Heroes & Villains – Leicester City
Hero – Steve Walsh
Anyone nicknamed ‘Captain Fantastic’ by their fans must be held in high regard, and that is certainly the case for Leicester fans with Steve Walsh.
Walsh spent 14 years at Leicester City after joining from Wigan Athletic in 1986. He made 450 appearances for the Foxes and scored 62 goals, playing as either a centre back or a striker.
Walsh scored in two consecutive Play Off Finals for Leicester, the first in 1993 in a 4-3 defeat to Swindon Town. He had finished the season as Leicester’s top goalscorer with 15 goals to his name.
The next season Leicester would make up for their defeat to Swindon, beating Derby County 2-1, with Walsh scoring both goals.
Two seasons later, manager Martin O’Neill handed Walsh back the captain’s armband and he lifted the League Cup in his first season as captain. He would keep the armband until his departure for Norwich City in 2000.
Villain – David Speedie
This is a bit of an odd one as Speedie went from being a ‘Villain’ to a cult hero in a few months!
Leicester were playing Blackburn Rovers in the 1991/92 Play Off Final, when Speedie won a penalty for Blackburn. He went to ground after trying to pass Leicester’s defender Steve Walsh and it never looked like a penalty. It was a very soft decision and Mike Newell stepped up and scored comfortably.
A year later, Leicester manager Brian Little signed the striker from Blackburn and it was not a popular decision with the club’s fans.
The crowd booed him at hi first match at Filbert Street and a few held up banners with the word ‘Judas’ at him. He soon won them over though and scored 14 goals in 42 matches for The Foxes.
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