The state of it.

[Pliskin]

Seven years ago yesterday, we lifted the premier league trophy…….

 

It was a footballing Cinderella story, we’ve been the envy of the English game, achieving what others could only dream of.

 

It was 1997, and I was informed that I would be going to watch Leicester for the first time ever….. I couldn’t contain my excitement, you mean I actually get to watch Izzet on real life? 
 

I wished that week away, Saturday couldn’t come around quick enough, I had football in the morning, and wore my Izzet shirt with pride, I think I insisted on wearing it to the game also. 
 

I remember walking down the street, rows of terrace houses, the distant echo of “programme get your match day programme”… the smell of fried onions the chatter of thousands of like minded people walking to see their hero’s… I was a part of the blue and White Sea oscillating towards filbert street. 
 

As I walked closer I could see the stadium poking out from the terraces, I’d seen it many times before, but never from this angle, never as a fan going to a game…. I clutched my ticket with anticipation, almost scraping it up, but I couldn’t let it go. 
 

As we drew closer, there is was in all of its glory, Filbert Street…. The main stands entrance doors catching the sunlight as they opened, the sound of laughter and excitement hovered in the air like mist above a field in the winter. 
 

I was desperate to get in, I didn’t want to wait, so we joined the queue, I could hear the crank and clang of the turnstile, over and over, it got louder and louder, until it was there…. The entrance, for the first time ever, I placed my hand on the metal looked the ticket personnel in the eye as he checked my ticket and off I went…. The crank and clang, I was inside…….

 

 I grabbed my coke, and made my way upstairs, just wondering what the sight would be, it was nothing like I could imagine…. The tip of the stand just perforated the afternoon skyline, then there it was, filbert street on all its spectacular glory. I remember clearly handing my ticket to the steward, who pointed my seat out to me, I ran towards it is sheer excitement and lowered the seat, sat, and just took in every minute. 
 

From that moment, I fell in love. 
 

Being a football fan is an emotional experience, and seven years ago yesterday, I felt that exact same feeling again, as we achieved the absolute impossible… the kind of stuff you have to cheat on fifa to achieve. It changed our little club forever, we were no longer the team that took to filbert way, we were globally recognised. 
 

This last season has left me searching, thinking why I fell in love with this club. It’s not just a game, it’s more than that, it’s a drug, it’s life. This year for me personally has been the most painful supporting this club. I was there when we were relegated to league one, I was there when Kermorgant chipped the ball. I was there when Knockaert missed his penalty, and when Wes lifted the championship trophy too.

 

It really felt like the club was going places, like we had finally cracked it, however, this season it has spectacularly come undone. The club we fell in love with is struggling, there’s an identity crises, there’s uncertainty and there’s a sense of fear for the future. 
 

Since the tragic death of Vichai, this club has steadily been declining, now we end up on the verge of relegation, and it’s heartbreaking to see how far we have fallen. Everything we fought for, everything we strived to achieve undone in a second…. 
 

Little old Leicester have fallen, and they need a pick me up. 
 

It’s clear this season is over, despite not being mathematically done, we all know as fans the final opportunity has been and gone, and we’re all but gone from the premier league adventure. 
 

It’s heartbreaking to see, I love this club, it got you up on Monday mornings, helped you through to Friday evenings, made your Saturdays and even substituted the Sunday roasts… 

 

I don’t know what the future of this club looks like, I know that kid from 97 is still there, desperately wanting us to survive, but it seems all too late now. 
 

This season has been emotionally draining, to the point where I’m finding myself falling out of love with the club….. I’d give anything to roll the clock back to 97 and fall in love with it all over again…….
 

It’s desperately sad to see what has happened to us, it really is. I just hope that whatever happens, we can look forward and build a club to be proud of again… build something to fall in love with all over again. 
 

Let’s stick together, the club will need us whatever the outcome.

[blueharmie]

I'm of the same age as you and can relate to the times and feelings of filbert street.

 

It's changed so much during the years and for me it's not what it was.

 

This season and let's face it, the one before , we could all see we'd end up like this.

 

The cycle continues and for me it's back where little old Leicester were when I was a kid.

[STUHILL]

I kinda knew this day would come around. A club like Leicester can't keep succeeding when there is so much money involved. As soon as a club experiences any success, the vultures circle and start to pick off your best players. Kante, Drinkwater, Mahrez, Chilwell, Fofana...  Never ending. 

We were always 1 or 2 bad transfer windows away from sliding down the table. Add a bad Managerial appointment and some injuries at wrong times, and boom... The house of cards starts to collapse for a club like ours. 

Only way to beat the system, is to do a Man City or Newcastle and have a mega Billionaire take control. 

It is just the speed of our decline and how many mistakes have been made, that is so difficult to take. 

But, we have to. This our reality now. We just have to hope that the people making the decisions have been hit hard by this and shaken out of this complacency and have finally understood the mistakes they have made along the way. 

A reset is desperately needed. A clear out of staff, players and management/coaching is essential. 

It has been a painful end to an incredible journey, but I have faith that we can now clean the slate, and start a genuine rebuild in the Championship.