Ten-year anniversaries are often cause for celebration and for Leicester City, the one in early May will be just that.
A decade ago, the Foxes wrote one of the best football stories when they defied odds of 5,000-1 to win the Premier League title. Leicester fans were not the only ones who loved that season, with supporters of similar clubs cheering them on and wondering if their team could do the same one day.
Ten years before that triumph, Leicester had been fighting for survival in the Championship. When Wes Morgan was lifting the Premier League trophy, supporters could never have imagined the wheel might turn full circle. Yet this is exactly the position in which Leicester find themselves.
Thanks to a six-point deduction for breaking financial rules, Leicester head into the final seven games of the campaign in the bottom three of the Championship, a point adrift of safety. They have appealed against the penalty.
Leicester were confirmed Premier League champions on May 2, 10 years ago. By that date this year, the class of 2026 will know their fate, pending the outcome of the appeal. While nothing should detract from the 10-year celebrations, the mood may be a little more sombre if Leicester have dropped into the third tier.
Of those legends, only first-team coach Andy King is involved on the football side, though Robert Huth was loans manager from 2022-24 and other former players retain informal links, though not with the first team.
Winger Marc Albrighton made 38 appearances in the title-winning season, scoring twice and providing six assists. He played 313 times for Leicester across 10 years, winning three trophies. Like most of that squad, he remains hugely invested, albeit from afar.
‘We all say that if we could have a job at any of our former clubs, we’d choose Leicester,’ Albrighton tells Daily Mail Sport. ‘We didn’t all grow up supporting Leicester but we are massive fans now and we just want to help as much as possible. For whatever reason, it hasn’t materialised.
‘I’m not saying we’d go in and change the world, change everything that’s wrong with the club. Andy King is there at the moment and he is desperate for it to turn around, as we all are.
‘But people talk about Manchester United and former players at the club who know their DNA, and I feel like there’s something similar at Leicester. There was a culture there that I’d never seen anywhere else.
‘I don’t actually know what the role would be in terms of us going back. But I would have thought there must be some way we could pass on our experience and try to get that culture back.
‘There has never been any contact with me from the club regarding this. When I finished playing, Aston Villa got in touch with me. I’d played for them and grown up a Villa fan, so I was grateful for the opportunity to go and do some coaching.
‘I probably did think “I wish Leicester had done that”, even though coaching perhaps isn’t for me. I’d love to be driving into Leicester every day and be in and around that.
‘They’re in a really difficult position at the moment and it seems like nothing they’re trying is working.’
Albrighton retired in 2024 but is staying sharp by competing in Baller League. A six-a-side, 15-minutes-each-way contest featuring numerous former players, Albrighton joined up for the current run and is playing for Deportrio, who are managed by Daniel Sturridge and Micah Richards. ‘It’s perfect for me,’ he says. ‘That’s my fix of football and gives me that buzz.’
Baller League allows Albrighton to scratch the itch to play, though his thoughts are never far from Leicester. As he speaks on Zoom, a framed Leicester shirt and a Premier League winner’s medal are visible on one of the walls.
Albrighton regularly cites the influence of former Leicester chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who was killed in a helicopter crash in 2018. His son, Aiyawatt, has run the club since but recent years have been very difficult. The club have twice been relegated from the top flight amid supporter protests and growing dissatisfaction.
Now 36, Albrighton believes Leicester managed to find a unique spirit during the glory days and urges them to do everything possible to revive it.
‘They were simple things that brought everyone together,’ he explains. ‘There were meals arranged by the owner and the owner would be there.
‘I remember playing one game in London and we lost. Because we’d lost, we assumed we’d be going straight home on the bus but the owner said, “No, we’re going out”.
‘He knew we would lose games, but told us he wanted us to try as hard as we could. There was no real pressure applied by him.
‘He would be in the changing room before every home game, just sitting among the lads and having a laugh. He had a very distinctive laugh that everyone recognised and it would create a really relaxed atmosphere. He wanted to see us enjoying ourselves.
‘And it wasn’t just the players invited to these meals. It was everyone who worked at the club – kit men, people in the offices, sports science staff, physios. It was a really good way to connect people. You could see people coming out of their shell.’
It may be easier said than done but Albrighton would like the current players and supporters to follow these principles. Over Easter, Gary Rowett’s team face Preston and Sheffield Wednesday. Win both of those games, and survival will suddenly look far more realistic. The alternative hardly bears thinking about.
Albrighton was at King Power Stadium recently when Leicester threw away a 3-0 lead to lose 4-3 to Southampton. ‘I felt there was massive fear both on the pitch and in the crowd,’ he recalls.
‘When they were 3-0 up, I wanted them to enjoy themselves. I know it’s difficult and these are nervous times but I’ve noticed it in a quite a few games.
‘The word “fearless” is part of the club’s identity and it’s important not to forget that.’
