City Triumph in M69 Derby

Leicester City 2:0 Coventry City

Leicester managed back to back league victories for the first time this season with a comfortable 2-0 win over neighbours Coventry at the King Power Stadium on Saturday…

An unchanged City line-up dominated a poor Coventry side right from the start of the game and should have taken a 7th minute lead. Dyer slotted a ball between to defenders for Wellens to run on to but he was crudely tripped by Cranie for a blatant penalty. With regular spot-kick taker Gallagher not on the field Danns stepped up but his weak effort was saved just inside the right hand post by Murphy.
City soon made amends however, taking an 11th minute lead after more good work by Dyer. Double-marked out on the left, the winger showed a burst of pace to outstrip the Sky Blues defence. His cross was neatly gathered by Beckford whose shot on the turn was blocked by Murphy but only as far as Nugent who prodded home his 12th goal of the season, picking up a heavy knock which required a long spell of treatment in the process. 
With Coventry looking shaky at the back good chances to extend City’s lead were missed by St Ledger and Marshall.
The Sky Blues had their best spell of the game after the break, but Morgan marshalled his defence well and City were never really stretched.
It was City who got the decisive goal on the hour when a slick passing move involving Wellens and Nugent set Beckford up for a simple tap in at the near post. 
Coventry hopes were briefly revived when they were awarded a ridiculous penalty after Morgan had completed a back pass to Schmeichel before Nimely ran into to him, but justice was served when the City keeper pulled off a fantastic save to deny Clingan.
City ended the game with ten men when Konchesky’s waist high challenge on Nimely saw him receive a straight red, but there was never any doubt as to the destination of the three points.
City’s slim hopes of a play-off place remain alive, while Coventry are looking down the barrel of the third division.
Nigel Pearson was retaining his belief:  ”Although we are eight points off the play-offs, the players are very confident, so there is still a chance. There’s a long way to go yet, but the margin of error is getting tighter. If we show the same application we have in the last month or two, there is still a chance we can achieve something this season.”

Leicester: Schmeichel, Peltier, Morgan, St Ledger, Konchesky, Marshall (Drinkwater 72), Danns, Wellens, Dyer, Beckford (Howard 80), Nugent (Schlupp 74). Unused Subs: Bamba, Kennedy.
Coventry: Murphy, Christie, Keogh, Cranie, Clarke,Bell (Baker 68),Norwood, Deegan (Clingan 71), McSheffrey (McDonald 79), Platt, Nimely. Unused Subs: Dunn, Cameron.
Referee: L Probert (Wiltshire). Attendance: 25,487.

What you are saying about: GOT, NOT GOT…

What people are saying about ‘GOT, NOT GOT – The A to Z of Lost Football Culture, Treasures & Pleasures…

* Well, what can I say – your book is a FINE piece of work! Honestly, I think its brilliant and I have seldom put it down since I picked it up…

* The best book about football written in the last 20 years.

* I found myself engrossed again in the trivia that so preoccupied my life between the age of 5 and 15 and laughing until my ribs hurt.

* Wonderful book, great illustrations and is a throw back to days when football was more important than anything else, Superbly written and put together.

* If there’s anyone in your life who attended football when it was still good (60s- 80s) buy them this book and they’ll love you forever.

* I don’t even follow football anymore but I love this book. It’s packed with memories of the game when it was a simpler more enjoyable (to me anyway) sport.

* Superb stuff. Anyone who grew up in the seventies with even a passing interest in football, let alone City, will love this book.

* I utterly and completely love it… so much stuff in there that I’d pretty much forgotten about, but which is a joy to rediscover.

Featuring: Aberdeen, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool, Bolton Wanderers, Bristol City, Bristol Rovers, Brighton & Hove Albion, Burnley, Cardiff City, Carlisle United, Celtic, Charlton Athletic, Chelsea, Coventry City, Crystal Palace, Derby County, England, Everton, Fulham, Hearts, Hibs, Hull City, Ipswich Town, Leeds United, Leicester City, Liverpool, Luton Town, Manchester City, Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Millwall, Newcastle United, Northern Ireland, Norwich City, Nottingham Forest, Notts County, Plymouth Argyle, Portsmouth, QPR, Rangers, Reading, Scotland, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton, Stoke City, Sunderland, Swansea City, Swindon Town, Tottenham Hotspur, Wales, Watford, West Bromwich Albion, West Ham United, Wigan Athletic, Wimbledon & Wolves…

City Off to a Winning Start

Coventry City 0:1 Leicester City

City got 2011-12 off to a perfect start with a 1:0 win at neighbours Coventry, despite losing Darius Vassell to a red card early on…

A huge following of over 6,000 City fans saw seven players make their league debuts in royal blue shirts, with Matt Mills wearing the captain’s armband.
Though Sven Goran Eriksson’s game plan was soon interrupted when Vassell was sent off following a fiercely contested 50:50 challenge with Keogh. Referee Darren Deadman’s red card looked a little harsh.
City, however, absorbed this setback and matched their eleven man opponents in the first half.  There was a lot of passing and few chances though Nugent set up Danns who went close, while Schmeichel did well to tip over a long range shot from Bell that was heading for the top right hand corner.
A couple of minutes after the Sky Blues best chance Deadman was given a chance to even the sides and he took it as Baker clattered into the back of Wellens. Again it looked like a yellow card, but he had now set a precedent and the red was wielded again.
City almost took the lead just before the break when Nugent’s header hit the foot of the right hand post and rolled along the goaline into the grateful arms of Murphy.
It didn’t take City long to get off the mark after the break. Newest signing Fernandez was running the game in midfield with impeccable control and passing and during a good spell City took a 52nd minute lead.
A free-kick from Wellens out on the right was met at the near post by Peltier who glanced a header across Murphy and in at the far post.
This sparked big celebrations among Sven’s side and in the away end. Sadly the goal hero injured himself soon after and was replaced by King.
City looked fairly comfortable for the remainder of the game with Coventry unable to mount any meaningful period of pressure.
Nugent got a big round of applause for his lonely efforts up front after Vassell was dismissed, replaced with Gallagher.

Fernandez and King both failed to capitalise on their own good work with weak shots, while Schmeichel made a good save from Clingan, but City were never stretched and the final whistle heralded a great start to the season and the first win at Coventry since 2003.

Sven Goran Eriksson summed up: “I’m very happy with how the team defended from the centre forward down to the goalkeeper. I think it was a very good team effort. It’s a very good start for us but we have to suffer like this and work like this 45 more times this season.”

Coventry: Murphy, Keogh, Cranie, Hussey , Christie (Wood 78), Bell, Clingan, Baker, Bigirimana, Jutkiewicz, McSheffrey (O’Donovan 79). Subs Not Used: Dunn, Thomas, McPake.  
Leicester: Schmeichel, Konchesky, Mills, Bamba, Peltier (King 60), Danns, Abe, Wellens, Fernandes, Nugent (Gallagher 78), Vassell. Subs Not Used: Weale, Dyer, St. Ledger.

Referee: D Deadman (Cheshunt). Attendance: 21,102.

Foxes Frustrated in M69 Derby

Leicester City 1:1 Coventry City

City and Coventry shared the points with a 1-1 draw at Filbert Way on Saturday, with Leicester unable to convert possession into goals…

Sven Goran Eriksson reshuffled the side that lost at Cardiff, with Vassell taking Dyer’s place, Abe returning to the midfield, and Burma taking Mee’s place in defence.
City were camped out in Coventry’s half for the opening spell of the game and Yakubu missed two chances to put City ahead during this one-sided start to the game. 
But it was the Sky Blues who hit City on the break to take a 14th minute lead. Jutkiewicz beat Van Aanholt down the right and his cut back found King, who fired the ball through Ricardo’s legs from 10 yards.
Yakubu was then denied by a last ditch Wood challenge as looked set to equalise, but King almost made it 2-0 moments later. A long ball undid the City defence far too easily and King did the hard part bringing the ball down and rounding Ricardo before blazing his shot wide.
Gallagher then sent a shot over on a day when City just couldn’t seem to hit the target, and there was another scare when former City winger Bell then delivered a cross and Keogh sent a looping header onto the crossbar over a pedestrian looking Ricardo.
Abe then went close after a storming run through the middle but sent his shot just wide of the right hand upright. 
City fans finally had something to cheer about as the first half entered time-added-on.
Naughton made steady progress down the right before arrowing a magnificent drive into the top left hand corner from just inside the area. 
City’s dominance continued in the second half and the yellow cards began to mount up for the visitors who were becoming stretched by Naughton’s pace.
City’s best chance of the second half came when Gallagher swung in a cross from the right, Yakubu’s header was parried away by Westwood, and Bamba hit the inside of the left hand post with the goal at his mercy.
Sven brough Dyer on for Gallagher and Waghorn on for Vassell, but still City couldn’t find a way through.
The best chance in the closing stages saw Waghorn teeing up Van Aanholt, but his hurried shot sailed over the bar and into the Family Stand.
Cranie’s dismissal for a second rash challenge came too late to make a difference and when Dyer skied a low Van Aanholt cross over from 6 yards it was clear that this wasn’t our day.
City had to be content with a point when things never quite clicked together.
No one does understated disappointment quite like Sven: “We are disappointed we don’t win games like this. It was a bit like last Tuesday, we played rather good football and created chances. But in these last two games we conceded goals a little too easily for my taste, unfortunately.”

Leicester: Ricardo, Bamba, Naughton, Van Aanholt, Bruma, King, Abe (Oakley 85), Wellens, Yakubu, Gallagher (Dyer 69), Vassell (Waghorn 75).  Subs Not Used: Vitor, Weale, Moreno, Mee.
Coventry: Westwood, Keogh, Cranie, Wood, O’Halloran  (Clingan 64), Cameron, Bell, Baker (Eastwood 71), Gunnarsson , King, Jutkiewicz. Subs Not Used: Hussey, McSheffrey, Ruffles, Ireland, O’Donovan.

Referee: G Scott (Oxfordshire). Attendance: 25,356.

City Make a Point at the Ricoh

Coventry City 1:1 Leicester City

The final scoreline did not tell the whole story at the Ricoh Arena on Saturday with Leicester dominating the M69 Derby from start to finish…

Paulo Sousa made six changes to his side with Ikeme, Morrison, Neilson, King, Fryatt and Waghorn all in the starting line-up.
It was a well balanced team who employed a slick passing game against a poor Coventry side, but they couldn’t find a finishing touch and were perahps a bit over-elaborate at times.
The lively Dyer went close with a shot that Westwood fingertipped out for a corner, and then beat his man down the right but angled his shot behind the goal when King was pleading for the ball.
Dyer then sent Fryatt through and he rounded Westwood only to sky his angled shot over the bar.
Dyer then crossed for King, but his header from a great position went straight at the Sky Blues keeper.
Coventry then gave City a lesson in finishing , scoring from their only decent chance of the game five minutes before the break. Wellens was robbed in midfield and the home side came forward on the break… McIndoe, just on for McSheffrey, delivering a hanging cross from the left and Platt powered a header home from 12 yards.
City should have had the chance for an equaliser just before half time when Clarke clearly handled the ball in the goalmouth, denying Dyer a chance, but neither referee or linesman saw it.
City continued to press forward in the second half and enjoyed an even greater share of the possession.
Waghorn met an Oakley cross with a well directed header that beat Westwood but hit the right hand post.
Then the Coventry keeper went to ground sharply to save a well struck 30-yarder from Dyer. 
Gallagher came on for Waghorn in the 74th minute and City eventually got the goal they deserved two minutes later.  Gallagher’s chip forward found Dyer in the area and as he battled for possession with the Sky Blues’ defence King ghosted in to nip the ball away and flick it over Westwood and into the net.
Howard and N’Guessan came on for the last ten minutes and N’Guessan appeared to have broken through on goal, but checked back and wasted a good chance.
City won only their second point of the season, but the 4,000 visiting fans applauded them off, having seen signs of better things to come.

Coventry: Westwood, Keogh, Wood, Turner, Clarke, Carsley, Clingan, Platt, Jutkiewicz (Doyle 77), McSheffrey (McIndoe 36), Ward (Gunnarsson 67). Subs Not Used: O’Donovan, Ireland, Cameron, Bottomer.
Leicester: Ikeme, Berner, Hobbs, Neilson, Morrison, King, Dyer (N’Guessan 81), Oakley, Wellens, Fryatt (Howard 81), Waghorn (Gallagher 74). Subs Not Used: Kennedy, Logan, Moreno, Moussa.

Referee: A Taylor (Manchester). Attendance: 20,060.

A Tale of Four Cities

Leicester City 2:2 Coventry City

The M69 Derby ended all square at Filbert Way on Sunday, with Leicester and Coventry both claiming one half, one point and a dodgy goal apiece.

Nigel Pearson was forced into a change just before kick-off when Berner injured himself in the pre-match warm up, McGivern stepping up from the bench.
It didn’t seem to do City any harm, with them taking a third minute lead. A killer ball from Wellens fed Dyer down the left and he beat his marker and delivered a cross. McPake miscued his clearance, sending the ball straight to King who kept his composure and found the bottom right hand corner with a measured shot.
Two minute later City almost went further ahead when Waghorn swung a free-kick goalwards but Westwood tipped it round the right hand post. 
Coventry’s first chance came in the 14th minute but Baker’s shot on the turn went stright into the grasp of Weale.
At the other end Westwood came to Coventry’s rescue again, getting down to Dyer’s low shot after the City winger had been sent through by Waghorn.
Much to the home crowd’s delight it was soon 2-0, however. 
In the 19th minute another good probing ball from Wellens found Gallagher who chipped a cross over for King to head against the underside of the bar and down over the line. Whether the whole of the ball was over was difficult to tell even from multiple slowmotion camera angles, but the linesman signalled a goal and the Walkers Stadium was celebrating again.
City were rampant now and Waghorn was two inches shy of putting the finishing touch to a Wellens cross, while a Gallagher chip was headed off the line. 
Then Waghorn outpaced the Coventry centre-halves but hurried his shot over the bar.
Although Coventry enjoyed a late spell of pressure just before the break, they didn’t create any clear chances and the half had undoubtedly belonged to Leicester.
Sadly that was not the case in the second half, which saw a complete turn around in more ways than one.
Chris Coleman, who had cut a furious figure on the sidelines, had clearly given his team an almighty bollocking – wheras City seemed unsure how best to proceed with their two goal lead, opting to try and defend it.
Eight minutes into the half the Sky Blues pulled a goal back in spectacular fashion when a loose ball 8 yards out fell nicely for McPake to acrobatically volley a shot that was too hard for Weale to fully block. 
Gunnarsson was then introduced into the game for Coventry and immediately made his mark with a ridiculous challenge on McGivern that saw lengthy treatment for the Manchester City player after a clash of heads.
City had a chance to wrap up the game when Wellens sent a low ball across the face of goal but there were no takers.    
Instead, City found themselves conceding more and more ground to the visitors who had seized midfield dominance.
Kermorgant came on for Gallagher, but Coventry upped the pressure. Morrsion saw a shot from close in blocked by Weale’s legs and Wood’s follow up was blocked on the line by Solano.
Shortly after this Solano was replaced by Brown in an attempt to strenghten the defence, but Coventry found a way through in the 86th minute. 
A shot was blocked but the ball fell in the path of Morrison who squared for Deegan to net from close in. At the time of the original shot it appeared that Sears was clearly in an offside position, but there was no linesman’s flag.
City almost found a late winner when Oakley went clear on goal, but he couldn’t beat Westwood at his near post.
The Coventy keeper also did well to block Dyer in the last action of the game and both sides had to be content with a point.
City moved up to fourth, and other results went well, so nothing was dented by that squandering of a 2-0 lead, except local pride.
Leicester: Weale, Hobbs, Morrison, McGivern, King, Dyer, Solano (Brown 83), Oakley, Wellens, Gallagher (Kermorgant 77), Waghorn (Howard 88). Subs Not Used: Logan, N’Guessan, Adams, Neilson.
Coventry: Westwood, Cranie, McPake, Wood, Wright, Bell (Gunnarsson 57), Clingan, Baker (Sears 76), Deegan, Stead (Eastwood 66), Morrison. Subs Not Used: Barnett, Hall, Konstantopoulos, Hussey.

Referee: Lee Mason (Lancashire). Attendance: 23,093.

Focus On: Brian Roderick Alderson

Brian Alderson faces a Shoot! interrogation from 1976…

Full Name: Brian Roderick Alderson.
Birthplace: Dundee.
Birthdate: 5th May 1950. Height: 5 ft 7 ins.
Previous Club: Coventry City.
Married: Yes.
Children: One due any time now.
Car: Ford Cortina 1600 Estate.
Favourite Player: Colin Todd.
Favourite Other Team: Celtic.
Most Difficult Opponent: Colin Todd.
Most Memorable Matches: Two League Cup ties for Coventry City against Manchester City in 1973-74.
I scored twice in each game but still ended up on the losing side.
Biggest Thrill: Signing for Leicester City.
Biggest Disappointment: Not being picked for Scotland’s 1974 World Cup squad.
Best Countries Visited: Singapore and Malaysia.
Favourite Food: Curried Beef, Spaghetti Bolagnaise.
Miscellaneous Likes: Taking my Old English Sheepdog, Casey, for a run.
Miscellaneous Dislikes: Anything to do with gardening.
Favourite TV Show: Anything Interesting.
Favourite Singers: Barry White, Elvis Presley.
Favourite Actors: Paul Newman and Robert Redford.
Best Friend: Nobody in Particular.
Biggest Influence on Career: My father and Gordon Milne, the Coventry manager, helped me a lot.
Biggest Drag in Soccer: Travelling.
International Honiours: Under 23s.
Personal Ambition: To win a full Scotland cap.
Professional Ambition: To do well with Leicester City.
If You Weren’t a Footballer What do you think you’d be?: No idea.
Which Person in the World would you most like to meet?: Elvis Presley.

He’s not giving too much away under pressure is he? “No one in particular…”, “Anything Interesting…”, “No idea…”

Honours Even in M69 Derby

Coventry City 1:1 Leicester City

Two superbly taken goals illuminated an otherwise uninspired derby at the Ricoh Arena on Saturday afternoon… 

Nigel Pearson made no changes to the side that started at Middlesbrough, the only surprise was DJ ‘anywhwere but Leicester’ Campbell getting a place on the bench. 
City got off to a bright start, but Fryatt was frustrated by the linesman’s flag a couple of times.  At the other end the dangerous Best twice set up Gunnarson for attempts on goal; the first flying over and the second saved by the in form Weale. 
City then had another decent spell as Kermongant hit a low shot on target but straight at Westwood; Dyer fired over and Gallagher swerved in a shot that glanced the crossbar.
Gallagher was then involved at the other end, raising his hands to a shot and giving away a free-kick on the edge of the area. 
Clingan’s shot swerved viciously and beat Weale at the near post to give the Sky Blues a 37th minute lead. 
Kermorgant had a chance saved by Westwood, but the the home side held the lead at the break.
Nigel Pearson persisted with his starting line-up until the hour mark and then gambled on introducing all three subs: Howard, Waghorn and Campbell replacing Kermorgant, Gallagher and Fryatt up front.
There was an immediate improvement with Howard winning everything in the air and giving another dimension to City’s attacking moves.
Within ten minutes they had found an equalsier via route one. Weale’s huge drop kick was nodded on by Howard and Waghorn produced a fantastic finishing touch, lashing the ball past Westwood from 20 yards out.

This improved the atmosphere among the 4,000 + visiting fans and they should have been celebrating the lead soon afterwards. Dyer refused to give up on a loose ball and squared for Campbell who fluffed what should have been his big moment from seven yards out.
At the other end Morrison went horribly close, clearing the bar from close in with the goal at his mercy.
But a 1-1 draw was a fair enough result with neither side doing enough to win the game.

Nigel Pearson was happy enough:  “Players make systems work and we felt it was a gamble worth taking. We have a strong bench in all areas and felt we could win the game. Waghorn’s finish was fantastic and as a young player, he will only gain from this experience of coming to us.”

Coventry: Westwood, Ward, Cranie, Van Aanholt, Wright, Clingan (Osbourne 72), Cork, Gunnarsson, Eastwood, Morrison, Best. Subs Not Used: Konstantopoulos, Walker, Clarke, Cain, Gradison, Jeffers.
Leicester: Weale, Brown, Berner, Hobbs, Morrison, King, Dyer, Oakley, Gallagher (Campbell 60), Fryatt (Howard 60), Kermorgant (Waghorn 60). Subs Not Used: Logan, Adams, Wellens, McGivern.

Referee: M Oliver (Northumberland). Attendance: 22,209.

Top Ten Moments at the Walkers…

We know we are guilty of mourning Filbert Street’s passing on here, so let’s have Ten Great Moments since the move from Filbert Street to Filbert Way…

1.  10/8/02 - Opening Day – the first 30,000 plus crowd in many years, the excitement of being in our new home, and a great 2-0 win over Watford thanks to two goals from Brian Deane.

2. 14/12/02 – Despite Stevie Claridge’s first minute goal, City thrash Dennis Wise’s Millwall 4-1. 31,904 City fans fill the ground, but away fans are banned.

3.  27/4/03 - Micky Adams and his side celebrate promotion to the Premiership after a 1-1 draw against Norwich City.

4. 15/9/03 - City stuff Leeds 4-0 and Lilian Nalis scores a magnificent opener, all in front of the Sky cameras.

5. 8/11/04 - Craig Levein’s first home game in charge brings a 3-0 win over neighbours Coventry with goals from Nalis, Tiatto and Heath.

6. 26/11/2005 - An otherwise drab season is lit up by a fine 4-2 win over Sheffield United, Hume (2), Smith and Hammond finding the net.

7. 4/3/06 - City win a thriller against Hull 3-2, with Joey Gudjonsson scoring from the half way line.

 

8. 25/8/07 - It all clicks together for Martin Allen’s side as they beat Watford 4-1, with goals from Hume, Campbell, Sheehan and De Vries. 

9. 13/4/09 - Steve Howard’s late header against Leeds brings a 1-0 win and huge step towards the League One title.

10. 24/4/09 - Nigel Pearson’s side are presented with the League One trophy after a 2-2 draw with Scunthorpe, bouncing back from Division Three at the first attempt…

Gordon Milne on Life as Leicester Boss

Extract from an Interview with Gordon Milne from The FOX Summer Special 2007 

FOX: You became manager of Leicester City in the Summer of 1982, how did that come about?

GM: I’d finished at Coventry. I had nine years as manager there and then I had a year upstairs when Dave Sexton came. Although he is actually older than me it was like the young coach coming in who doesn’t want to be concerned with contracts and stuff. Dave just wanted to be out there and he would even take a full session with the kids, he was good like that. Anyway, I did it for a year but I didn’t really enjoy it. I was too young to do that role and I thought this is me getting farmed out here. I wasn’t ready for that.
Leicester were interviewing for a new manager then and Terry Shipman rang me, so I went along. Three or four days later I got a phonecall saying I had got the job. Instead of driving to the end of the road and going thirteen miles that way I was going thirteen miles the other way!
I was lucky that it came up at the right time for me, and it wasn’t somewhere at the other end of the country.

FOX: What were your first impressions?

GM: Well, obviously I knew plenty about Leicester, living in Barwell and it being the local derby. They had quite a good squad at the time. Coventry had a lot of promising young kids then, but at Leicester they were moved on that little bit, a bit more mature and experienced. When I first went to Coventry there was a bit of a heavy mob there, Willie Carr, Roy Barry, Ernie Hunt… a lot of old soldiers that had to be sorted out!There was a little bit of that at Leicester when I arrived. Obviously Jock Wallace had been very popular and there were a lot of his own men in there who were in the ’Jock Mould’. Which is all credit to him, but I needed to do things differently. There was a bit to go at there.

FOX: Which players did you need to ‘go at’?

GM: Remember this thing with Tom English and Jim Melrose? I really had no problem with Jim, except perhaps he was a bit of a scatterbrain as a player, but there would be a day when you could sell him to anybody because he had just scored three; and there was a day when nobody would want him because he had gone missing. And Eddie Kelly, he was a good midfielder, but definitely his own man. I thought his legs were going, but as a player that is very hard to admit. When I was playing for England I thought, well I’m better than Alan Ball, but somebody thought differently and they were probably right.
There was Alan Young the big centre-forward. Bobby Smith, who actually turned out good for me. I can’t remember the details but there was a group there and something had to change. Sometimes it is necessary when a new manager arrives. Big Sam has just gone to Newcastle and some players, their feet haven’t touched the ground on the way out. There are things that have to be done. But you can’t do it all straight away and you have to be careful. There was a group of experience there that you couldn’t just cast aside.  

FOX: Obviously it was a big change from Jock Wallace, how would you describe your own style of management?

GM: I’m certainly not a tea cup thrower. I did my work during the week, I liked to be out there on the pitch with Gerry Summers when I could. I tried to get a collective team spirit going and I liked players to balance each other so that they felt comfortable in what they were doing. I liked to put square pegs in square holes. Without me shouting and screaming I think they knew when to tow the line and when they could get away with a bit. I wanted them to believe in what we were doing, and I think in the end we had a pretty good side there.

FOX: Who do you consider to be your best signing for Leicester?

GM: Errm… should I say Tommy English?!

FOX: We were going to ask you about him later… do you realise how controversial that was at the time?

GM: No, I didn’t really. Coming back to Jim, I knew he was popular but I swapped him. My thinking was that Tom was young, while Jim was getting on. I think Dave Sexton sold him to Celtic and got quite a bit of money for him so there must have been more to Jim than I saw in him. Whereas Tom turned out to be a disaster and we got nothing for him. I probably didn’t anticipate how much pressure it put on Tom English. It put pressure on me as well with Jim being such a favourite.
I remember Tom scoring a hat-trick against Leicester at Highfield Road and we were very excited about this 18-19 year old who could produce goals out of nothing.
How Tom was, he was quite dozy. He’d always be saying “Oh what time’s training, is it 10 o’clock?”
But on the field I liked the way he used to glide about, quick and good at getting into position, but no. He let me down at Leicester. It didn’t mean enough to him, that was Tom’s problem. He was still very boyish and after a poor start he wasn’t strong enough to handle the criticism, and consequently he never performed.
I think my best signing was probably Gary McAllister and Ali Mauchlen on the same day, especially when you consider what we paid for them. Gary went on to become a world class player. Ali was the makeweight in the deal but he did just as well in a different way. 
Bob Hazell was a good signing – a good example of putting a square peg in a square hole. Bob was Bob. He did a steady job as a centre-half but he also gave us good mileage as a personality. The crowd loved him. He would frighten you to death but he was a gentle giant really.  

FOX: The arrival of Bob Hazell coincided with an up turn in fortunes in 83-84 after we had got off to a terrible start….

GM: Yes it did, not bad considering we couldn’t even get a pair of shorts to fit him!
Gerry Daly, I’m struggling to remember the details of signing Gerry, but he did very well for us. He was the impetus for that run that saw us get promoted. You know at that time with Gary Lineker and Alan Smith and Stevie Lynex we never had a problem scoring goals. You’d think at the start of the season well Gary will get 25 and Smudger will be good for 20 and Stevie Lynex could get 12 so you had almost 60 goals before you’d started! You knew you’d be at the right end of the table, but it was Gerry who pulled it altogether.

 FOX: Can you remember why he didn’t sign permanently for us that Summer?

GM: I think he got a very good offer from somewhere, I can’t recall where he went.
When you look at players today I don’t think there is anyone in this league better than Gerry. 

FOX: We just mentioned the 1983-84 season back in the First Division when the side got two points out of the first 30. How do you keep the players going during times like that, because it then turned round spectacularly…

GM: I remember it wasn’t easy. The knives were out for me and everyone was thinking it was time for a change. I remember being at Villa Park where we had just lost and I was in the car park and a load of fans were having a go at me thorough those big railings they used to have there. I went over and spoke to them about the situation, explaining what we were trying to do. But it was rocky for a while.
Once the supporters start to lose the belief that can affect the players and it gets where you can’t see a way out. But they just dug in, you know, and we saved the situation. Maybe it was something like signing Bob when we did. Who knows what turns it round sometimes.
I remember Ronnie Allen at Coventry saying: “You’ve got to give the fans hope.” Big Tommy Hutchinson was the sort of player who did that. He would beat four players then decide not to cross it, then lose it, then get it back and beat four again. It must have been frustrating for the strikers who played with him, but the fans loved him.
I still think that is true to this day. As a fan going to the game, you have to have somebody that you like to watch, especially if the team aren’t too good. Someone who can do something to make your trip worthwhile.  
But at that time it was strange because we went from losing all the bloody time to a great run where I really couldn’t see anyone beating us. I didn’t want that season to end.

FOX: There was a 3-3 draw at home to Liverpool late on in that season and Bob Paisley was very complimentary about us… 

GM: Yes, it was a fantastic game, I remember. We were going into those games against the top sides thinking that we were going to get a result.

FOX: If we could just go back to the promotion the year before, what do you remember of the delay when Fulham decided to appeal because of the pitch invasion at Derby?

GM: I can remember everyone celebrating in the dressing room and then suddenly somebody coming in and saying the game at Derby is still going on. Then it came through that the Fulham manager Malcolm MacDonald was going to protest to the League. I remember thinking: “Oh Christ Almighty!” We took the team off to Majorca I think, and it we were out there when the news broke that they’d given up their appeal.
What had really worried me was that if the League decided to replay the game it was then out of our hands. We couldn’t beat Burnley on the last game of the season, talk about not having a problem scoring goals, but we couldn’t get one that day. I felt like that was one of the days when they froze a little bit.

 FOX: 29,000 turned out for that one when earlier in the season we got just over 6,000 for a league game…

GM: Yes, I remember walking through the car park before the game at around half eleven and there was a huge queue that went past the player’s entrance. As I excused myself through the queue I said to this chap: “This is a bit more like it isn’t it?” and he said: “I don’t know I’ve never been here before.”
But that’s what happens. 

FOX: You had a very special striker at the club at that time in Gary Lineker, did you see the signs then of what he would go on to achieve?

GM: Well he was just beginning really. The thing that first struck me about him was that he used to fall over a lot. Every time he turned his legs would get tangled up and over he’d go. It was a case of working on his control, because that was a bit loose and a ball played into him could pop off him. In his make up then that world class player was in there, but we had to work on making him a part of a team. Smudger was better at keeping the ball and holding it up, he had a good touch for a big feller.
There was no point really trying to turn Gary into an Alan Shearer type who could hold the ball up and shield it, instead we had to work on players getting the ball into areas where he wanted it. Gary was always very focussed on what he wanted to do. Even as a young lad he’d say: “No, I don’t want to do that.” I think Graham Taylor had a bit of a problem with him for England like that. You had to give him his head and come up with a system that suited him, without making it look as though you were doing him a favour in front of the other players. You had to provide the ammunition and the decoys for him. But I thought Gary and Smudger were a great partnership. Of course Gary went to Everton and Smudger went to Arsenal, but with Gary it was touch and go. I think if there had been a bit more cash around and I could have sat him down and said, “Right, we’re going to do this and we’re going to do that…” I think we might have been able to keep him for another year or two. Obviously he wouldn’t have stayed forever. I thought that if I had been the manager of Liverpool or a club like that I would have taken the two of them together. They had such a good understanding I think they could have taken it to a higher level. People didn’t realise quite how good they were, because Gary was only a year at Everton and then he moved on to Barcelona. The two of them were a fantastic combination. They were good characters and they respected one another.  

FOX: Was it frustrating being the manager of what was undoubtedly a selling club at that time?

GM: Well, I was used to it because we had the same thing at Coventry where we were producing a lot of good young players and every year we were losing one. But that was the nature of the business then. I had Jimmy Hill as chairman then and I think he was one of the best chairmen you could ever hope to work for. He would say to me in the summer: “Look, this is what we’re doing, it might affect the team, but this is what we’re doing.” In a way that was him admitting that it was hard for me to lose good players and keep coming up with the results which took a little bit of pressure off from above.
At Leicester it was more of the same. You had a good relationship with players and what are you going to do? Tell Gary Lineker he can’t move to Everton or Alan Smith he can’t go to Arsenal? As an ex-player myself I would have made those kind of moves because you want the best for your career. We were getting very low gates and it was difficult to say to them, “We’re going places.”
That is why surviving that 83-84 season was so vital to us because if we had gone back down again we would have lost them. You can keep them if they know they will be playing Liverpool and Manchester United and we are up with the big boys.
But you know it was inevitable that we would lose them at some stage. It is even worse now with freedom of contract.
At least if we stayed up I could build something over two or three seasons. Work out a plan. I don’t think you can do that as a manager now, I think you just have to plan for the coming season and you can’t look any further than that.
I used to think at the end of the season: “Right, if we can hold on to our best players and maybe get a couple more key players in then we’ll really be competing.” But in the end we couldn’t do that and it was a bit disappointing.

Photos: Neville Chadwick Photography – enquires: info@chadwicksphoto.co.uk

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