History of Leicester City F.C. facts for kids
Leicester City Football Club is a famous football team from Leicester, England. This article tells you all about their exciting journey through history, from their early days as Leicester Fosse to becoming Premier League champions!
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Early Days: Leicester Fosse (1884–1919)
The club started in 1884 as Leicester Fosse. They got this name because they played on a field near Fosse Road. Before moving to their famous home, Filbert Street, in 1891, they played at five different places!
Leicester Fosse joined the Football Association in 1890. In 1891, they joined the Midland League. After doing well, they were chosen to join the Second Division of the Football League in 1894. Their first league game was a 4–3 loss, but a week later, they won their first league game at Filbert Street. They also had their biggest win ever that season, beating Notts Olympic 13–0 in an FA Cup game!
In 1908, the club finished second in the Second Division and got promoted to the First Division. But they only stayed there for one season. In 1909, they had their worst defeat, losing 12–0 to Nottingham Forest.
Leicester City is Born (1919–1939)
The Football League stopped for four years because of World War I. When it started again in 1919, Leicester Fosse had financial problems and stopped existing. But the club was quickly reformed as Leicester City Football Club. This new name was perfect because Leicester had just become a city!
In 1925, the club won the Second Division championship. This was under the manager Peter Hodge. He signed great players like Arthur Chandler, who scored a club record 273 goals! Another star was Adam Black, who played the most league games for the club, 528.
In 1929, Leicester City had their best ever finish in the Football League, coming second. Their highest ever crowd was in 1928, when 47,298 fans watched them play Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup. The 1930s were tougher. They were relegated in 1935, promoted in 1937, and then relegated again in 1939. The Football League stopped again in 1939 because of war.
Up and Down the Divisions (1949–1958)
City reached the FA Cup final for the first time in 1949, but lost 3–1 to Wolverhampton Wanderers. A week later, they celebrated staying in the Second Division.
In the 1950–51 season, Arthur Rowley joined the club. He became one of Leicester's best ever strikers! Rowley was the top scorer for eight seasons in a row. He broke the club record for goals in one season, scoring 41 times! Leicester won the Second Division championship in 1954. They were relegated the next season but returned to the First Division in 1957. Rowley broke his own record, scoring 44 goals in one season, which is still the club record today!
Sadly, Rowley was sold in 1958, just a few goals short of Arthur Chandler's all-time record. This made fans unhappy and led to the manager, David Halliday, being sacked.
The Matt Gillies Era (1958–1968)
Former player Matt Gillies became manager in 1958. He is often called the club's most successful manager! Gillies was great at finding talented players. He brought in future stars like Gordon Banks, Frank McLintock, and Peter Shilton.
Leicester reached the FA Cup final twice under Gillies, in 1961 and 1963. In 1961, they lost to Tottenham. This meant Leicester played in the 1961–62 European Cup Winners' Cup, their first time in a European competition! They were knocked out by Atlético Madrid.
In 1963, Leicester almost won the league title! They had an amazing 18-game unbeaten run and were top of the First Division in April. The newspapers called them the "ice kings." But injuries hit the team, and they finished fourth. They then lost the 1963 FA Cup final to Matt Busby's Manchester United.
Gillies finally won a trophy in 1964! Leicester beat Stoke City to win the League Cup for the first time. They reached the League Cup final again the next year but lost to Chelsea.
In 1966, Gordon Banks, one of Leicester's most famous players, helped England win the FIFA World Cup! He was also nominated for the Ballon d'Or, a top European football award. He is still the only Leicester player to get this nomination.
Matt Gillies resigned in 1968. His replacement, Frank O'Farrell, couldn't stop Leicester from being relegated in 1969. But they did reach the FA Cup final, losing 1–0 to Manchester City. This relegation ended their longest ever time in the top division, which was twelve years.
Jimmy Bloomfield's Team (1971–1977)
In 1971, Leicester were promoted back to the First Division. They also won the Charity Shield for the first time, beating Liverpool 1–0. Jimmy Bloomfield became the new manager. His team stayed in the First Division for his whole time there. They had popular players like Keith Weller, Frank Worthington, and Alan Birchenall. Leicester reached the FA Cup semi-final in 1974. No manager since Bloomfield has kept the club in the top division for so long.
Ups and Downs (1978–1991)
After Bloomfield, Frank McLintock became manager, but Leicester were relegated in 1978. Jock Wallace then led Leicester to win the Second Division championship in 1980. He couldn't keep them in the First Division, but they reached the FA Cup semi-final in 1982. Under Wallace, a young star named Gary Lineker started playing for the first team.
Gordon Milne became manager next and got the team promoted in 1983. Lineker helped Leicester stay in the First Division, but he was sold in 1985. Two years later, Leicester were relegated again. The club had a tough time under manager David Pleat. He was sacked in 1991, and Gordon Lee took over, saving the club from falling to the third division.
The Play-off Battles (1991–1994)
Brian Little became manager in 1991. In his first season, Leicester reached the promotion playoffs. They beat Cambridge United but lost the final to Blackburn Rovers, missing out on a spot in the new Premier League. The winning goal was a penalty scored by former Leicester player Mike Newell.
Leicester lost another play-off final in 1993, this time to Swindon Town. But in 1994, it was third time lucky! They beat rivals Derby County 2–1 in the final to get promoted to the Premiership after seven years away.
Relegation and Promotion (1994–1996)
Brian Little left Leicester in 1994. His replacement, Mark McGhee, couldn't save Leicester from relegation in the 1994–95 Premiership season. They only won six games. McGhee then left unexpectedly in 1995.
Martin O'Neill took over. He had a great track record of getting teams promoted. Under O'Neill, Leicester reached the 1995–96 play-offs. They beat Crystal Palace 2–1 with a last-minute goal, securing an immediate return to the Premiership! O'Neill was known for signing great players like Neil Lennon and Muzzy Izzet, and for getting the best out of his team.
Success in the Top Flight (1996–2000)
Leicester became a strong team in the Premiership, finishing in the top ten four times in a row. O'Neill won the club's first trophies in 26 years, winning the League Cup twice, in 1997 and 2000. They were also runners-up in 1999. This meant Leicester qualified for the UEFA Cup in 1997–98 and 2000–01, their first time in Europe since 1961!
O'Neill was a very popular manager. In June 2000, he left to manage Celtic. He is still seen as one of the most successful managers in the club's history. In April 2000, Leicester sold striker Emile Heskey to Liverpool for a club record £11 million.
Tough Times and a New Stadium (2000–2004)
Peter Taylor replaced Martin O'Neill. For a while, Leicester looked like they might qualify for Europe, even topping the Premiership table for two weeks! But then they lost many games and slipped down the table. A bad start to the 2001–02 season led to Taylor being sacked.
Dave Bassett took over, but he couldn't stop Leicester from being relegated. Peter Taylor had spent a lot of money on new players, which caused financial problems. Just before relegation was confirmed, Bassett resigned, and his assistant, Micky Adams, became manager. Leicester's last game at Filbert Street was a 2–1 win against Tottenham.
In 2002, Leicester moved into their new 32,000-seat stadium, the Walkers Stadium. Walkers crisps bought the naming rights. In October 2002, the club faced serious financial difficulties. This was due to losing TV money, high player wages, and the cost of the new stadium.
Micky Adams was not allowed to buy new players for most of the season. But the club was saved in February 2003 by a group led by Gary Lineker. Adams then guided Leicester to second place in Division One, winning automatic promotion back to the Premiership! The Football League later changed its rules to punish teams that faced financial difficulties with a points penalty. Leicester were relegated from the Premiership in 2003–04. The stadium was renamed King Power Stadium in 2011 after a Thai company took over the club.
Life in the Championship (2004–2008)
Micky Adams resigned in October 2004. Craig Levein was appointed manager but couldn't get the team higher than 15th place, their lowest in 14 years. His poor form continued, and he was sacked in January 2006.
Rob Kelly took over as caretaker manager and helped the club avoid relegation. He was then given the job permanently. In February 2007, Milan Mandarić bought the club. After a run of bad results, Mandarić sacked Kelly in April 2007. Nigel Worthington managed the last five games, and Leicester finished 19th.
Martin Allen was appointed manager in May, but he left after just three months. After a few caretaker managers, Gary Megson was hired but then left quickly to join Bolton. Finally, Ian Holloway became Leicester's third permanent manager of the season in October.
Relegation to League One and Return (2008–2014)
On 4 May 2008, Leicester City were relegated to League One. This was the first time Leicester had played in the third tier of English football. Ian Holloway was sacked, and Nigel Pearson took over. He led Leicester straight back to the Championship, winning the League One title! They were top for most of the season and went a club record 23 league games unbeaten. They secured promotion on 18 April 2009. Matty Fryatt scored 32 goals that season, the first Leicester player to score over 30 goals in a season since Arthur Rowley 52 years earlier!
In their first season back in the Championship, Pearson's team finished fifth and reached the play-offs. They played Cardiff City in the semi-final. Leicester showed great fighting spirit but lost in a penalty shoot-out. In 2010, Pearson left to manage Hull City.
Paulo Sousa replaced Pearson but was sacked after just nine games. On 3 October 2010, former England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson was announced as the new manager. He guided the club to a 10th-place finish.
Leicester were expected to be promoted in the 2011–12 season, but Eriksson left in October 2011. Three weeks later, Nigel Pearson returned as manager! In the 2012–13 season, Leicester had play-off heartbreak when a last-minute penalty was saved, and the opposing team scored right away.
After a very successful 2013–14 season, Leicester finished first in the Championship with 102 points. This secured their automatic promotion to the 2014–15 Premier League!
Premier League Title and FA Cup Victory (2014–Present)
Leicester started their first Premier League season since 2004 with a 1–0 win against Stoke City. They then famously beat Manchester United 5–3, coming back from 3–1 down!
By March, the team had fallen to last place. But an amazing change in form saw them win many games and finish the season in 14th place! This was called the best escape from relegation ever seen in the Premier League. Despite this success, Pearson was sacked in June 2015. He was replaced by former Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri.
At the start of the 2015–16 season, Leicester were expected to be relegated. But they went on to win the title in one of the most incredible seasons in English football history! Under Ranieri, the team had a fantastic start, losing only one game in their first 15. They were top of the table by December. Striker Jamie Vardy, who was playing non-league football just four years earlier, scored in 11 straight Premier League matches, breaking a record!
Leicester were top at Christmas 2015 and continued their amazing form into 2016. In February, they beat 2nd-placed Manchester City 3–1 away, going six points clear. Leicester clinched their first ever Premier League title with two games to spare, when Tottenham drew with Chelsea. They also qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the first time!
Post 2016: FA Cup Victory
In February 2019, Leicester City announced Brendan Rodgers as their new manager. In the 2020-21 season, Leicester qualified for the UEFA Europa League. They also won the FA Cup for the very first time!
Helicopter Crash
The club owner, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, sadly died in a helicopter crash outside the King Power Stadium on 27 October 2018. Four other people on board also passed away.
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