Last May, Leicester City FC made the improbable probable, they became Premier League Champions. You have to go back to 1995 and Blackburn Rovers to have a non-top 6 club crowned champions. I would even argue that in the modern game era, what Leicester have achieved in the biggest upset in sporting history. It was not a Cup competition in which you can sometime ride you luck (i.e. Portugal at the Euros or Liverpool in the Champions League…don’t make me wrong they are deserved winners but they had statistically better odds to create an upset due to the limited amount of game), it was 38 League games were they achieved consistency. I struggle to see when this feat will occur again whilst I am alive. Well done.

On Saturday, I got given by my wife a day out pass for good behaviour helping out with our newborn. I needed no more. I decided to jump in the car with the little lad and drive up the M25 and M1 to Leicester (2 hours journey). I must say that I was excited to go to the home of the Champions. I imagined that there would be countless amount of title celebrations stories, videos, etc. I was really up for it and keen to discover our 11th stadium. Just time to stop at Waitrose, buy few snacks and drinks and of we went…

leicester City Football Club

Leicester City Football Club, also known as the Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester. They compete in the Premier League, England’s top tier of football, and are the current reigning champions. Having been promoted as champions of the Football League Championship in 2013–14, this signalled a return to the top flight of English football after a decade away.

The club was founded in 1884 as Leicester Fosse F.C., playing on a field near Fosse Road. They moved to Filbert Street in 1891, were elected to the Football League in 1894 and adopted the name Leicester City in 1919. They moved to the nearby Walkers Stadium in 2002, which was renamed the King Power Stadium after a change of ownership in 2011.

Leicester won the 2015–16 Premier League, their first top-level football championship. They are one of only six clubs to have won the Premier League since its inception in 1992. A number of newspapers described their title win as the greatest sporting upset ever, or the best football fairy-tale of history. Multiple bookmakers had never paid out at such long odds for any sport. Their title win placed itself into English football history as one of the game’s finest ever achievements. Their previous highest ever finish was second place in the top flight, in Division One in 1928–29. Throughout Leicester’s history, they have spent all but one season within the top two tiers of English football. The club holds a joint-highest seven second-tier titles (six Second Division and one Championship).

The club have been FA Cup finalists four times, in 1948–49, 1960–61, 1962–63 and 1968–69. This is a tournament record for the most defeats in the final without having won the competition. City have several promotions to their name, two play-off final wins, and one League One title. In 1971, they won the FA Community Shield, and in 2016, they were runners up. They have also won the League Cup three times in 1964,1997 and 2000, as well as being runners up in 1964–65 and 1999. Leicester City have also competed in European football, and their appearances have come in the 1961–62 European Cup Winners’ Cup, 1997–98 UEFA Cup, 2000–01 UEFA Cup and most recently the 2016-17 UEFA Champions League.

Stadium history

In their early years, Leicester played at numerous grounds, but have only played at two since they joined the Football League. When first starting out they played on a field by the Fosse Road, hence the original name Leicester Fosse. They moved from there to Victoria Park, and subsequently to Belgrave Road. Upon turning professional the club moved to Mill Lane. After eviction from Mill Lane the club played at the County Cricket ground while seeking a new ground. The club secured the use of an area of ground by Filbert Street, and moved there in 1891.

The club moved away from Filbert Street in 2002 to a new 32,500 all-seater stadium. The stadium was originally named Walkers Stadium in a deal with food manufacturers Walkers, whose brand logo used to be found at various points around the outside of the stadium. It is now called the King Power Stadium. On 19 August 2010, it emerged that the new owners King Power wanted to rename the stadium The King Power Stadium, and had plans to increase the capacity to 42,000 should Leicester secure promotion. On 7 July 2011, Leicester City confirmed that the Walkers Stadium would now be known as the King Power Stadium. In 2015, vice-chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha stated that plans were in place to increase the capacity of the stadium to around 42,000. Relocation to a bigger stadium has also been considered

The King Power Stadium has also honoured past greats of the club, by naming suites and lounges inside the stadium after the club’s former players Gordon Banks, Adam Black, Arthur Chandler, Gary Lineker, Arthur Rowley, Sep Smith, Keith Weller and former manager Jimmy Bloomfield.

• Away dressing room:
  • There is a hollow pillar in the middle of the room, which was put in just to annoy the away manager when he addresses to the team (can’t look at them all he must move around).
  • In winter they only serve cold water and in summer hot water. not sure if they really do that but same was said at Aston Villa…maybe something with the Midland clubs.
• Home dressing room:
  • Like at villa, the dressing room is pitch black with blue ambience lights as the players like the relaxing atmosphere
  • They have a communal bath in order to allow the players to bond (I thought they were illegal nowadays!)
  • The players warm up in the showers kicking a ball trying to switch them on. After each home game they have to replace the broken tiles.

Finally, we get to go through the tunnel to the dug outs. Inside, the pitch is quality but I was expecting to see the grass cut into diamonds but the guide explains that the ref don’t like it as they struggle to signal offsides. The stadium is small and like the outside is bland. no fan banners, not much to stand out.