Iconic Shirt Numbers: Notable Leicester No.6s

Heritage
15 Apr 2020
4 Minutes
The No.6 shirt is associated with some of the greatest defenders or midfielders in the game - and the Leicester City players to adorn that number are among the Club's most admired former stars.

Recommended to City manager Norman Bullock by former Fox Reg Halton in 1954, defender Colin Appleton joined the Club after impressing for Scarborough in the old Midland League.

Despite embarking on National Service shortly after signing at Filbert Street, Appleton was still a key man in City's 1956/57 Second Division title success and he eventually made the No.6 shirt his own.

Over the course of five seasons in Leicester from 1959 onwards, Appleton missed just eight games, a passage of time which included two Wembley trips and the Club's first-ever League Cup win in 1964.

However, that final success over Stoke City did not see Leicester head to the capital, rather Matt Gillies' men contested a two-legged affair at each side's home venue, winning 4-3 on aggregate. 

One of several Wembley appearances for Appleton during his spell at Leicester.

Appleton was City's 'Ice Kings' skipper on that occasion, while he was there again the following season, although Chelsea were able to deny the Foxes a second successive League Cup triumph.

His testimonial, meanwhile, took place in 1964, following 283 appearances for the Club, as Graham Cross - a keen cricketer as well as a footballer - began to cement his own place in Leicester's starting XI.

Like Appleton, Cross was a prominent figure in the side which won the League Cup, losing FA Cup Finals in 1961 and 1963. He made a staggering 599 appearances over 16 years as a Fox.

After becoming Leicester's youngest-ever top-flight goalscorer on his 18th birthday, Cross represented the Club in the European Cup Winners' Cup, where they were knocked out by Atlético Madrid.

While often praised for his admirable versatility, the Club's supporters often wondered whether his constant switching of positions ultimately cost Cross a coveted England call-up during his Leicester spell.

Cross truly become a favourite with the Club's fans over 16 years at Filbert Street.

As well as his longevity in City's line-up, Cross' record at Filbert Street speaks for itself with him appearing in two FA Cup and League Cup finals and winning the Second Division title at the Club.

In 1971, on the other hand, after City's second tier title win, Arsenal had won the league and cup double, but a pre-season foreign tour meant City would face Liverpool in the FA Charity Shield.

Steve Whitworth's 15th-minute strike settled the clash, giving the Club their first taste of success in the pre-season contest, while Cross, nicknamed 'The Tank', was also handed a testimonial game in 1973.

Some time later, in the mid-1990s, new Foxes manager Martin O'Neill looked to young Chelsea midfielder Muzzy Izzet to add a spark into Leicester's bid to win promotion from the old First Division.

Within months, with the help of Izzet's last-day header at Watford, City had squeezed into the play-offs and they sealed their target with a final victory over Crystal Palace, courtesy of Steve Claridge's goal.

O'Neill retained his faith in Izzet in the Premier League and that was rewarded in April 1997 as, in a replay of the League Cup Final, the Foxes defeated Middlesbrough to secure the Club's second such success.

Despite never being called up for England duty, and several protests from prominent pundits, Izzet's Turkish-Cypriot heritage allowed him to represent Turkey on the international stage.

Izzet's tenacious play in midfield and a keen eye for goal made him a legend in Leicester.

After winning another League Cup in 2000, as well as booking four successive top-10 finishes in the top-flight, Izzet starred for Turkey in the 2002 FIFA World Cup Semi-Final against Brazil in Saitama, Japan.

Izzet was already a Club legend by the time he helped Leicester return to the Premier League in 2003, scoring in the game which clinched promotion, just one of 47 efforts in 319 appearances in City's colours.

German centre-back Robert Huth, on the other hand, also adorned the No.6 shirt in his first full season at King Power Stadium, following a brief, but nonetheless successful, loan spell in 2014/15.

His introduction into the starting XI allowed Nigel Pearson to utilise a 3-5-2 system which would ultimately inspire City to win seven of their last nine games to climb off bottom and finish in 14th place.

The following campaign, as Claudio Ranieri took over as a manager, Huth was again relied upon as an essential figure in the side which went on to win the Premier League title for the first time in City's history.

The former Germany international toasts a win at Sunderland which sealed European qualification.

Huth appeared in 35 of Leicester's league fixtures as the Foxes dismissed pre-season odds of 5,000/1 to achieve the impossible, eventually lifting the trophy with a margin of 10 points to second-placed Arsenal.

The three-time champion of England scored three goals in 2015/16, and all of them were crucial, as he netted a late winner at Tottenham Hotspur before later bagging a brace in a 3-1 success at Manchester City.

The former Chelsea defender's experience helped the Foxes continue to prove their doubters wrong in 2016/17, too, as City reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, before losing out to Atlético.

Huth's partnership with captain Wes Morgan became a defining element within perhaps the greatest-ever era to be a member of the Blue Army, making 92 outings for the Foxes between 2015 and 2018.

In the present day, meanwhile, Jonny Evans is the current incumbent of the No.6 shirt, establishing a fearsome playing relationship with Turkey international Çağlar Söyüncü in the heart of defence.

Signed by Claude Puel in 2018, Evans, a three-time Premier League winner with Manchester United, is now among the first names on the teamsheet for current manager Brendan Rodgers.

Evans is now a vital member of Brendan Rodgers' first team squad.

With Evans in defence, City have become one of the most defensively sound teams in English football, conceding just 28 league goals in 2019/20 - the third-best record in the Premier League.

Perhaps tellingly, that defensive solidity has helped Rodgers' men climb to third in the top-flight, eight points clear of Evans' former side Man Utd, in fifth.

Over the course of the Northern Irishman's career at King Power Stadium to date, Evans has appeared on 65 occasions in just one-and-a-half seasons with the Foxes.