The Leicester City Alternative Awards 2023/24
This week has been awards week on The Fosse Way. Today we turn our attention to those moments that made this season a truly iconic one in the history of Leicester City Football Club.
After the Championship title was confirmed at Deepdale a few weeks ago, the Leicester players and staff got together for their annual awards evening.
This, rather predictable, affair ended with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Abdul Fatawu running off with the main awards. The entire evening went off with rather more fanfare than last year’s effort, which was memorable for the way Alex Smithies was cruelly denied the player of the season award after the club cooked the books at the last minute.
Here, in the spirit of Smithies, we offer up an alternative evening, celebrating some of the greatest moments of this, extremely weird, season.
Image of the Season
It’s 5-0, Jon.
Life Comes At You Fast, Welcome to the Championship Award
The Nominees:
Conceding from a corner to Kyle McFadzean, two minutes into the second half of the first game
The away end being egged at Middlesbrough
Losing 1-0 to The Likes of Plymouth
The Winner:
Sky showing the first half of Leicester v West Brom in December with no graphics and no replays
‘That’s The Beauty Of It’ Managerial Meltdown of the Season
The Nominees:
Claiming that beating Watford 2-1 in a random game in February was the best performance of the season.
Threatening to sub the goalkeeper if he passed it long.
Bemoaning how sad he was for Tom Cannon that all the other strikers were so much better than him while leaving him out during a run of three consecutive 1-0 away defeats.
Saying it’s a huge, huge game for them and just another game for us before playing Leeds at Elland Road…then blowing a lead with 10 minutes to go and promptly going on a run of relegation form for three months.
The Winner:
Going into a press conference a couple of days after beating Swansea in January to go 10 points clear at the top of the table and promptly threatening to quit.
Injury of the Season, presented by Mr C. Grave
Nominees:
Signing Tom Cannon on deadline day, only to discover that he had a broken back as soon as he arrived at Seagrave.
Announcing two separate broken backs in the same press conference.
The Winner:
Conor Coady breaking his foot in a behind closed doors friendly with OH Leuven at Seagrave a fortnight after joining
Commendation for Services to Team Building
The Nominees:
Starting the season with 5 goalkeepers in the squad
Signing a fourth striker (with a broken back) you don’t need on deadline day while scrambling to meet Profit & Sustainability Rules
Handing Wanya Marcal a new two year contract extension in December, handing him a further 123 minutes of league football for the rest of the season then picking him for the Hong Kong Sevens.
The Winner:
Spending the whole of January chasing Stefano Sensi, bringing him to Seagrave for a medical, then realising you can’t afford him
Save the Climate Environmental Award
Sole Nominee & Winner:
The LCFC ticket office charging £25 for a piece of plastic to protect the planet
Statement of the Season
Between July 5th, 2023 and April 5th, 2024, Leicester City Football Club issued eight Official Statements, a pace of one every 34.5 days.
If they scrape one more in before the end of June, they’ll have released as many official statements this season as they had wins the season before, a one-two punch that would surely never be beaten.
The Nominees:
Fixing the price of our own shirts and being fined by the Competition and Markets Authority
The extraordinary acronym:total words ratio in this effort from early March
The Winner:
‘If We Play Like This We’ll Be fine’ Tweet of the Season
The Nominees:
Stephy Mavididi brushing his teeth with the tears from the replies
Deaf Awareness Week
The Winner by write-in vote:
Missionary of the Year
The Nominees:
The Winner:
LCFC Employee of the Year
Collected by “Michael Thomas”, on behalf of Francisco Javier Molina, who unfortunately couldn’t be with us today.
‘LCFC Would Prefer the Proceedings to be in Public, so its Supporters and the Wider World can be Informed’ Transparent Communication Award
The Nominees:
Sending Tawanda Maswanhise to Stockport without telling anyone
Forgetting to mention the manager of LCFC Women was suspended for gross misconduct on any official channel
Announcing the signing of Julie Thibaud by selling her shirts in the club shop
The Winner
Thank you, unique and valued customer, for agreeing to pay hundreds of pounds to watch us try to get back to zero points
Gotta Pay The Bills Award for Most Seamlessly Integrated Sponsor Mention
The Nominees:
The Winner:
The Goal of the Season vote is now open
Patriot of the Year
The Nominees:
Kasey McAteer for refusing to commit to Ireland despite having no chance of ever playing for England
Tom Cannon: see above
The Winner:
Abdul Fatawu for turning down a call up to Ghana for the Africa Cup of Nations, getting sent off in the next Leicester game and being suspended for the duration of the tournament
