'Raise The Roof' - The Birch's New Season Message

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'Raise The Roof' - The Birch's New Season Message

Ahead of our Sky Bet Championship opener against Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday, here's Club Ambassador Alan 'The Birch' Birchenall's message to the Blue Army in our official programme...

2025-08-08T11:54+01:00

by Alan Birchenall

Published

08 Aug, 2025

'Raise The Roof' - The Birch's New Season Message

Ahead of our Sky Bet Championship opener against Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday, here's Club Ambassador Alan 'The Birch' Birchenall's message to the Blue Army in our official programme...

Alan Birchenall

2025-08-08T11:54+01:00

'Raise The Roof' - The Birch's New Season Message

Ahead of our Sky Bet Championship opener against Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday, here's Club Ambassador Alan 'The Birch' Birchenall's message to the Blue Army in our official programme...

Alan Birchenall

2025-08-08T11:54+01:00

'Raise The Roof' - The Birch's New Season Message

Ahead of our Sky Bet Championship opener against Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday, here's Club Ambassador Alan 'The Birch' Birchenall's message to the Blue Army in our official programme...

Alan Birchenall

2025-08-08T11:54+01:00

'Raise The Roof' - The Birch's New Season Message

Ahead of our Sky Bet Championship opener against Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday, here's Club Ambassador Alan 'The Birch' Birchenall's message to the Blue Army in our official programme...

Alan Birchenall

2025-08-08T11:54+01:00

Good afternoon, all! Welcome back to King Power Stadium for the start of a new chapter for Leicester City.

I hope the summer break has given you all plenty of opportunities to make memories with loved ones and you’re feeling refreshed ready for another season of trials and tribulations in the Sky Bet Championship.

Let’s give a warm welcome to new Manager Martí Cifuentes and his team today. I have no doubt in my mind that they can turn things around for us after a difficult 2024/25 campaign and get us back to where I think we belong – back in the Premier League. I wish them all the best!

I’ve had contact with Martí and his staff – they took time out to give me a ring which was really lovely. I’ve been through a difficult time recently and it highlights the strength of our Football Club that they reached out to check in – as did many of the Blue Army. Thank you for that – it really put a smile on my face.

It's important that I mention Rachel, Andrew, Lou and many other members of staff for visiting me or picking up the phone and abusing me! All jokes aside, it’s been really uplifting and I hope to be back in action very soon. I do miss everything.

This afternoon’s visitors Sheffield Wednesday are a great club. They’re going through a challenging time at the moment. That’s not to say today’s game will be an easy one, far from it. Games in this league are always tough and anything can happen on the opening day.

Whenever we play the Owls, I always think back to my days with Sheffield United at the start of my career. In 1963/64, I made my league debut at Stoke City in midweek, just days before we made the short trip to Hillsborough for the Steel City derby.

What a day that turned out to be. I was lucky enough to get picked for what was only my second match and I scored both goals in a 2-0 win! It was a really special moment that set up a future in the game for me. It provided me with a platform for a long career – one that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Hillsborough is a wonderful ground. It used to host semi-finals there back in the day and I was fortunate enough to have played there a fair few times.

Anyway, enough about me. Back to the present day and this league opener. Raise the roof, City fans – let’s make it a winning start.

Until next time. Come on, Foxes!

Alan ‘The Birch’ Birchenall MBE

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