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Making the trip to the Walker Stadium in August 2008 after the play-off final win the previous May, we faced a Leicester City team which was playing in the third tier for the first time in their history. That was a League Cup game, the first meeting between the Clubs in 83 years. There wasn’t long to wait for the second, which was a League game at EP just 4 days later. The cup game saw us exit from the competition with the league encounter ending in a fairly dour scoreless draw. It was early in March when the return meeting took place down in the East Midlands. By that time the Foxes were running away with the title, with a 12 point lead over 2nd placed MK Dons.

County had done pretty well, and lay in 8th place but the dark clouds of impending financial cataclysm were gathering in SK3. Both Anthony Pilkington and Jim McNulty had moved on, (to Huddersfield and Brighton respectively), to boost the coffers, albeit in a vain attempt to stave off what by then was the inevitable. Only 5 of the 16 in the squad at the Walker Stadium remained from the Wembley win, only just over 9 months previously. The tides of change were looming.

The game got off to the worst possible start as with less than 90 seconds on the clock a Leicester shot was diverted past keeper Owain fon Williams by James Tunnicliffe. The meagre gathering from Stockport sat back and awaited a deluge of goals much in keeping with what was a dank, wet evening. But surprise surprise. Only 5 minutes had elapsed when Chris O’Grady picked up the ball just inside the area, swivelled and thrashed it past home keeper Stockdale. It stayed that way as well and a most unexpected point was packed in the kitbag for the return trip. It was a heartening display particularly for those who had made the numbing trip to Colchester the previous week to see a dreadful; spiritless defeat at a time when there was talk of Jim Gannon moving to Brighton.

The two draws against Leicester that season, in a campaign in which they won 27, drew 15 and lost only 4 games was a more than creditable display. Little did we know that within a mere 7 years we would not be 7 places apart in the football hierarchy, but 124 places as Leicester won the Premier League and we were ensconced in the middle of Tier 6 playing regional football. To illustrate the relative rise and fall even more starkly – by early April 2017 County played, (and won!) at Gainsborough in front of a massive throng of 851. Four days later Leicester were at the Wanda Metropolitano, Madrid facing Atletico in a Champions League Quarter Final. I’m sure that Andy King who played in the game at the Walker Stadium in 2009 and in Madrid will remember the latter with more fondness than the former!!

How great was the rise for the Foxes and how far did we fall in those short seven years….

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Memories of trips to the Walker Stadium

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THE GAMES

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Where the date is in bold click for highlights of the game

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	Date	Venue	Ground	Competition		F	A	Att:
Tues	12/08/08	a	Walker Stadium	Carling Cup (Round 1)	L	0	1	7,386
Sat	16/08/08	h	Edgeley Park	Coca-Cola Football League – League 1 (Tier 3)	D	0	0	7,151
Tues	03/03/09	a	Walker Stadium	Coca-Cola Football League – League 1 (Tier 3)	D	1	1	16,378

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