If Leicester do it....

So let's assume Leicester actually win the EPL.
Do we think that will actually increase their fan base outside of Leicester?

I've had the privilege of a few holidays in Gambia and the locals are football crazy but all fans of Liverpool, Arsenal, United and, of course, Chelsea. Not even Man City really.

I can't see the next generation flocking to become Leicester fans even if Leicester win it this year and next!

No sour grapes here. I'll be delighted if they win. It will be good for football but, apart from the money, where will it take the club and what good will it actually do them?

Over to you.

 

Improved finances by qualifying for the Chamions League for a start. Also, improved sponsorship deals, Of course, young kids do like to support the winning team so they would improve their fan base. It is all a win/win for them. I don't see too many negatives at all.

Good luck to them. I hope they do it.

 

They will have won the Premier League against astounding odds. They will be legends of English football forever. Their real fans will have something to treasure for the rest of their lives. They get to go and see their team play in Europe at possibly the Bernabeu, Nou Camp, San Siro, Allianz Arena.....The city will go mental. It will be brilliant. It's not all about cash and Chinese fans. Romance still lives.

 

Just watched their highlights v Liverpool. They looked excellent again, intense and dangerous whilst Man city whimpered to a 1-0 at Sunderland.

I think they've got the tenacity and desire about them to hold out and I'd love it if they did. I doubt it would do much to change their global status, but it would surely go down as the most unlikely outcome in prem history.

What happens next season though? How do they manage expectation? Win it again I suppose.

 

It will be a dream come true for Leicester fans to see their team play for a European trophy.

My dream is to see Chelsea play for the Johnstone's Paint trophy,

 

lol. I think you may be disappointed.

 

If QPR won the Prem just the once, got drawn in a Champions League group with a couple of giants and were then relegated down to the conference in successive seasons I'd take that.

 

Who cares about fan bases in Africa or Asia,i doubt if anyone who was at their game tonight does.To win the EPL would be an astounding achievement,and I for one hope they do it.Quite simply I believe it would be the biggest sporting shock I can remember,this is a team who were below us up until Christmas last year,incredible.5000/1 at the start of the season,mind boggling!

 

There's got to be a couple of Leicester fans who put money on them to win the league at the start of the season, wouldn't be anything crazy but even £2 or £3 would be a nice return of they won, think City will get the title in the though!

 

There's a momentum building with Leicester that is becoming unstopable, they are beginning to get the belief to go with the desire and it's a pretty hard thing to stop. No-one fancies playing them and their next two matches away to City and then at home to Arsenal will be massive, if they avoid defeat it really is on and even if they lose they're not out of it.

They won't become a mega-club overnight but they'll win a lot of new young fans over and it will be the making of them, it will simply be the greatest achievement in the modern era and I think every true football supporter is willing it to happen...

 

So the consensus is that a moment / year of glory is worth years of pain.

I sort of get that except that when we survived against City that season it felt like an amazing win and I was screaming at the TV as never before. OK, it's pretty small dibs compared to what Leicester are doing now but with everything that has happened subsequently it now seems very hollow.

Maybe we should ask a Leeds or Forest fan?

 

Think the problem is most of the global fan base was set by the 80s or 90s, yes Chelsea have bought a few fans over the years but most fans will pick one of a select few, the Man U's Arsenals, Liverpools of this world, hence why these clubs are all in favour of FFP and any other bullshit rule that will assist with their elite status whilst kicking any 'upstarts' squarly in the nuts.

Despite Chelsea's success for over a decade their global fan base is tiny in comparison to the other 3s (remembering that Arsenal's last Premier league win was 2003 and Liverpool haven't won it in a quarter of a century!) So unfortunately whilst Leicester deserve all the plaudits they are receiving and they will get a big cash injection I struggle to see it lasting on the long term. Vardy is getting no younger and came into the high earning game quite late so it wouldn't surprise me to see him off to a very lucrative offer elsewhere, and in his case I can't really blame him this would likely be his last big pay day to set him up for life. With others like Mahrez, if his form continues, I can see one of the 'big boys' unsettle him with an offer and using their financial advantage to take him away. Liverpool did it with Southampton and despite Leicester's superior league position I think it will happen again, sad really.

 

many moons ago when I was at school, depending on who won the league that season, out of the woodwork they came. Look at how many Leeds fans there are, late 60's early 70's, they were the Man. Utd. in their day

 

I hope Leicester do it for themselves and the ' little man' on the street... Prove once n for all hard work and dedication reaps reward...we ,imho,had a better opportunity than Leicester to progress...wealthy backers yet we have transgressed into a poorly run,managed and a club that is like a rabid dog chasing its own tail!

 

Hey, don't knocked till you've tried it .................. I've been chasing my tail most of my life and I can tell ya, it ain't that bad once you get used to it.
Anyway, sincerely hope Leicester win it. Great manager and right player attitude. Good luck to them!

 

You are making it sound like it will be a bad for the club for them to win the league Tim. **** it, live for the moment! Sod sustainability! And the expectation of long term success just leads to another type of misery - Arsenal, Chelsea, United, City none of their fans are happy unless they win the league, because they expect to. The high is fleeting when they do, it's back to the grindstone to do it next season. Apart from one night in Istanbul Liverpool fans have been miserable for decades. I really think a brief, hyper bright burst of unexpected glory is in many ways better than the continual fear of not winning everything. Even if you win a lot. I've had a lifetime of postponed joy with QPR, with a few glimpses of the end of the tunnel, just once I'd like to crash into the sunlight, even if it's only for a few minutes. Good on them Foxes!

 

Sorry not my intention and you are right it will be fantastic for them and with the other teams around them not being consistent I honestly think they are in with a good shout and if it happens it will be great for English football as a whole. I'm happy to be a QPR supporter and enjoying the ride, just suppose modern football and modern football rules that are designed to piss on anyone who are not a select few annoy me greatly, this should have Leicester up there with the extra money they would receive, for a few years, just hope this is the case!

 

Their fate will be decided in the next two games. I think if offered it they would take two draws right now and if they achieve that then the sky really could be the limit for them. Two defeats could see the rot set in. I think every fan outside the Etihad and Emirates are willing them on. We all admire them and are a tad envious.
My envy in the Championship is toward Burnley. A team that we should be showing our backside to yet they are head and shoulders above us with their management, player buying and all round team ethic.

 

Am I the only one that doesn't want them to win it? Mainly because of fans - remember some of them coming on here being a nightmare the year we went up and last year after avoiding relegation. Also work in Leic occasionally and fans I deal with are so up themselves. Hope they fall out of top 4 personally

 

I have always hated them if a bit less than Norwich and Villa, not sure why. But first line of hate sang from the Loft was "We all F.... ...Hate Leicester", and that's the same for me. I hope they end up outside the top 4.