The Anatomy Of A Leicester City Great

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The Anatomy Of A Leicester City Great

There is little doubt that Jamie Vardy’s career at Leicester City will not only stand the test of time here, in the East Midlands, but on a much bigger scale as well.

2025-05-21T11:00+01:00

by John Hutchinson

Published

21 May, 2025

The Anatomy Of A Leicester City Great

There is little doubt that Jamie Vardy’s career at Leicester City will not only stand the test of time here, in the East Midlands, but on a much bigger scale as well.

John Hutchinson

2025-05-21T11:00+01:00

The Anatomy Of A Leicester City Great

There is little doubt that Jamie Vardy’s career at Leicester City will not only stand the test of time here, in the East Midlands, but on a much bigger scale as well.

John Hutchinson

2025-05-21T11:00+01:00

The Anatomy Of A Leicester City Great

There is little doubt that Jamie Vardy’s career at Leicester City will not only stand the test of time here, in the East Midlands, but on a much bigger scale as well.

John Hutchinson

2025-05-21T11:00+01:00

The Anatomy Of A Leicester City Great

There is little doubt that Jamie Vardy’s career at Leicester City will not only stand the test of time here, in the East Midlands, but on a much bigger scale as well.

John Hutchinson

2025-05-21T11:00+01:00

We’ve been lucky to see some fine players pull on the famous royal blue over our 141 years. As we say a fond farewell, Club Historian John Hutchinson sat down with four Foxes favourites – Davie Gibson, Emile Heskey, Muzzy Izzet and Matty Fryatt – to examine our No.9’s incredible legacy at the Club and what makes an ultimate Foxes forward.

Fryatt made a total of 189 appearances for City between 2006 and 2011, scoring 62 goals. His strike after nine seconds against Preston North End in 2006, meanwhile, set a new Club record for the fastest goal ever scored in our history. Matty netted 32 league and cup goals in the 2008/09 League 1 title-winning season. This achievement led to him being selected as League 1 Player of the Year as well as being named in the PFA’s League 1 Team of the Year.

In late 2008, he also became the first Foxes player for 83 years to register hat-tricks in successive matches and, soon afterwards, was the first since Derek Dougan in 1966 to bag 20 goals before Christmas. After playing for a total of six clubs, Matty retired from playing in 2017, appearing in 406 matches, scoring 134 goals.

Matty began by saying: “What comes to mind when I think about Jamie is his blistering pace. It’s been exceptional. His fitness plays a big part in this. His game needs a lot of energy and high fitness levels, and he has sustained these over a long period of time, late into his playing career.

“On top of that, he’s got that tenacious, aggressive approach which never lets defenders settle. He’ll chase a ball out for a throw-in, he’ll make something from nothing, he’ll just have a little touch to stop a ball going out, or he’ll be taken out for a penalty.”

A forward who knows what it’s like to score a goal or two for the Foxes.

Matty then turned to Jamie’s attributes both on and off the ball: “His movement is exceptional. There was a good example of this the other day (against Southampton). The defence’s line dropped off and he just found space in the six-yard box and then he scored with a really good finish with his weaker left foot. He can finish with his left foot, his right foot, and also in a one-on-one situation. His heading is also very good. He scores with a fair few headers. He’s not the biggest but it’s all about his movement and timing. His finishing is up there with the best.

“Jamie’s tactical awareness is excellent. Sometimes people look at centre-forwards as being players who just score goals, but they are reading the play, especially when they are looking for the space behind the defenders. It’s about building really good relationships with your team-mates. Vardy has this connection. He looks for that pass but he’s reading the game. He sees where the defence is positioned and cottons on to it. That’s a skill in itself, knowing when to move, where there’s space, and seeing if the full-back, for example, is slightly out of position.

“When you look at the mentality side of his game, I don’t think he’s ever been phased,” Matty continued. “He’s never had any doubt when he comes up against the very best. Sometimes, especially with Leicester coming up from the Championship to the Premier League and to the Champions League, you might expect players to respect their opposition but, in the nicest possible way, he hasn’t ever given any respect. He has that confidence in his own ability which you need in order to perform at the top level.

“His mentality has never been questioned. He always rises to challenging moments. A good example of this was when he went on that record-breaking run, scoring in 11 successive Premier League games. He took it all in his stride. Mentally, he’s always been there. He certainly gives out more than he gets against any opponent. Even if he hasn’t scored for a few weeks, it doesn’t seem to affect him too much either. He’s that good that he’s full of confidence throughout.

“He is also very composed in front of goal, no matter how difficult the chance might be. So many times, we’ve seen him run onto the ball and strike it first time to score. That requires composure and quality. We’ve seen him on other occasions, where he’s embarrassed defences or set the goalkeeper on his backside. This all requires composure and quality. He also shows composure when it gets a bit hectic in the box.”

A host of former City players returned to help give Vardy his King Power Stadium send off on Sunday.

Matty then reflected on how Jamie’s background in the game has contributed to make him the special player he is: “He is unique because the foundation of his game in his early career was to play in the lower leagues. On the pitch, he’s constantly on the move, looking to hurt defences and that’s the same sort of mentality that you find in the lower leagues, where you are looking for that one ball in behind.

“He’s kept that up but today, with most teams now, it’s about passing and the build-up. For top forwards at other clubs, it’s about waiting and being patient as opposed to: ‘There’s a space. I want it!’ He’s adapted to this. Sometimes Leicester play possession football and sometimes they use a more direct approach, counter attacking and looking for the space behind. This has given him a unique skillset. Ollie Watkins is probably the closest type of player to Vardy in the Premier League in terms of looking for space.”

Matty’s high opinion of Vardy is shared by inside-forward Davie Gibson, a Scotland international whose performances delighted Leicester fans in the 1960s. Davie’s skill, his elegant control, visionary passing and all-round artistry entranced Foxes fans for nearly a decade.

A key member of the famous ‘Ice Kings’ team which came close to winning the old First Division and FA Cup double in 1963, Davie played 339 games and scored 53 goals for the Club between 1962 and 1970. The vast majority of these were in the top tier. He also starred in the 1963 and 1969 FA Cup Finals, was a League Cup winner in 1964 and a League Cup finalist in 1965.

Five-and-a-half decades after playing his last game for City, Davie still supports the Club, travelling up from his home in Dorset several times each season to watch us play. Earlier this month, Davie, who is a keen student of the game and very knowledgeable about Leicester, reflected on Jamie’s attributes as a striker.

He started by recalling some of our most prolific scorers from the past: “Gary Lineker scored 103 goals for the City and Jack Lee, who played in the 1949 FA Cup Final, also scored nearly 100 goals for the Club. From my era, Mike Stringfellow got 97 goals and there were some other wonderful players who netted many goals.”

A man for the big occasion in a City shirt.

Although he didn’t mention them by name, he was undoubtedly thinking of Johnny Duncan (95 goals), together with Ernie Hine (156 goals) and Arthur Lochhead (114 goals), who all played in the 1920s and 1930s, and Derek Hines from the 1950s (117 goals).

“The best goalscorers for Leicester City of all time though,” Davie continued, “were Arthur Chandler from the 1920s and 1930s, who scored 273 goals, Arthur Rowley, who scored 261 goals in the 1950s and Jamie Vardy. Jamie will always be remembered as one of Leicester’s all-time great goalscorers, even winning the Premier League Golden Boot in 2019/20. He’s a goalscorer if ever there was one! What was this lad’s magic? In a word, pace.

“He could run faster than any defender he played against. His ability to see a pass before all the defenders could react, together with his pace to latch onto it, meant he could outrun defenders and score goals. He made the most of the opportunities which came his way. Remarkably, he didn’t really lose his acceleration and pace throughout the years he played. He was every defender’s worst nightmare. Age is the only opponent that will stop him scoring goals.”

Davie concluded by saying: “Thanks for the memories, Jamie. You will never be forgotten by Leicester City fans.”

Striker Emile Heskey, on the other hand, is another admirer of Vardy’s. Between 1995 and 2000, Emile played 197 games for City, scoring 46 goals, and was a member of the League Cup winning sides of 1997 and 2000. During his career, he was also capped by England 62 times, notching seven goals.

Appreciating the qualities of Vardy, another Foxes player who was capped by England, Emile recently said: “His lasting legacy will be ‘Jamie Vardy’s having a party!’ He’s a fantastic player who’s done great for the Club. He embodies what it means to be a Leicester player. Grit, determination, fight. When he first came to Leicester, it wasn’t great, but he fought and kept going and now he’s an absolute legend for the Club. Look at the goals he’s scored. He’s a true Leicester player.”

An iconic Foxes figure.

Muzzy Izzet, a team-mate of Emile’s at Filbert Street, is another distinguished ex-Leicester City player. He played for seven seasons in the Premier League for the Foxes, finishing in the top half for four consecutive seasons (1996/97-1999/00). Like Emile, he played in three League Cup Finals, winning it twice (1997 and 2000). He played in two UEFA Cup campaigns (1997 and 2000).

He was the Premier League Player of the Month in September 1999 and completed the most assists in the Premier League in 2003/04. He was also selected for the PFA First Division (now Championship) Team of the Year in 2002/03.

In addition, London-born Muzzy won eight of his nine Turkey caps while playing for City. He was in Turkey’s 2002 squad for the FIFA World Cup Finals in Japan and South Korea, appearing in his country’s semi-final defeat by Brazil.

He is also, naturally, a Jamie Vardy admirer, saying: “What can be said that already hasn’t been said about Jamie Vardy? He came to Leicester when he was 25 from Fleetwood Town for £1M and it’s been great to watch him develop as a football player over the years, to see the goals he has scored and to see the impact he’s had, both on the Club and on the city.

“If you go anywhere round the world now and you say ‘Leicester City’, the first name that comes to anybody’s mind is Jamie Vardy. Managing to score the number of goals he has, getting England call-ups, breaking records and winning the Premier League, the FA Cup, the Community Shield together with getting to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, it all shows what an outstanding centre-forward he is. He’s shown great loyalty to the Club as well. He’s been here for 13 years. He’s had an amazing, amazing career. We wish him all the very best in the future.”

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