This week has been one of ups and downs all the way on both my business fronts and of course on the City football front.

One of the most difficult things that a pro footballer can do is adjust to a life outside it and even though it is well over 10 years since the boots were well and truly hung up, there are weeks when it all becomes a bit of a blur and you wish you still had the youth to put back on that famous and beloved no 5 blue shirt! This week has been just one of those weeks…

I am working on three very different non-football career paths, and each is bringing with it the headaches, stresses and the rewards of success. There is no doubt however that life after football is just the same as that in it. Success comes only as a result of very hard work and if you do that, the chances of success increase. I am working with Muzzy Izzett in Future Foxes to develop the stars of the future through our very successful soccer academy and our Easter courses are now very nearly on us. Add to that my involvement with KKong Events where we have now started organisation of the Joe Calzaghe and Alexander O’Neal nights, and a new Chinese Restaurant venture in Countesthorpe and you can see why the sleepless nights are with me! Details for all these events are kept fully up to date on my Twitter account, so have a look and support me with them if you can.

Back to the football, and being a Leicester City fan has always been one hell of roller coaster ride, especially this season. So far we have seen some real ups and downs and Saturday’s match saw us lose more ground in the league table. Hull City seems to be smashing their way up the league and our rivals at Nottingham Forest seem to have crept up behind us. Forest certainly can’t be ruled out for promotion now they have got “their Billy back” and they might just make it into the play-offs with his record. Earlier on in the season I wouldn’t have seen them as a threat but they have proved me wrong! If LCFC can make up some ground, a play-off match against Forest would certainly be one to watch.

Matches are coming and going very quickly as the business of the end of the season takes its shape. The defeat at Ipswich followed by two dropped points against Leeds at home on Tuesday saw us lose a bit of ground again, but the play off’s are a gamble and automatic has still got be our main ambition. I was there on the night with my old mate Matt Elliott and we both felt massive relief when the late equaliser went in to silence the amazingly noisy Leeds fans.

If it is a play off spot,  I hope the lads are getting in some penalty practise at training as I couldn’t stand to see another Kermorgant antic! And whilst we did recently see Wood miss a penalty at Blackpool, Kasper Schmeichel, our penalty king could prove to be a saviour.

As I write this blog, I see that the press are saying that a defeat against Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday will be Nigel Pearson’s last as he will get the dreaded sack. To me, this talk is complete rubbish, and I have always believed that the one thing a club must do is be supporting the manager over a long period to bring success from this sort of consistency. If you look at our visitors on Saturday, the Wednesday fans were calling for Dave Jones’s head for weeks following a bad run of 7 or 8 defeats, but Milan stuck with him and he has turned them round into an outfit that are very difficult to beat and now clawing their way out of the bottom 3.

I know there’s some serious money in promotion this year and with the Thai owners buying the stadium last week we are in a very healthy state of affairs, but I’m sure that the owners will not want to disrupt the season as it approaches the business end and make an unnecessary change. Nigel Pearson is the man for the job, end of!!

Its been a very mixed week for me on football and personal fronts. It started poorly last Saturday when we could only manage a draw at Blackpool. It was an opportunity to get some well needed points and make up ground in the league, but it wasn’t to be and we settled for a draw.

Blackpool was where I signed my first non-contract as a 15 year old when 1966 world cup winner Alan Ball was in charge. Being in Blackpool bought back loads of memories for me and I couldn’t help but remember a cracking goal I scored as a 12 year old at Bloomfield Road. Happy days!

The game reminded me how well we must have progressed this season. Blackpool are a top side and I really did think we were going to return from Bloomfield Road with all three points. Chris Wood’s missed penalty proved to be a costly mistake but I think our new signing, Harry Kane, will give us a boost in the goal department. Harry is a player who is very well thought about in the game and several teams would have killed for his signature! We did have a pretty decent start at Blackpool as Pearson went with a 4:3:3 attacking line-up. We had dominance, we were aggressive and we attacked but it just wasn’t enough. We do have to thank Schmeichel for some important saves! A good run of results is now what we need and I still believe that we are more than capable. We just need to get those results so we can stop looking over our shoulders at all those teams fighting and scrambling to get into the play-off positions.

Despite all this I still enjoyed my trip up north at the weekend. It was great to go and see my family and I owe a big thank you to City as they provided two directors’ box tickets for me and my dad. He loved it, and wore his suit with the LCFC tie I gave him after winning the Coca-Cola Cup. We also got to meet Jimmy Armfield and had the opportunity to speak to one of the all time greats about players of his day like Tom Finney and Stanley Matthews.

Tuesdays match saw us get back in the mix, and in style! It was a statement to all the doubters as Blackburn Rovers got brushed aside in a very convincing fashion. Leicester totally dominated the game from start to finish.

For me, it was one of the best first half performances of the season as City showed a hunger to make amends for the last few games. There were flashes of brilliance from Marshall, Wood and Kane and we saw a world class save from Schmeichel. Blackburn’s only effort for a goal was denied, a save that Gordon Banks would have been proud of! After that, it was always going to be Leicester’s night and they deserved it! We saw a superb cross from Marshall and a header from Wood, the King Power stadium then came to life. From then on, we hit cruise control and it was just a matter of time before we scored again just before half-time. We got ourselves three much needed points and a great confidence boost!

Last Friday, I visited Loros on the Groby Road in Leicester to see Dave Hurst, a big Leicester City fan who was very ill. I went in to try and cheer him up a bit but I heard some terrible news after the match on Tuesday that he only had a few hours left to live. Situation’s like that really put life into perspective! All my thoughts are with his family and friends, and I hope that we can dedicate Leicester’s win on Tuesday to him!

Loros is a fantasic  local charity who do an amazing job in the hospice movement locally and they really deserve to get masses of help and support from the community. The people working there are simply wonderful and make all the difference for the one’s who need their help and every one of them deserves a medal for what they do. Just a quick tour of their website should prompt everyone to think if they can help in any way – http://www.loros.com/

Back to the football and what a week we have coming up. We should get a result at Ipswich away and then it is quickly followed by the visits of Leeds and Sheffield Wednesday to our newly purchased home at the King Power Stadium – can’t wait!!

As Wigan Athletic stroll into the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup with a lucrative tie away to Everton, I can’t help but feel that that should have been us! Although, I’m really pleased for my old club and wish them the best of luck for the next round. My memories of Wigan will stay with me forever and I’ve got a lot to be grateful of as they gave me my first professional contract that set me on my way to a fantastic footballing career. They are still fighting to stay in the Premier League as they have done for so many seasons, but this year it looks like they are really up against it!

Last weekend saw Nigel Pearson and his men watch their two nearest rivals widen the gap for automatic promotion ever further. It was a weekend to ponder with a tinge of regret as we crashed so miserably out the FA Cup, and had the bad news of Chris Wood’s injury. All in all, yet another bad week for LCFC.

We all know that promotion is our main objective so we all need to keep that optimism as a firm priority. Our players need to show more self-belief, this is vital if we are going to turn around our streak of bad performances. It’s also important that the fans stay with us all the way, but as a club, the support is always top notch. Even Chris Wood was heard praising the Blue Army a couple of days ago!

It was sad to see yet another defeat on Tuesday night against Charlton. Especially as it was the first home defeat of 2013. But, it was great to see Chris Wood back on the pitch scoring more goals. He really is showing his worth on the pitch and I’m looking forward to seeing him and our new signing, Harry Kane working together. Best of luck to Harry, I hope he can turn things around for us!

Over the Easter Holiday, Muzzy Izzet and I are running a soccer academy; the dates are 25^th-29^th March. For more information please see our website, www.futurefoxes.com.

K Kong Events has also got a few great events coming up. We have a night with Joe Calzaghe on 5^th April that still has tables left. Also we have a gig with Alexander O’Neil on 1^st June at Leicester’s O2 Academy. For more information on these two events please see www.kkongevents.co.uk.

Me and Muzzy went to see the King Richard site last week. Well worth a visit to Leicester Cathedral.

Saturday’s game saw LCFC miss a great opportunity to close the gap on Cardiff with a disappointing display against rock bottom, Peterborough. But, there was still a bit of luck on our sides with the other results. Our match against Boro should have seen a bonus three points and it could have given us a great advantage considering the slip up made by Watford, they let a two goal lead slip through their fingers against Crystal Palace on Friday evening.

I didn’t get to the game with the 5,000 City followers, but I’ve heard so many fans saying that we didn’t turn it up. I was very surprised to hear that Chris Wood was missing, and the news that he may be missing for a while is definitely the worst I’ve heard in a while! We seemed to have had a minor crash, just as things were starting to look pretty impressive. I wish Wood a speedy recovery, we will need him back on the pitch as soon as possible.  So far this season he has been that one piece of the jigsaw that has slotted right in and turned the picture around, although I know that Nigel Pearson still has plenty of pieces to stand in.

It’s such a shame that the LCFC boys sent our diehard fans travelling back down the A47 empty handed, but if it’s any consolation Man City got whipped 3-1! And that surely has to put a few smiles back on our faces. Cardiff must be pleased with the LCFC result as it saw no damage to their position in the table; they are certainly still firm favourites to take the Championship title.  The rest of us are going to have to scrap and fight for that second automatic place.

Last Friday was an entertaining night for me; I took part in a Q&A Evening with The Birch at The Bulls Head in Countesthorpe. It was great to have a good old catch up and share great memories and stories. I’ll keep you updated about when the next one will take place.

It’s been such a busy week for me, on Monday night I went down to More Restaurant in Leicester. On Monday evenings they host a Mexican themed night. It’s a fantastic

restaurant with a great atmosphere and brilliant food. I had another top notch evening!

The FA Cup match against Huddersfield was, for me, a missed opportunity. I was gutted to see LCFC lose as I was really looking forward to seeing them play my first club Wigan Athletic. With a full LCFC squad, we could have taken Wigan and who knows what could have happened with Cup progression. On the night it was a sloppy and disappointing match with many missed chances! But, I suppose at this point promotion is our priority. The old cliché will be out in numbers – we can now concentrate on the league!

If anybody wants my new collector’s item framed Derby final ’94 Winner photo with 1st Day cover (only 100 made), they are now on offer at £100. To place your order email: shane@kkongevents.co.uk

K Kong Events are still really busy at the moment, we’ve got several new events lined up for the summer and we have just closed the deal for a gig with Alexander O’Neil for the 1^st June at the O2 Academy in Leicester. Tickets will be on sale at £25 from next week. If you want any more information please see our website, www.kkongevents.co.uk.

Also we’ve got details of our soccer camps available at www.futurefoxes.com. Booking forms are available on the site.

Leicester City turned up the heat once again to put pressure on Cardiff, we are still 10 points behind them but we have plenty of matches to catch up! And, at this moment points are what we need, with Hull, Watford and Crystal Palace closely chasing our tails. We’ve had a great few weeks and the confidence within the club must still be high.

My usual match-day hospitality had to be missed at last week’s match against Wolves as Sky selected me and Steve Bull to be in the studio, it proved to be a highly entertaining evening and was great to get another one over my rival when LCFC delivered the goods! Although, Wolves could havenicked a point with a couple of near misses towards the end of the match. David Nugent bagged himself another trademark goal in front of the cameras, and as ever, Mr Reliable (Wes Morgan) ensured our goal difference stayed intact. It was clear on the night that Knockaert was causing a few headaches for the West Country side.

The “business end” of this season’s games are coming in thick and fast, and there’s still the FA Cup to think about with a great chance of progress. I fancy us to beat Huddersfield with a well rotated squad. And a win would see us play my old club, Wigan Athletic. We are undoubtedly good enough to get through the FA Cup games ahead, but our success will all depend on how Nigel Pearson views the importance of the matches. Could it just distract us from our promotion push?Personally, I think we have a big enough and strong enough squad to handle the pressure of both the league and the Cup.I’ve got a lot of faith in the Foxes! The history of the FA Cup giant killers could see a surprise package if we get through Huddersfield. But, if I had to choose between League and Cup I would choose League as promotion this season is vital. But either way, this season is shaping up to be an exciting one!

K Kong Events is still going well and we have a lot of great events coming up. On 10th May we are holding a Charity Golf Day at Forest Hill Golf Club, of which the proceeds will go to the ‘Wishes for Kids’ charity. If anyone wants anymore information you can find it at www.kkongevents.co.uk

What a week!!

City go from strength to strength and on the 26^th January saw an FA Cup dream live on. Although we are subject to a replay against Huddersfield, there is still chance for us to go through and if we win, the draw has given us a home tie against Wigan Athletic.

My Cashfighter event at Leicester Coliseum prevented me from being part of the LCFC Army that went up North for the match. I am really pleased that we are still in there with a fighting chance and our chances have definitely been improved by Nigel Pearson’s luxury squad rotations; this will enable us to keep our fitness at its maximum for the Cup games and league games.

I can understand our fans frustrations about Saturdays match, but we have to differentiate that promotion is vital with the position we are in rather than FA Cup success. I still think there is a great opportunity to progress a long way and who knows how far we could go if we beat Huddersfield. Can we go all the way and make history? Football is a funny game. Let’s not get carried away we haven’t done anything yet and a long way to go. I’m quietly confident about how far we can go and it was good to see Nigel Pearson have a game away from the league and be given an opportunity to experiment with the team. I don’t think there were any outstanding performances from our players, but on our return to our King Power fortress I’m sure we can go on to play Wigan where I started my football career.

Remember a little while ago I told you to keep an eye on Watford?  Well they have sneaked up to 4^th in between Hull and Palace. We need to be aware. I am convinced as I said before this top 6 will fight it out for promotion. My prediction is that Wood and Nugent are going to shoot us into the Premier, with Big Wes Morgan and Keane as our rock solid back line that will stop anything that gets in our way. As I write this, Chris Wood has been signed permanently which is a massive boost for the Club.

And it only gets better! Live on Sky against Wolves and a ground out 2 – 1 victory to put us firmly second in the table and looking to seal that automatic promotion spot. All credit to Nigel Pearson who knows how vital it is for the owners to get their reward with promotion to the best league in the world. It was great to re-live some great tussles with Steve Bull and try to forget the “red mist” that used to come down when we took opposite sides on the pitch.

As I said before, I had my Cashfighter Event on Saturday and it was sensational! Better than ‘An Evening with Mike Tyson’ for atmosphere and my team from K Kong delivered again. I can’t wait for my next event, ‘An Evening with Joe Calzaghe’! Half the tables have sold already so if you’re interested you’ll have to be quick. More information can be found on our website, www.kkongevents.co.uk

Is this the best ever start to a New Year for Leicester City? I can’t remember a better one and we have steamed ahead into automatic places. I still can’t believe that Friday’s game wasn’t called off due to weather, right up until 7.45 I was hearing that the game would be cancelled!

All credit must go to a very ambitious team of staff for all the hard work they put into getting the pitch and surrounding area immaculate. I did my bit of spreading salt outside the front of reception at around 12.30 as you can see in the photo. I also had a long interview with Gary Newbon for a probable TV programme that is being constructed and beamed back to Thailand. It brought back some very happy memories and I’m sure it’s going to be a huge success. With the weather as it was I decided to stay for the rest of the day at the club so that I could make sure I was there for the match. It’s a good job I did as Ali Mauchlen got caught out had to turn back and watch on sky as I covered his role in hospitality.

We have to feel sorry for the Leicester fans who didn’t make the game but three points softened the blow as Nigel Pearson’s men showed there superiority in a fantastic game against rivals Middlesbrough. This time it was David Nugent’s turn to hit the headlines in a MOM performance that brought him the winning goal. Yet overall everybody played there part as we stepped up the pace for automatic promotion. Middlesbrough certainly looked a capable outfit but were outfoxed as Leicester hit the woodwork three times had two offside goals disallowed, one of which was clearly onside! Yet we nearly threw away the win as Sub Vardy gave away a late penalty. Sir Kasper Schmeichal came to the rescue with what could prove to be one of the most crucial saves of the season.

Everything’s looking Rosy as we have the best goal difference in the league and we are hot on the tails of Cardiff who won again. If we can start to score a few more goals away from home then automatic promotion should be guaranteed, but let’s not get carried away at this moment still plenty of points to go. I believe that the top 6 teams at the moment will pull away from the rest and watch out for Watford they are creeping their way up the table. Well done Pearson, you can do it!

It’s another big week for me as K Kong Events moves into its new office and starts setting up for this weekend’s event. Our Cash fighter event, which I am really looking forward to! My Charity Golf day in May is already nearly sold-out, there’s only two tables left; anyone interested? Find out more at www.kkongevents.co.uk. Our Evening with Joe Calzaghe is fast approaching also, with tickets going on sale last week. This event is looking to sell out fast so make sure you take a look at the website if you want more details.

Leicester City’s intentions for 2013 have been clearly spelt out for all with 3 out of 3 wins and a smashing 14 goals, just for good measure! This is a serious statement to every team in the league that respect is due. What I would like to look at is the fashion and style of this demolition. I haven’t seen football like this at the King Power Stadium, what the LCFC boys are showing us is something I have only seen at our beloved Filbert Street.

I shouldn’t get carried away as there is a long way to go but as an ex-pro I know only too well that from here on in games come thick and fast as the season disappears very quickly. Excuse me for getting to confident but I have a belief that we can win the league if we keep certain player fit. Two of them would have to be Wes Morgan and Chris Wood. What an impact Wood has made since his arrival, he has been a revelation and I can see him taking us back to Heaven. A target man with great movement and awareness around the goal makes him a threat to anyone.

Pearson has to take massive credit for his turnaround as he never wavered from his beliefs and has made so many people eat their words He never shows too much emotion but I can tell you he is unbelievably focused and so are all the players and everybody connected with the club. This winning mentality is getting infectious as we win the programme of the season of 2012/13 and I believe this set of players now have the taste of success.

The next three games as I have said before are huge. Middleboro, Cardiff and Wolves. I am hoping we can cause damage to these three teams and if we do I think we are looking at an automatic place to move up. We have to home advantage as I know that the voice of the fans can be a huge inspiration on the pitch and really lift the player’s spirits in the game. Good luck to Nigel Pearson and the lads again, we are all behind you! I think I can speak for all the fans when I say this.

On the 26^th January, K Kong is hosting a Cashfighter event with Frank Bruno. There are a few tables left if anyone is interested. Also we have confirmed Alexander O’Neil for 31^st May; tickets go on sale at £25. Please keep an eye on www.kkongevents.co.uk for more information about these events. We also have a charity golf day at Forest Hill Golf Club, which is a team event. For all information and booking please see our website.

Lastly, the Steve Walsh and Muzzy Izzet Soccer Academy has its 2013 diary ready with Holiday Camps and Development centres. Professional coaching session plans are in place based on FA guidelines. Quality passing and movement drills are key initiatives this year as we look for some more youngsters to join the LCFC ranks. We are looking to recruit more players for Goals on Monday evening and Lutterworth on Wednesdays. Anybody interested please contact us on: T. 01162029663 or E. info@futurefoxes.com

Saturday saw LCFC get a safe passage through to the Fourth Round FA Cup draw, as Burton Albion had no answers to an on form, resurgent Leicester City side that didn’t even need to get out of second gear! We also a bit of revenge for the Capital One Cup exit earlier in the season. Nugent and Knockaert rested on the bench shows that squad strength, and a next round tie against Huddesfield will not cause us any major fear after the result last week! It was great to see Kevin Poole before the game, I’ve got a lot of respect for him, a great professional and he has only just hung up his boots.

Nigel Pearson once again got his tactics spot on, and Wood certainly got some more target practice. He forced his way through defenders and the keeper to calmly steer the ball into the net only minutes into the game, and the goal came just at the perfect time to give the team great confidence and they commanded the game from then on. Solid performances were given by Morgan, Keane and De Laet, with De Laet once again taking man of the match. I don’t think Burton raised a single shot on target, so LCFC’s defence did their job well.

Steve Walsh, our player recruitment guy is certainly pulling some strings with Man Utd. Keane’s loan deal has been extended until the end of January. He is certainly a player we want to be keeping for the foreseeable future!

Nigel Pearson must be happy with the latest few results, and the current strength of his team. As we go into four difficult games in January that will be a big test, although they have come at a great time for LCFC’s confidence! I’m expecting a point’s rush in February/March.

It was great to meet up with Brian Little in the Lineker Suite with his family and he’s agreed to do a Q&A on 23rd May should be really interesting so make sure you get your seats reserved by emailing steve@kkongevents.co.uk., venue TBC – price approx £25. Remember it was him who helped make me famous (well a bit, anyway!) by putting me upfront and apparently he was so glad David Speedie was suspended for that play-off final! As was I!

Well done Nigel & The boys keep up the good work.

Our Cashfighter night on the 26th of January is coming up quick and we only have a few tables remaining! We also have a very exciting event coming up which I will have details of in next weeks blog! Get on to http://www.kkongevents.co.uk to keep up to date with our future events!

What a fantastic way to start 2013 by LCFC! 6 goals at home and 2 by a player signed only that morning. What a result! Simon Grayson must have wondered what had hit him as Leicester City sent a clear message to everyone that they are a force to be reckoned with. I saw Simon Grayson on New Year’s Eve at the Marriot Hotel (where most teams spend the night before they play City), and I did warn him about what Leicester were capable of. And they did us all proud and absolutely destroyed Huddersfield. It was annihilation from start to finish!

The new signing, Chris Wood, gave the team a new sense of balance. His performance was excellent! I still think that there could have been 10 goals as Wood had 2 great chances as soon as the whistle blew, but a scrambled goal line clearance saved Huddersfield in the second minute. For me, the ball definitely crossed the line (so much for goal line technology)! The football was sublime with wave after wave of attacks cutting through Huddersfield’s shaky defence. How fitting it was to see Wood notch his first goal with a cool finish from a brilliant move by Nugent. What impressed me the most about Wood was his movement and willingness to get in the box, and it certainly paid off!

There was a rock solid defensive performance by LCFC on the day as well, with our new boy Michael Keane looking very composed. The new players have given Nigel Pearson so many different team options, and all strong ones! Mr Reliable, Konchesky and De Laet showed us that they are class acts on the pitch. The second half belonged to Knockaert, he got us two great goals and proved his worth.

Pearson is getting it right and I have got a feeling that this is going to be a big second half to our season. Every player played his part, Matty James too having a great game. It was good to see Gallagher get a run out and he showed signs of his old self as him and Dyer came on to further enhance our strength in depth.

I shouldn’t get too carried away I know, but you can’t take anything away from the performance on New Year’s Day! One of the best matches I’ve seen all season, with a strong message to our opposition, BEWARE! Looking ahead after Bristol City, we have three massive games, Cardiff, Middlesbrough and Wolves. Once they are out of the way I think we have a great opportunity as the games get less difficult (on paper at least!).

Good work Nigel Pearson and his staff! Happy New Year!

Me and Anthony Knockaert after his man of match award!

Our Cashfighter night on the 26th of January is coming up quick and we only have a few tables remaining! Get on to http://www.kkongevents.co.uk and avoid disappointment!