# 2004–05 Leicester City F.C. season

During the 2004–05 English football season, Leicester City F.C. competed in the Football League Championship.

## Season summary

Leicester City were hoping to make an immediate return to the FA Premier League following relegation the previous season, but got off to a poor to indifferent start to the season, seeing them drawing too many games and prompting Micky Adams to resign in October despite claims by the club that they wanted him to continue. He was replaced by Hearts' Craig Levein, but he couldn't inspire Leicester to improve and the club finished the season in a disappointing 15th place.

## Kit

Leicester retained the previous season's kit, manufactured by French company Le Coq Sportif and sponsored by Narborough-based bank Alliance & Leicester.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 13 | Burnley | 46 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 38 | 39 | −1 | 60 |
| 14 | Leeds United | 46 | 14 | 18 | 14 | 49 | 52 | −3 | 60 |
| 15 | Leicester City | 46 | 12 | 21 | 13 | 49 | 46 | +3 | 57 |
| 16 | Cardiff City | 46 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 48 | 51 | −3 | 54 |
| 17 | Plymouth Argyle | 46 | 14 | 11 | 21 | 52 | 64 | −12 | 53 |

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: 2004-05 Football League Championship table

### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| Ground | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | A | H | A | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | H | H | A |
| Result | D | W | L | L | D | L | W | W | D | L | W | D | D | D | D | D | D | W | L | D | W | W | L | D | L | L | W | D | W | D | L | L | D | L | D | D | D | W | D | D | L | D | L | W | W | D |
| Position | 14 | 6 | 15 | 19 | 17 | 19 | 17 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 |

## Results

Leicester City's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League Championship

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 7 August 2004 | West Ham United | H | 0-0 | 30,231 | |
| 11 August 2004 | Derby County | A | 2-1 | 26,650 | Nalis, Benjamin |
| 14 August 2004 | Millwall | A | 0-2 | 11,754 | |
| 21 August 2004 | Watford | H | 0-1 | 22,478 | |
| 28 August 2004 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 1–1 | 27,550 | Scowcroft |
| 30 August 2004 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 0–1 | 22,263 | |
| 11 September 2004 | Rotherham United | A | 2–0 | 6,272 | Nalis, Dublin |
| 14 September 2004 | Sheffield United | H | 3-2 | 23,422 | Scowcroft, Dabizas, Wilcox |
| 18 September 2004 | Burnley | H | 0–0 | 22,495 | |
| 25 September 2004 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 2-3 | 15,535 | Scowcroft, Connolly |
| 28 September 2004 | Gillingham | A | 2–0 | 6,089 | Heath, Dublin |
| 2 October 2004 | Preston North End | H | 1-1 | 21,249 | Benjamin |
| 16 October 2004 | Coventry City | A | 1-1 | 18,054 | Dublin |
| 19 October 2004 | Ipswich Town | H | 2–2 | 22,497 | Connolly, Heath |
| 23 October 2004 | Stoke City | H | 1–1 | 22,882 | Halls (own goal) |
| 30 October 2004 | Cardiff City | A | 0-0 | 13,759 | |
| 2 November 2004 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 2–2 | 6,849 | Nalis, Guðjónsson |
| 8 November 2004 | Coventry City | H | 3-0 | 22,479 | Nalis, Tiatto, Heath |
| 13 November 2004 | Sunderland | H | 0–1 | 25,897 | |
| 20 November 2004 | Wigan Athletic | A | 0–0 | 10,924 | |
| 27 November 2004 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 2–1 | 23,799 | Scowcroft, Dublin |
| 4 December 2004 | Leeds United | A | 2–0 | 27,384 | Nalis, Kelly (own goal) |
| 11 December 2004 | Reading | H | 0–2 | 24,068 | |
| 17 December 2004 | Nottingham Forest | A | 1–1 | 21,415 | Connolly |
| 26 December 2004 | Rotherham United | H | 0–1 | 27,014 | |
| 28 December 2004 | Sheffield United | A | 0–2 | 22,100 | |
| 3 January 2005 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 1–0 | 23,754 | Connolly (pen) |
| 15 January 2005 | Preston North End | A | 1–1 | 12,677 | Connolly |
| 22 January 2005 | Gillingham | H | 2-0 | 23,457 | Connolly, Nosworthy (own goal) |
| 5 February 2005 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 1-1 | 27,011 | Gillespie |
| 12 February 2005 | Ipswich Town | A | 1-2 | 27,392 | Stewart |
| 22 February 2005 | Stoke City | A | 2–3 | 14,076 | Williams, Guðjónsson |
| 26 February 2005 | Reading | A | 0–0 | 14,651 | |
| 5 March 2005 | Nottingham Forest | H | 0-1 | 27,277 | |
| 8 March 2005 | Burnley | A | 0–0 | 10,933 | |
| 15 March 2005 | Watford | A | 2-2 | 11,084 | Connolly, Hughes |
| 18 March 2005 | West Ham United | A | 2–2 | 22,031 | Connolly (pen), Gillespie |
| 2 April 2005 | Millwall | H | 3-1 | 22,338 | Stearman, Connolly (pen), De Vries |
| 5 April 2005 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 1–1 | 22,950 | Maybury |
| 9 April 2005 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 1–1 | 6,638 | Connolly (pen) |
| 16 April 2005 | Wigan Athletic | H | 0-2 | 23,894 | |
| 19 April 2005 | Cardiff City | H | 1–1 | 21,336 | Connolly |
| 23 April 2005 | Sunderland | A | 1-2 | 34,815 | Maybury |
| 26 April 2005 | Derby County | H | 1–0 | 25,762 | Connolly |
| 1 May 2005 | Leeds United | H | 2–0 | 26,593 | Dublin, Connolly |
| 8 May 2005 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 0-0 | 19,199 | |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 8 January 2005 | Blackpool | H | 2-2 | 16,750 | Williams, Edwards (own goal) |
| R3R | 15 January 2005 | Blackpool | A | 1-0 | 6,938 | Guðjónsson |
| R4 | 29 January 2005 | Reading | A | 2–1 | 14,825 | Williams, Scowcroft |
| R5 | 19 February 2005 | Charlton Athletic | A | 2-1 | 23,719 | Dabizas, Dublin |
| QF | 13 March 2005 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 0-1 | 22,113 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 | 4 October 2004 | Preston North End | H | 2-3 | 6,751 | Guðjónsson (pen), Blake |

## Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Ian Walker |
| 2 | DF | SCO | Peter Canero |
| 3 | DF | AUS | Danny Tiatto |
| 4 | DF | GRE | Nikos Dabizas |
| 5 | MF | SCO | Stephen Hughes |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Matt Heath |
| 7 | MF | NIR | Keith Gillespie |
| 8 | MF | FRA | Lilian Nalis |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Dion Dublin |
| 10 | FW | ENG | James Scowcroft |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Jordan Stewart |
| 12 | FW | ENG | Stefan Moore (on loan from Aston Villa) |
| 14 | DF | ENG | Darren Kenton (on loan from Southampton) |
| 15 | MF | SCO | Scot Gemmill |
| 16 | MF | SCO | Gareth Williams |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | DF | ENG | Richard Stearman |
| 19 | FW | IRL | David Connolly |
| 20 | DF | IRL | Paddy McCarthy (from March) |
| 21 | MF | ENG | Jason Wilcox |
| 22 | MF | ISL | Joey Guðjónsson |
| 23 | MF | ENG | Tommy Wright |
| 24 | DF | IRL | Alan Maybury |
| 25 | FW | WAL | Nathan Blake |
| 26 | FW | NED | Mark de Vries |
| 27 | MF | ENG | Lee Morris |
| 28 | MF | IRL | Stephen Dawson |
| 29 | DF | ENG | Alan Sheehan |
| 30 | GK | IRL | Conrad Logan |
| 31 | FW | ENG | Chris O'Grady |
| 33 | GK | CAN | Lars Hirschfeld |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Martin Keown (to Reading) |
| 12 | DF | ENG | Chris Makin (to Derby County) |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Stuart Taylor (on loan from Arsenal) |
| 14 | MF | SCO | Kevin Harper (on loan from Portsmouth) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 18 | DF | SCO | Matt Elliott (retired) |
| 20 | FW | JAM | Trevor Benjamin (to Northampton) |
| 36 | GK | ENG | Kevin Pressman (to Leeds United) |
| — | MF | WAL | Paul Ashton (to Grimsby Town) |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Pos | Name | From | Fee |
| 1 July 2004 | MF | Jason Wilcox | Leeds United | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2004 | FW | Dion Dublin | Aston Villa | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2004 | DF | Danny Tiatto | Manchester City | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2004 | MF | Gareth Williams | Nottingham Forest | £500,000 |
| 14 July 2004 | GK | Kevin Pressman | Sheffield Wednesday | Free transfer |
| 20 July 2004 | DF | Martin Keown | Arsenal | Free transfer |
| 20 July 2004 | FW | David Connolly | West Ham United | £500,000 |
| 1 August 2004 | FW | Nathan Blake | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Free transfer |
| 1 August 2004 | MF | Joey Guðjónsson | Real Betis | Free transfer |
| 2 August 2004 | DF | Chris Makin | Ipswich Town | Free transfer |
| 5 August 2004 | MF | Scot Gemmill | Everton | Free transfer |
| 6 January 2005 | FW | Mark de Vries | Hearts | Nominal |
| 6 January 2005 | DF | Alan Maybury | Hearts | Nominal |
| 29 January 2005 | GK | Lars Hirschfeld | Dundee United | Free transfer |
| 31 January 2005 | MF | Stephen Hughes | Rangers | £100,000 |
| 3 March 2005 | DF | Paddy McCarthy | Manchester City | £100,000 |
| 27 April 2005 | DF | Patrick Kisnorbo | Hearts | Free transfer |

### Out

| Date | Pos | Name | To | Fee |
| 17 May 2004 | DF | Alan Rogers | Nottingham Forest | Free transfer |
| 18 May 2004 | DF | Riccardo Scimeca | West Bromwich Albion | £100,000 |
| 19 May 2004 | MF | Andy Impey | Nottingham Forest | Free transfer |
| 3 June 2004 | MF | Muzzy Izzet | Birmingham City | Free transfer |
| 7 June 2004 | FW | Paul Dickov | Blackburn Rovers | £150,000 |
| 21 June 2004 | DF | Ben Thatcher | Manchester City | £100,000 |
| 1 July 2004 | MF | Steve Guppy | Leeds United | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2004 | MF | Billy McKinlay | Fulham | Free transfer |
| 2 July 2004 | MF | Paul Brooker | Reading | Free transfer |
| 5 July 2004 | FW | Les Ferdinand | Bolton Wanderers | Free transfer |
| 5 July 2004 | MF | Junior Lewis | Hull City | Free transfer |
| 10 July 2004 | DF | Callum Davidson | Preston North End | Free transfer |
| 17 July 2004 | GK | Danny Coyne | Burnley | £25,000 |
| 23 July 2004 | DF | Frank Sinclair | Burnley | Free transfer |
| 23 July 2004 | DF | Nicolas Priet | Doncaster Rovers | Free transfer |
| 1 August 2004 | MF | Craig Hignett | Leeds United | Free transfer |
| 29 October 2004 | MF | Tom Williamson | Canvey Island | Free transfer |
| 19 January 2005 | FW | Trevor Benjamin | Northampton Town | Free transfer |
| 28 January 2005 | DF | Martin Keown | Reading | Free transfer |
| 31 January 2005 | DF | Matt Elliott | Retired | Retired |
| 25 February 2005 | GK | Kevin Pressman | Leeds United | Free transfer |
| 17 May 2005 | MF | Lilian Nalis | Sheffield United | Free transfer |
    Transfers in: £1,200,000
    Transfers out: £375,000
    Total spending: £825,000