The over 40s ...

[ChrisFilter]

I’m 41. Was there for the Bolton 0-5. But it all still means as much to me as it ever did. 
 

But having been through relegations, League One, etc, gives me a sort of context that younger fans probably don’t have. This isn’t the end of the world. We’ll be back, even if it takes ten years. 
 

Leicester ‘til I die 👏 

[stripeyfox]

32 minutes ago, Voll Blau said:

I fully expect to get pelters for this - and I totally have sympathy for the OP's point - but that generation should take their share of the blame for not getting organised enough to fight for and preserve the elements of football they held so dear.

I think I broadly agree. I don't really subscribe to the "everything was better in the old days" viewpoints which get splashed around social media.

 

I watched Leicester in the 80's and although I do have some great memories of that time, it was also a pretty grim, frightening and occasionally dangerous experience.

 

Today we live in a much safer world and perhaps that has brought a bit more sterility however if we look across to Europe we seem to see much more boisterous crowds and atmosphere, but taking place in modern safe stadiums. So the old and new can be blended. It is possible to have both, however crowds here don't really seem "up for it" in the same way.

 

 

[Sampson]

I think it’s a lot more about growing up and having more responsibilities, seeing friends and family members die, having been screwed over in at least one major way in life and having way more baggage as you grow older.

 

It’s natural thar football isn’t as important as you grow older, you learn the hard way that while it’s enjoyable, there’s other things that take priority. You miss a couple of Saturdays over the years to spend time with friends and family and realise having to set time aside every single weekend for an entertainment medium probably isn’t thar clever.

 

Then you look back at your younger days when you have less responsibility, hadn’t known grief and still thought and talked about football all day because it was way higher in your priorities.

 

I think it’s natural to have nostalgia for younger days when I had less responsibility and hadn’t known genuine loss in life yet and so had football had a  higher priority in life and confuse that with “football was better then”. It’s the same with politics, too many politicians play off the nostalgia bait “the country was better in your youth” by getting you to hark back to a time you had personally less responsibility, had known less pain and loss and had more freedom. It’s an easy trap to fall into and personally I try not to fall into it because the nostalgia rabbit-hole can be pretty pervasive and bad. 
 

People in their teens and early 20s today will be saying exactly the same about this FA Cup winning side and football being better nowadays in 20-30 years time. Every generation has a scarily high number of people who say the music, sport, films, culture, politics and people from their youth was the best and society has gone downhill since, but it’s always something I’m wary of and try to approach with critical thinking as to what I was actually doing in life personally at those times and how I approached these things.

Edited 30 May 2023 by Sampson

[HitchinFox]

7 hours ago, Gamble92 said:

Hate this kind of crap. 

 

A part of you died when we moved,yet we literally did the best thing to happen in sporting history after?

 

I think the point you missed that the OP was making, is that going to football in England – for a vast majority of people (especially over the age of 40, like me) – isn't all about the results, or shiny new things or posting on social media from the stands to show everyone how passionate you are because you're actually there. 

If it was, we wouldn't have four professional football divisions and a pyramid system which sees around 30 non-league clubs outside of those four divisions regularly pull in 1,500 or more fans. 

 

Yes, seeing City win the title is beyond my wildest dreams. Yes, the FA Cup win and that Tielemans goal will live with me forever. But equally, going to football is about other things too. Meeting mates, moaning about life (or the streaming piss), being served a pie with meat that you don't recognise...and before the 2000s, in Leicester (and other clubs I'm sure), it was all about the "other things too". And if that's what you grew up doing, then the rather sterile environment of the Premier League at the KP is certainly different. 

Sure, we now have a comfortable stadium. The football has been much better than it was in the 1980s and early 1990s. We are now world-famous, as pulling off a completely unlikely title-win is now called "doing a Leicester".

 

But again, for many, football is about other things too. I don't think we should dismiss those who look back and say: "You know what, we moaned – even hated it at times. But I'd love to go back for one more game."

 

Even if it'd only be to make us feel young again. 

 

 



 

[Oldfox67]

First Game 1st September 1973, Liverpool at home I was six years old. 1-1 draw, I was carried in and out of the ground on my Brother in laws shoulders as the place was so rammed I'd have been crushed. We went on something like an 8 game unbeated run to begin the season, in the end finishing 9th. During that run we beat Man U home and away (contributing to their eventual relegation), Arsenal away. The electric atmosphere, passion and completely immersive experience was a massive shock to my 6 yr old senses, I had never experienced anything like it and I was hooked. I do agree, as you get older you seem to transition through stages of being a Fan, Supporter, and possibly much later on in life a follower. As said previously by other posters, hard knocks of life, and losing loved ones, puts football into perspective. Enjoy the good times, above all stick together through the bad, some of us have seen them all. 

[SkidsFox]

38 minutes ago, stripeyfox said:

I think I broadly agree. I don't really subscribe to the "everything was better in the old days" viewpoints which get splashed around social media.

 

I watched Leicester in the 80's and although I do have some great memories of that time, it was also a pretty grim, frightening and occasionally dangerous experience.

 

Today we live in a much safer world and perhaps that has brought a bit more sterility however if we look across to Europe we seem to see much more boisterous crowds and atmosphere, but taking place in modern safe stadiums. So the old and new can be blended. It is possible to have both, however crowds here don't really seem "up for it" in the same way.

 

 

Agreed. Lots of things I miss about the pre-Premier era, but there was lots of negative stuff too. Racist booing of any dark-skinned players, the threat of the game being closed down by too much violence, some incredibly low attendances at matches. 

[davieG]

36 minutes ago, stripeyfox said:

I think I broadly agree. I don't really subscribe to the "everything was better in the old days" viewpoints which get splashed around social media.

 

I watched Leicester in the 80's and although I do have some great memories of that time, it was also a pretty grim, frightening and occasionally dangerous experience.

 

Today we live in a much safer world and perhaps that has brought a bit more sterility however if we look across to Europe we seem to see much more boisterous crowds and atmosphere, but taking place in modern safe stadiums. So the old and new can be blended. It is possible to have both, however crowds here don't really seem "up for it" in the same way.

 

 

Up until the move I would suggest there was a much larger proportion of late teens to late 30s fans that being the drop off point when they had families to support (no big discount for kids back then)

Now we have a larger percentage of families and 40+ so the boisterous block of people is much reduced with match ticket prices, poor transition of fans from Filbo to the KP,  lack of seats and the club seemingly anti-youth or at best overly pro-family all contributing.

 

We've become a nice family club both off and on the pitch. I guess it depends which age group you fit as to whether you're happy with the whole set up.

 

Apologies for the generalisations as I'm sure there are some exceptions in there.

 

Regular from the early 60s.

[Mr Weller 2]

Ron manager-this is Saturday.

A perfect summary of this thread.

[Golden Fox]

I'm in the 40-50 bracket as well - first game 1985. Second game was Newcastle on the last day of the 1986 season, where the away fans started ripping up seats and chucking them into our section, so we had to watch the end of the game standing at the back of the next section & didn't go again until for a few years after that!

 

But after that and relegation, the football club was ours. In the David Pleat days, crowds were 13,000 - 14,000, then Brian Little came in and we had the years of touching top of the league and playoffs - but crowds didn't often get over 20,000. We barely made the papers (I remember reading about every one after our 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the League cup) and the section of The Fox "Do they mean us?" was when our little club actually got noticed! Yes, it was tinpot, the ground was a mess, you inhaled god knows how much smoke during a game, but there was a sense of being in it together and up for the battle (led by the Kop), and you could pick and choose the games to go to - both home and away. It was possible to bring through the next generation with a few games a year, and a rite of passage to be old enough to go into the kop.

 

Compare that to now - we get over 30,000, but I look around when I go and just get an atmosphere of smugness. There are too many season ticket holders, who are going just because they have tickets and can watch Premier League football,  and want to just sit and be entertained. I see plenty of over 50s couples with their thermos flasks and sandwiches who are pricing out and taking tickets away from the next generation. I see an underlying attitude of "we won the league, so we are better than you" and there is no sense of battle or being in it together. In many ways, it is a club I don't recognise now.

 

I get this can come across as talking up the crap old days as far better than they were, but its that sense of it being "our club" has been lost along the way.

 

We need this ground extension & then we need to:

- Put back a standing section back in. Union FS do their best, but a whole standing section will generate more noise and will drive more people there.

- Move the away fans to near the standing section - the police would never do it, but that banter was what generated the atmosphere at Filbert Street and doing this would bring back the "battle" element that football is built on

- Cap season ticket numbers and make one-off tickets more available and affordable

- Get a better membership scheme. Rather than it being a rip-off - pay close to £100 to have a better chance at paying ridiculous amounts for tickets - it needs to be a system where you can buy a sensible membership package that gave you guaranteed 6-10 games at good prices. This will get the new blood coming back in

- Make the ground unique - the plans for the stand look smart and having a lopsided stadium will give that character back

- Bring back a green away strip with yellow pinstripes (too much 1985 nostalgia??)

 

These 5 things (not counting the 6th!) would not detract in any way from how the game has moved on, but each of them is something that has got lost along the way. This relegation and extension (if it happens) is a good opportunity for the club to reset, and to listen to fans and to integrate some of the reasons us 40-50 year olds fell in love with the club in the first place without thinking we're just pining for piss streaming down the stands!

 

[RonnieTodger]

[adejo92]

[OnlyOneCity]

I too have very fond memories of Filbo. My first match was in 1961. I have been through the big headed teenage years where no one could tell me anything about football that I didn’t know, I’ve been mardy all weekend cos City lost. The Bloomfield era was great as not only did we play good football, but it was appreciated by other fans too which at the time, was something to be proud of. The 80s were a dreadful time of low attendance and football violence. The 90s under Brian Little, got us back on the road and Sky put much needed money into the game. Yes, the old grounds now engender nostalgia, but in all honesty, some were borderline health hazards. Some fans will be introduced to grounds next season where little or no money has been spent, especially in the away ends. Might appreciate the KP more. Hate that we’ve been relegated, but will carry on supporting City my way, which includes not booing but clapping. Those who boo are entitled to do so but I also have a right not to. Up the City!

[The Fox Covert]

4 hours ago, Winstonthedog said:

First game vs Leatherhead in the FA Cup... hooked from that day ... supporting them is not something you escape from ... its a life sentence... but there's one thing missing from the KP ... it has no soul no feeling of belonging no going from sitting on the wall in pen 4 ... moving on to the kop ... ending up in the main stand ... Happy days 

I was there and I remember the Kop chanting for Leatherhead at the end of the match. Serious sportmanship from a non-league team who gave it a real go!

 

[Winstonthedog]

18 minutes ago, The Fox Covert said:

I was there and I remember the Kop chanting for Leatherhead at the end of the match. Serious sportmanship from a non-league team who gave it a real go!

 

Very true ... memories of Chris  Kelly the Leatherhead lip as I remember 2-0 down ... but win 3-2 

[Rob Clarke]

I first fell under the City spell in 1963 as a nine year old and have been smitten ever since whatever the division/team/manager. Filbert Street was magical and raucous but quite a scary place for a young kid on the kop terrace when there were 42,000 inside!

[foxy boxing]

As someone who has followed the team since the mid 80's im used to the ups and downs and have  watched in amazement as we won the Premier League. whereas supporters in their twenties expect immediate success. As a supporter we've had great times and extremely painful ones too. Outside the top six we've been quite successful the last few years or so more so than in any of Leicesters history. Fans now have high expectations often unrealistic of how the team and the club should be. There's n9  doubt these are difficult and uncertain times at the moment but we've had them before worse even and will bounce back in whatever form we do.

[Voll Blau]

9 minutes ago, foxy boxing said:

As someone who has followed the team since the mid 80's im used to the ups and downs and have  watched in amazement as we won the Premier League. whereas supporters in their twenties expect immediate success. As a supporter we've had great times and extremely painful ones too. Outside the top six we've been quite successful the last few years or so more so than in any of Leicesters history. Fans now have high expectations often unrealistic of how the team and the club should be. There's n9  doubt these are difficult and uncertain times at the moment but we've had them before worse even and will bounce back in whatever form we do.

 

I'm sorry but that's absolute nonsense. You're talking about a generation who would have been children at the time the club was about to enter the lowest point in its history.

 

 

I was a kid in the mid-90s so I've seen my share of ups and downs too, but don't think it's unrealistic for any of us, whatever age we are, to expect better than the rapid decline of this club despite all the advantages that we had in place off the back of the league and cup successes that have amazed us all in the past seven years. Odd bad seasons happen to clubs like us, but what happened this season should never have been allowed to happen in a million years.

 

[Guy]

6 hours ago, SiHe74 said:

October 1984 was my first game at Filbert Street too, we lost 1-4 to Arsenal, I met Viv Anderson before the game...

Nice one, first black player to play a full int. match for England I believe. By opposite contrast to yours then mine was a 4-1 win against West Ham during the latter part of the season before, Lineker scored I think along with Lynex and Bob Hazell. We started dreadfully that season and looked dead certs to go straight back down but were sublime for part two of it, as reflected in the scoreline and performance that day! Low crowds back then though.... 

Edited 30 May 2023 by Guy

[Foxdiamond]

As a 6 year old 1963 F A Cup Final on tv was my introduction to Leicester. Decided before the match this would be my team.  My childish mind did not even consider Man Utd even when we lost. Being a London lad the two nearest teams to my birthplace were Chelsea or Fulham. My dad was West Ham my older brother Spurs. My mum's family from the North East were Sunderland.  Mates growing up were Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea and West Ham. Never considered jumping ship even when reading our history we had been a nearly or nowhere team. Only used to see away games in London when I was a lad and these were mainly defeats. Often thought I was a Jona bringing bad luck. I was delighted when we movedto new stadium. Always thought of us either in top division or challenging for promotion until the downward spiral of lower half of second tier then then 2008  drop to third level. 2014-21 well my goodness just beautiful. The cheer I got from my workmates after winning the league. Anyone would have thought  I was the manager. The cup win put the pain of 63 to bed. Now a chapter has closed. Can only hope we get our top level status back ASAP. 

[Foxdiamond]

2 hours ago, Winstonthedog said:

Very true ... memories of Chris  Kelly the Leatherhead lip as I remember 2-0 down ... but win 3-2 

Didn't Malcom Munro clear off the line to prevent it going 0-3

[Lineker's Left Foot]

Yes in that category being 46 now.  Used to have a season ticket as I gave it up after the great escape season - typical.

 

Now I have a nine and seven year old I am not going to inflict that much misery on them, but looking back over 91/92 etc season reviews on YouTube - showcases a time I adored football. Proper fans and likeable players etc

[Lineker's Left Foot]

2 hours ago, foxy boxing said:

As someone who has followed the team since the mid 80's im used to the ups and downs and have  watched in amazement as we won the Premier League. whereas supporters in their twenties expect immediate success. As a supporter we've had great times and extremely painful ones too. Outside the top six we've been quite successful the last few years or so more so than in any of Leicesters history. Fans now have high expectations often unrealistic of how the team and the club should be. There's n9  doubt these are difficult and uncertain times at the moment but we've had them before worse even and will bounce back in whatever form we do.

Apart from us since winning the Championship title, who else outside ‘the big six’ has won a trophy bar us.. might as well be big five as don’t include Spuds?

[STUHILL]

18 hours ago, blueharmie said:

Alot has changed, mostly it's me, but we've completed football, I'm content.

I hate this feeling, but I have it too! 

 

Maybe it was to do with Rodgers and the way he has sucked all the life out of the club, or maybe I just lose interest when we keep losing, or perhaps it is because I just cannot connect with many of these players we have (or had...). 

 

I will always support Leicester and I am still on this forum daily, but I am struggling to find that magic I have always felt, and that could be because I know we have already achieved more than I ever thought was possible, the Premier League and FA Cup! What comes after that?! 

[Livid]

In my mid 50’s and to be honest I don’t miss Filbert St that much in itself. I look back fondly on the times I had there in my youth but we needed to move on. 
 

I’ve seen relegations in the past and been frustrated as we just didn’t really have the team or financial backing to compete, it was always a struggle. We had a decent run under O’Neil up until Peter Taylor came along. 
 

I came to terms with this relegation weeks ago, it’s tormenting that the one of the most talented squads we have had has underperformed so badly and dropped us right in it.

 

That’s countered by the fact that in my near 50 years of supporting them I have seen Leicester City will pretty much all there is to win domestically (please please please do not think of having a go at League 2!!!).

 

I look at fans of other clubs taunting us, and we’re going to get ‘You’re not famous anymore’ thrown at us every week next season and I won’t care. The vast majority will never experience what we have. 
 

The hairs on the back of my neck still stand up when I think about some of the moments from 15/16 and how social distancing went totally out of the window when Youri hit his thunderbolt into the top corner at Wembley. 

We’re back at square one, hopefully for the last time but you know what we’re like 

 

[whoareyaaa]

22 hours ago, blueharmie said:

Under 50s....do we all feel the same? 

 

The old man used to take me to filbert street. I've seen it all. I've seen piss streaming in the stands, I've seen us become premier league champions.

 

What I do miss are the old days. The rocking up without a ticket, the banter , filbert street, standing up.no goal music. No clappers or cannons ffs.

 

A part of me died when we moved.

 

If I'm honest, I've lost that killer passion and this season hasn't helped.

 

The atmosphere is sterile, alot of the fan base weren't there when when got smashed 5-0 by Bolton on the opening day back (I think) only 20k in the stadium!

 

Alot has changed, mostly it's me, but we've completed football, I'm content.

 

But I hate the dwarf with a passion and the board have let us sink to lows which should never have happened.

 

It will be a long hard slog next season and going by past experience we could be in a spot of bother, I see no long term plan.

 

**** me I've actaully not seen any sort of planning/ forward thinking for years.

 

What a ride.

 

P.s **** you Brendan

 

And Jamie vardy is the best striker this club has had or ever will have until the sun burns out.

 

 

I was there albiet I was only young but I do remember that game  also the drubbing by Man Utd in the same season I think 6-1 or something York and Cole destroyed us.