Where Are They Now?

Here is just a brief selection of where some former players can be found today…

Ade Akinbiyi – Brought in as a replacement for Emile Heskey in 2000, the striker was, and still is City’s record signing at £5.5 million. It wasn’t the greatest of times for Ade at the club: 11 goals in 58 league appearances later spelt out a sharp exit. Now playing his trade at Burnley.

Pegguy Arphexad – Joined the Foxes from Lille in 1997. Pegguy’s finest hours for the club came in the team’s ’99-2000 Worthington Cup success that year. The ‘keeper became renowned for his spot-kick saving abilties, and was vital en route to Wembley. Left City for Liverpool on a free transfer, and later had spells with Stockport, Coventry, Notts County and finally with Marseille where he retired in 2005.

Stuart Campbell – Campbell spent 5 years with Leicester, beginning his career here in 1996. Although rated highly by manager Martin O’Neill, he unfortunately failed to get regular starts in the first team, leading to eventual departure on loan to Birmingham City. He is now captain at Bristol Rovers, via spells with Grimsby Town.

David Connolly – Signed in 2004 for £500,000 from West Ham, Connolly was the club’s top goalscorer in his one and only season with the club, and will be remembered mostly by a hat-trick vs. Stoke City near the end of his time with the club. A year later he signed for Wigan in a deal which rose to £3 million, and later moved to Sunderland where he now plays his trade.

Damien Delaney – Started his career with Cork City but was later brought to the club by Peter Taylor at the age of 19. After appearing in 8 Premiership fixtures, he moved onto Hull City for £50k, via loan spells with Stockport, Huddersfield and Mansfield, and now appears for QPR.

Graham Fenton – A player who looked set to have a bright future in the game at an early age. Loaned out to West Brom by first club Aston Villa, the former England Under-21 impressed hugely and returned to Villa to make his club debut in the Premiership. His form sealed a £1.5 million move to then champions Blackburn Rovers, but there he couldn’t shift Chris Sutton or Alan Shearer up front. In 1997 Fenton was signed by Martin O’Neill at Leicester for £1.1 million, but appearances were limited. Unsuccessfull spells at Walsall, Stoke, St.Mirren, Blackpool and Darlington followed, before finally hitting success as player-assistant manager at Blyth Spartans.

Phil Gilchrist – Gilchrist got his first big break at Hartlepool United, where he made 82 appearances. His form earned him a move to Oxford United where he formed a formidable partnership with legendary fox Matt Elliott. Gilchrist signed for Leicester for £500k in 2000, and made 23 Premiership starts before moving on to West Brom. A successfull loan spell at Rotherham followed (who were convinced enough to sign him), and then he moved back to Oxford to end his playing career. In September ’08 it was confirmed he would take control of Woking until the end of the season.

Steve Guppy – Guppy was signed by Leicester in 1997 by his former manager at Wycombe, Martin O’Neill. A hugely successful time at the club saw him placed 2nd on a list of Europe’s best crossers behind David Beckham. A solitary England cap gained against Belgium followed, and Guppy eventually rejoined O’Neill when he left for Celtic. Guppy rejoined Leicester in 2004 for a season in the Premiership, and after joined a series of English league clubs. In 2008, the player headed for America and signed a deal with the Rochester Rhinos. Later in the year he took up an assistant-manager role at the Colorado Rapids.

Pontus Kåmark – Pontus was part of the Swedish national squad which competed at the 1994 World Cup in the USA. His performances did enough to convince Martin O’Neill to sign him up in 1995, and spent four years with the club. He later returned to Sweden with AIK and IFK Göteborg. Kåmark now does media work for TV4 in Sweden.

Jamie Lawrence – As a youngster, trouble followed him around, and whilst in prison he was spotted by Sunderland who eventually signed him. His spell there was short, and he ended up moving to Doncaster. His form there earnt him a move to Leicester in 1995, where he was affectionately known for his brightly coloured hair (or the pineapple as the Filbert Street faithful called it). His best form came later on whilst playing for Bradford City, of whom he made over 150 appearances for, and forced his way into the Jamaican national team. Later spells at Grimsby, Brentford and Worthing eventually lead him to Harrow Borough, where he currently plays. He also runs a footballing school in London.

Tomi Petrescu – Probably known very little by Leicester fans today, Peterscu was on the clubs books as youngster. Making only 1 appearance for the club in the Premier League, he moved back to his native Finland where he now plays for Tampere United, and has made an array of UEFA Cup appearances for the club.

Spencer Prior – Part of Norwich’s epic 2-1 win at Bayern Munich and 1-0 defeat to Inter Milan in the UEFA Cup in 1993. Whilst Martin O’Neill was manager of Norwich, Prior was a first team regular for the club and won their 1996 player of the year, which earnt him a £600k move to City. Also part of the Foxes’ 1997 League Cup success, Prior enjoyed two years with the team before moving to rivals Derby in ’98. A year spell at Manchester City followed, and then three years at Cardiff, before ending his career at Southend. Now retired and living in Australia.

Simon Royce – Royce’s career consists of 8 clubs to date, including spells at Charlton, Brighton and QPR. The goalkeeper began his career at Southend where he made 158 appearances for the club. There he won a move to Charlton, but his time there was cut to only 8 appearances. Leicester took him of the London club’s hands, but his apperances were also limited as he played second fiddle to Tim Flowers. He eventually ended up at Gillingham where he is now, in between several loan spells at various English league clubs.

Steve Walsh – Widely acclaimed as one of the club’s all time legends. Known for his no nonsense approach to defending, Walshy soon became a fan’s favourite. Signed from Wigan Athletic by then Foxes manager Brian Hamilton for £100k in 1986, Walsh went on to make 369 appearances for the club. Despite playing much of his time at the back, Walsh was often used as a striker, scoring 15 goals in the 92-93 season. In the 1994 Play-off final against Derby, Walsh scored twice as the Foxes won promotion to the Premier league. Walsh was also a part of Leicester’s 1996 play-off promotion, and their 1997 and 1999 League Cup successes. In 2000, Peter Taylor let Walsh leave for Norwich City, where he had a short, unsuccessful spell. Following this the player moved on to Tamworth and then Coventry, before finally hanging up his boots in a second spell with Tamworth. After retirement, Walsh ran a golf club in Spain and coached junior soccer schools. Still a huge favourite within the club Walsh writes for the Leicester Mercury, and has formed an events company with former Leicester Tigers player Neil Back.


Mike Whitlow – Whitlow signed for Leicester in 1992 from Leeds United, and went on to make 147 appearances for the club. The defender later moved on to Bolton Wanderers, where he made numerous appearances in the Premiership. A year long spell at Sheffield United set Whitlow up for a player-coach role at Notts County, where he currently resides.

Tommy Wright – The more recent one to those that may be thinking otherwise! Wright broke through from Leicester’s youth team in the ’02-03 season, where he scored a winning brace against rivals Nottingham Forest. However, the youngster couldn’t hold down a regular first team place and eventually went on two loan spells whilst still at the club; with Brentford and Barnsley (who afterwards signed him). His time at Barnsley was relatively unsuccessful, and he was shipped out on loan again, this time to Walsall, where he score twice in his 6 appearances for the club. Darlingon were convinced enough to sign him in League Two, and his best form came here. An eventual move to Aberdeen in the SPL arose, where he remains to date.

Theo Zagorakis – Zagorakis will always be fondly known by Leicester fans for his sheer determination in midfield. Starting his early career in his native Greece with Kavala, his form attracted the eye of Greece’s bigger clubs and eventually he moved on to PAOK, his boyhood team. There he became the club’s captain, and began to attract attention from many European clubs. Eventually Martin O’Neill took him in 1998, and Zagorakis played in both League Cup finals. Theo will always be fondly remembered for his goalkeeping cameo against Crystal Palace (in which Leicester won). Finding starts difficult at Leicester he moved onto AEK Athens where he made another 100 appearances before moving to Italy with Bologna. In between, Zagorakis was captain of the Greece side which won Euro 2004. Zagorakis ended his career back with PAOK, and is now club president.