The shocking demise of Leicester City and how a dream turned into a nightmare

Dilly ding, dilly dong. Jamie Vardy ’s having a party. Or he was a decade ago, anyway.

Then Leicester , in the words of their director of football Steve Walsh, played three in midfield: Danny Drinkwater in the middle with N’Golo Kante on either side of him. Then, in the words of the club's Twitter account, for those just tuning into their away game at Manchester City, Leicester were 3-0 up and centre-back Robert Huth was on a hat-trick. Premier League winners then, relegated to League One now, Leicester City have defied sporting logic and footballing finances again.

They were the 5000/1 shot who won the title; scarred by that, the bookmakers can be far less generous to outsiders now, but Leicester have provided a different kind of surprise. Ten years on from the best season in their history, this has been the worst. After surely the greatest feat of overachievement in English football, one of the most ignominious instances of underachievement.

“I know it's a rollercoaster being a fan at times, but I probably wouldn't expect that rollercoaster to be quite so extreme,” said Gary Rowett , the manager who took them down. Leicester’s demotion to the third tier was sealed by Tuesday’s draw with Hull; unless, somehow, the Profitability and Sustainability charge against West Bromwich Albion provides an escape route. But even then, Leicester cannot argue that their own six-point deduction, for historic breaches of financial regulations, has rendered this an unfair relegation.