A decade ago to this very day, Leicester City were sat atop the Premier League table on their way to a glorious, historic title.

Now The Foxes fester in the relegation zone in the Championship. This is a club that won the FA Cup just five years ago.

On Saturday they head to Portsmouth, who beat Ipswich in midweek at Fratton Park. That result left Leicester five points adrift of safety with just four games to go.

On the pitch, and off it, the situation is bleak. A six-point deduction has obviously not helped matters. But even with all the financial constraints brought about by mismanagement and relegation, this is still a squad that is performing well below expectation.

They are staring a drop into League One for the first time since 2009 in the face…

‘They just do not seem to have enough fight – I think they’re done’

Tommy Smith on the Sky Sports Essential EFL podcast:

“Leicester are in trouble. I’ll be totally honest, I think they’re done. I don’t think they’ve got enough in the team or the dressing room to get three wins from four, and that’s what they need right now.

“When you look at the points other teams are picking up, and then at Portsmouth’s last four games, two wins and two draws against really tough opposition, that’s impressive.

“A point away at Norwich, a win at Middlesbrough, and then another win last night, those are real signs of life from a team that has struggled for long periods this season.

“The issue for Leicester is consistency. Since Gary Rowett came in, there have been too many draws. At this stage of the season, draws do not really help you.

“You would rather win and lose than draw three or four. That’s where Leicester are right now. They just do not seem to have enough fight, certainly not yet, and the games are running out.

“This weekend’s game at Fratton Park is huge for them, but even if they win, they would still need two more wins from their last three matches. That is not easy for a team that is not winning games.”

Fan view: ‘A lack of visible passion’

Leicester fan Elliot Sumner – Crazy About Leicester

“This season has unravelled in ways few expected. The first major misstep was failing to recruit an experienced striker after the departure of Jamie Vardy, a gap everyone knew needed filling.

“That decision by not bringing in a striker has really cost us. But still, this was a side capable of pushing for the play-offs at the very least. The reality has been far from that.

“A defining issue has been a lack of visible passion. Too often, performances have felt flat and players look lazy at times, as if some players are simply only here for the money rather than playing for the badge.

“Reports of a fractured dressing room only reinforce what has been evident on the pitch: disconnection, low morale, and a squad that doesn’t look united.

“However, the problems seem to run deeper than just the players. Much of the frustration has been directed at the board. The owner, Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, has been largely absent, failing to communicate with supporters or maintain the relationship he once promised to build.

“This silence has only widened the gap between the club and its fanbase. Meanwhile, too much authority appears to have been handed to Jon Rudkin, whose recruitment decisions and willingness to overpay players have contributed significantly to the club’s current decline.

“The lack of transparency around the club’s financial struggles has further added to frustration, leaving supporters in the dark about how things have deteriorated so quickly.

“On the pitch, the absence of fight has made this season particularly difficult to watch. Even the atmosphere around the club has suffered.

“Ultimately, it is painful to see the club in this position, staring at the very real possibility of dropping into League One, a scenario that, in the recent past, felt simply unthinkable.”

Leicester finances will take ‘significant hit’ if relegated to League One

Sky Sports News’ Rob Dorsett:

Leicester will see a significant hit in income if they are relegated to League One, with revenues predicted to fall by around 50 per cent compared with the Championship – and they would be earning less than a third of what they were in the Premier League, this time last year.

For a club which won the Premier League 10 years ago, and the FA Cup just five years ago, the collapse in income will be particularly marked. Whilst they enjoyed annual revenues of £187m in the top division, it is likely to be just over £100m come the end of this Championship season, and would fall to a predicted £60m per year in League One.

Despite the crash in income, it would still make Leicester far-and-away the biggest earners in the division next season, with the average revenues of a League One club one-sixth of Leicester’s, at around £10m.

Leicester’s speedy fall from grace will at least mean they have some cushion financially as a result of their Premier League parachute payments, designed to soften the blow of top flight relegation in 2025. That entitlement would not change, even if the club suffers a second consecutive demotion.

However, those parachute payments reduce over time, and so that too will be much lower – around £10m lower in Leicester’s case – for next season. Any club which drops out of the top division receives roughly 55 per cent of their Premier League entitlement in year one, 45 per cent in year two, and 20 per cent in year three. That means even if Leicester were to bounce back to the Championship at the first attempt in the next 12 months, their parachute payments will drop still further for the start of the 2027/28 season.

Leicester’s wage bill would have to fall by about 30-40 per cent – some of that will happen naturally, with relegation clauses in players’ contracts. But there is also likely to be a huge churn in the squad, with large numbers of players becoming unaffordable for a League One club, or simply seen to be of too high a calibre to be content to play in England’s third tier.

The most obvious of those is Abdul Fatawu, who Leicester could have cashed in for around £35m when they were relegated from the Premier League last summer.

A number of top tier clubs were prepared to pay that for him at the time, Sky Sports News was told. Now, if Leicester are in League One, his market value is likely to be much lower – maybe £10m-15m lower, for any potential buyer – although you’d expect Leicester to fight for the best price they could.