5,000-1 - A Leicester City Fan's Musings.

NB. This post contains a lot of musing about football and absolutely nothing about walking,
 so feel free to move along, if you're not interested.

Well, the 2015-15 Barclays Premier League Season has reached its apotheosis and Leicester City have done the impossible, claiming their first ever top flight title in 132 years, in the supposed 'toughest league in the world', where titles cannot be earned by graft, and are only won by paying out money for the acquisition of 'quality' players. When you grow up in a mid-size city, you never expect your local football team to be able to do something so unlikely, your expectations are that they ought to be good enough to stay in the top division for a prolonged spell, or to be able to challenge for promotion each season if they are in the second tier, but you'd never expect them to challenge for the English title, let alone win the thing. Thus when odds were given for the start of the season, 5,000-1 did not seem like an insult, because Leicester City were not a great team and would not challenge for the title, because it's just not something that they do, but now the football world has been turned on its head, and the most improbable rise in the history of English Football has arrived at its culmination. So allow me to share my thoughts on this particular tale, as this is my personal forum, even though this has nothing at all to do with the actual purpose of my blog...

Breaking out the 1996
Cheese & Onion shirt!

I've not been a lifelong Leicester City fan, despite being born and growing up in the city, because my attention has frequently wandered away from the sport over the years, having first alighted when Gary Lineker was lighting up the team in the mid 80s before drifting away after he left, and then only distantly registering the playoff disappointments of the early 90s before taking more of an interest post-1994 World Cup in the Little-McGhee years. Fandom finally came on during Martin O'Neill's tenure, and the playoff victory surge in 1996, followed by the 1997 and 2000 League Cup wins, the sort of highpoint and 'Best City Team Ever' that you would anticipate for a club of their standing, but after the Taylor-Bassett seasons, and relegation, and administration, my attention barely registered in the subsequent seasons of toil and I wasn't paying much attention when the club reached their nadir, and the 2008 relegation to the third tier. However the 2009 League One triumph, and the periods of Nigel Pearson taking charge got my interest in the team going again, despite my general interest in football waning because of the amount of money flooding into the game and being spent on transfers and wages, and it felt good to cheer on the Championship winning team of 2014, as it was the first time I'd seen a Leicester City team regularly beating up its opponents and actually dominating the division. Hope thus sprung eternal for the 2014-15 Premier League season, but it almost ended up a nightmare, notable only for the 5-3 hammering of Manchester United, before the team, bottom since November, won seven of their last nine games to finish 14th and handsomely avoid relegation, and then the axe fell on Pearson for a number of off-field problems, and the stage seemed set for another season of struggle.

Enjoying the Moment of Triumph!

The appointment of Claudio Ranieri as manager didn't seem like an inspired choice, as his best work at Valencia and Chelsea was more than a decade ago, and his last job, in charge of Greece ended with defeat to the Faroe Islands, and thus the good start to the 2015-16 season, 12 points from the first six games felt like a good platform to stay up on. The thrashing by Arsenal felt like normal service was being resumed, but the good run of results continued thanks to the inspired play of Riyad Mahrez, and the record-setting 11 game scoring streak by Jamie Vardy has City hitting the top again twice, but seemingly under the radar as all attention fell on former champions Chelsea's implosion. So after eight wins in ten, all unbeaten, a quiet spell of results over the festive period had the feeling of reality returning, despite the win at Spurs, but the failure of Arsenal and Manchester City to seize the division meant that Leicester were top again after the draw with an abject Aston Villa. Normal service had to resume though, surely, but beating Liverpool and a dominating win 3-1 at Manchester City had the doubters turning to believers, surely they couldn't go on to win the title, then defeat at Arsenal suggested they probably wouldn't. And yet, the results kept on coming, claiming six wins in seven (without conceding in any of them), with Tottenham Hotspur standing out as the nearest challengers with everyone else failing to make up ground. Doubts were sowed again after the draw with West Ham, but all the pressure actually shifted onto Spurs, their six-pointer already played (and lost), and after claiming a win vs Swansea, and a point at Old Trafford, only two points for Spurs off West Brom and Chelsea left Leicester City with an unassailable lead with two games to go. The Dream was now Reality, and Leicester City had become Champions of England for the very first time, capturing the attention of the worldwide media and succeeding in sport's most implausible underdog story, an event that was deemed by bookmakers as being five times more unlikely than Playboy founder Hugh Hefner revealing that he is actually a virgin.



Claudio Ranieri, a class act.

So after the celebrations and the plaudits after the confirmation of the result last night, we have to start wondering, how did this happen, and is there really any parallel to this in the world of sports, for comparison has been made to Nottingham Forest's ascent to the title under Brian Clough in 1978, though I feel it's more like Ipswich Town's triumph in 1962, having risen from the third tier in seven years. Those achievements were made in different era though, when money didn't govern the game, and club loyalty was much stronger, and in all the years of the Premier League since its inception in 1992, only five teams have won it, and all have had significant financial backing, especially in the last dozen years. Leicester City's entire squad cost £57 million, which is only £9m more than Manchester City paid for Raheem Sterling this term (a player who achieved nothing, btw), and £16m less than Newcastle United spent just this season on a team that looks is relegation bound, whilst their wage bill is still only a quarter of what the 'elite' clubs are spending. The lack of form shown by the major teams has been a key to the success without a doubt, with Manchester United, Liverpool and especially Chelsea not even getting close this year, and Manchester City and Arsenal failing to show any consistent form, and the closest challengers Tottenham Hotspur having been looking to a top four finish rather than a title tilt. Leicester may end up being the Champions with the lowest points total in at least 6 years, but they have been the only team to average more than two points per game, and each season is a completely fresh challenge, and past seasons counts for naught, which makes the victory all the more special. Also, can you allow us to be a little superstitious too, for the up turn in LCFC's is oddly coincidental with the re-interment of Richard III in Leicester, and the club's Thai owners have been instrumental in gaining the blessings of Buddhist monks for the team and using other symbolism for the benefit of the team, indeed praise for the Srivaddhanaprabha family and their personally generous and professionally hands-off leadership cannot be understated.

A Moment No LCFC Fan Ever Thought They'd See,
Ranieri and Wes Morgan lift the BPL Trophy.

Breaking down the year, and taking a closer look at the team starts to make for some interesting reading, and it has to start with Claudio Ranieri installing a new philosophy on the team whilst also trying to change as little as possible, keeping on the assistant management team, and not flooding the squad with new signing. A positive approach to the game has been most refreshing, telling his team to find ways to win, rather than the playing-to-not-lose approach that has been so prevalent in recent years among the English elite, done by robustly defending, using central midfield to disrupt, and breaking fast for counter attacks. Not too revolutionary, but when teams seem to favour a high-percentage game in both possession and passing completion, it runs completely against the wisdom of the contemporary game, as does his man-management, repeatedly keeping players focussed on the next game, rather than on the title chances, and in his media presence, friendly and affable in a climate usually dominated by dour moaners and bullies. The team has also excelled, with Ranieri shedding his 'Tinkerman' reputation, and nine players having made more than 30 league appearances, the kind of stability rare in modern football when many egos need satisfying, and a 'Band of Brothers' feeling has permeated the team all season, fostering a genuine team spirit and keeping their heads whilst all those around are losing theirs, to paraphrase Kipling. The players of the season have also been remarkable, Jamie Vardy scoring 22 goals and counting having been in non-league football with Fleetwood Town in 2012 and costing £1.2m, and Riyad Mahrez having reached double figures in assists and goals despite having cost only £400K. N'golo Kante has been a revelation in midfield, leading the league in tackles and interceptions, a snap at £6.5m, and Kaspar Schmeichel is tied for the league lead in clean sheets, and everyone else on the team deserves praise too, captain Wes Morgan and Robert Huth have been rocks at centre back, and Shinji Ozaki and Christian Fuchs have both been excellent signings. Additionally Danny Drinkwater and Danny Simpson have both excelled since leaving the Manchester United youth setup (folly, for that team, I say) and Mark Allbrighton was once released by Aston Villa (cue big laugh at their expense), and don't forget Andy King, the LCFC youth product who has become the first player in the modern era to win the top three divisions with the same team.



I'm going to enjoy wearing this!

Saturday 8th will thus bring on the coronation, and I'm absolutely certain that there will be quite a party going on in Leicester when it happens, even bigger than the one last night, enough to make me wish that I was back in my hometown, but instead I'll do my celebrating by absorbing the atmosphere through the TV, as I did with the radio before, and it's not like I'm going to be short of drink, having steadily built up a supply since the exploits of Wet January. Even having had a day of reflection, and attempting to share my joy at work (cakes much appreciated, attempts to wear my 1996 LCFC shirt less so), it's still not quite feeling real, despite having absorbed a tonne of media that tells me it is, Leicseter City, the club with three League Cups and seven Second Tier title, are Champions of the English Premier league. Honestly, my strongest footballing dream is that they might take on a Coventry City-esque stay in the top league and finally expunge their record of most FA Cup finals without winning the trophy (four times!), but now they have succeeded in the impossible job, and claimed the title after 132 years and 48 top flight seasons, besting their only second place finish in 1929 (!). This is a season that will linger in the memory for a long time, we fans know that it won't be happening again any time soon, and that there are at least six teams who will be coming on stronger next year, and the chances of winning the European Cup like Forest (twice!) is not going to happen either. And yet, if the team stays together, who knows? They have demonstrated that hard work, graft and togetherness can bring success in a team sport, and it's a well known fact that you cannot fluke a league win, and this gives hope to everyone in football, proof that spending £100m per season on 'elite' players does not guarantee success, and that past triumphs and size of fanbase count for nothing when it's the events on the pitch that count. So let's enjoy the present, and the future, forwards with Leicester City Football Club, excited to see what happens next, and to all the remaining nay-sayers, I do have to respond, 'do you honestly have no dreams you wish to come true?' and also, you cannot say the phrase 'Worst Ever Premier League Champions' without the word 'CHAMPIONS'!

NB. Edited for content, and photographs, obviously

Next Up: Normal service is resumed.