appointed to see out the rest of the season. Kelly steered Leicester to safety and in April 2006 was given the manager's job on a permanent basis.[3] In October 2006 ex-Portsmouth chairman Milan Mandarić was quoted as saying he was interested in buying the club, reportedly at a price of around £6 million with the current playing squad valued at roughly £4.2 million. The takeover was formally announced on 13 February 2007.[24] On 11 April 2007, Rob Kelly was sacked as manager and Nigel Worthington appointed as caretaker manager until the end of the season. Worthington saved the club from relegation, but was not offered the job on a permanent basis. On 25 May 2007 the club announced former MK Dons manager Martin Allen as their new manager with a three-year contract. Allen's relationship with Mandarić became tense and after only four games Allen left by mutual consent on 29 August 2007. On 13 September 2007, Mandaric announced Gary Megson as the new manager of the club, citing Megson's "wealth of experience" as a deciding factor in the appointment. However, Megson left on 24 October 2007 after only six weeks in charge following an approach made for his services by Bolton Wanderers. Mandarić placed Frank Burrows and Gerry Taggart in the shared position as caretaker managers until a professional manager was appointed.  On 22 November, Ian Holloway was appointed manager. Holloway made history when he became the first Leicester manager in over 50 years to win his first league game in charge, beating Bristol City 2–0.[25] Despite this, Leicester were relegated from the Championship at the end of the 2007–08 season after drawing 0–0 with Stoke City, marking the 2008–09 season as Leicester's first season outside the top two tiers of English football. Their fall from grace would also see Holloway leave by mutual consent after less than a season at the club, being replaced by Nigel Pearson. The club returned to the Championship at the first attempt, finishing as champions. [edit] Colours, crest and traditionsThe club's home colours of royal blue and white have been used for the team's kits throughout most of its history.[26] The first sponsorship logo to appear on a Leicester shirt was that of Ind Coope in 1983. British snack food manufacturer Walkers Crisps held a long association with the club, sponsoring them from 1987 to 2001. On 24 April 2009 the club officially unveiled their new 2009–10 home shirt during the last League One home game against Scunthorpe United. The new shirt will be without a sponsor in honour of the club's 125-year anniversary. The shirt is manufactured by Joma. The new kit features a central crest with "125" below.[27] An image of a fox was first incorporated into the club crest in 1948, as Leicestershire is known for foxes and fox hunting.[28] This is the origin of the nickname "the Foxes". The club mascot is a character called "Filbert Fox". There are also secondary characters "Vickie Vixen" and "Cousin Dennis", though only Filbert is currently seen at games. The current shirt badge has been unchanged since 1992. In another reference Leicestershire's tradition of hunting, the club adopted the Post Horn Gallop in 1941, although the origin is a 19th century coachman's tune to signal mail was arriving.[29] It was played over the PA system as the teams came out of the tunnel at all home games. However the club has replaced it in the past few seasons with a jazzed-up modern version. [edit] Stadia In their early years, Leicester played at numerous grounds, but have only played at two since they joined the Football League. When first starting out they played on a field by the Fosse Road,[30] hence the original name Leicester Fosse. They moved from there to Victoria Park, and subsequently to Belgrave Road. Upon turning professional the club moved to Mill Lane.[30] After eviction from Mill Lane the club played at the County Cricket ground while seeking a new ground. The club secured the use of an area of ground by Filbert Street, and moved there in 1891.[30] Some improvements by noted football architect Archibald Leitch occurred in the Edwardian era, and in 1927 a new two tier stand was built,[30] named the Double Decker, a name it would keep till the ground's closure in 2002. The ground wasn't developed any further, apart from compulsory seating being added, till 1993 when work began on the new Carling Stand. The stand was impressive while the rest of the ground were untouched since at least the 1920s, this led manager Martin O'Neill to say he used to "lead new signings out backwards" so they only saw the Carling Stand.[31] The club moved away from Filbert Street in 2002 to a new 32,500 all-seater stadium.[32] The stadium was originally named Filbert Way and later renamed to Walkers Stadium in a deal with food manufacturers Walkers.[33] The first match the Walkers hosted was a friendly against Athletic Bilbao, the game was drawn 1–1 with Tiko of Bilbao being the first scorer at the stadium and Jordan Stewart being the first City player to score,[34] and the first competitive match was a 2-0 victory against Watford.[35] The stadium has since hosted an England international against Serbia and Montenegro which finished 2–1 to England, as well as internationals between Brazil and Jamaica, and Jamaica and Ghana. More recently the stadium has been used to host the Heineken Cup European Rugby semi finals for the Leicester Tigers rugby club, itself based within a mile of the Walkers Stadium. [edit] RivalriesBeing based in the East Midlands, but the only fully professional club in Leicestershire, Leicester City consider fellow East Midlands' sides Derby County and Nottingham Forest to be rivals, due to their regional proximity and them being teams with whom Leicester have shared Leagues during many recent seasons.[36][37] Despite being based in the West Midlands, Leicester's main rivals in more recent years have been Coventry City, who are based just 24 miles away. The game between the two clubs has become known by the media, though not generally by the fans, as 'The M69 Derby' taking its name from the motorway connecting the two cities. [38] According to a survey by The Football Pools published in 2008, this fixture is the 26th fiercest rivalry in English football.[39] [edit] Club honoursNational competition:[40]
Regional competition:
[edit] ManagersFor more details on this topic, see List of Leicester City F.C. managers. Leicester have had 36 managers, with Peter Hodge and Dave Bassett taking in two spells (Bassett's second was as caretaker manager). Here is a shortened list of the club's most significant managers, including the current holder of the position. For a full list see here. There have been nine managers in the eight years since the loss of Martin O'Neill. Ian Holloway became the first manager to win his first league game in charge with a 2–0 victory over Bristol City, since David Halliday in 1955 but also became the first manager to see Leicester relegated to the third flight of English football.
Manager stats obtained from [1] Updated on 25 September 2009 [edit] Records & statisticsMain article: Leicester City F.C. statistics Graham Cross holds the record for the most Leicester appearances, with the defender playing 596 games between 1960 and 1976. He is just ahead of midfielder Sep Smith who managed 586 between 1929 and 1949.[42] Striker Arthur Chandler is currently the club's all time record goal scorer, netting 273 in his 12 years at the club; he also found the net in 16 consecutive matches in the 1924–25 season.[5] The most goals managed in single season for the club is 44 by Arthur Rowley, in the 1956–57 season.[5] The fastest goal in the club's history was scored by current striker Matty Fryatt, when he netted after just nine seconds against Preston in April 2006.[43] The record transfer fee paid by Leicester for a player was around £5.5 million for the then Wolves striker Ade Akinbiyi. Akinbiyi was purchased following the departure of local striker Emile Heskey to Liverpool; a transfer fee of around £11 million which proved to be the highest fee received by Leicester for a player to date. The club's record attendance is 47,298 against Tottenham Hotspur at Filbert Street, in a fifth round FA Cup clash in 1928. The record at their current home, the Walkers Stadium, is 32,148 for a Premier League match against Newcastle United on 26 December 2003.[44] Leicester City are second behind Manchester City for having won the most title of the English Second Tier. Only Birmingham City have been promoted and relegated between the top two divisions of English football more times than Leicester. The club has reached four FA Cup finals, yet lost them all.[5] This is the record for the most FA Cup final defeats without winning the trophy. Leicester City are one of only two clubs (the other being Brighton) to have won the Charity Shield despite never winning either the League championship or the FA Cup. Between 1990 and 2000, the club played seven matches at Wembley Stadium, including three League Cup finals and four play-off finals. Only Manchester United and Arsenal appeared at more Wembley matches during this time. At the end of the 2007–08 season, Leicester were relegated below the top two tiers of English league football for the first time in the club's history, leaving a select group of nine teams which have never played outside these two leagues. On 21 February 2009 Leicester achieved a new club record of 20 league games unbeaten with a 1–0 win at Bristol Rovers, four days after equalling the previous record set back in 1971 with a 2–2 draw at Hartlepool. They remained unbeaten until 11 March 2009, with a 2–0 defeat away at Tranmere Rovers. This ended the record at 23 league games unbeaten.[45] Leicester's highest ever league finish was 2nd in the Football League Division One (now the Premier League) in 1928–29. Their lowest ever league finish was 1st in Football League One in 2008–09. [edit] League history
Since their election to the football league in 1894 Leicester have spent much of their history yo-yoing between the top two tiers in English football. Leicester have played outside the top two tiers only once in their history to date, during the 2008-09 they played in League One, the third tier of English football after relegation from The Championship the season prior to that, but were promptly promoted back as Champions. Leicester have never played lower than the third tier of English football.
L1 = Level 1 of the football league system; L2 = Level 2 of the football league system; L3 = Level 3 of the football league system.
[edit] Players[edit] Current squad
[edit] Out on loan
[edit] Past playersFor notable past players, please see Leicester City F.C. players [edit] English Hall of Fame membersThe following have played for Leicester and have been inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame:
[edit] Football League 100 LegendsThe Football League 100 Legends is a list of "100 legendary football players" produced by The Football League in 1998, to celebrate the 100th season of League football. It also included Premier League players, and the following former Leicester City players were included: [edit] World Cup playersThe following players have been selected by their country in the World Cup Finals, while playing for Leicester.
[edit] Backroom staff
[edit] References
[edit] Further reading
[edit] External links
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