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From fairytale to third tier; Leicester's decade of decline
5000-1 shot Leicester had just defied the odds and lifted the Premier League trophy, just a season after avoiding relegation by the skin of their teeth. It gave hope to every football fan in the land that the impossible is possible in an era dominated by the elite.
It should have been the catalyst to set the Foxes up for life as an established top-flight side, but now, just a decade on, they will go into next season as a third-tier side following their relegation from the Championship on Tuesday night.
From Dilly ding, dilly dong, to League One, it's been a rapid decline that no one would have predicted in 2016.
The highest of highs
The Premier League win was something we're never likely to see again. Fuelled by the goals of Jamie Vardy, the pizazz of Riyad Mahrez and the energy of N'Golo Kanté, Claudio Ranieri's side were a joy to watch and, together, created a season that will go down in football folklore.
And their success didn't stop there. The following campaign saw them compete in the Champions League and reach the quarter-finals, where they came face to face with Atletico Madrid. In 2021, under Brendan Rodgers, they won the FA Cup for the first time in their history.
There were two further European campaigns, too, but the disappointment and financial impact of failing to reach the Champions League in both 2020 and 2021 proved to be a factor in what was to come as things started to slowly unravel for the Foxes.
Getty
Rogers warned the club that investment in the team was needed, but with the owners feeling the crunch following COVID hitting King Power, a duty-free retailer, it failed to materialise.
The tragic death of Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha in the helicopter crash of 2018 also hit the club hard. It placed his son, Aiyawatt, in charge of the business without his father's guidance, a position some feel he wasn't ready for.
Those changes and difficulties off the pitch spilt onto the pitch by 2022-23, where Rogers couldn't halt a slide that ended his three-year term as boss with the club in the bottom three.
Dean Smith was drafted in, but couldn't turn the tide, and a team that still included Vardy as well as internationals like James Maddison and Youri Tielemans, was relegated just seven years after winning the league.
From bad to worse
Since Rogers left his post, Leicester have had seven managers in just three years, each with a different style and profile.
The immediate aftermath of relegation was rectified. In came Enzo Maresca, and he led the club back up at the first attempt, but after he left for Chelsea, Steve Cooper was appointed, much to the chagrin of fans.
Cooper, given his ties to Nottingham Forest, never settled and was replaced by Ruud van Nistelrooy, but he only won five of his 27 games in charge, and the club faced relegation once again. But worse was to come.
Marti Cifuentes was tasked with reviving the club, but was never given time to repair the damage to a deflated, damaged squad. He was sacked with the club still six points off the play-offs, but all talk of any promotion push went out the window when the club were slapped with a points deduction for breaching EFL financial rules.
Part of this could be attributed to the reported wages of some of the names still on, with Harry Winks taking home £90k a week and Patson Daka and Oliver Skipp not far behind.PA
Winks, for his part, was last seen arguing with fans following last weekend's defeat to Portsmouth and was booed when he entered the fray against Hull.
The owners, already in peril, then took too long to decide on a new boss, eventually appointing former Fox Gary Rowett, but many believe there was no real sense of urgency about their situation and that the board had a 'we'll be fine' mentality.
Rowett couldn't save them. The players continued to underperform, and on Tuesday, their relegation to League One was confirmed.
End of the line
Just ten years ago, it was Atletico in the Champions League. In 2026-27, former Premier League champions Leicester will play Bromley, a club that has spent all but two years of their existence in non-league football.
It marks the culmination of a decade that has taken a small shine off one of football's biggest-ever fairytale stories.
Through a blame culture that has seeped into the club over the last ten years, where both players and staff, owners and directors have had fingers pointed at them as the reason the Foxes have fallen from grace.
Now they'll be forced to reset again, taking a huge financial hit. Big earners need to be sold, and they'll need to operate under new parameters, with League One clubs now restricted to spending only 60% of their extra football income.
Having already written off several loans, there are still further loans from the Australian investment bank Macquarie that will need to be funded.
It's a huge concern for all involved with the 2016 champions, who face an unclear immediate future and fear that the next decade could be even more damaging.
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