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davieG

On This Day: Steve Claridge's smart volley sealed some rare silverware for Leicester City

By davieG, in Leicester City Forum

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davieG

davieG

Posted
Posted

https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/on-this-day-steve-claridges-smart-volley-sealed-some-rare-silverware-for-leicester-city-2539883

 


April 16 1997: The journeyman's extra-time strike ended the Foxes' 33-year wait for a major trophy at Hillsborough

By Oliver Young-Myles
Thursday, 16th April 2020, 7:00 am
Updated
3 hours ago

Martin O'Neill led Leicester City to three League Cup finals (Picture: Getty)
Martin O'Neill led Leicester City to three League Cup finals (Picture: Getty)


Leicester City are not a football club accustomed to success.

In 2016, when Claudio Ranieri and his ragtag troupe of unheralded gems and misfits defied 5,000-1 odds to win the Premier League title, they became the first team in the club's history to win a top-flight title. Excluding eight championship-winning seasons in the second and third tiers, it is also only the Foxes' fourth major honour in 134 years.

Despite overseeing only 81 games in charge, Ranieri's achievement in 2016 means he will forever be regarded as Leicester's finest ever manager until someone else can emulate or even surpass it. The Italian's exploits meant that the man previously top of club's pantheon of managerial greats, Martin O'Neill, was relegated down the pecking order despite overseeing the club's greatest trophy-winning period between 1995-2000.


After performing miracles at Wycombe Wanderers and impressing during six months in charge of Norwich City, O'Neill was whisked away to Filbert Street in December 1995 and led the club to promotion in his first half-season. Ahead of an inaugural Premier League campaign, O'Neill augmented his squad with a series of smart signings, including Kasey Keller in goal, Matt Elliott in defence, Muzzy Izzet in midfield and Steve Guppy on the left flank.


Muzzy Izzet (centre) with Leicester City teammates Steve Guppy and Stefan Oakes (Allsport)
Muzzy Izzet (centre) with Leicester City teammates Steve Guppy and Stefan Oakes (Allsport)


That quartet added to an already well-balanced squad, containing experienced pros like the two Steves - Walsh and Claridge - and younger players like Neil Lennon and an exciting young forward in Emile Heskey. Leicester finished a respectable ninth in the Premier League but, as proved the case for much of O'Neill's tenure in charge, it was their run in the cups that captured the imagination.

Although Chelsea ended the Foxes' FA Cup campaign in the fifth round, they reached the final of the League Cup, beating a smorgasbord of teams from across the footballing pyramid in Scarborough United, York City, Manchester United, Ipswich Town and Wimbledon en route to Wembley.

Lying in wait was a Middlesbrough team containing the mercurial talents of Emerson, Juninho and Fabrizio 'the White Feather' Ravanelli and managed by Bryan Robson. At that point, Leicester had won just one solitary League Cup in their history, yet that was one more than Boro had and the final was the Teessiders' first ever in a major competition.

 

 

With the clock ticking towards its 100th minute, the deadlock was eventually broken. Claridge, a 33-year-old journeyman who had started out in non-league football with Fareham Town before rising through the divisions, was the match-winner, smartly volleying home a Walsh knockdown by the penalty spot to send O'Neill into his trademark standing jump celebration on the touchline. It was only Leicester's second major honour and their first in 33 years.

That title propelled Leicester to two further League Cup finals in the next three seasons. In 1999, they ended up on the losing side after Allan Nielsen's last-gasp winner for Spurs, but the following year Elliot's double secured a 2-1 victory over a plucky Tranmere Rovers outfit.

Those were halcyon days for the club and O'Neill's departure to Celtic the summer after that second League Cup triumph triggered a period of underachievement and instability. Not until Ranieri's arrival in 2015 did the good times truly return.

pSinatra

pSinatra

Posted
Posted

There's a thread about games you regret not going to. 

 

I was living in Sheffield at the time & hard as I tried, I could not get a ticket.  I had to watch the game in a pub in Walkley.  You could see the lights of Hillsborough & you could even hear the crowd.  I could almost whiff the burger stand.

 

An absolute tragedy.

 

 

Tuna

Tuna

Posted
Posted

Seems absurd now that cup finals could be replayed.

 

How on earth did that Boro team get relegated?

Izzy

Izzy

Posted
Posted

Sat in the main stand about five rows behind Walshy lifting the trophy. 

 

On the piss all day in Sheffield and then missed our tram to the train station after so had to run what felt like about 5 miles to the train station. Missed the train back to Leicester and had to get a cab home.

 

Worth every penny :scarf:

1972 Fox

1972 Fox

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, whoareyaaa said:

Went to this with my Dad, Ravenelli, Juhinho and Emerson

I'm surprised that you and your Dad were allowed on the Middlesbrough team coach. :ph34r:

Collymore

Collymore

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, pSinatra said:

There's a thread about games you regret not going to. 

 

I was living in Sheffield at the time & hard as I tried, I could not get a ticket.  I had to watch the game in a pub in Walkley.  You could see the lights of Hillsborough & you could even hear the crowd.  I could almost whiff the burger stand.

 

An absolute tragedy.

 

 

I think it can only be 'regret' when having the opportunity to go but choosing not to.

 

How can you regret not going to a game where you tried to move heaven and earth to do so? 

 

 

 

 

pSinatra

pSinatra

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, Collymore said:

I think it can only be 'regret' when having the opportunity to go but choosing not to.

 

How can you regret not going to a game where you tried to move heaven and earth to do so? 

 

 

 

 

 

I regret trying to do a 'sliding on my knees' celebration across the pub carpet as Claridge scored. 

 

Jeans fvcked.  Knees shattered.

Collymore

Collymore

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, pSinatra said:

 

I regret trying to do a 'sliding on my knees' celebration across the pub carpet as Claridge scored. 

 

Jeans fvcked.  Knees shattered.

Imagine if you you'd found at the time that Nigel Pearson would turn into one of Leicester's biggest heroes and your jeans would have been the fashion of the future!

Izzy

Izzy

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Tuna said:

Seems absurd now that cup finals could be replayed.

 

I think we're the proud winners of the last ever cup final replay (you'll never sing that!)

Spudulike

Spudulike

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Izzy said:

I think we're the proud winners of the last ever cup final replay (you'll never sing that!)

We're also the last League Cup winners at the proper Wembley. 

SemperEadem

SemperEadem

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, pSinatra said:

There's a thread about games you regret not going to. 

 

I was living in Sheffield at the time & hard as I tried, I could not get a ticket.  I had to watch the game in a pub in Walkley.  You could see the lights of Hillsborough & you could even hear the crowd.  I could almost whiff the burger stand.

 

An absolute tragedy.

 

 

Which pub?

Stadt

Stadt

Posted
Posted

Watched the game just now (for the first time), was rubbish lol 

 

Lennon and Izzet really stood out, would have been about 4 reds if modern refereeing standards were applied. Heskey just maliciously booting the opposition :wub:. Claridge wasn't great until he popped up with the winner. Kaamark was tidy. We deliberately nailed Juninho multiple times, took it well though tbf. Ravanelli and Pearson argued so long about a throw in we got a free kick. Emerson was sublime and ridiculous and should have equalised. Walshy was a handful. Prior got his head on pretty much anything and everything. The fans were great, loved seeing a great variety in homemade flags rather than just St. george's with Melton Mowbray on or whatever.

urban fox

urban fox

Posted
Posted

watched the reply in the Harrow in Thurmaston where i was living at the time. I remember the lounge bar where they were showing the game was completely rammed and the place went totally bonkers when that goal went in.  Happy days indeed.

evil jack

evil jack

Posted
Posted

Went to Wembley but watched the replay in a pub.

 

Everyone goes on about the Tranmere final - but Middlesborough were a seriously good side side and had played us off the park at Filbert Street earlier in the season.

They also reached the FA Cup Final, losing out to Chelsea.

 

The FA deducted them 3 points for not turning up for a game against Blackburn (citing injuries/illness.)

If they'd played that match and lost - even heavily - they'd have stayed up.

 

 

 

 

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