davieG Posted 10 April 2014 Posted 10 April 2014 Leicester Fosse and Filbert Street, with Leggy Turner bottom right A report in the Scottish press Leicester Fosse and Filbert Street, with Leggy Turner bottom right Previous Next Like the violent storm that breaks a long, drawn-out heatwave, Leicester City's sunny unbeaten run came to an unruly end on Tuesday. The match against Brighton had been billed as a party. And as with so many parties, it finished in uproar. With more than 10 minutes still to play, as a misfiring, lacklustre, bewildered City found themselves four goals down, thousands of supporters streamed for the exits. They left with their ears ringing to furious chants of "where were you when we were s**t?" from defiant Leicester fans who were staying put. Cue recriminations, accusations and indignation on Twitter and the online City forums. But what sparked the sudden collapse in form? Changes to a winning team, maybe. Over-confidence, possibly. Underestimating the will to win of the opposition, perhaps. Or a loss of focus after finally securing promotion. But those promotion-day selfies from the players, and the photos of champagne being sprayed around on the training ground proved an open goal for the national press. "Fizzy rascals," wisecracked the Daily Mirror. "The hangover from hell" said the Daily Telegraph. Even if the weekend's celebrations had blunted the edge of the team, the shock result was nothing compared to the most notorious scoreline in Leicester's history. Even today, more than a century on, it can make a City fan wince: Nottingham Forest 12 Leicester Fosse 0. Shudder. Such an outlandish thrashing merited an investigation, and a Football League commission duly met at the city’s Grand Hotel. It transpired that the Fosse team had thumping heads to match the thumping scoreline: The day before they’d been celebrating the marriage of their former team-mate, ‘Leggy’ Turner. Fosse were relegated that season, with the Mercury’s redoubtable reporter Old Fossil penning an epitaph which looked back on a “season of falsified predictions, hopes rent in tatters, past feats obscured and fond beliefs shattered, a season of disappointment, depression and almost interminable disaster. “Can one wonder that many who follow their fortunes are in despair? Or can one blame them? “But let it be the feeling of which a poet wrote ‘Despair is hope just dropped asleep/For better chance of dreaming’.†Here's how the Mercury reported the game. "Fosse have taken a good many beatings in their time, but they have never before participated in such a farcically absurd game as that at Nottingham yesterday. "When to the score of 12-0 is added the fact that Bailey made a number of smart saves and the Forest goalkeeper was never seriously troubled once during the 90 minutes, it will be seen that the beating was such a one that Fosse have never previously known since they have been a club. "In the circumstances, it is simply a waste of time and space to criticise the “gameâ€. "This much may be said, however, that Bailey, in spite of the huge score against him, was not to blame for a single one of the goals that were scored. "His backs and halves played so weakly that the Forest forwards were allowed to shoot almost as they liked, and if the custodian had showed as poor form as the men in front of him, the score would have been nearer 20 than 12. "Time after time the Forest forwards left the Fosse defence standing still: Time after time when a judicious charge by a Fosse defender would have dispersed danger, that charge was not made, with the result that Bailey was left helpless. No goalkeeper can keep out point-blank shots from a forward who is allowed to run in and shoot as he likes. "More than one of the goals, by the way, looked to be scored from an offside position, but with such a crop this need not be insisted on over much. "Naturally, the ineptitude of the defence reflected on the attack. Turner and West tried hard, but were badly supported, although Donnelly improved late in the game, Shinton and Holding were very weak. "The game is one that needs no dwelling on, and it would be well if it could be buried in oblivion." One hundred years on, the result remains City’s worst defeat and Forest’s biggest league victory. Read more: http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Picture-day-Fosse-Forest-mother-hangovers/story-20935009-detail/story.html#ixzz2yTelddXQ
Hungry Hungry Fox Posted 10 April 2014 Posted 10 April 2014 Puts Tuesday into perspective Another interesting read, always enjoy these articles
Hungry Hungry Fox Posted 10 April 2014 Posted 10 April 2014 Tuesday was worse. Than losing 12-0 to forest?
okie fox Posted 10 April 2014 Posted 10 April 2014 As I posted in another thread, we did the same in 1957, losing 4-1 at home to Leyton Orient on Easter Monday after winning promotion. We had beaten the same club 5-1 away on Good Friday.
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.