How Leicester City failed to reach 100 points

It was a season of emotional highs and baffling lows for Leicester City Football Club. From the heartbreak of Premier League relegation to the euphoria of clinching the Championship title, the Foxes’ 2023/24 campaign had it all. While their charge for the title seemed destined to break records, an unexpected slump dashed those dreams, leaving them nine points shy of the all-time Championship high. As Leicester City fans celebrate promotion and a fresh managerial search begins, let’s explore how close — and how far — they came to making history.

At one stage, it appeared Leicester City would march effortlessly to the title, poised to shatter the points record in the process. But a poor run of form saw them finish with 97 points, far short of Reading’s 2005/06 record of 106 points.

Five teams have won the Championship¹ with more than 100 points: record-holders Reading, Sunderland in 1998/99 (105 pts), Newcastle United in 2009/10 (102 pts), Leicester City themselves in 2013/14 (102 pts), and Fulham in 2000/01 (101 pts). Comparing this season’s Foxes to these teams, it becomes clear where Leicester fell short.

Leicester City were neck-and-neck with Reading for the first two-thirds of the season. But things started to go wrong on matchday 33, when they hit a rough patch, losing four of their next six games. In their final 14 games they managed just 19 points — a meagre 1.36 points per game. In contrast, Reading maintained an average of 1.93 points per game. Although they won the league, the Foxes’ season fizzled out, culminating in the departure of manager Enzo Maresca after just twelve months, as he took the job at Chelsea (lol).

In fact, if we look at how many points Leicester City won per game, using a five-game rolling average, we can see they had more than one dip along the way.

Title-winning form was 2.1 points per game (equal to 97 points over 46 games). Using the five-game rolling average, Leicester droped below this level three times, in October, December, and February. Playoff form was 1.6 points per game (equal to sixth-placed Norwich’s 73 points), and Leicester dropped below this level in November and February. Worst of all, Leicester even fell into relegation form (1.1 points per game, equal to 22nd-placed Birmingham City’s 50 points) in March. They eventually recovered, but it was too late to break the 100-point barrier.

Despite all that, City finish champions and will be back in the Premier League next season. Yes, alright, so the search is on for a new manager, and a points deduction is likely, but the promised land of the Premier League awaits. Roll on 2024/25.

• football
• EFL Championship
• Leicester City