In Focus: Appleton's Path To Leicester City
The 41-year-old joined the Foxes on a three-year contract and will link up with the squad for pre-season training next month before flying to Hong Kong for the Premier League Asia Trophy, along with Crystal Palace, Liverpool and West Bromwich Albion.
It was 23 years ago when Appleton first broke onto the scene as a youth graduate at Manchester United. He didn’t make a senior appearance at Old Trafford but enjoyed a succession of positive loan spells with Wimbledon, Lincoln City and Grimsby Town.
In 1997, a permanent switch to Preston North End presented itself for Appleton and he would go on to make 121 appearances in the North West, scoring 12 goals from midfield, as the Lilywhites booked promotion to the First Division in May, 2000.
But it was at West Brom, first as a player and then a coach, that Appleton’s made his greatest impact. He in fact only made 33 appearances at The Hawthorns before an injury cruelly cut his career short ahead of the 2003/2004 campaign.
The Salford-born midfielder, though, swiftly moved into coaching with the Baggies' backroom team, working for the youth side for over five years. He would go on to operate alongside Shakespeare in the West Midlands between 2003 and 2008.
In 2011, following a promotion to the position of first team coach under Roberto di Matteo and a one-game stint as caretaker manager, Appleton left his post at The Hawthorns to take charge of Portsmouth in the Sky Bet Championship.
Spells with Blackpool and Blackburn Rovers shortly followed in the second tier. His brief time at Rovers will be remembered for an Emirates FA Cup Fifth Round victory over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. However, it wouldn’t be long before he joined Oxford United.
In his second season in Oxfordshire, the U's gained promotion from Sky Bet League 2 as runners-up in 2016. Under his management, they registered 24 victories, 14 draws and just eight defeats across the 2015/16 campaign.
Appleton’s Oxford also earned an impressive reputation for themselves in both domestic cup competitions. In January, 2017, they saw off Rafael Benítez's Newcastle United 3-0 in the FA Cup Fourth Round.
Before that, during the promotion season, they also defeated both Swansea City, from the Premier League, and Championship outfit Brentford in the FA Cup and EFL Cup respectfully. Two Football League Trophy finals, however, ended in heartbreak.
As Oxford finished in eighth place on their maiden campaign back in League 1 last term, just four points off the play-off positions, Appleton's stock was higher than ever. "I am delighted that the Club have been able to bring a coach of Michael’s standing to Leicester City," Shakespeare said, shortly after he was announced as Assistant Manager at King Power Stadium.
"Michael and I worked together at West Bromwich Albion and it quickly became clear that he possessed all the qualities and the integrity required to enjoy a successful coaching career. I am sure that he will be a huge asset to Leicester City as we strive to achieve our objectives over the coming seasons.”