Where I'm From

You must understand I am not a diehard Leicester City fan. I was brought up in Pembrokeshire and with no great guidance from either parent like any kid went through a phase of supporting teams because I liked the colour of their shirts or a mate liked them. But it was mainly because Swansea City, who were the nearest professional club to where I lived, although still 60 miles away, were not that glamorous an option. However they did bast a top flight team in 1981/82 and some famous. famous if you have an affinity with Welsh football, names such as Jeremy Charles, Alan Curtis and Robbie James.

I moved to Leicester in 1981 when Leicester City had just been relegated and were in the old Second Division although, being a student I didn't take much notice at the time. I was just trying to figure out how to maximise my alcohol expenditure, pay the rent and try to seem cool. Those were the days of Gary Lineker and Alan Smith wearing the blue and white down at Filbert Street.

It wasn't until I started work in the real world, after being a barman for a couple of years, that I started taking an interest in football again. I met Gary. I still know Gary. Born in Leicester and apart from a brief hiatus a man who has been here all his life. I have known Gary longer than I have known any other of my current friends. I still occasionally bump into people I knew at University but that just confuses me as I never really kept in touch with anyone from that period of my life and it as as if I didn't really arrive in Leicester until 1985.

Soon after I met Gary I met Guy and Andy. . These were the days when Leicester City were bouncing around between the top flight and division two. I have never really accepted the concept of Premiership, Championship etc - Canon League Division One, Two, Three and four is easy to remember.

In those days I lived within fifteen minutes of Filbert Street and could usually make a decision at a fairly late stage as to whether to attend the match. You bought a ticket on the door, turnstiles, and then stood on the terraces with your mates. A few beers afterwards and then home to catch Match of the Day.

In 1993 they started building the Carling Stand at Filbert Street and I became a fair weather fan. I wasn't prepared to go every week so wouldn't buy a season ticket and half the fun, if not most of the fun, for me was an afternoon with my mates. I went if there was a day somebody couldn't go.

Andy stopped going on a regular basis but Guy's wife Karen became a regular and Tony went down as well.

The move to the Walkers stadium in 2002 didn't change much from my perspective as I went when tickets were available or when somebody else wanted to go who wasn't a regular and I accompanied them.

We always met in the pub after the game - the Black Horse, Pump and Tap, Western - have been sowme of the more recent ones. Currently the Swan and Rushes is the venue of choice and I became fairly knowledgeable about the names of the players who Leicester had on their books, if not their capabilities.

Then for the first time ever Leicester were relegated to 'Canon League Division Three' at the end of 2007/08.