Premier League champions only seven years ago, Leicester City find themselves Championship-bound following a season beset by inertia, which ultimately ended in relegation.
The Foxes fell from eighth place 12 months ago to 18th, perhaps taking too long to make a change in the dugout and paying the price for a dire defensive record. Recruitment has long been an issue too.
From silverware and glory days under Claudio Ranieri and - initially - Brendan Rodgers, Leicester fans endured an awful year, which once again proved that no team is 'too good to go down'.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look back at Leicester City's lamentable 2022-23 campaign.
SEASON OVERVIEW
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Final league position: 18th
EFL Cup: Quarter-finals
FA Cup: Fifth round
Top scorer: Harvey Barnes (16)
Most assists: James Maddison (9)
Setting out in August, most pundits assumed that Leicester City - while hampered by an inert transfer policy - would, at worst, secure a comfortable mid-table finish in the Premier League.
However, complacency had set in. Wesley Fofana left at a pretty price, but Wout Faes was signed for a snip. Jamie Vardy's inevitable decline was ignored, and it was clear neither Kelechi Iheanacho or Patson Daka could consistently step into the breach. Kasper Schmeichel's departure left a vacuum both in goal and inside the dressing room.
A tough start to the schedule did not help either, as after the Foxes got their campaign underway with a home fixture against Brentford, games against Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United followed by the start of September.
In fact, Leicester were the last top-flight team to win a league game, having to wait until October for victory over a Nottingham Forest side in similar disarray.
After such a sluggish start to the season, Brendan Rodgers saw off growing murmurs about his future by overseeing an impressive run of form heading into the World Cup break, as fellow bottom-half sides Leeds United, Wolves, Everton and West Ham United were all beaten and Manchester City found themselves restricted to a mere 1-0 win at the King Power Stadium.
Resuming on Boxing Day, against upwardly mobile Newcastle United, Leicester had clearly lost that momentum; putting in a turgid performance to lose 3-0 on home soil - then they were knocked out of the EFL Cup by Eddie Howe's Magpies just two weeks later.
During the much-anticipated winter transfer window, which promised to help turn around their season, the Foxes made three signings, but two were soon demoted to bit-part roles as the struggle to survive deepened.
Ultimately, Rodgers paid the price, leaving behind a legacy of the 2021 FA Cup win and several close brushes with the breaking into the Premier League's top four - in addition to some memorable European adventures.
With Adam Sadler and Mike Stowell left in charge for two matches on a temporary basis - costly defeats to Aston Villa and relegation rivals Bournemouth - more ground was lost before Dean Smith arrived alongside Craig Shakespeare and John Terry in order to steady the ship.
Instead, the trio presided over a listing vessel bound for oblivion, as formation tweaks and changes in personnel failed to have any impact: James Maddison missed a crucial penalty against Everton when Leicester were 2-1 up, then losing successive games to Fulham and Liverpool for the concession of eight goals perhaps marked the point of no return.
In the final week, a dogged draw at Newcastle and the Foxes' final-day win over West Ham were not enough to rise above Everton, and demotion was finally confirmed.
Having scored the same number of goals as seventh-placed Aston Villa but too often failed to see out results - Leicester lost a league-high six matches after they had gone in front - it was ultimately a soft centre that sent the Midlands club down and brought about the end of an era.
PREMIER LEAGUE STATS
Wins: 9 (=16th)
Draws: 7 (=11th)
Losses: 22 (2nd)
Goals scored: 51 (=10th)
Goals conceded: 68 (=16th)
Yellow cards: 59 (=14th)
Red cards: 2 (=6th)
Passes: 17,365 (8th)
Shots: 418 (15th)
Big chances missed: 49 (9th)
Saves: 116 (=7th)
Tackles: 700 (5th)
Own goals: 5 (=2nd)
Hit woodwork: 13 (12th)
Clearances: 723 (11th)
HOW DID IT COMPARE TO LAST SEASON?
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On the back of FA Cup success a few months earlier and a strong track-record before that, when Leicester began to struggle during the first half of the 2021-22 campaign, Brendan Rodgers came under pressure for the first time. That set the scene for a similar scenario this season.
Many believed he had taken the Foxes as far as he could, but in Europe they broke new ground by progressing past Rennes and PSV to set up a Europa Conference League semi-final with Roma; opening up an opportunity to lift the club's first continental trophy.
Though the Serie A side then prevailed 2-1 on aggregate, in some respects Rodgers saw his stock strengthened - but Leicester were putting together their worst Premier League season, points-wise, since 2017-18.
Perhaps the writing was on the wall, then, as they slipped from regular top-four contenders to finish eighth. However, few would have expected that decline to continue to such an extent that relegation would result just 12 months later.
In 2022-23, Leicester conceded only nine more goals but also took 18 fewer points, which was quite some drop-off in fortunes and naturally placed them in grave danger.
The absence of European football this term brought - some suggested - a chance to target domestic competitions, but while Leicester reached the fourth round in their FA Cup defence and the last eight of the 2021-22 EFL Cup, this year still brought a broadly similar outcome.
PLAYER OF THE SEASON: HARVEY BARNES
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Few players came out of the campaign with much credit, as Leicester collectively came up short most weeks. On an individual level, though, both James Maddison and Harvey Barnes posted impressive statistics considering their team's ongoing malaise.
While Maddison reaffirmed his reputation as the club's greatest talent and won himself a place in England's World Cup squad, several absences and dips in form proved costly for the Foxes. Barnes was not immune to such problems either, but still became the club's top scorer from out wide.
The 25-year-old winger will almost certainly be playing top-flight football next term, and most likely signed off on his time at the King Power with 16 goals in all competitions; taking his overall tally to 45 in 187 Leicester appearances.
Elsewhere, Nampalys Mendy turned in committed displays when all was faltering around him, but few others could claim they should be in contention.
STANDOUT RESULT: LEICESTER CITY 4-0 NOTTINGHAM FOREST
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After a 4-1 loss at the City Ground in last year's FA Cup - when their opponents were still Championship playoff hopefuls - Leicester took great joy in thumping East Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest 4-0 in front of their jubilant fans.
Ending a streak of six straight defeats, during which they conceded 20 goals, the Foxes tore into their bitter foes with ruthless precision; scoring three goals in the space of 10 first-half minutes to seize control of the game.
Brendan Rodgers saw his team become the first to score three times from outside the box during the first half of a Premier League match since 2017, as James Maddison bagged a brace and Harvey Barnes smashed home Jamie Vardy's cutback in-between.
After the interval, Patson Daka stepped off the bench to increase the visitors' pain with a 73rd-minute strike; putting the result beyond any doubt.
That their win lifted them off the bottom at Forest's expense made victory all the sweeter, but it was Steve Cooper's side who would have the last laugh in May.
> Click here for a full list of Leicester City's results from the 2022-23 season
BEST MOMENT
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While such a scintillating success against Nottingham Forest perhaps takes the prize of 'Best Moment' for most, perhaps travelling a little further back in time marks the only occasion when optimism truly took hold at the King Power in an abject campaign.
On the Premier League's opening day, Leicester surged into a two-goal lead against Brentford, and after Timothy Castagne recorded the club's first strike of the season before the break, home-grown Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall put the Foxes further ahead just after half time.
Established stars Jamie Vardy and Youri Tielemans both came close to extending the hosts' advantage - with the latter even hitting the post - and it seemed they would go on to make an fast start to 2022-23 amid the glow of warm summer sunshine; maybe setting the scene for a fresh top-six challenge.
But when Ivan Toney struck just after the hour-mark, such notions began to crumble in what would become all-too-familiar fashion, and a 2-2 home draw was then followed by the agony of six successive league defeats.
TOP PRIORITY FOR SUMMER
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After nine consecutive years in the Premier League, it is certainly a case of 'all change' at the King Power this summer, as numerous issues must be resolved by owner Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha and his managerial team.
With at least one season in the Championship to come, there will be a big reset: James Maddison has surely played his last game for Leicester City and represents one of two major assets who can be sold to raise funds - youth product Harvey Barnes should also fetch a substantial fee.
After an underwhelming campaign, Youri Tielemans will see out his contract and is one of several men due to become free agents in the coming days. Saving on such substantial wages will aid City's bid to recruit players for a promotion push in 2023-24.
Problems in that department, though, must quickly be resolved, as a lack of signings last summer - plus replacing Wesley Fofana with Wout Faes, who proved an inadequate cut-price replacement - cost the Foxes dearly.
Burnley have modelled how it should be done, but there will be stiff competition for a top-two place in the second tier and few teams now bounce back at the first time of asking. Crucially, like Vincent Kompany's arrival at Turf Moor, finding the right man to occupy the dugout is essential.
Interim boss Dean Smith could yet depart but boasts experience of getting a big club back into the big-time at Aston Villa; however, his reputation has taken a hit from successive relegations and fans may prefer a fresh start.
There are many other contenders to be found, as managing Leicester City still remains an attractive proposition to coaches at home and abroad, but an appointment must be made sooner rather than later.
FINAL VERDICT
After surviving the drop by a slim margin and then winning the Premier League title 12 months later at odds of 5,000-1, Leicester City made quite a top-flight return. Racking up five top-10 finishes, winning the FA Cup and reaching the latter stages in European competitions will also live long in the memory.
However, such success is consigned to the history books now, as they contemplate a season which saw everything they had built fall apart at the seams.
Deservedly, Leicester drop into the super-competitive Championship, with no guarantee of a return. The finger of blame may pointed in several directions, but ultimately collective failure sees the Foxes slip out of the English elite and back into the pack.
Jonathan O'Shea
