The Worst Leicester City XI of the Premier League Era

13 May 2020 13:56

In recent years, Leicester fans have been spoiled by the club's surprise success. Title wins, European nights and a host of incredible players have entertained supporters since the inception of the Premier League in 1992.


It's not always been this glorious though. During the same period, the Foxes dropped out of the top two tiers of English football for the first time in their history and had to endure plenty of Championship drudgery to boot.


It goes without saying, that in order for this nadir to be reached, the club must have housed some pretty terrible players. Here are 11 of the absolute worst.



Goalkeepers and Defenders


Leicester City v Nottingham Forest - FA Cup Third Round Replay

Ricardo (GK): One of about 3,000 signings Sven Goran Eriksson made between 2010 and 2011. Though his credentials were impressive, he was completely ill-suited to the second tier of English football, flapping at crosses like a salmon caught in a fishing net and seemingly being more confident with his feet than his hands. He was quickly being replaced by Chris Weale in the starting XI after making just eight appearances.


Hossein Kaebi (RB): Apparently, Leicester beat off competition from a host of Premier League clubs to secure Kaebi's signature back in 2007 but we bet those particular top flight sides were punching the air with delight when they actually saw him play. The Iranian - who commanded a fairly hefty fee - made just three appearances during his entire Foxes career.


Moreno (CB): Call us old fashioned, but we quite like it when a defender can actually defend. This Portuguese centre-back could not. Brought in alongside new manager and compatriot Paulo Sousa in 2010, Moreno was outrageously bad at the bread and butter stuff, though he did occasionally do a nice Cruyff turn under pressure. Finally shown the door in 2012.


Matt Mills (CB): On paper this was an incredibly exciting transfer. Mills had been one of the Championship's most promising centre-backs for several seasons and although £5m was a hefty price to pay, fans were delighted to have him. However, it just didn't work out for the former Reading man at the King Power Stadium. He kept getting sent off and then had a bust up with Nigel Pearson. There was only going to be one winner in that particular feud and Mills was let go soon after. What a waste.


Ryan McGivern (LB): Leicester's 2009/2010 team was built on a solid, defensive foundation so it's no surprise that Manchester City loanee McGivern was not selected that frequently. The blonde bombshell - or should we say bomb scare - loved getting turned inside out by a Championship winger and unsurprisingly did not feature in either of the club's playoff semi final games against Cardiff.



Midfielders


Junior Lewis

Josh Low (RM): A name that still gives Leicester fans nightmares, Low looked woefully out of his depth in the Championship. Why Rob Kelly felt compelled to sign a winger who had just been released by League Two Northampton is beyond us. After being quickly moved on by the Foxes, Low gradually fell lower and lower down the footballing pyramid, finishing his career with Conference South Bath City in 2014. Good to see he found his level to be fair.


Junior Lewis (CM): Peter Taylor bloody loved Junior Lewis, having worked with the midfielder at no less than six clubs. This fact is pretty bizarre given how substandard of a footballer he is. Maybe Lewis has some compromising photos of him of something? The pair's most disastrous stint together came at Leicester when Taylor completely failing to capitalise on Martin O'Neill's success before being sacked after just 54 games in charge. Lewis was farmed out on loan soon after.


Andy Johnson (CM): No, not the nippy former Crystal Palace, Everton and Fulham striker, it's the unsophisticated former Norwich and West Brom midfielder who was well over the hill when he arrived at Leicester in 2006. Johnson was universally despised by Foxes fans for his disastrous performances, though he recently revealed that injuries hampered his form.


Joe Hamill (LM): Hamill was by far the worst Hearts player recruited by Craig Levein during the mid-2000s and that's an impressive feat considering he's up against some pretty shocking competition. Overall, the Scotsman made 15 appearances without registering a single goal or assist before returning to his native land to enjoy a very mediocre career.



Forwards


Leicester City v Cardiff City

Elvis Hammond (ST): Having the best name of any player in footballing history is not enough to save Hammond from an inclusion in our worst XI. Scoring a goal every seven games on average, the Ghanaian had a trampoline touch and is now held up as a symbol of a terrible time in the club's history.


Ade Akinbiyi (ST): Nicknamed Akin-bad-buy - very clever lads - the record £5.5m forked out by Leicester on the striker proved to be a horrendous piece of business. The Nigerian scored two goals in 21 games as the Foxes were relegated at the end of the 2001/2002 campaign. Despite this lousy record, he continued to secure fairly big money moves throughout his career. He must have the best agent in the world.



Source: 90min