Tireless FA Cup hero is emblematic of a club that responded to its fabled title triumph by building shrewdly for the future
Pick a Leicester player, any Leicester player. Or the manager. Or the owner. Each has a story to tell that could lift the heart, even bring a tear to the eye. The same is true, no doubt, of the 6,250 supporters who travelled in a convoy of 160 coaches to watch their club make history at Wembley on Saturday. And for thousands of others not able to make that trip but who, wherever they were, whooped as joyously as the giddy players did as they lifted a trophy that had been eluding the club for 137 years. The FA Cup does not mean much any more? Leicester say that ain’t so.
“I know how much this means to fans, I’ve been a Leicester fan since I was born,” said Luke Thomas. The 19-year-old defender made his debut in July and scored his first
Premier League goal in Tuesday’s win at
Manchester United but had never played a senior match in front of spectators until helping Leicester beat
Chelsea in the FA Cup final. “If you had asked me a year ago, I’d have said, ‘What are you on about, mate?’”