Football - Leicester (and Derby away)

Just a quick blog, i made my way on Saturday evening to watch city play again, this time at pride park Derby, considered a big local derby, its an important game to win for local bragging rights, not to mention how important it is to our chances of making the playoffs.

I get to the ground an hour and a quarter early, simply because logic and google tell me its an hour trip... but due to my (lack of) trust of sat navs and UK traffic i left 2 and a half hours early, so as you will see from the pic it was kinda lonely to begin with lol.

Still, eventually the ground filled up, the Leicester end was about 80% full and im very pleased to say, that everyone was standing. Its so important to be standing at the game, or at least it feels that way to me, when you are forced to sit... which you are pretty much everywhere at the walkers stadium it just destroys the feel of the game... its not a movie, this is football, its all a bit tribal, yes its a bit mob mentality and i appreciate that the 80s were bad... but the hooligans have left (mostly) and you just cant sing, cheer, jump up and down and support your team from a seated position.

Any way, just to update the position that Leicester finds itself... at the end of last season, we made it to the playoffs and lost on penalties in a very depressing result, during the off season, we sacked our manager who had taken us from the 3rd division 2 years earlier.. through to penalties in the playoffs, he was replaced by a much more fashionable, stylish "big name" manager ( we were bought by a thai consortium who wanted a "name")... our name manager began playing some really top drawer football, a passing, stylish Arsenal-esque game, beautiful to watch, but sadly lol.. we kept losing. After about 8 games the new manager was sacked, we were bottom of the league and had just been beaten 6-1 it was not a good time to ba a city supporter..

BUT...

it all changed when our new nmanager was announced SVG!!... Sven Goran Erricksson, this was incredible to me, SVG is an ex england manager (and a successful one at that) a manager that could quite comfortably be at any of the top clubs around the world... he would fit at Man U, Liverpool, Real Madrid, any club... and he was at leicester...currently bottom of the 2nd division... such is his reputation that we have consistently signed loan players from premier league clubs, and internationals and now we find ourselves, not only playing super football, but winning and winning well, if you want to see great football and goals, find the Leicester V Barnsley game highlights... and look at some of the best goals youll ever see.... anyway, this brings us to where we are now, unbeaten in 2011... unbeaten at home since SVG took over and now from 24th... we are 10th and a win at Derby could put us into the playoff positions.

And so, with a vocal and pumping away crowd and a mostly full stadium, Leicester gave derby a football lesson, Yakubu scored a goal of pure Premiership quality... and a minute before half time, we played the perfect football, stringing together about 12 passes from defence and finishing with a stylish goal to enter the break 2-0 up... the crowd noise and enthusiasm and celebration is indescribable. I find myself hugging and bouncing with complete strangers... its just so special to be a part of.... Derby played well in the second half but we held on and left with our 2-0 win and now just one place away from the playoff positions.

So.. thats about where we are now... I believe we will make the playoffs... in my perfect world we will get through to the playoff final and i will get the chance to watch leicester play at Wembley, but, even if not, even if every game from here on is a disaster it wont matter, the games i have seen this year have thrilled me, all those years of supporting and not knowing quite why have been answered by the rush of when we score.. (especially when we score away from home).. I also discovered that Grandpa was a big City fan, something i had never known.. but again something that adds some perspective to my years of support.

LESSSSSSSSSSSSDDUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH     :)