FOXES ARE DUE A FINAL HURRAH!
Mystery selections, horror injuries and Norman Wisdom...the stories behind their four Wembley defeats
For Leicester City, this is the one they have always dreamed of lifting. Forget the Premier League miracle, it is the FA Cup that fans long for more than anything. The trophy that has always eluded them.
Four FA Cup finals, four defeats. No one has reached that many without winning it. Tomorrow, Brendan rodgers’ side have the chance to make it fifth time lucky when they take on Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea at Wembley.
It has been 52 years since they last got there. It is a tale of underdog stories, mystery selections, horror injuries, controversy, Norman Wisdom and a performance from Gordon Banks that rivalled his heroics against Pele at the 1970 World Cup.
Sportsmail spoke to those involved to find out why the FA Cup means so much to Leicester.
LEICESTER 1 WOLVES 3
THROUGHOUT their history, Leicester have enjoyed being the underdogs.
Their first FA Cup final was no different. They were fighting relegation to the third tier; Wolves, captained by Billy Wright, were riding high in the First Division.
Leicester had produced a giantkilling to reach the final when Don revie scored twice in a 3-1 victory over Portsmouth, who went on to win the league that season.
They were dealt a huge blow when a nasal haemorrhage ruled revie out of the final, while goalkeeper Ian McGraw missed the game with a broken finger. Jesse Pye scored twice for Wolves in the first half before Mal Griffiths pulled one back. Then a crucial decision. Ken Chisholm thought he had levelled, only to be flagged offside. It was tight and Leicester were furious. Sammy Smyth then scored a third and it was all over.
Leicester did survive the drop with a 1-1 draw on the final day of the season and sent down bitter rivals Nottingham Forest instead.
TOTTENHAM 2 LEICESTER 0
IMAGINE the outcry if Leicester supporters arrived tomorrow to find rodgers had excluded Jamie Vardy from the squad.
Fans endured a similar fate when their side faced Tottenham. Ken Leek was top scorer, only to be dropped by manager Matt Gillies for the final. Gillies claimed the decision was based on form. Leek had scored in every round.
‘That was a bombshell,’ winger howard riley, who played in the 1961 and 1963 finals, tells Sportsmail. ‘We never found out why. We assumed he’d had a fall-out with Matt. We found out on the Friday morning when we arrived for a photo at the ground and Ken wasn’t on it. We were shocked.
‘It made a huge difference. I remember crossing one early and it went over everyone’s heads and I thought, “oh, if only Ken had been there”.’
Leicester had Gordon Banks in goal. Frank McLintock was still a part- time decorator and was painting a cellar the day before the final. Mystery became controversy when Leicester defender Len Chalmers was crippled inside 20 minutes by a horror tackle from Les Allen. It would have been a red card these days. No substitutes meant Chalmers hobbled through the game as best he could. ‘It totally changed the pattern of the game,’ says riley.
Despite that, Leicester were the better side early on against the champions. Bobby Smith gave Spurs the lead after the hour, against the run of play. Terry Dyson headed in the second 10 minutes later and that was that.
Another final, another defeat but a sense of pride. ‘There was no real dejection in the dressing room,’ says riley. ‘We realised we put up a good display with 10 men against a team like that.’
LEICESTER 1 MAN UTD 3
LEICESTER were back again but this time they were favourites. They were known as the Ice Kings, unbeaten from Boxing Day to midApril, as they had managed to play on through the Big Freeze.
They had been top of the First Division with five games to go. united, despite the talents of Bobby Charlton and Denis Law, had been fighting relegation.
Leicester had drawn at old Trafford the month before, then beaten them 4-3 at Filbert Street the next day. ‘We went into the final pretty confident this was our year,’ says defender richie Norman, who had also played in the 1961 final.
Their semi-final win over Liverpool is memorable for the heroics of Banks. ‘everyone remembers Banks for his save against Pele but the best I saw was in that semi,’ says riley. ‘The saves he made that day were incredible, one after the other. We won it 1-0 but they could have had six.
‘The attacks were coming in from all angles. I can see it all now: St John, hunt, Thompson, Callaghan. I was behind Ian St John when Gordon somehow tipped his header round the post. St John just held his head in his hands.’
But when the final came round, Leicester failed to fire. Law and David herd put united 2-0 up before Ken Keyworth pulled one back, only for Banks to spill a high ball and herd made sure it was united’s trophy.
While the atmosphere two years earlier had been one of pride, the mood this time was sombre. ‘It was terrible,’ says Norman. ‘We let the club down and ourselves.
‘We went to the after-dinner at the Dorchester and everyone was down in the dumps.
‘Norman Wisdom was on and even he couldn’t cheer us up. I can tell the lads who are playing this time that there is nothing worse than getting beat at Wembley in the final — and I’ve had it twice!’
Leicester lost their last five games of the season to miss out on the title, too.
MAN CITY 1 LEICESTER 0
SIX years later, Leicester had a different man in charge. Gillies, the club’s longest- serving manager, resigned halfway through the season with the club bottom of the table. Frank o’Farrell was appointed in his place.
There was a new man in goal, too. Banks had been sold a year after winning the World Cup to make way for a confident 17-yearold by the name of Peter Shilton. ‘he came in to train part-time and you could tell he was going to be a good ’un,’ Scottish midfielder Bobby roberts, who played in the 1969 final, tells Sportsmail. ‘he was very confident and worked hard. It was a bit of a surprise when they sold Gordon.’
Shilton was still a teenager when Leicester lined up for the final against league champions City, who delayed their emergence from the dressing room in a bid to jangle Leicester nerves.
Leicester had knocked out holders West Bromwich in the semis, thanks to a late goal by Allan Clarke, who they had broken the British transfer record to sign for £150,000. Clarke would be named man of the match in the final.
They had done for Liverpool, too. Their fifth- round tie was postponed seven times before eventually a 0-0 draw was played out on a Filbert Street pitch that was more sand than grass. ‘Bill Shankly said they’d murder us in the replay,’ recalls roberts. ‘That was par for the course with Bill. We went there and won 1-0.’
Shilton saved a penalty in front of the Kop. Leicester had studied Tommy Smith’s habit of shooting right, so o’Farrell gave Shilton a special training session that morning to practise diving that way.
There were no heroics in the final. Neil Young’s 24th-minute strike was enough to seal it.
‘I remember it so clearly,’ says roberts. ‘When I was young, I used to watch the Cup final on television and marvel at the occasion. It was a magical experience. But to lose was a big disappointment for yourself, the club and the fans.’
It would get even worse for Leicester, who were relegated three weeks later. Fifty-two years on and Leicester hope, at last, this will be their year.