If an alien landed on Earth today and you told them Leicester City had been Premier League and FA Cup winners within the last decade, they’d be laughing all the way back to their home planet. The Foxes are now languishing in the second tier of the English game, and it’s hard to fathom just how badly everything went wrong for the club.
The amazing thing is that Leicester was once regarded as one of the best-run clubs in the country. Their fall from grace should serve as a warning to other sides who are starting to feel too comfortable in the top flight.
Leicester’s Fall from Grace Has Been Astounding
At the end of the 2015-16 season, Leicester managed to achieve the unthinkable. The East Midlands club beat the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City, and Tottenham Hotspur to the ultimate prize and were crowned Premier League champions. After flirting with relegation the season before, this was a stunning achievement.
The exposure and money that came with the win enabled the Foxes to become one of the most sustainable clubs in the top flight. They lost a few notable players, such as Riyad Mahrez, but were able to replace them with other standout performers. The club never hit the same highs as that campaign in the seasons that followed, but they did stay competitive and solidified their status as a top-half club for many years.
There were numerous factors that led them to drop like a stone last season, though. One of the worst decisions was to let Kasper Schmeichel leave the club. Along with being an exceptional goalkeeper, he was also an experienced leader for Leicester. Brendan Rodgers was also let down in the transfer market prior to the 2022-23 season, and this led to an awful start that they never recovered from.
Clubs Nowadays Need Other Revenue Streams
Leicester’s nightmare story should serve as a warning to other clubs in the Premier League. Other than the giants of the game at the top of the table, nobody is safe. The Foxes proved that even with the riches that came with a top-flight win, they couldn’t sustain themselves at the top.
Premier League clubs without billionaire owners should start exploring additional revenue streams or ways to attract new fans. This is a model that works in the entertainment industry, so why not football? Game of Thrones, for instance, found great success by branching out into a range of games on various platforms to boost its exposure.
Premier League clubs should leverage the power of other huge industries like esports and online casinos to reach more people. According to this live casino guide, more players than ever are signing up to live streamed games of roulette, blackjack, and poker. There are also innovative titles like Monopoly Big Baller that offer something different to traditional tables. A Premier League club could endorse a football-themed game at live casinos and tap into this growing audience to boost its revenue streams.
Right now, it looks like Brighton & Hove Albion has the most enviable model in the Premier League. They have an exceptional scouting network and have been able to sell players for huge profits. However, even they need to be careful to avoid following in Leicester’s footsteps. Building a franchise that transcends the sport could be the way to do that.
