Premier League Preview Thread

[War Machine Dawg]

Nolito is a really good player. Really good. I think odds are they chase Carvalho for his youth. But he will cost around 25 million I would bet. They need to spend though if they want to win the league and one more piece could do it. I love transfer drama

Yep. It's potentially Christmas two more times a year. Or a complete disaster. Or a lot of talk with nothing to show.

[BrunswickDawg]

Great start to Boxing Day - with Stoke making Man U their bitch.

Can't decide what is more entertaining - the meltdown with Chelsea or the pending meltdown with the Red Devils. Man U looked like crap today.

[War Machine Dawg]

Great start to Boxing Day - with Stoke making Man U their bitch.

Can't decide what is more entertaining - the meltdown with Chelsea or the pending meltdown with the Red Devils. Man U looked like crap today.

Van Gaal is done. Love seeing Man U in disarray. The only question left if how long do they wait to pull the trigger and if it's soon enough to get them into the Pep Sweepstakes.

[Liverpooldawg]

Liverpool 1 Leicester City 0. I never thought I would say this but that's a BIG win over Leicester for Liverpool.

[BrunswickDawg]

Liverpool 1 Leicester City 0. I never thought I would say this but that's a BIG win over Leicester for Liverpool.
Reds are getting better every match. They look so much faster and more agressive. I hated seeing Origi go down, but Benteke really stepped up.

[Liverpooldawg]

Reds are getting better every match. They look so much faster and more agressive. I hated seeing Origi go down, but Benteke really stepped up.

I don't know about every match, se last week, but they are getting better.

[DudyDawg]

United will fire LVG, eventually, but the problem is the roster. They have mid table talent and that's what they are playing like. Though you can blame some of that on him for buying some of those guys who turned out to be not very good (looking at you, Memphis depay).

Arsenal at southampton on NBC now, Arsenal can go to top of the table

[War Machine Dawg]

United will fire LVG, eventually, but the problem is the roster. They have mid table talent and that's what they are playing like. Though you can blame some of that on him for buying some of those guys who turned out to be not very good (looking at you, Memphis depay).

Arsenal at southampton on NBC now, Arsenal can go to top of the table

Watching. Let's go, Gunners! Btw, the Sun is reporting Arsenal will offer ?33M for Sevilla midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak in the upcoming window. Don't know much about him. Dudy, you're more into La Liga, what's you're evaluation?

[Liverpooldawg]

Don't read the S#%. JUSTICE FOR THE 96.

[Liverpooldawg]

Liverpool 1 Leicester City 0. I never thought I would say this but that's a BIG win over Leicester for Liverpool.

On the other hand not even me wearing my new Wembley Playoff Final tshirt Santa brought me yesterday could help my other team, Norwich City. They lost heavily at White Heart Lane. They remain out of the relegation zone, on goal difference only.

[War Machine Dawg]

Don't read the S#%. JUSTICE FOR THE 96.

I have no idea what you're even talking about. I got the alert via the Bleacher Report app. As a sports news aggregator, it's pretty awesome.

[Liverpooldawg]

I have no idea what you're even talking about. I got the alert via the Bleacher Report app. As a sports news aggregator, it's pretty awesome.

The S#% was the "paper" that accused Liverpool fans of repulsive and vile acts in the wake of the Hillsborough tragedy. They blamed what happened on Liverpool fans and went even farther than that. What they reported was outright lies. Some they were told by the authorities covering their asses and some they made up on their own. Watch the ESPN 30 for 30 on this sometime. I was very pleased to see how great a job ESPN did with that. JUSTICE FOR THE 96.

[TheRef]

Well your Fox Overlords survived a slight loss of a battle to remain on top of the table after Boxing Day

[Liverpooldawg]

Well your Fox Overlords survived a slight loss of a battle to remain on top of the table after Boxing Day

This may be your year, or today might be the beginning of the end of your challenge. Usually true pretenders like Leicester will last to festive period and lose one and immediately fade away. Kevin Keegen's Newcastle were the last ones outside of the traditional Big Three or the nouveau riche to last much longer than that. Blackburn were the last to actually do it. I'm pulling for you except when you play Liverpool or Norwich City. It would be a great story. If I had to bet my money it would still be on Man City or Arsenal.

[TheRef]

This may be your year, or today might be the beginning of the end of your challenge. Usually true pretenders like Leicester will last to festive period and lose one and immediately fade away. Kevin Keegen's Newcastle were the last ones outside of the traditional Big Three or the nouveau riche to last much longer than that. Blackburn were the last to actually do it. I'm pulling for you except when you play Liverpool or Norwich City. It would be a great story. If I had to bet my money it would still be on Man City or Arsenal.

Well we will see how we fare against Manchester City Tuesday at the King Power. It's a VERY short week for us. Then we follow that up on Saturday against Bournemouth. RIP our schedule.

[War Machine Dawg]

Looks like Arsenal have completed a deal worth approximately ?7M for McElneny. I won't even bother talking about the beatdown the Gunners took from Southampton yesterday. Turrable.

[DudyDawg]

Watching. Let's go, Gunners! Btw, the Sun is reporting Arsenal will offer ?33M for Sevilla midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak in the upcoming window. Don't know much about him. Dudy, you're more into La Liga, what's you're evaluation?

I like him. He was a real thorn in Barcas side in the European supercup. Creative guy with a lot of energy. Will run box to box and can spread it well in the midfield, as well as sit in front of the back 4 and defend. I think he is an upgrade on wilshere in the midfield, mostly bc he's consistent.

[DudyDawg]

Well we will see how we fare against Manchester City Tuesday at the King Power. It's a VERY short week for us. Then we follow that up on Saturday against Bournemouth. RIP our schedule.

My money would be on 5th or 6th, but since chelsea and United blow I could see Leicester finishing 4th. I don't see them finishing higher than that, especially of they have an injury. Just not enough depth.

[War Machine Dawg]

I like him. He was a real thorn in Barcas side in the European supercup. Creative guy with a lot of energy. Will run box to box and can spread it well in the midfield, as well as sit in front of the back 4 and defend. I think he is an upgrade on wilshere in the midfield, mostly bc he's consistent.

Good deal, hope we can swing him. And I effed up Elneny's name. No "Mc"

[Liverpooldawg]

Norwich City 1 Aston Villa 0. That's a big win for Norwich. It was pretty much a must win in the relegation battle for both sides.

[Liverpooldawg]

Liverpool were once again awful. Hopefully we will have a little money to spend this month. Norwich on the other hand picked up another three priceless points.

[TheRef]

So we couldn't capitalize on a penalty against Bournemouth, ended up with a 0-0 draw at the King Power Stadium.

Now we have a two-game stretch with FA Cup and Premier League against the same club, in the same stadium. We will be away to face off against Tottenham Hotspur. Starting Sunday in FA Cup action, then on the 13th in the Premier League.

[Liverpooldawg]

I just saw where Vardy is out for two week at least. That's a blow for the Foxes. He is having minor groin surgery. I'm not sure the words minor" and "groin surgery" should ever be used together! LOL.

[War Machine Dawg]

Arsenal takes sole possession of first place after defeating Newcastle 1-0 on Saturday. The Gunners are two points clear of Leicester City thanks to a draw with Bournemouth. Arsenal's next match is at home with Sunderland.

In transfer news, looks like there might be a hitch in the Elneny deal. He's passed his physical, but rumors are swirling he might not be able to get a work permit. Also news today that the Gunners are planning on making a ?42M bid for Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

[DudyDawg]

After the James incident (caught driving 200 km/h on way to practice) and another underwhelming performance offensively against Valencia in a 2-2 draw, Real Madrid fired Rafa. Looks like it'll be Zinedine Zidane to move up from Real Madrid B to replace him, at the very least for the time being. Not surprised. He was in over his head from day 1. ****ing Flo Perez needs to be gone as well. I hate him.

[TheRef]

Leicester City is proud to announce the signing of Demarai Gray today. He's 19 and has signed a 4.5 year contract, which will keep him a Fox until 2020. He has played for England's U18, U19, and U20 teams. He has already made 78 professional appearances, 51 of those being starts in the Championship with Birmingham City FC. In December 2014, at the age of 18, he scored a hat trick in the Championship.

Needless to say, I think we have a young replacement for Vardy in the wings.

[DudyDawg]

Zidane announced as the replacement for Rafa at madrid, and I think him being a club legend and all time great gives him immediate credibility to the players. We will see if he becomes the next Guardiola (exact situation pretty much when he got his start at barca). Speaking of pep, he announced today he wants to go to England. Unless Messi or Ronaldo get sold this summer, the Guardiola signing will be the biggest of the summer ha

[War Machine Dawg]

Zidane announced as the replacement for Rafa at madrid, and I think him being a club legend and all time great gives him immediate credibility to the players. We will see if he becomes the next Guardiola (exact situation pretty much when he got his start at barca). Speaking of pep, he announced today he wants to go to England. Unless Messi or Ronaldo get sold this summer, the Guardiola signing will be the biggest of the summer ha

Is Zidane going to be permanent or just interim? Random thought I had today, how would you feel about Madrid hiring Pelligrini, assuming City cans him for Pep?

[DudyDawg]

Is Zidane going to be permanent or just interim? Random thought I had today, how would you feel about Madrid hiring Pelligrini, assuming City cans him for Pep?

Had him before, don't really want him again. And apparently he said some stuff about Madrid today being hard on coaches after we fired Rafa, so I think that bridge is burned. And to be honest I'm not sure how to answer about Zizou. He will get the rest of this year and barring a massive slip I think he's permanent.

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

Newcastle needs to sign a LB, creative CM and a CB, preferably in that order. Of course all the transfer rumors floating around now involve signing another striker. Calling Newcastle's management inept is an understatement.

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

On another note, I'm getting FIFA 16 tomorrow, have any of you done any challenging manager modes that you've enjoyed? In FIFA 15 I made Newcastle a powerhouse, so in this one I was thinking about taking a League 2 team and trying to get them up to the Premier League. Would doing it in a different league be more fun? Is there any other idea that would be better?

[War Machine Dawg]

On another note, I'm getting FIFA 16 tomorrow, have any of you done any challenging manager modes that you've enjoyed? In FIFA 15 I made Newcastle a powerhouse, so in this one I was thinking about taking a League 2 team and trying to get them up to the Premier League. Would doing it in a different league be more fun? Is there any other idea that would be better?

I'm still rocking FIFA 14. Love FUT, but the market has gone to hell since '16 came out. I've been focusing on a couple of career players. Got a CAM that's worked his way up to Man U first team and a striker trying to make the Arsenal first team. The striker is currently dominating the Championship at Bournemouth. I should probably up the difficulty, considering I'm on pace to score an insane number of goals. And by insane, I mean 60+ is within the realm of possibility. I'm already over 50, if I'm remembering correctly. The problem is there just aren't as many achievements for strikers to complete as midfielders. Plus I suck at using skilled dribbling. If I could do that, I'd be completely unstoppable.

Btw, here's a helpful trick to make your career player progress faster: Start him off at an MLS club and decline loan options during the summer window. Odds are your team will suck early and the manager will give your player a shot. You'll likely find yourself starting really soon. Then play through the MLS season and gain ridiculous experience against a fairly bad league. Request a transfer or loan during the January window and join a lower division Euro league team. You could be mid-70s easy by the time the second summer window rolls around and have a legit shot at playing for a club in one of the top Euro leagues.

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

I'm still rocking FIFA 14. Love FUT, but the market has gone to hell since '16 came out. I've been focusing on a couple of career players. Got a CAM that's worked his way up to Man U first team and a striker trying to make the Arsenal first team. The striker is currently dominating the Championship at Bournemouth. I should probably up the difficulty, considering I'm on pace to score an insane number of goals. And by insane, I mean 60+ is within the realm of possibility. I'm already over 50, if I'm remembering correctly. The problem is there just aren't as many achievements for strikers to complete as midfielders. Plus I suck at using skilled dribbling. If I could do that, I'd be completely unstoppable.

Btw, here's a helpful trick to make your career player progress faster: Start him off at an MLS club and decline loan options during the summer window. Odds are your team will suck early and the manager will give your player a shot. You'll likely find yourself starting really soon. Then play through the MLS season and gain ridiculous experience against a fairly bad league. Request a transfer or loan during the January window and join a lower division Euro league team. You could be mid-70s easy by the time the second summer window rolls around and have a legit shot at playing for a club in one of the top Euro leagues.
That was always my strategy. The MLS, Australian League, and Brazilian league I believe all kinda straddled the big Euro seasons and you could do that with any of them. I always got bored with My Player though because it was either too easy (scoring 50 goals a season) or upping the difficulty and making it too real. I've always had more fun being a manager and playing in the transfer windows to create absurd teams (my Newcastle team was ridiculous after 3 seasons).

I think I'm going to do what I mentioned previously, taking a League 2 team and work them into the Premier League. But to add a shade of realism I'm going to limit the # of foreign players I can sign until I get up to the 2nd tier. Otherwise it's too easy to abuse the free agent system.

[War Machine Dawg]

That was always my strategy. The MLS, Australian League, and Brazilian league I believe all kinda straddled the big Euro seasons and you could do that with any of them. I always got bored with My Player though because it was either too easy (scoring 50 goals a season) or upping the difficulty and making it too real. I've always had more fun being a manager and playing in the transfer windows to create absurd teams (my Newcastle team was ridiculous after 3 seasons).

I think I'm going to do what I mentioned previously, taking a League 2 team and work them into the Premier League. But to add a shade of realism I'm going to limit the # of foreign players I can sign until I get up to the 2nd tier. Otherwise it's too easy to abuse the free agent system.

Yeah, I'd up the difficulty, but when I play it's just to chill. So scoring 50+ goals in a season doesn't bother me.

[Liverpooldawg]

On another note, I'm getting FIFA 16 tomorrow, have any of you done any challenging manager modes that you've enjoyed? In FIFA 15 I made Newcastle a powerhouse, so in this one I was thinking about taking a League 2 team and trying to get them up to the Premier League. Would doing it in a different league be more fun? Is there any other idea that would be better?

The Championship Manager/Football Manager series (for PC) is the ONLY football manager type game that is even worthy of consideration. I've been playing it for nearly 20 years. The FIFA garbage is child's play. I don't have the most recent version but they are ALL fantastic. The depth of it is amazing. You literally can start wherever you want. Whatever league interests you is there. It is playable down to the Blue Square North/South in England in the version I have. As I said mine is a few years out of date. I LOVE where I have Liverpool in it so I haven't updated in a few years. Let's put it this way, if my game was reality, who the heck is Shankly? LOL. My son has a later version. It's even better, as they always are.

[War Machine Dawg]

WWIA, your post got me curious enough to start a manager league. You'll have to give me some tips on how to make my team awesome. Decided to start out with Football League 2 team Fleetwood Town and have them work up to the PL. No idea what I'm doing, but I guess I'll learn on the fly.

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

The Championship Manager/Football Manager series (for PC) is the ONLY football manager type game that is even worthy of consideration. I've been playing it for nearly 20 years. The FIFA garbage is child's play. I don't have the most recent version but they are ALL fantastic. The depth of it is amazing. You literally can start wherever you want. Whatever league interests you is there. It is playable down to the Blue Square North/South in England in the version I have. As I said mine is a few years out of date. I LOVE where I have Liverpool in it so I haven't updated in a few years. Let's put it this way, if my game was reality, who the heck is Shankly? LOL. My son has a later version. It's even better, as they always are.

I've considered getting that game. I played a free, lesser version of it and loved it. But it burnt me out of just doing the managing with no actual playing. I'm sure in a few months I'll give it a shot.

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

WWIA, your post got me curious enough to start a manager league. You'll have to give me some tips on how to make my team awesome. Decided to start out with Football League 2 team Fleetwood Town and have them work up to the PL. No idea what I'm doing, but I guess I'll learn on the fly.

I assume you're looking for tips on building a team rather than tactical tips since you've done Ultimate Team before. The transfer system isn't hard to abuse, just based on my personal experience you should be able to sell your strikers and goalie every season for well above face value just by playing the game. If you have a mid fielder score a lot of goals (10-15) and get a good number of assets you can sell him at a lucrative price (I sold an 81 overall, 22 year old CAM to Real for $60 mil after scoring 12 goals and getting about 15 assists in the 1st season of my Newcastle season. His value face value was ~$18-20 mil).

I've only played half a season as a League 2 team before the season I just started, so I don't have many tips for building a League 2 team. I do know that you can build a strong team while avoiding transfer fees by signing a bunch of free agents. But this is a relatively short term solution b/c they will either be old, or won't improve much more beyond where they are when you sign them. What I've been trying to do in my current career is try to buy 2 or 3 young 17-20 year old players that are about equal to my current squad that will hopefully improve over time. When I'm trying to actually bring in a player that better than the rest of my squad I usually loan a young player from a top flight team.

There's a website I will link next time I'm on my computer that has a data base of each player's overall in the game and how much they're expected to improve. It's kinda against the spirit of the game, but if that doesn't bother you, it's an awesome source for finding young players that are going to be studs in the future. I used it in FIFA 15 to sign a 68 overall 17 year old striker off a German team for about $800,000 who was an 86 overall at 21 years old.

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

Halfway through the transfer window, how do you feel about what your team has done so far?

Newcastle has signed 2 center-mids in Jonjo Shelvey from Swansea for $12 mil and Henry Saivet from Bordeaux for $5 mil. And it appears that they have all but finalized a deal with Tottenham to get Andros Townsend for $12-15 mil.

The team desperately needed a decent, PL experienced midfielder. So I think the Shelvey signing was perfect. We also desperately needed a true winger, as both of the players we are putting on the wings now are actually center mids being forced to play out wide. People have their doubts about Townsend's ability, but if he's even average, he'll make our team significantly better in so many aspects.

Overall, I'm shocked by how well Newcastle has done so far. Right now I would give them a B+, which will jump up to an A if a decent left back is signed before the end of the window.

[Liverpooldawg]

Halfway through the transfer window, how do you feel about what your team has done so far?

Newcastle has signed 2 center-mids in Jonjo Shelvey from Swansea for $12 mil and Henry Saivet from Bordeaux for $5 mil. And it appears that they have all but finalized a deal with Tottenham to get Andros Townsend for $12-15 mil.

The team desperately needed a decent, PL experienced midfielder. So I think the Shelvey signing was perfect. We also desperately needed a true winger, as both of the players we are putting on the wings now are actually center mids being forced to play out wide. People have their doubts about Townsend's ability, but if he's even average, he'll make our team significantly better in so many aspects.

Overall, I'm shocked by how well Newcastle has done so far. Right now I would give them a B+, which will jump up to an A if a decent left back is signed before the end of the window.

You will be fine with Jonjo unless Harry Potter shows up.

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

You will be fine with Jonjo unless Harry Potter shows up.
Hahaha people on the Newcastle board have been making loads of Voldemort/ Harry Potter jokes. I think he has some form of alopecia like Josh Dobbs

[Liverpooldawg]

When he was at Liverpool a few years back they were playing at West Ham. The West Ham fans chanted "Harry Potter is coming for you" at him for most of the game. Word was he loved it. He DOES look like Voldemort.

[War Machine Dawg]

Arsenal finally completed the Elneny deal. Word is he could debut tomorrow. Definitely gives us some quality depth. Still need a striker, but I don't know if it's going to happen. Plus Giroud is playing out of his mind, so I wouldn't put it past Wenger to try to ride out the storm until some of the injured players come back. I'd give us a C right now, but it could move up depending what happens the next couple of weeks.

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

Jonjo Shelvey was fantastic today in Newcastle's 2-1 win. Both goals were set up by beautiful passes from him. It's amazing what a center mid with a little vision and the ability to make a forward pass will do to a team. We looked totally different today, of course we've been up and down all season too though.

[Liverpooldawg]

It was a bad loss for Norwich at Bournemouth today. Tomorrow is the Northwest Derby. THE derby in English football. I've had a late night tonight, for me, with some really decent beverages involved so I doubt I will get up early enough to watch. I hate these early KOs, esp on Sunday. Play them all on Saturday @ 3pm GMT as god intended. They don't even have the bad excuse of European games to use this week. COME ON YOU REDS!

[BrunswickDawg]

Well I'm up Liverpool, so at least someone is awake trying to pull the Reds through!

[Liverpooldawg]

I'm up too although I did miss some of it. I thought it was the usual noon KO for derbies over there to cut down on the pre-match drinking. That's 6am here.

[TheRef]

Leicester City had an early lead via an Okazaki knock in off the rebound of a Vardy shot save. We looked good until about midway through the second half when Aston Villa fought back well in order to score a goal. On another note, that was the worst officiating I've seen in a PL game in a long time. MULTIPLE handballs on both sides that weren't called. Leicester City's Robert Huth put some good arms into some Aston Villa players in the box that weren't called, and should have been. Needless to say, both crowds were livid. One handball by Aston Villa that wasn't called directly led to a goal.

[BrunswickDawg]

I'm up too although I did miss some of it. I thought it was the usual noon KO for derbies over there to cut down on the pre-match drinking. That's 6am here.
Have I ever mentioned how much I ****ing HATE Wayne Rooney??

[Liverpooldawg]

Have I ever mentioned how much I ****ing HATE Wayne Rooney??

A Toffee and a Manc. Him, Fellaini, and Phil Neville, the b@$tards.

[War Machine Dawg]

Hell of a game between Liverpool and Arsenal in the midweek. Today's Arsenal-Stoke City match was boring as hell and finished in a nil draw.

[DanglyGiant]

Can't wait to see Charlie Austin suited up as a Saint here soon. He's expected to be our only signing this window.

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

Hell of a game between Liverpool and Arsenal in the midweek. Today's Arsenal-Stoke City match was boring as hell and finished in a nil draw.

There was quite an uproar about what the Stoke fans were chanting at Aaron Ramsey though. Apparently there's quite a bit of bad blood between him and Stoke.


Can't wait to see Charlie Austin suited up as a Saint here soon. He's expected to be our only signing this window.
Newcastle fans have been wanting that guy for years now, he seems to be a great player. Supposedly we're in the race to Berahino though, which would be a nice consolation. But I can't see him coming to us over the likes of Tottenham.

[Liverpooldawg]

My two teams play the early game tomorrow. I obviously will be puling for Liverpool but my support of Norwich has become pretty strong since I spent a few days in the city during their playoff run last year. I got two Norwich City shirts for Christmas, one is a Wembley Final shirt. One thing is for SURE: I wish I was there. If I had my same room at the Maids Head I expect I could hear the songs again tonight from the pub next door. I would absolutely love to be at Carrow Road tomorrow. If you ever get the chance to go to Norwich, take it. It's a great city.

[Liverpooldawg]

My two teams play the early game tomorrow. I obviously will be puling for Liverpool but my support of Norwich has become pretty strong since I spent a few days in the city during their playoff run last year. I got two Norwich City shirts for Christmas, one is a Wembley Final shirt. One thing is for SURE: I wish I was there. If I had my same room at the Maids Head I expect I could hear the songs again tonight from the pub next door. I would absolutely love to be at Carrow Road tomorrow. If you ever get the chance to go to Norwich, take it. It's a great city.

What. A. Game. Unreal game at Carrow Road. I hate it for Norwich. It's tough to lose a game like that. As for my Reds, the defense was shambolic but they kept coming till the very end. Remarkable game. 5-4 to Liverpool, Norwich got an equalizer in the 93rd minute and Liverpool won it in the officially allotted beforehand.....95th. What a game!

[War Machine Dawg]

Cheapskate Arsene Wenger said earlier this week the Gunners are likely done during the January transfer window barring an "exceptional" case. That means the only addition to the squad is Elneny and no strikers. The Gunners are now one injury to Olivier Giroud, or Giroud reverting to form, away from being totally screwed at striker. Especially since there's still no word on when Welbeck could return. I somehow the feeling that Arsenal is gonna Arsenal this shot at the title because Wenger won't spend the money to make sure it happens.

The Gunners play Chelsea in tomorrow's game. 955 AM on NBC Sports.

[TheRef]

BOW BEFORE YOUR FOX OVERLORDS YET AGAIN!!!! Leicester City with an emphatic victory over Stoke City in 3-0 fashion. Next up is a home match vs Liverpool on February 2nd.

https://i.gyazo.com/7f4a090c025da843e6f51660c5b94eea.png

[War Machine Dawg]

Certainly appears that way, Ref. The Gunners are f'n cursed against Chelsea. Mertesacker sent off in the 18th minute today and Costa scores shortly thereafter. Unless Arsenal can equalize in the 5 minutes of stoppage time.

[Liverpooldawg]

Wembley.

[TheRef]

In all seriousness, I think all of the pundits who said that Leicester City couldn't continue their run are wrong. We are proving that Leicester City has staying power at least this season. Yes we may not be able to continue it next season, but dammit we're bound and convinced that we're at least a Champions League squad this year.

[War Machine Dawg]

In all seriousness, I think all of the pundits who said that Leicester City couldn't continue their run are wrong. We are proving that Leicester City has staying power at least this season. Yes we may not be able to continue it next season, but dammit we're bound and convinced that we're at least a Champions League squad this year.

I got on board with Leicester being in it for the long haul back around November. They're just really damn good and have avoided the big injuries. And now Vardy is getting healthy after a minor injury. Going to be a hell of a battle the next few months.

[TheRef]

I got on board with Leicester being in it for the long haul back around November. They're just really damn good and have avoided the big injuries. And now Vardy is getting healthy after a minor injury. Going to be a hell of a battle the next few months.

Agreed. I'm ready to avenge some losses and draws. If we stay hot, I could see us grabbing our first Top Flight crown

[War Machine Dawg]

Agreed. I'm ready to avenge some losses and draws. If we stay hot, I could see us grabbing our first Top Flight crown

It's a 3 horse race, imo. Leicester, Arsenal, and City. Everyone is starting to get healthy, too. Coquelin is back in training for the Gunners and Kompany may not be far off for City. Just wish El Cheapo would spend some cash for a striker in this window.

[TheRef]

It's a 3 horse race, imo. Leicester, Arsenal, and City. Everyone is starting to get healthy, too. Coquelin is back in training for the Gunners and Kompany may not be far off for City. Just wish El Cheapo would spend some cash for a striker in this window.

Get yourself a Filipino owner and you won't have that problem. Our owners are shelling out money. They want to keep Leicester up in the Top Flight. They're shelling out the money to keep us at the top too.

[Liverpooldawg]

Well crap. I was hoping for a Merseyside Derby at Wembley. We get City instead. Oh joy.

[DudyDawg]

In all seriousness, I think all of the pundits who said that Leicester City couldn't continue their run are wrong. We are proving that Leicester City has staying power at least this season. Yes we may not be able to continue it next season, but dammit we're bound and convinced that we're at least a Champions League squad this year.

It'll be interesting to see how much the extra games next year will hurt Leicester if they stay in a European spot. And considering they'll likely lose some big pieces

[War Machine Dawg]

Get yourself a Filipino owner and you won't have that problem. Our owners are shelling out money. They want to keep Leicester up in the Top Flight. They're shelling out the money to keep us at the top too.

It's not the owners; it's Wenger. Supposedly he has around 70M pounds to spend this January if he wants to, but he's sitting on it. It's pretty well known that Wenger doesn't like to spend.

[TheRef]

It'll be interesting to see how much the extra games next year will hurt Leicester if they stay in a European spot. And considering they'll likely lose some big pieces

It'll hurt a bit. But luckily, Ranieri has experienced this before with Chelsea so we have a bit of experience on the Managerial front.

[DudyDawg]

City put out a statement today saying Pep is their coach next year. It's official

[TheRef]

YOUR FOX OVERLORDS DEFEATED LIVERPOOL TODAY 2-0 LED BY OUR FEARLESS LEADER JAMIE F***ING VARDY WHO SCORED TWO GOALS!!! INCLUDING THIS BRILLIANT ONE FROM OUTSIDE THE BOX.


https://cdn.streamable.com/video/mp4/jc52.mp4

We remain three points clear for the lead and will face Manchester City next for a battle for the top spot.

[Liverpooldawg]

We just don't have anybody that can score against the decent teams. We had over 60% of the possession but that doesn't matter if you can't put it in the net. Why we didn't spring for a striker this window I don't know.

[DudyDawg]

We just don't have anybody that can score against the decent teams. We had over 60% of the possession but that doesn't matter if you can't put it in the net. Why we didn't spring for a striker this window I don't know.
Or someone more creative than Joe allen/henderson/lucas etc in the midfield.

[DudyDawg]

And Yaya Toures agent has come out and said he's leaving city after the year (has history with pep)

[War Machine Dawg]

Or someone more creative than Joe allen/henderson/lucas etc in the midfield.

Liverpool has Coutinho, Sturridge, and Benteke. They should be able to create and score.

[Liverpooldawg]

Liverpool has Coutinho, Sturridge, and Benteke. They should be able to create and score.

Coutinho has been out for a few weeks. Sturridge is ALWAYS hurt. Benteke doesn't fit the Klopp system. From what I can see we are crating chances, we just can't stick it in the net.

[DudyDawg]

Liverpool has Coutinho, Sturridge, and Benteke. They should be able to create and score.

Benteke is a terrible fit and the other two have been out for so long.

[Liverpooldawg]

Today we score and Mingolet couldn't stop a SOG if the net was 2 feet wide.

Leicester City may just go on and win this thing. That was a HUGE win for them today. I hope they do. It would be the best winner since Blackburn won it in the 90s.

[Liverpooldawg]

Norwich City dropped into the relegation zone with an awful defeat to Villa. BAD day for me.

[TheRef]

Well Leicester City beat Manchester City 3-1. That puts the Foxes 5 points up on the table.

[War Machine Dawg]

Arsenal finally got back into the W column, 2-0 over Bournemouth. Still chasing our Fox Overlords with a match between the two next weekend. Should be a helluva match.

In off-pitch news, Arsene Wenger says he won't prioritize a striker this summer. I mean, seriously, is he senile enough to think Giroud can keep up his form (which has already slacked off aGAIN) or that at the very least the Gunners don't need a solid Plan B? Also, why the hell did we sign Elneny if Wenger has no intention of putting him into the side in Premier League matches?

[Liverpooldawg]

Norwich absolutely blew 2 points today as has become their habit lately. The good news for the team from my favorite city on the planet is Chelsea destroyed Newcastle so that point got them out of the relegation zone, for now anyway, on goal difference.

[TheRef]

Norwich absolutely blew 2 points today as has become their habit lately. The good news for the team from my favorite city on the planet is Chelsea destroyed Newcastle so that point got them out of the relegation zone, for now anyway, on goal difference.

TOO BAD IT WON'T SAVE YOU FROM YOUR FOX OVERLORDS!!!!!! COME AT ME, GUNNERS

[Liverpooldawg]

Liverpool put 6 past hapless Villa this morning. I was more excited by Mingolet's save than I was about the 6 goals.

[Liverpooldawg]

TOO BAD IT WON'T SAVE YOU FROM YOUR FOX OVERLORDS!!!!!! COME AT ME, GUNNERS

Gooners? I was talking about Norwich, who aren't much of a threat to anyone except their fellow teams in the relegation battle.

[Liverpooldawg]

Interesting morning. It looks like a three horse title race is well and truly on. Arsenal, Leicester City, and Tottenham, who saw THAT coming?

[TheRef]

After going down to 10 men, the Foxes lost Ina heartbreaking fashion 2-1 to the Arsenal Gunners. The Foxes remain 2 points clear in the lead as we head towards the front stretch.

[War Machine Dawg]

TOO BAD IT WON'T SAVE YOU FROM YOUR FOX OVERLORDS!!!!!! COME AT ME, GUNNERS

WE COMIN', BITCH!!!!!!!

Seriously though, hell of a match. I'm watching it on DVR right now. Know how it ends, but don't know how it played out up to Welbeck's header. Damn glad to see him back. Maybe now Giroud will play less. (Hey, a man can dream.)

I watched City-Tottenham live this morning. That was a damn good match as well. Thought City might get the equalizer late, but the ball just never bounced their way. They should prolly be pissed about the penalty call for Tottenham's first goal, though.

[Liverpooldawg]

Shaq is a ............Cobbler? Cool story.

http://soccer.nbcsports.com/2016/02/16/video-shaquille-oneal-confesses-his-love-for-northampton-town/?utm_network=facebook&utm_post=5149775&utm_source=FB%20-%20NBC%20Sports%20Soccer&utm_tags=srm%5Bsoccer%2Carticle%5D

[#660000]

For my COYS fans
http://cartilagefreecaptain.sbnation.com/2016/2/16/11018288/tottenham-hotspur-title-race-how-to-cope

[Liverpooldawg]

Rooney out for 2 months. That's a big blow for the Mancs.

[TheRef]

Rooney out for 2 months. That's a big blow for the Mancs.

Good thing no one likes them, right? HEYOOOOOOOO

[War Machine Dawg]

Hull City and Arsenal went head to head in FA Cup action on Saturday. The game finished in a nil draw. It was a hell of a match, though. Hull has a really damn good D. Arsenal had chances, but Jakupovic had the game of his life in goal for Hull. Both teams made major lineup changes and Hull debuted recent Man U loanee Nick Powell.

I'm really excited to see Hull atop the Championship and bidding for automatic promotion. They've got a good shot, and considering how good the B team looked against Arsenal's B team, I don't see why they couldn't finish in the top 2 and then stay in the PL for the foreseeable future. Maybe we could even have new Tiger Overlords to replace our current Fox Overlords. (Being facetious on that one)

[DudyDawg]

PSA- TWO GREAT, GREAT GAMES TODAY. I don't know if you all watching the EPL has gotten you interested in europe, but you've got potentially the two best games for the year so far coming up today in the first leg of the KO round in the champions league. 1:45, FS1 and 2, Arsenal v Barcelona, juventus v bayern Munich. Two great games, you'll see more talent in both these games today than you will in any English game this year by a country mile

[War Machine Dawg]

PSA- TWO GREAT, GREAT GAMES TODAY. I don't know if you all watching the EPL has gotten you interested in europe, but you've got potentially the two best games for the year so far coming up today in the first leg of the KO round in the champions league. 1:45, FS1 and 2, Arsenal v Barcelona, juventus v bayern Munich. Two great games, you'll see more talent in both these games today than you will in any English game this year by a country mile

I watched the Arsenal-Barca match and DVR'd Bayern-Juventus. Damn I'm pissed that Arsenal let it slip away like that, but Messi is the GOAT. Barca is definitely my favorite La Liga team, though. It just isn't fair when they start Neymar, Messi, Suarez, Iniesta, Alves, and Alba.

[TheRef]

Your Fox Overlords have claimed another victim in the Norwich City Canaries. With two minutes left in the game, Leonardo Ulloa smacked one in to give the Foxes the winning edge in this 1-0 match. The Foxes are now 5 points clear in first place with the first of a 5-game stretch that Ranieri called the defining stretch for this team. If we can make it through this stretch relatively unscathed, we may have a true Championship squad in your Fox Overlords...

ALL HAIL LEICESTER CITY! ALL HAIL! LONG LIVE THE FOX KINGS

[War Machine Dawg]

Arsenal played like hot garbage and lost to Man United 3-2. Welbeck drew his first EPL start of the season and scored his second EPL goal of the year. Mesut Ozil got the other goal.

The Daily Telegrah is reporting Arsene Wenger will have approximately 75M pounds sterling to spend this summer and he plans to use the majority of it in the midfield and center defense. Still no solid plans to add a striker. It's really starting to piss me off.

ETA: Dudy, what's your opinion of Isco? Looks like he could be a top target for the Gunners.

[DudyDawg]

Isco is damn good. I don't see us selling. He's a top 3 or 4 young talent in the world in attacking midfield

[TheRef]

The Foxes and the West Brom squad fought to a 2-2 draw at King Power Stadium. This puts the Foxes still in the driver's seat for the Premiership with a 3-point buffer to Tottenham right now. Saturday, the Foxes will travel to Watford in another battle. Let's hope that we can get a solid 3 points out of this.

[Liverpooldawg]

I didn't watch this morning but it appears the North London Derby was quite a match. It ended 2-2. No word who won the riot outside White Heart Lane before the match. From the pictures it appears Ragnar Lathbrook was there and took a rather severe blow to the head.

Norwich just went down 1-0 to Swansea. They are sinking deeper into the relegation mire. 10 games without a win.

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

With Newcastle standing on the precipice of relegation and seemingly unconcerned about the situation, I'm beginning auditions for my favorite team next season. I want to pull for a title contending team, but the MSU fan in me always draws me to lesser teams (hence Newcastle).

Stoke City has grown on the MSU fan in me recently, but I'm trying to convince myself to pull for a more traditional power. Tottenham might be the biggest team I can pull for with good conscience, as I like the way they run their team and they still aren't in the absolute top tier. My brother has been trying to convince me to pull for Liverpool for a few years now, and I put them in the same tier as Tottenham. But their fanbase rubs me the same way as Newcastle's: quick to become toxic due to higher expectations than they are capable of producing every year. Am I off base in my feeling? Any other team suggestions?

[TheRef]

There are only 9 games remaining in the Premier League schedule and ALL HAIL YOUR FOX OVERLORDS!!!! After today's 1-0 victory over Watford, your overlords currently hold a 5 point advantage on the lead for the Premiership Title. Your overlords also show no signs of stopping, so go ahead and get that trophy ready for your new overlords.

[Liverpooldawg]

With Newcastle standing on the precipice of relegation and seemingly unconcerned about the situation, I'm beginning auditions for my favorite team next season. I want to pull for a title contending team, but the MSU fan in me always draws me to lesser teams (hence Newcastle).

Stoke City has grown on the MSU fan in me recently, but I'm trying to convince myself to pull for a more traditional power. Tottenham might be the biggest team I can pull for with good conscience, as I like the way they run their team and they still aren't in the absolute top tier. My brother has been trying to convince me to pull for Liverpool for a few years now, and I put them in the same tier as Tottenham. But their fanbase rubs me the same way as Newcastle's: quick to become toxic due to higher expectations than they are capable of producing every year. Am I off base in my feeling? Any other team suggestions?

You are off base about Liverpool. The expectations are high because it actually IS an enormous club with a proud history. It has been incompetently led from an ownership standpoint for nearly three decades now. The current group is at least trying but they have had a steep learning curve. Liverpool is truely a sleeping giant. Even with all the underachieving in the 20 years I have been actively following them they have won every major trophy but one, the EPL. Their fan base is one of the best there is. They are genuine, there are no bandwagoners left anymore. It is still one of the biggest ones out there too.

[Liverpooldawg]

There are only 9 games remaining in the Premier League schedule and ALL HAIL YOUR FOX OVERLORDS!!!! After today's 1-0 victory over Watford, your overlords currently hold a 5 point advantage on the lead for the Premiership Title. Your overlords also show no signs of stopping, so go ahead and get that trophy ready for your new overlords.

The rest of the results lately have certainly gone your way too. This may be one of those once in a lifetime magical runs. It's the best story in the EPL since Newcastle under Kevin Keegan. Let that one be be a lesson to you though, it didn't have a happy ending. They collapsed late and Manchester United pipped them for the title. If you win its the best one since Blackburn won it.

[TheRef]

The rest of the results lately have certainly gone your way too. This may be one of those things once in a lifetime magical runs. It's the best story in the EPL sense Newcastle under Kevin Keegan. Let that one be be a lesson to you though, it didn't have a happy ending. They collapsed late and Manchester United pipped them for the title. If you win its the best one since Blackburn won it.

I think it's fair to say that fans of teams that can't win are cheering for the Foxes right now to win it all.

[Liverpooldawg]

I think it's fair to say that fans of teams that can't win are cheering for the Foxes right now to win it all.

Better you than the Fantastic Plastic London Russians, either flavor from Manchester ( the legitimate ones or the nouveau riche ones), or the North London think they are a big clubers from White Heart Lane. I wouldn't begrudge the Gooners a title. They are the only other big club besides mine I can actually stand.

[Liverpooldawg]

It was a penalty. :cool:

[War Machine Dawg]

I was gone to a buddy's wedding over the weekend, so I settled for watching the North London Derby on DVR. It was a helluva match. Arsenal was up 1-0, then Coquelin was sent off for a second yellow. The Spurs scored 2 goals in about a 5 minute span. Alexis got the equalizer with 15 minutes remaining. The Gunners had a couple more chances but couldn't capitalise. All in all, can't really complain about a road draw after playing almost an entire half a man short.

Btw, I'd recommend finding the vid highlight of Harry Kane's then go-ahead goal. It was nasty.

Hopefully we can catch our Fox Overlords, but I'm rather skeptical. And to be honest, I'd actually enjoy seeing them hold off the pack for the title. Going to be an interesting summer transfer window to see how hard they get raided. I know that Mahrez is apparently a target for Arsenal. Gotta figure Vardy and Kante will be hot commodities as well.

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

You are off base about Liverpool. The expectations are high because it actually IS an enormous club with a proud history. It has been incompetently led from an ownership standpoint for nearly three decades now. The current group is at least trying but they have had a steep learning curve. Liverpool is truely a sleeping giant. Even with all the underachieving in the 20 years I have been actively following them they have won every major trophy but one, the EPL. Their fan base is one of the best there is. They are genuine, there are no bandwagoners left anymore. It is still one of the biggest ones out there too.
See, that statement is almost identical to statements I see on Newcastle boards all the time, minus the part about winning a major trophy. I'm coming around to the idea of Liverpool, though. I did like Klopp at Borussia, and it is right up my alley to pull against what I consider to be mainstream.

[Liverpooldawg]

See, that statement is almost identical to statements I see on Newcastle boards all the time, minus the part about winning a major trophy. I'm coming around to the idea of Liverpool, though. I did like Klopp at Borussia, and it is right up my alley to pull against what I consider to be mainstream.

That's exactly what Newcastle is, minus the history. That is a HUGE club with a fantastic fanbase. To me they are by far the biggest enigma in England. They by all rights SHOULD be better than they are. They SHOULD have a great history, but they don't. I remember the year it looked like they were finally going to win it. Liverpool hero Kevin Keegan was the manager and Allen Shearer was banging in goals for fun. They were 10 points clear at Christmas and it looked like they had it in the bag. Man U slowly chipped away at the lead and Keegan got caught up in Sir Alex's mind games. They collapsed in the last month and Man U won it by 6 or 7 points. That club has it all, but success.

[DudyDawg]

It was a penalty. :cool:

A damnnnnn soft one. But he got clipped. Thought it had to be called. Fortunate one Haha. Maybe that can start a Red push for Europe

[DudyDawg]

Champions League returns today at 1:45 with my Real Madrid taking on Roma. We have a 2-0 road lead, so I feel pretty good, but Real fans should be a little nervous due to what Schalke did to us with the same score line at the Bernebeu. Either way, I see us going through.

[TheRef]

A damnnnnn soft one. But he got clipped. Thought it had to be called. Fortunate one Haha. Maybe that can start a Red push for Europe

Still can't stop your Fox Overlords

[Liverpooldawg]

A damnnnnn soft one. But he got clipped. Thought it had to be called. Fortunate one Haha. Maybe that can start a Red push for Europe

They probably are already in the Europa League. If City goes to the Champion's League then Liverpool will get the spot from the League Cup. I think the Top 4 or even Top 5 is probably out of reach. I need to look at the run ins. I haven't done that yet.

[DudyDawg]

Still can't stop your Fox Overlords

Next year is going to a real shock when Leicester are in more than 1 competition and get a group with Barca or Juve and get absolutely smashed

[DudyDawg]

Just watched the United Liverpool game. Pretty typical English game. Great theater, exciting, sloppy and quality was ehhhh. Fun to watch tho

[Liverpooldawg]

Next year is going to a real shock when Leicester are in more than 1 competition and get a group with Barca or Juve and get absolutely smashed

I hear Vardy has a 30 million quid buyout. If he is at Filbert Street (sorry, I've been at this EPL thing a while) next year that will be quite a coup for the Foxes.

[Liverpooldawg]

Just watched the United Liverpool game. Pretty typical English game. Great theater, exciting, sloppy and quality was ehhhh. Fun to watch tho

I'm watching a replay on FS2 now. It should be a felony to have American commentators for a game involving an English team, a capitol crime if between two English teams. It kind of ruins it for me. It sux in all honesty.


By the way. There are some Manchester United fans who should be forever banned from any game. JUSTICE FOR THE 96.

[TheRef]

I hear Vardy has a 30 million quid buyout. If he is at Filbert Street (sorry, I've been at this EPL thing a while) next year that will be quite a coup for the Foxes.

I mean...he is 30 and past his prime, honestly.

[Liverpooldawg]

I mean...he is 30 and past his prime, honestly.

That won't stop Chelski. They love to buy old dudes. I didn't know he is 30. I hope we don't go for him unless it is on a Bosman then.

[Liverpooldawg]

The Americans never picked up on the fact that there was a smoke bomb/flare in the Main Stand today. The Main Stand! That's normally the domain of what MSU youngsters call the "blue hairs". AWESOME!

[Liverpooldawg]

As much as I loved today, it's only halftime. Old Trafford will be a different animal all together.

[TheRef]

That won't stop Chelski. They love to buy old dudes. I didn't know he is 30. I hope we don't go for him unless it is on a Bosman then.

Just looked it up and he's 29...close enough.

[DudyDawg]

I hear Vardy has a 30 million quid buyout. If he is at Filbert Street (sorry, I've been at this EPL thing a while) next year that will be quite a coup for the Foxes.

He has one maybe two good years. So I don't think it would be that big a coup. I meant even if they keep the same roster and don't lost players they'll struggle being in more comps

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

Newcastle has hired Rafa Benitez as their manager on a 3 year contract. I now have some hope that we can stay up, but this should have been done a few weeks ago when we had an 18 day break. We wasted two very winnable games giving Shteve a last chance. I do have to say that I'm shocked he took the job, from what I can tell he's a world class coach. At the very least his resume is freaking impressive.

[Liverpooldawg]

Newcastle has hired Rafa Benitez as their manager on a 3 year contract. I now have some hope that we can stay up, but this should have been done a few weeks ago when we had an 18 day break. We wasted two very winnable games giving Shteve a last chance. I do have to say that I'm shocked he took the job, from what I can tell he's a world class coach. At the very least his resume is freaking impressive.

Rafa is a good manager but he is no miracle worker. It's going to be a tough job keeping Newcastle up at this late stage. If he manages it it would be nearly as good of job as he did winning the Champion's League wit THAT Liverpool squad. If he keeps you up and get proper backing, better days will come.

[Liverpooldawg]

A very good point for Norwich this morning, 0-0 with Man City at Carrow Road. It's going to be a near run thing. My guess is the drop, just.

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

Rafa is a good manager but he is no miracle worker. It's going to be a tough job keeping Newcastle up at this late stage. If he manages it it would be nearly as good of job as he did winning the Champion's League wit THAT Liverpool squad. If he keeps you up and get proper backing, better days will come.
Oh I still have very little hope of staying up. I'm just saying that there was a 0% chance of McClaren keeping us up. He was getting absolutely nothing from this team and looked incompetent. Like I said previously though, if this move was made about a month ago, he would have had more than two weeks with the team before his first match, and he would have had two more games to dig us out of this hole.

[TheRef]

Thanks to an AMAZING goal by Okazaki, your OVERLORDS REIGN STILL!!! Five points clear in the lead with 8 matches remaining. IT CAN HAPPEN, BOYSSSSSSSS


http://cartilagefreecaptain.sbnation.com/2016/3/14/11225584/this-amazing-shinji-okazaki-bicycle-kick-kept-leicester-city-five?guid=EMqJxdOBozrorN2HGIP_O0RJjNTaWbqE

[Liverpooldawg]

Three vital points and OUT of the drop zone, for now anyway. Great win for Norwich City!

Dumping the Mancs out of Europe was fun this week!

[TheRef]

YOUR FOX OVERLORDS CLAIM A 1-0 VICTORY OVER CRYSTAL PALACE AFTER A BEAUTIFUL STRIKE FROM RIYAD MAHREZ. In all seriousness, we are 8 points clear in the lead with 7 matches to go. 17 points more needed for the Foxes to clinch the Premier League.

WE'RE GONNA WIN THE LEAGUE! WE'RE GONNA WIN THE LEAGUE!

[Dawg61]

Damn there's some big clubs in the drop zone! Newcastle?! Sunderland and Aston Villa!! Holyyyeee shiat

[Dawg61]

YOUR FOX OVERLORDS CLAIM A 1-0 VICTORY OVER CRYSTAL PALACE AFTER A BEAUTIFUL STRIKE FROM RIYAD MAHREZ. In all seriousness, we are 8 points clear in the lead with 7 matches to go. 17 points more needed for the Foxes to clinch the Premier League.

WE'RE GONNA WIN THE LEAGUE! WE'RE GONNA WIN THE LEAGUE!

WOW!!!! Craziest year for the EPL EVER!!!! Ha I'm really happy for you Ref that's SO AWESOME!!!

[Liverpooldawg]

Shocking collapse at St. Mary's from the Reds. Then again it isn't. We still need quality depth. Let's hope the buys this summer will make sense for once. Our transfer policy has been so erratic for years now.

[War Machine Dawg]

Arsenal whipped Everton 2-0. The W puts them 6 behind Spurs and 11 behind our Fox Overlords, but creates a little separation from a surging Man City with a 4 point gap. Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi both scored and have been a breath of fresh air. Unfortunately, Iwobi has been hospitalized for food poisoning on international duty with Nigeria.

Looks like the natives are getting very restless with Arsene Wenger. Reports suggest Mesut Ozil may be looking for a return to La Liga and Madrid if Wenger remains manager. There's also lots of talk Wenger has been ordered to go on a spending spree this summer or face the sack. The wish list apparently includes Toni Kroos, among others. Personally, I'm hoping for Granit Xhaka - although he seems to be a target for Liverpool as well. Could well be an interesting summer for Gunners fans everywhere.

[TheRef]

Leicester will be facing off in the 2016 International Champions Cup this season. We will start off against Celtic in Glasgow. PSG in Los Angeles. Then finally Barcelona in Stokholm.

[DudyDawg]

Arsenal whipped Everton 2-0. The W puts them 6 behind Spurs and 11 behind our Fox Overlords, but creates a little separation from a surging Man City with a 4 point gap. Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi both scored and have been a breath of fresh air. Unfortunately, Iwobi has been hospitalized for food poisoning on international duty with Nigeria.

Looks like the natives are getting very restless with Arsene Wenger. Reports suggest Mesut Ozil may be looking for a return to La Liga and Madrid if Wenger remains manager. There's also lots of talk Wenger has been ordered to go on a spending spree this summer or face the sack. The wish list apparently includes Toni Kroos, among others. Personally, I'm hoping for Granit Xhaka - although he seems to be a target for Liverpool as well. Could well be an interesting summer for Gunners fans everywhere.

Ozil may leave. But it ain't gonna be for madrid

[Liverpooldawg]

Norwich City striker Dieumerci Mbokani was in the Brussels airport during the attack today. The club has been in contact with him and say he is shaken but unharmed.

[Liverpooldawg]

Damn there's some big clubs in the drop zone! Newcastle?! Sunderland and Aston Villa!! Holyyyeee shiat

Villa has never been relegated.

[War Machine Dawg]

Ozil may leave. But it ain't gonna be for madrid

They have a buyback/first refusal clause if he returns to La Liga. No way they pass on him. That said, he's denied wanting to leave and said Wenger was a big reason he came to Arsenal. Not that you'd expect him to say he's thinking about an exit, but he didn't have to go as far as to support Wenger. We'll see how it plays out.

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

The Americans never picked up on the fact that there was a smoke bomb/flare in the Main Stand today. The Main Stand! That's normally the domain of what MSU youngsters call the "blue hairs". AWESOME!
I've always thought Davis Wade would be more intimidating if we mimicked some of the Greek/Balkan soccer teams for our pre-game build up
https://youtu.be/p607pkyT_yQ

[Liverpooldawg]

I've always thought Davis Wade would be more intimidating if we mimicked some of the Greek/Balkan soccer teams for our pre-game build up
https://youtu.be/p607pkyT_yQ

UNREAL! That is awesome.

We could also do what a couple of Italian ultra groups have been known to do, throw a Vespa from the upper deck.

[TheRef]

I've always thought Davis Wade would be more intimidating if we mimicked some of the Greek/Balkan soccer teams for our pre-game build up
https://youtu.be/p607pkyT_yQ

Dear God....I can see the articles now of "MISSISSIPPI STATE IS OUT OF CONTROL!!!!"

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

Dear God....I can see the articles now of "MISSISSIPPI STATE IS OUT OF CONTROL!!!!"
Lol I'm pretty sure you'd be arrested as a terrorist for bringing a flare into an American sports stadium, it would certainly be a unique and intimidating atmosphere though.

[DudyDawg]

They have a buyback/first refusal clause if he returns to La Liga. No way they pass on him. That said, he's denied wanting to leave and said Wenger was a big reason he came to Arsenal. Not that you'd expect him to say he's thinking about an exit, but he didn't have to go as far as to support Wenger. We'll see how it plays out.

We sold him, we aren't going to get him again. We already have too many attacking midfielders anyways. Not saying he will stay at arsenal, but he ain't going to Real.

[TheRef]

Lol I'm pretty sure you'd be arrested as a terrorist for bringing a flare into an American sports stadium, it would certainly be a unique and intimidating atmosphere though.

Oh I agree. could you imagine running in to a stadium that looked like it was on fire? Yeah...that'd be a heckuva sky cam view.

[War Machine Dawg]

Looks like Arsenal have won the race for Granit Xhaka. Rumour is the transfer fee is 30M pounds or just over $42.5M. Now the question is will Wenger address striker? I'm expecting to add at least one more midfielder. Also wouldn't be shocked to see us add a center back, since we're letting Sacker walk - lots of talk about John Stones, amongst others.

Gotta say, I love what Elneny has brought to the team so far. He's been a huge addition. Would love to see him and Wilshere together once Wilshere is fit. But Elneny and Coquelin have really clicked, so I don't know how you break up that pairing for the time being.

[Liverpooldawg]

I was out of town all day so I didn't get to watch either massive game for my two clubs. Liverpool got a decent 1-1 draw with Spurs although we really needed all three points. Norwich had a fantastic last gasp 3-2 win in a relegation 6 pointer with Newcastle. That was a massive result for the Canaries. It keeps the road to staying up open.

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

Newcastle is doomed. I need to find a new team. There have been some rumors of Zlatan coming to the Premier league. I imagine whatever team he might would come to would be my new team, I love that cocky bastard.

[War Machine Dawg]

Newcastle is doomed. I need to find a new team. There have been some rumors of Zlatan coming to the Premier league. I imagine whatever team he might would come to would be my new team, I love that cocky bastard.

Lots of chatter linking him to Arsenal. Doubt it happens, but it wouldn't be the worst signing for Wenger. Only issue I see is he's 34, so his game could fall off a cliff overnight.

[TheRef]

Newcastle is doomed. I need to find a new team. There have been some rumors of Zlatan coming to the Premier league. I imagine whatever team he might would come to would be my new team, I love that cocky bastard.

I mean.....you could join up with your Fox overlords.

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

Lots of chatter linking him to Arsenal. Doubt it happens, but it wouldn't be the worst signing for Wenger. Only issue I see is he's 34, so his game could fall off a cliff overnight.
That's the issue I see. None of the teams that are capable of paying the salary he would demand would be willing to because of that. Would love to see it happen though. Would have loved it even more if it happened 5-10 years ago.

[TheRef]

Well your Fox Overlords are once again 7 points clear after a 1-0 victory over Southampton in King Power Stadium. We are indeed one weekend closer to your Fox Overlords claiming our rightful spot at the top of the table at the end of the year and hoisting the Premier League trophy at Chelsea (being that we travel there on the final weekend). Then we shall parade through Leicester with the trophy in hand, down to Filbert Way, and into King Power, to where everyone will have a beer on the owners. Also...everyone in attendance for this weekend's game received a Krispy Kreme donut courtesy of the owners. So yeah...our owners are awesome. They give free beer and donuts. BEER AND DONUTS, PEOPLE.

Next stop for the Foxes? The Stadium of Light to face off against Sunderland, who are currently sitting in the relegation zone.

[DudyDawg]

Chelsea just announced a three year deal to make Italy's Antonio Conte head coach. Going to be interested to see if chelsea goes to a back 3 like Conte ran for Juve and Italy or if he changes his philosophy

[War Machine Dawg]

Arsenal did an Arsenal today. After dominating the majority of the first half and going up 2-0, the Gooners allowed Andy Carroll to hit the hat trick in the span of about 15 minutes. Carroll got two quick goals to equalise just before the half then scored about 10 minutes into the second half. Koscielny got the equaliser for the Gunners, salvaging a point.

I'm slowly beginning to think it really is time for #WengerOut. This team needs a serious infusion of attitude and toughness. A legit world class striker wouldn't hurt, either. Winning the race for Granit Xhaka would be a damn good start, though.

[TheRef]

ALL HAIL YOUR FOX OVERLORDS!!!

The Foxes went to the Stadium of Light and got a good two goals by world-class Jamie Vardy. One in the 61st minute and one in stoppage time. Both of these allowed the Foxes to gain another 3 points, extending their lead over Tottenham Hotspur to 10 points as the Spurs face the Reds of Manchester United right now. The Foxes have officially qualified for no lower than the Europa league, which will be their first appearance in international play since 2000-2001 UEFA Cup (What the Europa League is now). Three more wins and the Foxes are GUARANTEED to be chanting "WE WON THE LEAGUE! WE WON THE LEAGUE!" for the final two matches. With the final being against defending champion Chelsea on foreign turf. You've gotta know that it would kill Chelsea fans to have to watch lowly Leicester City raise the trophy on their pitch as their team makes the ring of honor.

[TheRef]

With Tottenham's 3-0 victory over Manchester United, the Leicester City Foxes are guaranteed a Top 4 finish, which means the Foxes are headed to the Champions League!!!!

[Liverpooldawg]

FREAKING EPIC!!!!!!!!!!! Liverpool 4 Dortmund 3 Remarkable comeback from 4-2 down in the 57th minute. Comeback goals from Coutinho 66th, Sakho 77th, and Lovern in a desperation 92nd minute. It wasn't quite Istanbul but that was something. That game will take it's place in the extensive pantheon of famous European nights at Anfield.

[BrunswickDawg]

FREAKING EPIC!!!!!!!!!!! Liverpool 4 Dortmund 3 Remarkable comeback from 4-2 down in the 57th minute. Comeback goals from Coutinho 66th, Sakho 77th, and Lovern in a desperation 92nd minute. It wasn't quite Istanbul but that was something. That game will take it's place in the extensive pantheon of famous European nights at Anfield.
That was unreal!!! I kept checking in via Twitter and couldn't believe they came back and won! YNWA!

[Liverpooldawg]

Devastating loss for Norwich City today. Had they won that they would have had a great shot at staying up. They are in the thick of it now.

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

Devastating loss for Norwich City today. Had they won that they would have had a great shot at staying up. They are in the thick of it now.
Newcastle beat Swansea to close the gap to 3 points. We have to finish ahead of Sunderland too though. Both Newcastle and Sunderland have a game in hand on Norwich. Problem is our game in hand is against Man City.
Things still look bleak for Newcastle, but I guess we've kept ourselves alive for another weekend

[TheRef]

Your Fox Overlords were only able to get 1 point from West Ham United via a 2-2 draw. Vardy was sent off for diving in the box.

[Liverpooldawg]

Your Fox Overlords were only able to get 1 point from West Ham United via a 2-2 draw. Vardy was sent off for diving in the box.

He has been charged with misconduct for his response to it. That could mean an additional game or two beyond the one game automatic one. Not a good time for that.

[War Machine Dawg]

Arsenal continues to Arsenal. After essentially dominating the day and leading 1-0 for most of the second half, the Gunners gave up a late equaliser to Yannick Bolasie. Arsenal remains 4th on the table and aren't entirely safe from missing out on the Champions League with Man United only 4 points back in 5th.

Also worth noting, lots of empty seats at the Emirates on Saturday. The announced attendance indicated a near sellout, with only about 300 unsold tickets. It seems as though Arsenal fans are beginning to vote with their feet with the future of Arsene Wenger. For you guys who have followed the EPL longer than me, what's your opinion of Wenger? I'm always interested in various opinions.

In other news, Hull City got a crucial 3 points by defeating Wolverhampton on Friday. The Tigers sit 4th on the Championship table by merit of goal differential. They seem to be firmly in the Promotion Playoff, 4 points ahead of 6th place Sheffield Wednesday and nearly 10 points ahead of 7th place Cardiff. The bad news for Tigers fans is they're out of the automatic promotion hunt, barring an absolute miracle. They're currently 10 points behind 2nd place Burnley. Dudy, rejoice, for your Foxes are set to return to the EPL next season. Middlesboro tops the Championship table and leads Burnley by just 2 points.

[TheRef]

He has been charged with misconduct for his response to it. That could mean an additional game or two beyond the one game automatic one. Not a good time for that.

Well 17 me...Vardy couldn't get out of his own way.

[War Machine Dawg]

The Sun is reporting thousands of Arsenal fans are planning to boycott the WBA match tomorrow. Tickets have been put on general sale due to lack of interest. In related news, Arsene Wenger came out within the last 24 hours and said he won't quit.

In an injury update, Jack Wilshere looks set to return against Sunderland on Sunday. Going to be interesting to see if he starts, and if so, who makes way for him. Really like what Elneny has brought and can't imagine sitting him. And he and Coquelin have been a very effective CDM pairing, so I don't know why you'd break that up.

[Liverpooldawg]

$&@"€?#* Toffees just broke Origi's leg, the *#%€??. 5 goals in 5 games and this happens.

We were up 2-0!at the time and his replacement Sturrige has since scored, 3-0. The bluenose that did it was sent off. He should be banned for a LONG time.

[Liverpooldawg]

4-0 final. Initial reports are now saying a badly sprained ankle for Origi. That could be as bad as a break. Horrible challenge.

[Liverpooldawg]

It isn't broken. No word on how bad the sprain is yet.

[Liverpooldawg]

Origi has ligament damage in the ankle. He is done for the year. The bluenose should be banned for a while.

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

Newcastle got 1 point against Man City on Tuesday. But I've got to say we should have won that game 1-0 and gotten all 3. Their goal was an Aguero header from a free kick. The only problem is he was 3 yards offside when he headed it. To make it worse, he was never onside in the entire build up for the free kick. He stood offside for a solid 3 minutes while the ref sorted things out and what not then proceed to stay offside and score, from an offside position. That horrible non-call could cost us 10s (100s?) of millions of dollars. AND HE WAS NEVER EVEN CLOSE TO BEING ONSIDE.

I had never given replay in soccer a serious thought, but after that game I'm a believer in it. Someone on a monitor could watch the replay and call offside well before the players get done celebrating and the game resumes. Same for red cards and penalties. A replay official could review it during the time that players are arguing and the ref is sorting things out and confirm/overturn the call. All without pausing the game for a second more than it would have been anyways.

This is the third time this season we've conceded an offsides goal. By far the worst of the 3, but there was another one earlier in the season that was pretty bad. The problem is, it hasn't evened out like the pundits claim it does (where we score an offside goal). To make it worse we've been screwed out of goals twice this season where we were actually onside.

ETA: Newcastle has done a million things to deserve relegation and I am in no way blaming the refs for our doom. It just sucks to have points taken from us by the ref this late in the season in such an important game on such an obvious offside. And I don't like the "it'll even out" mentality that people seem to have over there, when the solution really won't effect the flow of the game at all.

[War Machine Dawg]

Arsenal destroyed West Ham in another London Derby matchup yesterday. Alexis Sanchez got a first half brace and that was all the Gunners would need, finishing with a 2-0 win. The win sees Arsenal move back into 3rd place ahead of City. Thanks, Newcastle!

Also looks like we may have gotten an answer as to what Wenger will do when Wilshere returns to the lineup on Sunday. Aaron Ramsey started over Coquelin yesterday with Elneny retaining his starting spot. I'd guess we'll see something similar on Sunday with an Elneny-Wilshere pairing. The bad news for Gunners fans is Olivier Giroud replaced Welbeck in the lineup. And predictably, he was horrible. I'm not sure Welbeck is a long term striking solution for the Gunners, but he's damn sure better than Giroud. Mertesacker also returned to the starting lineup yesterday, replacing Kieran Gibbs.

Reports flying everywhere that the Gunners and Granit Xhaka have agreed to personal terms, effectively ensuring Xhaka moves to the Emirates next season. It appears it's down to haggling with Monchengladbach over the transfer fee. They want 35M pounds and Arsenal's initial offer was 24M. Word is Gladbach would like 32M and that Arsenal has increased their bid, but think they can get Xhaka for a little less. I'm guessing it'll wind up somewhere in the neighborhood of a 30M transfer fee when it's all said and done.

Now the fun part: Seeing if 1) Wenger makes it to the final year of his contract and 2) assuming he does, will he bring in a CB and striker? Those are the two positions most in need of an upgrade with the Xhaka deal looking like it'll happen. Lots of talk about a possible bid for Morata at Juve, which would certainly help the striker issue. Also looks like we'll see Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott, and Gibbs sold during the upcoming summer window. Wouldn't be surprised to see us shop Sacker and/or Giroud, either.

[Tbonewannabe]

Arsenal destroyed West Ham in another London Derby matchup yesterday. Alexis Sanchez got a first half brace and that was all the Gunners would need, finishing with a 2-0 win. The win sees Arsenal move back into 3rd place ahead of City. Thanks, Newcastle!

Also looks like we may have gotten an answer as to what Wenger will do when Wilshere returns to the lineup on Sunday. Aaron Ramsey started over Coquelin yesterday with Elneny retaining his starting spot. I'd guess we'll see something similar on Sunday with an Elneny-Wilshere pairing. The bad news for Gunners fans is Olivier Giroud replaced Welbeck in the lineup. And predictably, he was horrible. I'm not sure Welbeck is a long term striking solution for the Gunners, but he's damn sure better than Giroud. Mertesacker also returned to the starting lineup yesterday, replacing Kieran Gibbs.

Reports flying everywhere that the Gunners and Granit Xhaka have agreed to personal terms, effectively ensuring Xhaka moves to the Emirates next season. It appears it's down to haggling with Monchengladbach over the transfer fee. They want 35M pounds and Arsenal's initial offer was 24M. Word is Gladbach would like 32M and that Arsenal has increased their bid, but think they can get Xhaka for a little less. I'm guessing it'll wind up somewhere in the neighborhood of a 30M transfer fee when it's all said and done.

Now the fun part: Seeing if 1) Wenger makes it to the final year of his contract and 2) assuming he does, will he bring in a CB and striker? Those are the two positions most in need of an upgrade with the Xhaka deal looking like it'll happen. Lots of talk about a possible bid for Morata at Juve, which would certainly help the striker issue. Also looks like we'll see Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott, and Gibbs sold during the upcoming summer window. Wouldn't be surprised to see us shop Sacker and/or Giroud, either.


I originally "drew" Burnley but I have found myself following Arsenal. I like their style of play and just like the kits and the freaking Cannon.

[War Machine Dawg]

I originally "drew" Burnley but I have found myself following Arsenal. I like their style of play and just like the kits and the freaking Cannon.

The kits and badge are definitely badass. Did you see the uproar over the potential leak of next season's kits? They had blue shorts and Arsenal has worn white shorts since something ridiculous like the 1880s. Needless to say, that hasn't gone over too well with the fans. Hopefully the leak isn't accurate or it was a "weather balloon" leak to test the climate of such a big change and the actual kits will stay with white shorts.

[BrunswickDawg]

Reds start out strong this morning with Sturridge banging one home 68 seconds into the match with Newcastle. Newcastle is bound for relegation.

[BrunswickDawg]

Reds start out strong this morning with Sturridge banging one home 68 seconds into the match with Newcastle. Newcastle is bound for relegation.

Obviously I spoke too soon - terrible second half by the Reds. I also had no idea that Newcastle had lucked into getting Rafa Benitez as manager. That may help them stave off relegation. Newcastle Looked like a totally different team in the second half.

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

Obviously I spoke too soon - terrible second half by the Reds. I also had no idea that Newcastle had lucked into getting Rafa Benitez as manager. That may help them stave off relegation. Newcastle Looked like a totally different team in the second half.

We picked up Benitez about a month too late. We've played fantastic the last 3 games but I think it's too little too late. Sunderland has two games in hand on us and play Stoke, Everton, and Chelsea. All three of which have nothing to play for and/or are melting down at the moment.

[Liverpooldawg]

Bad day for Liverpool and therefore a terrible day for Norwich City.

[Liverpooldawg]

Leicester on the brink. This is one of the best sports stories of my lifetime.

Sunderland's draw with Arsenal means Norwich are in the drop zone.

[BrunswickDawg]

Congrats Ref - your Foxes have done the improbable. Now, get something done in the Champions League!

[TheRef]

Still need a win to clinch the league. Whomever we get the win against, the next opponent will have to form the honor guard to watch us lift the trophy. So if we win at Old Trafford, then Everton will watch us lift the trophy. If it takes until the next week, then Chelsea will have to form the honor guard to watch us lift the title they won a year ago.

[War Machine Dawg]

Arsenal continued to Arsenal yesterday. Another nil-nil draw, this time against Sunderland. The point saw Sunderland move out of the drop zone, just ahead of Norwich. Good news for USMNT fans, DeAndre Yedlin looked really good. He's become one of the regulars for Sunderland. It'll be interesting to see if he can force his way into the Tottenham first team next season.

Wilshere returned but didn't start. He subbed in for Ozil with about 10 minutes left. The draw saw Arsenal fall to 4th and they're still in a battle to secure a Champions League spot with Man U only 5 points back. And they could still miss out if Man City wins the current CL season or if Liverpool wins the Europa League. Needless to say, I'm rooting hard against City & Liverpool in Europe and Man U in the EPL the next few weeks.

With yesterday's draw, I've decided the time has come at Arsenal for #WengerOut. He's lost the team and the fans. The more I read, the more certain I am that it's best for everyone if he moves along. I'd prefer it to happen by his choice so there aren't any hard feelings. He's done way too much for Arsenal. But I'd be fine if he has to be sacked. The question is who would replace him? We've missed our shot for Pep, Klopp, and Conte. Looks like Mourinho is headed to the other Manchester. Personally, I'd try to grab Eddie Howe from Bournemouth. But I don't think he's a big enough name for most and Bournemouth might be his dream job. Didn't he play for them?

Ref, congrats to your Foxes. It's unreal what they've done. From outhouse to penthouse in a year in the most competitive club league in soccer. Unbelievable. And to think Arsenal did the league double over them. Hope you guys kick some ass in the CL next year. *Kneels before our Fox Overlords*

[Liverpooldawg]

JUSTICE!

[Liverpooldawg]

Well done Everton.

http://www.evertonfc.com/news/2016/04/26/everton-salutes-hillsborough-families

[Dawg61]

I originally "drew" Burnley but I have found myself following Arsenal. I like their style of play and just like the kits and the freaking Cannon.

I love that this is still thriving on this board. Thanks guys!

[TheRef]

I love that this is still thriving on this board. Thanks guys!

We will start a new thread for the 2016/2017 season. And dammit I'll love being able to actively participate in UCL talk with the Foxes being in there. I'm so giddy!!!

[Dawg61]

We will start a new thread for the 2016/2017 season. And dammit I'll love being able to actively participate in UCL talk with the Foxes being in there. I'm so giddy!!!

Really is absurd they won the league this year. I can't equate it to anything else in sports history off the top of my head. Assuming they don't collapse here.

[TheRef]

Really is absurd they won the league this year. I can't equate it to anything else in sports history off the top of my head. Assuming they don't collapse here.

Passion over money. And that's the truth in this. Leicester City gives hope to those smaller teams going against the Man Us and Barcas of the world. It proves that you don't have to spend extravagant amounts of money to win a championship. Just have to have the right blend of talent and desire by the team, along with a good cohesiveness between the manager and club.

[War Machine Dawg]

We will start a new thread for the 2016/2017 season. And dammit I'll love being able to actively participate in UCL talk with the Foxes being in there. I'm so giddy!!!

Maybe we could do a transfer window rumors thread during the offseason? There'll also be the Euro Cup during the break. Anyone watch MLS?

[BrunswickDawg]

Maybe we could do a transfer window rumors thread during the offseason? There'll also be the Euro Cup during the break. Anyone watch MLS?
I watch a little MLS - mainly big matches like Sounders v. Timbers. When Atlanta United comes on line I will watch them regularly. I grew up in the "first wave" playing youth soccer and going to clinics run by Atlanta Chiefs players, so the chance to have a top tier team in the ATL again is awesome. Takes me me back to the days of Graham Tut, David Byrne, and Brian Kidd kicking it in the NASL!

[TheRef]

Maybe we could do a transfer window rumors thread during the offseason? There'll also be the Euro Cup during the break. Anyone watch MLS?

I would be okay with an offseason / transfer window thread for this year. Could get interesting with even Managers up for grabs.

[Dawg61]

Are the three players from Leicester City that shot that porno still on the team? Please say yes.

[TheRef]

Are the three players from Leicester City that shot that porno still on the team? Please say yes.

No they're not.

[Liverpooldawg]

Hey Ref, I'm planning on getting up early on Sunday to watch. I've never done that for a game that didn't involve Liverpool or Norwich City. I hope they do it.

[TheRef]

Hey Ref, I'm planning on getting up early on Sunday to watch. I've never done that for a game that didn't involve Liverpool or Norwich City. I hope they do it.

I hope they do it too. I'll be cheering on from work as I'm unable to watch.

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

Newcastle with a 1-0 win over Pardew to pick up 3 points to move out of the relegation zone. Thought for sure we were 2 points clear of it then Sunderland scored in the 93' to pick up a very important point. Now they're only 1 point below us with a +8 goal differential on us and a game in hand. I still feel like Sunderland will be the one to survive, as they are in a better position despite being a point below us and have been escape artists for what seems like the past decade from the relegation zone.

Our final two matches are @Villa and vs. Tottenham. We need Leicester to go ahead and win the league so that Tottenham will have nothing to play for on the last weekend of the season, maybe we can swipe a win in that case. Still, getting 6 points from our last two results might not be enough, as Sunderland getting 7 from their last 3 is definitely not out of the question. That's why their draw today hurt so much..

Then there's Norwich, who I admittedly don't follow as closely as Newcastle & Sunderland, so I can't really speak of their chances of survival.

[Liverpooldawg]

I'm afraid Norwich City are done.

[TheRef]

Your Overlords were only able to manage a single point against the Red Devils at Old Trafford. That means the ball is in Tottenham's court. A loss against Chelsea, and the Fox Overlords claim the trophy. A win, and the Spurs remain in contention.

[Dawg61]

No they're not.

Damn it I said please too

[Liverpooldawg]

Burnley are back up.

[TheRef]

ALL HAIL YOUR FOX OVERLORDS, BOYS!!!!! WITH A 2-2 DRAW FROM TOTTENHAM TODAY, THE LEICESTER CITY FOXES HAVE OFFICIALLY CLAIMED THE PREMIER LEAGUE CROWN!!!! FROM 5000:1 ODDS, TO PREMIER LEAGUE CHAMPIONS. WE WILL NOT STOP BEING FEARLESS. FOXES NEVER QUIT!!!! I'M SO EXCITED I ALMOST JUMPED OUT OF MY SEAT AT WORK!!!!!

We will raise the trophy this weekend at home against Everton. Good season, gentlemen.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ChetBnLWIAAwF-_.jpg

[Liverpooldawg]

Congrats Ref! That is the most amazing sports story in my 52 years. I can't think of anything else that comes even close.

[BrunswickDawg]

Congrats Foxes! Now look out for the Reds next year!

[War Machine Dawg]

Congrats, Foxes! Our Fox Overlords have done the completely unimaginable!

Arsenal is 3 points ahead of City in 3rd place. They play City on Saturday in a de facto Champions League playoff for the last automatic qualification spot. Just hoping Wenger will put our best 11 on the field, i.e. Welbeck over Giroud.

[Beaver]

Congrats Ref! I've been following this thread from afar this year. I hope to join the discussion with you guys next season. I've been a Chelsea supporter for about 10 years now. Obviously this wasn't a great year, but it was pretty special getting to be a part in helping Leicester clinch yesterday. Hazard's goal was insane. He's had a rough year, but hopefully yesterday was the beginning of a little comeback for him.

[DudyDawg]

Are the three players from Leicester City that shot that porno still on the team? Please say yes.

Nope. That's why Leicester can thank Thai hookers for this title.

[TheRef]

Nope. That's why Leicester can thank Thai hookers for this title.

Are you excited that Burnley is back up in the Premiership?

[Liverpooldawg]

We are through to the Europa Final. Anfield Magic again! Given the right signings and keepings this summer we could be a real handful next season. I like the look of Klopp so far.

[Liverpooldawg]

Watch the first video. It shows the scene as the two teams arrived near Anfield. Just imagine you are sitting on that Villareal bus.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/talking-point-liverpool-won-europa-11291758

[Liverpooldawg]

More video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXiWRuRHv7w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUoRUEm5sus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaM1kiTjm5E

[TheRef]

Just cried a little watching Leicester City lift that trophy. WE DID IT, FOXES!!!!

[Liverpooldawg]

I recorded it and just got to watch. AWESOME!

[BrunswickDawg]

That atmosphere was awesome. The roar when the cup was lifted was tremendous. I'd love to be at a game like that.

[TheRef]

My goal is to head to King Power for one match. I just want to take part in that atmosphere. Tickets may be a little harder to grab.

[Liverpooldawg]

My goal is to head to King Power for one match. I just want to take part in that atmosphere. Tickets may be a little harder to grab.

Don't settle for just that if you have never been to the UK. As much as I love the EPL ( and the lessor leagues in England) the history over there has taken precedence every time I have been. The first time I went I had to choose between Anfield and a visit to Chester when our ship docked on Merseyside. I chose Chester. I didn't regret it as much as I would have loved to see Anfiled up close. The cathedral was spectacular, as were the city walls, the canal boats, and the Chester Rows. I did see Anfield, and Goodison Park, from our ship on the Mersey. To me visiting the UK is always a choice of priorities. I never have time to see everything I want to see no matter what part of the realm we are in. The history always trumps sport. The problem is picking out WHAT history to see. That isn't easy over there, even if you only go to one city.

[War Machine Dawg]

Arsenal and City played to a 2-2 draw yesterday. Unfortunately, it did little to help either side. If Man U wins their next 2, City will miss the Champions League. Arsenal *could* miss the CL, but looks like they'll be in. Still a chance they could leapfrog Tottenham for 2nd.

Lots of Arsenal transfer rumours swirling, so I won't mention all of them. The three biggest stories I've seen are Walcott snubbing Chelsea for a West Ham move, Xhaka warming up to an Arsenal move, and a potential bid for Sturridge. Giroud has also drawn some interest. Frankly, I'd sell him for a two pence if that's all we could get for him.

And the whole "Arsenal is healthy" thing lasted all of 6 days. Oxlade-Chamberlain is out for the season and will miss the Euros. Ozil missed yesterday's game with a hip. Welbeck went off early with a potential knee injury. The good news is Jack Wilshere came on to replace Welbeck and looked good.

[Liverpooldawg]

Sunderland won so Villa, Newcastle, and my second team Norwich are relegated. We drew 1-1 with the Plastics.

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

Newcastle is officially relegated. It'll be interesting to see who stays and who goes. Especially with some of the top officials in the club. I've seen reports that Rafa is considering staying, but I see absolutely no benefit at all to him coaching a Championship team. However, we're supposedly offering him $5 mil/year and total control of our transfers. He also seems to have the obsessive personality of someone who would want to finish the projects he's started. But again, I see no benefit to him staying except being adored by Newcastle fans if he were to get us back up and successful.

[Liverpooldawg]

Newcastle is officially relegated. It'll be interesting to see who stays and who goes. Especially with some of the top officials in the club. I've seen reports that Rafa is considering staying, but I see absolutely no benefit at all to him coaching a Championship team. However, we're supposedly offering him $5 mil/year and total control of our transfers. He also seems to have the obsessive personality of someone who would want to finish the projects he's started. But again, I see no benefit to him staying except being adored by Newcastle fans if he were to get us back up and successful.

I have never been able to figure Newcastle out. They ARE a big club everywhere except on the pitch. Except for one year under Kevin Keegan they have never really been that relevant since I have followed English football. That is for over 20 years now.

[BrunswickDawg]

I have never been able to figure Newcastle out. They ARE a big club everywhere except on the pitch. Except for one year under Kevin Keegan they have never really been that relevant since I have followed English football. That is for over 20 years now.
I work with a guy from Newcastle who is a football nut. I asked "what happened?" He said "We are Newcastle." I told him I knew exactly what he meant.

[Liverpooldawg]

I work with a guy from Newcastle who is a football nut. I asked "what happened?" He said "We are Newcastle." I told him I knew exactly what he meant.

That year under Keegan they were something like 10 points clear at the top of the table at Christmas and blew it down the stretch. Sir Alex got all in Keegan's head and Newcastle just wilted under the pressure. That was back in the mid to late 90s.

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

I have never been able to figure Newcastle out. They ARE a big club everywhere except on the pitch. Except for one year under Kevin Keegan they have never really been that relevant since I have followed English football. That is for over 20 years now.
It's very bad ownership combined with very passionate fans who have a tendency to turn against the manager very quickly when things go bad (personally, I think this part is due to years of bad ownership causing trust issues with the fanbase). It seems like the owner just got around to realizing just how dire of a situation the club was in after owning the club for a decade+ now. If by some miracle Rafa stays at Newcastle, I think in 3-4 seasons the club could be in a great place. But at the same time, if we aren't in the top 3 ten games into the Championship next season I could very easily see the fans turning on him. It's just a toxic relationship between the fans and the owner in my opinion and that toxicity spills onto the pitch.

[War Machine Dawg]

Arsenal guaranteed Champions League football after Man U lost on Tuesday. Now we play a game to see if we can leapfrog the Spurs, although we need them to lose. But they're the Spurs, so I'm expecting we'll get their help.

Lots of rumours floating that Arsenal has essentially coughed up the cash that Monchengladbach wants for Xhaka with an offer of 34M pounds. Gladbach wanted 35M. Now it's a matter of agreeing to personal terms. Apparently Xhaka wants a deal done before the Euros.

In really shitty news, Welbeck blew up the cartilage in his healthy knee and had surgery yesterday. He'll be out 9 months. It really sucks, because he just missed 9 months with a similar injury to his other knee. And he looked really damn good since coming back. The only positive I can see at all is it might finally force Wenger into going out and signing a legit top tier striker. Relying on Giroud is ridiculous, especially if the rumours of Walcott leaving are true.

Sucks to see Norwich relegated. I was really hoping the 3 new clubs would be able to stay up but 2/3 ain't bad. Sunderland is apparently the Houdini of EPL relegation. Almost every year, they flirt with the bottom all season then wind up doing just enough to survive.

[Liverpooldawg]

It's very bad ownership combined with very passionate fans who have a tendency to turn against the manager very quickly when things go bad (personally, I think this part is due to years of bad ownership causing trust issues with the fanbase). It seems like the owner just got around to realizing just how dire of a situation the club was in after owning the club for a decade+ now. If by some miracle Rafa stays at Newcastle, I think in 3-4 seasons the club could be in a great place. But at the same time, if we aren't in the top 3 ten games into the Championship next season I could very easily see the fans turning on him. It's just a toxic relationship between the fans and the owner in my opinion and that toxicity spills onto the pitch.

It was the same way with the previous owners. It's just weird because they are such a huge club otherwise.

[Liverpooldawg]

Hey Ref. If you don't buy one of these you ain't a Fox. LOL!

http://www.foxsports.com/soccer/story/leicester-city-fan-selling-jars-of-air-ebay-from-premier-league-championship-day-051216

[War Machine Dawg]

Arsenal successfully leapfrog the Spuds for second. St. Totteringham's Day aGAIN! Gotta thank our helpful Newcastle peeps for the assist on their way down to the Championship. Hurry back.

Granit Xhaka has made some comments today that seem to indicate a deal with Arsenal is essentially done. Looks like Gladbach is trying to hold out for an extra 2M euros in transfer fee. Arsenal has bid 43, but they want 45. I say split the difference, give 'em 44 and get this damn thing done. Then we can finally move on to the inevitable letdown of Wenger failing to sign a quality striker or CB.

[Liverpooldawg]

Huge game for Liverpool tomorrow: The Europa League Final. The trophy is nice, we have won it's predecessor several times, but the REAL prize is the place in the Champion's League group stage that goes with it these days. That would really help with recruiting this summer in a big way.

[Liverpooldawg]

Liverpool up 1-0 @ half. They should have had 3 PKs, two were 50-50 but one was blatant.

[Liverpooldawg]

1-1 15 seconds into the second half

[Liverpooldawg]

2-1 Sevilla 65th. This half is all Sevilla.

[Liverpooldawg]

3-1.......Shellshocked. Those non-calls are looking huge now. Poor defensive play is killing Liverpool. There have been mistakes on all three goals.

[Liverpooldawg]

missing Sako right now. What an idiot.

[Liverpooldawg]

3-1 final.

[Liverpooldawg]

http://www.empireofthekop.com/2016/05/19/five-things-that-went-badly-wrong-for-liverpool-v-sevilla/

From the Echo this morning. It pretty much nails it.

[BrunswickDawg]

My other team - Celtic - just hired former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers to replace Ronny Delia.

I don't know what to think about that. They both seem to produce teams that underwhelm. Celtic barely plays any competition to speak of - unless Rangers get back to their old form now that they have been promoted back to the Premiership. They just seem totally hopeless on the Euro stage once the field starts to narrow. I don't think Rodgers will be the one to get them over the hump and contend for the UEFA Champions League cup. What do you think Liverpool?

[Liverpooldawg]

My other team - Celtic - just hired former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers to replace Ronny Delia.

I don't know what to think about that. They both seem to produce teams that underwhelm. Celtic barely plays any competition to speak of - unless Rangers get back to their old form now that they have been promoted back to the Premiership. They just seem totally hopeless on the Euro stage once the field starts to narrow. I don't think Rodgers will be the one to get them over the hump and contend for the UEFA Champions League cup. What do you think Liverpool?

Rodgers should be up to the Scottish League. He ain't a bad manager. Celtic will probably never contend in the modern champion's league so that really shouldn't enter into it. I also like Celtic, they are my favorite team outside England. Liverpool and Celtic's fanbases have a great relationship so it's no surprise we both like them. I'm very glad to see the Old Firm back business. It was no fun with only on half of it in the League.

[BrunswickDawg]

Rodgers should be up to the Scottish League. He ain't a bad manager. Celtic will probably never contend in the modern champion's league so that really shouldn't enter into it. I also like Celtic, they are my favorite team outside England. Liverpool and Celtic's fanbases have a great relationship so it's no surprise we both like them. I'm very glad to see the Old Firm back business. It was no fun with only on half of it in the League.

Yeah, I guess SPL is a little more MLS level play than Euro elite level. They also tend to lose some of their best talent to the EPL. I saw that The Hoops had a 16 year old phenom - Atchison - score on his first touch in the final game of the season. Good things ahead for Celtic.

[Liverpooldawg]

Yeah, I guess SPL is a little more MLS level play than Euro elite level. They also tend to lose some of their best talent to the EPL. I saw that The Hoops had a 16 year old phenom - Atchison - score on his first touch in the final game of the season. Good things ahead for Celtic.

Celtic isn't MLS level, nor is a normal Rangers. The rest of them usually are pretty far down the scale though.