city-faithful
Well-Known Member
The last 2 seasons have seen Harvey Barnes assume the squad number 7 for Leicester City. Whilst there has been some success - last season's 6 goals and 10 assists marking a particular highlight for Harvey's Premier League career - we have also seen capricious performances and long periods of Monsieur Barnes looking like dead wood on the winger. A stark contrast to the dynamic and clinical forward that both ourselves and West Brom expected to develop.
In this post I will present, for your consideration and scorn, the theory of Harvey Barnes and the cursed shirt - I will examine the curse of the Leicester City number 7 and delineate the rich and storied failures of the incumbents of Leicester City's hallowed number 7.
The Context
The number 7 shirt carries a totemic power in the football fans mind. It's the shirt of the flair player, the player who plays with their collar up, the player who has to use tape on their socks to stand out, the player most likely to score a belter into the top corner and the least likely to leave the pitch with any degree of sweat on their brow. It's the football shirt number equivalent of a daft haircut. Eric Cantona, Raul Gonzalez, George Best, Robert Pirez, Ronaldo, Luis Figo, David Beckham, Garrincha, Shane Long...Shane Long?...Shane Long - all of these legends in their own teams and all have worn the coveted number 7. In terms of football there is a weight of expectation and an aura that surrounds players wearing the number 7. Heavy is the head that wears the crown. Young lads growing up want to wear this number for their local team and I'm sure that Harvey B was no exception to that. After a couple of seasons playing in the role the time has come to scrutinise his success in the hot-shirt.
The History
Like any other top class football team Leicester City have their own proud history and heritage of legends and fan favourites to have worn the number seven. Our very own Master of Ceremonies Birch has worn it. Rodney Fern. Ask City fans of a certain vintage who the best player to grace the royal blue was and they'll say Weller - number 7 of course. We've had international stars play from the Leicester number 7 shirt. We've even had a future manager play the number in Rob Kelly. Anyone who saw Joachim running at defender terrorising them would have entirely agreed - that's a proper number 7. It's my contention that the history of successful Leicester Cit number 7s ended with one of our finest ever midfielders Neil Lennon. I firmly believe that Lenny cast a Gaelic curse on the shirt rendering all future wearers powers to wane. When Lennon bowed to both of the Filbert Street stands and then to the two low slung cowsheds that formed the rest of the stadium at the end of the Leeds fixture I contend that Lenny wasn't just paying his respects but was also performing some form of hex or ritual. Below I will examine the impact of Leicester's number 7 shirt on every player since that fateful day.
The Victims
Matthew Jones (2001/02 - 2002/03)
Games : 27
Goals : 1
Poor old Matthew. He signed with such high hopes of being an incredible number 7 for us. Impressive transfer fee? Check. Silly hair-cut? Check. Earring? I think so - I can't quite recall but I'd say most likely. Matt was signed for £3m from Leeds in what looked, on the surface, as a good move. He was an up and coming Premier League footballer with international caps for Wales. He had put in some all-action displays for Leeds and had carved quite the reputation for himself. Unfortunately he was utterly powerless in the face of the cursed shirt. Injury after injury plagued Matt at Leicester as he, unaware, bore the fresh brunt of the Lennon curse. He lasted 3 years before leaving a Taylor ravaged Leicester. He made a brief comeback for Llanelli, his home-town, but there was no coming back from his stint as Leicester number 7. Poor boy.
Keith Gillespie (2003/04 - 2004/05)
Games : 42
Goals : 2
Hoooo boy. This one looked a sure-fire curse breaker. I remember when we signed him the City website, in a fit of hubris, bore the legend 'we bought the player now you buy the shirt' in a presumed effort to off-set Keith's gambling debt somehow. Another signing that made sense at the time. An international with a daft little beardy bit and gelled hair. Keith had quick feet, Premier League pedigree, and a whiff of special brew about him - a perfect recipe for a sensation at seven. Unfortunately, the curse - still strong and virile - made mincemeat of Keith. His performances were tepid at best and La Manga sex scandal did significant damage to the prestige of playing an important role for Leicester. Keith did manage to salvage something from the wreckage of the Lennon curse and carved out a career at Sheffield but we all know that, when the door closed at night and the lights turned off, he was never the same.
Momo Sylla (2005/06)
Games : 34
Goals : 0
He had a good song, didn't he? To the tune of There's No Limit. Granted it was just his name repeating but it got a bit of a tune out of the Kop so I suppose, in that sense, he was a miracle worker. But that was about it for Mo. If he were a food he'd have been flavourless gruel. If he were weather he would be a light mist. Nothing at all remarkable. He ended his career the year after with 11 appearances at Kilmarnock which probably sums him up. Victim number 3 for the curse.
Iain Hume (2005/06 - 2007/08)
Games : 122
Goals : 33
Hume does have an argument to have not been defiled by and to have nor defiled the Leicester number 7. The diminutive Canadian averaged a goal around every 4 games and did put in a shift. He hit a few belters in his time and always seemed to be able to win a header. Signed by Craig Levein - remember him?! - for half a million rising to three quarters I suppose you could say that Hume represented decent value for money. Hume made his debut replacing Elvis Hammond which some might argue is legitimate proof of a curse; nobody deserves that ignominy. Hume finished Leicester's top scorer in his last season at the club. The season that saw us relegated out of the top two divisions of the English football pyramid for the first time ever. The curse strikes again. Hume left us for £1.2m for Barnsley - testimony to how far we had fallen. Hume suffered a stoved-in-head at the hands of Chris Morgan whilst playing for Barnsley and - after recovery - spent the remainder of his career drifting wraith-like between a variety of clubs at ever lowering levels. A ghoulish reminder of the impact of the Lennon curse.
Tom Cleverley (Loanee) (2008/09)
Games : 15
Goals : 2
Cleverley, much like his name implied, had the good sense not to take the shirt on full-time. It was unable to visit its wicked and insidious powers on him and he was largely decent for us, certainly better than our League One status implied, and he went on to have a good career including England caps. Whilst not necessarily a roaring success in seven I'd count Cleverley as a narrow miss for all parties.
Max Alain Gradel (2009/10)
Games : 27 (0 at number 7)
Goals : 1 (0 at number 7)
Another one whose song was much better than his input - though he does have the honour of scoring that screamer at the Franchise FC meccano stadium. Max was a tricky Ivorian winger whose route the King Power started in Paris and stopped off at Lewisham. He had a great season in League One building his reputation and honing his craft. He scored that exceptional free kick at MK and, resultant of these performances, was handed the number 7 shirt for the next season. Being smart and wanting a career Max jumped ship to Leeds before making an appearance in it thereby securing himself a decent career. Canny thinking.
Nolberto Solano (2009/10)
Games : 13
Goals : 0
Believing Peruvians to be unaffected by curses and having an Odysseus-like fit of hubris Solano decided that he could restore a once proud seven shirt to its former glories. How wrong he was. Whilst not a failure by any measure Solano did little more than keep the curse ticking over. He arrived a great Peruvian hope and left without much fanfare. Another career wrecked - Solano ended his career at Hartlepool (ugh) by way of Hull (the poor man). Another victim claimed; more dignity stripped.
Paul Gallagher (2010/11-2011/12)
Games : 118 (69 as number 7)
Goals : 25 (18 as number 7)
A pretender to 'best 7 since Lenny' Gallagher had a fractious relationship with the City fans. He signed from Premier League Blackburn and carried a weight of expectation. Gallagher will be best remembered for a pair of screamers against Forest, I think, and a hat-trick against Scunthorpe. He had that excellent penalty technique, too. However, Gally's time at Leicester was beset by personal tragedy and professional uncertainty. He carries with him the dubious honour of make the most appearances for one club whilst on loan - Preston North End. Gallagher's time as City number 7 petered out with Gallagher's relationship with the fans deteriorating with the fans badly. Oh what could have been, Gally. He ended his career as a Preston North End legend - a reasonably happy ending.
Ben Marshall (2012/13 - 2013/14)
Games : 56
Goals : 7
Ben Marshall - scorer of magnificent goals and monumental tit. Marshall coincided with the King Power era beginning to really develop some chops. He was a mercurial winger who could have had a great career. Unfortunately the curse takes many forms and, in the curious case of Ben Marshall, the shirt morphed its owner in an anthropomorphised turd. Rumours abound about Marshall's poor attitude. He gave the fans both middle fingers once. He moved on to Blackburn when his time became untenable here and slowly petered out to nothing. A recent appearance on Undr the Cosh revealed that Marshall was well aware of his role as dick'ed-in-chief and top boozer at Leicester so it's not really anything to feel bad about but oh my did he ever score some screamers. It is arguable that Ben was the most talented player to fall victim to the Celtic Curse.
Dean Hammond (2013/14 - 2015/16)
Games : 41
Goals : 1
Here's where the curse had to get creative. City were on a roll. Pearson and Ranieri's men were putting together two back-to-back breath-taking seasons. Surely our Premier League Winning 5000-1 number 7 was someone excellent? Surely? SURELY?? Well, he might have been excellent but he wasn't for us - he was out on loan at Sheffield United that season ostensibly leaving the number 7 shirt empty for our best ever season. Well played, curse. A season for which shirt numbers sealed iconic status - Number 9 Jamie Vardy. Number 1 Kasper Schemeichel. Number 10 Andy King. Leicester's 23 Leo Ulloa. Number 7 is conspicuous by its absence. It's not that Hammond was bad, per se, he was just absent. The curse works in mysterious ways.
Ahmed Musa (2016-17)
Games : 21
Goals : 2
Poor old Ahmed. He joined the Premier League champions on a wave of hope and scored a real belter against Barcelona in the pre-season tournament. That was as good as it got for Ahmed. A season of diabolical performances see him mentioned in the same breath as flops like Akinbiyi, Junior Lewis, and Roman Bendtnar. The less said the better about his time at City. Ahmed is still plying his trade in a vain attempt to salvage something from football after casting around from club to club. Some say that a barely visible shadow traces his every move...even in darkness.
Demarai Gray (2017/8 - 2020/21)
Games : 133 (91 as number 7)
Goals : 10 (9 as number 7)
Now Gray does have some credit in the bank at Leicester. He has a winner's medal - albeit not at number 7 - and he did score THAT goal at Cardiff. Unfortunately the highs are significantly outweighed by the lows. He looked largely disinterested and invested more time making weird, emotive statements on Instagram. Gray often looked like a higher-functioning Jeff Schlupp; technically gifted but blissfully unaware of the game around him. He was capable of some sublime moments like the goal I missed at Old Trafford because I was having a pint but he's another number 7 who will largely be remembered for having a negative relationship with the clubs fans. Gray left for Germany and has returned to the Premier League with the sub-par Everton. It would take a brave soul to place Demarai Gray amongst the Leicester elite number 7s. I'd argue that being forced to play for Everton is curse enough for any man.
Harvey Barnes (2021/22 - present)
Games : 134 (54 as number 7)
Goals : 30 (14 as number 7)
That brings us to our current Sweet Prince elect. Harvey can't be said to be having that bad a time plying his trade for Leicester. He made his debut in a 5-0 shellacking away at Porto in the Champions league, true enough. But he's contributed a goal every four games as well as some assists. He's played an integral part in the Champions League tilts under Brendan - it can be argued that his injury whilst he was in his pomp cost us that 4th place. The last 2 seasons, however, have seen a dramatic decline in my eyes. He's scored and assisted, of course, but it would have been hard not to. We're in a much better position than any other of the cursed number 7s have been. But he's been flat, hasn't he? He drifts into and out of games like some kind of tortured spectre. Against Arsenal on Saturday he seemed to seek defenders to run into rather than away from. The joy de vivre and reckless abandon that typified his early Leicester career has given way to tired apathy. He just seems...flat. He runs without aim.
Conclusions.
I'm tired of typing and I think I've proved my point. All statistics are league statistics drawn from Wikipedia and, as such, are subject to whatever scrutiny you wish to give them and so I'll finish with this.
The main question is 'Is the Leicester City number 7 shirt cursed and, if so, is it impacting on Harvey Barnes?' and so I will answer - yes.
In this post I will present, for your consideration and scorn, the theory of Harvey Barnes and the cursed shirt - I will examine the curse of the Leicester City number 7 and delineate the rich and storied failures of the incumbents of Leicester City's hallowed number 7.
The Context
The number 7 shirt carries a totemic power in the football fans mind. It's the shirt of the flair player, the player who plays with their collar up, the player who has to use tape on their socks to stand out, the player most likely to score a belter into the top corner and the least likely to leave the pitch with any degree of sweat on their brow. It's the football shirt number equivalent of a daft haircut. Eric Cantona, Raul Gonzalez, George Best, Robert Pirez, Ronaldo, Luis Figo, David Beckham, Garrincha, Shane Long...Shane Long?...Shane Long - all of these legends in their own teams and all have worn the coveted number 7. In terms of football there is a weight of expectation and an aura that surrounds players wearing the number 7. Heavy is the head that wears the crown. Young lads growing up want to wear this number for their local team and I'm sure that Harvey B was no exception to that. After a couple of seasons playing in the role the time has come to scrutinise his success in the hot-shirt.
The History
Like any other top class football team Leicester City have their own proud history and heritage of legends and fan favourites to have worn the number seven. Our very own Master of Ceremonies Birch has worn it. Rodney Fern. Ask City fans of a certain vintage who the best player to grace the royal blue was and they'll say Weller - number 7 of course. We've had international stars play from the Leicester number 7 shirt. We've even had a future manager play the number in Rob Kelly. Anyone who saw Joachim running at defender terrorising them would have entirely agreed - that's a proper number 7. It's my contention that the history of successful Leicester Cit number 7s ended with one of our finest ever midfielders Neil Lennon. I firmly believe that Lenny cast a Gaelic curse on the shirt rendering all future wearers powers to wane. When Lennon bowed to both of the Filbert Street stands and then to the two low slung cowsheds that formed the rest of the stadium at the end of the Leeds fixture I contend that Lenny wasn't just paying his respects but was also performing some form of hex or ritual. Below I will examine the impact of Leicester's number 7 shirt on every player since that fateful day.
The Victims
Matthew Jones (2001/02 - 2002/03)
Games : 27
Goals : 1
Poor old Matthew. He signed with such high hopes of being an incredible number 7 for us. Impressive transfer fee? Check. Silly hair-cut? Check. Earring? I think so - I can't quite recall but I'd say most likely. Matt was signed for £3m from Leeds in what looked, on the surface, as a good move. He was an up and coming Premier League footballer with international caps for Wales. He had put in some all-action displays for Leeds and had carved quite the reputation for himself. Unfortunately he was utterly powerless in the face of the cursed shirt. Injury after injury plagued Matt at Leicester as he, unaware, bore the fresh brunt of the Lennon curse. He lasted 3 years before leaving a Taylor ravaged Leicester. He made a brief comeback for Llanelli, his home-town, but there was no coming back from his stint as Leicester number 7. Poor boy.
Keith Gillespie (2003/04 - 2004/05)
Games : 42
Goals : 2
Hoooo boy. This one looked a sure-fire curse breaker. I remember when we signed him the City website, in a fit of hubris, bore the legend 'we bought the player now you buy the shirt' in a presumed effort to off-set Keith's gambling debt somehow. Another signing that made sense at the time. An international with a daft little beardy bit and gelled hair. Keith had quick feet, Premier League pedigree, and a whiff of special brew about him - a perfect recipe for a sensation at seven. Unfortunately, the curse - still strong and virile - made mincemeat of Keith. His performances were tepid at best and La Manga sex scandal did significant damage to the prestige of playing an important role for Leicester. Keith did manage to salvage something from the wreckage of the Lennon curse and carved out a career at Sheffield but we all know that, when the door closed at night and the lights turned off, he was never the same.
Momo Sylla (2005/06)
Games : 34
Goals : 0
He had a good song, didn't he? To the tune of There's No Limit. Granted it was just his name repeating but it got a bit of a tune out of the Kop so I suppose, in that sense, he was a miracle worker. But that was about it for Mo. If he were a food he'd have been flavourless gruel. If he were weather he would be a light mist. Nothing at all remarkable. He ended his career the year after with 11 appearances at Kilmarnock which probably sums him up. Victim number 3 for the curse.
Iain Hume (2005/06 - 2007/08)
Games : 122
Goals : 33
Hume does have an argument to have not been defiled by and to have nor defiled the Leicester number 7. The diminutive Canadian averaged a goal around every 4 games and did put in a shift. He hit a few belters in his time and always seemed to be able to win a header. Signed by Craig Levein - remember him?! - for half a million rising to three quarters I suppose you could say that Hume represented decent value for money. Hume made his debut replacing Elvis Hammond which some might argue is legitimate proof of a curse; nobody deserves that ignominy. Hume finished Leicester's top scorer in his last season at the club. The season that saw us relegated out of the top two divisions of the English football pyramid for the first time ever. The curse strikes again. Hume left us for £1.2m for Barnsley - testimony to how far we had fallen. Hume suffered a stoved-in-head at the hands of Chris Morgan whilst playing for Barnsley and - after recovery - spent the remainder of his career drifting wraith-like between a variety of clubs at ever lowering levels. A ghoulish reminder of the impact of the Lennon curse.
Tom Cleverley (Loanee) (2008/09)
Games : 15
Goals : 2
Cleverley, much like his name implied, had the good sense not to take the shirt on full-time. It was unable to visit its wicked and insidious powers on him and he was largely decent for us, certainly better than our League One status implied, and he went on to have a good career including England caps. Whilst not necessarily a roaring success in seven I'd count Cleverley as a narrow miss for all parties.
Max Alain Gradel (2009/10)
Games : 27 (0 at number 7)
Goals : 1 (0 at number 7)
Another one whose song was much better than his input - though he does have the honour of scoring that screamer at the Franchise FC meccano stadium. Max was a tricky Ivorian winger whose route the King Power started in Paris and stopped off at Lewisham. He had a great season in League One building his reputation and honing his craft. He scored that exceptional free kick at MK and, resultant of these performances, was handed the number 7 shirt for the next season. Being smart and wanting a career Max jumped ship to Leeds before making an appearance in it thereby securing himself a decent career. Canny thinking.
Nolberto Solano (2009/10)
Games : 13
Goals : 0
Believing Peruvians to be unaffected by curses and having an Odysseus-like fit of hubris Solano decided that he could restore a once proud seven shirt to its former glories. How wrong he was. Whilst not a failure by any measure Solano did little more than keep the curse ticking over. He arrived a great Peruvian hope and left without much fanfare. Another career wrecked - Solano ended his career at Hartlepool (ugh) by way of Hull (the poor man). Another victim claimed; more dignity stripped.
Paul Gallagher (2010/11-2011/12)
Games : 118 (69 as number 7)
Goals : 25 (18 as number 7)
A pretender to 'best 7 since Lenny' Gallagher had a fractious relationship with the City fans. He signed from Premier League Blackburn and carried a weight of expectation. Gallagher will be best remembered for a pair of screamers against Forest, I think, and a hat-trick against Scunthorpe. He had that excellent penalty technique, too. However, Gally's time at Leicester was beset by personal tragedy and professional uncertainty. He carries with him the dubious honour of make the most appearances for one club whilst on loan - Preston North End. Gallagher's time as City number 7 petered out with Gallagher's relationship with the fans deteriorating with the fans badly. Oh what could have been, Gally. He ended his career as a Preston North End legend - a reasonably happy ending.
Ben Marshall (2012/13 - 2013/14)
Games : 56
Goals : 7
Ben Marshall - scorer of magnificent goals and monumental tit. Marshall coincided with the King Power era beginning to really develop some chops. He was a mercurial winger who could have had a great career. Unfortunately the curse takes many forms and, in the curious case of Ben Marshall, the shirt morphed its owner in an anthropomorphised turd. Rumours abound about Marshall's poor attitude. He gave the fans both middle fingers once. He moved on to Blackburn when his time became untenable here and slowly petered out to nothing. A recent appearance on Undr the Cosh revealed that Marshall was well aware of his role as dick'ed-in-chief and top boozer at Leicester so it's not really anything to feel bad about but oh my did he ever score some screamers. It is arguable that Ben was the most talented player to fall victim to the Celtic Curse.
Dean Hammond (2013/14 - 2015/16)
Games : 41
Goals : 1
Here's where the curse had to get creative. City were on a roll. Pearson and Ranieri's men were putting together two back-to-back breath-taking seasons. Surely our Premier League Winning 5000-1 number 7 was someone excellent? Surely? SURELY?? Well, he might have been excellent but he wasn't for us - he was out on loan at Sheffield United that season ostensibly leaving the number 7 shirt empty for our best ever season. Well played, curse. A season for which shirt numbers sealed iconic status - Number 9 Jamie Vardy. Number 1 Kasper Schemeichel. Number 10 Andy King. Leicester's 23 Leo Ulloa. Number 7 is conspicuous by its absence. It's not that Hammond was bad, per se, he was just absent. The curse works in mysterious ways.
Ahmed Musa (2016-17)
Games : 21
Goals : 2
Poor old Ahmed. He joined the Premier League champions on a wave of hope and scored a real belter against Barcelona in the pre-season tournament. That was as good as it got for Ahmed. A season of diabolical performances see him mentioned in the same breath as flops like Akinbiyi, Junior Lewis, and Roman Bendtnar. The less said the better about his time at City. Ahmed is still plying his trade in a vain attempt to salvage something from football after casting around from club to club. Some say that a barely visible shadow traces his every move...even in darkness.
Demarai Gray (2017/8 - 2020/21)
Games : 133 (91 as number 7)
Goals : 10 (9 as number 7)
Now Gray does have some credit in the bank at Leicester. He has a winner's medal - albeit not at number 7 - and he did score THAT goal at Cardiff. Unfortunately the highs are significantly outweighed by the lows. He looked largely disinterested and invested more time making weird, emotive statements on Instagram. Gray often looked like a higher-functioning Jeff Schlupp; technically gifted but blissfully unaware of the game around him. He was capable of some sublime moments like the goal I missed at Old Trafford because I was having a pint but he's another number 7 who will largely be remembered for having a negative relationship with the clubs fans. Gray left for Germany and has returned to the Premier League with the sub-par Everton. It would take a brave soul to place Demarai Gray amongst the Leicester elite number 7s. I'd argue that being forced to play for Everton is curse enough for any man.
Harvey Barnes (2021/22 - present)
Games : 134 (54 as number 7)
Goals : 30 (14 as number 7)
That brings us to our current Sweet Prince elect. Harvey can't be said to be having that bad a time plying his trade for Leicester. He made his debut in a 5-0 shellacking away at Porto in the Champions league, true enough. But he's contributed a goal every four games as well as some assists. He's played an integral part in the Champions League tilts under Brendan - it can be argued that his injury whilst he was in his pomp cost us that 4th place. The last 2 seasons, however, have seen a dramatic decline in my eyes. He's scored and assisted, of course, but it would have been hard not to. We're in a much better position than any other of the cursed number 7s have been. But he's been flat, hasn't he? He drifts into and out of games like some kind of tortured spectre. Against Arsenal on Saturday he seemed to seek defenders to run into rather than away from. The joy de vivre and reckless abandon that typified his early Leicester career has given way to tired apathy. He just seems...flat. He runs without aim.
Conclusions.
I'm tired of typing and I think I've proved my point. All statistics are league statistics drawn from Wikipedia and, as such, are subject to whatever scrutiny you wish to give them and so I'll finish with this.
The main question is 'Is the Leicester City number 7 shirt cursed and, if so, is it impacting on Harvey Barnes?' and so I will answer - yes.
