Leicester City F.C.
Season 2009–10
League	Football League Championship
Manager	Nigel Pearson
Chairman	Milan Mandarić
League position
Top goalscorer
FA Cup
League Cup	Second round
Highest home attendance
Lowest home attendance
Average Attendance
Player of the Year
Young Player of the Year

The 2009-10 season is Leicester City's 115th season in the Football League and their 58th in the second tier of English football. It is their first season back in the Championship after promotion from League One as champions in 2008-09. It is also the club's 125th anniversary season.

[edit] Pre-season

After winning League One by seven points, manager Nigel Pearson sought to strengthen the squad ahead of the Championship campaign. 2008/09 loanees Jack Hobbs and Wayne Brown were quickly signed on permanent deals from Liverpool and Hull City respectively. Veterans Barry Hayles, Bruno N'Gotty, Paul Henderson, Patrick Kisnorbo and Marc Edworthy were released at the end of their contracts. The Foxes further added to their squad with the captures of goalkeeper Chris Weale, defender Robbie Neilson, and midfielders Richie Wellens and Dany N'Guessan. However, the strikeforce remained unreinforced until 19-year-old Martyn Waghorn arrived on loan from Sunderland just before the opening game against Swansea City.

Joe Mattock was part of the England squad for the European U-19 Championships, before handing in a transfer request just 48 hours before the season opener. He eventually moved to fellow Championship club West Bromwich Albion for an undisclosed fee.

[edit] Kit and sponsorship

Leicester City's home kit for the 2009-10 season was unveiled before the final home game of 2008-09 against Scunthorpe United. To mark the 125th anniversary of the club's founding in 1884, the design of the front of the shirt had earlier been put to an online vote, with the fans deciding to keep the home shirt blank and sponsorless.

The blue and black design of the away kit mirrors the shirts worn in the club's first game in 1884. It is branded with the logo of LOROS, a charity providing hospice care in Leicestershire. The charity will receive a percentage of the sale price of each shirt sold from their shops.

Both strips are manufactured by Joma after the club's previous deal with Jako expired.

[edit] Friendlies

After reporting back for pre-season training on July 1, the club remained unbeaten through six pre-season games:

• Leicester City scores given first

[edit] Record

2009–10 is Leicester City's 58th season at the second tier of English football. Their record of winning the division on six occasions (although not since 1980) is second only to Manchester City.

[edit] Review

[edit] August

The season opened at the Walkers Stadium against Swansea City, with two of the new signings – Chris Weale and Richie Wellens – starting their debuts. Leicester began poorly and trailed 1-0 at half-time. Nigel Pearson introduced two more of the summer recruits – Dany N'Guessan and Martyn Waghorn – from the bench at the interval, who turned the game with a goal each in the second half to seal a 2-1 win for the home team.

Leicester's attention then turned to the League Cup, where they faced League Two side Macclesfield Town, Pearson fielded a relatively strong side, though handed a professional debut to the promising 18 year-old full-back Luke O'Neill. Leicester avoided the potential banana skin comfortably, beating The Silkmen 2-0 to progress to the Second Round, with Matty Fryatt bagging his first of the season, adding to Dany N'Guessan's backheel 13 minutes previously.

Two good away draws to Ipswich Town and Sheffield United followed, at 0-0 and 1-1 respectively, with Matty Fryatt cooling poking home from 12 yards to open the socring at Sheffield United. Both were evenly matched games, though Leicester arguably had the better chances in both. Unfortuantly though, Steve Howard and Martyn Waghorn limped off in the Sheffield United game, causing a worrying shortage in the striker department.

Nigel Pearson drafted in Paul Gallagher from Blackburn Rovers for an undisclosed fee, and he partnered Matty Fryatt up front for the second home game of the season against Barnsley. It was Fryatt who netted the only goal of the game with an excellent piece of control to bring down Richie Wellens' pin-point ball, before calmly slotting home on 54 minutes, to give Leicester their second win of the season.

A Tuesday night fixture away to Preston North End in the League Cup Second Round was next up for the Foxes, who started brightly, with Nicky Adams slotting home his second goal for the club after just 6 minutes. Preston hit back though just 8 minutes later, after a cruel deflection from Aleksander Tunchev, who was making his first competitive appearance in 8 months after a long lay out thanks to a cruciate ligament injury. After an exciting and evenly matched first half in which both teams created chances, Preston came out stronger in the Second Half, and after a string of good saves from Chris Weale, the former Bristol City keeper was finally beaten on 65 minutes, Pearson then sent on new signing Yann Kermorgant who had signed the previous day in an attempt to equalise, but it proved useless, as Leicester went down to their first defeat of the season and exited the League Cup and the Second Round stage.

Leicester then slumped to their first league defeat of the season, losing 1-0 away to early pace setters Newcastle United. Ending a respectable first month back in The Championship on a low.

[edit] September

After a two week international break, Leicester hit back from back to back defeats, with a 2-1 victory over Blackpool, in a game which saw Blackpool manager Ian Holloway, who relegated Leicester to League One in the 2007-08 season, return to the Walkers Stadium. Matty Fryatt netted a goal in each half to become to first Leicester player to score 50 goals for the club since Steve Walsh. This result also meant Leicester had gone an entire calender year unbeaen at home, in all competitions, with their last defeat coming on the 13th September 2008 in a league game against Millwall.

A mid-week 1-1 draw against Peterborough United followed, with both teams scoring a penalty in either half, as Aleksander Tunchev returned to league action for the first time this season as a half-time substitute.

The following weekend Leicester travelled to Vicarage Road to face Watford in an exciting match. Leicester dominated the first half and went into the break 2-0 to the good, with both goals coming from Matty Fryatt, taking his tally for the season to 8 already, including 5 goals in 3 games. Watford then came out firing in the second half as Leicester struggled to cope with Heiðar Helguson who led Watford's fight back, as the Hornets struck 3 times in the second half to turn their 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead. With Leicester looking down and out Dany N'Guessan got onto the end of Martyn Waghorn's brilliant volleyed cross to head the ball home in injury time, rescuing a point for Leicester as the game finished 3-3.

A disappointing home defeat to Preston North End ended Leicester's unbeaten home run of over a year, which was to that point the best in English football. 3 days later, the Foxes were back to winning ways though, with Lloyd Dyer netting 7 minutes from time to snatch all 3 points away to high flying Middlesbrough to give Leicester their first away win of the season, and to end the month in 8th place.

[edit] October

October began with back to back local derbies. First up was the M69 Derby away to Coventry City, which ended in a 1-1 draw, Martyn Waghorn grabbing the equaliser after Nigel Pearson brought on three strikers in a treble substitution at 1-0 down. One of whom was DJ Campbell, playing his first game in almost a year after previously saying he wanted out of the club. East Midlands' rivals Derby County followed after the international break, which ended in a 0-0 draw.

Leicester bounced back after two consecutive draws, with an in the the end comfortable 2-0 victory at home to Crystal Palace. Half-time substitue Paul Gallagher grabbed both Leicester's goals, his first a rebound from Matty Fryatt's saved penalty, and his second a sweetly struck 30 yard lob over the Palace keeper.

Leicester then managed a hard fought win against Reading on a televised Monday night game, with Martyn Waghorn bagging the only goal just before half-time. Despite being on the back foot for the majority of the game, Leicester survived for their first back-to-back wins of the season as they climbed into the play-off places.

Matty Fryatt then netter twice, as LEicester saw off in-form Queens Park Rangers to record their 3rd straight win and see them temporarily move into 2nd place.

[edit] November

The remembrance day fixture saw the return of Joe Mattock after leaving Leicester in contraversial circumstances during the summer, as The Foxes went down 2-1 defeat at home to promotion favourites West Bromwich Albion, with Bruno Berner netting a late consolation game after Leicester were 2-0 down by half-time.

[edit] Players

[edit] Current squad

As of 18 November 2009.^[1]

No. Position Player 1 GK Chris Weale 2 DF Robbie Neilson 3 DF Ryan McGivern (on loan from Manchester City) 4 DF Michael Morrison 5 DF Aleksandar Tunchev 6 DF Wayne Brown 8 MF Matt Oakley (Vice-Captain) 9 FW Steve Howard 10 MF Andy King 11 MF Lloyd Dyer 12 FW Matty Fryatt 13 GK Conrad Logan 14 MF Stephen Clemence (Captain) 15 DF Bruno Berner 16 MF Nicky Adams 17 MF Dany N'Guessan

No. Position Player 18 FW Martyn Waghorn (on loan from Sunderland) 19 MF Richie Wellens 20 DF Luke O'Neill 21 FW Ashley Chambers 22 FW Yann Kermorgant 24 FW Paul Gallagher 25 DF Jack Hobbs 26 MF Astrit Ajdarević 28 MF Robbie Burns 29 DF Chris Powell 35 GK Carl Pentney –– GK Alex Cisak –– MF Levi Porter –– DF Lathaniel Rowe-Turner –– MF Aman Verma

[edit] Out on loan

No. Position Player 7 MF Max Gradel (at Leeds United) [2] 27 FW Paul Dickov (at Derby County until January 2010)[3] 23 FW D. J. Campbell at Derby County until December 2009 –– FW Billy Kee (at Accrington Stanley until 31st Dec 2009) –– FW Craig King (at Hereford United until 30 June 2010)[4]

No. Position Player –– FW Ricky Sappleton (at Macclesfield Town until January 2010)[5] –– MF James Wesolowski (at Hamilton Academical until December 31st 2009.[6]) –– DF Harry Worley (at Crewe Alexandra until December 31st.[7])

[edit] Results

[edit] Football League Championship

• Leicester City scores given first

[edit] FA Cup

[edit] League Cup

• Leicester City scores given first

[edit] Records and statistics

[edit] Top scorers

Last updated on 22 November 2009.

Pos.	Nat.	Player	FLC	FAC	LC	Total
1		Matty Fryatt	9	0	1	10
2		Martyn Waghorn	3	0	0	3
=		Dany N'Guessan	2	0	1	3
3		Paul Gallagher	2	0	0	2
=		Bruno Berner	2	0	0	2
4		Lloyd Dyer	1	0	0	1
=		Andy King	1	0	0	1
=		Nicky Adams	0	0	1	1

[edit] Most assists

Last updated on 22 November 2009.

Pos.	Nat.	Player	FLC	FAC	LC	Total
1		Matt Oakley	3	0	0	3
2		Richie Wellens	2	0	0	2
=		Paul Gallagher	2	0	0	2
=		Steve Howard	2	0	0	2
=		Dany N'Guessan	1	0	1	2
3		Bruno Berner	1	0	0	1
=		Martyn Waghorn	1	1	0	1
=		Matty Fryatt	1	1	0	1

Stats obtained from LCFC.com

[edit] References