Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha has died at the age of 60

[oxtonfox]

The way the club, players, staff, media and family have handled this terrible event has been class. It makes you proud to be a fan and it’s humbling in accordance with how Vichai and his family have been themselves ever since they took over the club. Some great tributes here on the forum too. 

[La-li-lu-le-lo]

I don’t know if this has been mentioned, but I was listening to a steward today who said that there are coach loads of fans coming down from other clubs tomorrow to pay their respects. If true, incredible. 

[foxychik]

[Spudulike]

Ashton Gate tonight...

 

[Hollyfox]

Just want to echo some of the brilliant posts and finding hard how I can put my feelings into words.

Followed the boys since the early 70's and living in Bedford, was usually a bit embarrassed to be a City fan and dispite my constant moaning and making excuses to anyone that would listen, that we were unlucky or robbed, the real reason was because we were generally always crap.

 

This family changed everything ,built the club up and made us all proud.

It really is the greatest sports story ever and I've been proud to have witnessed it and been a part of it.

 

This will take a long time to get over, but we will overcome this.

 

 

Thank you Vichai, a true gentleman and made my dreams a reality ❤️?

[TheUltimateWinner]

Forgot about this  

 

[Beechey]

 

[Spudulike]

One thing that always struck me is the prayer flags inside the stadium.

 

They don't just hang above the Directors Box but hang above all of our heads.

[Stevosevic]

Well done Riyad. 

 

 

 

[Larry_LCFC]

Brilliant interview by Mahrez. Spoke incredibly well.

[Hollyfox]

Straight from the heart Riyadh.

Must have been very difficult for him but he spoke beautifully ❤️

[brucey]

 

[brucey]

 

[brucey]

From the kit man to the cleaners. From the centre forward to the chef: This is Leicester City, united by their pain

The deep impact of Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha’s death was laid bare in an outpouring of grief from Leicester’s players and staff as his son Aiyawatt laid a wreath in the King Power Stadium centre circle.

 

Kasper Schmeichel and Jamie Vardy were visibly upset when a devastated Aiyawatt, the Leicester vice-chairman known as Top, made his way round the team to shake hands and receive hugs of condolence. Schmeichel and Vardy wiped away tears. 

 

A number of players took up the option to speak to counsellors at the club’s Belvoir Drive training ground and found the process cathartic. Schmeichel and manager Claude Puel also addressed the squad and staff with moving speeches, issuing a message that the club must honour Srivaddhanaprabha by continuing with the same family mentality he created.

 

Top met with the players on Monday morning and fought back tears as he spoke. But he did reiterate his commitment to club, and talked about building on his father’s legacy. At the stadium, the entirety of Leicester’s staff lined the touchline for a moment’s reflection as Srivaddhanaprabha’s image was shown on the big screens next to a message of rest in peace. Top was joined by his mother, Aimon, the pair having flown over from Thailand to land in England on Sunday evening.

 

They had arrived at the ground at midday and first made their way to the site of the helicopter crash that claimed the lives of the Leicester chairman, two members of his staff, Nusara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare, pilot Eric Swaffer and passenger Izabela Roza Lechowicz. Air accident investigators do not expect to move the aircraft until the weekend while continuing work.

 

Son and mother laid a wreath there and then did likewise at the sea of tributes that has spread across the gates to the north stand. The players and Puel followed and made their way through the crowds to read the touching notes left by hundreds of supporters. A spontaneous round of applause broke out. Top was overcome with sadness — slumping across the metal fencing — as he looked over the scene, his eyes shielded by sunglasses.

 

It is expected he will assume his father’s role as Leicester chairman once the matter is addressed, although it is too early for such talks to take place properly. Chief executive Susan Whelan and director of football Jon Rudkin accompanied Top around the ground and will be leant on for additional support.

 

It was the first time the club had come together since Srivaddhanaprabha’s customary helicopter flight away from the King Power Stadium ended in disaster on Saturday evening. The players were said to be in no state to play tonight’s Carabao Cup tie, which was cancelled late on Sunday, and the atmosphere at the training ground on Monday was described as extremely sombre.

 

Rather than undertake a typical session, the players and staff arrived at Belvoir Drive and talked through the loss of the man responsible for turning the club into Premier League champions. The plan is for Leicester’s match at Cardiff on Saturday to go ahead, but the psychological state of the team will be assessed and the Premier League are sensitive to the unique trauma of the situation.

 

Claudio Ranieri, the manager who led the club to their 2016 triumph, paid his own tribute on Monday. Speaking to Sky Sports Italia, he said of Srivaddhanaprabha: ‘He always had a positive word for everyone. His positivity and ability to make everybody love him was clear for all to see. He came into the dressing room only to dispense kind words, never to reproach you. One time soon after my birthday, he arrived in the dressing room with a huge cake and made everyone sing Happy Birthday.

 

‘When we first met I immediately thought he was a positive person, full of energy. My objective when I arrived at Leicester was to secure Premier League safety, then we all know what happened.

 

‘Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha made a very important contribution to the Premier League victory, as he’d arrive 30 minutes before the game to embrace everyone. He never said a word out of turn, was always happy with a smile on his face. I am so sad right now, I want to join the family in their grief.’

 

Alan Birchenall, the much-loved figure who played for Leicester in the 1970s and is now an ambassador and stadium announcer, explained how Srivaddhanaprabha had fostered such a depth of feeling.

 

‘When he arrived we couldn’t afford a crate of milk,’ he said. ‘Seriously. People brought their own milk in to make cups of tea. Now you are talking about splashing out £30million on a player. It is unbelievable. That’s the difference and why it is so emotional around the place. Everyone in the world knows the story. Lots of owners want to change club colours, or the badge. He didn’t change anything like that. What he changed was the mentality. Second best was not good enough. When he installed blue lighting in the tunnel the hue wasn’t right initially so he whipped it out.

 

‘He wanted his club to look and be the best. His heart and soul was into it and that’s why he was loved. When I had my incident last year he made sure I was alright. I had my drivers’ license taken away because of the heart attack and while I was convalescing he agreed for my son, Dean, to be taken on as an employee to drive me places, so I could carry on doing my ambassadorial work. It was a massive thing.

 

‘This football club will always owe a lot to him. His legacy will carry on. There is a new training facility that will hopefully go ahead, costing over £100m, and the stadium might be expanded.

 

‘The response from fans shows what he meant to them. I was at the stadium at 6.30am and people were laying flowers. The tributes will be round the whole ground soon.’

Edited 29 October 2018 by brucey

[LeeTheFox]

R.I.P Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha ?https://youtu.be/oVcG9lpZV24

Edited 29 October 2018 by LeeTheFox

[StanSP]

4 minutes ago, brucey said:

Top met with the players on Monday morning and fought back tears as he spoke. But he did reiterate his commitment to club, and talked about building on his father’s legacy.

I'm glad he will do so if this is the case. 

 

Support for him while he does continue and build the legacy will be stronger than ever. 

 

[Larry_LCFC]

The video of all the players and staff around the centre circle can't help but turn you to tears. The players look wrecked. I hope Vichais family can take some comfort in the love shown from the city.

[NFFC_fan]

I’ve been wanting to comment since this terrible tragedy unfolded before you all. Less than two hours before I was distraught at something that was, in the worst way possible, slammed in to perspective and My anger soon turned to desperate hope at what I was watching. 

 

I’ve seen what the whole family have brought to Leicester as a whole and they definitely returned that wonderful community spirit, it’s a model of running a football CLUB which many of us have only been able to dream of. Vichai has created this style not through greed but sheer warmth. He was a wonderful human being and Leicester City, Leicester and the whole of football have lost an amazing person. 

 

R.I.P

[koop.]

3 minutes ago, Larry_LCFC said:

The video of all the players and staff around the centre circle can't help but turn you to tears. The players look wrecked. I hope Vichais family can take some comfort in the love shown from the city.

Absolutely this. Still can't believe it.

Watching Top walk onto the pitch, the same pitch he walked with Vichai and shared the moment we won the title and now he has to do it for the worst reason imaginable. Just so heatbreaking. This club could well be dwelling in the lower divisions if it wasn't for this legendary man. absolutely gutted 

[easilee]

Sadly, I work almost every weekend of the year so cannot go to many matches if at all.

Could I humbly ask for a chorus of

'ONE KHUN VICHAI....THERE'S ONLY ONE KHUN VICHAI.....ONE KHUN VIIIIIICHAI.....THERE'S ONLY ONE KHUN VICHAI' at our next match?

Thank you in advance to the loyal LCFC supporters who are dedicated/lucky enough to go and watch our beloved team most, if not every week.

[Palace_1905]

I am a Palace fan, I received this message from a friend that spend a lot of time in Thailand, and personally met your chairman. I quote,

 

"The guy was a legend in Thailand, next to the royal family adored by millions, built hospitals, schools, special needs stuff, even a university"

 

I'm so sorry for your loss.

 

Palace are with you, the whole football world is with you. Be strong :)

[brucey]

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11712/11539612/a-day-of-shared-grief-and-mourning-at-leicester

As for the players, they all showed up for training as normal today but training didn't happen. Claude Puel talked to them but it was very much left to them what they wanted to do. And they just felt like talking. Clusters of players went for walks around the training grounds, just talking, they never even put their boots on.

It was very emotional by all accounts, instead of staying in a big group, it was little pockets of players talking quietly, a lot of tears. It was the first time the team had been back together since Saturday.

They were told there would be a ceremony on the pitch with Aiyawatt and his mother putting a wreath down and they were asked if they wanted to be part of it and they absolutely did and so did every single member of Leicester City staff.

You thought the players might leave it there but it was their choice to come outside and look at the tributes as a squad alongside Aiyawatt.

They spent a long time just standing there, many of them in tears. Then this spontaneous applause broke out that the players joined in with. If anything the applause made it quieter, it was eerie, it seemed as if the traffic even stopped.

The players did that even though they knew the world's media were there. It was their choice, they knew it would be public yet they shared a private moment, in public, with the supporters.

It's been a shared feeling. That possibly sums the man up as well as anything, there is no hierarchy. Everyone is feeling the same, everyone I've spoken to from stewards to board members. That is something Vichai instilled, he was an incredibly humble man.

[Ian Nacho]

I'm sure others feel the same way but all of this makes me really proud to be from Leicester.

[easilee]

5 minutes ago, Ian Nacho said:

I'm sure others feel the same way but all of this makes me really proud to be from Leicester.

Even more so, the fact that in times like this, the true feelings and opinions about our club are revealed by rival club fans who we normally hate.

We are a throwback club to better days, and Vichai carried that on. For that we should be eternally grateful to Khun Vichai.

[Robin JD Popley]

Growing up, like all of us must have done at one stage or another, I dreamt our little Leicester would someday defy the odds to be the best. We've had to go through some bloody crap times as a club, relegation to League 1, we nearly went out of business just before I had reached my teens and because of this wonderful man and his family, we achieved a fairytale story even Hollywood itself would struggle to manufacture.

 

But not only that, he genuinely took our city to his heart, as we did him. He seemed such a kind and selfless man.

 

Still can't believe it...    Thank you for everything, Vichai. 

 

 

Edited 29 October 2018 by Robin JD Popley