How happy the Luton fans who were promoted a day ago, how disappointed the Leicester City fans who were relegated a day later, not to mention that they are still former Premier League champions, this feeling is really uncomfortable, a team that successfully rushed to the top 9 seasons ago and won the championship within the next 2 years, but unfortunately relegated in the just concluded Premier League season, in terms of the strength and ability of the players, they should not be so, the team's problems at the operational level and in the selection of the manager, eventually led to such a result, However, as Leicester City's official social media post said, "We believe in the Fox's oath of never retreating, believe us, Fox City will definitely return soon!" ”
Looking at the results of Leicester City in the past few seasons, in fact, the performance of "Fox City" is not bad at all, last season they were 8th in the league, unfortunately did not reach Europe, and the previous two seasons, the team achieved 5th place in the league and participated in the Europa League, which is a completely acceptable record for them who are not too big in terms of overall investment. It stands to reason that this season is not tied by European competition, the team should have performed better in a single line, but since the beginning of the season, Leicester City's performance has not been satisfactory, Rodgers, who has been in charge of the team for 4 years, was also sacked in early April, but Dean Smith, who came to the team as a fire coach, also failed to save the team, and Leicester City became a relegated team from the former Premier League champions.
The figures show that in the history of English football's professional league, only four teams have promoted to the top flight to win the championship trophy and then relegated within 10 seasons. They were Liverpool in the 1896-1904 season; Ipswich in the 1960-1964 season; Liverpool in 1991-1999 and Leicester City in 2013-2023. Another statistic that Leicester fans find difficult to accept is the 12th relegation from the English top flight in the team's history, tying for the most in history, and Birmingham City 12 times. After entering the Premier League era, Leicester City also became the second former champions to be relegated after Blackburn.
The reason why the "Blue Fox" relegation is a pity is mainly because there are actually many players in the team who are playing at a good level, such as local "hukou" players Barnes and Maddison, and Belgium international Tielemans and Nigerian defender Ndidi, these players can get stable playing time even in the big clubs, but this season, they have not been able to save the team in danger. With the relegation of the "Blue Fox", most of these people may transfer away, which is undoubtedly a huge impact for Leicester City.
Despite this, Leicester City were not discouraged, writing on social platforms: "The nine-season Premier League journey has come to an abrupt end, and we have experienced almost all the scenes along the way. The first season of miraculous relegation, the second season of miraculous victory. We have made the whole world recognize a miracle color - fox blue. In 2021, we won the FA Cup for the first time in the club's history. Thank you to all the fans who have supported us and cheered for us, you have made our journey to the Premier League fantastic for nine seasons. We believe in the Fox's oath of never retreating, and believe in us, Fox City will definitely return soon! ”
Now, a year later, can they return to the Premier League stage? Let's wait and see.
Text/Beiqing Sports Zhang Kunlong