cjslcfc Posted 17 April 2016 Share Posted 17 April 2016 For those who can't get past the paywall - the ST today: He is sheepish when reminded he pointed to the badge on his breast but Andy King is Mr Leicester and the act ached with feeling. “When some players do it, it doesn’t really mean anything,” he says. “I didn’t want to be one of those. It was a release of emotion. I made my debut the season we got relegated to League One and then to go on that whole journey…” Most of all, it felt like a moment. A cacophonous King Power stadium seemed to sense it. There was just something about that day, one when the sound of the home fans’ clappers made their noisy first appearance; a day when luck, the pattern, the narrative, at last flipped Leicester’s way. “It did feel we’d turned a corner,” King smiles. “All goals seem important at the time but when I look back, that is the most important of my career.” He’s remembering West Ham’s last league visit to the King Power. April 2015: 1-1, 87th minute, Jamie Vardy mishit a shot and there was King, Leicester’s longest-serving player, the supporters’ favourite, converting for his 50th goal for the club and first in the Premier League. Leicester were 20th, and could have ended the day 10 points from safety, with eight games left, had results gone the wrong way; instead they finished it just four points adrift and had begun the run of 94 points from 42 games that has brought them from bottom to within a few footprints of a miracle. Everyone wonders where ground zero lies in Leicester’s rise. King from close range, the final moments v West Ham, April last year, is as good an answer as any. We’re in a box at the stadium. King has driven here from the training ground as a favour to our photographer. He makes me a cup of tea and asks what it’s like to be a journalist. He’s a great standard-bearer for the friendliness and humility that his club haven’t lost amid their rise. He’s one of Leicester’s most important figures — regardless that starts have been limited this season. I ball-boyed at Stamford Bridge and would watch Ranieri going through his tactics King has played 21 times in the league, but 14 as a sub, thanks to the extraordinary form of N’Golo Kante and Danny Drinkwater. Being King, he is simply pleased for them: “Drinky” is his close pal and everyone at Leicester seems to love “NG” (Kante), the unassuming little dynamo who left the training ground in his Mini. King also sees the bigger picture, having joined Leicester from Chelsea’s academy in 2004 and been there through 10 managers, relegation, playoff defeats, promotions and now their greatest campaign. He is one of the very few to play in a game where a club dropped to its lowest ever league position (a 2008 defeat to Brighton that sunk Leicester to sixth in League One) and then in a match where they ascended to their highest (November’s 3-0 win at Newcastle, when Leicester first topped the Premier League). No player has ever won League One, then the Championship, and then the Premier League, as King is in sight of doing. “I remember in League One, coming back from 1-0 down to win 3-1 at Hereford and more or less secure promotion. It’s funny when you look at what’s happened since,” King smiles, “but at the time those seemed such big wins.” This hinterland is why, though in his prime and the top-scoring midfielder in Leicester’s 132-year-history, King will always put the club first. “Obviously I’d like to play more but when the team’s winning every week you can’t take yourself out of a 25-man squad and ask, ‘Why am I not playing?’. It’s not hard for me at all to play this role. If it’s what the manager wants. The relationships I have at the club, with staff and teammates … the last game I played the fans were outstanding. They know the hard work I’ve put in. They were singing my name when I was running after the game.” When captain Wes Morgan goes in to see Claudio Ranieri on behalf of the dressing room, King and Kasper Schmeichel are the lieutenants he takes along. “You’ll ask for something, like two days off for the Christmas party and Claudio will have a laugh and a joke but then say, ‘Seriously, you can have it, but don’t do anything stupid’. I don’t know how much he minds, because he goes back to Italy! But he trusts us — and we trust him — and that’s why the relationship works so well. “He knows we want to give 100% and not waste this position we’re in, and we know when it’s time to work and when it’s the right time to do things like go to Copenhagen dressed as a turtle,” King says. He’s laughing about the squad’s Christmas trip on which he, Drinkwater, Matty James and Ben Hamer travelled dressed as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The same quartet were photographed last month, while out for Drinkwater’s birthday, being turned away from an exclusive Mayfair nightclub — as Tottenham players were ushered in as VIPs. This haves/have-nots incident just further endeared Leicester to the world. “It wasn’t funny at the time but looking back it was, something to always hold over Drinky. I don’t think he’s quite come to terms with it yet. Drinky plays for England — how’s he not getting us in a nightclub?” Notably there was no fuss, no “big I am” protest from the four. “Nah, we just got in a taxi and went back to the hotel. At least the next day we were nice and fresh.” Ranieri was Chelsea manager during King’s final academy years. “I also ball-boyed at Stamford Bridge and used to watch the gaffer go through his tactics. It’s funny now I’m one of the players he’s doing that with. Tactically he’s the best I’ve seen. I’ve also got a story about Huthy [Robert Huth].” When Huth was a young Chelsea first-teamer and close to the academy lads, he asked King’s help, for him to hold a shirt for him to sign — then drew on King’s face with permanent marker. “He’s a joker. I meg [nutmeg] him in training now and then, to show it’s not forgotten,” King laughs. Any manager will tell you the most important players to team spirit are not those selected every week, but those on the fringes, and King, alongside Leonardo Ulloa and Jeffrey Schlupp, is one of the “first reserves” playing so vital a role for Leicester off the pitch — and on. Deputising for Kante, King’s wonderful equaliser in last month’s draw with West Brom preserved the momentum that’s been irresistible since losing to Arsenal. He reckons “Drinky” got it right when saying, “There isn’t a secret [to Leicester], it’s just that we are a bunch of lads who get along”. King adds: “That’s it, pretty much. We enjoy each other’s company. If we don’t put it in on the pitch we’ll feel guilty about letting the others down. “The gaffer always uses the word ‘desperate’. You’ve got to be desperate to win, he says. You’ve got to be desperate and play this game like it’s the last of the season. He says we’re at our best when we’re desperate. “I know you all think we’re just playing things down but, really, nothing has changed at the training ground. It really is the same as when we were in the Championship.” His goal last April? “It gave us confidence. We knew we could match teams in the Premier League but that gave us the confidence to know we could win.” 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireFox Posted 17 April 2016 Share Posted 17 April 2016 Lee Dixon says we'll win it with 2 games to spare, even if we lose today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EGBFitness Posted 17 April 2016 Share Posted 17 April 2016 Goosebumps just watching the Sky video talking about being underdogs to Heros Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Prussian Posted 17 April 2016 Share Posted 17 April 2016 The Fighting Cock Forum is a right laugh when you read this thread from page 464 onwards: http://www.thefightingcock.co.uk/forum/threads/other-matches-fred-2015-16.15164/page-464 Oh, the drama! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BlueBrett Posted 17 April 2016 Share Posted 17 April 2016 Love that they call us arrogant and entitled whilst simultaneously and seemingly unanimously assuming that they will go away to Stoke and take 3 points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Doctor Posted 17 April 2016 Share Posted 17 April 2016 What a bunch of melts: Leicester got their winner in 95th min when 4 mins injury time so same as usual The penalty was given with 3:45 of 4 played. Was the ref supposed to just cancel the penalty because west ham used 20 seconds to complain? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KFS Posted 17 April 2016 Share Posted 17 April 2016 Love that they call us arrogant and entitled whilst simultaneously and seemingly unanimously assuming that they will go away to Stoke and take 3 points. Another one of them has predicted our run ins and apparently we're going on a losing streak whilst they win all remaining games. As each game is struck off I find myself wanting to beat these classless bunch of chumps to the title. I don't understand how at 8 points behind the leaders, you can full heartedly believe your team is entitled to the title? It's arrogance beyond belief. If they do it, yes they deserve it; but right now it's nothing more than a pipe dream. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fazzyfox Posted 17 April 2016 Share Posted 17 April 2016 (edited) The Fighting Cock Forum is a right laugh when you read this thread from page 464 onwards: http://www.thefightingcock.co.uk/forum/threads/other-matches-fred-2015-16.15164/page-464 Oh, the drama! It's the balls fault, it refused to go in, the conspiracy broadens.High challenge by Okazaki, ha ha, he'd tear his ligaments if he tried to make contact high on an opponent. What next, the Warwick Davis head butt accusation. Edited 17 April 2016 by fazzyfox Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Power Posted 17 April 2016 Share Posted 17 April 2016 Tears when Spurs' handpicked ref completely fvcks them over tomorrow and Stoke win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
filbertway Posted 17 April 2016 Share Posted 17 April 2016 What a bunch of melts: The penalty was given with 3:45 of 4 played. Was the ref supposed to just cancel the penalty because west ham used 20 seconds to complain? Haha, the amount of people that don't grasp the basics of football is incredible. Another one i've seen today is people claiming we should appeal Vardy's red. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Doctor Posted 17 April 2016 Share Posted 17 April 2016 Haha, the amount of people that don't grasp the basics of football is incredible. Another one i've seen today is people claiming we should appeal Vardy's red. If it was possible we should tbf, because that first yellow was a joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpinneyHillRanger Posted 17 April 2016 Share Posted 17 April 2016 fighting cock sh*te only worth a perusal when we win... wouldn't give those gobsh*tes the time of day...deluded cu*ts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxes_rule1978 Posted 17 April 2016 Share Posted 17 April 2016 Love that they call us arrogant and entitled whilst simultaneously and seemingly unanimously assuming that they will go away to Stoke and take 3 points. It is funny, because some of them are claiming they are 5 behind already they have to go to stoke and win and that isn't guaranteed... Stoke are good at home Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark 'expert' Lawrenson Posted 17 April 2016 Share Posted 17 April 2016 Spurs fans Calling Vardy a diving cheating c##t makes me laugh, I can remember Klinsman and Ginola at their diving best, short memories from a clueless bunch of simpletons. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potter3 Posted 17 April 2016 Share Posted 17 April 2016 Spurs fans Calling Vardy a diving cheating c##t makes me laugh, I can remember Klinsman and Ginola at their diving best, short memories from a clueless bunch of simpletons. As if that lot are old enough to remember. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stadt Posted 17 April 2016 Share Posted 17 April 2016 Spurs fans Calling Vardy a diving cheating c##t makes me laugh, I can remember Klinsman and Ginola at their diving best, short memories from a clueless bunch of simpletons.But he's been punished for it, so how can they moan - it's not like he's dived to win us a pen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuchingKante Posted 17 April 2016 Share Posted 17 April 2016 Fighting cock is the definition for the word deluded Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
filbertway Posted 17 April 2016 Share Posted 17 April 2016 If it was possible we should tbf, because that first yellow was a joke. Agreed, I don't think any of those challenges first half merited a yellow, possibly the one that sent Shinji doing a million flips, but even that one was just a case of being a little late. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Doctor Posted 17 April 2016 Share Posted 17 April 2016 Agreed, I don't think any of those challenges first half merited a yellow, possibly the one that sent Shinji doing a million flips, but even that one was just a case of being a little late. Payets was high and onto the ankle, that was because it's dangerous play, others were mistimed but first fouls; ref just lost control of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
filbertway Posted 17 April 2016 Share Posted 17 April 2016 Payets was high and onto the ankle, that was because it's dangerous play, others were mistimed but first fouls; ref just lost control of it. Pretty sure every foul after the first yellow he just threw a yellow out. Insane benchmark for a yellow that he set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m4DD0gg Posted 17 April 2016 Share Posted 17 April 2016 Just ignore them idiots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richmondfox Posted 17 April 2016 Share Posted 17 April 2016 Spurs fans Calling Vardy a diving cheating c##t makes me laugh, I can remember Klinsman and Ginola at their diving best, short memories from a clueless bunch of simpletons. The same as them constantly going on about Vardy being a racist scum bag yet their club ambassador Ledley King was done for racially assaulting a bouncer. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankieADZ Posted 17 April 2016 Share Posted 17 April 2016 hearing all these West Ham fans moaning(on 606 and Talksport) about they arent getting decisions, i guess they are clearly viewing today through rose tinted glasses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Posted 17 April 2016 Share Posted 17 April 2016 tbf most fans seem to be saying Vardy was a dive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnny the fox Posted 17 April 2016 Share Posted 17 April 2016 The ref got vardys first booking wrong..he should of given vardy a last warning over the dive and let the match carry on... ..once he had sent him off he made a rod for his own back..if refs give pens for pushing in the box there would be 9 pens a game... decisions seem to change from one ref to the next and what mood they are in...its a shambles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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