kushiro

You may be wondering why those Christmas feasts for poor children were called 'Robin breakfasts'. It's not easy to find a definitive answer, but it seems that the 'robins' were the poor children themselves. At the time, it was apparently quite common to find a poor starving robin lying in the winter snow, and from that came the name of this movement, which seems to have been started by Rev Charles Bullock in London around 1877 (first as 'Robin dinners') and then spread to many other areas.

I'm sure you're recollection is correct. The 'shillings' is those who'd let dozens cram their bicycles iinto their back yard (which I've read stories of). Can you recall any more about leaving your bike? Love to hear it. Did you always leave it at the same house?

Football and food - an unbeatable combination at any time of year. And they are the themes of this look back at two forgotten traditions of Christmas Day in Leicester. Let's start with the nosh. @Union FS are doing sterling work with their campaign for the homeless, and that's part of a long history of thinking of those less fortunate than ourselves at Christmas. Between 1885 and 1914, a 'Robin Breakfast' was held every Christmas morning, organized by the Ragged School Mission. Around 400 of the poorest children in the borough were given an early morning feast at the school's HQ in Bedford Street. They could eat as much as they liked, and 'were enabled to experience for once the pleasant sensation of satiety'. When the Great War broke out, it signaled the end of the tradition. And you'll notice that those years - 1885 to 1914 - correspond almost exactly with the lifespan of Leicester Fosse FC. I like to imagine that, when the feast was over, some of those children took themselves across town to enjoy the other great Christmas Day tradition of the era. If you ask most people to name the great sporting tradition of a Leicester Christmas, they'll point to the Tigers v Barbarians match at Welford Road. But that only started in 1909. There was already a well-established Christmas routine for sports fans - involving the round ball game. Leicester Fosse entered the Football League in 1894, and a year later, Loughborough joined them. When the League drew up the annual fixture list, clubs were allowed to make special requests, and we asked for the home game against The Luffs to be staged on December 25th. So it was that on Christmas Day 1896, we staged a yuletide League fixture for the first time. We beat our local rivals 4--2 in front of a big holiday crowd, and the club decided that Festive Football at Filbert Street was not just a wonderful piece of alliteration, but an altogether splendid idea that should be repeated the following season. And so we made the same request to the Football League in 1897. The Luffs had no more luck on their second Christmas visit - we scored four again, this time without reply. The following year, Christmas Day fell on a Sunday, and so the next occasion was 1899, when the score was even more emphatic - Leicester Fosse 5 Loughborough 0. Sadly, that was the last ever 'Leicestershire derby' in the Football League. The Luffs dropped out at the end of the season, never to return. But those Christmas Day fixtures had been such a success that the club put in a new request. It doesn't matter who our opponents are, we said, just give us a home game on Christmas Day. And so it was that throughout the Edwardian era, the tradition was established. In Leicester, Christmas Day was Football Day. Loughborough weren't there to be bossed around anymore, but it didn't matter who we played, we usually put in a sparkling performance. Look at this amazing run of results. These are all the Christmas Day games played by the club in that era: All those games were Division Two fixtures, apart from the Arsenal game, which came in Fosse's only top flight campaign. Surely there would have been a few among the 400 or so children at the Robin Breakfast who got in to see some of those games, even if they had to squeeze under the fence or be carried over a turnstile. It was in the same year as the last game on that list - 1909 - that the Tigers v Barbarians fixture began. It was almost as if the rugby club could see the success of the traditional Filbert Street game, and wanted a piece of the action for themselves (though typically, the Barbarians fixture was staged a day or two after Christmas). In the run up to the Great War, we actually lost a couple of those Christmas Day fixtures, and when we resumed after the war as 'Leicester City', we no longer put in the traditional request. After that we played many more games on Christmas Day, but if they were at Filbert Street it was simply by chance. One of those, a game that took place exactly 100 years ago today, was the most extraordinary Christmas Day fixture we were ever involved in. You can read all about that over on the 'Second Greatest Season Ever ' thread. Robin Breakfasts and Festive Filbert Street fixtures have long since disappeared. And it would be good to see another 'tradition' consigned to history tomorrow. I'm all for winding up the opposition - but there are much better ways to do it than that bleeding 'feed the scousers' chant. Merry Christmas all.

Match 21 Thursday December 25th 1924 Leicester City v Port Vale 'There''ll be no White Christmas this year', the Leicester Mail reported in its December 24th edition, but 'about midnight, the carol singers and bands will be on their rounds to proclaim that Christmas has come. Leicester City are playing Port Vale at Filbert Street in the morning, but as the tramwaymen are taking a holiday, there will be no cars on any section'. No snow and no trams - so we know what the streets of the Leicester would have looked like that morning. From all points of the city, thousands of bicycles would have been heading for Filbert Street. They'd be parked close to the ground or kept in the back yards of the neighbouring terraced houses, the occupiers making a few shillings as an added bonus (they already had the free view of the game from their upstairs window). The Christmas Day game had been a tradition at Filbert Street. Between 1896 and 1911 we played twelve games on December 25th - every one of them at home. Clubs could make special requests to the Football League when the fixture lists were drawn up, and this was ours. On Christmas Day 1914, as British and German troops were staging that famous kick about in No-Man's Land, Leicester Fosse were losing 4-1 at home to Arsenal (in the Gunners' last ever season in Division Two). Since the War and the birth of 'Leicester City', the tradition had ended (for reasons that are unclear), and the fact that we were at home today was simply a matter of chance. The game against Port Vale would revolve around two characters - Leicester captain Johnny Duncan, and Vale keeper Tommy Fern, who really was a character. Originally from Measham in North-West Leicestershire, he was now 38. He had won a League title medal with Everton a decade earlier and was known for his eccentric on-field behaviour. Here's a cartoon from the Echo showing his antics during a derby match in 1922. The caption reads: As soon as any of the Liverpool team got near goal, Fern immediately adopted a 'putting off' attitude: The Filbert Street crowd would have been familiar with him. He'd first played on the ground for Lincoln City way back in 1909. Port Vale had beaten leaders Man U five days earlier, but there was a crucial change in their line-up. Full back Tom Cooper, so impressive on his debut against United, stepped aside as Jack Maddock was fit again. We had no injury worries, and fielded our strongest XI. Duncan won the toss, and Leicester kicked off towards the Filbert Street goal with both the wind and the sun at their backs - the latter an extra factor with the 11 o'clock start. Early on, Fern had to deal with shots from Duncan, Adcock and Chandler, 'any one of which might have beaten him'. Then in the twentieth minute we took the lead when Chandler scored after 'some pretty play from Jack Bamber'. A few minutes later, a fine run by Harry Wadsworth on the left wing led to Duncan slotting in the second. Then after a move down the right, Hugh Adcock set up Duncan to increase the lead. Shortly after that 'only a wonderful save from Fern prevented Duncan completing his hat-trick before the change over'. 3-0 was the half-time score, and it could have been much more. As Fern ran out for the second half and headed for the Spion Kop end he received a huge ovation. Eleven minutes after the break 'Bamber placed a free-kick, Duncan stood in the penalty area unattended and swung round to give Fern no chance with a left foot shot'. Five minutes later 'Wadsworth, with tenacious work on the wing was able to flash across a low centre. Fern pushed the ball out and Duncan found himself with quite enough shooting space to make a goal a certainty'. Two minutes later, from a pass by Adcock, Duncan got his fifth to make it 6-0. Two great saves from Duncan and one from Chandler followed, and there was then a ten minute period in which Vale tried to fight back, forcing five corners and giving Bert Godderidge some work to do. Then we broke away, and a neat right-wing move between Newton and Adcock led to Duncan making it 7-0, our captain 'accepting the chance with decisive effect' to complete an incredible double hat-trick. At the final whistle, 'two men ran on to congratulate Fern on his game', and the cheers he received were 'second in warmth only to those accorded the hero of the day'. The wonder of the game, concluded the Leicester Mail, was not that seven goals were registered, but that there were not seven more. This was entirely due to Fern, who saved every shot that it was possible for a human being to save. It was still only 12.45. Twenty thousand Leicester fans would have headed home with a special glow, looking forward to Christmas dinner and the chance to tell the story of the game to disbelieving relatives. Port Vale made their way back to the Potteries in the knowledge that they'd have to face this team of footballing supermen all over again just twenty four hours later. These were the Mercury headlines: Elsewhere that day, Man U could only draw 1-1 at Middlesbrough, which meant that Fairy Fairclough's goal for Derby put them top of the Christmas tree. His penalty was the only goal of the game at Oldham. Chelsea also got a crucial 1-0 win, at home to Wolves - that stretched their unbeaten run to 14 games. We were still down in fourth place, and knew we needed to follow up our festive goal bonanza with another two points on Boxing Day.

Gimson has a connection to the football club. Look at these magnificent pictures of the new bridges across the canal in 1889, published in the Leicester Daily Post: Gimson designed the ironwork. For anyone who has approached the football ground from the West End, those bridges are a central part of the matchday experience. You'll notice also that the names of the two bridges are the names of the homes of Leicester Fosse. We moved into the Mill Lane ground in 1889 (just after those photos were published). Then when the land was needed for housing, we moved south to Walnut Street (after a brief spell at Grace Road). Shortly after, of course, the ground was renamed 'Filbert Street'.

Reminded me of this all time classic:

It's strange that the Walkers story is shrouded in mystery. I've struggled to find a definitive version of what happened in the late 1940s. I do know though that Farleighs and Walkers were being advertised in Leicester newspapers simultaneously - these are both from January 1950: Does that tell us that they were seperate, rival companies? I'm not sure. Further investigation needed.

Match 20 Saturday December 20th 1924 Bradford City v Leicester City A year earlier, on our last visit to Valley Parade, there had been a surprise visitor to the Leicester dressing room. Tom Bradshaw was a forward who played for us in the Fosse era, and when he walked in, none of the players had any idea who he was. Only a couple of the directors recognized him. He had played for us 48 times, scoring ten goals, and had taken part in an historic game on Christmas Day 1899. That was the last ever 'Leicestershire derby' in the Football League, Fosse beating Loughborough 5-0, in the Luffs' last season at that level. Tom scored the first goal that day, Now, he said, he was down on his luck and penniless. Those directors organized a quick collection, and handed over five pounds to the grateful Bradshaw. Before today's game, he was back. He said he had used the money to invest in bread making equipment, and set up his own bakery. He now had his own shop, horse and cart, and wanted to say how grateful he was. Truly a story from another age. This is how Valley Parade looked between the wars, seen from the north. The Main Stand, on the right, was the site of the fire in 1985. That photo seems to have been taken in the summer, but as we ran out in late December, there was barely a blade of grass on the pitch. Not that it stopped us playing football. The Leicester forwards made an excellent impression, reported the Athletic News. Well-built and speedy, they frequently swept down the field by means of accurate passes. Chandler was a bundle of energy, and he had partners in Duncan and Carr who were keen on making chances for him. But, commented the Mercury reporter, None of the sound and methodical work bore fruit. The home side then got going, and Godderidge had to make a spectacular full length save from Andrew Chalmers. Shortly after that, Reuben Butler tried a shot from outside the box and it whizzed past Godderidge into the net. Keepers have no chance with these, said the Mercury man. It was then that our two outstanding players, Duncan and Chandler, decided to get a grip of things. The two advanced down the field, exchanging passes repeatedly, to leave Channy clear to shoot home the equaliser. They then tried to repeat their move and almost succeeded, but Channy was caught offside. We couldn't snatch a winner after that, and had to settle for a point. The big news was elsewhere. After an unbeaten run stretching back to September, Man U were finally defeated, 2-1 at Port Vale. What an afternoon that must have been. The old Recreation Ground was right in the centre of Hanley - 'when the crowd roared, it echoed round the town and the temptation was irresistible'. The streets that day must have been full of reluctant Christmas shoppers cursing the festive season. United had actually taken the lead, with future Leicester star Arthur Lochhead scoring yet again. But he then missed an open goal, and after Vale leveled it up, their victory was sealed when legendary striker Wilf Kirkham got the better of hard man Frank Barson to shoot home. Making his debut for Vale that day was Tom Cooper, who went on to play for Derby, Liverpool and England. He was probably the outstanding English defender of the 1930s. He died in a motorcycle accident at the start of World War Two, aged just 35. Derby took advantage of United's slip, their thrashing of Coventry putting them level on points at the top and leaving the Bantams rock bottom. Chelsea came away from Oakwell with a point after a thrilling game in which future Filbert Street hero Ernie Hine had quite a day. Early on he scored the rebound after his penalty was saved, then late on he put Barnsley 3-2 up direct from a free kick. After Chelsea leveled, he came agonizingly close to completing his hat-trick in the last minute. Also in the sports papers that evening was news of Day One of the first Ashes Test at the SCG. Leicestershire's George Geary had been very unlucky not to be chosen for the MCC party. No Leicestershire player had ever been selected for a tour of Australia - a situation the footballers along Brazil Street could sympathise with. No Leicester outfield player had ever been picked for England (keeper Horace Bailey our only capped player so far). Arthur Chandler's current goalscoring run, though, was catching the attention of the FA selectors. He had scored in twelve of our last fourteen games - all of them singles - and he would soon have a chance to display his talents in an FA trial match. Everything has been so regular in this story up to now. Since mid-September, it's been one game a week, always on Saturday afternoon. Now suddenly came three games in three days - starting on Christmas Day. We'd be facing United's conquerors Port Vale home and away - and then on December 27th, the men from Old Trafford were due at Filbert Street themselves. It was an extraordinary three days. If you find yourself cursing the festive season, you know where to come.

Match 19 Saturday December 13th 1924 Leicester City v South Shields South Shields - paradoxically, the most northern team in the division. They arrived at Filbert Street lying 22nd in the table - propping up all the rest. Surely an easy two points for us after our stunning 3-0 win at leaders Derby last week. But South Shields' performance would have people wondering if the table was upside down. It was the curse - again. Three weeks after Mike O'Brien at Hull, Sandy Trotter was the latest 'ex' to haunt us. Like O'Brien, Trotter had been a regular in our line up the previous season, and had moved on in the summer. And like O'Brien, he had been installed as captain of his new club. We started well, and took the lead in the 18th minute, when 'Duncan beat the opposition then centred for Chandler to head a simple goal'. We held the lead for just three minutes. Matthewson, South Shields' outside right, cut inside and his powerful shot was pushed out by Godderidge only as far as Smith, who found the net. We were on top for most of the game from then on, but struggled to break down the visitors' 'dour, dogged and determined' rear guard. Sandy Trotter, playing outside left, seems to have had a quiet game on his return, his name hardly featuring in match reports. But he'd have been delighted with the attitude of the men he was leading. We had one great chance to win it near the end, described nicely in the Sunday Sun, a Newcastle-based paper with excellent coverage of all the north-east clubs: With five minutes left, keeper Richardson ran nearly to the corner flag to clear, but failed to get the ball away. Carr had a reasonable chance as he was standing not far outside the penalty area and it only needed a straight drive to score. His shot, however, went just a foot or so wide, and that was the last incident in the game. A 1-1 draw - the elation of seven days earlier replaced by frustration. The game would be a turning point for South Shields. They won their next two games, quickly moved up the table and would finish 9th. There was mixed news from our rivals' games that day. Man U won again to go two clear of Derby, who could only draw at Stoke. Chelsea's great run continued, and they looked the most likely to mount a challenge to the top two: It was a better day for Harold Lineker. Leicester Boys won 5-0 at Melton Mowbray in the Second Round of the English Schools Trophy, the match played at the old Melton Corinthians' ground. With St George's Lineker on the right wing, Hill from St Martin's netted three times and Leicester were now just one win away from making the competition proper for the first time. On the horizon too was the senior version. The final qualifying round of the FA Cup was staged today, and two days later the draw was made for the First Round Proper, where the big clubs entered. This was the last season of the old format. From 1925/26, what had been Round One became Round Three (and it's been that way ever since), though it was essentially the same thing - the last 64. Clubs in the top two divisions would still need to get through five rounds to reach the final. This was our 31st entry into the competition, and we had never reached the semi-finals. Our best had been the quarter-finals in 1910, when we lost to eventual winners Newcastle. This was how the Mercury reported the draw on Monday evening, with Leicester third out of the hat: Stoke's draw with Derby at the Victoria Ground on Saturday left them 10th in Division Two. We'd fancy our chances of getting through, though Stoke had won at Filbert Street just three months ago - the only side to do so this season. From now on, we'd be fighting on two fronts, 'the League beating with its steady, prosaic throb from week to week, and the Cup bringing bursts of fresh air and new impulses to the season in the New Year' (Geoffrey Green). Double the chance for glory. And, of course, for heartbreak.

I mentioned that, as in 2015/16, the 'regular XI' fell into place at this stage of the season, and it's interesting to compare appearance stats from those two campaigns. In most seasons the figures are more messy, but in those two it was very easy to say what the standard line up was. There is a clear cut-off point: Here's 2015/16: Schmeichel 38 Morgan 38 Vardy 36 Mahrez 36 Huth 35 Drinkwater 35 Albrighton 34 Kante 33 Simpson 30 Fuchs 30 Okazaki 28 Schlupp 14 King 9 De Laet 7 Ulloa 7 You can see the big gap between 11th and 12th on the list. For one thing, that made it easy for Richard Wilson to decide whch players to include on the mural (with Kingy added as recognition for long service). I've left out cup games from those figures because Ranieri, in the modern fashion, always rested most of the 'first choice' players in both cup competitions. Here's 1924/25: Chandler 48 Wadsworth 48 Carr 46 Carrigan 46 Duncan 46 Adcock 45 Bamber 45 Black 45 Newton 40 Godderidge 37 Hooper 32 Osborne 16 Hebden 11 Watson 11 Proctor 5 FA Cup games were included here, as the strongest XI was always chosen in those days. Once again, you can see the gap between 11th and 12th on the list. It's not just the numbers either. It's also the timing. In both those seasons, the 'fringe' players made most of their starts early in the season, before the regular line-up was settled upon. Also, there were no changes of position or formation once the strongest XI was settled on. Once Ranieri had swiched to 4-4-2 with the introduction of Simpson and Fuchs, that was how we stayed the whole way through (Mahrez and Albrighton occasionally swapping wings during games, Drinky in the middle with Kante on either side). Likewise 100 years ago, after Johnny Duncan had moved from right half to inside right in September, each player's position was fixed.

Schmeichel 38 Morgan 38 Vardy 36 Mahrez 36 Huth 35 Drinkwater 35 Albrighton 34 Kante 33 Simpson 30 Fuchs 30 Okazaki 28 Schlupp 14 King 9 De Laet 7 Ulloa 7

Match 18 Saturday December 6th 1924 Derby County v Leicester City Two days before the game, this short announcement appeared in the Leicester Evening Mail: Osborne will be resting. He has been indisposed and had to consult a specialist a day or two ago. Hooper will reappear. Reg Osborne's knee injury would lead to a very long 'rest' from the first team. In fact, this switch would mean that, when we ran out at the Baseball Ground, our classic 1924/25 line-up would be in place for the first time. We can all reel off the 'regular' XI from 2015/16 in our sleep, and this team would imprint itself on the minds of City fans of the 1920s in the same way. Claudio Ranieri didn't actually select that starting line up until the Man U game in late November, and it was at almost the same point 100 years ago that these legendary names first started together: Here they are: The timing was just right. As we faced our toughest game of the season, the pieces were falling into place. An estimated 3,000 Leicester fans made the trip, and they made themselves heard inside the ground. For Derby, this was a bit of a grudge match. In the last game of the previous season they had needed a five goal victory over us to pip Bury to the second promotion spot. They raced into a four goal lead, but we then said 'enough is enough' and shut up shop, leaving the Rams an infuriating single goal short. It was almost like we'd done it deliberately. Perish the thought! Now Derby had the chance not only to cement their position at the top, but to knock Leicester out of the promotion reckoning. The Rams started confidently, but our centre half Pat Carrigan wasn't giving Fairy Fairclough an inch of room. After seeing off their early attacks, we started to play. In the tenth minute 'Adcock beat Wightman for speed and lost no time in middling. Hardy failed to clear and the ball went to Chandler, who from twenty yards struck a glorious right foot shot that struck the crossbar, with George Carr putting the rebound over the top'. Just after that 'Leicester attacked down the left and the ball came across to Adcock, who shot first time and again saw his effort rebound from the crossbar'. Adcock was on fire. Next 'he beat Plackett in beautiful fashion, rounded Wightman and centred from the goal line to Duncan, in front of goal, who blinded it high and wide'. We were completely in control, and home fans were asking themselves if Derby really were the best team in the division. Their cause wasn't helped when full back Bert Chandler (no relation) had to go off for lenghty treatment, leaving the Rams with ten men for the rest of the first half. Surely now we'd make the breakthrough. The attacks kept coming, but 'Chandler missed a good chance at close quarters and Duncan was an equally guilty offender when he had a clear course but waited too long and allowed Wightman to block his shot'. Somehow it was still goalless after 45 minutes. Bert Chandler was back in position for the second half, but Leicester kept up the onslaught. The goal finally arrived after 57 minutes when 'following a heavy bombardment and the charging down of several efforts, Duncan fired home with a cross shot'. Derby responded and threatened Godderidge's goal for the first time all afternoon. But we held out, with the new full back pairing of Black and Osborne looking solid. Then ten minutes from time came Pat Carrigan's special moment. Having had Derby's centre forward in his pocket all game, he decided to stroll forward and support an attack. The ball fell to him more than thirty yards out, and he let fly a hopeful volley. Derby keeper Ben Olney seemed deceived by the bounce, and the ball found its way into the corner of the net. Two minues later Channy added a third, 'after a characteristic run in which he beat both backs'. The contest was over, our promotion bid was back on and Derby were knocked off the top by Man U's win at South Shields. We moved back up to fourth place, with Chelsea continuing their unbeaten run to stay third. Leicester fans could enjoy these delicious headlines on Sunday and Monday: DERBY DISASTER LEICESTER RUN ROUND THEM AND SCORE THREE TIMES LEAGUE LEADERS OUTPLAYED STAGGERING RESULT This was how 'Icarus' in the Athletic News opened his report: If you must mention Leicester City in the town of Derby, speak softly. Last May they denied County a goal after conceding four, and decided that their rivals should stay in the Second Division. Again, on Saturday at the Baseball Ground, the City struck another blow when hopes ran high, and were the first visiting side to conquer at Derby this season. At the end of his report he went through our line-up player by player, highlighting the qualities of every man. It was the first time this XI had played together, but there was an instant chemistry. After the shock of the home defeat by Blackpool, fans now had reason to hope again. How far could this team go? Nobody could have guessed it then but the win at Derby was the first game of an extraordinary run that would last right through the winter, and take the club to previously unknown heights.

That Brentford right back is Bill Gorman, who went completely bald when he was only 19. His nickname was 'old naked brains' apparently. There was a great cartoon in the Birmingham paper that day about him, with the players clearing the snow from the Villa Park pitch:

It's an eternal problem: Leicester Mercury, November 25th 1935

A few more things to add about Neville: 1) Geoff Peters has provided some great tributes. An older post of his has also been shared this week: I wonder if this was the advert that Geoff responded to? Leicester Mercury, September 22nd 1988: 2) I hadn't realised just how much freelance journalism Neville had done after leaving the Coventry Evening Telegraph in 1987 to set up his own agency. For a few years after that he was reporting on Leicester City for the same paper, and also writing a column for the Sports Argus on East Midlands football. His name would sometimes appear in the London editions of Sunday papers, writing a report on a game he had been commentating on for Radio Leicester, but having to frame it for fans of a London club. For example: 3) Interesting one from November 1995 from the Birmingham Weekly Mercury: 4) I mentioned the Radio Leicester commentary box with the steamed up windows in the old Main Stand. I think it was here: But I'm not sure. There's two other similar looking boxes there - can anyone confirm which it was?

A few more things to add about Neville: 1) Geoff Peters has provided some great tributes. An older post of his has also been shared this week: I wonder if this was the advert that Geoff responded to? Leicester Mercury, September 22nd 1988: 2) I hadn't realised just how much freelance journalism Neville had done after leaving the Coventry Evening Telegraph in 1987 to set up his own agency. For a few years after that he was reporting on Leicester City for the same paper, and also writing a column for the Sports Argus on East Midlands football. His name would sometimes appear in the London editions of Sunday papers, writing a report on a game he had been commentating on for Radio Leicester, but having to frame it for fans of a London club. For example: 3) Interesting one from November 1995 from the Birmingham Weekly Mercury: 4) I mentioned the Radio Leicester commentary box with the steamed up windows in the old Main Stand. I think it was here: But I'm not sure. There's two other similar looking boxes there - can anyone confirm which it was?

Mitoma got the better of Sugawara for Brighton's goal. One Japanese international outwitting another with brilliant movement, leaving his opponent slumped on the turf. Last time that happened: (Maya Yoshida playing the fall guy)

As a postscript this week, here's a passage written a few days after the game showing that nothing ever changes: On the way home from Filbert Street on Saturday after the defeat to Blackpool, I could hear the "Bill Grousers" and "Jim Grumblers" holding their usual argumentative inquest on the result, and the same old proclamation to abstain from attending City matches altogether was issued in that "language rare that means so much". Like many other resolutions commenced with a fiery determination, those of my friends will by now have been cast into the limbo of the past, and I'll bet my ssiter's jumper (frayed slightly round the neck) to any old pair of socks with holes in them that the said Bills and Jims will be at the Baseball Ground on Saturday. Such is the fickleness of some football lovers. Defeat for them brings with it a disappointment which is well nigh intolerble on Saturday evening and all day Sunday, but the following day the sharp edges are beginning to wear away, ans so the process goes on during the week until by Saturday afternoon once again they stand on the Spion Kop in a state of feverish excitement. (Kernel in the Football Post).

Match 17 Saturday November 29th 1924 Leicester City v Blackpool The players must have been shaken by the news. That's the most likely explanation for the team being totally outplayed on their own patch. Two days before the game they heard that Harvey Darvill had died from the injuries he received in that collision with our keeper George Hebden. The following day they heard that Hebden would have to appear at the inquest into Darvill's death, and would not be available for this game against Blackpool. As mentioned above, Hebden was cleared of all blame for the tragedy, but the week's events must have affected the players deeply. We don't know for sure because there is simply no record of how they reacted - no reporter thought to ask anyone from the club about the incident (things were very different back then). What those reporters did describe - in great detail - was how Blackpool repeatedly cut through the defences of the team who, just a few days earlier, were being hailed as the strongest side in the Division. Bert Godderidge, back in goal in place of Hebden, was our best player that day. Only his heroics prevented a truly embarrassing scoreline, and he was given an ovation as he left the field at the end. He was back for good - Hebden would never pull on a Leicester jersey again. Back in the Blackpool side that day was the influential inside forward Matt Barrass, future England international (three decades later his son Malcolm would perform so impressively at centre half for Bolton Wanderers that the club felt able to sell the man he'd ousted to Leicester City - Matt Gillies). From the start, the visitors looked the better side, though it took them a while to go in front. This was how Kernel in the Football Post described it: That double save from Godderidge was praised even more effusively in other reports of the game. He does seem to have been at fault though when the second goal finally arrived: There was very little to report at the other end, and it finished 2-0. The side that had ripped Portsmouth apart two weeks earlier now trudged off the same pitch having been thoroughly outplayed. Elsewhere that afternoon, the top two met at Old Trafford in what the press were calling the Match of the Season, not just in Division Two but the whole Football League. 'The best attack vs the best defence' was another tag. Visitors Derby County had scored 38 goals already, while Man U had conceded only five times all season. Derby had huge support at the game - 5,000 made the trip, a massive away following for a League game in that era. Their local paper the Evening Telegraph planned to rush its sports results paper to Piccadilly Station to sell to fans waiting to board trains home. Ivan Sharpe, the most famous football writer of the day, was covering the game for Athletic News. Here's how he described an effort from Derby's 'Fairy' Fairclough early in the game: Fairclough drew cheers from the ranks o’ Tuscany by heading backwards a centre by Murphy in a manner most remarkable. This much-traveled young man from St. Helens has well-developed muscles, it would seem, in the back of his neck! By inches he missed scoring the season’s most wonderful goal. By 'the ranks o' Tuscany' he means the opposition supporters. This was a time when most people would have understood his reference to Macaulay's 'Horatio at the Bridge' (I didn't know - I had to google it). Shortly after, Fairclough did put Derby ahead but he was then sent off. United equalised when the infamous hard man Frank Barson charged keeper Ben Olney and Jim Hanson put the ball in the net. It finished 1-1. Had we kept our winning run going we'd have been right on the heels of the leading pair, but two straight defeats left us down in sixth. Chelsea, on a ten-game unbeaten run, now looked the most likely to challenge the runaway leaders: Alongside the League tables in the Sunday papers came this piece from Fulham manager Andy Ducat, in the Weekly Dispatch: The only person ever to die as a result of playing against Leicester City was laid to rest the following day. At Craven Cottage that afternoon players wore black armbands as Fulham and Middlesbrough played out a goalless draw. No doubt they too found it hard to keep their minds fully focused on the game. If Leicester players needed something to jolt them from their slumbers, the fixture list for the following weekend would have provided it. Coming up next was a trip to the Baseball Ground to face leaders Derby County.

One thing I couldn't find while researching this is any recording of Neville commentating on a Leicester match. There must be something out there. I hear there was a good tribute on East Midlands today this week - did that include some old commentary? If anyone can find something, please post it.

Neville Foulger's passing has brought quite a powerful reaction from Leicester fans. So many posts on the RIP thread here say how he was ‘the soundtrack to my early life’ or ‘the voice of my childhood’. I thought it would be nice to take a look at Neville’s own life, and present a few of the high points. In a distinguished career he covered pretty much every major Midlands club - but he left the best till last, not moving to Leicester until he was nearly 50. Here are six stand out moments: 1) I Could Play A Bit Myself, You Know Neville was brought up in the Gedling area of Nottingham, and he was a decent footballer. Before his by-line ever appeared on a column in the sports pages, he made the news himself: The Gedling Road Methodist Youth Club is in the grip of football fever and the reason is they are in the final of the national Methodist Association Youth Clubs five-a-side competition, and will meet Asquith Road Youth Club from Hull at the Royal Albert Hall next Saturday. The lads have bought new red shirts, similar to those worn by Forest, and are likely to be well supported. The game will be played before a 6,000 crowd as part of a special programme. The five are Geoff Hodge, Brian Hodge, Dick Sims, Ray Birch and Neville Foulger. Nottingham Evening News, May 12th 1958 A week later, the result of the final was reported: Gedling Methodist Youth Club won the match 1-0, the winning goal coming from Neville Foulger, who captained the team. 2) Too Bad To Be True Neville's first job was sports reporter at the Nottingham Evening Mail, and in his ten years at the company he would cover a huge variety of events. In his early days he was the paper's Mansfield Town correspondent, and in that capacity he was sent to Filbert Street for the first time in October 1960 for a League Cup tie. It was Leicester City's first ever game in the competition: Neville was especially taken by the form of a young Scot: Notice the fellow playing outside left for Mansfield that night: Neville was soon covering the games of bigger clubs. Perhaps his own proficiency as a player was the reason, but he was never afraid to dish out criticism. Here's one example: No-one from Portsmouth would have read that report, of course. It was written for Derby fans. But Neville wasn't scared of using the same language about local teams. Here he uses exactly the same phrase: He covered a lot of Forest games too, and in the 1962/63 season fans in the region were getting excited about the prospect of an all-East Midlands FA Cup Final. Forest, then in the top flight, were drawn at home to Second Division Southampton in the Quarter Final, while Leicester faced a trip to another Division Two side, Norwich City. This was how Neville looked forward to the big Cup weekend: He wasn't so confident about Leicester, though, despite our famous 'Ice Kings' team being the darlings of several other football reporters: Far from cruising through, Forest were held to a draw by Southampton then hammered 5-0 in the replay at The Dell. Leicester made it all the way to the final, with Mike Stringfellow, that man we signed from Mansfield, scoring fine headed goals at Norwich and against Liverpool in the semi. As we shall see, predicting FA Cup results was a skill Neville would develop later in his career - in quite spectacular fashion. 3) The Greatest Boxing was a sport Neville often covered, and he was sometimes dispatched to Leicester to report on bouts at the Granby Halls or the Belgrave Club. In 1963 he had the chance to talk to a young heavyweight from the USA who was making a few waves. "Man", he said, for something like the twentieth time, "I'm the greatest!". He was certainly an impressive figure. You could almost see his muscles rippling beneath his sports coat, and brightly coloured shirt. He paused to take a rare lungful of air and I dived into the gap to take an equally rare chance to ask a question. "Why are you the greatest?" "Because people are talking about me not only when I'm in the ring, but out of the ring as well. I'm a personality". This is just a brief sample of the Cassius Marcellus Clay talk-down given on a trip to Nottingham. Neville went on to talk about how football could do with a few more personalities like Clay. Here you can see the great man outside the Town Hall: He paid a visit to the Nottingham Ice Stadium, arriving during a welterweight bout involving Leicester's Joe Falcon. Many in the crowd lost all interest in the fight, swarming round Clay to get autographs. He was in the UK to fight Henry Cooper, predicting, as you can see in the picture, that he would win in five rounds - which is exactly what happened. The following year, another man not known for his modesty rolled into town. In the 1964 Ashes Test at Trent Bridge, a young Geoffrey Boycott made his England debut. Neville was there to report: 4) Wherever I Lay My Hat Neville moved to the West Midlands in 1967 to take up a similar role at the Birmingham Mail and Sports Argus. He would cover a different club each week, and in his reports you can trace the post-Leicester careers of two Filbert Street folk heroes of the 1960s: The Doog report is from 1968, the Dave Gibson headline from 1971. This was perhaps the highlight of his six year stay in the second city - 16 year-old Trevor Francis' spectacular four goal display against Bolton: Neville was living the dream - watching top class football every week and getting paid for it. But it was a different club every week - whichever press box he was sent to, that was his temporary home. What he really wanted was to settle down - at a club he could call his own. Soon, he would get the chance. 5) Sky Blue In September 1973 the 'Neville Foulger' by-line appeared in the Coventry Evening Telegraph for the first time. Over the next 14 years, he would adopt the Sky Blues as his own club, and Coventry fans would take to him in return. He arrived at an exciting time. Two weeks into his new job, Coventry made the short trip to Filbert Street. Gordon Milne's Sky Blues were lying third in the table after eight games, with Jimmy Bloomfield's Leicester in fifth. It was the top game of the week in England, and this was Neville's report in the Saturday evening sports paper: That took Coventry up to second place, but the 'champion' tag was soon looking a bit far-fetched. They plummeted down the table and ended up just above the drop zone. The battle against relegation was the continuing theme of those years at Highfield Road. Gordon Milne kept them up year after year before his move to Leicester in 1982 (the switch coming in July when Neville was away on his summer holiday). Shortly after, he was back to report on the shock player exchange between the two clubs: In 1986/87 Neville told his bosses at the CET that he would move on at the end of the season. His could not have imagined that his last ever report for the paper would be the biggest game in the club's history - their first ever FA Cup Final. David Pleat's Tottenham were favourites at Wembley, but Coventry won a dramatic game 3-2. And that wasn't all. In his preview of the game in Friday's paper, Neville had written this: 6) The Voice of Leicester Neville became a freelance writer and broadcaster after that, and one of his roles was match commentator for Radio Leicester. That's how everyone on this forum remembers him, and the comments on the RIP thread show just how people felt about him. At home games, he would commentate from a box low down in the old Main Stand. This is how he described it: A hot water pipe ran through it, so in winter it was the warmest spot in the ground. Sadly, the windows always steamed up, making it the worst view. He also published a fine history of Filbert Street, which is beautifully illustrated. This shot from the early 1920s shows the press boxes of the three local papers of the time, the Mercury, the Mail and the Post, where the Neville Foulgers of the era would have worked: And that ends this very brief run through of a distinguished career. RIP Neville.

CS Dempster's 165 not out for Leicestershire v Yorkshire at Hull in 1939 gets a second mention on Foxestalk this week! From the Mercury, June 8th 1939. (the other mention, if you missed it, was in the 'Second Best Season Ever' thread)