By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
Into the final month of the 2015/2016 Premier League season
and, I’ve started a new series called ‘Tales of Survival’ and ‘Tales
of the Drop’. I will be looking back to previous Premier League
campaigns with stories of survival and other tales that ended in the pain of
relegation.
Having started the series with Norwich City’s 1994/1995
collapse and West Bromwich Albion’s great escape of 2004/2005, this is another
survival story which has gone onto have the most incredible of happy endings.
In early April 2015, Leicester City looked doomed. They were seven points off
safety and set for an immediate return to the Championship. They then started a
remarkable fightback with seven wins in their last nine matches keeping them
safe in the Premier League. Now a season later, they are only 90 minutes away
from becoming champions of England. This is the story of their amazing escape
from relegation in 2014/2015.
Encouraging signs
Since Leicester’s last appearance in the top-flight of
English football which had been back in 2004, they had experienced relegation
to League One in 2008. By 2014, they were back in the promise land as Nigel
Pearson had guided them to a runaway Championship title.
In the summer, Leicester secured the services longer-term of
midfielder Jeff Schlupp, skipper Wes Morgan and midfielder Matty James. Summer
arrivals included the shrewd acquisition of Argentine veteran Esteban Cambiasso
on a free transfer from Inter Milan and a club transfer record fee of £8m paid
to Brighton & Hove Albion for Leonardo Ulloa.
Early signs were encouraging despite a nightmare run of
early season fixtures against the division’s heavyweights. Ulloa scored on his
home debut against Everton as the Foxes battled back from behind twice to earn
a creditable point on their return to the Premier League. Following a 2-0
defeat at Chelsea, Ulloa’s header ensured another draw with Arsenal, and then
he scored the winning goal away at Stoke City to take Leicester onto a
respectable five points from their first four games.
Next up at the King Power Stadium were Manchester United in
an unbelievable afternoon of football. Boasting the attacking qualities of
Angel di Maria, Robin van Persie, Radamel Falcao and Wayne Rooney, the Red
Devils roared into a 3-1 lead by the hour mark. Leicester’s fightback was an
indication that they would never quit as the season continued. Cambiasso and
Jamie Vardy scored their first Premier League goals for the club and Ulloa
added another two to his tally. Leicester won 5-3 in a sensational comeback and
roared into seventh place in the table.
What followed next was an alarming slide down the table for
Pearson’s side.
Bleak winter
A bleak winter followed for everyone connected with
Leicester City Football Club. They failed to win any of their next 13 Premier
League matches, collecting a meagre two points from home draws with Burnley and
Sunderland.
Ulloa went eight games without a goal. In fact, goalscoring
simply wasn’t happening. Leicester went nearly two months without hitting the
back of the net before Cambiasso’s fourth minute opener in a 3-2 defeat to
relegation rivals in distress QPR.
Defeat at Loftus Road on 29 November 2014 plunged Leicester
to the bottom of the table. They would remain marooned at the foot for the next
19 games.
There was a rare success away to Hull City at the end of
2014, as Riyad Mahrez scored the solitary goal of the game, but Leicester had
spent Christmas Day at the bottom of the Premier League. Just two sides before,
Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion had escaped relegation from this predicament.
Running out of time
The opening of the January transfer window saw Pearson add
to his squad with the addition of two players. Croatian Andrej Kramaric was
acquired for a new club record transfer fee. Kramaric had attracted the
attention of league leaders Chelsea, so Leicester had done well to get him into
their ranks.
Experience arrived at the back too, with Robert Huth joining
from Stoke City on-loan until the end of the season. The German was a former
Premier League title winner with Chelsea in 2005 and 2006. He immediately
helped sort out Leicester’s leaky defence. They’d only managed two clean sheets
before mid-January.
The win at Hull was a boost for the club and they carried
this into the New Years’ Day fixture at Anfield. Leicester were on the wrong
end of two poor referee decisions and trailed 2-0 at half-time to a brace of
Steven Gerrard penalties.
They came back though in the second half. David Nugent and
Schlupp scored in quick succession and they left Merseyside with a deserved
point. It could have been more too had it not been for Mike Jones’ dismal
display.
Paul Konchesky’s goal beat Aston Villa in their next match
but then Leicester hit the buffers again, going on another painful winless
streak – this one lasting eight games.
Performances improved but results were futile. Leicester
outplayed Arsenal in the second half at the Emirates Stadium but lost 2-1 and
should have won away to Everton, but were denied by a late Romelu Lukaku
equaliser.
When Harry Kane scored his first Premier League hat-trick
against the Foxes in March, Leicester were running out of time. Despite again
playing well – they lost 4-3 at White Hart Lane. Seven points from safety,
their fate looked all but sealed.
MARCH 22ND
2015 TABLE
POS
|
TABLE
|
P
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
F
|
A
|
GD
|
PTS
|
15
|
Hull City
|
30
|
6
|
10
|
14
|
28
|
40
|
-12
|
28
|
16
|
Aston Villa
|
30
|
7
|
7
|
16
|
19
|
39
|
-20
|
28
|
17
|
Sunderland
|
30
|
4
|
14
|
12
|
23
|
44
|
-19
|
26
|
18
|
Burnley
|
30
|
5
|
10
|
15
|
26
|
49
|
-23
|
25
|
19
|
QPR
|
30
|
6
|
4
|
20
|
31
|
54
|
-23
|
22
|
20
|
LEICESTER CITY
|
29
|
4
|
7
|
18
|
27
|
48
|
-21
|
19
|
An incredible escape
Leicester’s run-in started against a West Ham United side that
were already safe and had little to play for. Nugent missed a first half
penalty but Andy King scrambled home a late winner to give supporters just a
glimmer of hope. That 2-1 win was followed by a 3-2 triumph in a topsy-turvy
game at West Bromwich Albion. This time, it was Jamie Vardy with the late
decisive goal.
Hope had now turned to real genuine belief that this
incredible escape was on. Ulloa scored his first Premier League goal since
December to open the scoring at home to Swansea City. King’s late second goal
ensured that for the first time this season, Leicester had strung together
three successive wins. A week later, they won again at relegation rivals
Burnley. Matt Taylor missed a second half penalty and less than a minute later;
Vardy’s bundled effort decided the game and incredibly took Leicester out of
the bottom three.
Their momentum was checked by Chelsea. Although Marc
Albrighton gave the hosts the lead, Jose Mourinho’s champions-elect recovered
to win 3-1. Afterwards, Pearson was involved in an unbelievable confrontation
with a journalist in his post-match press conference.
Taking offence to a question posed, his response was; "I think you must have your head in the clouds, away or on holiday or reporting on a different team because if you don't know the answer to that question, then I think your question is absolutely unbelievable.
"The fact that you don't understand where I'm coing from. If you don't understand that question then I think you are an ostrich - your head must be in the sand. Is your head in the sand?"
In December, he’d had a confrontation with home supporters
after the defeat to Liverpool FC, which involved some verbal abuse. Two months
later, he was involved in a touchline altercation with Crystal Palace
midfielder James McArthur. He put his hands around McArthur’s neck after the
Scot had accidentally knocked him over whilst chasing the ball. Despite growing
reports he had been sacked following the incident, Pearson held onto his job.
 |
| Leicester City celebrate their great escape at Sunderland in May 2015 |
Despite the Chelsea loss, Leicester recovered in style.
Newcastle United were easily rolled over 3-0 and Southampton beaten 2-0 in
their next match with Mahrez scoring twice against the Saints in a virtuoso
display.
The job was complete at the Stadium of Light (players celebrating pictured). A goalless
draw at Sunderland, coupled with Hull’s 2-0 defeat to Tottenham meant Leicester
were safe before the final day of the season. It was an incredible comeback
from the Foxes. A 5-1 final day home win over relegated QPR put the seal on it.
Leicester finished an impressive 14th in the final table and it was
Hull City, Burnley and QPR who went down.
FINAL 2015/2016 TABLE
– THE BOTTOM SEVEN
POS
|
TABLE
|
P
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
F
|
A
|
GD
|
PTS
|
14
|
LEICESTER CITY
|
38
|
11
|
8
|
19
|
46
|
55
|
-9
|
41
|
15
|
Newcastle United
|
38
|
10
|
9
|
19
|
40
|
63
|
-23
|
39
|
16
|
Sunderland
|
38
|
7
|
17
|
14
|
31
|
53
|
-22
|
38
|
17
|
Aston Villa
|
38
|
10
|
8
|
20
|
31
|
57
|
-26
|
38
|
18
|
Hull City
|
38
|
8
|
11
|
19
|
33
|
51
|
-18
|
35
|
19
|
Burnley
|
38
|
7
|
12
|
19
|
28
|
53
|
-25
|
33
|
20
|
QPR
|
38
|
8
|
6
|
24
|
42
|
73
|
-31
|
30
|
Leicester City’s story of survival in 2014/2015 was one of
the most remarkable recoveries from a seemingly impossible position just two
months earlier. There would be no happy ending for manager Nigel Pearson
though. He was sacked in June after the board said "the working relationship
between Nigel and the Board is no longer viable."
Claudio Ranieri succeeded him and what has happened since
has been the stuff of fairytales. Leicester City are on the brink of becoming
only the sixth club in the Premier League era to be crowned champions. It could
happen as early as Monday night if Tottenham Hotspur fail to win at their bogey
ground of Stamford Bridge.
Leicester City’s return to the Premier League over the last
two years has been nothing short of sensational. The fans will have memories to
cherish forever in a series of events that frankly is unlikely to be repeated
anytime soon.
NEXT: Tales of the Drop – Newcastle United in 2008/2009
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