The History of Brighton and Hove Albion v Leicester City

Two of the most popular and yet divisive characters to manager Brighton and Hove Albion have also managed Leicester City. And between them, they are responsible for some of the best moments in a fixture that has largely been restricted to second tier football until now.

Let's start with an old WeAreBrighton.com favourite, Mark McGhee. Many questioned whether McGhee was actually out of his mind when moving Adam Virgo from right back to centre forward a few weeks into the 2004-05 season.

But whatever he'd been smoking while playing with the tactics board, we wish we were smoking it too. Virgo scored his first goal as a striker away at Leicester in a 1-0 win and was so good up there Celtic actually parted with £1.5m for him come the end of the season.

A season later and even Stevie Wonder could see the Albion were doomed to relegation from the Championship. Leicester at Withdean in February looked pivotal if we were to confound those doom and gloom predictions and so, needless to say, we were 2-0 down inside of five minutes. McGhee's take on matters after the game? "We were the better side after that though". Not helpful, Mark...

McGhee took over at Leicester some nine years before he became Albion manager, moving to Filbert Street in December 1994. He wasn't able to keep the Foxes in the top flight that season which came as no surprise to Albion fans after we'd knocked them out of the League Cup a few months previously. The second leg in Leicester was particularly memorable. Firstly Stuart Munday scored his first goal for the club from 35 yards. And then Jimmy Case was sent off for, essentially, being deaf. The Albion had a corner in the last couple of minute, leading 3-0 on aggregate with the referee urging Case to get on with taking it. Unfortunately, being in his mid 40s the veteran midfielder couldn't here the warning and so he was dismissed for time wasting and dissent. The only player in the clubs history who has been sent off for a hearing problem.

The other man to have taken charge of both sides is of course Micky Adams. Adams made his first return to Withdean as an opposition boss with Leicester in December 2002, a 1-0 win for the visitors which was notable for the fact that nobody actually realised Brian Deane had scored at the West End of the Theatre of Trees due to heavy fog. Only when the game kicked off again did the Leicester fans realise what had happened and begun cheering.

Adams was back in his second spell as Brighton boss when one of the most inevitable cock ups in history happened. Dick Knight must have been warned designing a home, away and third kit all in blue wasn't the best move in the world. That issue came to a head when we were forced into wearing Leicester's away kit at the Walkers Stadium in 2009. Adams side were terrible that season and he was weeks away from the sack yet somehow we drew 0-0 with the league leaders.

Must have been wearing a superior sides kit. Any chance Leicester might want to lend us theirs again at the King Power?