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BigWesMorgan

A Compilation of Tributes

By BigWesMorgan, in Leicester City Forum

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davieG

davieG

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Dave Barton

Dave Barton writes

POSTED TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30TH 2018@DBARTONBCFC

 

CITY AND READING STAND TOGETHER WITH LEICESTER CITY

 

City and Reading will stand together at the Madejski Stadium this Saturday (November 3rd, 3pm) to remember the victims of last weekend's helicopter crash.

There will be a period of silence before kick-off in memory of Leicester City owner and Chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and four others who lost their lives.

Both teams will wear black armbands in respect to those killed, as well as their families, friends and all affected by the accident.

Supporters are invited to pay their respects with a silence which will begin and end on the referee's whistle.

Our sincere condolences and deepest sympathies are with all connected with Leicester City Football Club at this difficult time.

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btswift94

btswift94

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Pearson's Tribute

 

It is with extreme difficulty that I write to express and offer my sincere condolences and support to the Srivaddhanaprabha and wider King Power family.

The tragic and shocking events of Saturday evening have impacted the football world in such a profound way with the news of Khun Vichai’s passing.

His quiet yet authoritative aura, presence and personality have had an immeasurable influence on English football.

The leadership and managerial processes he instilled and encouraged within Leicester City over a sustained period of time has borne fruit in such a way that people throughout the world witnessed the impossible by seeing a club win the Premier League in the most incredible circumstances.

This most definitely ensured the belief that sporting miracles can happen. I have been privileged to manage both clubs owned by King Power, and at Oud-Heverlee Leuven in Belgium, have the task of building a club which can emulate King Power’s success in England.

My regret is that he will not see the fruition of his vision. It is an important point to remember that, with both clubs, he chose to invest in clubs with potential, to nurture a club with a soul and culture founded on sound values, rather than achieving a ‘quick fix’.

He has invested not just substantial financial support, but invested in the people and communities of these clubs. We here at Oud-Heverlee Leuven are still at an early stage, but the dual investment has been substantial.

On a personal level, a manager could not have wished for a better boss. I have, through both good and difficult times, been afforded an unwavering support which has been a huge motivator and, in personally difficult times, a huge comfort.

His warmth, humour and generosity have always been extended to my own family, something for which we will all be eternally grateful for. I will miss his guidance and wisdom – and certainly his mischievous sense of humour and singular chuckle!

Our thoughts, of course, must now be with Khun Vichai’s immediate family, as well as the King Power family, and I’m sure the wider football world will offer some solace for his loved ones. I will miss 'The Boss'.

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davieG

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Leicester Chairman Khun Vichai: A Loss To The Football World
by Clive Tyldesley | Oct 31, 2018 | 0 comments

Leicester Chairman Khun Vichai: A Loss To The Football World
NOBODY should go to a football match and never return home.

Not a single one of the 96, not a Busby Babe, not a Thai billionaire.

Grief is a deeply personal thing but heading home from the game in jubilation or despair is something that everyone visiting this site has done many times. When disaster strikes football like it did again last weekend, it shakes and bruises us all.

The calls this weekend to show respect for the victims of the Leicester helicopter crash must be observed as reverentially as the Remembrance Day silences.

Football competition creates a Game of Thrones world. It’s us against them. The rivalries are sectarian in their strength and emotional hostility. Our loyalties drive us mad, or close by. We don’t think straight, don’t act right, don’t talk sense.

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Monday, April 15, 2013: Liverpool and Everton supporters during the 24th Anniversary Hillsborough Service at Anfield. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

What would a Martian invader make of a post-match radio phone in? There are zero shades of grey on Planet Football. Every opinion is west or east. Find me a Liverpool fan who really liked Xherdan Shaqiri six months ago.

And then, without any kind of warning, something happens that uncovers a bigger picture.

That picture does not have to be tainted. The ovation afforded Cristiano Ronaldo by Liverpool supporters at Anfield four years ago lived long in Real Madrid hearts and minds. Steven Gerrard’s farewell goal at Stamford Bridge in 2015 was surprisingly applauded by the same Chelsea fans that ritually rejoice in his fateful slip to this day. Visiting goalkeepers usually get on well with The Kop.

Just occasionally, the thick fog of fanaticism clears for us to find our better natures and doff our proverbial caps at an act of football greatness that binds us all in hands-up appreciation.

One of my highlights of the season so far was that touchline bromance between Maurizio Sarri and Jürgen Klopp 10 minutes from the end of the Chelsea-Liverpool match a month ago. “Why are you smiling?” asked the Italian with his team leading Liverpool. “Aren’t you having fun?” replied Klopp impossibly. “So much,” said Sarri. “Me too,” said Klopp.

 


Now, of course, Daniel Sturridge wrote a happy ending that sealed the full-time hug between the two managers, but as someone I forget once said, “football, bloody hell”. The love and lust for this sport is our common ground. It’s worth remembering and protecting when it comes under attack from adversity.

Klopp has been quick to lead the donations to the fund to support Sean Cox and his family in adversity. Last April, the two men were close by in the same square mile of Merseyside for the same reason. A bloody brilliant football match.

Sean is still waiting to get home from that match. His injuries and his ongoing recovery in hospital are cause for any number of bristling football emotions but easily the most productive of them is the sense of unity Sean’s ordeal has stirred.

Seamus Coleman has donated to the fund too. Sean is not only a Liverpool fan, he is a football fan. It could have been anyone, red, blue or Irish green.

Last spring, Glenn Hoddle flew to Rome for the second leg straight from Ray Wilkins’ funeral. He was still coming to terms with the shock and injustice of it all when I met up with him at the match in Italy.

BARCELONA, SPAIN - Tuesday, April 24, 2012: Sky television pudit Glenn Hoddle before the UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 2nd Leg match between FC Barcelona and Chelsea at the Camp Nou. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Last Saturday, there were a few hours when I wondered whether I would ever see Glenn again. He’s a good friend and a really good man. Whether you think either of us are good, bad or useless with a microphone in our hands, I promise every one of you that you’d love his company, his insight, his abiding enthusiasm for the game. He’ll talk football with anyone and all the signs are that he will do again.

Sean has also apparently had an argument with Mrs Cox in the last week. Another good sign, according to her.

The Leicester victims are sadly lost to our game, though. Mourning is down to the individual. Respects can be paid in any number of different currencies.

The touching communal shows of sad applause that cascade across matches in a particular minute are wonderfully moving tributes to people that thousands of fans never met but somehow feel they knew.

The shared fellowship of just being there, of going to the game, of walking up Walton Breck Road with a tide of strangers, of the programme sellers’ shouts, of the sound of George’s voice drifting over the roofs of the stands, those personal experiences that blend into the collective buzz.

 


My own personal experience means that my memories of Heysel are even more vivid and grim than those of Hillsborough. The victims in Brussels were no less tragic, the disaster no less awful. I have not used either of the words “tragedy” or “disaster” to describe a football moment since. They were redefined for me while counting bodies beneath the arches of that decaying stadium that night.

Imagine being one of the Leicester fans who that pilot somehow avoided as his craft veered out of control. They only went to the match.

Bill Shankly’s famous quote about football being “a matter of life and death” is used to paint a false picture of the most extraordinary football company it has ever been my pleasure to keep.

Shanks was a most human being and only ever trotted out his mantra with a chuckle in his voice. He was sending himself up, laughing out loud at where football sometimes took him and his impassioned zeal for the game.

It gets us all like that. That’s why we all feel it when football loses some of our own.

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davieG

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Leicester City: Will Aiyawatt 'Top' Srivaddhanaprabha continue his father's work?
By Ian Stringer

BBC Radio Leicester


When Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha's King Power corporation held a news conference in 2010 to confirm it was taking over Leicester City from previous owner Milan Mandaric, his son Aiyawatt 'Top' Srivaddhanaprabha was there at his side.

The clearly nervous father and son sat at a table at what was then the Walkers Stadium, a glass of water their only distraction.

I could empathise with their nervousness - the announcement was my first big press conference as a local radio reporter.

The audience of Leicester supporters seemed apprehensive too. The Foxes hadn't long since been on the brink of extinction, having come out of administration in 2003.

Leicester City helicopter crash: Son hails 'extraordinary father'
Now the Foxes' prospective new chairman after his father's shocking death in Saturday's helicopter crash, Top was then a fresh-faced 25-year-old.

Respectfully, and in broken English, he added to some of his father's answers to the questions, discussing their hopes and dreams for the club, and offering some insight into the duty free empire in Thailand that would now be funding the Foxes.

Later, he told me the reason he decided Leicester was the club he'd like his father to invest in was that as a football-mad youngster he had travelled to England to watch a game in 1997.

That game was the League Cup final between Leicester City and Middlesbrough - a Boro team containing Nigel Pearson, who would later manage the East Midlands club. Leicester won the trophy after a replay and Top fell in love with the Foxes.


He and his father invested heavily in the club, not just financially but with time and effort too. They had made their billions as retail experts and the Leicester City shop has seen a few revamps under their ownership.

When they opened a Foxes shop in Bangkok I was able to attend, having travelled out for a friendly between Leicester and the Thai national team.

On the day of the opening there was a media call, and I turned up wondering who would care that what was then a Championship club had a shop in the Thai capital. How wrong I was. There were photographers by the dozen and the interviews took an age to get through.

I was back in Bangkok in 2012, running the city's marathon to raise money for charity. Top not only donated £1,000, he also offered a room in the King Power hotel and sent a car to take me to the start line at 3am and back afterwards. He also arranged for a meal for me afterwards. He didn't need to do that.

Warm and incredibly kind as a person, Top also worked hard to learn from his father's business acumen and sporting involvement - whether it be their polo teams or their multimillion pound horse racing investments under Newbury-based trainer Andrew Balding.

He's worked his way up into the senior management of King Power, where he now takes care of the enormous operation in Thailand.

For Foxes fans, the question now will be whether he shares his late father's vision for the club.

The passion seems to be there. I remember him dealing with a question about his dedication to the football club in 2010 - I asked where he hoped to be in five years and he answered "celebrating my 30th birthday at the stadium".

A fine soundbite, perhaps, and certainly the nervous 25-year-old has grown into an accomplished media performer, but I don't think the football obsessed boy who watched that Wembley final all those years ago has changed all that much.

In his tribute to his late father, Top said: "He has left me a legacy to continue and I will do everything I can to carry on his big visions and dreams."

Those visions, I expect, include creating the £100m training ground for which they already have planning permission and improving the first team so that they are again competitive at the top end of the table.

Given the minor miracle already accomplished in turning a club so recently on the brink of going bust and not long returned to England's second tier from the nadir of League One into the Premier League's unlikeliest champions, I would put nothing past them.

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UpTheLeagueFox

UpTheLeagueFox

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Reidy is a pal of mine. He messaged me the other day saying he wanted to pay his respects and could we meet up at the ground. He turned down some telly interviews (like Sky) because he didn't want to do anything on camera, he didn't want to make much of a fuss. But he very kindly had a quick chat with me for radio. Also, he brought his six year old Forest supporting son with him to help him understand about what is football rivalry and what isn't. Top fella.

 

 

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davieG

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'Imagine if all football clubs are run like this' Sky Sports presenter on Leicester City tragedy

 

 

'This remarkable owner will be honoured and remembered this week at football grounds across the country'


 

ByMichelle Owen
06:00, 2 NOV 2018

Football results really felt insignificant after the tragic events at The King Power Stadium on Saturday evening.

We watched on in shock at the news of the helicopter crash where the Leicester City Owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and four others lost their lives. No one should go to a football match and not return home.

By all accounts, Vichai was a fantastic owner leading the Foxes to an improbable 5000-1 Premier League title in 2016.

He had a brilliant relationship with the players and staff, their heartbreak evident to see this week as they went to pay their respects outside the stadium. The Premier League title in 2016 formed such a strong bond between the players and the owner, it was the greatest achievement in Premier League history, perhaps even the greatest ever achievement in football.

Khun Vichai was a unique owner, renowned for his generosity to the fans with a clear understanding of how important they are to a football club. He often gave away freebies such a buying fans free breakfasts, scarves, flags, free away travel and beers and also had a big impact on the wider local community donating money to hospitals.


A portrait of Leicester City Football Club's Thai chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha who died in a helicopter crash, looks out over a sea of tributes
He marked his 60th Birthday this year by giving away 60 season tickets to fans and threw a party for young patients at Leicester Royal Infirmary. Many owners could learn from the connection he had with the club he so clearly loved. Imagine if all football clubs were run in this way, fans adoring the owner because they have a real connection with them. The fans tributes have been amazing to see, but then again perhaps not surprising given the way he ran his football club.


It was a really nice touch to see Ashton Gate lit up in blue with the badge on display. We may disagree over tactics, team selections, the buying, and selling of players but football’s strength is its humanity. When in times of trouble and tragedy we all come together. It was a terrible weekend given the awful news a Brighton fan passed away after falling ill at their game, and Glenn Hoddle being taken to hospital after suffering a heart attack. Our thoughts are very much with them as well.


It was a nice touch to see Riyad Mahrez dedicate his goal for Manchester City to Vichai Srivaddhanapraba. He spoke eloquently after the game about the impact the man players at Leicester called “the boss.” Leicester took the decision to go ahead and play Saturday’s game away at Cardiff, a decision made by the players and staff and a very brave one.

After such events, it feels trivial to write and talk about football but it is the game we love to analyse and watch and enjoy, but this remarkable owner will be honoured and remembered this week at football grounds across the country.

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davieG

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Toffees Mailbag: Tribute to Foxes’ chairman, 
By Brian P. Foley  Nov 2, 2018, 8:18am GMT

While things in the mailbag tend to stay light-hearted, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the passing of Leicester’s owner and chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha (VS) in a terrible helicopter accident this past weekend.

Beyond paying respects to another member of the Premier League community, Srivaddhanaprabha’s ownership of Leicester deserves extended acknowledgement. For me, this is a man who did more than fund a soccer team; he gave hope to millions around the world.

After battling to get Leicester City promoted, it was his leadership that created the one-off fairy tale season in which Leicester won the Premier League title. Sure, the title-winning 2015-2016 Foxes had luck on their side.

But luck is the residue of preparation, and it was evident that the Foxes owner had put plenty of work into the season. From hiring the right staff to signing the right players the owner’s fingerprints were all over the team.

Just look at how Kasper Schmeichel spoke of Srivaddhanaprabha after his passing. This type of relationship between players and owners is NOT the norm.


It’s quite obvious that Srivaddhanaprabha invested as much emotionally into his team as he did financially. He epitomized everything we Blues have wanted from our owner as well.

I’ll end on this note.

There are a lot of people with money in the world. Some invest to bring joy to themselves, others in those they love.

Then there are people like Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who invest in their own passions not in order to indulge themselves, but to help spread joy in the world in one way or another. His chosen path of spreading joy, owning a soccer team, allowed him to reach across borders and language barriers to put smiles on people’s faces.

I may be an Everton fan, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t rooting for the Foxes week in and week out that season in hopes they would make the impossible come true.

And they did.

Thank you for bringing joy into my life Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.

I am certain you won’t be forgotten.

 

https://royalbluemersey.sbnation.com/2018/11/2/18052212/toffees-mailbag-tribute-to-leicester-chairman-vichai-walcott-lookman-mina-and-more

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