“Foxes Never Quit” is the motto emblasoned above the King Power Stadium tunnel, glanced upon by the likes of Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez before running out and performing in the manner they have done this season. The motto, it’s been shown, is clearly apt. All season, the entirety of Football had expected Leicester to fall away, yet they didn’t. It seems that those Foxes, in fact, do not quit; indeed, they have managed to outfox all the teams in the Premier League bar one: that one being Arsenal, one of two teams to have beaten Leicester in the League, and the only to have done the double over them. However, Arsenal managed to outfox themselves out of Title contention, and only their North London rivals Spurs had any hope of catching Claudio Ranieri’s side, and those were ended by Ranieri’s old side Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Champion status not only guarantees Champions League football, but also Top Seed status in the Group Stage draw. All this means that Europe’s Elite are returning to the East Midlands for the first time since Brian Clough’s famous Nottingham Forest side won the European Cup twice in a row in 1979 and 1980. Comparison with that Forest side has been common this season, and isn’t that far off the mark. Forest are the last English side to win the First Division the season after being promoted from the Second, a record that doesn’t look like being changed in the modern era; Leicester this season is possibly the closest thing we’ll get to that in the foreseeable future.
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| Claudio Ranieri and Wes Morgan lift the Premier League trophy after their last home game, a 3-1 win over Everton |
