# 1972–73 Leicester City F.C. season

During the 1972–73 English football season, Leicester City F.C. competed in the Football League First Division.

## Season summary

The 1972–73 season was a disappointing one for the Foxes, finishing in 16th place in the final standings. Their only highlights during the season were a 3-2 win over champions Liverpool at Filbert Street with a Keith Weller hat-trick after being 2-0 down and also holding them to a 0-0 draw at Anfield on the final day. Results generally though throughout were poor and Leicester at one point were bottom at end of November. A lack of goals as well were hard to come by but their tight defence with the experience of Cross and Manley proved dividends and the Foxes ensured survival with a solid run of just 2 defeats in their final 12 league games.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 14 | Sheffield United | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 51 | 59 | 0.864 | 40 | |
| 15 | Stoke City | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 61 | 56 | 1.089 | 38 | Qualification for the Watney Cup |
| 16 | Leicester City | 42 | 10 | 17 | 15 | 40 | 46 | 0.870 | 37 | |
| 17 | Everton | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 41 | 49 | 0.837 | 37 | |
| 18 | Manchester United | 42 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 44 | 60 | 0.733 | 37 | |
* ↑ West Ham United and Stoke City qualified for the Watney Cup as the two teams with the most goals that hadn't already qualified for a European competition.

## Results

Leicester City's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 12 August 1972 | Arsenal | H | 0–1 | 28,009 | |
| 16 August 1972 | Chelsea | H | 1–1 | 22,873 | Farrington |
| 19 August 1972 | West Ham United | A | 2–5 | 25,490 | Stringfellow, Glover |
| 23 August 1972 | Manchester United | A | 1–1 | 40,067 | Worthington |
| 26 August 1972 | Coventry City | H | 0–0 | 25,894 | |
| 30 August 1972 | Liverpool | H | 3–2 | 28,694 | Weller (3) |
| 2 September 1972 | Manchester City | A | 0–1 | 27,233 | |
| 9 September 1972 | Everton | H | 1–2 | 21,080 | Sammels |
| 16 September 1972 | Leeds United | A | 1–3 | 33,930 | Glover |
| 23 September 1972 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 1–1 | 20,817 | Farrington |
| 30 September 1972 | Ipswich Town | A | 2–0 | 17,811 | Glover, Worthington |
| 7 October 1972 | Southampton | H | 1–0 | 18,092 | Sammels (pen) |
| 14 October 1972 | Derby County | A | 1–2 | 31,841 | Weller |
| 21 October 1972 | Norwich City | H | 1–2 | 23,088 | Weller |
| 28 October 1972 | Stoke City | A | 0–1 | 24,421 | |
| 4 November 1972 | Manchester United | H | 2–2 | 32,575 | Sammels, Farrington |
| 11 November 1972 | Chelsea | A | 1–1 | 28,456 | Sammels |
| 18 November 1972 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 0–1 | 22,707 | |
| 2 December 1972 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 3–1 | 15,307 | Worthington (3) |
| 9 December 1972 | Birmingham City | A | 1–1 | 32,481 | Cross |
| 16 December 1972 | Sheffield United | A | 0–2 | 17,111 | |
| 23 December 1972 | Crystal Palace | H | 2–1 | 16,962 | Worthington (pen), Birchenall |
| 26 December 1972 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 0–2 | 22,022 | |
| 30 December 1972 | West Ham United | H | 2–1 | 19,341 | Farrington, Worthington |
| 1 January 1973 | Newcastle United | A | 2–2 | 30,868 | Birchenall, Worthington |
| 6 January 1973 | Coventry City | A | 2–3 | 25,067 | Worthington, Weller |
| 20 January 1973 | Manchester City | H | 1–1 | 18,761 | Worthington |
| 27 January 1973 | Everton | A | 1–0 | 31,531 | Wright (own goal) |
| 10 February 1973 | Leeds United | H | 2–0 | 35,976 | Birchenall (2) |
| 17 February 1973 | Arsenal | A | 0–1 | 42,047 | |
| 24 February 1973 | Sheffield United | H | 0–0 | 21,821 | |
| 3 March 1973 | Southampton | A | 0–0 | 14,134 | |
| 10 March 1973 | Derby County | H | 0–0 | 29,690 | |
| 17 March 1973 | Norwich City | A | 1–1 | 25,299 | Glover |
| 24 March 1973 | Stoke City | H | 2–0 | 18,743 | Tomlin, Birchenall |
| 31 March 1973 | Newcastle United | H | 0–0 | 18,712 | |
| 7 April 1973 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 0–1 | 15,235 | |
| 14 April 1973 | Birmingham City | H | 0–1 | 27,652 | |
| 20 April 1973 | Crystal Palace | A | 1–0 | 36,817 | Weller |
| 21 April 1973 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1–1 | 23,312 | Weller |
| 24 April 1973 | Ipswich Town | H | 1–1 | 20,373 | Cross |
| 28 April 1973 | Liverpool | A | 0–0 | 56,202 | |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 13 January 1973 | Arsenal | A | 2–2 | 36,433 | Worthington, Farrington |
| R3R | 17 January 1973 | Arsenal | H | 1–2 | 32,873 | Farrington |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 | 6 September 1972 | Norwich City | A | 1–2 | 22,498 | Sammels |

### Texaco Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 1st leg | 13 September 1972 | Dundee United | H | 1–1 | 4,000 | |
| R1 2nd leg | 27 September 1972 | Dundee United | A | 2–2 (won 3-0 on pens) | 7,000 | Weller, Sammels (2) |
| R2 1st leg | 24 October 1972 | Norwich City | H | 2–0 | 16,027 | Weller, Nish |
| R2 2nd leg | 8 November 1972 | Norwich City | A | 0–2 (lost 3-4 on pens) | 10,949 | |

## Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | GK | ENG | Peter Shilton |
| - | DF | ENG | Steve Whitworth |
| - | DF | ENG | David Nish |
| - | DF | ENG | Alan Woollett |
| - | DF | SCO | John Sjoberg |
| - | DF | SCO | Malcolm Manley |
| - | MF | ENG | John Farrington |
| - | MF | ENG | Jon Sammels |
| - | MF | ENG | Keith Weller |
| - | MF | ENG | Alan Birchenall |
| - | MF | ENG | Len Glover |
| - | FW | ENG | Malcolm Partridge |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | DF | ENG | Graham Cross |
| - | MF | ENG | Mike Stringfellow |
| - | FW | ENG | Frank Worthington |
| - | DF | ENG | Dennis Rofe |
| - | DF | ENG | Malcolm Munro |
| - | GK | ENG | Mark Wallington |
| - | MF | ENG | David Tomlin |
| - | DF | ENG | Joe Jopling |
| - | FW | ENG | Bob Lee |
| - | DF | ENG | Steve Yates |
| - | GK | ENG | Carl Jayes |