The 2009–10 season was Leicester City F.C.'s 105th season in the

English football league system The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the ...

and their 58th in the second tier of English football. It was their first season back in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

after promotion from

League One League One or League 1 may refer to: Association football * EFL League One, the third tier of football in England. * China League One, the second tier of football in China * K League 1, the top-tier football in South Korea * Lao League 1 * Lea ...

as champions in 2008–09. It was also the club's 125th anniversary season. Having just been promoted,

Nigel Pearson Nigel Graham Pearson (born 21 August 1963) is an English association football, football coach (sport), manager and former professional player. He last managed EFL Championship, Championship club Bristol City F.C., Bristol City. During his playi ...

's side surprised many by spending most of the season in the play-offs. They eventually finished fifth, reaching the play-offs. This was considered an impressive finish and a stride forward by many, considering Leicester were relegated from the same division two seasons previously. They eventually lost out in the play-off semi-finals to

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

on a

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

Pre-season

After winning

by seven points, manager

sought to strengthen the squad ahead of the

campaign. 2008–09 loanees

Jack Hobbs Sir John Berry Hobbs (16 December 1882 – 21 December 1963) was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches between 1908 and 1930. Known as "The Master", he is widely regarded ...

and Wayne Brown were quickly signed on permanent deals from

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

respectively. Veterans

Barry Hayles Barrington Edward Hayles (born 17 May 1972) is a association football, footballer and coach who played as a striker (association football), striker. He began his career in non-League football with Willesden Hawkeye, before playing for Stevenage ...

, Bruno Ngotty,

Paul Henderson Paul Garnet Henderson (born January 28, 1943) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. A left winger, Henderson played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs and Atlanta Flame ...

Patrick Kisnorbo Patrick Fabio Maxime Kisnorbo (born 24 March 1981) is an Australian professional football manager and former player who was last serving as the head coach of J1 League club Yokohama F. Marinos. As a player, Kisnorbo was a primarily a centre-ba ...

and Marc Edworthy were released at the end of their contracts. The Foxes further added to their squad with the captures of goalkeeper

Chris Weale Christopher Weale (born 9 February 1982) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is currently director of football at Sherborne School. Career Yeovil Town Born in Yeovil, Somerset, Weale was a product of Ye ...

, defender

Robbie Neilson Robbie Neilson (born 19 June 1980) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player who was most recently the head coach of USL Championship club Tampa Bay Rowdies. Neilson, who played as a right-back, started his senior career with ...

and midfielders

Richie Wellens Richard Paul Wellens (born 26 March 1980) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently head coach of EFL League One club Leyton Orient. Wellens began his career at Manchester United be ...

and

Dany N'Guessan Djombo Dany-Gael N'Guessan (born 11 August 1987) is a French former professional footballer who played as a left winger or forward A graduate of the Auxerre Academy, he left France for Scotland when he signed with Rangers in July 2005. He ...

. However, the forward line remained unreinforced until 19-year-old

Martyn Waghorn Martyn Thomas Waghorn (born 23 January 1990) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is a former England under-21 international. Waghorn had been with Sunderland since the age of eight and made his first-tea ...

arrived on loan from

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

just before the opening game against

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

Joe Mattock Joseph William Mattock (born 15 May 1990) is an English semi-professional footballer who plays as a left-back, most recently for Marine. Mattock is a graduate of the Leicester City youth academy, making his senior debut for the club in 2007. H ...

, part of the

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

squad for the European U-19 Championships, handed in a transfer request just 48 hours before the first match of the season. He eventually moved to fellow Championship club

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

for an undisclosed fee.

Kit and sponsorship

Leicester City's home kit for the 2009–10 season was unveiled before the final home game of 2008–09 against

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was formed in ...

. To mark the 125th anniversary of the club's founding in 1884, the design of the front of the shirt had earlier been put to an online vote, with the fans deciding to keep the home shirt blank and sponsorless. A special badge was created for this kit, to be used for one season only. The blue and black design of the away kit mirrors the shirts worn in the club's first game in 1884. It is branded with the logo of LOROS, a charity providing hospice care in

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

. The charity will receive a percentage of the sale price of each shirt sold from their shops. Both strips are manufactured by

Joma Joma Sport, S.A. is a Spanish sports clothing and shoes brand. History Joma was founded in 1965 by Fructuoso López to produce shoes for general use. The brand name comes from the given name of Fructuoso's first born son (José Manuel). In 196 ...

, following the expiration of the club's previous deal with

Jako Jako AG is a German sportswear company based in the Hollenbach district of Mulfingen, Baden-Württemberg. The company was founded by Rudi Sprügel in 1989 in Stachenhausen. Jako provides kits for teams playing association football, handball, ...

Friendlies

After reporting back for pre-season training on 1 July, the club remained unbeaten through six pre-season games:

Record

2009–10 was Leicester City's 58th season at the second tier of English football. Their record of winning the division on six occasions (although not since 1980) is second only to

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

. Prior to the 2009–10 season, their record at this level was:

Players

2009–10 squad

:''Only includes players given a squad number. The squad listed is the squad which Leicester finished the season with.''

Transfers

In

Out

Loans in

Loans out

Results

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...

*Leicester City scores given first

Football League Championship play-offs The English Football League (EFL) Championship play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from third to sixth in the EFL Championship table and are part of the English Football League play-of ...

*Leicester City scores given first *

Away goal Away may refer to: Film and television *Away (2016 film), ''Away'' (2016 film), a British film directed by David Blair *Away (2019 film), ''Away'' (2019 film), a Latvian animated silent film by Gints Zilbalodis * Away (2025 film), a drama film by ...

s do not count.

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

*Leicester City scores given first

League Cup

*Leicester City scores given first

Awards

Club awards

At the end of the season, Leicester's annual award ceremony including categories voted for by the players and backroom staff, the supporters and the supporters club, saw the following players recognised for their achievements for the club throughout the 2009–10 season.

Divisional awards

Championship statistics

Championship table

Club standings

Club statistics

Appearances

Note: *Substitute appearances given in brackets. *Asterisk indicates player left the club mid-season.

Top scorers

Disciplinary record

All Stats obtained fro
LCFC.com

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2009-10 Leicester City F.C. season Leicester City F.C. seasons

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...