‘People don’t realise the extent of Khun Vichai’s kindness’
SPORTS PSYCHOLOGIST WHO HELPED CITY TO TITLE GLORY TELLS OF CLUB OWNER’S ‘PHENOMENAL’ GENEROSITY
THE extent of the charitable work done by the “phenomenal” Leicester City owner is not known to the public, says a sports psychologist who worked with the club during their Premier Leaguewinning season.
Ken Way cried on hearing the news of Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha’s death in a helicopter crash after City’s 1-1 draw with West Ham at the King Power Stadium, on October 27.
He was killed alongside four others – King Power staff members Nusara Suknamai, 32, and Kaveporn Punpare, 33, and the pilot and copilot, Eric Swaffer, 53, and Izabela Roza Lechowicz, 46.
And he said players such as goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel would have taken the tragedy particularly hard, as he and Khun Vichai had “a great deal of time for each other”.
“I knew Vichai and I have to say I have shed a few tears,” said Mr Way. “He was such a phenomenal guy.
“All the stories about what he did, charity-wise, giving away his money, I don’t think they know 10 per cent of what he did.
“I did a talk on the outskirts of
All the stories about what he did, charitywise, I don’t think they know 10 per cent of what he did
Ken Way
Leicester at an education establishment. I walked through the doors and there was a little plaque saying ‘this building was built with donations by Vichai.’
“My wife is Thai and she tells me that everything that we experienced about him was true, exactly as he did in Bangkok. The guy was a one-off.” Describing his memories of Khun Vichai during his stint with the club, Ken said: “He was always there, but never pushing. One word I used to describe him to people who didn’t know him, and I mean this positively, was ‘unassuming.’ You have a guy who is a billionaire and he could throw his weight around, but he never did that. He was such a sweet, gentle guy.
“He and the players, Kasper (Schmeichel) in particular, had a great deal of time for each other.
“Top, his son, is a fantastic guy as well and he will have to grow into his father’s shoes ahead of schedule.”
Addressing the owner’s role in City’s Premier League triumph, Ken said: “(Former manager) Nigel Pearson was fantastic at building a culture at Leicester. I believe Leicester would have won the league with Nigel.
“(Pearson’s replacement) Claudio Ranieri turned up at the pre-season tour with four coaches and support staff.
“Obviously he thought, quite rightly, they might need replacing, but what he did that I thought was magnificent, is he looked at them and sensed the culture, the positivity and he didn’t do anything.
“One of them disappeared and the other two very much took a peripheral, back-seat role. There is a parallel with Vichai.
“Claudio didn’t go in and mix things up and say ‘you have to play my style,’ he said ‘this is a winning style, let’s keep doing it.’
“Vichai walked in and said, ‘I don’t need to change anything, I just need to make things a little better.’
“I feel the two of them had a rather symbiotic relationship.”