kushiro

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)

So - more on Paddy and Percy Mills, the brothers who were respectively great uncle and grandfather of Nigel Pearson. Paddy's two goals against Leicester on this day 100 years ago helped him on his way to a total of 29 this season - his most successful in his six years at Anlaby Road. At the end of the following season he joined Notts County, where he was joined by his brother Percy, nine years his junior. They were only together for a short time - Paddy moved to Birmingham in 1929, then back to Hull shortly afterwards. He featured in their historic run to the FA Cup semi-final in 1930, when they lost to Arsenal. The following month they were relegated to the third tier - the first club to combine a serious challenge for Cup honours with a relegation battle in Divsion Two (Leicester City were the next, 19 years later). As Hull went down to Division Three North, Notts County went down with them to Division Three South - a double relegation for the Mills brothers. Percy stayed at Meadow Lane throughout the 1930s - his total of 407 League appearances putting him fourth on the club's all time list. Unlike his older brother, Percy never once played against Leicester City. When we went down in 1935 after ten seasons in the top flight, Notts County were dropping down again to the third tier, where they stayed for the rest of the decade. Here he is in 1938, sitting to the left of Dixie Dean, who had just joined the club from Everton: Finally, let's go back to November 1924. After his two goals that day, Leicester would have been hoping they'd seen the last of Paddy Mills for a while. But we'd be back at Anlaby Road very soon, in dramatic circumstances.

Match 16 Saturday November 22nd 1924 Hull City v Leicester City The curse of the 'ex'. It was already in force 100 years ago. It just had to be Mick O'Brien that brought our two-month unbeaten run to an end. Irish international O'Brien had been Leicester City captain the previous season. We'd signed him in 1922 from QPR, where he had been a teammate of Arthur Chandler: He'd left Leicester for Hull City in the summer. He said he'd taken a fancy to the place because, while serving in the navy during the war his ship called in at the port. So we lost our biggest personality - though it's arguable that without the space created by his departure, the club's spectacular transformation over the next few years would not have happened. If O'Brien had remained captain, Johnny Duncan would not have been able to stamp his personality on the team in the way he did so effectively. As we headed for Hull's Anlaby Road ground that day, we were third in the table, with Hull down in 18th. You can see the ground here: In the foreground is The Circle, where Leicestershire's C.S. Dempster made a famous 165 not out against Yorkshire in 1939. Mick O'Brien played centre half, so his direct opponent was his old mate Channy. It was the Irishman who had the better of things early on, and we were struggling to find our usual rhythm. When we did get an attack going, we found Hull keeper George Maddison in top form. Then midway through the first half the home side took the lead: 'A kick was taken by MILLS in the vicinity of the corner flag. The shot was cleverly aimed at the mouth of the goal, when Hebden secured the ball, which somehow or other he pulled into the net. The referee had no hesitation in awarding the goal, but so strong was the Leicester players' appeal that he consulted his linesman, who confirmed the decision' (from Athletic News). Hull were playing the 'one-back game' - a tactic devised to catch opposition forwards offside. Back then, there had to be THREE opponents behind the attacker when the ball was played (not two, like now). In the usual 2-3-5 formation, with the two full backs in their regular positions, forwards could usually stay onside as a move developed. But if one of those full backs pushed up, a forward would often be caught unawares and the flag would go up. At the time, this was becoming such a common tactic that the FA and Football League were considering a change in the law (and indeed at the end of the season that's what happened). In the second half, Mills scored again, 'forcing a passage through a crowd of opponents and driving the ball into the net out of Hebden's reach'. Mick O'Brien then popped up in attack and 'he shot with great power, Hebden managing to turn the ball round the post'. All we could manage in response was a last minute goal from Chandler, who knocked in the rebound after Maddison saved Harry Wadsworth's shot. This was Kernel's summary in the Football Post: That defeat meant we dropped down to 4th, while at the top Derby and Man U changed places for the fourth weekend in a row: So the man of the day was Hull's Paddy Mills, whose goals put an end to our great run: Handsome looking chap, isn't he? In fact, he is related to a famous Leicester City figure, one who also has a connection with Hull City. Paddy Mills is the great uncle of Nigel Pearson. Paddy's brother Percy, Nigel's grandfather, was also a professional footballer: Quite a family resemblance, right? In a postscript to this week's report I'll tell you all about the Mills brothers. Coming up very soon.

Match 15 Saturday November 15th 1924 Leicester City v Portsmouth. Ths was Pompey's first ever visit to Filbert Street. Champions of Division Three South the previous season, they were looking for a second promotion in a row. This was the top six before the game. This week's game will be handled a little differently. Rather than the usual selection of the best bits of a variety of match reports, I'm going to concentrate on the coverage the game received in the leading sports newspaper of the day - Athletic News. It's difficult now to appreciate just how influential that paper used to be. Think of L'Equipe's standing in France and you'd get pretty close. Gazzetta in Italy and Kicker in Germany play a similar role. It's one of the peculiarities of the UK sports press that we don't now have a publication of that status - probably due to the way high quality sports coverage developed in the regular press throughout the 20th century. On the Monday after Portsmouth's visit, Athletic News devoted more column inches to the game than to any other taking place that weekend. This was the match report: (That 'tragic ephemeral experience' is the 1908/09 season when, after we'd finished second in Division Two and been promoted, we went straight back down, finishing nine points adrift at the bottom, the worst moment being a 12-0 defeat at Forest). So they were the highlights of what was in fact a much longer report. And that wasn't all. We also featured on the front page, where the key events of the week would be summarised: The other big game of the day was 4th v 1st - Chelsea and Derby played out a 1-1 draw in front of a crowd of 40,000, bigger than any in Division One that day. The result allowed Man U to leapfrog Derby once again: We were up to third - our highest poistion of the season so far. On this form, we would surely go higher.

Postscript to this week's instalment: 1) With Harold Lineker being a right winger, his hero was no doubt Hugh Adcock, one of the best right wingers in the England at the time (he would later be selected for the national side). Adcock was singled out for special praise following today's game at Fulham for the way his positional sense allowed to him to beat the offside trap (this was the last season before the historic rule change): 2) The Fulham manager was Andy Ducat. You may remember him being the central character in the followng story (a day when Harvey Darvill was also in the Fulham team):

Match 14 Saturday November 8th 1924 Fulham v Leicester City The accident at the War Memorial, the Nuneaton bus fire, and the death of Chelsea's Tommy Meehan had already touched Leicester's season indirectly. Today at Craven Cottage, there would be a tragic incident right in front of the eyes of our players and traveling fans. At the time though, nobody had any idea of the seriousness of the situation. Before we come to that, let's summarise the game itself. We were looking to extend our unbeaten run to seven games. Two weeks after our fine win at Selhurst Park we were back in London with another chance to impress the journalists of the capital. All reports agreed that the first half was a complete non-event, players from both sides being repeatedly caught offside. It was after the break that the game came to life, and at the centre of the action was our keeper George Hebden. First, he let a harmless effort from Bill Prouse slip under his body and into the net. Three minutes later, Fulham threatened again, and though Hebden saved comfortably this time, before he could release the ball, Fulham centre forward Harvey Darvill 'gave him the full force of his shoulder'. That was a perfectly legal tactic at the time (and would remain so until the 1960s), and Darvill's challenge saw Hebden lose control of the ball. Prouse was there for a simple tap in to make it 2-0. We needed a quick response, and we got it. According to The Daily Herald, 'it seemed as though the Leicester side wanted this "two-down tonic" to show what a really good side they can be'. This was Kernel in the Football Post: Johnny Duncan looked like losing his unbeaten certificate as captain. But once again the Scotsman's personality saved the situation, and under his leadership the lads rallied in splendid fashion and took complete control of the game. Arthur Chandler pulled one back with a 'fine shot', and we pressed for the equaliser. It would come fifteen minutes from time, in controversial circumstances. Duncan was in a great position to score, but 'Reynolds, the home goalkeeper, dived for the ball and proceeded to lie with it under his body. Duncan made an effort to get the ball but Reynolds would not move and the referee ran to the spot and picked up the ball. Without hesitation, he dropped it and Bamber, the Leicester left-half, booted it into the net. It was all done so quickly that the spectators and Fulham players were amazed. The London players tried to mob him but he was very firm in his decision'. (Daily News, London). The crowd 'booed until it must have been hoarse and at the finish provided another interlude by discharging bangers and other fireworks' (Kernel). 2-2 was the final score. During that second half, shortly after Harvey Darvill's shoulder charge on George Hebden, those two players collided again. This time it was the Fulham man who came off worse, the impact leaving him flat out on the ground. Hebden went to help him up, and heard him say 'I've been winded'. He was taken off and given lengthy treatment by the Fulham trainer before returning. That seemed to be the end of the story. But tragically, it was not. A week later, Darvill was fit to play, and scored as Fulham drew 1-1 at Stoke. He then played the following Saturday in a home win over Coventry, but the day after that he started complaining of stomach pains. His condition quickly deteriorated, and for three days he was in agony in hospital. It turned out he had burst a blood vessel in his stomach following that collision with George Hebden. On Wednesday November 26th he died, aged just 28. The following Saturday, Hebden had to miss a Leicester game to give evidence at the inquest, where the coroner returned a verdict of 'accidental death'. No blame was attached to the Leicester keeper. Before he died, Harvey had told his brother 'Probably I've had a kick, but pros take no notice of that kind of thing'. Shortly after the inquest, the bereaved family took the trouble to write to Hebden, 'assuring him of their sympathy in the unfortunate accident'. On the day of the inquest, Hebden's place in our line-up was taken by Bert Godderidge. As we shall see, he played well, and stayed in the team the following week. In fact, Hebden woud never play for us again. That one incident at Craven Cottage had ended the life of one player and, indirectly, the top-level career of another. Hebden played out the rest of his career in the lower Leagues. Back on November 8th, these were the full results: Chelsea's impressive win at Blackpool moved them right into contention and knocked us down a place. The situation at the top of Division One, meanwhile, was fascinating, with two surprise teams at the top. Like us, Notts County and Birmingham traveled down from the Midlands to London that day. At Highbury, Donald Cock put the Magpies ahead before getting sent off for violent conduct. County held on for an impressive victory. The result was the same at Upton Park, where Coalville-born Joe Bradford scored to give Birmingham the points. Here's action from both games: You can see that both Notts County and Birmingham were wearing that distinctive V-design jersey: Those results left the Midlands pair clear at the top of the table: At that time, only Aston Villa and West Brom had brought the title to the Midlands, but it looked like a third club might be added to the list this season. Would it be Notts County or Birmingham? Could they maintain this early season form? The answer was 'No'. Both faded badly, with Birmingham finishing 8th and Notts County 9th. They would have to wait for that first title. 100 years on, they are still waiting. Wolves, Derby, Nottingham Forest and Leicester City have been added to that list, but not those two. If you ask their fans now whether they think it will ever happen, you will get the same answer Leicester fans would have given ten years ago. This, by the way, was how Nottingham's Football Post saw the situation back then: Back in 1924, of course, we had never won a trophy of any description. But that weekend, there was a sign that football in the city was on the up. Sports fans in Leicester that Saturday afternoon had two options: Our professional team may have been lagging behind Derby County in the Division Two promotion race, but what happened at Filbert Street that afternoon was a portent of things to come. With Harold Lineker starring on the right wing, the result was: Leicester Boys 7 Derby Boys 0.