A season of highlights so far for Leicester City

From defying almost every pre-season prediction that Leicester would finish bottom with Claudio Ranieri to be sacked by November, through to being top of the Premier League on Christmas Day or watching Jamie Vardy break a consecutive goal scoring record; it’s been the best season of my life supporting Leicester. Truth be told I could write an incredibly lengthy list of highlights for this season, single out multiple players or games. That’s how insane it is to be a Leicester fan this season. A few things certainly stand out though.

Breaking all expectations as a team

Being honest, after a strange start to pre season, a media scandal and a new managerial appointment, the Foxes began the season as an unknown commodity. Seemingly the majority of opinion away from the club and its fans was that we were destined to fail. I saw far too many a table that had us plum bottom in people’s pre-season predictions. While I didn’t agree, nor did I cringe at Ranieri’s appointment; I also could never have predicted quite how things are turning out.

We had a decent start, as many teams do under a new manager. The difference being while many said we’d hit our glass ceiling and that our bubble would burst, we smashed straight through that ceiling and continue to stretch what has to now be the world’s largest bubble. The team as a whole, and as individuals, have exceeded even the wildest of fans’ predictions and we like it. In fact, we love it.

We’ve broken a few club records as well as broken some previous bad habits and there’s been practically nothing to complain about this season. Not to mention watching one of our own players make history. Yes, Jamie Vardy. Watching him score the goal that made him the first player in recent history to score in eleven consecutive Premier League matches against Manchester United was special. That memory, and the roar as the ball hit the net will stay with me for a very long time. Not bad for a player that many wrote off without giving him a chance.

The team as a whole have been a highlight. The players who were with us last season, tasting Premier League football for the first time have truly come into their own. The likes of Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy have been very obvious sensations and have contributed hugely to the number of goals we’ve scored. Players like Wes Morgan and Danny Drinkwater have stepped up, both at their absolute peak this season. Our scouting team came up trumps again with a gem of a find in N’Golo Kante, who alongside his new French compatriot, Dmitri Payet, have been the signings of the season. Bringing in Christian Fuchs on a free looks like an absolute steal and he’s easily the best left-back we’ve had in a very long time. We’ve also seen turnarounds like Danny Simpson who seemed to have a questionable future with the Foxes before a ball was kicked but is now a vital regular for us. Singling any one of them out feels unfair and there’s not a single one who has underperformed or let us down.

On April 4th it will officially be one year since Leicester beat West Ham 2-1 thanks to a late goal by the ever dependable Andy King. We were still rooted to the bottom of the table then but we believed. It’s difficult to think that we’re talking about just twelve months ago. Many thought we couldn’t bounce back. We defied them then and we’re continuing to buck the trend now. This club has come an incredibly long way in a short space of time.

With April practically upon us, we are currently top of the table, have the best home and away record and our destiny is firmly in our hands. You couldn’t ask for any more from the players or staff at the club right now.

That 3-1 win away at Manchester City

Sorry Manchester City fans. It’s nothing personal, it just happened that this game was where it all seemed to click for most fans. Maybe the players too. Being in the title race wasn’t a dream any-more, it was a reality that nobody could deny us. Most of all, we’d started to believe that we could do it. To come out at the Etihad and take the lead within three minutes reassured us that we were watching something special. We outplayed them in every position on the pitch and did it with style too. It was a performance that really showcased how important team-work is. While players like Riyad Mahrez and Huth got singled out post-match for their goals and performances, no player gave anything less than a superb display. As they mostly have all season.

The atmosphere was spine tingling throughout. There’d been an excitement pre-match but it was laced with trepidation. We didn’t want to lose and we certainly didn’t want to do it on television before any other teams had kicked off. Luckily the boys came out and quashed any fears from kick-off. We played with confidence, a fierce determination and displayed some respect for our opposition but certainly no fear. The away didn’t stop bouncing from the opening Robert Huth goal and even the pounding rain couldn’t dampen Leicester fans who likely sang and celebrated all the way home.

The support for the Foxes

I consider this a highlight in two respects. Both for our own fans who have shown levels of support this season that I’ve not encountered previously as a Leicester fan, but also for all those who are not Foxes fans.

Away games have long ruled for Leicester in terms of the noise made from our fans and the feeling of belonging and unity but home games have turned a pivotal corner for this in the last couple of seasons. No longer silent, it’s more often than not loud and bouncing. So much so that we’ve caused triggered minor earthquakes with goal celebrations and you know if we’ve scored from a mile or so away from the King Power stadium. We’ve copped some abuse for having clappers at each game but rest assured we do not need them for our atmosphere. It may have been the case before but the noise happens with or without them now. They’ve just become a habit and our record at home in terms of points since introducing them suggests they’re here to stay. Whatever you may think of them.

The faith and support that we’ve shown the players has lifted them. It’s a clichéd saying when players say the fans have been the twelfth man but it’s felt like that. We know that what they’ve already achieved is an incredible feat. We know that individually they may not be the best players in the world but collectively as a team, they’re capable of so much. For every inch of devotion they display on the pitch, it just drives us on in the stands to will them on to victory. The moment I knew it was a firm change was when we fell behind at home to West Brom in what was a tricky tie. In previous seasons the atmosphere would have gone one of two ways, silence or berating of the players. Not on this occasion, there was a quiet for mere seconds before the stadium erupted in encouragement. I’m not going to say we’ve got the best fans in the league, because there’s good and bad at every club, but we’re certainly delivering the best support a set of Leicester players has received in my team. There have also been some good songs and some beautiful displays.

The messages and words from non-Foxes fans have been overwhelming though. I guess because it’s a fairytale of the modern football ages. A side like us ‘shouldn’t’ be up there and we’ve won people over with our style of play, our underdog status and our hard-working squad. Even earlier in the season before we’d made it clear that we weren’t going to give up a top position easily we’d gained new fans. It was the fast, counter-attacking football and coming from behind to win that did it. For lower league fans, or even those in the Premier League who dream of seeing their team do the same thing, they’re behind us. Leicester may not have been on the map before August but it’s known worldwide now. Rarely does a day pass where we’re not on the television or in a newspaper or being talked about. Never in my entire life have so many people I don’t know, or with no real interest in the sport, wanted to talk to me about my club.

In terms of lowlights there really haven’t been any and as a Leicester fan, it’s rare to say that but it’s been eight months of joy so far and while pre-season had some low points, it’s all led to where we are now so even that doesn’t feel that frustrating at all.

It was difficult to narrow the highlights to just three things and so many players and games have been highlights but there are still seven games to go and the chance for plenty of new highlights to be inserted into the season. Hopefully the best of them is still yet to come!