[FM20] Leicester City F.C.

[RazorsEdge]

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB
STADIUM: KING POWER STADIUM (32,312 capacity, all-seater stadium built in 2002)
TRAINING GROUND: BELVOIR DRIVE

LEICESTER PART WAYS WITH RODGERS
1/7/2019

Brendan Rodgers' time at Leicester City is up.

Despite only having taken over from Frenchman Claude Puel in February of this year and guiding the team to 9th at the end of last year's campaign, the club and the Irishman have parted ways. There are conflicting reports as to why Rodgers has left the club but an inside source has stated that Rodgers feels he needs some time away from the game, with the spotlight and pressure of the Premier League too much for him to handle.

Rodgers of course had a spell as manager of Liverpool and was under constant fan and media attack, and as Leicester City are trying to position themselves for another fairy-tale story run at the Premier League title, it is believed that this pressure is what has caused him to step away.

Whilst there has been no official word on a new manager for the Foxes at this point, a caretaker has been appointed. Twenty-nine year old Australian coach Phillip Smith will take control of the team for the time being, previously having been heavily involved with the under-23's team.

Edited November 5, 2019 by RazorsEdge

[RazorsEdge]

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB
2019/2020 SQUAD:

GOALKEEPERS:
   
[L-R] 1. Kasper Schmeichel [VICE-CAPTAIN], 12. Danny Ward, 35. Eldin Jakupovic

DEFENDERS:

   
[L-R] 2. James Justin *, 3. Ben Chilwell, 4. Çağlar Söyüncü

   
[L-R] 5. Wes Morgan [CAPTAIN], 6. Jonny Evans, 16. Filip Benkovic

   
[L-R] 18. Daniel Amartey, 21. Ricardo Pereira, 28. Christian Fuchs

MIDFIELDERS:

   
[L-R] 7. Demarai Gray, 8. Youri Tielemans *, 10. James Maddison

   
[L-R] 11. Marc Albrighton, 15. Harvey Barnes, 20. Hamza Choudhary

   
[L-R] 22. Matty James *, 24. Nampalys Mendy, 25. Wilfred Ndidi

26. Dennis Praet *

FORWARDS

   
[L-R] 9.Jamie Vardy, 14. Kelechi Iheanacho, 17. Ayoze Pérez *

* indicates new signing
* indicates injured player

PLAYER OUT ON LOAN:

13. Islam Slimani (at Sporting CP), 23. Adrien Silva (at Sporting CP), 27. Fousseni Diabaté (at Gazélec Ajaccio), 31. Rachid Ghezzal (at AS Monaco), 37. Andy King (at Rangers) *

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB:

EXPECTATIONS & MEDICAL CENTRE:

[RazorsEdge]

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB:

PRE-SEASON ROUND UP:

The pre-season largely went according to plan for Leicester, with the Foxes winning five out of six matches, with the sole loss being a 1-0 to Shakhtar Donetsk.

Players were rotated well throughout fixtures and seemed to respond well to caretaker manager Phillip Smith's tactical plans.

TRANSFER WINDOW ROUND UP:

After already securing the services of James Justin, Ayoze Pérez, Youri Tielemans and Dennis Praet, alongside some academy players, you could forgive Leicester if that was the conclusion of their transfer business.

Instead the Foxes got to work with Smith immediately targeting 22-year old Scottish defender Scott McKenna from Aberdeen. For a fee of 6 million pounds, rising to 6.5 million after bonuses, Smith was able to secure a ready made replacement club captain Wes Morgan and Jonny Evans. Whilst the Scot, who has earned himself 5 international caps, still has some developing to do, he certainly looks like a solid prospect. McKenna was awarded the number 30 shirt upon signing.

One definitely for the future is 17 year-old Belgian goalkeeper Tobe Leysen. Leysen immediately reported to the under-18 squad where he will be developed to hopefully be the long-term replacement for the now 33 year-old Kasper Schmeichel. Leysen cost the Foxes approximately 625,000 pounds with future bonuses included.

17 year-old Willem Geubbels arrives from the AS Monaco academy for a fee of 7.5 million pounds. Geubbels has been highly regarded by the scouting department as a future star and possible international for his native France. Unfortunately the striker arrives suffering from a damaged knee cap and will not be available for approximately 2 months. He was assigned the number 13 shirt on his arrival, as he had worn it previously at Monaco.

Like Geubbels, 17 year-old Italian Sebastiano Esposito arrives from Inter Milan highly touted by scouts. Esposito, only on a youth contract at Inter, was signed by the Foxes who have paid out 2 million pounds in compensation to the Italian club. Esposito was immediately loaned out to West Bromwich Albion to further his development.

Finally, wrapping up the transfer window was James Justin leaving his newly signed club to go on loan at Swansea. The former Luton Town player was sent on loan in order to gain more first team experience than he would get at the Foxes. Various other under-23 and under-18 players went out on loan as well to further their development.

[RazorsEdge]

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB:

AUGUST ROUND UP:

August was a largely positive month for the Foxes after dropping points to Chelsea away from home in a narrow 2-1 defeat which was both joyous for the first goal in a Leicester shirt for Ayoze Pérez, but also disastrous when a late equalizer by Pérez was ruled offside after some VAR interaction.

Leicester then secured a comfortable 2-0 victory against Tottenham Hotspur at the King Power Stadium with Jamie Vardy bagging two goals. In what was a shocking outing away from home for Spurs, whom only managed to get 2 shots on target for the game. There was a downside for the home team late with Ricardo Pereira being sent off in the 91st minute after receiving his second yellow card.

Before the trip to Southampton, the Foxes were hit with two injuries. Mark Albrighton suffered a strained neck, which will keep him out for 2 weeks, and, more seriously, Christian Fuchs tore his groin muscle in training and will be out from anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks.

A trip to St Mary's was next and the Saints proved no match for the traveling side as Leicester won 2-0 thanks to a goal from James Maddison to open his 2019/2020 campaign, and a calamitous own-goal by young Austrian defender Kevin Danso, who is on loan at Southampton from FC Augsburg of the Bundesliga.

The final match of the month was away to Doncaster Rovers at Keepmoat Stadium in the second round of the Carabao Cup. Despite fielding a weak side, Leicester managed to win 1-0, although many would argue it should've been higher, with an impressive 67% of possession for the game. Club captain Wes Morgan made his campaign debut after building up his fitness, whilst Welsh goalkeeper Danny Ward started in goal and Croatian defender Filip Benkovic came off the bench for their respective debuts. Slightly souring the victory was an injury to Ricardo Pereira, who suffered a pulled groin and was substituted at half time, which will keep him out of action for the next week.

Ending August the Foxes sit in 9th on the Premier League table, although they have played one less match than most teams.

Leicester look forward to September with Premier League clashes against Wolves, Burnley, Bournemouth and West Ham to come, as well as a Carabao Cup third round tie against Everton.

[RazorsEdge]

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB:

SEPTEMBER ROUND UP:

Everton's Jordan Pickford furious with his defense during their 2-0 loss to Leicester in the Carabao Cup.

September started disappointingly for Leicester with a 2-2 draw at home against Wolves. Oddly, Kasper Schmeichel opened the scoring, albeit for the opposition, conceding an own goal just before half time. A Jamie Vardy penalty in the second half saw things draw back level before a sensational end to the match. In the 94th minute Rúben Neves slotted one past Schmeichel, only for James Maddison to miraculously snatch a draw in the 96th minute with what would be the final play of the match.

For the trip to Turf Moor, Leicester fielded a slightly weaker team, with club captain Wes Morgan leading the team out for the first time in the Premier League this season. A goal from Demarai Gray and two to Kelechi Iheanacho, whom was filling in for Jamie Vardy who was not risked after picking up a slight ankle injury in the previous match, saw the Foxes down Burnley 3-0 easily and earned Iheanacho a place in the Premier League Team of the Week.

Next Leicester welcomed surprise packet Bournemouth to the King Power Stadium. The Cherries came into the game undefeated and sitting third on the table, whilst the Foxes sat at 8th. In what would be a close back and forth affair, Jamie Vardy grabbed himself a hat-trick to cancel out goals from Callum Wilson and Antonio Candreva.

Goodison Park was home to the 3rd round of the Carabao Cup, but the Toffees were left fuming after a 2-0 defeat against a weak Leicester side. Demarai Gray opened the account in the 39th minute, before James Maddison fired a penalty home to wrap the match up in the 72nd. Everton's defense were poor and left much to be desired, with goalkeeper Jordan Pickford furious over his defense giving away a crucial penalty. Captain Wes Morgan picked up a yellow card, and as a result of a previous yellow will now miss the next round of the Carabao Cup.

Another road trip, this time to London Stadium, as West Ham played host to Leicester. West Ham never got out of the gates and even though Jamie Vardy was misfiring on all cylinders, Youri Tielemans scored both his first and second competitive goals for the Foxes, and impact sub Demarai Gray sealed it with a third and secured a 6 match Premier League unbeaten streak for the Foxes.

Throughout the month Jonny Evans and new signing Scott McKenna started to gel well as the main defensive unit, leaving the long term future of Çağlar Söyüncü and Filip Benkovic in doubt. New signing Ayoze Pérez has failed to impress so far, although he has reportedly been a positive influence around the club.

Youngster Willem Geubbels completed his specialist treatment and began his rehabilitation for his damaged knee cap, and should be available for selection in the next month or so. Premier League winner Christian Fuchs is also on the comeback trail and has been playing with the under 23 squad to rebuild match fitness, which will no doubt come as a welcome relief to Ben Chilwell, who has had to hold down the left side of defense on his own without any respite so far.

October will see Leicester host Brighton and Liverpool, with a trip away to Vicarage Road to play Watford on the cards for the Premier League. They will also visit the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in a 4th round Carabao Cup match, with Spurs seeking revenge for their 2-0 loss at the King Power Stadium in August.

With the January transfer window looming ever closer, caretaker manager Phillip Smith has not outlined plans for any incoming players. Somewhat unsettling for Foxes fans, however, is the fact that Tottenham have been scouting right-back Ricardo Pereira, and Frank Lampard has watched James Maddison on occasion as well. Chelsea are under a transfer ban, but they could unsettle Maddison and arrange a future transfer. Leicester will be desperate to retain the services of both players, especially Maddison, who along with Jamie Vardy, has been their most consistent player.

[Trilderos]

Loving this so far! I'm really interested to see where this goes.

[Alen99K]

also nice work mate keep it up

[RazorsEdge]

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB:

OCTOBER ROUND UP:

James Maddison displaying his loyalty to the club after signing a new 5 year deal.

October started well for the Foxes as they hosted Brighton at the King Power Stadium. Despite a valiant effort put up by the Seagulls, Leicester came out on top as 3-1 winners after goals from Ben Chilwell, Youri Tielemans and Jamie Vardy. Tielemans and Ricardo Pereira's performances saw them named in the Premier League Team of the Weak.

Up next Leicester visited Watford at Vicarage Road. Leicester dominated the entire match, largely due to the fact that Abdoulaye Doucouré was issued a straight red in the 17th minute. Youri Tielemans and Jamie Vardy again provided the goods with a goal apiece. Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær was spotted in the crowd, apparently scouted much sought after defender Ricardo Pereira.

Liverpool took the points at the King Power Stadium in a closely fought 2-1 defeat for the Foxes. Jordan Henderson slotted one past Kasper Schmeichel in the 60th minute, before Demarai Gray answered straight back with a stunning volley from a Ricardo cross in the 63rd minute. Their way back into the game was ruined, however, when Henderson netted his second in the 69th to secure all 3 points for the Reds.

The final match of the month saw Leicester visit the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for round 4 Carabao Cup action. After losing to the Foxes 2-0 at the King Power Stadium back in August, Spurs were out looking for revenge. It was not to be, however.  Erik Lamela opened the account in the 22nd minute, before Demarai Gray equaled in the 27th. Another Gray goal in the 69th and one to Kelechi Iheanacho in the 82nd saw Leicester secure a solid 3-1 victory away from home and book a place in the Carabao Cup quarter finals. Unfortunately Dennis Praet was injured in the match, suffering from pulled knee ligaments and is expected to miss up to 3 weeks. The new signing had recently been vocal about his lack of first team opportunities, so was given a start, but his injury will set him further back in his attempts to break into the midfield core trio of James Maddison, Youri Tielememas and Wilfred Ndidi. Young singing Willem Geubbels made his debut off the bench, whilst Premier League champion Christian Fuchs made his first competitive start after recovering from a torn groin muscle.

October ended up being a solid month for the Foxes, with 3 victories and 1 close defeat at the hands of Premier League champion contenders Liverpool.  Youri Tielemans 2 goals in 3 matches and solid performances saw him named the Premier League Player of the Month, whilst new signing Sebastiano Esposito (on loan at West Bromwich Albion) won the Championship Young Player of the Month with 3 goals in 5 appearances.

Ayoze Pérez has continued to struggle for form, with the 20 million pound man losing his place in the starting lineup to Marc Albrighton and Demarai Gray at various times in the month. Alongside the currently injured Dennis Praet, there could be two newcomers already heading out the door.

November will see the Foxes travel to Bramall Lane and Goodison Park to take on cellar-dwellers Sheffield United and Everton, respectively, while hosting Newcastle United.

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB:

TRANSFER NEWS:

Fan favorite Fuchs on his way out.

Despite making a solid comeback in Leicester's 3-1 Carabao Cup victory over Tottenham, the club has confirmed that Christian Fuchs will not be offered a new contract beyond the end of this season. Caretaker manager Phillip Smith said the club thanked Christian for the hard work he had put in over the years and the integral role he played in the 2015/2016 Premier League winning year, but that the club had felt it was time to move on with a look to the future. It is expected that James Justin, currently on loan at Swansea, will replace Fuchs as backup to Ben Chilwell.

There was some very welcome news at the King Power Stadium during October with star midfielder James Maddison agreeing a new contract with the club, hopefully ending the speculation on his future. Maddison penned a massive 5 year deal, which will see him earn 125,000 pounds per week. It should be noted, however, that his new contract now has a release clause. Leicester must accept any bid worth 75 million pounds from a club in the Champions League for the star. Whilst not ideal, it does at least give the Foxes a tidy sum to spend on a replacement player if required. That said, Maddison said he was delighted to be staying at the club and stated he had signed on as he is enjoying life under current manager Phillip Smith. He said that being allowed to play a creative role in the midfield has seen him enjoy his football, and hoped that a lot more of it is to come in a Foxes shirt.

Midfielder Adrien Silva, who is on loan at AS Monaco, has been confirmed to join the club permanently at the start of the January transfer window. The French club paid a touch under 18 million pounds for the 30 year-old Portuguese, which is believed to have helped with the finances behind the James Maddison contract extension. Whilst Leicester will be disappointed losing money on the midfielder, who signed for 22 million pounds back in August of 2017, he never found his place and with the push towards younger players, he was always going to be on the outs.

 

[RazorsEdge]

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB:

NOVEMBER ROUND UP:

Leicester kicked off their November fixtures with a trip to Bramall Lane to take on the Blades. Sheffield United put up a strong performance against the Foxes, restricting them to a 1-0 win. Hamza Choudhury made a rare start in place of the rested Youri Tielemans and scored his first ever competitive goal, earning himself Player of the Match.

Next up was a trip to Goodison Park, the scene of a 2-0 Carabao Cup victory for the Foxes back in September. The Leicester attack lacked its bite, however, with Jamie Vardy missing through injury and the team were only able to scrap out a 1-1 draw, with Moise Kean cancelling out Youri Tielemans opening goal.

The King Power Stadium played host to Newcastle United on the last day of November with things started out terribly for the home side. Çağlar Söyüncü conceded a penalty which was converted by Matt Ritchie in the 6th minute, putting the Leicester on the back foot. Just before halftime, however, the always goal hungry Jamie Vardy equaled, before Ayoze Pérez, starting for the first time this month, scored the winner with a brilliant solo run and finish on the counter attack.

November sees some heavy fixture congestion with no less than seven matches. Leicester will visit the always imposing Theatre of Dreams to take on Manchester United, before playing host to Crystal Palace. A trip to the Emirates Stadium is up after that to take on current league leaders Arsenal, before two home games in a row as the Foxes host Championship club Birmingham City in the Carabao Cup Quarter Final and Aston Villa in the Premier League. To finish the month Leicester will head back to Manchester, this time to the blue side to play City, before returning home again to face Norwich.

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB:

TRANSFER NEWS:

In transfer news, Croatian defender Filip Benkovic is heading to Portugal to play for SL Benfica once the January transfer window opens. Benkovic has made just two appearances this season, both coming off the bench in the Carabao Cup. Benkovic joined Leicester for 11 million pounds in Auguest of 2018, being loaned straight to Celtic for the season. He has failed to impress in training and with the arrival of Scott McKenna, has been deemed surplus to requirements. Leicester will be pleased that the 22 year-old leaves for 15 million pounds, having made 4 million pounds profit on a player that hasn't been in or around the first team. His departure in January will also open up a spot in the Premier League squad registration, likely being used on the currently injured Matty James, who should resume training mid-January.

Also leaving the club in January will be 22 year-old Spanish striker Raúl Uche. Uche arrived from Rayo Vallecano on a free transfer in 2016, spent the 2017/2018 on loan at Real Betis B, and has been in the under 23 squad since. He departs for a fee of 125,000 pounds to Chinese club Chongqing Dangdai Lifan FC, who finished bottom in the Chinese Super League and next season will be plying their trade in the second division.

[RazorsEdge]

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB:

DECEMBER ROUND UP:

Club captain Des Morgan seen here joyous in the club's Carabao Cup Quarter Final victory.

December was a mixed bag for Leicester with four wins, two losses and a draw out of their seven fixtures. First up was a surprise victory at Old Trafford with a surprise winning goal scored by defender Scott McKenna to give the Foxes the win over Manchester United 1-0. Leicester's intense play saw Youri Tielemans pick up his fifth yellow card of the campaign and be forced to sit out the next match.

In between fixtures to stronger teams United and Arsenal, Leicester played host to Crystal Palace and fielded a slightly weaker team. Goals from Hamza Choudhury and Dennis Praet were cancelled out by goals from Jordan Ayew and Maximilian Meyer. In a match that saw Leicester dominate possession, they will be disappointed to walk away with a 2-2 draw. Wilfred Ndidi continued the teams disciplinary problems, picking up his fifth yellow card and forcing him to sit out the game at the Emirates Stadium.

There was some good news and bad news for the Foxes before the Arsenal fixture. Firstly, Kelechi Iheanacho took up British citizenship to help with work permit, and future foreign player limit issues. Secondly, Harvey Barnes suffered a twisted ankle in training that would keep him out for 4 weeks.

The trip to the Emirates started poorly with Alexandre Lacazette netting in the 4th minute, followed by Matteo Guendouzi in the 17th and Mesut Özil just before the halftime whistle. An angered Phillip Smith tried his best to inspire his troops, and it did have some effect, with Ayoze Pérez netting twice in quick succession straight after the break. Arsenal, however, were too good defensively and held firm despite some great attacking play from Leicester to win 3-2. Jonny Evans made it three matches in a row that a Leicester player picked up their fifth yellow card, and would be forced to miss the home fixture against Aston Villa. More disappointingly for the Foxes was that this was the end to their five game unbeaten streak in the Premier League.

Danny Ward broke his collarbone in training the day before he was due to put on the gloves for the Carabao Cup Quarter Final tie against Birmingham at the King Power Stadium, an injury that will see him sidelined up to 9 weeks. Eldin Jakupovic stepped in to fill his shoes, but the 35 year-old Swiss 'keeper had little to do as Leicester walked out with a 3-0 victory thanks to goals from Marc Albrighton, a penalty from Nampalys Mendy (both their first goals of the season) and a fine strike from Kelechi Iheanacho to complete the easy win.

Leicester hosted Aston Villa in the Premier League next with Demerai Gray netting just before halftime, and Willem Geubbels coming off the bench and scoring a penalty for his first ever Leicester goal, granting the home team a 2-0 win. Villa never really looked like troubling the Leicester defense and Kasper Schmeichel was kept relatively quiet in goal.

An away trip to the Etihad Stadium saw Leicester fans plummet back down to earth after being on the receiving end of a comprehensive 3-0 defeat to Manchester City, thanks to a Sergio Agüero hattrick. Scott McKenna became yet another Leicester player to accrue five yellow cards, and as such would miss the next game. Fans said that the defeat was a reminder that although the club had brought McKenna in, it still needed to strengthen its defensive stocks.

Leicester's final game of 2019 was playing host to Norwich, which resulted in a 2-1 victory for the home team. Jamie Vardy kicked things off with a goal in the 4th minute before Onel Hernández cancelled that out in the 13th. Things remained fairly even between the teams until Belgian midfielder Dennis Praet slotted home the winning goal in the 50th minute. Of note, the match was Christian Fuchs' 100th for the club and he celebrated it with a solid performance and was warmly received by the crowd.

Looking ahead to January and the Foxes again have a busy schedule with eight games. A New Year's Day match at home against Chelsea sees 6th versus 7th of the table in a match that could go either way. Following that Leicester travel to Old Trafford for the FA Cup 3rd Round, where they will be confident after securing a 1-0 victory there in the league at the start of December. The Foxes will play Wolves three times - twice in the Carabao Cup Semi Finals and once in the league. Rounding out the fixture will be away trips to Tottenham and Burnley, and a home game against Southampton.

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB:

TRANSFER NEWS:

Could Ricardo Pereira be on the move?

With the January transfer window opening there are questions remaining around Ricardo Pereira's future with both Tottenham and Manchester United reportedly interested in the defender. Super sub Demarai Gray is on West Ham's radar but sources close to Leicester say that the club will need to make a very good offer for them to secure his services.

Veteran Swiss goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic will leave at the end of the season as his contract expires. There were offers from his native Switzerland which were rebuffed as he is currently a required player with Danny Ward's injury.

Leicester fans were happy to see Nampalys Mendy sign a new contract in December, with his current one expiring at the end of the year. Mendy has signed on until the end of the 2022/2023 season, with a modest pay increased believed to take him 50,000 pounds per week to around 60,000.

Club captain Wes Morgan is the other first team player to have his contract expire at the end of the season and it is expected that the Foxes will choose to let the veteran defender go. Integral to Leicester's rise from the Championship to becoming Premier League Champions, at 35 years-old the Jamaican is finding it hard to keep up with the oftentimes frenetic pace of the Premier League.

Questions have been raised over the futures of both Matty James and Bartosz Kaputska, with the former still on the road back from injury, and the latter spending the entire season so far with the under 23 squad.

As far as incoming transfers go there has been little news on that front. It was revealed that Leicester were previously seeking someone to play on the right wing to replace the under-performing Ayoze Pérez, but the Spaniard seems to have turned the corner and his form has dramatically improved so it is believed that Leicester are no longer seeking a replacement.

There has been talk of recalling the on loan James Justin from Swansea to begin integrating him into the squad as Christian Fuchs replacement, though this hasn't been confirmed as of yet.

The loaned out trio of Islam Slimani, Rachid Ghezzal and Fousseni Diabaté have also been subject of transfer rumours, however the club has stated that they have received no offers for the three as of yet.

On New Year's Day Adrien Silva, Raúl Uche and Filip Benkovic will all complete their already in place deals.

It is believed that manager Phillip Smith still has money in the transfer and wage budgets to spend, but will only make a move for the right player.

Leicester also confirmed during December that Smith would takeover as full-time manager instead of caretaker with a deal running until the end of next season put in place.

[RazorsEdge]

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB:

JANUARY ROUND UP:

Dennis Praet enjoyed a fine outing against Burnley.

What a month to be a Leicester fan.

Starting off the month Leicester confirmed the signing of 18 year-old Dutch midfielder Iman Griffith from Excelsior on a free transfer. The versatile youngster can play almost anywhere in the midfield, feeling most comfortable on the wings. Not yet ready for first team football, Griffith has reported to the under 18 squad and already began to impress.

The first match of the New Year saw the Foxes play host to Chelsea. The Londoners did not have a good time at the King Power Stadium, going down 3-0 to a hardworking Leicester side with goals from Jamie Vardy, Ayoze Pérez. Pedro was seemingly the only Chelsea player who was interested in the match and put in a solid performance in an otherwise dismal outing. Chelsea's position on the table and results like this have seen more and more pressure being put on manager Frank Lampard, unable to make any drastic changes due to their transfer ban.

Next up was a visit to Old Trafford for the FA Cup. Leicester crashed out in the 3rd Round to the Red Devils despite working hard and almost caught up with United but ultimately went down 3-2 with two goals to Juan Mata and one to Anthony Martial, seeing off one each to Youri Tielemans and Wilfred Ndidi.

The recently recovered from injury Matty James left the King Power Stadium for a sum of 2.9 million pounds, opting to head to Denmark and FC Midtjylland. Leicester thanked him for his service and wished him all the best in the future.

The first of three matches against Wolves in the month of January was up next as the King Power Stadium hosted the first leg of the Carabao Cup Semi Final. Goals from Demarai Gray and Hamza Choudhury were enough to see off a mediocre outing for Wolves and see Leicester take a strong 2-0 advantage into the second leg.

More transfer activity with 23 year-old Polish midfielder Bartosz Kapustka joing FC Metz of Ligue 1 on loan with an optional future fee of 1.5 million pounds. Kapustka has found himself not playing a single game for Leicester since joining in 2016 for 4.1 million pounds, so whilst the Foxes hope to shift some deadwood, it will come at a loss.

Next was an away trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with Leicester securing a clean sweep of all three fixtures against Spurs this season. A game that looked to be heading for a bore draw ended up turning on its head when Ayoze Pérez sent a cross in from the touchline for Jamie Vardy to volley past Hugo Lloris for the win.

Strengthening the defense was what most Leicester fans had been asking for and as it turns out - ask and you shall receive. 23 year-old German defender Thilo Kehrer, who had found himself transfer listed at Paris Saint-Germain was signed for 18.75 million pounds, possible rising a further million pounds with various clauses. PSG lost a staggering amount on the German international, having signed him for 33 million pounds just a season ago.

Southampton were welcomed to the King Power Stadium and put up a rather valiant effort, only losing 1-0 despite withstanding an aggressive Leicester team the whole game. Youngster Willem Geubbels picked up the winning goal just before halftime, and it was enough to see the Foxes home in Demarai Gray's 125th match for the club. Thilo Kehrer also made his debut from the bench, much to the delight of the Leicester faithful.

Act II of III as Leicester traveled to play Wolves, this time in the Premier League. In what was again a 1-0 win thanks to another Ayoze Pérez goal, Leicester seemed to be lacking in the finishing department with Jamie Vardy, Marc Albrighton and Pérez all having a decent amount of efforts for no return. Thilo Kehrer started for the first time in the match and was largely impressive alongside the defensive unit of himself, Scott McKenna, Ben Chilwell and Ricardo Pereira, who managed to put a stop to any Wolverhampton attack as soon as it began.

Leicester next hosted Burnley in what was Kasper Schmeichel's 325th game for the club. Manager Phillip Smith spoke very highly of the great Dane 'keeper who hadn't conceded a goal since Leicester's 3-2 defeat to Manchester United in the FA Cup. Burnley were no match for Leicester here, with midfielder Dennis Praet pulling all the strings and earning himself a goal and a spot in the Premier League Team of the Week. Backed up with goals from Jamie Vardy and Demarai Gray, this one never looked like going the other way.

Finally in what would be Leicester versus Wolves for the fourth time this season, the Foxes downed Wolverhampton 1-0 away from home thanks to a fantastic long range strike from Ayoze Pérez. Leicester never really looked like losing this game and see themselves through to the Carabao Cup Final against more formidable opposition - Manchester City.

Manager Phillip Smith picked up his first Premier League Manager of the Month award after Leicester secured 5 wins from 5 matches, whilst young striker George Hirst, on loan at Colchester United, won both the Sky Bet League Two Player of the Month, and Young Player of the Month awards.

Looking ahead to February and the Foxes start with an away trip to Bournemouth before returning home to play West Ham. They follow this up with another road trip, this time to Brighton to play the Seagulls, before returning home to host Watford. Leicester will be looking to consolidate their standing on the table, having seen themselves rise, somewhat unexpectedly, to 3rd, trailing Liverpool and Arsenal but with both Manchester clubs and Wolves not too far behind. Champions League qualification doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility at this stage, a massive plus when the team's goals were originally just a top half finish.

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB:

TRANSFER NEWS:

Besides the signings of Thilo Kehrer and Iman Griffith, and the departures of Matty James and Bartosz Kapustka, there was very little else happening at Leicester on the transfer front.

Various youngsters went out on loan, whilst young Zimbabwean striker Admiral Muskwe, on loan at Livingston in Scotland, signed a one year extension to his contract, keeping him at the Foxes until the end of next season.

Swede goalkeeper Viktor Johansson, also plying his trade in Scotland, on loan at Ross County, signed a deal keeping him at the club until the end of the 2021/2022 season.

Leicester fans were anxious in the final few days of the January window as several players were being heavily scouted. Daniel Amartey was closely watched by Newcastle United, whilst Everton, Tottenham and Manchester United all kept an eye on Ricardo Pereira. Finally, Manchester City scouted Kasper Schmeichel and considered launching a bid to bring him back to the club he started at, but ultimately none of these clubs made offers.

ENGLISH TRANSFER NEWS:

Wayne Rooney returns to English football with struggling Championship side Derby County.

Wayne Rooney made his return to England after a spell in the MLS with DC United, joining up with a Derby County team that are struggling in the bottom half of the Championship. The Rams will be hoping he can provide some much needed help and push them up the table.

29 year-old Mexican midfielder Jonathan dos Santos joined West Ham on a free transfer after his contract with LA Galaxy expired.

Wolves brought in exciting Portuguese attacking midfield prospect Xadas for 1.2 million pounds.

Mix Diskerud and James McArthur both joined Ulsan Hyundai FC in the K League from Manchester City and Crystal Palace, respectively. Diskerud had spent the last two K League seasons there on loan and joined permanently for 4.8 million pounds, while McArthur cost the South Koreans 2.6 million pounds, with clauses potentially taking the fee above 3 million in the future.

Manchester City's veteran Chilean goalkeeper Claudio Bravo left the club for 625,000 pounds, joining Russian giants CSKA Moscow.

Ryan Fredericks also headed to Russia, with the West Ham defender joining Lokomotiv Moscow for 6.5 million pounds, rising to 8 million in bonuses.

Tottenham signed 23 year-old Spanish attacking midfield Raúl Guti from his hometown club of Real Zaragoza for 5.25 million pounds.

Southampton paid 4.3 million pounds, potentially rising to 5.25 million, for Vasco da Gama defender Ricardo Graça.

Wolves made two signings, first bringing in Argentine defender Juan Cruz Komar from Talleres de Córdoba for 4.3 million pounds. Their second signing proved to be the biggest sum spent in the Premier League, with Wolverhampton forking out 20 million pounds to Shanghai SIPG FC for another Argentine defender, this time 30 year-old José Luis Palomino, who had only joined the Chinese side in 2019 for 9.25 million pounds from Atalanta.

That concludes all English transfers of note in the January window.

[Matto97]

Love the writing style and format mate, enjoying it very much keep up the good work 

[oriole01]

You're doing a brilliant job of presenting this career, please keep it up. Following!

[RazorsEdge]

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB:

FEBRUARY ROUND UP:

Harvey Barnes had a good month, picking up a Player of the Match award against Brighton.

Leicester visited Dean Court to begin the month and walked away with a narrow 1-0 victory thanks to a Jamie Vardy goal. In what was a closely fought contest, Bournemouth were unlucky not to walkaway with a point after a VAR decision ruled a Joshua King goal offside by the slimmest of margins.

Leicester confirmed that longtime Leicester player Andy King would be leaving on a free transfer at season's end. The 31 year-old Welshman, who is currently on loan at Rangers, doesn't yet have a destination for next season and some below average performances in the Scottish Premiership have many wondering where he will end up. In a statement released by Leicester, the club thanked King for his service, with the midfielder playing in over 300 competitive matches for the Foxes.

Brendan Rodgers returns to the Premier League.

19th placed Aston Villa hired Brendan Rodgers as their new manager, after sacking Dean Smith three weeks prior. Rodgers left Leicester at the start of the season for reason still as of yet unknown, but rumoured to be about pressure to perform, signed a 2 year deal with Villa. The Villans currently sit 19th on the table with only 3 wins and 14 points to their name.

Leicester hosted West Ham in what was Ayoze Pérez's 25th appearance for the club. West Ham played well and it took until the 61st minute for Leicester to open the account with Jamie Vardy winning and converting a penalty after being tripped by Aaron Cresswell. Leicester saw off a strong attacking performance from West Ham, with Felipe Anderson impressing in particular, and wrapped up the match with Pérez celebrating his 25th appearance with a goal in the 83rd minute.

Before the trip to Brighton there was some bad news for the Foxes on the injury front. Marc Albrighton suffered a groin strain that will see him miss up to 5 weeks and see him miss out on the Carabao Cup Final, which he helped the side reach. Daniel Amartey was the other victim of injury, this time to sprained knee ligaments with the versatile Ghanaian missing up to 7 weeks of football. Unlike Albrighton, Amartey was already set to miss the Carabao Cup final after being suspended in the previous match due to yellow card accumulation.

The Solihull Moors first team.

Leicester announced a new affiliate club during the month with Vanarama National League team Solihull Moors joining up as a junior partner. Leicester will have the option to send players on loan to the Moors, have first rights on any players that are to be sold, and will travel to Damson Park to play a friendly each year. A statement from Leicester said that they were delighted to secure an affiliation with a club that would serve as both a developmental ground for their youngster and also a potential source of future talent.

The trip to Brighton was up next with the Seagulls losing to Leicester for the second time this season. A poor showing from the home team, who only managed one shot on target in the entire game, saw fans leaving the stadium in droves well before time was up. Young midfielder Harvey Barnes netted his second and third goals of the year to pick up the Player of the Match award, whilst James Maddison scored the final insult to injury in the 88th minute.

Scott Carson is on his way to the King Power Stadium.

It was announced shortly before the match against Watford that Leicester had paid a sum of 200,000 pounds to secure the services of veteran English goalkeeper Scott Carson from Derby County. 34 year-old Carson, who is currently on loan at Manchester City and has been capped by England 4 times, was due to come out of contract at the end of the season anyway, but the Foxes wished to secure a veteran replacement for the departing Eldin Jakupovic. Carson has signed a 2 year deal, with Leicester believing he can provide good backup to Kasper Schmeichel and Danny Ward, as well as mentoring the younger goalkeepers.

A weaker side was fielded as the Foxes hosted Watford, with Leicester choosing to rest a number of key players in the lead up to the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City. It mattered little however, as the Hornets were pushed aside easily in a 3-0 win for the home team. Willem Geubbels started his second Premier League match on the right wing and opened the scoring in the 12th minute with a beautiful volley off a Dennis Praet assist. The young star then went on to provide Kelechi Iheanacho with two assists in the 23rd and 86th minute to secure the victory and earn himself his first ever Player of the Match award.

Unsurprisingly manager Phillip Smith won Premier League Manger of the Month for the second month running, leading his team to four victories from four matches. This saw Leicester climb to second on the ladder, overtaking Arsenal. Smith credited the clubs hard defensive work, having been boosted with strong performances from January signing Thilo Kehrer, veteran Jonny Evans, Scott McKenna and Çağlar Söyüncü with the club's success. He also took the time out to single out Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel who has now kept an extraordinary nine clean sheets in a row as setting the standard for the defensive unit.

The opening day of March will see Leicester face down Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final. Leicester, who lost 3-0 to City at the Etihad Stadium back in December, will no doubt have some nerves heading into the game. Smith has claimed that the side are relaxed as they believe they will achieve European qualification with or without the Carabao Cup win, although he did admit that it would be nice to add some silverware to the trophy cabinet.

After the final at Wembley the Foxes will head to Anfield to play top of the table Liverpool, before returning home to host bottom of the table Sheffield United and 8th placed Everton.

[davehibb]

Fantastic write ups!

My favourite FM20 thread so far! 

[RazorsEdge]

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB:

MARCH ROUND UP:

Has Wes Morgan missed out on his final chance to win more silverware with Leicester?

Wes Morgan led his Leicester teammates out as captain in what will no doubt be his last cup final. Kasper Schmeichel's run of clean sheets came to end at Wembley, with 90,000 fans watching a the Foxes go down to Manchester City 3-2 in the Carabao Cup Final. Sergio Agüero put the Citizens ahead int he 26th minute, before James Maddison brought things back to level 10 minutes later. The game was closer than many had expected it to be, with the Foxes pulling ahead through a Jamie Vardy goal just after halftime. Unfortunately for Leicester it was Agüero's day as he scored a further two goals to round out a hat-trick and win City's 7th Carabao Cup, and 3rd in a row.

Kun Agüero put in a spectacular performance to win the Carabao Cup for Manchester City.

Three Premier League fixtures were to follow in March but the final game of the month against Everton was pushed to the first of April due to an Everton facing off against Newcastle in the FA Cup.

With only two fixtures left for the month the Foxes traveled to Anfield to play top of the table Liverpool. In a game that Liverpool should have won, Leicester managed to come away with a 2-2 draw. Harvey Barnes opened the scoring in the 53rd minute, before Player of the Match James Maddison made it 2-0 in the 77th minute. Leicester's defense fell apart during the game, with Roberto Firmino and Adam Lallana scoring in the 85th and 89th minute, respectively. The Anfield crowd were left fuming as Liverpool had no less than three goals overturned and ruled as offside, as their forwards looked particularly potent.

Bottom of the table Sheffield United the King Power Stadium, although the Blades, who at the start of the month picked up just their second win of the campaign against Crystal palace, would wish that they didn't. In what was an absolutely pathetic display from the Sheffield team, Leicester entered the halftime break up an incredible 6-0 thanks to goals from James Maddison, Ben Chilwell, Ayoze Pérez, Youri Tielemans (2) and Harvey Barnes. After the break Jamie Vardy added another as did Tielemans to round out his hat-trick. Blades forward Callum Robinson scored his second goal of the campaign in the 65th minute, perhaps due to complacency from the Leicester defense, before Harvey Barnes netted his second in the 74th minute to complete the 9-1 thrashing and extending Leicester's Premier League unbeaten streak to 12 games. Ben Chilwell, Scott McKenna, Ricardo Pereira, James Maddison, Youri Tielemans and Jamie Vardy all found themselves in the Premier League Team of the Week.

During the international break that took up the latter half of the month Dennis Praet broke his hand after suffering landing awkwardly in training and has been sent to a specialist, expecting to miss most, if not all of the rest of the season.

Leicester ended the month back down to 3rd on the table, albeit only on goal difference to Arsenal, and with a game in hand. April looms as an important month for the Foxes as they host Everton, Manchester United and Arsenal, with away trips to Newcastle and Crystal Palace. Manager Phillip Smith has made it abundantly clear that they expect positive results from all of these matches, although with Liverpool having an easier draw to end the season, it remains to be seen whether Leicester can take home another Premier League trophy or not. Either way, even if the Foxes lost the rest of their Premier League fixtures, they've still far surpassed the expectations put on them at the beginning of the season. Smith's emphasis on positive, creative football with a strong core midfield nucleus of Wilfred Ndidi in front of the central defenders, with Youri Tielemans and James Maddison in the more creative roles ahead of him has seen the Foxes impress most fans and pundits. Jamie Vardy lies as the Premier League's equal top goalscorer with 16 goals, alongside Arsenal's Alexandre Lacazette and Manchester City's Sergio Aguero, whilst James Maddison has the third most assists, Kasper Schmeichel the second most clean sheets, and Youri Tielemans the most Player of the Match awards with 6 to his name so far.

Thank you everyone for your kind comments, I am glad you are enjoying my career as much as I am.

[Maw74]

Great update and so far you are doing a brilliant job, unlucky against Man City, I really hope you can catch Liverpool, the biggest surprise is the gooners, only 3 defeats? must be a bug.

Got to add though a 9-1 home win pfft you are nothing on Rodgers 

[walterjocoski]

Great thread, mate.

[RazorsEdge]

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB:

APRIL ROUND UP:

Christian Fuchs was able to captain the Foxes against Newcastle in his final season at the club.

The first of April saw Leicester host an Everton team who were decisively beaten 3-0. After a fairly borning first half, Youri Tielemans scored in the 47th minute, and whilst Leicester dominated the game, the final two goals didn't come until late. Thilo Kehrer started in his usual central defender role, but moved to right back when Ricardo was substituted for Çağlar Söyüncü. In this new role he ventured forward more and scored with a long range shot from around 20 yards out, earning himself Player of the Match honours. The final goal came in injury time when Kelechi Iheanacho caught Everton on the break and made a solo run from the halfway line before chipping goalkeeper Jordan Pickford to make it three goals unanswered. Of note, new Tottenham Hotspur boss Massimiliano Allegri, having replaced Mauricio Pochettino just days earlier, was in the stands scouting Ricardo Pereira.

Next up was a trip to St James' Park as Newcastle hosted the Foxes. Austrian fullback Christian Fuchs led the team as captain as Leicester fielded a weakened side with captain Wes Morgan, vice-captain Kasper Schmeichel, and usual deputy Jamie Vardy all sitting the game out. 30 year-old winger Marc Albrighton opened the scoring early in the 5th minute, before Miguel Almirón was able to pull the home team level just before the halftime break. Albrighton secured a brace in the 69th minute and Leicester managed to hang on to secure the 1 goal victory. Good performances from this and the previous match saw Christian Fuchs, Scott McKenna, Thilo Kehrer and Marc Albrighton all named in the Premier League Team of the Week.

King Power Stadium saw a match that was dominated by the host as they went up against Manchester United for no result. Despite peppering away with no less than 21 shots on goal throughout the match, Leicester could not break the United defense, with David de Gea performing admirably in goal for the visitors. A point a piece was the only thing to be taken here in the 0-0 draw, with both sides walking away proud of the defensive efforts. Massimiliano Allegri was again spotted in the stands scouting Ricardo Pereira.

For the first real time in the season there was a run of bad news from Leicester before their trip to Selhurst Park. Firstly three names were added to the injury list. Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfred Ndidi both suffered twisted ankles in training and will likely miss the rest of the season, with Harvey Barnes suffering back strain keeping him out for at least 3 weeks, with some hope of playing next month.

The real problem at the King Power Stadium, however, came from the inevitable big fish in a little pond syndrome. James Maddison, Ben Chilwell and Ricardo Pereira, all who have been heavily scouted throughout the season, all voiced their desire to leave Leicester for bigger clubs. Whilst Maddison will leave for no less than 75 million pounds thanks to a clause in his contract, Chilwell and Ricardo have no such clauses and as such Leicester fans are worried that their star fullbacks will leave for less than they are worth. It is believed that manager Phillip Smith tried to talk all 3 players around into staying, but was not very successful. Not one to often talk about transfer news, when pressed on the issue Smith said that he hoped continental qualification would be enough to satisfy the trio's wish for bigger and better things.

No less than 7 goals were scored as the Foxes traveled to play Crystal Palace. Tielemans and Maddison opened the account early, before Maximilian Meyer pulled one back for the home team after Scott McKenna missed a clearing header, with Kehrer again drifting forward to score a header just before half time to give Leicester a 3-1 lead at the break. Palace, who are in danger of relegation, came out of the halftime break in full attacking mode with Adama Traoré making it 3-2 in the 54th minute. Jonny Evans came off the bench to score with a header from a corner in the 64th minute before Leicester sat back and played the defensive game. The home team were able to get another goal to keep hopes alive through Wilfred Zaha in the 68th minute, but the Leicester defense proved too strong and the Foxes left, shaken, but 4-3 winners nonetheless. Ole Gunnar Solskjær was spotted in the crowd, with the Manchester United manager taking yet another look at James Maddison.

The final fixture of the month saw 2nd play 3rd as Leicester hosted Arsenal. In what was a closely contested match, with all stats virtually identical, Leicester managed to walk away victorious with a 1-0 win after a Youri Tielemans goal late in the match. The victory sent Arsenal down to 4th on the table with Manchester City rising above them, but more importantly, making it mathematically impossible for Leicester to fail to secure Champions League football.

The final month of the Premier League will see three important matches. First, Leicester will travel to Villa Park to play relegation candidates Aston Villa. Next they will host 3rd place Manchester City. The final game of the season will be an away tie against mid-table team Norwich City. Manchester City head into the month 7 points behind the Foxes, but could potentially secure 2nd spot on the ladder if results go their way. Phillip Smith said he was confident that his team would retain their position on the table at season's end, admitting that it was unlikely that they would catch league leaders Liverpool who are 7 points ahead of them, with a vastly superior goal difference.

[RazorsEdge]

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB:

MAY ROUND UP:

The end of an era, captain Wes Morgan has played his final game for Leicester City.

The last month of the Premier League was somewhat of a mixed bag for Leicester City fans. In Ben Chilwell's 100th game, the Foxes drew 0-0 with lowly Aston Villa despite dominating the game in every aspect.

Next up was playing host to Manchester City, who had beaten Leicester in both of their previous encounters this campaign (3-0 at home in the Premier League, and 3-2 in the Carabao Cup Final). Different venue, same result, as Leicester went down 3-2 again to the Citizens. Ayoze Pérez put the home team ahead in the 16th minute before Jamie Vardy converted a penalty in the 25th. Kasper Schmeichel had a day to forget as he conceded an own goal just on the verge of halftime. The second half had barely begun when fullback Ricardo Pereira was given his marching orders after a second yellow card, reducing the Foxes to ten men. Raheem Sterling equaled a few minutes later before Thilo Kehrer moved out to fullback and Nampalys Mendy made way for captain Wes Morgan to come off the bench for what would be his final game at the King Power Stadium. Unfortunately Manchester City were just too good for the 10-man Leicester side, with John Stones scoring the winner in the 53rd minute. 35 year-old Jamaican defender Morgan was visibly moved by the standing ovation he received at the end of the match as Leicester players and staff formed a guard of honour for the man who led them to their only Premier League title.

The final match of the campaign saw Leicester visit Carrow Road and win an otherwise uneventful match 1-0 thanks to a late goal by Thilo Kehrer. Morgan again came off the bench to play in his last ever match for the Foxes and put in a good effort, helping Scott McKenna to repel any Norwich attacks.

Morgan leaves the club having joined from Nottingham Forest on the 30th of January 2012 for a fee of around 1 million pounds. Named captain ahead of the 2012/2013 season, Morgan helped the Foxes secure promotion to the Premier League in the 2013/2014 season as winners of the Championship, before guiding them to the famous Premier League win in 2015/2016.

In a statement from the club Morgan was thanked for his services and all the best was wished for the future. It was noted that Morgan had begun undertaking courses with a view towards coaching, something that could see him return to Leicester in the future. Morgan played in 274 league games for the Foxes, and although he only featured in 11 Premier League matches this term, he was a regular in cup matches. Manager Phillip Smith greeted Morgan with a hug at the end of the guard of honour and post-match said that the captain had helped him immensely in his transition from coach to caretaker manager to manager, with his strong leadership in the dressing rooms, something that he could never thank him enough for.

With the Premier League done and dusted Leicester surpassed all expectations of a top half finish, ending up in 2nd place, 9 points back from Liverpool, who never really looked like losing the title race at any point of the season, and 5 points ahead of Manchester City. The teams that suffered relegation to the Championship were Aston Villa, in their first season back in the Premier League, Newcastle United and bottom placed Sheffield United, playing in their first Premier League season since 2006/2007. Norwich, who won the Championship last season managed to surpass expectations and finish in 13th.

Promoted to the Premier League are Championship winners Stoke, runner's up Swansea, and West Bromwich Albion who defeated Leeds United in the playoffs.

Leicester Players Ben Chilwell and James Maddison were both named in the English Players' Premier League Team of the Year, in a team that was dominated by Liverpool. Sebastiano Esposito, on loan at West Brom, was named EFL Young Player of the Year after the striker scored 15 goals in 28 games and helped the Baggies return to the Premier League

Looking ahead, Leicester now go away wondering if they can repeat their success next year, and what their fortune will be in the Champions League. Whether they can retain the services of star players like Maddison, Chilwell and Ricardo remains to be seen, and will surely have the Foxes faithful stressed right up until the transfer window slams shut.

CUP NEWS:

He has a reason to smile, you know?

The 2019/2020 season will forever be known as the year of the Reds. Liverpool did the unprecedented and won a quintuple. The defending Champions League winners started the year off right, defeating Manchester City 3-2 in the FA Community Shield, before defeating Chelsea 2-1 for the UEFA Super Cup.

After securing the Premier League title, Liverpool with faced with an odd proposition. In both the FA Cup and Champions League finals they would play Chelsea. This proved no issue for Jürgen Klopp's men as they defeated Chelsea at Wembley 3-0 to win the FA Cup, before defeating them 1-0 a week later to win a second consecutive Champions League and secure a quintuple.

Elsewhere, England were also represented in the Europa League final with Manchester United taking on RB Leipzig of Germany. It wasn't to be for the Red Devils, however, as after extra time still no goals had been scored and the Mancunians lost on penalties.

The 2019/2020 season draws to a close. With Liverpool so dominant and spots 2nd through 5th so close on the table in the end who knows what next season holds. Leicester will be looking to retain players and capitalize on their European berth.

[DefinitelyTaylor]

A fantastic season. I've just caught up on this and really enjoyed reading, such a excellently produced thread! 

[RazorsEdge]

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB:

END OF SEASON ROUND UP:

Leicester fans will look back on the 2019/2020 campaign fondly, even though they did not add any silverware to the trophy cabinet. The Foxes were expected to struggle to even make the top half of the table, so a strong finishing in 2nd place behind the incredible Liverpool will see the season go down as one to remember. The issue is now, can they follow it up? With rumours of a player exodus as young stars seek to bigger paychecks at bigger clubs, it will be an interesting and anxious wait to see what the squad looks like next season.

Leicester's success over the year was largely down to their consistency. Whilst club captain Wes Morgan didn't play a huge role in their campaign, veteran Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel and ever-present striker Jamie Vardy kept the young side focused on their goals.

Starting at the back, the man who displaced Wes Morgan, Scott McKenna, signed from Aberdeen for just 6 million pounds, formed a strong partnership with Jonny Evans at the heart of the defense. Evans himself would later see playing time reduced with the arrival of Thilo Kehrer, but the first half of his campaign was enough to see him named in the team of the year. Consistent performances in both fullback positions from Ben Chilwell and Ricardo Pereira helped the Foxes tremendously. Chilwell and Ricardo, whilst not afraid to venture forth and offer support to the attacking players, were stalwart in defense when needed.

The core midfield trio of Wilfred Ndidi, James Maddison and Youri Tielemans dominated possession over many teams. Ndidi parked himself in front of the central defenders and cut off attacks before they got too far ahead, and was quick to distribute to the more creative Tielemans and Maddison. Tielemans shuffled from box-to-box, providing support wherever needed and ended up with 6 Player of the Match awards, the most in the side. Young superstar James Maddison took up the role of playmaker which saw him lead the assists with 14.

In attack Harvey Barnes and Ayoze Pérez provided great support and run, providing Jamie Vardy with plenty of chances on goal. Whilst Pérez initially struggled in the first half of the campaign, he turned a corner in January and became an invaluable member of the side. Vardy, who rarely missed, led the scoring with 18 goals.

The best of the rest: Nampalys Mendy was an able backup to Wilfred Ndidi and boasted the best passing success rate in the club with an astonishing 90% of his passes finding their man. Çağlar Söyüncü and Daniel Amartey provided excellent cover in defense, whilst Dennis Praet was James Maddison's stand-in in the midfield. Super sub Demerai Gray and experienced winger Marc Albrighton helped out on the wings, whilst Kelechi Iheanacho was an adequate backup to Vardy, scoring 7 goals.

The future for Leicester is uncertain for many reasons. Maddison, Chilwell, Ricardo and Praet have all, at times, voiced wishes to move on and play for bigger clubs. Another big question to ask - was this just a repeat of the 2015/2016 when the Foxes won the title? Was it just a fluke?

Klopp has left Anfield.

Another huge concern for Leicester - their new manager Phillip Smith who had so expertly guided them to 2nd place and Champions League football has been approached by Liverpool in their search of a replacement manager for the departing Jürgen Klopp. The German manager departs to manage his national team after winning an incredible quintuple. One of the most highly sought after managers in the world, Klopp has chosen to step away from club football and seek success on the international stage. Smith is the bookie's 3rd favourite for the job, behind Roberto Mancini and Marcelo Bielsa, but with the Reds not in any rush to appoint someone before the end of the season, anything could happen between now and then.

Note: next up is the off-season and the transfer silly season which I've been taking my time with so it may be a bit longer between updates until I've concluded all business. Thank you for everyone who has been reading, hope you've enjoyed so far!

[RazorsEdge]

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB:

OFFICIAL STATEMENT:

Leicester City chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha was pleased to announce that incumbent manager Phillip Smith had rejected advances by reigning Premier League champions Liverpool for his services, instead opting to sign a contract extension through to the end of the 2022/2023 season. Mr. Srivaddhanaprabha said that the club as a whole were pleased with Smith's guidance leading Leicester's over-performance in the Premier League. When reached for comment, the holidaying Smith said that it was a no-brainer to re-sign with the club and that leaving was never on the table. "We've only just begun to build something here, why would I want to leave and take over something already built? Where's the challenge in that?" he was quoted as saying. Foxes fans were delighted to hear the news that Smith had re-signed with the club, ending speculation about their club's managerial future.

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB:

OUTGOING TRANSFERS:

After the releases of the of Wes Morgan, Christian Fuchs and Andy King, Eldin Jakupović was the first player out the door, with the veteran Swiss 'keeper returning to Switzerland to play for BSC Young Boys on a free transfer.

A shock transfer came next with veteran central defender Jonny Evans leaving the King Power Stadium for a sum of 7 million pounds to Norwich City. Whilst it raised alarms for much of the Leicester fan base to see a good player heading out the door, the club had made it known that they were looking to the future, and the 32 year-old defender is not getting any younger.

Another shock move to the same club. 30 year-old versatile midfielder Marc Albrighton joined Evans at Norwich for a 14 million pound fee. Albrighton had a solid campaign for the Foxes last term, making 26 appearances (though half off of the bench) and being ever present in their cup sides.

The big one. Defender Ben Chilwell will leave a massive hole to be filled on the left-side of defense but Arsenal approached with a 59 million pound fee which simply couldn't be refused. Although the 23 year-old Leicester academy graduate was initially hesitant about discussing terms with Arsenal, despite having voiced his wish to move to a bigger club, in long and drawn out negotiations he finally put pen to paper on a 5 year deal worth 120,000 pounds per week. Chilwell wished the Foxes the best of luck in the future and thanked the fans for their ongoing support.

32 year-old Algerian Islam Slimani made his loan move to AS Monaco permanent, with Leicester receiving 8.5 million pounds for the striker. Ageing and never likely to get a look in over younger players like Kelechi Iheanacho and Willem Geubbels, Slimani made the wise decision to move on.

Another Algerian, this time 28 year-old midfielder Rachid Ghezzal, also left the club. Ghezzal spent an underwhelming season on loan at Fiorentina in the Serie A, but managed to do enough to attract the attention of Southampton. The Saints paid 11.5 million pounds for Ghezzal, seeing Leicester lose 1 million pounds on the player in just two seasons.

One that had fans really scratching their heads was the departure of young defender James Justin. The 22 year-old former Luton Town player never managed a competitive game for the Foxes, spending the season on loan at Swansea in the Championship. Despite what was, overall, a disappointing season for the Englishman, Crystal Palace snatched him up for 13 million pounds, more than twice what Leicester had paid for him just a year previous. With the departures of Chilwell, Fuchs and James, Leicester were now left with no first team players capable of putting in adequate performances in the left fullback position.

Welsh goalkeeper Danny Ward joined Italian side Inter Milan on loan for the season, with a mandatory 4 million pound fee upon the player appearing in 25 matches. Ward was more than handy for the Foxes in the previous campaign, 'keeping goal for most of their cup matches before an injury saw him miss most of the rest of the season.

One deal that Leicester didn't particularly want to happen, Dennis Praet left the club to move to Chinese side Beijing Guoan. In a deal worth an initial 24.5 million pounds, possibly rising to over 30 million pounds in clauses, James Maddison's deputy departed in what was seen as purely a financial move, with the 26 year-old Belgian now earning a whopping 180,000 pounds per week.

Apart from that there were no more departures from Leicester besides a few youngsters who didn't make the grade, and young starlet Sebastiano Esposito, the reigning EFL Young Player of the Year, taking a step up from his loan to the Championship with West Brom to playing in the Premier League on loan with Stoke.

Besides from Chilwell there were two other players who had voiced their desire to leave Leicester for greener pastures, however despite offers neither of them left. Arsenal tabled a massive 95 million pounds to secure the services of star midfielder James Maddison, however he turned them down flat. The other player wanting out, Ricardo Pereira, was also approached by Tottenham Hotspur, who had offered 60 million pounds for the Portuguese fullback's services, but he too turned them down and decided to remain at Leicester for now.

In what was seen as welcome news, both Scott McKenna and Demarai Gray committed to the club for their immediate future, both signing four year deals to stay at the King Power Stadium.

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB:

INCOMING TRANSFERS:

In a deal that had been concluded in January, Leicester paid 225,000 pounds to Derby County to secure the services of veteran English goalkeeper Scott Carson, as a direct replacement for Eldin Jakupović. Carson is expected to be a backup option to Kasper Schmeichel, whilst providing support and training for the younger players in the team. Carson was assigned the number 34 shirt, in reference to his age at the season's start.

Scottish fullback Greg Taylor joined from Celtic for a sum of 16 million pounds. Signed as Ben Chilwell's replacement at leftback, the 22 year-old Scot has earned 3 caps in his career and enjoyed a very good season with Celtic, whom he joined from Kilmarnock the year previously. Taylor was handed the now vacant number 3 shirt after Chilwell's departure, and it is hoped that he will fit in with the other back three of Ricardo, McKenna and Kehrer.

Despite Ayoze Pérez performing admirably on the right wing, manager Phillip Smith felt that some more quality was needed and so he looked to the Ukraine, securing the services of Dynamo Kyiv's Victor Tsygankov for 19.5 million pounds. The winger had a superb year in the Prem'er-Liha, as Kyiv finished runners up to Shakhtar Donetsk. The 22 year-old has already won 26 caps for his country and scored 6 goals.

Lacking depth in the centre of defense and having missed out on signing Arsenal defender Rob Holding, who signed for AS Monaco, Smith looked to Championship team Millwall for his next signing. Parting with 9.5 million pounds, the Foxes brought in 25 year-old Englishman Jake Cooper. Cooper had a brilliant season with Millwall in the Championship, winning their Supporters' Player of the Year award whilst playing for the Lions.

Greg Taylor will be happy to see a friendly face around the King Power Stadium as Leicester paid Celtic 16 million pounds for versatile central midfielder Olivier Ntcham. The Frenchman, who also qualifies to play for Cameroon, can be deployed in any central midfield role from defensive to a more creative role further up the field. Most importantly, having spent time in Manchester City's youth program, Ntcham qualifies as home-grown for Champion's League registration purposes. Seen as a replacement for the outgoing Dennis Praet, the fans are hoping that Ntcham, who was named in the Scottish Premiership Team of the Year, will be able to provide good cover for the likes of James Maddison and co.

The final signing of the transfer window was for Lille defender Domagoj Bradaric. The 20 year-old Croatian has already played in 2 games for his country and joins the Foxes for a modest fee of 3.5 million pounds. A natural left fullback, he is expected to step in for fellow new signing Greg Taylor as needed, although he can perform well on the right hand side as well and fans are interested to see how the young defender develops.

Finally, a deal has been put in place to bring 24 year-old Cameroonian goalkeeper André Onana to the King Power Stadium. Leicester have reportedly paid just under 18 million pounds for the Ajax star, who will not join up with the team until the end of the current season. It is believed by many that the current international will be Kasper Schmeichel's long term replacement.

[Sysiphus]

Great first season. Nice signings. Looking forward to see how the next season goes.

[RazorsEdge]

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB
2020/2021 SQUAD:

GOALKEEPERS:

[L-R] 1. Kasper Schmeichel [CAPTAIN]  34. Scott Carson *, 37. Daniel Iversen, 57. Tobe Leysen

DEFENDERS:

[L-R] 3. Greg Taylor *, 4. Çağlar Söyüncü, 5. Jake Cooper *, 18. Daniel Amartey

[L-R] 21. Ricardo Pereira, 23. Thilo Kehrer, 29. Domagaj Bradaric *, 30. Scott McKenna

MIDFIELDERS:

[L-R] 6. Olivier Ntcham *, 7. Demarai Gray, 8. Youri Tielemans [3RD CAPTAIN], 10. James Maddison, 11. Victor Tsygankov *

[L-R] 15. Harvey Barnes, 20. Hamza Choudhury, 24. Nampalys Mendy, 25. Wilfred Ndidi

FORWARDS:

[L-R] 9. Jamie Vardy [VICE-CAPTAIN], 13. Willem Geubbels, 14. Kelechi Iheanacho, 17. Ayoze Pérez

* indicates new signing

[abulezz]

Awesome save thus far - I will echo a lot of people who have commented and say that your write-up style has been a lot of fun to read. 

[RazorsEdge]

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB:

PRE-SEASON ROUND UP:

Leicester City had a fine pre-season, winning every single one of their 7 friendly matches. Trips away to English sides Bristol Rovers, Oxford United, Solihull Moors and Burton Albion all produced positive results.

The final 3 friendly matches were all played at home with Leicester hosting French team Lyon, who were runners up in the Ligue 1 last season, before hosting mid-table Bundesliga teams FC Augsberg and VFL Wolfsburg, again providing positive results.

The first competitive match saw Leicester take on last year's Premier League Champions Liverpool in the FA Community Shield. Having injured himself during the pre-season, captain Kasper Schmeichel was absent from the goals with Scott Carson taking his place. In what was a surprisingly even affair things ended 0-0 after extra time, with Liverpool securing the win via penalties due to the superior goalkeeping of Alisson Becker.

Looking ahead to the rest of August, Leicester will play their opening fixture at Anfield, again taking on Liverpool. The Foxes will then host Brighton, before hitting the road to play Crystal Palace and Stoke. Leicester fan's will be hoping for positive results from the final three fixtures, and with the team pushing Liverpool to the limit in the FA Community Shield match, the match at Anfield could go either way.

MEDICAL CENTRE:

Unfortunately for the Foxes new club captain and first choice goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel suffered some fractured ribs in a bad fall in training. Sent to a specialist, Schmeichel is likely to miss at least the first half of August, if not all of it, depending on his fitness after recovery. Scott Carson will take the gloves in his absence, with Schmeichel's fellow Dane Daniel Iversen being retained rather than loaned out, serving as his backup.

New signing Olivier Ntcham was also an unlucky casualty during pre-season, picking up a twisted ankle in training during the lead up to the FA Community Shield game. Disappointing for fans, as Ntcham had been solid during pre-season and fans were eager to see him in competitive matches.

Harvey Barnes pulled his ankle ligaments after pre-season as well, and is likely to be touch and go until he recovers fitness.

Fullback Greg Taylor, another new signing at the King Power Stadium, suffered a slight injury to his groin muscle in the game against Liverpool, but should be okay in time for the season opener.

The only other injury news was to young goalkeeper Tobe Leysen, signed last season. The long term prospect suffered a torn hamstring and will miss 2-3 months. Whilst named in Leicester's first team squad and training with them for extra experience, it is doubtful that Leysen will feature this campaign, and more likely that he will spend either another season in the under 18s, or promotion to the under 23s.

 

Just as a note, I was going to write up a page about notable transfers throughout the league, but honestly there were too many so I've decided to leave this until Leicester actually play the teams.

[RazorsEdge]

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB:

AUGUST ROUND UP:

Jamie Vardy gets some sweet, sweet revenge.

After missing out on silverware in the FA Community Shield to reigning Premier League champions Liverpool, Leicester had a bone to pick when they made the trip to Anfield to play the Reds. New Liverpool  boss Roberto Mancini was left in a rage at the end of the match when the champions went down to a hardworking Leicester side 3-2. The departure of key defender Virgil van Dijk to Real Madrid for 96 million pounds and impact sub Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Tottenham for 55 million pounds made a profound difference to the Liverpool team of last year. New Portuguese signings Bruno Fernandes and Filipe Luis, bought for a total of 105 million pounds from Sporting CP and SL Benfica respective had no impact on the match whatsoever. Fernandes didn't even play, and Luis came off the bench in injury time to no effect. Jamie Vardy opened the scoring to a series of boos from the hostile Anfield crowd in the 13th minute before Reds forward Sadio Mané pulled even in the 23rd. Demarai Gray, put the Foxes ahead again in the 31st minute, before Joe Gomez failed to clear danger with a header being intercepted by James Maddison, who played the ball onto Vardy for his second goal just before the break. Switching to a more defensive approach in the second half, Gray made way for Çağlar Söyüncü who made it a back 5, although the Foxes did concede a goal in the 78th minute with Egyptian forward Mohammad Salah striking from long range. Victory was made sweeter for Vardy who captained the side in Kasper Schmeichel's absence. He and Victor Tsygankov both earned themselves Premier Team of the Week places in what was Youri Tielemans 50th Leicester appearance.

The Foxes hosted Brighton next with the Seagulls never really threatening. Demarai Gray scored in his second consecutive match, with Kelechi Iheanacho coming off the bench to score in injury time to make it a 2-0 victory for the home team. Jake Cooper made his debut for the home side, performing admirably in defense. Harvey Barnes also made a promising return from injury, coming off the bench in the second half and putting in a solid performance.

Leicester visited Selhurst Park next with Jamie Vardy spoiling the day for Crystal Palace as he scored twice in a 2-1 victory for Leicester. Young Swiss forward Noah Okafor, who Palace had signed for a touch under 20 million pounds from FC Basel in the off-season, scored their only goal in the second half to draw level before Vardy secured the win just a minute later. Former Leicester player James Justin had a rough outing, not impressing for his new team at all. Vardy earned himself both Player of the Match and Team of the Week awards again in a game that saw captain Kasper Schmeichel make his return from injury. Of note, Arsenal boss Unai Emery was in the crowd apparently scouting James Maddison. Maddison turned down a move to the Gunners in the off-season in what would've been a 95 million pound payday for Leicester.

Speaking of Arsenal, the 3rd round draw for the Carabao Cup saw Leicester draw the Gunners at home in a match to be played in September. In European action, the group stages of the Champions League were drawn. Leicester were handed a tough draw with Spanish team Atlético Madrid, who won La Liga last season, French Ligue 1 runners up Lyon and Dutch Eredivisie Champions Ajax all their opponents in Group G. In other news veteran goalkeeper Scott Carson completed his National B Licence as he works towards a career in coaching once his playing days are up.

The final match of the season saw Leicester visit Championship winners Stoke and come away with a 2-1 win after going a man down with Wilfred Ndidi collecting two yellow cards. Ndidi actually opened the scoring with a long range effort in the 35th minute, before James Maddison (this time scouted by Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola) did something similar in the 65th. Senegalese midfielder Badou Ndiaye managed to pull one back for the Potters a few minutes later, but Leicester managed to hold out for the victory, seeing them end the month with 4 wins from 4 Premier League matches, sitting atop the Premier League table. Olivier Ntcham made his debut off the bench after coming back from injury, while Ricardo Pereira took his place, suffering a twist ankle as he attempted a tackle. Ricardo is expected to miss around a month of football, something that will most likely see Daniel Amartey step into his shoes in the right fullback position.

Looking ahead to September and the Foxes have 4 home games in a row. First they will host Southampton, followed by Atlético Madrid in Champions League action, Tottenham and finally Arsenal in the 3rd Round of the Carabao Cup. Their final two fixtures will see them travel to Old Trafford to take on the Red Devils and then a trip to Holland to play Ajax in another Champions League clash. It will be interesting to see how manager Phillip Smith deals with what will be a more congested fixture for the Foxes this season, having not had any European football to worry about last term.

[kidthekid]

Great start.

[RazorsEdge]

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB:

SEPTEMBER ROUND UP:

Belgian midfielder Youri Tielemans enjoyed a month of good form.

In what was somewhat of a Jekyll and Hyde month performance wise for the Foxes, September saw Leicester fail to keep a clean sheet in all 6 matches played. During the international break defensive midfielder Nampalys Mendy won his first ever cap for Senegal and was delighted that despite largely being Wilfred Ndidi's deputy, his performances were enough to see him play on the world stage.

After the break Leicester hosted Southampton. Fielding a weaker side with the upcoming Champions League fixture, Domagoj Bradaric made his debut and Olivier Ntcham made his first starting appearance. Kelechi Iheanacho put the Foxes ahead early, quickly followed up by a goal from Ayoze Pérez. The Saints leveled the score leading into half time with goals to the new signed striker Haris Seferovic, and James Ward-Prowse. Southampton gave away a penalty in the 73rd minute with Pérez being tripped inside the box. After some confusion over who would take the penalty due to regular taker Jamie Vardy being rested, Ntcham decided to step up and calmly put the ball past Angus Gunn to secure the 3-2 win for Leicester.

Up next was a visit from La Liga champions Atlético Madrid in the Champions League. Madrid dominated the game with a strong defensive performance from Leicester's Thilo Kehrer and Wilfred Ndidi keeping the scoreline from blowing out. Álvaro Morata, who joined Atlético permanently from Chelsea after two seasons on loan scored twice before Jamie Vardy scored a late consolation goal in injury time to end the game with the La Liga champions winning 2-1.

The King Power Stadium hosted Tottenham next, with Spurs looking to exact revenge for their 3 losses to Leicester last year. The signings of Giovani Lo Celso (previously on loan), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Memphis Depay for a combined 120 million pounds was not enough to offset the loss of England captain Harry Kane to Paris Saint-Germain for 92 million pounds for Spurs. Tottenham also brought in winger Riyad Mahrez from Manchester City on loan but he didn't have much of an impact either. Youri Tielemans scored early after Victor Tsygankov fed the ball back to him. In the 21st minute Tanguy Ndombele tripped Jamie Vardy inside the box and the striker converted the penalty with ease. In the second half Tsygankov scored himself with the assist coming from a beautifully floated cross from Greg Taylor. Son Heung-Min pegged one back for Spurs in the 75th minute before Ayoze Pérez scored off the bench a few minutes later. Son scored another in the 86th minute, just after Spurs had been reduced to 10 men with Jan Vertonghen sent off after 2 yellow cards, and that's how the day ended with the Foxes victorious with a scoreline of 4-2.

Next to visit the King Power Stadium were Arsenal in Carabao Cup action, with former Leicester player Ben Chilwell facing his former teammates for the first time since his move to the Gunners. Tielemans continued his trend of scoring early, this time in the 8th minute with the assist coming from a roaming Thilo Kehrer. The other man who Arsenal tried to pry away from Leicester in the off season scored the second goal for Leicester, with James Maddison volleying in a ball that had been reflected off of Arsenal's new defender Clément Lenglet. With a few minutes to go Kieran Tierney played what looked to be a cross at first glance, but what ended up being a floating ball sailing over Kasper Schmeichel's head from a long way out to finish the game at 2-1 in the home side's favour.

A trip to Old Trafford saw Leicester drop Premier League points for the first time this year as proceedings ended in a 3-3 draw with Manchester United. United spent 233 million pounds in the off season bringing in Houssem Aouar, Dani Olmo, Raúl Ruidíaz, Stefan Knezevic, Timo Werner, Diogo Jota and Dani Carvajal, as well as Charles Aránguiz on a free transfer. Leicester's habit of scoring early continued hear with Vardy putting the away side ahead in the 15th minute heading in a Daniel Amartey cross. Aouar stole the ball off of Olivier Ntcham and went on a solo run to shoot and tie the game in the 31st minute, before fellow new signing Dani Olmo put the home team ahead 2-1 just before the halftime break. In the second half Foxes fan favourite Hamza Choudhury brought scores level once again with a strike from long range after Ntcham fed the ball back to him. In the 83rd minute the Foxes went ahead, with the Manchester United defenders pushing Jamie Vardy out wide, leading him just enough space to cross the ball in and have Willem Geubbels volley to score. A win wasn't on the cards however as Marcus Rashford leveled in injury time as Leicester conceded points for the first time, albeit only a draw and not a loss.

A trip to Holland was the final fixture for Leicester in September with Ajax hosting the Foxes for Champions League action. Leicester scored early again, this time in the 3rd minute as Vardy was tripped in the box and easily converted the penalty. A Dusan Tadic penalty in the 20th minute after Daniel Amartey was judged to have fouled him saw things square at 1-1 and that is how it remained with the rest of the match playing out with both teams defenses repelling any attacks.

Things of note that happened during September - first after the Carabao Cup win over Arsenal, Leicester have been drawn against Championship team Blackburn Rovers in the 4th round in a match that will take place at the King Power Stadium. There were 3 contract extensions to note in the month, too. First Danish backup goalkeeper Daniel Iversen signed a 3 year contract for just under 11,000 pounds per week. Next exciting youngster Willem Geubbels, who many believe to be Jamie Vardy's long term successor signed a 5 year contract worth approximately 5 million pounds, with various bonuses and clauses included. Finally the icon himself Jamie Vardy put pen to paper on a new deal that will see him receive a pay rise and keep him at the club until the end of the 2022/2023 season, with Leicester having the option to extend the contract by a year if they so desire.

Leicester will begin the month of October still in 1st on the table and being the only Premier League team to not lose a game. Leicester will begin the month hosting West Ham, before a trip to Goodison Park to play Everton. A home Champions League game against Lyon is next followed by two more home games, firstly Wolves in the Premier League, and then Blackburn in the Carabao Cup. Leicester will finish the month playing Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on the 31st.

[abulezz]

Top of the league so far. Tough loss to Madrid, but being the in the CL is a great experience in itself. 

[RazorsEdge]

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB:

OCTOBER ROUND UP:

Jamie Vardy managed an impressive 7 goals during October.

The first game of the month saw West Ham visit the King Power Stadium and leave as losers, conceding 5 goals and scoring none. Youri Tielemans continued his trend of opening the scoring in the 20th minute before winger Victor Tsygankov was forth off injured in the 32nd minute with a back complaint that would see him miss most of the rest off the month. Tsygankov's replacement Ayoze Pérez scored the Foxes second goal just after half time. Leicester scored 3 goals in 6 minutes with Jamie Vardy slotting home a penalty in the 58th minute, Tielemans scoring his second in the 61st minute and Pérez completing the rout in the 64th minute. Pérez, Tielemans and Vardy all earned themselves Premier League Team of the Week nods with their perfromances.

During the international break Leicester's injury woes worsened with Tsygankov's natural replacement, last year's incumbent right winger Ayoze Pérez twisting his ankle in a training session, an injury that would see him miss the rest of the month.

After the international break Leicester traveled to Goodison Park and in what was a rather boring affair left 1-0 winners after a Jamie Vardy penalty in the 42nd minute. Both teams had good performances from their defensive players with little attacking happening for the rest of the match until a late Everton increase in intensity, which was easily repelled by the Leicester back four.

Champions League action was next as Leicester hosted French side Lyon. Jamie Vardy struck first after Willem Geubbels (playing on the right wing) sent in a cross from the deep in the 3rd minute. Yusuf Yazici equaled for the visitors in the 42nd before Vardy scored again from a Geubbels play in which he dispossessed Lyon midfielder Lucas Tousart and sent the ball forward to Vardy who beat the offside trap and scored his second. Geubbels got in on the action next. James Maddison floated a ball across to Daniel Amartey who knocked it down to Geubbels to apply the finish in the 54th minute. Greg Taylor sent a cross in from the deep for Geubbels to score his second in the 71st minute. Lyon's Martin Terrier scored in the 85th minute before Daniel Amartey sent a free kick over to Demarai Gray on the left side of the pitch who crossed it in for Geubbels to head the ball in and complete his first ever hat-trick and finish the match 5-2 in favour of the home team..

Ricardo Pereira was on the comeback trail from injury playing with the under 23s side when he was re-added to the injury list after injuring his shin tackling in a match. Ricardo was sent to a specialist and could face up to another 6 weeks out of action.

Wolves came to visit next with another hat-trick being scored, this time by Jamie Vardy. Scott McKenna provided an unlikely assist, clearing the ball from defense and just happening to find Vardy who went on a run and slotted it away with ease in the 29th minute. Just a minute later and Demarai Gray had gained possession back quickly after the kickoff and he played the ball forward to Vardy who caught the defense napping and scored his 2nd goal in 2 minutes. Wolves' Morgan Gibbs-White pegged a goal back in the 73rd minute, before Vardy received the ball from Harvey Barnes in injury time to put it past the 'keeper and secure his hat-trick with the final score 3-1.

Leicester hosted Blackburn Rovers in the 4th Round of the Carabao Cup and won convincingly despite fielding a weaker team. Scott Carson played in goal and took the captain's armband in the absence of Schmeichel, Vardy and Tielemans. Kelechi Iheanacho scored in the 10th minute with very little else of note happening until late in the game. Victor Tsygankov came off the bench after his injury earlier in the month and put away a penalty in the 78th minute, before hardworking midfielder Hamza Choudhury finished Rovers off in the 81st minute with the home team winning 3-0 and drawing Premier League team Stoke at home for the Quarter Finals.

Finally the month ended with a daunting trip to the Etihad Stadium to play Manchester City. Sergio Agüero got the home team off to a start in the 15th minute after receiving the ball from Raheem Sterling and calmly putting it in the back of Kasper Schmeichel's net. In the second half fullback Benjamin Mendy was sent off after his second yellow card of the game and this put Leicester on the attack, with Demarai Gray scoring after intercepting a clearance from John Stones and striking from the edge of the box. After that the match largely fizzled out, ending in a 1-1 draw. Thomas Tuchel, manager of Paris Saint-Germain, was spotted in the crowd apparently taking at look at James Maddison much to the worry of the Foxes faithful.

Still the only undefeated team in the league, Leicester ended the month in 2nd on the ladder, a point behind Arsenal who have won 10 games and lost 1 - compared to Leicester's 9 wins and 2 draws.

November will see Leicester travel three times. First to France to face Lyon looking to follow up on their 5-2 win at home. After that will be a trip to relegation battlers Norwich. Then onto Madrid as they play Atlético, who beat them at the King Power Stadium 2-1. The final match of the month will see Leicester host Chelsea who are still struggling in the mid-table under club icon Frank Lampard.

[danmcconnell1]

Outstanding progress so far, somewhat similar to the start to the season they've had in IRL, best of luck and keep up the good work!

[RazorsEdge]

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB:

NOVEMBER ROUND UP:

Wilfred Ndidi dominated the game versus La Liga Champions Atlético Madrid.

November began with Youri Tielemans picking up a calf injury in training and with a trip to France for Leicester as the Foxes took on Lyon in Champions League action. In what was a fairly average game with good defensive performances from both teams, each side walked away with a point in the 1-1 draw. Leicester's unstoppable striker Jamie Vardy opened the scoring in the 66th minute by intercepting a Pape Cheikh Diop pass intended for Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes before cooling put it past the Lyon 'keeper. The lead was short-lived however with Juan Fernando Quintero equalizing in the 77th minute with an absolutely beautiful free kick from just outside the box. Unfortunately for Lecester Thilo Kehrer picked up his 3rd yellow card in the Champions League and would be forced to watch the next match from the stands.

Next Leicester took a trip to Carrow Road to face the struggling Norwich City. Fielding a weaker team in light of their upcoming fixture against Atlético Madrid, Leicester couldn't find the back of the net despite numerous attempts especially from Kelechi Iheanacho with the match ending 0-0. In fact the Foxes were lucky to come away with any points at all after Ayoze Pérez gave away a penalty which was taken by Norwich's Todd Cantewell and produced a spectacular save from Kasper Schmeichel. Former Leicester players Jonny Evans and Marc Albrighton both started the game on the bench, with Albrighton making a cameo appearance late in the game.

The imposing trip to the Metropolitano de Madrid stadium was up next as Leicester took on reigning La Liga Champions Atlético Madrid in the Champions League. Madrid came away with 3 points the last time the team's met at the King Power Stadium with Álvaro Morata guiding Madrid to a 2-1 victory. This match, however, was dominated by Leicester. Jamie Vardy did what Jamie Vardy does and scored early thanks to a decent Victor Tsygankov run down the wing with the ball played back to the supporting Daniel Amartey who then played it forward to Vardy who applied the textbook finish in the 10th minute. In the second half Olivier Ntcham went on a dangerous run into the 18-yard box before turning and passing the ball back to the lurking Wilfred Ndidi who struck a ferocious shot from long range to the top right corner of the net in the 52nd minute. Ntcham will be disappointed in himself, however, as he was sent off in the 67th minute after a bad tackle from behind on Portuguese wonderkid João Félix saw him receive a straight red card. Leicester changed formation going with a midfield diamond and playing much more defensively for the rest of the match and managed to repel all Madrid attacks largely in part due to Player of the Match Wilfred Ndidi's spectacular performance as a defensive midfielder. The good news went on for the Foxes, having secured a place in the First Knockout Round of the Champions League with the 2-0 victory.

The last match of the month saw Leicester host Chelsea at the King Power Stadium. 34 year-old goalkeeper and captain Kasper Schmeichel would miss this match and up to 3 weeks of football after straining his ankle ligaments in training so deputy Scott Carson stepped in to fill the void for this match. Olivier Ntcham volleyed in a goal from a James Maddison corner in the 15th minute to put the home team ahead before Scott McKenna tripped Tammy Abraham inside the box, allowing Jorginho to convert the penalty and bring things back level. Explosive winger Demarai Gray headed in a cross from Spaniard Ayoze Pérez just before half time to put the Foxes up 2-1 and that's how things ended. Very little else of note happened for the rest of the game with Frank Lampard looking increasingly stressed as his team continues to struggle in the bottom half of the league. Adding to Lampard's problems was a late send off for Fikayo Tomori who picked up his second yellow card after tripping Demarai Gray in the 87th minute.

The 3rd Round of the FA Cup was drawn and will see Leicester take a trip to Goodison Park in January to play Everton.

December shapes as a very busy month for the Foxes with manager Phillip Smith's squad's depth set to be stretched to limit with Leicester playing a whopping 8 matches. It begins with an away trip to Wales to take on 19th placed Swansea followed by a home match against Premier League front-runners and Leicester's current main competition Arsenal. Following that big match the King Power Stadium will also welcome Ajax for the last game of the group round of the Champions League. A trip away to Vicarage Road to take on 6th place Watford follows, as does a trip away to Stoke in the Carabao Cup Quarter Final. Leicester will then play hosts to 15th placed West Bromwich Albion and 8th placed Burnley, before finishing the month with a trip to Dean Court to face 12th ranked Bournemouth. Ricardo Pereira should finally make his return from injury towards the latter half of the month and Youri Tielemans should be available within the first half. Scott Carson will play an important role with Kasper Schmeichel more than likely missing the first half of the month.

[dido53]

On 05.11.2019 at 12:58, RazorsEdge said:

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB:

AUGUST ROUND UP:

August was a largely positive month for the Foxes after dropping points to Chelsea away from home in a narrow 2-1 defeat which was both joyous for the first goal in a Leicester shirt for Ayoze Pérez, but also disastrous when a late equalizer by Pérez was ruled offside after some VAR interaction.

Leicester then secured a comfortable 2-0 victory against Tottenham Hotspur at the King Power Stadium with Jamie Vardy bagging two goals. In what was a shocking outing away from home for Spurs, whom only managed to get 2 shots on target for the game. There was a downside for the home team late with Ricardo Pereira being sent off in the 91st minute after receiving his second yellow card.

Before the trip to Southampton, the Foxes were hit with two injuries. Mark Albrighton suffered a strained neck, which will keep him out for 2 weeks, and, more seriously, Christian Fuchs tore his groin muscle in training and will be out from anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks.

A trip to St Mary's was next and the Saints proved no match for the traveling side as Leicester won 2-0 thanks to a goal from James Maddison to open his 2019/2020 campaign, and a calamitous own-goal by young Austrian defender Kevin Danso, who is on loan at Southampton from FC Augsburg of the Bundesliga.

The final match of the month was away to Doncaster Rovers at Keepmoat Stadium in the second round of the Carabao Cup. Despite fielding a weak side, Leicester managed to win 1-0, although many would argue it should've been higher, with an impressive 67% of possession for the game. Club captain Wes Morgan made his campaign debut after building up his fitness, whilst Welsh goalkeeper Danny Ward started in goal and Croatian defender Filip Benkovic came off the bench for their respective debuts. Slightly souring the victory was an injury to Ricardo Pereira, who suffered a pulled groin and was substituted at half time, which will keep him out of action for the next week.

Ending August the Foxes sit in 9th on the Premier League table, although they have played one less match than most teams.

Leicester look forward to September with Premier League clashes against Wolves, Burnley, Bournemouth and West Ham to come, as well as a Carabao Cup third round tie against Everton.

could u give any tips for leicester?and what tactic you use ı tried many but cant get a win

[john1]

Some huge wins there  Loving the write up too!  

[RazorsEdge]

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB:

DECEMBER ROUND UP:

Kasper Schmeichel returned from injury in December and made his 350th league appearance for Leicester

The trip to Wales to face Swansea saw Leicester defender Ricardo Pereira finally make his return from injury. Kelechi Iheanacho opened the scoring early in the 6th minute after Harvey Barnes went on a run with Swansea defender Sébastien Corchia paying him close attention allowing Barnes to pass the ball pack to Iheanacho to finish. There were good signs from Ricardo as he provided a cross that was headed away by Corchia down to Olivier Ntcham who thundered home a strike from just inside the 18-yard box in the 41st minute. Ayoze Pérez finished the 3-0 rout in the 51st minute after Domagoj Bradaric switched play from the left to the right and Pérez beat Jake Bidwell to the ball to run on and score the final goal. Youri Tielemans also made his return from a calf injury in this match, albeit from the bench.

The King Power Stadium played host to Premier League leaders Arsenal but the 2nd placed Leicester came away with all 3 points in this important clash. Demarai Gray intercepted a header from Arsenal defender Kristoffer Ajer, backtracked and played the ball to Victor Tsygankov who cut in from the right wing and struck the ball sweetly to go up by a goal in the 22nd minute. Both Greg Taylor and Thilo Kehrer would accrue their 5th yellow cards of the season, meaning they would miss the next Premier League fixture. Not content with a 1-0 lead, whatever manager Phillip Smith said at halftime worked as Jamie Vardy intercepted a back pass from Hector Bellerin meant for his 'keeper Emiliano Martinez who was out of position allowing Vardy to neatly chip the ball over his head to secure the 2-0 victory. Scott Carson, Ayoze Pérez, Jamie Vardy and Olivier Ntcham would all be named in the Premier League Team of the Week.

The final match of the Champions League Group Stage was up next with Leicester hosting Ajax. Dusan Tadic put the visitors up 1-0 before halftime. After the break Nampalys Mendy moved the ball from the left to Ricardo Pereira on the right who played it along the ground for James Maddison to apply the finish in the 54th minute. Ricardo had his 2nd assist just 8 minutes sending the ball over to Harvey Barnes who slotted it past Ajax 'keeper Kjell Scherpen on a very tight angle. James Maddison sent a long ball forward late for Kelechi Iheanacho to put the icing on the cake just before full-time with the match ending 3-1 in the home side's favour.

An away trip to Vicarage Road saw Foxes captain Kasper Schmeichel return to action and performing admirably in goal as Leicester walked away 1-0 winners. Victor Tsygankov was the creator of the solo goal, playing a long ball to Jamie Vardy who beat the offside trap and put it past Ben Foster to secure the 3 points and earn Player of the Match and Team of the Week awards.

Leicester found out their Champions League fate as they drew Italian side AC Milan as their opponents in the 1st Knockout Round with the fixtures to take place in February.

The Carabao Cup Quarter Final was up next with an away trip to the Bet365 Stadium to take on Stoke with Scott Carson in goal for the Foxes. In what was a shock, Tyrese Campbell struck first for the Potters in the 3rd minute, volleying in a Harry Wilson cross. Harvey Barnes cancelled that out just 6 minutes later after Ayoze Pérez forced a beautiful diving save from Stoke 'keeper Jack Butland. Unfortunately for Butland the ball landed right at Barnes feet and he couldn't recover in time to save the shot from the Leicester winger. The rest of the match was a dull affair. Hamza Choudhury picked up another yellow card meaning he would miss the next Carabao Cup match. After 90 minutes it went to penalties and Carson saved shots by Harry Wilson and Kevin Wimmer to nab the win for the Foxes. Leicester would draw Chelsea in the Carabao Cup Semi Finals.

18th placed West Bromwich Albion were hosted by Leicester next and their performance had the 3,00 traveling fans wishing they hadn't bothered for the journey with their team going down 5-0. In what was Wilfred Ndidi's 125th league appearance for Leicester, things were going well for West Brom until Sam Field was sent off with a straight red card for manhandling Demarai Gray and throwing him to the ground. It only took 3 minutes for the Foxes to capitalize with Youri Tielemans finding the net from long range with a Gray assist in the 40th minute. Just before halftime Greg Taylor sent in a cross which was inaccurately headed away by West Brom defender Maxime Colin, landing at the feet of Wilfred Ndidi who passed it back to Greg Taylor who scored his first ever Leicester goal after an opening was created with West Brom 'keeper Sam Johnstone moving towards the center and allowing Taylor to score from the left. In the second half James Maddison sent in a corner kick which was headed down by Kelechi Iheanacho to Harvey Barnes who volleyed it powerfully into the back of the net. Things got worse for West Brom when Maxime Colin received his marching orders in the 65th minute after his 2nd yellow card. Leicester relaxed for most of the rest of the game but were able to produce another goal, albeit from an opposition player - Rakeem Harper tried to clear the ball away but ended up fumbling and sending it into his own net just before the game ended. Ricardo, Taylor, Kehrer, Tielemans and Iheanacho were all named in the Premier League Team of the Week.

In what was Captain Kasper Schmeichel's 350th league appearance for Leicester, and Demarai Gray's 150th for Leicester, the Foxes hosted Burnley on Boxing Day. Wilfred Ndidi saw red just before halftime after a horrid two footed tackle on Matej Vydra which was lucky not to cause injury. Ndidi would receive a two match ban for this act. Vydra got some revenge after Burnley's Lucas Biglia sent in a corner in the 52nd minute that he headed home. Greg Taylor continued his run of good form managing to send a cross in from the deep that found that head of Ukrainian winger Victor Tsygankov to bring things level at 1-1, which is how the game would end.

The final game of the year 2020 would see Leicester travel to the Vitality Stadium to play Bournemouth. The Cherries delighted the home crowd early on with Arnaut Danjuma scoring in the 20th minute. It took Leicester most of the game to bring things back to level with Ricardo Pereira sending in a low cross to Harvey Barnes who expertly finished in the 81st minute. Olivier Ntcham fired in a corner in the 86th minute for Leicester fan favuorite Hamza Choudhury to head into the corner of the net. In the 4th minute of injury time Domagoj Bradaric sent in a free kick that saw an unlikely scorer, Çağlar Söyüncü, head the ball in to complete the 3-1 victory and score his first goal for Leicester.

December was a month of great cheer for Leicester, who only dropped points once in the 1-1 draw with Burnley, and saw them go past Arsenal to take 1st spot on the table and sit a comfortable 7 points ahead of the Gunners.

January is yet another busy month for Leicester, this time with 9 matches penciled in. An away trip to play Everton in the FA Cup 3rd Round kicks off the month. Two home matches follow starting with the 1st leg of the Carabao Cup Semi Final against Chelsea and then a big game against defending Premier League Champions Liverpool. The Foxes will visit Brighton after that before hosting Crystal Palace and Stoke at home. Three matches on the road end the month with the 2nd leg of the Carabao Cup against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge as well as trips to Southampton and Tottenham.

Leicester fans again face an anxious wait in the transfer window. James Maddison is still wanted with the main interest from French giants Paris Saint-Germain. Ricardo Pereira's future is up in the air still with several clubs interested, with Valencia paying the closest attention to the Portuguese defender. Manager Phillip Smith has said that he doesn't feel the club needs to enter the transfer market for any first team players at this stage but if Maddison or Ricardo depart that may well change. Ricardo's departure would have the least impact with Daniel Amartey also performing well in the right side of defense.

[RazorsEdge]

8 hours ago, dido53 said:

could u give any tips for leicester?and what tactic you use ı tried many but cant get a win

Hi,

I play with a 4-1-2-3 DM Wide Gegenpress setup with a Tiki-Taka 4-2-3-1 Wide for more attacking means. I generally have the mentality as positive but instructions change depending on who I'm playing/who is starting that game. The team is very aggressive (as seen by all the cards I get) but also very quick to counter with a lot of long balls played to Vardy (pressing forward) who more often than not is able to spring the offside trap.

[ManUtd1]

Tremendous detail in here, welcome to the community!

[dido53]

10 saat önce, RazorsEdge said:

Hi,

I play with a 4-1-2-3 DM Wide Gegenpress setup with a Tiki-Taka 4-2-3-1 Wide for more attacking means. I generally have the mentality as positive but instructions change depending on who I'm playing/who is starting that game. The team is very aggressive (as seen by all the cards I get) but also very quick to counter with a lot of long balls played to Vardy (pressing forward) who more often than not is able to spring the offside trap.

hi mate thanks a lot ı ve been reading your story going great just wonder the tactics ı cant see the pictures:)Leicester seems a great deal this year with a lot potential and  you are makıng progress :)ı am playıng too but cant fit the tactics so ınconsistent results

[RazorsEdge]

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB:

JANUARY ROUND UP:

James Maddison had a solid month.

January got under way with Leicester confirming the signing of FC Midtjylland defender Japhet Sery Larsen for 800,000. The 20 year old Dane who usually plays centrally but can be deployed on either side of the pitch as well was immediately sent on loan to Belgian Leicester affiliate Oud-Heverlee Leuven to give him regular first team football.

The first match of the month was an away trip for the Foxes to Goodison Park to take on Everton in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup. Player of the Match Hamza Choudhury got things started in the 30th minute with a strike from outside the box after getting on the end of a Nampalys Mendy pass. Things stayed relatively quiet for most of the game until young Everton superstar Moise Kean sent a cross in for Yann Karamoah to head in in the 84th minute and bring things back equal. Jamie Vardy was immediately introduced off the bench replacing Kelechi Iheanacho and immediately found himself with the ball, playing it to Mendy who forwarded it on to Harvey Barnes who scored from a tight angle. The icing on the cake came in the 4th minute of injury time. Vardy was tackled by Paulo Diaz, Domagoj Bradaric gathered the ball and sent it back to Vardy who put it in the back of the net to see Leicester walk away 3-1 winners. The Foxes would go on to draw Leeds United in the 4th Round.

The first leg of the Carbao Cup Semi Finals was a home game for Leicester hosting their opponents Chelsea. Leicester continued their trend of scoring in the first 3rd of the match with Nampalys Mendy stealing the ball off of Chelsea midfielder Jorginho and sending in a thunderbolt of a shot from long range past a stunned Kepa Arrizabalaga in goal. The rest of the match was a fairly pedestrian affair until Youri Tielemans laid the ball off to Ukrainian winger Victor Tsygankov who, in what is becoming something of a regular thing for him, cut in from the right wing into the box to put the 2nd goal past Kepa and see the Foxes take a 2-0 lead into the away fixture.

Speculation about Ricardo Pereira's future was finally put to rest with the 28 year-old fullback joining Beijing Guo'an and reuniting with former teammate Dennis Praet for a fee of 35 million pounds. In a statement from his agent, Ricardo thanked the Leicester fan's for their support and wished the club the best of luck in the future. Manager Phillip Smith wished Ricardo well and said that the deal was right for both the club and Ricardo financially. When pressed on the now lack of depth at fullback with only Daniel Amartey and Thilo Kehrer, who usually plays as a central defender, came into question, Smith replied that the transfer window was open and there would likely be some movement to rectify that situation.

The King Power Stadium played host to defending Premier League Champions Liverpool who under new manager Roberto Mancini find themselves well off the pace in 9th on the table. The match was largely underwhelming for all fans and neutrals alike with the final result being a 0-0 draw in what was an evenly fought contest.

Sitting alongside his new signing and Leicester Chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, Phillip Smith was proud to introduce Chelsea's 21 year-old fullback Reece James. James, a natural on the right side of defense will plug the hole filled by Ricardo and has potential to boot. Leicester broke their transfer record to bring the young Englishman in (the previous being 35 million pounds for Youri Tielemans) by paying 40.5 million pounds upfront with the potential of the fee rising to 55 million pounds with installments and clauses involved. Despite suffering from a groin strain and being a week or two away from fitness, both Smith and Srivaddhanaprabha said they were delighted to get their man to replace Ricardo and said that talks had been ongoing for some time. Unable to break into the Chelsea first team on regular basis despite his talent, James said he was excited for a fresh start at Leicester and couldn't wait to get out on the park. He was assigned the number 2 shirt, previously assigned but never worn by James Justin.

An away trip to Brighton was next with the Foxes walked out 3-1 winners. Olivier Ntcham headed the ball forward but it was headed back to him by Brighton defender Daryl Janmaat, so with the ball at his feet Ntcham struck it cleanly to pick up the first goal of the match in the 16 minute. Kelechi Iheanacho scored the 2nd in the 25th minute heading in a cross from Daniel Amartey. In the 39th minute Brighton's Florin Andone pegged one back, but just before halftime Daryl Janmaat gave away a penalty that was easily converted by Ntcham, securing his brace and the win for Leicester.

The King Power Stadium played host to Crystal Palace next with the scoring starting early after Victor Tsgankov played the ball to Jamie Vardy who had his initial shot blocked by Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita, but was able to follow up and collect the ball, quickly putting it past the Spaniard. Tsygankov added himself to the scoresheet next by curling in a beautiful free kick from 23 yards out into the top corner of Guaita's net in the 32nd minute. Greg Taylor switched play to Daniel Amartey in the 41st minute, who played it on to Tsygankov who then sent the ball in for Vardy to follow up and nab his 2nd goal of the match. Swiss midfielder Noah Okafor was tripped inside the box in the 43rd minute with Danish striker Kasper Dolberg converting the penalty. A few minutes after the halftime break Greg Taylor sent the ball to James Maddison in the middle of midfield just outside the box who sent the ball past the Guaita who barely even moved to save the ball. Reece James made his Leicester debut off the bench late in the game and received a nice welcoming applause from the Foxes faithful. Olivier Ntcham, Victor Tsgankov and Jamie Vardy would all be named in the Premier League Team of the Week.

Stoke visited Leicester next and the most to be said about the match is that it happened. A 0-0 bore draw with nothing of note to speak of. Reece James again came off the bench, building his fitness, whilst Victor Tsgankov suffered some slight hamstring tightness that saw him come off as a precaution. After the match Phillip Smith expressed his displeasure with the draw and confirmed that he had spoken to young Italian forward Sebastiano Esposito, who was on loan at Stoke, and confirmed that he would be recalled to the Leicester squad.

A trip to Elland Road to play Championship side Leeds United in the FA Cup 4th Round was next with the Foxes leaving 2-1 winners thanks to the efforts of midfielder Olivier Ntcham. In what was Reece James' first start for Leicester he sent a corner in early which was headed away by Leeds defender Pascal Struijk, however his header only went as far as Ntcham who volleyed the ball past Leeds 'keeper Kiko Casilla. Ayoze Pérez went on a long run down the right side of the pitch before losing the ball in a tackle from Leeds defender Kévin Rodrigues. Hamza Choudhury was quick to pounce and collected the ball, passing it on to Ntcham who put his 2nd past Casilla. Rodrigues got a measure of revenge after halftime when Mateusz Bogusz crossed the ball to him allowing him to finish from a tight angle in the 52nd minute. Leicester would draw Southampton at home in the 5th Round of the FA Cup and manager Phillip Smith confirmed that Youri Tielemans had suffered a pulled hamstring and would miss the next 2-3 weeks of action.

The 2nd leg of the Carabao Cup Semi Final took place at Stamford Bridge with the Foxes walking away with a decisive win. James Maddison's corner was cleared by Andreas Christensen but Victor Tsgankov ran on to the ball and rifled in a huge shot from outside the box in the 22nd minute. Tsgankov would add a 2nd after Demarai Gray sent in an early cross that the Ukrainian was able to get on the end of and Volley past Kepa. James Maddison played the ball to Gray late in injury time with the forward calmly putting the ball past Kepa, who had an atrocious day in goal, to secure the 3-0 victory and the 5-0 win on aggregate. Greg Taylor picked up another yellow card that will see him banned for the Final which will take place in February against Liverpool.

The last piece of transfer news came as somewhat of a shock to Leicester fan's. Whilst he had been a suitable deputy to Jamie Vardy, Kelechi Iheanacho wanted more first team football. The club was able to sort out a loan deal with Portuguese team Sporting CP with the club able to turn the loan into a permanent move for a sum of 21 million pounds, should they so desire. The deal was thought to be largely responsible for the recalling of Sebastiano Esposito from Stoke.

The final match of the month for Leicester would be an away trip against Tottenham, after their fixture against Southampton was pushed back to February. Reece James started his first game for the club and Sepastiano Esposito made his competitive debut for Leicester off the bench. The game was largely back and forth with attack after attack being repelled by both team's defenses. Dele Alli broke the deadlock in the 81st minute with a beautiful strike, before Jamie Vardy cancelled that out in the 86th minute after receiving the ball from Greg Taylor. The match would stay as is and ended 1-1.

Leicester end the month 2nd on the Premier League table on goal difference alone, equal on points with new leaders Arsenal. The Foxes, however, have a game in hand and are still undefeated in the league though they will need to start converting their draws into wins if they want to win the title. February will start with an away trip to St. Mary's Stadium to play Southampton before The King Power Stadium hosts Manchester United. A trip to London will be up next as the Foxes take on 5th place West Ham. After that the 1st leg of the 1st Knockout Round of the Champions League will see Leicester play hosts to AC Milan, before ending the month with the Carabao Cup Final against Liverpool at Wembley.

On 17/11/2019 at 00:32, dido53 said:

hi mate thanks a lot ı ve been reading your story going great just wonder the tactics ı cant see the pictures:)Leicester seems a great deal this year with a lot potential and  you are makıng progress :)ı am playıng too but cant fit the tactics so ınconsistent results

I will PM you I don't want to clog up the thread with tactics.

[abulezz]

The title is a real possibility - I hope you avoid the dreaded late season "cant win a game for the life of me" run. 

[Golden1807]

6 hours ago, abulezz said:

The title is a real possibility - I hope you avoid the dreaded late season "cant win a game for the life of me" run. 

Glad it's not just me haha. Every single year!

[john1]

Some superb wins  Hopefully you can carry on that form and hopefully win the league.

[RazorsEdge]

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB:

FEBRUARY ROUND UP:

James Maddison is here to stay!

February began with Sebastiano Esposito starting his first match for Leicester as they traveled to play Southampton at St. Mary's Stadium. Esposito was quick to get in on the action setting up a goal from an unlikely source in Domagoj Bradaric in the 10th minute. Mario Lemina had the Saints fans angry as he conceded an own goal in the 27th minute as he attempted to block a shot from Olivier Ntcham. The scoreline would stay the same despite Esposito missing the net by the smallest of margins late in the game to give the Foxes the 2-0 win.

The King Power Stadium played host to Manchester United next as Leicester never really seemed like themselves until late in the game. After a slow first half Charles Aránguiz was able to head in a goal from a free kick by Gerard Deulofeu. Victor Lindelof sent a long ball forward in the second half allowing Dani Olmo to run on a put the Red Devils' second past Kasper Schmeichel in the 68th minute. The comeback was on as of the 75th minute when Reece James played a ball to Hamza Choudhury who in turn set the ball up for James Maddison to strike from long range. James was involved in the equalizer as well, throwing the ball in to Jamie Vardy who passed it back to James who then sent in a cross for Maddison to volley home in the 82nd minute to rescue the draw and earn himself Player of the Match and a spot in the Premier League Team of the Week. After the match it was revealed by manager Phillip Smith that Maddison had signed a new 4-year contract with the club worth around 39 million pounds. Leicester fans were happy having finally secured their main man for the long term.

A trip away to London to face West Ham was next as the Foxes opened the account early with Victor Tsygankov putting one home past Lukasz Fabianski thanks to a Demarai Gray assist in the 8th minute. Tsygankov then sent a ball in for Jamie Vardy to header home in the 22nd minute. Tsygankov added his second after Nampalys Mendy sent a ball forwards for the Ukrainian to run onto and finish, leaving Leicester 3-0 winners. The downside to the match was Wilfred Ndidi being sent off with a straight red card again with the defensive midfielder originally banned for 3 matches, but after review was banned for 5.

Leicester played hosts to Italian giants AC Milan for Leg 1 of the Champions League 1st Knockout Round. There was little of note for the match, however, with both teams struggling to mount any offense and the game ending in a 0-0 draw.

The Carabao Cup Final was the final fixture for the month with Leicester taking on defending Premier League Champions Liverpool. Leicester made the final last year but were beaten 3-2 by Manchester City. The Reds got off to a good start with Lautaro Martínez putting the ball past Kasper Schmeichel after a feed from Roberto Firmino in the 4th minute. The game was fairly back and forth both in terms of possession and shots on goal. James Maddison sent in a corner and after Liverpool failed to clear the ball effectively Nampalys Mendy was there to draw level at 1-1 in the 57th minute. Victor Tsgankov went off with a knee complaint replaced by Ayoze Pérez. His stay was short lived, however, with the Spaniard going off injured in the 70th minute with an ankle complaint which saw Leicester reduced to 10 men having used all their substitutions. Youri Tielemans, who only came off the bench in the 64th minute in what was his comeback match from injury after a spell with the under 23s, intercepted a Toby Alderweireld pass and calmly put it past Liverpool's Alisson Becker. Leicester immediately parked the bus after going up 2-1 and that's how the scores remained with Tielemans winning Player of the Match honours and Leicester winning their first piece of silverware under manager Phillip Smith as they hoisted the Carabao Cup high in victory. Smith stated after the match that he was really pleased for the players who played in last year's final and missed out on the win that they managed to win it this time around. He did, however, state that they were firmly focused on the Premier League and were doing everything in their power to add another title to their trophy cabinet as well.

Player of the Match Youri Tielemans scored a dramatic winner late in the game.

February sees Leicester reclaim top spot on the table by a point ahead of Arsenal, with a match in hand. The Foxes remain undefeated but their record of but Arsenal have won 2 more games than them with Leicecster drawing 8 so far. March will see Leicester play Southampton again, this time at home for the 5th Round of the FA Cup. After that they will travel to play Wolves before returning home to host Everton and Manchester City. An away trip to Italy comes after that with Leg 2 of the Champions League 1st Knockout Round against AC Milan, a match where the winner will advance. The Foxes wrap up the month with a home game to relegation battlers Norwich

[guidwyer]

Awesome dude!

I am halfway through Season One and had to stop to write you this message! As a long time time FM player and story writer, this story is getting me excited to get back into story posting!

Loving to see the club adapt with the new players and achieving the board expectations!

keep it up! Now I get back to reading the rest of season 1!

[guidwyer]

Finished whats on for now! Can wait for the rest!

 

[RazorsEdge]

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB:

MARCH ROUND UP:

AC Milan's Ricardo Rodríguez helped spoil Leicester's European ambitions.

March began with the 5th Round of the FA Cup being played at the King Power Stadium seeing Southampton visit to take on the Foxes. In what was a very disappointing match for the home team, who couldn't beat the lowly ranked Saints in normal time or injury time, the match went to penalties after finishing at 0-0. Jamie Vardy, Victor Tsygankov, James Maddison, Olivier Ntcham and Nampalys Mendy all converted their penalties for a perfect 5 from 5 while Andreas Skov Olsen, James Ward-Prowse and Kevin Danso scored for Southampton with Sofiane Boufal's shot being saved by Kasper Schmeichel seeing Leicester go through to the 6th Round drawing Championship side Portsmouth at home.

A trip to Molineux was next with young star Sebastiano Esposito starting his first game for Leicester after being recalled from Stoke, getting off to a great start with both Player of the Match and Team of the Week honours. After a dull first half, James Maddison played the ball forward to Willem Geubbels who headed it down to Esposito to rifle home in the 54th minute. Unfortunately Leicester couldn't hold onto the lead with Raúl Jiménez intercepting an inaccurate Kasper Schmeichel throw, heading the ball past the 'keeper in the 72nd minute ending the game 1-1.

At home to face Everton and things got off to a horrific start for Leicester. Gylfi Sigurðsson sent the ball forward to young Italian striker Moise Kean who headed the ball forward for himself to use his pace to get past Scott McKenna and put the ball past a charging Kasper Schmeichel in the just the 3rd minute of action. James Maddison sent a corner in just before halftime that saw Jamie Vardy head home an equalizer and the rest of the match played out as a fairly pedestrian affair apart from a late VAR disallowed second goal to Kean for offside keeping things at 1-1 and leaving Leicester still unbeaten.

Next to visit the King Power Stadium was Manchester City but it wasn't a City side that people had come to expect in recent times. A largely disappointing attack led by Sergio Agüero who had a bad day out saw the Citizens lose 2-0 with Thilo Kehrer and Scott McKenna being solid in defense for the Foxes. John Stones tripped James Maddison inside the box early on which saw Jamie Vardy convert the penalty with ease. Just before the halftime break Demarai Gray played the ball back to Maddison who thundered in a shot from 26 yards out past Ederson's reach, a goal that would see him win Player of the Match and Premier League Goal of the Month awards. The second half played out quite slowly with Leicester patiently repelling any City attacks and ended with the Foxes picking up what is sure to be a big win in the scheme of things against their fellow Premier League title contenders.

Leicester traveled to Milan next in the 2nd Leg of the Champions League 1st Knockout Round. Suffering their first loss in any competition since September 2020, the hardworking Foxes went down to the home team 1-0. The sole goal came from former Juventus player Federico Bernardeschi who volleyed in a Ricardo Rodríguez cross to win the game for the Italians.

The final match of the month would see Leicester host Portsmouth in the FA Cup 6th Round. In a dominating display Jamie Vardy struck first after receiving a cross from Reece James that he volleyed straight into Portsmouth defender Tom Naylor, but Vardy was quick enough to strike on the rebound to put the home side up in the 11th minute. Harvey Barnes had a shot on goal saved by Scottish goalkeeper Craig MacGillivray which fell to Victor Tsygankov to put through from a tight angle in the 32nd minute. Naylor's nightmare match continued as he conceded a penalty to Vardy in the 55th minute which the striker converted for his brace and that is how the game ended 3-0 to the home team. Leicester drew Championship side Aston Villa in the Semi Finals, with the winner going on to face either Liverpool or Arsenal.

There were two lots of good news on the contract front for Leicester in March with both Hamza Choudhury and Wilfred Ndidi commiting to 4-year contracts. The home-grown Choudhury signed a deal believed to be worth 18 million pounds, whilst Ndidi secured a deal worth around 34 million pounds which saw the Nigerian commit to Leicester instead of pursuing opportunities elsewhere with the defensive midfielder having been actively scouted by AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain in recent times.

Leicester remain on top of the table just 2 points ahead of Arsenal and Manchester City, though the Citizens have played 1 more game than the Foxes and Gunners. Still undefeated after 30 matches talk has begun in the media and online about whether this Leicester side are capable of going on and becoming the 3rd English 'Invicibles' side. Whilst the team from Arsenal's 2003/2004 campaign was no doubt better than the current Leicester side, the Foxes team have remained strong mentally and either gotten early advantages or patiently worked their way back into matches to secure their current status.

April will see Leicester go to Stamford Bridge to play Chelsea, who have had somewhat of a resurgence under Frank Lampard having risen to 5th on the table after a poor campaign last year saw them finish 7th, before returning home to take on relegation candidates Swansea. The FA Cup Semi Final against Aston Villa is up next before the month finishes with 2 home games, first to mid-table Watford and then to lowly ranked Norwich.

[RazorsEdge]

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB:

APRIL ROUND UP:

Someone had to put an end to Leicester's undefeated streak.

Leicester's first match of the month began with a trip to Stamford Bridge that would see the Foxes finally come to the end of their undefeated streak. Tammy Abraham scored just before halftime before VAR overruled him as offside. Chelsea managed Frank Lampard moved a few things around in the second half and in the 69th minute 33 million pound signing Florian Thauvin came in from the wing to put the winner past Leicester captain Kasper Schmeichel and secure a 1-0 win for the Blues.

Following the disappointment at Stamford Bridge was a match at the King Power Stadium against relegation battlers Swansea. The Leicester side still looked down from their loss to Chelsea and didn't have their signature attacking spirit with them. Sebastiano Esposito was able to score just after halftime with Reece James sending him a long ball forward allowing Esposito to beat the offside trap and secure the 1-0 win for the home team. Kasper Schmeichel and Jake Cooper were both solid in their defensive roles and picked up Premier League Team of the Week honours.

Young striker Willem Geubbels had an unfortunate turn of luck in an under 23s match with the Frenchman breaking his ankle. Geubbels was sent to a specialist and is expected to be out for 4-5 months. Foxes manager Phillip Smith said that the whole club had rallied around Geubbels and would assist him in his recovery both physically and mentally.

A trip to Wembley to face Aston Villa in the FA Cup Semi Final was up next with the Foxes coming away 2-0 winners despite being incredibly disappointing against the Championship side. Jamie Vardy was dismissed just before halftime, receiving a straight red card for a horrid tackle on Villa defender Björn Engels. After 90 minutes still no one had scored so it was on to extra time with Youri Tielemans striking from long range in the first minute. Just before the first half of extra time was up Tielemans sent in a free kick that Villa's Jean-Kévin Augustin inadvertently put into his own goal attempting to block it. The 2-0 win booked Leicester their spot in the FA Cup Final against Liverpool who defeated Arsenal on penalties after extra time ended 2-2. Vardy was suspended for 3 matches for his tackle on Engels, with the next fixture against Watford being the first and then 2 more FA Cup games.

Watford visited the King Power Stadium and were quickly down a goal in the 10th minute after James Maddison switched play from the left to the right for Ukrainian winger Victor Tsygankov to score. The rest of the match turned out to be fairly boring with no side looking like scoring until very late. In the 1st minute of injury time Demarai Gray passed the ball to Sebastiano Esposito who then laid it off to James Maddison to score. 2 minutes later Kasper Schmeichel found himself with an assist to his name after he booted the ball up the field to find Tsygankov waiting who put the ball past Watford 'keeper Pontus Dalhberg to secure the 3-0 win.

The final game of April would see Leicester's manager Phillip Smith take charge of his 100th game, with the Foxes hosting Norwich. Former Norwich players Jonny Evans and Marc Albrighton were named for Norwich with Evans sitting on the bench for the entire game and Albrighton starting on the wing. No goals came in the first half although 2 were disallowed for offside from Demarai Gray and Sebastiano Esposito, by the linesman and by a VAR review respectively. Early in the second half Victor Tsygankov continued his good form putting the ball past Norwich goalkeeper Andre Blake who had just saved a shot from Greg Taylor. Esposito would score next in the 63rd minute with Tsygankov intercepting a Jamaal Lascelles pass and sending it forward to the young Italian striker to score. In the 70th minute Reece James played the ball to Youri Tielemans who then moved it to Tsygankov who added his second with a beautiful shot, curling the ball into the net from 19 yards out and earning himself the Premier League Goal of the Month award. There was a late consolation goal for Norwich with Lascelles heading in a Marc Albrighton free kick but the Canaries never really looked like threatening and went down 3-1.

Sebastiano Esposito extended his contract at the club signing a new 4-year, 7 million pound contract with his previous contract due to expire at the end of next season.

The final month of football for Leicester looms large with three away trips to begin. First they will travel to The Hawthorns to play bottom of the table West Bromwich Albion in what should be an easy 3 points. Then they face their main competition, and current league leaders, Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in a match that could very well decide who wins the Premier League. Following that will be a trip to Turf Moor to play mid-table Burnley before the Foxes return home for their final Premier League game of the season against 10th placed Bournemouth. After the Premier League action wraps up Leicester will play Liverpool in the FA Cup Final. Having defeated the Reds in the Carabao Cup Final in February, Leicester will head into the game with confidence but will be without the banned Jamie Vardy. By the end of the month Leicester could potentially win a domestic double or treble, but with fierce competition still to come the title is still very much far from secure for anyone.

[RazorsEdge]

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A jubilant Kasper Schmeichel.

The final month of the season started with Leicester traveling to face bottom of the table West Bromwich Albion and unfortunately for the home team this 3-0 loss would see them relegated back to the Championship after just a single season in the Premier League. Ironically it was a West Brom player who opened the scoring with defender Mikel San José trying to control a corner kick with his chest but deflecting it into his own goal in the 53rd minute. A few minutes later Olivier Ntcham's corner kick found the head of Jake Cooper for the former Millwall defender's first ever Leicester City goal. Ayoze Pérez completed the win in the 70th minute after receiving a past from Harvey Barnes and putting the ball into an open net.

Next the fixture that every Leicester fan had been dreading - facing fellow Premier League contenders Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. For a match that featured the top two teams and was likely to decide the winners of the Premier League, it was rather anti-climatic with both teams kept fairly even in most stats. Leicester fans were happy, however, when Ayoze Pérez manager to find Demarai Gray in the last minute of injury time to send the Foxes home 1-0 winners and in prime position to claim the Premier League title.

A trip to Burnley was next on the cards and the home team were arguably better on the day despite Leicester winning 1-0. Olivier Ntcham was spotted lurking outside the 18-yard box by Greg Taylor and managed to put one past Burnley 'keeper Nick Pope from long range. Thilo Kehrer was sent off in the 55th minute after picking up 2 yellow cards and Burnley went on the attack. Leicester countered their attack by parking the bus and playing with 5 players in defense to secure the victory. This victory was not a regular victory - this result meant that Leicester had secured the Premier League title for the 2nd time in their history.

The last match of the Premier League saw the newly crowned champions host Bournemouth in what was more a homecoming celebration for the Foxes than a match. Bournemouth were not a threat with Victor Tsygankov cutting inside to get on the end of a Jamie Vardy pass in the 35th minute, before Wilfred Ndidi wrapped proceedings up in injury time after heading in a James Maddison corner to win the game 2-0. The Foxes faithful weren't in any rush to leave the King Power Stadium however as the team celebrated their win of the title with their fans. The 2015/2016 season was seen largely as a fluke with Leicester struggling since then until Phillip Smith's appointment as manager last year guided them to 2nd before victory this campaign. Is it possible that the Foxes are not just 'the best of the rest' but in fact now 'the best of the best'? Around the Premier League and Swansea City joined West Brom in relegation after just one season in the top flight. Crystal Palace, who finished 17th last year barely avoided relegation were the other team to be relegated to the Championship. Joining the Premier League next year will be Championship winners and 2nd placed Newcastle United and Aston Villa, respectively, with both clubs returning to the Premier League after just one season out of the top flight. Derby County, who were last in the Premier League in 2007/2008 beat out Fulham in the Playoffs, winning 3-2 after extra time.

The English Players' Premier League Team of the Year would be dominated by Leicester players with Greg Taylor, Scott McKenna, Thilo Kehrer, Demarai Gray, James Maddison, Jamie Vardy and Sebastiano Esposito (who spent the first half of the campaign on loan at Stoke) all named. Vardy won the Golden Boot after scoring 19 league goals. James Maddison won the English Players' Young Player of the Year Award and his manager Phillip Smith won Manager of the Year.

There was one final game to play, however, with Leicester meeting Liverpool in the FA Cup Final. With Jamie Vardy suspended, Sebastiano Esposito cup-tied and Willem Geubbels injured, the Foxes went with Ayoze Pérez upfront. After playing out an evenly matched first half, Victor Tsygankov struck gold just after halftime with an assist going to Pérez. Liverpool's Lautaro Martínez had a goal ruled offside soon after and the Foxes thought they had everything well in hand when Reds defender Toby Alderweireld was sent off in the 86th minute. Liverpool, however, decided to throw caution to the wind and equalized through Mohamed Salah who put the ball past Kasper Schmeichel who was out of opposition trying to defend the Andrew Robertson cross. To extra-time and Liverpool kept going all out with Leicester struggling to keep up after dominating regulation time. The death blow for Leicester came in the 102nd minute with Senegalese forward Sadio Mané striking from just inside the 18-yard box, handing Liverpool the 2-1 win and their 2nd consecutive FA Cup.

Whilst fans are always disappointed to lose a match - Leicester fans will at least have the pride of doing the double with the Premier League and Carabao Cup to their name. Leicester will look ahead to next season looking to build on their Premier League win and hope for better success in European football.

Salah and Mané were match winners for Liverpool.