Rob Tanner - 5000-1: the leicester city story: the Leicester City story: hope and disbelief in the Premier Leagues greatest-ever season

5000-1

THE LEICESTER CITY STORY

5000-1

THE LEICESTER CITY STORY

HOW WE BEAT THE ODDS TO BECOME

PREMIER LEAGUE

CHAMPIONS

ROB TANNER

Published in the UK in 2016
by Icon Books Ltd, Omnibus Business Centre,
3941 North Road, London N7 9DP
email:
www.iconbooks.com

Sold in the UK, Europe and Asia
by Faber & Faber Ltd, Bloomsbury House,
7477 Great Russell Street,
London WC1B 3DA or their agents

Distributed in the UK, Europe and Asia
by Grantham Book Services,
Trent Road, Grantham NG31 7XQ

Distributed in the USA
by Publishers Group West,
1700 Fourth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710

Distributed in Australia and New Zealand
by Allen & Unwin Pty Ltd,
PO Box 8500, 83 Alexander Street,
Crows Nest, NSW 2065

Distributed in South Africa
by Jonathan Ball, Office B4, The District,
41 Sir Lowry Road, Woodstock 7925

Distributed in India by Penguin Books India,
7th Floor, Infinity Tower C, DLF Cyber City,
Gurgaon 122002, Haryana

Distributed in Canada by Publishers Group Canada,
76 Stafford Street, Unit 300
Toronto, Ontario M6J 2S1

ISBN: 978-178578-151-3

Text copyright 2016 Rob Tanner

The author has asserted his moral rights.

Pictures by Neil Plumb/Plumb Images

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, or by any means, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Typeset in New Baskerville by Marie Doherty

Printed and bound in the UK by Clays Ltd, St Ives plc

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rob Tanner is the Leicester Mercurys chief football writer. He has been the newspapers Leicester City correspondent for the past seven seasons, reporting on the clubs rise from the doldrums of League One to the Premier League title. He lives in Tamworth, Staffordshire, with his wife Jayne and his dog Molly.

Alan Smith is a former Leicester City and Arsenal striker who, alongside Gary Lineker, helped fire the Foxes to the Second Division title in 1984/85. He is a co-commentator and studio pundit for Sky Sports, has been the voice of EA Sports FIFA video game series since 2011, and writes regularly for the Daily Telegraph.

To my late mother, Madeline. I hope I have made you proud.

LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks to my wife Jayne; my family and friends for their love and support; my colleagues and journalistic peers for their encouragement and advice; and to the Leicester Mercury for giving me the opportunity to cover this remarkable story for the newspaper.

Above all, thanks to Leicester City for giving me the most unforgettable season of my career.

FOREWORD

by Alan Smith

So much has changed at Leicester City since I first walked through those dressing-room doors. For a start, Filbert Street has been flattened, replaced by a block of flats. A few hundred yards up the road, the King Power Stadium speaks eloquently of the clubs progress.

As part of that, no longer do the players get changed for training at the ground before jumping in cars to drive across town. In my time, Belvoir Drive did not boast much in the way of facilities.

Mind you, neither did the team ever really cause a stir. Sure, we won promotion in 1983 before enjoying some good times in the top flight. But nothing like this. Nothing nearly so momentous. I think the closest we came to upsetting the odds was beating Manchester United 3-0 one memorable afternoon.

For me personally, then, it has been an absolute thrill to witness Leicesters heroics first-hand, to commentate for Sky on several matches in a season that will clearly find a major place in football folklore.

Chatting to the fans before and after games, they couldnt quite believe what was going on. A stunned, disbelieving look clouded their features as they looked to me for some kind of reassurance.

Not that I knew. I mean, this was new territory for everyone when a club outside the established Premier League elite not only gatecrashed the party but completely stole the show.

Make no mistake, these lads have cemented their place in sporting history. Fifty years from now, people will be able to reel off the regular starting XI, from Kasper Schmeichel all the way through to Jamie Vardy.

Supporters will reminisce about key games when somebody stepped forward to make the difference. Vardys brilliant goals, the match-winning skills of Riyad Mahrez, the incredible energy of NGolo Kant or the inspirational fortitude of captain Wes Morgan: whatever the tale, it will pass into legend.

In the immediate aftermath of victory, you cant really grasp it. Emotions are running too high, the blood pumping too fast. But as the months and years pass, the players concerned will gradually come to appreciate where this achievement stands in the firmament.

The answer is high, perhaps at the very top, and for that we can all join in the celebrations. The Foxes have confirmed that romance isnt dead, that the impossible dream can still be realised, just when we thought that money ruled.

Leicester City: Premier League champions. Run that one by me again?

Alan Smith
May 2016

AUTHORS NOTE

In 2009 I joined the Leicester Mercury as the newspapers chief football writer, covering Leicester City Football Club. In the years that followed I have witnessed the clubs rise from League One to the Premier League summit. In 2014/15, as the club battled to avoid a return to the Championship, I started to write a blog for the Leicester Mercury website, covering the teams fortunes, the goings-on at the club and the feeling throughout the city. I continued to do so long after Nigel Pearsons men pulled off their sensational survival bid in May 2015.

As the 2015/16 season rumbled on, with the momentum carried forward from the previous campaign showing no sign of slowing, it became clear that this story was one that warranted telling in full, so I began to write a book this book. There have been so many moments over the past twelve months that have defied belief; moments that, looking back, seem almost unreal. In an effort to capture each twist and turn in this incredible season, I have included blog-posts from throughout the season to provide snapshots of the key moments, telling the story as it happened and trying to convince myself that it really did.

INTRODUCTION

Sunday 15 May 2016. Stamford Bridge, London. Leicester Citys final game of the season has been over for some time. The ground is empty and the only sound is the occasional smack of a seat springing back to the closed position as Chelsea staff patrol the stands, picking up litter.

The press bench is empty. The other journalists are either inside, feverishly trying to meet their deadlines, or have already left to catch the trains at Fulham Broadway station. I am, pretty much, alone on the press bench. I have just pressed send on my final report of the season. I puff out my cheeks, look around the ground and reflect on what an incredible, almost unbelievable, season it has been.

It is my first chance to take in what I have witnessed over the previous year. I have followed the Foxes every single step of the way, from the incredible fight for Premier League survival the previous season to their astonishing transformation into title challengers and, ultimately, champions of England. It has been a whirlwind.

From the euphoria of City winning seven of their final nine games of 2014/15 to claw back a seven-point deficit to safety and remain in the Premier League, to the disappointment and shock when manager Nigel Pearson was sacked after his relationship with the clubs owners soured, I was there.