2000–01 Leicester City F.C. season
# 2000–01 Leicester City F.C. season

During the 2000–01 English football season, Leicester City F.C. competed in the FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons).

## Season summary

A superb start to the season saw Leicester City begin October on top of the league just four months after the appointment of Peter Taylor as Martin O'Neill's successor - they had not occupied top place since 1963. Two weeks later, they surrendered their lead to Manchester United but were still in the top four by Christmas. By the midway point of the league season, the Foxes were third in the table with 35 points.

However, their impressive league form soon wore off, and they would only collect another 13 points in the second half of the season. Notably, an upset to Division Two underdogs Wycombe Wanderers in the FA Cup quarter-final midway through March had a negative effect on the Foxes, who endured 9 defeats and attained one win from their final 10 games, collecting only 3 points from a possible 30 and losing 8 consecutive league games. This slump dragged them down to 13th place - their lowest finish since winning promotion to the Premiership back in 1996. Several high-profile end-of-season signings - including that of Chelsea legend Dennis Wise - gave fans hope that Leicester could regain their form and rejoin the challenge for honours in 2001–02.

November saw the announcement of plans to relocate to a new 32,000-seat stadium at a site adjacent to Filbert Street, with a targeted completion for the start of the 2003–04 season. Later in the season, it was announced that Leicester would only have to spend one more season at Filbert Street before they could move into their new home.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 11 | Newcastle United | 38 | 14 | 9 | 15 | 44 | 50 | −6 | 51 | Qualification for the Intertoto Cup third round |
| 12 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 47 | 54 | −7 | 49 | |
| 13 | Leicester City | 38 | 14 | 6 | 18 | 39 | 51 | −12 | 48 | |
| 14 | Middlesbrough | 38 | 9 | 15 | 14 | 44 | 44 | 0 | 42 | |
| 15 | West Ham United | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 45 | 50 | −5 | 42 | |

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |

Source: 2000-01 FA Premier League table

### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ground | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A |
| Result | D | W | D | W | W | W | D | D | L | L | W | W | D | W | L | W | L | W | W | L | L | L | D | L | W | L | W | W | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | W | L |
| Position | 11 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 13 |

## Results

Leicester City's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |
| - | - | - |

## First-team squad

       Squad at end of season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Tim Flowers |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Gary Rowett |
| 3 | DF | JAM | Frank Sinclair |
| 4 | DF | NIR | Gerry Taggart |
| 6 | MF | TUR | Muzzy Izzet |
| 7 | MF | WAL | Matt Jones |
| 8 | MF | WAL | Robbie Savage (Vice captain) |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Darren Eadie |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Steve Guppy |
| 12 | GK | ENG | Simon Royce |
| 13 | FW | ISL | Arnar Gunnlaugsson |
| 14 | DF | SCO | Callum Davidson |
| 16 | MF | SCO | Stuart Campbell (on loan to Grimsby Town) |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Stefan Oakes |
| 18 | DF | SCO | Matt Elliott (captain) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 20 | FW | JAM | Trevor Benjamin |
| 21 | FW | ENG | Dean Sturridge |
| 22 | FW | NGA | Ade Akinbiyi |
| 23 | FW | ENG | Richard Cresswell |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Andrew Impey |
| 25 | MF | ENG | Junior Lewis |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Lee Marshall |
| 28 | FW | ENG | Lawrie Dudfield |
| 29 | DF | IRL | Damien Delaney |
| 30 | GK | ENG | Michael Price |
| 32 | MF | ENG | Matt Piper |
| 33 | GK | ENG | Ian Andrews |
| 35 | FW | ENG | Kevin Ellison |
| 45 | MF | NIR | Tim McCann |
| 46 | DF | ENG | Jordan Stewart |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | - | - | - |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Steve Walsh (to Norwich City) |
| 7 | MF | NIR | Neil Lennon (to Celtic) |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Stan Collymore (to Bradford City) |
| 10 | FW | ITA | Roberto Mancini (retired) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | MF | ENG | Phil Gilchrist (to West Bromwich Albion) |
| 21 | MF | SCO | Billy McKinlay (on loan from Blackburn Rovers) |
| 25 | MF | ENG | Stuart Wilson (to Cambridge United) |
| 27 | FW | ENG | Tony Cottee (to Norwich City) |

### Reserve squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | - | - | - |
| — | GK | ENG | Matthew Nurse |
| — | DF | ENG | Jon Ashton |
| — | DF | ENG | Tommy Goodwin |
| — | DF | ENG | Ashley Lyth |
| — | DF | ENG | Michael Savage |
| — | MF | ENG | Brett Darby |
| — | MF | ENG | Ross Mitchell |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Alex Mortimer |
| — | MF | ENG | Garry Parker |
| — | MF | ENG | Danny Thomas |
| — | FW | IRL | Declan Field |
| — | FW | ENG | Jon Stevenson |
| — | FW | IRL | Éamon Zayed |

## Staff

| Position | Staff |
| - | - |
| President | Terence Shipman |
| Director & Chairman | John Elsom |
| Director | Martin George |
| Chief operating officer & finance director | Steve Kind |
| First-team manager | Peter Taylor |
| First-team coach | Steve Butler |
| Goalkeeping coach | Jim McDonagh |
| Reserve team coach | Garry Parker |
| Head academy coach | Steve Beaglehole |
| Head academy goalkeeping coach | Richard Hartis |
| Physiotherapists | Ian Andrews |
| Physiotherapists | Dave Rennie |
| Physiotherapists | Mick Yeoman |
| Football coordinator | Colin Murphy |
| Club doctor | Ian Patchett |
| Academy head of recruitment | Mick Raynor |
| Youth Academy director | Alan Hill |
| Youth Academy Assistant Directors | Jon Rudkin |
| Youth Academy Assistant Directors | Daral Pugh |

Source: Leicester City F.C.

## Transfers

### In

| Date | Pos | Name | From | Fee |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 4 July 2000 | DF | Gary Rowett | Birmingham City | £3,000,000 |
| 7 July 2000 | DF | Callum Davidson | Blackburn Rovers | £1,750,000 |
| 11 July 2000 | GK | Simon Royce | Charlton Athletic | Free transfer |
| 12 July 2000 | FW | Trevor Benjamin | Cambridge United | £1,500,000 |
| 25 July 2000 | FW | Ade Akinbiyi | Wolverhampton Wanderers | £5,000,000 |
| 1 September 2000 | FW | Richard Cresswell | Sheffield Wednesday | £750,000 |
| 24 October 2000 | DF | Damien Delaney | Cork City | £50,000 |
| 14 December 2000 | MF | Matt Jones | Leeds United | £3,000,000 |
| 19 January 2001 | FW | Dean Sturridge | Derby County | £350,000 |
| 6 February 2001 | FW | Kevin Ellison | Altrincham | £50,000 |
| 15 March 2001 | MF | Junior Lewis | Gillingham | £150,000 |
| 22 March 2001 | DF | Lee Marshall | Norwich City | £600,000 |
| 29 March 2001 | DF | Ashley Lyth | Scarborough | £100,000 |

### Out

| Date | Pos | Name | To | Fee |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 June 2000 | MF | Theodoros Zagorakis | AEK Athens | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2000 | GK | Pegguy Arphexad | Liverpool | Free transfer |
| 1 August 2000 | FW | Ian Marshall | Bolton Wanderers | Free transfer |
| 10 August 2000 | MF | Graham Fenton | Stoke City | Monthly |
| 10 September 2000 | FW | Tony Cottee | Norwich City | Free transfer |
| 15 September 2000 | DF | Steve Walsh | Norwich City | Signed |
| 26 October 2000 | FW | Stan Collymore | Bradford City | Free transfer |
| 8 December 2000 | MF | Neil Lennon | Celtic | £5,750,000 |
| 22 December 2000 | FW | Stuart Wilson | Cambridge United | Free transfer |
| 23 March 2001 | DF | Phil Gilchrist | West Bromwich Albion | £500,000 |

    Transfers in: £16,300,000
    Transfers out: £6,250,000
    Total spending: £10,050,000

### Loan in

| Date | Pos | Player | Club | End |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 27 October 2000 | MF | Billy McKinlay | Blackburn Rovers | 5 November 2000 |
| 30 January 2001 | MF | Junior Lewis | Gillingham | 14 March 2001 |
| 18 January 2001 | FW | Roberto Mancini | Lazio | End of the season |

### Loan out

| Date | Pos | Player | Club | Return |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 15 September 2000 | FW | Lawrie Dudfield | Lincoln City | 15 October 2000 |
| 15 September 2000 | MF | Stuart Campbell | Grimsby Town | 7 May 2001 |
| 4 December 2000 | FW | Lawrie Dudfield | Chesterfield | 7 March 2001 |
| 9 March 2001 | FW | Richard Cresswell | Preston North End | End of the season |

## Statistics

### Appearances, goals and cards

    (Starting appearances + substitute appearances)
    Players with squad numbers struck through and marked † left the club during the playing season.
    Players with names in italics and marked * were on loan from another club for the whole of their season with Leicester.

| No. | Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | UEFA Cup | UEFA Cup | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| No. | Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | | |
| 1 | GK | Tim Flowers | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Gary Rowett | 38 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 45 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Frank Sinclair | 14+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16+3 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | Gerry Taggart | 24 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 28 | 3 | 11 | 1 |
| 5† | DF | Steve Walsh | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | Muzzy Izzet | 27 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0+1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 32+1 | 11 | 5 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | Matt Jones | 10+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13+1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 7† | MF | Neil Lennon | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Robbie Savage | 33 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 4 | 9 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Darren Eadie | 16+8 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 19+9 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| 10† | FW | Stan Collymore | 1+4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+5 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 10* | FW | Roberto Mancini | 3+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Steve Guppy | 17+11 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 23+11 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | GK | Simon Royce | 16+3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | FW | Arnar Gunnlaugsson | 3+14 | 3 | 0+3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 4+18 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | Callum Davidson | 25+3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 28+4 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 15† | DF | Phil Gilchrist | 6+6 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8+7 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | Stefan Oakes | 5+8 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6+10 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | Matt Elliott | 34 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 40+1 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | Trevor Benjamin | 7+14 | 1 | 1+2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8+17 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 21* | MF | Billy McKinlay | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | Dean Sturridge | 12+1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14+1 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| 22 | FW | Ade Akinbiyi | 33+4 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 39+4 | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | Richard Cresswell | 3+5 | 0 | 0+2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 4+9 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | Andrew Impey | 29+4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 34+4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | Junior Lewis | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | Lee Marshall | 7+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27† | FW | Tony Cottee | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | DF | Damien Delaney | 3+2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 35 | FW | Kevin Ellison | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
