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The Leicester City title-winning squad of 2015/16 performed miracles, but Danny Simpson was very nearly excluded from the club when Claudio Ranieri first took over.
Fast forward nine years and Leicester City now find themselves in the Championship once more. So much has changed since that historic Premier League triumph that it’s almost hard to believe we’re looking at the same club.
With the departure of Jamie Vardy this summer, the final remnant of that legendary team has now moved on, and Leicester’s new era under Marti Cifuentes is underway.
Still, fans will no doubt continue to look back on the most successful period in the club’s history for the rest of time, and Danny Simpson can proudly say he was a part of that incredible moment.
Claudio Ranieri didn’t want Danny Simpson when he first arrived at Leicester City
In an appearance on the first episode of the Beyond the Back Four podcast, Simpson discussed his time at Leicester in great detail. But, when asked about his first impression of then-manager Claudio Ranieri, the former full-back admitted their relationship didn’t get off to the best start.
He said: “My first conversation with Claudio [Ranieri] was that he didn’t want me. It’s a funny one… he came straight in and said, ‘If you can find another club, then you’re free to leave’. I obviously said no; I was tired of moving, I had a two-year contract. I got put with the kids, I wasn’t even with the first-team.
“And I thought, ‘Do you know what? No, I’m going to get my head down.’ I remember I was training with [Kiernan] Dewsbury-Hall who was just coming through. I had respect for the reserves manager, and I just wanted to do everything right and not give them an excuse. It’s so easy to sack it off and blame everyone else, but I wanted to change their minds.”
Thankfully, that hard work paid off for Simpson, leading to the Leicester City manager making a U-turn and recalling Simpson to the first-team setup.
Simpson added: “I’ll never forget the day I got told to go and see him. It was maybe eight weeks later. And he said, just before they played Arsenal, and he admitted he made the wrong decision and said he might need me. It takes a big man to admit that.
“We lost 5-3 to Arsenal, we conceded a lot of goals, and after that he pulled me in the office and said ‘you’re starting next week.’ I didn’t look back after that. So, my experience with Claudio at the start wasn’t good. But it just goes to show that you can change minds if you get your head down and work hard. I could have left but I wouldn’t be sat here as a Premier League winner.”
Danny Simpson played a key role in Leicester City title-winning squad
Ultimately, bringing Simpson back into the fold was the right call. The right-back went on to make 30 appearances in the league that year, playing a key role in the title-winning run.
He was so good, in fact, that Jamie Vardy named him in his all-time Leicester City XI. In many ways, the Foxes have struggled to replace him ever since.
That said, it’s hard to name many of that 2015/16 squad that Leicester have really managed to upgrade on since they left the club.
Now, Cifuentes will be hoping he’s got the squad necessary to challenge for promotion this season and that he can establish the Foxes as a Premier League club once more.