The Fosse Way

George Michael was at number one with Fast Love, John Major was Prime Minister and the country was a month away from football almost coming home.

As the then Division 1 league season drew to a close, Leicester City were trying to get themselves into a position where they could play in the last match at Wembley before that golden Euro 96 summer.

The season had been a real rollercoaster (when isn’t it?!) Having been relegated from the Premier League a year before, the Foxes under manager Mark McGhee had started really well.

This was the era of Central Sports Special on Sunday afternoons, and we’d featured in some really memorable games. Winning away at Derby with 10 men (Julian Joachim’s last league goal for us before his move to Aston Villa), The ‘Zeljko Kalac’ game at WBA (incredible first half 3-0, skin of our teeth second half to finish 3-2) and the game at home to Norwich where Emile Heskey announced himself, all played out in front of the live TV cameras.

In the squad itself, striker Iwan Roberts was scoring with his left foot and scoring with his right, Garry Parker was rolling back the years in midfield and we had a very strong defence, with the likes of Walsh, Whitlow, Grayson, Watts and Carey. Swedish international and captain Pontus Kaamark looked set to be a huge transfer coup, but got injured after two games and missed the whole season.

By December, Leicester were top of the league, playing beautifully and well on course for instant promotion. Inexplicably, Mark McGhee then decided to leave and go to Wolves! As it turned out, this was a real sliding doors moments in our history. It also led to one of the best chants of those days (Cheer up Mark McGhee, oh what can it mean…). However, at the time it really stung.

Martin O’Neill was appointed just after the aforementioned Norwich game in late December, but he took until the end of February to register his first win. Another memorable one, 3-2 away at McGhee’s Wolves.

By the time we’d lost to Sheffield United a month later, we were out of the play off places and the fans were not happy.

A sit-in protest at the Kop end took place after that game, primarily calling for O’Neill to be sacked. ‘Andy from Long Eaton’ was infamously calling Radio Leicester and Bill Anderson at the Leicester Mercury was fielding many an irate letter.

Looking back, all of this feels incredible really considering our current situation. Back then, we’d had one season in the top flight in the previous 10 years and our only trophy was 30+ years before… and fans were raging at being just outside the play offs!

However, after that Sheffield United game, things started to pick up. There were three big reasons for this. New signing Steve Claridge started to find the net (which was vital with Roberts now injured), Neil Lennon, signed from Crewe mid-season began to run games, and some unknown kid from Chelsea reserves was starting his journey to become a club legend.

Muzzy Izzet joined on loan just before that Sheffield United game, back at a time when ‘deadline day’ was at the end of March. He’d only played reserve football prior to joining us, but straight away he looked a class act.

As our form improved through April (five wins and a draw from 7 games), Izzet’s performances were being noticed inside and outside the club. “Iz the Biz Mustafa crack at Wembley” was the headline in a national paper, as we went into the last game of the season, away at Watford.

I’d been lucky enough to get a ticket with my auntie, uncle and cousin, who then as now, go almost every game, home and away. My dad, who took me to the home games stayed at home, taking in the game through a mixture of Neville Foulger and John Sinclair on Radio Leicester and then the live coverage on Central TV.

On the morning of the game, I was picked up, and we joined the thousands of fans heading south on the M1.

Just outside Watford, we stopped at a services, as did many of the travelling fans. It’s one of the ‘things’ of travelling away, seeing fans of other teams, doing their own journeys but with the same emotions of apprehension and excitement. Knowing nods and hollow all-the-bests exchanged, we were back on our way.

After parking up, and enjoying a pack up of cobs and some particularly nice sausage rolls (still a feature of away days with my auntie and uncle now), we made our way into the stadium.

Leicester were in 7th place, level with Ipswich on 68 points but well behind on goals scored (as was determining factor back then), with Charlton 2 points better off in 5th on 70 points, but with fewer goals scored than Leicester. Stoke sat safe in 4th on 72 points. Both Charlton and Ipswich were at home, to Wolves and Millwall respectively.

At the very top of the league, local rivals Derby County had already secured an automatic promotion spot alongside Champions Sunderland.

To add to the drama of the final day, opponents Watford had themselves gone on a good run after they reappointed Graham Taylor in February. The Hornets were rock bottom on 25 points, but had almost doubled that tally under the former England manager, and had given themselves an outside chance of staying up. Whatever the outcome at Vicarage Road, both teams needed results elsewhere to go their way.

Vicarage Road has changed a little bit over the years, but it was then as it is now, very much a four square stands ground. The away fans were behind the goal, absolutely packed in.

Around 6000 made the trip that day, and it felt like more tickets had been sold than there were spare seats. By kick off, all the staircases were full with fans on their feet as the players were greeted with a riotous burst of colour from the ticker-tape paper and blue, white and yellow balloons.

For those not lucky to be there, the match was live across the ITV network, with the legendary commentary duo of Brian Moore and Ian St John guiding viewers through the action.

As you can imagine, the game was tense. The Watford forward line of Craig Ramage, Tommy Mooney and a very young future fox in David Connolly caused the Foxes a few problems.

At the other end, Claridge and Mark Robins led the line, with the developing partnership of Izzet and Neil Lennon behind them. There were a few skirmishes, but few clear cut chances.

This was the era before the Internet and widespread mobile phones, therefore portable radios were the must-have item to keep everyone in the stadium up to date with what was happening elsewhere.

A groan rippled through the away end as Carl Leaburn put Charlton a goal up in the 25th minute of their game. By half time, the table hadn’t changed as Charlton were winning and Ipswich were drawing 0-0 against Millwall.

Almost immediately after the break, a huge roar went up – Wolves had equalised at The Valley through Don Goodman. This meant that, as things stood, both rivals were catchable, if the Foxes could find a goal.

Leicester were pushing. Spurred on by the crowd and potentially with news from the bench of scores elsewhere. Watford had been pinned back.

Mike Whitlow at left back lined up a long throw, which was headed clear back to him almost in the corner flag D. Somehow, he swivelled and dug out a cross right into the danger area which was flicked on, but only towards Watford centre back Devon White who had time to head it away. Fortunately, he got his clearance horribly wrong, with the ball flying at a right-angle to what he intended, straight into the path of Izzet just outside the six yard box, who instinctively headed it past a bewildered goalkeeper.

Cue pandemonium in the away end. Even after all these years and everything that has followed, this goal has stuck with me. My cousin lifted a teenage me up in the air so I was head and shoulders higher than everyone, giving me an incredible view of the celebrations below.

The players briefly joined the fans to celebrate what was Izzet’s first professional goal, before their discipline kicked in and they got back to half way, knowing there was over half an hour to go.

The Foxes had leapfrogged both Ipswich and Charlton into 5th placed in the live table and were suddenly in the box seat and heading towards the playoffs.

In complete contrast, results were going against 23rd place Watford. Portsmouth were outside the drop zone in 21st through an early goal away at Huddersfield, while Millwall in 22nd occupied the final relegation spot, despite drawing in the goalless game at Portman Road. Belief ebbed away from the home side, with the knowledge that they not only needed two goals in this game, but also other teams to help them elsewhere.

All the noise was in the away end, and it was the Foxes who nearly grabbed another after Emile Heskey majestically galloped through the centre of the pitch, leaving three defenders trailing in his wake, before a fourth just nicked the ball as he was about the slot home. Izzet followed up and drew a good save from the keeper.

Although, you can never be safe at 0-1, the home side’s threat was diminished. Garry Parker was brought on for Mark Robins, which was significant and he’d not played for a while amidst rumours of a fall out with O’Neill, to help see things out, alongside the ever energetic Scott Taylor. Walsh and co stood firm at the back.

Therefore, there was a lot of focus on those with radios tracking the games elsewhere.

Leicester had the luxury of both results still going our way. Even a goal in one of those games would still leave us in 6th. As it turned out, BBC 5 Live had nothing further to report to ‘the radio guys’. Neither Charlton, who protected their point to finish 6th, or Ipswich, who’d dropped to 7th with their draw, could find a breakthrough. After the full time whistle had gone at Vicarage Road and a few “are you sure” questions to those on radios, the celebrations could begin.

O’Neill, who’d gone from zero to hero, in just over a month, pumped his fist as he celebrated on the pitch. His enthusiasm was clear for all to see as he was interviewed on the pitch by ITV. Fans were jubilant as they filed back to their cars and coaches, planning how to get tickets for the play offs the following week.

The rest as they say, is history. Goalkeeper Kevin Poole had one of the best games of his career in the first leg of the semi final, keeping the score at 0-0 against 4th placed Stoke City at Filbert Street.

The returning Garry Parker then crashed in a volley before the defence survived an onslaught to win the second leg 1-0 at the Victoria Ground and book a play-off final place at Wembley for the fourth time in five seasons.

At Wembley, the Foxes faced Crystal Palace, who’d finished 3rd and had beaten Charlton 3-1 on aggregate in their semi-final.

Palace took an early lead through Andy Roberts, before Garry Parker sent the game into extra time with a coolly converted pressure penalty late on.

As the game drifted towards a penalty shoot out, there were seconds left when Leicester won a free kick near half way. O’Neill brought on 6’7″ Goalkeeper Kalac for the shoot out, but he wasn’t needed. Time stood still as the free kick was clipped forward, leaving ITVs Alan Parry to deliver an immortal line. This… could be the winner from Steve Claridge… it is!!