More sporting glory for Leicester in 2013?

For a city of around 300000 inhabitants, Leicester has often punched above its weight in sporting terms.

Indeed, the city has often taken great steps to promote and honour the teams and individuals who have contributed to such a rich sporting heritage. The sports statue near the Clock Tower is the most prominent example.

But as the new year dawns, what are the prospects of further honours for our local clubs?

The main focus will fall upon Leicester City, seeking to end the years of exile from the Premier League. Nigel Pearson’s side is currently well-placed to earn a playoff slot at least, but will be hoping for more.

A return to the top flight football would offer the global profile the club’s Thai and Chinese owners so keenly crave, as well as ensuring financial stability for years to come, with TV revenues set to rise sharply next season for Premier clubs.

By stark contrast, a further season of failure would incur yet another tour of some of English football’s less salubrious venues, with continuing attendant heavy losses threatening City’s long-term viability.

With these factors in mind, the 2013 playoffs will be particularly intense and frenetic, requiring considerable reserves of character, resilience and mental strength among players and management alike.

Unfortunately these are precisely the qualities which this City side have too often lacked in recent times. It is far from certain whether it would be able to withstand the burden of expectation to overcome this challenge.

On the other side of Aylestone Road, similar concerns arise regarding Leicester Tigers. Although the side secured victory in the LV Cup last year, the Premiership and Heineken Cup will again assume higher priority in the coming months.

At present, however, success on either front appears unlikely, with the side’s form away from Welford Road being more fallible than players, management and supporters would wish.

While is possible that Tigers may yet reach a ninth consecutive Premiership final, few would be confident in its ability to defeat whichever London/Home Counties franchise emerges this time around to command the allegiances of the majority of the Twickenham crowd.

A fairytale script would demand that skipper Geordan Murphy caps a glittering career by lifting another title crown. But suspicions remain that the side is not the force it has been in seasons past.

Meanwhile, expectations are somewhat lower for Leicestershire County Cricket Club, as they prepare for the current season.

With new captain Ramnaresh Sarwan at the helm for four-day matches, the Foxes will hope to improve on last season’s 7th-place finish in the County Championship 2^nd Division.

However, it is unlikely that the progress of the relatively young squad will be enough this time around to secure promotion. Instead, hopes will be directed, as in previous years, towards success in the T20 and 40-over competitions.

The club will also be anxious to see a drier and warmer summer to attract higher attendances and exploit the interest in the sport generated by another Ashes series.

It is in hockey and basketball that the city’s sporting hopes are most likely to bear fruit. The Leicester Hockey Club are well set to defend their Championship crown, currently lying 2^nd in the Premier League, while Rob Paternostro has built the strongest Riders team for a decade, and will hope to secure at least one trophy during the current season.

In addition, the Leicester Lions speedway team will be serious contenders for the Premier League title in their 3^rd season at Beaumont Park, having risen from a wooden spoon place in 2011 to the playoffs last year.

The fortunes of all these sides, and others flying the flag for city and county, will continue to be keenly followed by sports fans. We wish them every possible success during the next 12 months and beyond.