2002: Foxes start life at the Walkers Stadium with a victory

We here at Fosse Posse love to bring you the latest news and opinions on our great football club, which we all love, Leicester City.

However, we also like to reminisce and look through blue tinted glasses at how our team have come through the last 133 years and celebrate (and sometimes despair) at moments which have shaped our club.

Coming up soon, we have the day Gary Lineker returned to Filbert Street with Everton on the opening day of the 1985/6 season, how Peter Taylor somehow got us to the top of the Premiership in 2000 and how we had 3 different managers within a month of the 2007/08 season starting.

We will also delve way back and highlight the likes of Arthur Chandler, Frankie Wortho and others as well as Cup Finals, landmark achievements and moments that have just filled us with joy!

If you want us to highlight anything in this series, feel free to leave a comment below and we’ll be more than happy to oblige.

Saturday August 10th 2002

Leicester City 2-0 Watford

On a glorious sunny day back in August 2002, the moment most Leicester City fans had been waiting for many years was finally here in the shape of the opening league game in their new stadium.

Fans had been treated to tours of the ground as it was being built and a glamour pre-season friendly with Athletic Bilbao but this was the first competitive game and boy did we enjoy it!

Fears of becoming a laughing stock with names such as the Walkers Bowl were soon forgotten as the Walkers Stadium filled with eager Leicester City followers.

Watford were the visitors, and a near capacity crowd of 31,000 plus cheered on the Foxes in hope of an instant return back to the top flight, after disaster had stuck in the previous season in the form of relegation.

Micky Adams had now taken charge with Dave Bassett moving upstairs, giving us a fresh start and new hope.

Photo by Mike Finn-Kelcey/Getty Images

City started well, backed by a noisy home crowd but only had an Alan Rodgers free-kick to show for efforts in the opening quarter of the game.

However, disaster struck in the 20th minute when veteran defender Matty Elliott was forced off with an injury and City had to reshuffle.

They went into half time level at 0-0 with both teams pretty even but with not much to show for it.

Adams’ team talk at half time seemed to do the trick though, as two minutes into the second half, Brain Deane connected well with a header from a Jamie Scowcroft's cross to send the home fans into raptures.

Eight minutes later the same combination worked together again and Deane scored his and Leicester's second off a Scowcroft pass.

City were now on top and pushing for a third, which almost came through sub Jordan Stewart's curling shot and then Scowcroft almost topped off an excellent performance for him with a header which hit the post in the 85th minute.

Leicester we're not going to be denied a winning start though in their new stadium, as it finished 2-0.

In the end it would go onto to be a successful campaign on the pitch for City as they went straight back up behind Portsmouth that season, though it would be under a cloud as they would worryingly go into administration only a few months into the 2002/03 season with a danger of going out of existence

Also in 2002 this week

• On 13th August Leicester also won away at Stoke 1-0, thanks to Jamie Scowcroft
• The UK number 1 single was Darius with Colourblind
• The Prime Minister at the time was Tony Blair
• The Community Shield was won by Arsenal 1-0 ( v Liverpool )