Ipswich Town do have a proud history and a number of players have been in both camps. Leicester manager Peter Taylor made a magnificant signing when he brought James Scowcroft to Leicester from Ipswich back in 2001. Scowcroft had done well with The Tractor Boys and had the experience and skills that Leicester were out looking for. He had played 206 league games and scored 46 goals when he made his £3million move to Leicester. He did well at Leicester helping the club back to the top flight in 2002/03, and before leaving in 2005, playing 133 league games and scoring 24 goals. Scowcroft moved to Coventry and later played for Crystal Palace and Leyton Orient. He did return to Ipswich for a short loan spell playing 9 league games without scoring in 2004.
Lincoln City had a good last season with former Leicester assistant and caretaker manager Michael Appleton in charge. The team also had a fomer fox on board, Tom Hopper, leading the line. Hopper never appeared in league football for Leicester but has since leaving been around playing a great number of games for clubs such as Scunthorpe, Bury and Southend. To lose out on promotion was sad, but new challenge will be on this season.
Stefan Oakes and Mark Wallington are the past that also had their spells at Cincil Bank, with the midfielder Oakes being at Lincoln from 08 to 10, adding up 43 league games, and this being his last club in EFL football, also having spells at Wycombe, Notts Co and Walsall. The goalkeeper and fox legend Wallington also had his last spell in EFL with Lincoln City playing 88 league games over three years, 1988 to 1991.
Current N Ireland manager Ian Baraclough did his trade as well at Lincoln and Leicester, being on the field once while at Filbert Street, and later from 92 to 94 playing 73 league games and scoring 10 goals.
One major traveller was Guy Branston on the books at Leicester, during a short loan spell in those days he did appear in four league games for Lincoln. Branston later had a long life in the lower parts of EFL representing a great number of clubs including Rotherham, Sheffield W and Oldham.
Carl Cort during his days at Wimbledon did a short loan with Lincoln playing 6 league games and scoring a single goal. Cort later had a year at Leicester from 07 to 08, playing 14 league games but no goals scored. In that same season Louis Dodds joined Lincoln on loan from Leicester adding up 41 league games and scoring in 9 occasions.
Lawrie Dudfield is another forward moving on loan from Leicester to Cincil Bank, a short spell playing 3 league games but never hitting the net. Dudfield made his league debut at Premier League level for Leicester and made one more appearance, adding his total to two, before his loan spell at Lincoln came into place.
Paul Groves is a midfielder that appeared for Leicester and Lincoln. His total at Leicester ended at 16 and during his loan spell with The Imps, he added up 8 league appearance and at both clubs scoring a single goal. Groves later had a grand career at Grimsby, two spells, and Blackpool, and in total played 627 league games for his clubs in the EFL system, scoring 101 times.
Trevor Hebberd had his best years in football playing for Southampton and Oxford, and during that period of time also representing Leicester during a loan spell back in 1981, playing four league games and scoring once, his last couple of years in the league, from 94 to 95, were spent with Lincoln, playing 25 league games.
Geoff Horsfield had his best years in the game with Fulham, Birmingham and West Bromwich, but also a loan spell at Leicester playing 13 league games and scoring 2 goals, this was back in 07, later joining Lincoln for a short time playing 17 league games and scoring once.
A player making history at Leicester, Tony James, after scoring that very important goal keeping the club in the second tier of the football divisions back in 91. James was signed from Lincoln and had spent three years at Filbert Street. He added up 107 league games and scored 11 goals. For Lincoln it was 29 and never scoring the EFL. James later played for Hereford and Plymouth.
Leicester made a good addition when signing Gareth McAuley from Lincoln and after just two seasons sold him to Ipswich and made a good profit as the N Ireland international cleverly established himself as a special late bloomer in Premier League moving to West Bromwich. He ended his playing career in Scotland with Rangers. A total of 74 games for Leicester, 72 at Lincoln.
Trevor Peake started his league career at Lincoln, signed from Nuneaton and later moved to Coventry were he was part of the team winning the FA Cup in 87. Later as we all know a long and impressive career at Leicester coaching in the academy and being vital for many of the players we have seen at Leicester over a long period of time, to mention, Ben Chilwell, Harvey Barnes and Hamza Choudhury. Peake played 179 league games while at Lincoln from 79 to 83.
Nicky Platnauer and Lee Philpott are two players that also had a life in both camps, Platnauer with Leicester from 91 to 93 and later with Lincoln from 94 to 96. Philpott appeared for Leicester from 92 to 96 and Lincoln from 98 to 00. Dave Putnam is another former fox and imps, with just 7 appearances for Leicester City being signed from Leicester United, also known as Enderby Town. Putnam then moved to Lincoln and added up 177 league games before setting sails for Gillingham and ending his EFL career at Swansea in 98.
Steve Sims played for Leicester during those great years of Jimmy Bloomfield and he was born in Lincoln. The talent was early spotted as he was among the first players to be capped at U.21 level for England, adding up 10 caps and scoring 2 goals. Before he moved to Watford, and later had spells at Notts Co and Aston Villa, he played 79 league games at Leicester. His last years in the EFL was with Lincoln as a non contracted player playing 5 games in all.
Going far back and into the 60’s we do find Bobby Svarc who started with Leicester playing 13 league games and scoring 2 goals before a move in 69 to Lincoln appeared. He later had spells at Blackburn and Colchester. Gary Taylor-Fletcher is more current and as we all know played a part in getting Leicester promoted back to the Premier League in 2014, he also had a spell with Lincoln from 03 to 05, playing 85 league games and scoring 27, at Leicester his time were shorter with a total of 22 and scoring 3.
Julian Watts played for both clubs also, the defender that joined Leicester from Sheffield W, added up 38 league games at Leicester scoring one time, and later had a short loan spell at Lincoln playing twice. This was back in 98-99, at Leicester from 95 to 98.
Players in both camps;
Goalkeepers: Mark Wallington Defenders: Julian Watts, Tony James, Gareth McAuley, Steve Sims, Guy Branston Midfield: Stefan Oakes, David Puttnam, Ian Baraclough, Gary Taylor-Fletcher, Trevor Hebberd, Lee Philpott, Nicky Platnauer, Paul Groves Forwards: Bobby Svarc, Tom Hopper, Louis Dodds, Lawrie Dudfield, Geoff Horsfield, Carl Cort
Port Vale do have a proud history being seen as a professional football club for so many seasons and as we all know been the home of several former Leicester players as they either were at Vale Park before or after their stay at Leicester.
Mitch Clark joined Leicester from Aston Villa and the 22 year old has had spells at Port Vale on loan and added up 55 league appearances and scored 1 goal. He had a trial at Blackpool this summer but has now returned to Leicester and hopefully see out his deal and be part of the U.23 set up as he continue to be an important player in that squad.
Steve Guppy did sign for Leicester being brought in by MON from Port Vale costing £800 000 which at that time was a major fee and also in a time and period were Vale Park hosted Championship football. Guppy played for Port Vale from 1994 to 1997, a total of 105 league games, scoring 9 goals.
John Ridley had a short spell at Leicester, from 1978 to 1979, but at Port Vale among their greatest players ever, being with the club in two seperate periods playing a total of 270 league games and scoring 8 goals, spending most of his football career at Vale Park, playing here from 1973 to 1978 and then spending another three years at the club from 1982 to 1985. John, who sadly passed away a year ago, had his period in the limelight playing alongside George Best at Fort Lauderdale Strikers and also having Gordon Banks and Ian Callaghan as team mates during his short spell in the NASL in 1978 before joining Leicester.
Mark Bright joined Leicester from Port Vale in 1984. He was a bit unnoticed as his first year at the club he was mostly seen as a sub and not in the first team starting frame as places up front were occupied by a well known pairing, Alan Smith and Gary Lineker. When Lineker moved to Everton we surely remember Mark Bright from that 1985/86 season opener when he scored two and Lineker was sent “back home” with a 1-3 defeat in the bag, must have been a strange Filbert Street feeling for the Leicester local born. Mark Bright never managed to build on those two goals and replacing Lineker as a permanent solution, later moving to Crystal Palace and building his famous partnership with Ian Wright and also having some great years up front with Sheffield Wednesday. Today and for many years a great and very respected pundit with good and informative updates on Twitter acount, good to be following “Brighty“.
One player that never hit it off at Leicester was Louis Dodds, spending his first years in football being a fox, but making his full professional breakthrough at Port Vale, playing 289 league games and scoring 51 goals during eight years with the club from 2008 to 2016. He later returned for a loan spell a number of years later adding up another 12 league games without scoring.
Nicky Cross a forward mostly known for his days at West Bromwich Albion, played at both Leicester and Port Vale, and added up a major total of games in both camps. Played 58 league games for Leicester, 144 at Port Vale. Spent five years from 1989 to 1994 at Port Vale and two year before at Leicester. Nikky Cross also had spells at Walsall and Hereford.
York City legend Gary Ford joined Port Vale from Leicester in 1987 spending a couple of seasons at Vale Park before making a move to Norway and representing clubs such as Tromso and Harstad, both in the far north. He later returned to England and played for Hartlepool.
Colin Gibson had a short loan spell at Port Vale while playing for Man Utd, scoring two goals in six games. He later joined Leicester and as we all know won the European Cup and League while at Aston Villa. Lee Glover spent a few years at Port Vale playing there from 1994 to 1996, adding up 85 league games in which he scored 18 goals, mostly known for his days at Nottingham Forest and had a short loan spell at Leicester during those days, playing five games, scoring once.
Few might remember Mark Grew, joining Leicester from West Bromwich to be taking the gloves from Mark Wallington, but after a few failed results during the start of the 1983-84 season, Wallington returned to the first team and also seeing the young Ian Andrews coming through. Grew moved on and later signed for Port Vale and doing a grand job, playing from 1986 to 1992, adding up 184 league games.
Geoff Horsfield and Micky Adams are two previous Leicester men that has a past at Port Vale as well. Horsfield playing a handfull of games at Port Vale, being in management and on the coaching staff for a whjile. Micky Adams had a number of good years in charge at Vale Park, being the manager at the club from 2009 to 2014 with a short period in between at Sheffield United. We all remember Micky from his days at Leicester being the manager from 2002 to 2004.
Paul Kerr spent a short period on loan at Leicester while on the books at Port Vale. He is mostly known for his time with Aston Villa and Middlesbrough and also had spells with Millwall and Wycombe Wanderers.
David Lowe signed for Leicester from Ipswich back in 1992, adding up 94 appearances and scoring 22 goals while a fox. His time with Port Vale was short loan spells just before and during his time at Leicester. Lowe later joined Wigan and also had a spell at Wrexham.
Winger Tony Sealy did play for both clubs, spending time on loan at Port Vale and settling well at Leicester in the years from 1985 to 1987. Sealy emigrated to Hong Kong and his life in football has been sensational since moving to The East, being the manager of Hong Kong FC for 21 years, from 1995 to 2016, he has later moved into administration.
Players in both camps,
Goalkeepers
Mark Grew
Defenders
Mitch Clark Bob Hazell Colin Gibson
Midfield
Steve Guppy John Ridley Tony Sealy Gary Ford Paul Kerr
Forwards
Louis Dodds Nicky Cross Geoff Horsfield David Lowe
TCF - FILBERT WAY 