The Leicester City Thread

[faraway saint]

I know what you're saying and they are top on merit, but it must be hard to watch as a fan. They are bottom or near the bottom of stats for possession, pass completion etc. Look, I am not trying to belittle their achievements, but they have a system that Ranieri has working like a dream. Good luck to them

They are top for games they have failed to score, games won etc.

Could throw stats around so depends which stats people see as most important.

I agree it'll be interesting to see them in the Champions league next season but a great time to be a Leicester supporter.

[Leicester Saint]

I know what you're saying and they are top on merit, but it must be hard to watch as a fan. They are bottom or near the bottom of stats for possession, pass completion etc. Look, I am not trying to belittle their achievements, but they have a system that Ranieri has working like a dream. Good luck to them

They are top for number of points gained. That's what matters.

[shull]

Possession is absolutely irrelevant and f**king boring.

[pozbaird]

If St Mirren were top of the Scottish Premiership, 7 points ahead of Sellik, looking like winning the league, were selling out the stadium, were heading for the Champions League, were seeing their players picked for, and scoring for the national team, were keeping clean sheets, seeing off multiple opponents with far bigger budgets.....

Yeah, I'd be disgusted if we were organised, motivated and extremely hard to beat. I would want Barcelona-esque flair and a side-portion of Maradona, with a dash of Pele sprinkled on top.

Otherwise? Rae can fcuk off. Get it sorted Scott / SMiSA.

[faraway saint]

2-0 against Sunderland.

As I said last week, league over. ????

[shull]

Vardy

[Tommy]

Should have won by more but pressure now on Spurs.. I guessing a draw between them and Utd today.

[Drew]

Apparently the odds on Leicester winning the league before it kicked off were 5000/1. I hope a few of their fans put a tenner on that.

It just goes to show that fairytales can really happen. Stunning stuff.

Edited April 10, 2016 by Drew

[Leicester Saint]

Apparently the odds on Leicester winning the league before it kicked off were 5000/1. I hope a few of their fans put a tenner on that.

It just goes to show that fairytales can really happen. Stunning stuff.

There's been a few quite well publicised stories down here of people doing just that! A few cashed out weeks ago for quite big money. I think there might be one guy left who stands to win a hundred grand, but not sure if he's also cashed out in the last couple of weeks.

Another win, another step closer. The dream goes on. Could do with Man Utd doing us a favour now.

[faraway saint]

There's been a few quite well publicised stories down here of people doing just that! A few cashed out weeks ago for quite big money. I think there might be one guy left who stands to win a hundred grand, but not sure if he's also cashed out in the last couple of weeks.

Another win, another step closer. The dream goes on. Could do with Man Utd doing us a favour now.

Aye, there's been a couple well publicised up here as well.

Can't blame anyone cashing in, made a good few bob and are part of history, doesn't get much better than that.

[stlucifer]

Here's hoping that Man U turn up and beat Spurs. IF that happens ​2 wins for the Premier title.

Unfeckin' believable!

[faraway saint]

Here's hoping that Man U turn up and beat Spurs. IF that happens ​2 wins for the Premier title.

Unfeckin' believable!

Well, United did struggle to turn up, maybe a good sign for Spurs? ????

[Stuart Dickson]

I was at the Stadium of Light yesterday with my two boys. I thought Sunderland were the better team for long, long spells in the match but the difference between the two sides when Vardy finally got a chance he scored, while Defoe, Rodwell and Van Aanholt all had one of those afternoons. I could see what Allardyce was doing when he took off the two Sunderland wide men and went three up top but in doing so he took off one of Sunderlands better performers on the day - Khazri - and left Cattermole on the park who had a f**king nightmare.

Leicester weren't bad to watch at all. They're effective, but there's a great deal of skill about what they do. There was one particular passing move in the second half where the passing was almost hypnotic and Mannone did well to save. Morgan and Huth are superb at the back and Kante has one of the best work ethics I've seen in the EPL for some time. Okazaki is a vastly underrated player also.

Like others on here I hope Leicester go on to win it. There was a very pleasant atmosphere outside the stadium yesterday with fans of both sides mixing well. It was a pleasure being there. Hopefully Sunderland can sort out their misfiring in front of goal in time for next Saturday to spark off the latest great escape. And as always I can heartily recommend the Stadium of Light as a superb venue for an excellent day out and The Scullery in Silkworth for a post match meal.

[pozbaird]

I was at the Stadium of Light yesterday with my two boys. I thought Sunderland were the better team for long, long spells in the match but the difference between the two sides when Vardy finally got a chance he scored, while Defoe, Rodwell and Van Aanholt all had one of those afternoons. I could see what Allardyce was doing when he took off the two Sunderland wide men and went three up top but in doing so he took off one of Sunderlands better performers on the day - Khazri - and left Cattermole on the park who had a f**king nightmare.

Leicester weren't bad to watch at all. They're effective, but there's a great deal of skill about what they do. There was one particular passing move in the second half where the passing was almost hypnotic and Mannone did well to save. Morgan and Huth are superb at the back and Kante has one of the best work ethics I've seen in the EPL for some time. Okazaki is a vastly underrated player also.

Like others on here I hope Leicester go on to win it. There was a very pleasant atmosphere outside the stadium yesterday with fans of both sides mixing well. It was a pleasure being there. Hopefully Sunderland can sort out their misfiring in front of goal in time for next Saturday to spark off the latest great escape. And as always I can heartily recommend the Stadium of Light as a superb venue for an excellent day out and The Scullery in Silkworth for a post match meal.

The Stadium of Light is indeed a good venue. Next season's Championship season Tyne-Wear derbies will rival anything in the Premiership for atmosphere.

[Big Jake]

I hope Leicester can do it but I fear for them with the tough run in they have. I know they have done well against these teams already over the season but it's getting to the tickly bit now and on paper Spurs have the better run in. Think Spurs might just do it.

[pozbaird]

I hope Leicester can do it but I fear for them with the tough run in they have. I know they have done well against these teams already over the season but it's getting to the tickly bit now and on paper Spurs have the better run in. Think Spurs might just do it.

Got to disagree. They both have Chelsea away, and I fancy Leicester's schedule slightly better than Spurs, looking at who they both get - and when they get them. I fancy Stoke at home to get a point off Spurs. All hypothetical though. They have a big lead, Leicester can only really fcuk it up now if they bottle it and take a seven at the tricky Par Three 12th hole.

[faraway saint]

Leicester's run is IS, on paper, clearly more difficult but with a 7 point lead they have some breathing space Spurs have next to nothing.

Leicester have West Ham (H) an "in form" Swansea (H) Man Utd (A) Everton (H) & Chelsea (A)

Spurs have Stoke (A) West Brom (H) Chelsea (A) Southampton (H) & Newcastle (A)

Leicester can lose 2 draw one and will, almost certainly, still win the league.

As much as Spurs are prettier to watch I can't see them winning all their remaining games.

[jimmy boo]

Our Leicester hosts have booked us a table at Ranieris favourite Italian restaurant next Saturday night the Boo family have tickets for away section. Obviously want a win for WH but still want Leicester to win the league.

[Leicester Saint]

We could talk about the run in both teams have all day long but I don't think that'll be the main deciding factor.

It'll come down to fighting for every single point. And that's something Leicester have become very good at, regardless of who we play.

Written off so many times throughout the season, and still being written off by a lot of people even now! But every single time they're asked a question, they come up with the answers.

We only need 9 more points out of 15 remaining, IF Spurs win every remaining match. 3 of those are at home. Granted, West Ham will be tough, might only get a draw. But does anyone think Swansea or Everton look likely to win?

Chelsea and Man Utd away both tough, but so was Man City before we destroyed them at the Etihaad.

It's certainly not all over yet, but I can't see Ranieri, or this tight squad of fighters, allowing it to slip now.

All that matters for now is West Ham at home this weekend. Go out there and win that, and crank the pressure back up again.

[Leicester Saint]

Our Leicester hosts have booked us a table at Ranieris favourite Italian restaurant next Saturday night the Boo family have tickets for away section. Obviously want a win for WH but still want Leicester to win the league.

Just give us the points, please?! You don't want Spurs winning it!!!

[pozbaird]

Leicester better win it this season. They'll have zero chance once Celtic and Sevco's invites to join the EPL are rubber-stamped... Which is surely inevitable. Global brands an' aw' that.

[freddy]

It's been reported that Leicester are financial cheats. It's alleged that the new owners fiddled finances to get round financial fair play rules and gained an unfair advantage over their rivals in the season they got promoted from the second tier. For this reason I hope they f**k up their title challenge.

All this pish about them being a wee team gets my goat - the new owner is a billionaire, who's spent over £100m in the couple of years since he came in. They are spending obscene amounts of money, and the only reason it doesn't make headlines is because others are spending even more.

[faraway saint]

It's been reported that Leicester are financial cheats. It's alleged that the new owners fiddled finances to get round financial fair play rules and gained an unfair advantage over their rivals in the season they got promoted from the second tier. For this reason I hope they f**k up their title challenge.

All this pish about them being a wee team gets my goat - the new owner is a billionaire, who's spent over £100m in the couple of years since he came in. They are spending obscene amounts of money, and the only reason it doesn't make headlines is because others are spending even more.

Thanks for your valued, if slightly exaggerated, if not made up, post.

[jimmy boo]

Just give us the points, please?! You don't want Spurs winning it!!!

Naw!!

[freddy]

Thanks for your valued, if slightly exaggerated, if not made up, post.

How is it made up?

In 2014 Leicester did a deal resulting in an £11m increase in commerical income over the previous season, which offset some of their losses, enabling them to comply with Financial Fair Play criteria. As a comparison, their local rivals Derby, managed a commercial deal for £700k. Typical shirt sponsorship in that league is £250-£500k. So how did Leicester manager to achieve £11m ?

Later the same year, the rights for the main sponsorships were sold to the club's owners, who funnily enough were already sponsoring the shirts and stadium prior to the fantastic deal that reduced the debts by £11m.

The company who bought and then sold the commercial rights was newly formed by family members of someone reported to have close links to the club's owners. This company that performs multi-million pound deals shares an address with another company run by the one of the family members, on a trading estate in Sheffield. There is no signage for the sports rights company at the premises, they don't have a phone number, nor a website.

The implication is that this company was set up with the sole purpose of doing a deal to buy at an inflated price, and then sell back, commercial rights to enable the club to circumvent Financial Fair Play rules, thus allowing them to spend more on players than their rival who adhered to the rules. This is unproven, and the matter is still under investigation.