Matt Gillies then club record incoming fee of £80,000 and the unrest over pay saw Leicester slump to 18th that season in the league. The signing of Derek Dougan for £21,000 from Peterborough United and Jackie Sinclair from Dunfermline for £25,000 the following summer though saw the club rejuvenated and again become a strong force in the First Division. However, having just celebrated victory in the 1966 World Cup and having cemented a reputation as being one of the world's foremost goalkeepers, Gordon Banks was under pressure from upcoming youth star Peter Shilton. Shilton wanted first team football and realised that with
Gordon Banks whilst lying top of the table in April. City beat Liverpool 1–0 at Hillsborough to reach the final, with Banks keeping a clean sheet despite his goal being under a near-constant siege from the Merseyside club. The "News of the World" reported that Liverpool had had 34 attempts on goal to Leicester's one, and Banks later stated that it was his finest performance at club level. Unluckily, Banks then broke a finger in a 2–1 defeat by West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns, and was out injured as Leicester lost their final three league games, ending the season in a