Yet Another Cycling Forum
Off Topic => The Pub => The Sporting Life => Topic started by: pcolbeck on 03 February, 2016, 08:41:23 am
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Well everyone said they couldn't keep it up but here we are in February and they are still at the top of the Premiership.
Can they actually pull off the biggest upset in modern English football ? As a non biased observer (I support York City) I do hope so it would be fantastic.
Oh and Vardy's first goal last night was incredible.
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+1
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It's good to see another team up there for sure, I don't really like Leicester but at least it makes a change, and I'd probably *just* rather they win the thing.
Jamie's goal last night was awesome. Shame he is such an unpleasant individual.
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Such is the power of YACF that now you have started a thread, they will sink like a stone.
One piece of trivia which I retain from my time in quizzes is that Leicester City have lost more FA cup finals (5) than any other team that has never won one.
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Time to invest in Walker's Crisps?
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Time to invest in Walker's Crisps?
It hasn't been Walker's for ages. The stadium is now the King Power stadium, so presumably that's their sponsor. Or perhaps it's 'king power?
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Well, I was going to suggest that Leicester's success was rigged by Gary Lineker using inside contacts from MotD...
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Well everyone said they couldn't keep it up but here we are in February and they are still at the top of the Premiership.
Can they actually pull off the biggest upset in modern English football ? As a non biased observer (I support York City) I do hope so it would be fantastic.
Oh and Vardy's first goal last night was incredible.
Ask again at the end of the month - here's the list of Leicester's matches for the rest of the season, with the current ranking for each of their opponents:
06/2 - Man City (2nd)
14/2 - Arsenal (4th)
27/2 - Norwich City (17th)
01/3 - West Bromwich Albion (13th)
05/3 - Watford (10th)
14/3 - Newcastle United (18th)
19/3 - Crystal Palace (11th)
02/4 - Southampton (7th)
09/4 - Sunderland (19th)
16/4 - West Ham United (6th)
23/4 - Swansea City (16th)
30/4 - Manchester United (5th)
07/5 - Everton (12th)
15/5 - Chelsea (14th)
If Leicester are still top when they play Norwich, I'll be pleasantly surprised.
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Hmmm, all those fixtures involve Leicester (1st), I think? And in order to get to (1st), they've already played them all once.
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And the average position of all those teams is 11th, which is just below the mid-table line, so that looks like a fairly representative cross section of the division.
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I have supported Leicester since 1970ish and was a season ticket holder for several years in the 90s. I've been watching pretty much every game for the last 12 months too . So I'm just a tiny bit chuffed at the moment. ;D I'm going to enjoy the lofty position for as long as it lasts. It's been one helluva ride (from bottom to top) wherever they finally finish.
I'd love to get to a game in the next few months just to experience the atmosphere of the KP Stadium. It looks and sounds incredible.
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To my mind, possibly even more amazing than Leicester top is West Ham briefly breaking into the top 4 and currently looking like they might get a Europa League place. How on earth did that happen? (Payet, I suppose, is the answer.) Anyway, back to the East Midlands...
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I became a bit of a Leicester fan since living there in the 1990s. Used to go to Filbert St every now and then but I left the city before the new stadium was built. Was pretty depressing supporting them as they
slowly spiralled downwards after the Martin O'Neil days. Must be great to live in the city if you're a fan these days. Leicester is one of the few large cities only to have a single league team which probably helps.
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We're Manchester City supporters for many of the same reasons. (Far from ardent, the go-to-a-match-once-in-blue-moon* type). Maine Road was our nearest ground, unless you count Stockport County. Provided many years of happily depressing entertainment, going down two leagues at one point. It's quite unsettling now they're normally near the top.
You have to respect clubs that have made it without the same massive amount of funding. I'd rather like Leicester to win (told you we weren't ardent!) And Vardy's goal was amazing - even better than Crouch's against us ;D
* Pun intended
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Just seen the score from
Maine Road whatever Man City's ground is called now.
;D ;D
Edit:
;D ;D ;D
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Shouldn't that be:
:( - ;D ;D ;D
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Shouldn't that be:
:( - ;D ;D ;D
Yes, it should be now. You beat me to it.
I am almost tempted to telephone my bro-in-law and/or nephew, both of whom are card-carrying members of the Manchester City Football Club Regular Attenders' Discount Scheme.
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I'm quite happy now.
6 points clear. I think we've avoided relegation.
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No spoilers please for those of us who like to watch MoTD ;D
I'm not reading this thread till then.
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My favourite tweet (so far) points out that for the price of 1 Raheem Sterling you could get 122 Riyad Mahrezs.
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Though that might well no longer be the case in the next transfer window.
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Spurs just gone second not been there since the 60's, way before I started supporting them
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Tangentially relevant to this thread is the fact that Chelsea and Manchester Untied are currently battling it out.
Can we introduce a rule which makes it possible for both sides to lose the same match?
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Next weekend will be a big one for this year's title contenders. Arsenal host Leicester and Man City host Spurs. The right set of results there would see Leicester open up a very significant gap with 2/3 of the season gone.
Edit: Bugger! I'm interested in premiership football! Aaaargh!
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The way some of them can sprint, any chance of hidden motors in their boots, do you think?
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Just seen the score from Maine Road whatever Man City's ground is called now.
It's offical name is "The Theatre of a Bored Saudi Prince's Dreams and Temple to the Worship of an Oil Rich Quasi-Dictatorship"
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Just seen the score from Maine Road whatever Man City's ground is called now.
It's offical name is "The Theatre of a Bored Saudi Prince's Dreams and Temple to the Worship of an Oil Rich Quasi-Dictatorship"
Thank you. That's an epithEt I hadn't thought of.
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Lee- you forgot the rather large sum of Chinese money in there. Saudis aren't as smug as they were when oil was $100 a barrel, so they had to ask some seriously rich Orientals to chip in .
They need a bit of help to run expensive things like Premiership clubs y,know.
Football players cost way more than slow horses and fast women.
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Not forgetting the low price of oil at the moment is largely affected by current Saudi production policy but that's a POBI topic!
Go Leicester!
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Not forgetting the low price of oil at the moment is largely affected by current Saudi production policy but that's a POBI topic!
Go Leicester!
And not forgetting that the Saudis have very deep pockets and probably the lowest cost production out there
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I love that the widespread presumption is that Spurs will simply go AWOL at some point. Such behaviour would be entirely typical, but the absence of any attention being paid to them does mean there is no pressure on them.
I wonder if they can actually sneak under the wire this time.
If they don't, then GO LEICESTER !!!
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Whatever happens and however they play, Spurs have the coolest name in English football.
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Whatever happens and however they play, Spurs have the coolest name in English football.
No they don't you silly billy. Even I know "Spurs" is an abbreviation of Tottenham Hotspur.
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C'mon 'Arry!
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I wish people/media would stop talking up Leicester's chances. Those very same people that had them nailed on for relegation at the start of the season have now got them as nailed on champions. I do hope Ranieri is keeping the team grounded and focused - I don't want them starting to believe their own press. Sunday is a big game, and then so are the ones after that!
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Phil McNulty (BBC Footy correspondent) had this to say : -
These were some of my words that will be eaten: "Ranieri's appointment is, at best, left field and at worst uninspiring and unwise. A charming man but perhaps one out of time with the Premier League, having last worked there with Chelsea in 2004 and having had a chequered career since."
Nice to see that he has at least acknowledged that he was way off when he wrote that back in August.
It is always amusing/sad/illustrative watching the press corps make predictions (typically en masse) and label people/teams in a particular way which subsequently turns out to be wrong.
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I don't think that anything that is posted on YACF is likely to make any difference whatsoever to the eventual outcome of the Premiershit.
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I read press reports of matches and sometimes wonder if the journalist has been watching the same match as me. No great surprise really, as opinions do differ, but they can be factually wrong too. Then said same journalists offer their opinions on broader footballing subjects and I start to wonder who they are writing for.
Personal dislike - the sports news on R4's Today program. So superficial as to be meaningless.
There was a bloke I used to work with, a Fulham season ticket holder (fair dues to him in fairness) and he tried so hard to be a fan but it just didn't work. I've no idea why but he just came across as a phoney. Not just to me but to others. He became known as sham fan.
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Such is the power of YACF that now you have started a thread, they will sink like a stone.
I don't think that anything that is posted on YACF is likely to make any difference whatsoever to the eventual outcome of the Premiershit.
Make your mind up... ;D
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Such is the power of YACF that now you have started a thread, they will sink like a stone.
I don't think that anything that is posted on YACF is likely to make any difference whatsoever to the eventual outcome of the Premiershit.
Make your mind up... ;D
Which mind is that...?
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We've instituted a new custom of calling Vardy! Mahrez! Schmeichel! or even Ranieri! when we see a fox (which is pretty much every time we're out after dark).
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N'Golo Kanté is the fox supreme. He'll take your chickens from under your nose!
https://mobile.twitter.com/lcfc/status/676793026782625793
;D
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Leicester have problems this afternoon...
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Bit of a shame about the Arsenal-Leicester result, but not unhappy about City losing. Interesting comment in the Graun about that match:-
Both Tottenham goals, scorer swamped by celebrating team-mates. City goalscorer celebrates without a team-mate within 30 yards. City really are synthetic construct.
What would be rather nice now would be for Southampton & West Ham to get enough good results to push both Manchester teams out of the top 5.
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And it did take a 95th minute goal for the Arse to beat a Leicester side who'd been down to ten men for most of the second half.
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Methinks maybe they've been concentrating on the kickball to the exclusion of other quite important stuff... :-\
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-35605670 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-35605670)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-35589240 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-35589240)
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Methinks maybe they've been concentrating on the kickball to the exclusion of other quite important stuff... :-\
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-35605670 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-35605670)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-35589240 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-35589240)
AFAIK, Leicester City Football Club do not run the local health and prison services, nor do the local health and prison services run the football club. ;)
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No, but the peeps who run the prison service and local healthcare facilities may be distracted by the Foxes' bid for the Premiershit, to the detriment of their other duties. Or not. Probably. This is not my real opinion. Obviously.
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I think Leicester would have won everything ever but they were merely jinxed by that dead bloke under a car park.
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I think Leicester would have won everything ever but they were merely jinxed by that dead bloke under a car park.
Nah, he just put the kybosh on Millets shifting excess camping gear in the January sales.
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And announced the lucky ticket in their outdoor dancing lottery: Now is the winner of our disco tent.
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I think Leicester would have won everything ever but they were merely jinxed by that dead bloke under a car park.
Nah, he just put the kybosh on Millets shifting excess camping gear in the January sales.
Winter of discount tents? ;D The TTJ thread is that way ^^^
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Badoom! And indeed, tish!
Ayethangewe, and yes, that is my Berghaus GoreTex jacket...
<Exits stage left, hailing a taxi>
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Well, the two key games this afternoon are currently in Leicester's favour. How interesting...
And yes, I have got better things to do.
Edit: Oh well, not a bad afternoon all told.
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Blimey. Leictester draw to struggling Norwich and look like loosing the top spot then all the chasing teams loose. Who would have predicted that?
Ten games to go.
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When did Man City last lose three games on the trot? I durst not phone my bro-in-law.
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They haven't. Man City won the league cup on Sunday
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Three league games.
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Blimey. Leictester draw to struggling Norwich West Brom and look like loosing the top spot then all the chasing teams loose. Who would have predicted that?
Ten games to go.
FTFY .
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I wonder how many teams have squandered the titlein the 1st div/Prem league over the past few years.
I remember City in about 1972 ish. Earlier in that season United were also top, but they fell apart.
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Newcastle, believe it or not. When King Kevin was manager he did an impassioned press conference in which he said he'd love it if they beat Manchester United (a fancied team at the time) at St James's Park. They didn't and we ended up second. Closest we've been for the hundred year period ending in about 2030.
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In the 1960s it seemed to me that the dreadful Chelsea normally made the early season runnung only to falter at the end.
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Newcastle, believe it or not. When King Kevin was manager he did an impassioned press conference in which he said he'd love it if they beat Manchester United (a fancied team at the time) at St James's Park. They didn't and we ended up second. Closest we've been for the hundred year period ending in about 2030.
Well, at least you've got the Texaco Cup, and no one can take it from you.
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I'd forgotten about about those, De Sisti! (If I ever knew.) Where they limited to clubs in the bottom half of the division? I had to look it up on wiki - those English flags next to Newcastle's names look really quaint!
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And now Tottenham draw against a 10 man Arsenal !
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Really not looking forward to tonight's match. I want both sides to win!
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I'd forgotten about about those, De Sisti! (If I ever knew.) Where they limited to clubs in the bottom half of the division? I had to look it up on wiki - those English flags next to Newcastle's names look really quaint!
From my distant memory I think it was English v Scottish teams, but not the top ones. Happy to be corrected.
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It has crossed my mind: does Leicester City have a nickname? The Pork pies? The Crisps?
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The Foxes
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Of course. I think I knew that.
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Leicester are really shaking the foundations of the Premier League.
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/mar/08/leicester-city-fans-earthquakes
Funnily enough, I was making a joke about something similar the other day, but in that case it was MU fans, I think.
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Oh yes! (and phew!)
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A nervy win against an improved Newcastle. Not at all a good watch for me.
Still, "the dream continues" (copyright, patent pending, etc) blah blah blah :thumbsup:
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I'm not surprised you found it "not a good watch". "Our" away kit is appalling.
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And again...
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These one goal wins are not good for the nerves.
7 games to go. Come on you cherries deckchair men!
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7 point lead, six matches to go.
I hope you all put £100 on them to win the premiership...
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I think I may need a new heart fitted.
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Spoiler alert again. I was careful not to read this till after MoTD ;D
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Current bookies odds 4 to 11.
That's 4 to 11. Not 11 to 4.
I still think that is a good bet. I can't believe they won't do it now. Bet £110. Get £150 back.
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Go Leicester ! 3 out of 5 needed regardless of what spurs do.
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Go Leicester ! 3 out of 5 needed regardless of what spurs do.
Spurs had a comfortable win yesterday. Though Man U lack the ability to score, it has to be said, and pretty much disintegrated.
Spurs do look good and fired up - I can see them remaining unbeaten. Leicester will drop points, they're hanging on rather than winning convincingly at the moment, so I see the gap closing. I think it'll be close.
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Agree with all that, though I can see spurs dropping points at Chelsea. Who knows how the pressure will now affect both sides.
>> I think I may need a new heart fitted.
Quite exciting isn't it ? ;D
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Touching distance.
Logic* suggests that Leicester will falter and it will go to the wire.
*Leicester however have defied logic all season so they could tie it up in a couple of games.
Denmark winning Euro 1992 is the nearest equivalent I can think of but they didn't have to defy logic for 38 games.
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:thumbsup:
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Vardy? Who?
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"four nil to the one man team" ;D
After the frustrations of last weekend, yesterday was a much needed reaffirmation.
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Looks like the title might be Chelsea's to bestow. That could be interesting.
I hope it doesn't come down to that though.
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I hope it doesn't come down to the final weekend, that's for sure, when Leicester are at Chelsea. I'd prefer it decided before then.
Chelsea could have a hand in it next weekend though when Spurs visit. That'll be a tough tough game for Spurs as Chelsea are looking to play their part in stopping Spurs taking the Prem. Leicester are at Man U and that result could depend on which Man U turns up. They rolled over at Spurs and never looked like scoring, but Martial and Rashford are a handful on their day.
Yep, next weekend is a big one but I don't see it being decisive. (I don't think Spurs will have any problems with WBA tonight).
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I could have had tickets (company has a box behind the away supporters) for LC vs. the scumbags at Old Trafford, but as it's a Bank holiday , I couldn't be arsed to go all the way across the Pennines.
If all goes well , LC could be champions by the end of that match.
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:thumbsup:
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Yessss! Nice one Baggies.
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It would somehow be rather fitting if Leicester were to win the title at Old Trafford.
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Even better if Ferguson was still there and Leicester could win by a "controversial" penalty!
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In the seventh minute of injury time.
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Looks like the title might be Chelsea's to bestow.
You may well be right. I was not expecting last night's result... but I'm obviously chuffed to little mint balls over it ;D
Chelsea beat Spurs next Monday (regardless of how Leicester do at Old Trafford) and that's it, game over. If Leicester get a point, Spurs need to win. Oh how the Chelsea fans will rejoice if they are the team to nail Spur's coffin! That is going to be heated match!
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Fabregas and Hazard have, allegedly, said they'll as good as gift their final game to Leicester in order to stop Spurs being champions. Or so it is apparently reported...
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That sounds a bit like they expect to get beaten anyway.
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Fabregas and Hazard have, allegedly, said they'll as good as gift their final game to Leicester in order to stop Spurs being champions.
Yep, they said something like - they don't want Spurs to win the Prem anyway. Whether than would translate into them gifting Leicester a win or not, well, kinda doubtful about that! Fortunately, it looks as though it won't come to that.
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Fabregas and Hazard have, allegedly, said they'll as good as gift their final game to Leicester in order to stop Spurs being champions. Or so it is apparently reported...
Same sort of game they played against Mourinho then. Except he was their manager.
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Chelsea aren't good enough to "gift" anything. even Newcastle only lost 5-1 to them.....
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It does sound like Chelsea getting their excuses in early.
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Leicester have played boring football all season (with a fair few 1-0 wins). So they'd be worthy successors to Chelsea.
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Who said romance is dead?
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Leicester have played boring football all season (with a fair few 1-0 wins). So they'd be worthy successors to Chelsea.
That's not what I've seen. 1-0 alone doesn't necessarily mean boring (See. Basketball).
Chelsea managed to play boring football with a team that was worth as much as some countries.
What Leicester are on the brink of doing is difficult to find a comparison for.
The odds were 5000:1 at the start of the season. Quite a few people took out a bet on that but, if you asked them, I reckon none of them expected to win anything.
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Being boring was Chelsea's ethic under Mourinho!
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I find watching Leicester anything but boring. It's often nail biting, edge of the seat stuff... but then I'm a fan. Their defending a 1-0 lead is not good for the blood pressure! But they know what they're doing, it's the way they play.
And on that note, Leicester have challenged the accepted wisdom of what constitutes good football. You hear fans and pundits alike say other teams play better football, or more attractive football - and I know what they mean. It's about possession and territory, and the much loved stats seem to suggest that they higher percentage of both means a 'better' team.
Yet Leicester often win with sold all possession nor territorial advantage. They sit back, defend, disrupt, and attack on the break. It works. As opposition managers have said, they know what Leicester do but defending against is another matter.
So either we accept that 'better' does not necessarily equal 'winning' or we start having judges to award points for style.
Btw, Leicester can, and do, play the more accepted version of attractive football sometimes. I've seen them knock the ball around very quickly, one touch stuff, tiki taka style....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7Ppgm4nVUE
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Leicester have played boring football all season (with a fair few 1-0 wins). So they'd be worthy successors to Chelsea.
I thought that accolade belonged to the Gooners , where their own fans sing "1-0 to the Arsenal" .
It beggars belief that Leicester are still not getting all the plaudits that they deserve.
Chelsea , man ure and Arsenal have all assembled the pick of the crop and still come up short. Spurs have got a few home grown players and have given a very good account of themselves.
It isn't all about how much you spend , it's about how the players all play as a team and how they are trained and managed.
Leicester have not reached this point by a fluke .
Chelsea fans can moan that if they had played the first half of the season like they have in the second half then they would be somewhere near the top, but the fact is they didn't and they aren't.
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So near, but yet so far.
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So near, but yet so far just a little longer of a wait now.
FTFY
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It's quite a match.
It's a bit heated at the moment. But as it stands, Leicester are Champions.
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Six minutes stoppage time!? :o
There could be quite a spike in cardiac events tonight.
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Crikey. Cards galore.
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And Leicester win it!
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I think that that is the first time that I have ever wanted Chelsea to avoid defeat.
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And the last match for Leicester, new Champions, will be at Chelsea, last season's Champions, who stopped the challenge from Spurs.
Walt Disney could not have written it better!
Except for Spurs folk, everyone wanting Leicester to win title and so glad it happened. What a match to watch! Just need to beat Everton and Chelsea!
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..............Just need to beat Everton and Chelsea!
Why?
Well done Leicester. What you achieved is actually impossible. I can't believe it happened but it did.
38 games and Leicester got the most points.
38 games don't lie, luck doesn't last 38 games. There have been some upsets in sport before but I can't think of an upset that carried on for 38 games.
In the Championship in 2013 and fighting relegation last year.
Apparently Manchester United spent more money on players in the last 2 years than Leicester in 132 years! (So include in that Chelsea, Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool..etc).
Note. Leicester starting 11 = £22 million. Man City Starting 11 = £281 million.
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Walt Disney would have written a film about SoccerBall and have four quarters in the match, with 9 men on each side, two points for a goal, one for a corner, three technical time outs per side allowed, and the whole season decided in the last second of extra-ball-time-ness in the final match which would just happen to be between the first and second placed teams who were on equal points, with equal goals scored and goals against and the same number of yellow and red cards. Oh, and the managers would have fallen out in their last college foofball match and never have spoken since then, the final scene would be of the two managers hugging with an out of focus background of the teams hugging and both sets of spectators cheering. And hugging.
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Can you imagine Matt Elliott standing for that?
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Just brilliant. I wonder if this means we will see 4 4 2 come back into fashion?
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;D
Hay fever has started early this year; my eyes are watering.
Truly incredible stuff.
Party time at the KP next weekend, how I wish I could be there.
Thank you Chelsea.
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An excellent night for football. Leicester winning the Premiership and Burnley guaranteeing promotion from the Championship after continuing their "unbeaten since Boxing Day" run. 22 games without a loss! Just hope they can stay up next season.
I might just place a bet on Burnley winning the Premiership. Stranger things have happened! :)
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Is it OK to revert back to hating Chelsea now?
I think supporting them for 96 minutes is enough for one lifetime.
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I wonder if Tottenham will mange to hold on to second now or if Arsenal will take it from them ? Must be very deflating for them.
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I wonder if Tottenham will mange to hold on to second now or if Arsenal will take it from them ? Must be very deflating for them.
Yes, they'd have bitten your hand off to get 2nd place at the start of the season and I bet they couldn't care less about 2nd place at this precise moment.
Spurs have only lost 4 games, they can be rightly miffed not to have won the title with that record.
Their season is full of, frankly, amazing statistics. They've only lost 3 games so far this season and they've won as many as Chelsea and Everton combined !!!
Anyone placing a bet on the Champions League?
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It's not Disney, but there is a film being made about Jamie Vardy.
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....I bet they couldn't care less about 2nd place at this precise moment.
Their fans certainly will! They absolutely have to finish above Arsenal now or they may as well top themselves!
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..............Just need to beat Everton and Chelsea!
Why?
Because with 3 games to go it was theoretically possible for Spurs to win the title. However, Spurs failed to win at Chelsea and Leicester became Champions. If Leicester beat Everton, or Chelsea, or both, they will have won outright no matter what Spurs could have done. That is why it is important for Leicester to win outright rather than have folk reflect in years to come that Spurs lost the Championship rather than Leicester winning it. I'm sure this is not lost on either Ranieri or the players. No decrying what Leicester have achieved and I'm extremely happy with the outcome, but up until the 83rd minute last night, Spurs were on course and that is why another win by Leicester will show they won by their own effort and not the efforts of Chelsea. And I'm sure they will win!
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.....but up until the 83rd minute last night, Spurs were on course and that is why another win by Leicester will show they won by their own effort and not the efforts of Chelsea. And I'm sure they will win!
IMO that is irrelevant. Every team in the League was "On course" at some point in the season, it just so happens that Spurs were the last team who could possibly still be on course. Leicester have amassed more points than anyone else over the whole season and what any of the other teams have or haven't done makes no difference. Even if Leicester lose their remaining matches...
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Okay, without having to read the whole thread can someone explain to me a) why Leicester City winning at sportsball is front-page news? and b) what it's got to do with Lineker's pants?
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a) Because they've done the soccer equivalent of a second-year pro domestique winning the Tour and (b) because even Gary, who is a known Leicester fan, thought it so impossible, when they did well early in the season, for them (or any such team) to keep it up, that he offered to appear on Match of the Day in his pants if they did.
It's hard to compare sports but, on straight bookmakers' odds, you could get 5000:1 against Leicester winning, at the start of the season. Such high odds are rare for any competitor/team in any competition to then go on and win against.
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Ah, well done them (apart from the pants thing). :thumbsup:
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There's something else too (apart from a classic story arc of underdogs coming back from the brink of annihilation to become champions).
Since the inception of the Premier League, only 5 different teams had ever won the title. With big money being offered for TV rights, top-flight football had been transformed into something where the rich got richer and the poor, poorer. Clubs like Chelsea and Manchester City in particular, but several of the other winners were seen increasingly as buying their way to the top.
Leicester have overturned that orthodoxy in that a collection of players and managers previously perceived as (relatively) minor have pulled together and succeeded with hard work and team spirit where big money had failed other teams. This has resonance beyond the sport and justifiably deserves coverage outside of the sports pages.
Of course all of the above is relative. Leicester are still backed by a multi-billionaire and have players with multi-million pound salaries. But relative to others, an order of magnitude less than many of the teams they have out-performed.
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The odds offered at the start of the season are a little misleading. It's led to papers reporting that Leicester's odds of winning gthw Prem were the equivalent of finding Elvis on the moon (or whatever) Which is of course nonsense. We all know Elvis wasn't a Clanger.
That aside, though numerically equivalent to a lunar Elvis, the odds might more correctly be described as 'no f-ing chance'... but slightly more chance than discovering Lord Lucan in your attic.... if you get my drift.
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a) Because they've done the soccer equivalent of a second-year pro domestique winning the Tour and (b) because even Gary, who is a known Leicester fan, thought it so impossible, when they did well early in the season, for them (or any such team) to keep it up, that he offered to appear on Match of the Day in his pants if they did.
Actually, he said naked, but since it became a possibility, he's backtracked.
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a) Because they've done the soccer equivalent of a second-year pro domestique winning the Tour and (b) because even Gary, who is a known Leicester fan, thought it so impossible, when they did well early in the season, for them (or any such team) to keep it up, that he offered to appear on Match of the Day in his pants if they did.
Actually, he said naked, but since it became a possibility, he's backtracked.
I think he said he'd do it on the first day of next season, so he has about three months to grow a beard a la Wowbagger.
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He just needs to dig out some shorts he wore in the 80s. They weren't much bigger than underpants!
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Tweets shown here about what Lineker said he would do. Never heard/saw the naked comment and he probably knew that would be out of bounds anyway.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36192189 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36192189)
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Never heard/saw the naked comment
No me neither. Perhaps wishful thinking on someone's part?
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Note. Leicester starting 11 = £22 million. Man City Starting 11 = £281 million.
When they heard that the Americans had offered £100m for Osama bin Laden, Man City immediately offered £110m.
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.....but up until the 83rd minute last night, Spurs were on course and that is why another win by Leicester will show they won by their own effort and not the efforts of Chelsea. And I'm sure they will win!
IMO that is irrelevant. Every team in the League was "On course" at some point in the season, it just so happens that Spurs were the last team who could possibly still be on course. Leicester have amassed more points than anyone else over the whole season and what any of the other teams have or haven't done makes no difference. Even if Leicester lose their remaining matches...
+1
they could field their reserve/youth team for the last games. Spurs have lost, fair and square.
Does anyone have a good link comparing squad salaries for all 20(??) Premier teams? I know LCFC are well behind Chelchester, but not sure about compared to the true minnows.
Oddly, the BBC World Service news seems utterly obsessed with this story. They keep finding fans in obscure far-flung lands!
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Okay, without having to read the whole thread can someone explain to me a) why Leicester City winning at sportsball is front-page news? and b) what it's got to do with Lineker's pants?
Excellently explained by everyone in general
and by
a) Because they've done the soccer equivalent of a second-year pro domestique winning the Tour
But also....
Because nothing much else was happening.
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Oddly, the BBC World Service news seems utterly obsessed with this story. They keep finding fans in obscure far-flung lands!
Something tells me they will be easier to find this year than last.
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He just needs to dig out some shorts he wore in the 80s. They weren't much bigger than underpants!
Hopefully he would have washed the shorts first, given his previous:
Lineker's Lemond moment (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9t_8pfbCH-4)
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..and before all this I was never quite sure exactly where Leicester was. Other than coming before Lincoln and Loughborough (alphabetically) and being nowhere near Leeds (in football).
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..and before all this I was never quite sure exactly where Leicester was. Other than coming before Lincoln and Loughborough (alphabetically) and being nowhere near Leeds (in football).
Come and have a look - we've got some great cycling in the county around the city.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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Come and have a look - we've got some great cycling in the county around the city.
I've got to admit, it has made me feel just a little nostalgic/homesick.
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[..and before all this I was never quite sure exactly where Leicester was. Other than coming before Lincoln and Loughborough (alphabetically) and being nowhere near Leeds (in football).
[/quote]
Lincoln has the Roman Empire's most northerly vineyard, Leicester has crisps, sounds like a party!
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..and before all this I was never quite sure exactly where Leicester was. Other than coming before Lincoln and Loughborough (alphabetically) and being nowhere near Leeds (in football).
Quite true-Leicester are nowhere near Leeds in football terms .
LUFC won the First Division 3 times and were runners up 5 times.
Also runners up in the European Cup and twice winners of the Inter cities cup which is probably now the Europa league.
So Leicester have a bit of catching up to do ;) MOT.
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Leicester now have to prove they are not Blackburn Rovers, never mind Leeds. :-\
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Leicester have overturned that orthodoxy in that a collection of players and mangers...
Poor, but with stable structures.
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Leicester now have to prove they are not Blackburn Rovers, never mind Leeds. :-\
I don't think they have anything left to prove tbh. I think Jo summed it up very well.
Whatever might happen next season will take nothing away from the achievements of this.
Edit: for those who might not quite see why Leicester's is such an achievement, read the following...
http://twohundredpercent.net/obligatory-leicester-city-think-piece/ (http://twohundredpercent.net/obligatory-leicester-city-think-piece/)
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I didn't mean prove in that sense. I agree, for them they've done something amazing and that's not going to be affected by whatever happens in the future. But in the sense that people have been talking about this being the overturning of an established big-money order.
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Leicester now have to prove they are not Blackburn Rovers, never mind Leeds. :-\
Ranieri is a realist on such matters:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36199417 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36199417)
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Meanwhile, even the Parliament and the PM is getting involved with Mr Lineker's underpants:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-36205082 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-36205082)
We await what John Wittingdale MP has to say on the matter as Mr Lineker appears to have a view on him:
https://twitter.com/GaryLineker/status/727881666174320640 (https://twitter.com/GaryLineker/status/727881666174320640)
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I quite like Corbyn's PMQ today on that theme
I join the Prime Minister in congratulating Leicester City on their amazing achievement. I hope it's not an indication he's going to support another football team. Or is he going to stick with two he's got already?
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Tottenham's result today will give Leicester an even bigger margin of victory than seemed likely only a week ago.
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Tottenham imploded at Chelsea and are now seemingly sulking ;)
I reckon Newcastle will beat them next week end and they'll end up finishing third. And I'm not saying that with any degree of gloat nor taunt - I actually think that's what will happen.
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so, do Leicester need to win all their matches now to be considered worthy of the title ???
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so, do Leicester need to win all their matches now to be considered worthy of the title ???
No... but they seem to be doing it anyway.
1 game left to play, 10 points above Spurs. In the end it wasn't even close.
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And the last match for Leicester, new Champions, will be at Chelsea, last season's Champions, who stopped the challenge from Spurs.
Walt Disney could not have written it better!
Except for Spurs folk, everyone wanting Leicester to win title and so glad it happened. What a match to watch! Just need to beat Everton and Chelsea!
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so, do Leicester need to win all their matches now to be considered worthy of the title ???
There are some that will never consider Leicester "worthy" champions.
Not enough possession, nor pass completion. It's not 'beautiful' football. You have to be able to knock the ball endlessly around your own half; square passes, back passes, jeez ANY pass - so long as it keeps those important stats up. Sod trying to score.
Nah, Leicester are 'long ball merchants'; hoofing it up for Vardy to score. That's not attractive football. It's not even cricket. And they're lucky; with injuries and suspensions and the referring and the weather. And they haven't had to play anyone yet. Teams just rolled over and let Leicester beat them.
It's been a glorious, glorious 12 months to be a Leicester fan. Not just for the results but also for the way it was achieved. I've no right to be proud... but I am, and have been tearful several times over the last week. It just wasn't 'supposed' to happen, Leicester are not worthy.
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They are a damned sight more worthy than pretty well everyone who has won the premiership hitherto. I reckon the last comparatively "worthy" champions of English football were Nottingham Forest.
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so, do Leicester need to win all their matches now to be considered worthy of the title ???
There are some that will never consider Leicester "worthy" champions.
Not enough possession, nor pass completion. It's not 'beautiful' football. You have to be able to knock the ball endlessly around your own half; square passes, back passes, jeez ANY pass - so long as it keeps those important stats up. Sod trying to score.
Nah, Leicester are 'long ball merchants'; hoofing it up for Vardy to score. That's not attractive football. It's not even cricket. And they're lucky; with injuries and suspensions and the referring and the weather. And they haven't had to play anyone yet. Teams just rolled over and let Leicester beat them.
It's been a glorious, glorious 12 months to be a Leicester fan. Not just for the results but also for the way it was achieved. I've no right to be proud... but I am, and have been tearful several times over the last week. It just wasn't 'supposed' to happen, Leicester are not worthy.
I honestly don't know any football fan that thinks they aren't worthy champions.
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Bocelli singing at the reception for Leicester was rather good.
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I honestly don't know any football fan that thinks they aren't worthy champions.
A circular definition perhaps ;)
But indeed, yes, by far the majority of folk do recognise what's happened.
The funny thing is - and I'm as guilty as anyone for lapsing into it, as I did a little above - is that the entire nature of being a 'fan' is that you sometimes get a little one-eyed or parochial. I'm led to believe (oh, that reliable cop-out) from reading a Leicester fans forum that there are some comments on other fan forums that smack of bitterness. And that is to be expected, they are fans in the comfort of their own. With rational and reasoned heads on, in a more public environment, I suspect even they would acknowledge the achievement. Being a fan means not always being rational. It's all a game :)
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Bocelli singing at the reception for Leicester was rather good.
I wanted to enjoy it but, tbh, I felt a tad uncomfortable. There were sections of the crowd that didn't show 'due reverence'. Either too pissed up and/or having a good time. Ranieri visibly tried to quieten those sections. Apparently, Bocelli couldn't be heard throughout the ground - that might explain it, might.
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I honestly don't know any football fan that thinks they aren't worthy champions.
........... that there are some comments on other fan forums that smack of bitterness.
I find that easy to believe.
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There's likely to be a lot of stuff about Ipswich having as much a claim on a fairytale as Leicester. That's going to be generated by renewed interest in Alf Ramsey, which will lead on to stuff about Bobby Robson, the Ipswich UEFA cup win, and a diversion to whether Brian Clough should have been the England manager. The press will be keeping that powder dry for the 50th anniversary.
http://www.wsc.co.uk/the-archive/23-Season-in-brief/1939-division-one-1961-62
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They are a damned sight more worthy than pretty well everyone who has won the premiership hitherto. I reckon the last comparatively "worthy" champions of English football were Nottingham Forest.
What about Aston Villa in 1981 and Everton in 1985 and 1987? After that the money certainly began to bite.
Leicester have done a great job and all credit to them but they also are not poor having billionaire owners, lots of television money and the financial muscle to pull a manager with the class and reputation of Ranieri. They were simply the best 'team' rather than the most expensive gaggle of millionaires.
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They are a damned sight more worthy than pretty well everyone who has won the premiership hitherto. I reckon the last comparatively "worthy" champions of English football were Nottingham Forest.
What about Aston Villa in 1981 and Everton in 1985 and 1987? After that the money certainly began to bite.
Or Blackburn Rovers in 1994-95? Though a certain rather pricy Geordie striker had a lot to do with that one.
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They are a damned sight more worthy than pretty well everyone who has won the premiership hitherto. I reckon the last comparatively "worthy" champions of English football were Nottingham Forest.
What about Aston Villa in 1981 and Everton in 1985 and 1987? After that the money certainly began to bite.
Or Blackburn Rovers in 1994-95? Though a certain rather pricy Geordie striker had a lot to do with that one.
Blackburn in 1994/95 spent more on their side than Leicester in 2015/16 I'd wager.
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They are a damned sight more worthy than pretty well everyone who has won the premiership hitherto. I reckon the last comparatively "worthy" champions of English football were Nottingham Forest.
What about Aston Villa in 1981 and Everton in 1985 and 1987? After that the money certainly began to bite.
Or Blackburn Rovers in 1994-95? Though a certain rather pricy Geordie striker had a lot to do with that one.
Blackburn in 1994/95 spent more on their side than Leicester in 2015/16 I'd wager.
Yes, I'd doubt that Blackburn would spend any money on Leicester.
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JD, you are a very naughty boy. Fingers crossed for the play-offs!
It's been a fascinating season: 10 man Newcastle ("my" team, along with Rochdale) humiliate Spurs in the final game, having already been relegated. Sunderland deservedly stayed up and in the process have scored more goals than Manchester United, who finish 6th. Leicester's story could only be improved by shirts of a slightly darker blue. Arsenal finish second in spite of their manager being continually hounded by the most ungrateful set of fans in English League history: they've been in the top four, I think pretty well every season he's been there. They don't deserve him.
Edit: JD, I've just found out that Forest Green lost the play-off. Really sorry about that. No consolation that Grimsby play in humbug stripes, too.
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We used to play in those colours until we went sustainable.
I watched the match in a pub somewhere northwards, and was joined by some other footer fans who said "aah, proper football"
Losing two goals in a few minutes knocked the stuffing out of us, although our goal was a delight. <cries into beer>
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I thought the BBC had doned a mispring with the league table but Stoke really did finish in the top half of the table with a goal difference of -14 :o
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Still, hang on to the fact that FG have NEVER been relegated. We've managed it twice in seven years and it was very nearly twice in six!
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Well the season is over and after all the predictions of a Leicester collapse it didn't happen but Spurs did collapse. 5-1 thrashing by a Newcastle team that couldn't win all season in the last match !
I hope next season is as exciting but I doubt it will be.
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Spurs completely collapsed. It began against the Baggies and it was downhill thereafter.
Panchosanza (whatever) must ask himself what happened and was he responsible somehow because Spurs had been playing well up until then. To fall away quite so profoundly begs a question or two.
One thing that Leicester have done all season is come back when it wasn't going their way. In fact, it's been a hallmark of their season. They have never doubted themselves and Ranieri has always been able to maintain their self belief.
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Not a dry eye in the house (well, there was only me watching) as I watched Lineker's BBC program (http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b07c6lwh/leicesters-impossible-dream-gary-linekers-story-of-the-201516-premier-league-season).
I hadn't realised just how emotional I can get. It's only sodding football but I was blubbing quite pathetically. :-[
Seriously, it IS quite an incredible thing that Leicester City did (in a context a little broader than "only football" too)
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Can I at this point lambast square-headed jeans model and part-time cycling helmet apologist David Coulthard for saying Max Verstappen's win in the Spanish Grand Prix was even more of a fairy story than Leicester winning the Premiership?
No, DC, you great sillybollocks. No, it wasn't. Quality, albeit youthful, driver in better-than-average car wins race, on circuit where overtaking is difficult, after runaway favourites take each other out of contention. It's not as if the Premier League's Usual Suspects all had their own equivalent of Munich '58 after two games, is it?
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The F1 equivalent would be if one of the F1 also ran driver like Romain Grosjean won the drivers championship in a no hope car like a Manor.
No big money (relatively) and coming on top over a whole season was the magic of Leicester not a single win.
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Or James Hunt winning at Zandvoort in a Hesketh, before going on to win the championship in a McClaren.
https://www.formula1.com/content/fom-website/en/latest/features/2015/6/when-the-playboys-beat-the-big-boys---remembering-heskeths-amazi.html
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Can I at this point lambast square-headed jeans model and part-time cycling helmet apologist David Coulthard for saying Max Verstappen's win in the Spanish Grand Prix was even more of a fairy story than Leicester winning the Premiership?
No, DC, you great sillybollocks. No, it wasn't. Quality, albeit youthful, driver in better-than-average car wins race, on circuit where overtaking is difficult, after runaway favourites take each other out of contention. It's not as if the Premier League's Usual Suspects all had their own equivalent of Munich '58 after two games, is it?
The equivalent is Leicester beating Manchester City... which they did of course.
The odds on Leicester City winning the Premiership are roughly the same as a Formula 1 driver admitting he fucked up and caused a crash.
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Somehow, Oxford United have persuaded Leicester to send a full team to Oxford for a friendly on the 19th July. You may remember that Oxford decisively beat Swansea in the FA Cup back in January...
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Leicester warming up for the 'International Make Money for Some American Businessman' Cup?
I'd prefer Nuneaton on a Tuesday evening. Well, maybe not but you get my drift.
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I really did not expect them to top their group in the
Champo League UCL.
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How very amusing! Leicester beat Man City 4 - 2 despite City having 77% of the possession!
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How very amusing! Leicester beat Man City 4 - 2 despite City having 77% of the possession!
Just goes to show that the only statistic that is worth anything is the final score.
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How very amusing! Leicester beat Man City 4 - 2 despite City having 77% of the possession!
Just goes to show that the only statistic that is worth anything is the final score.
In fact, I think that's the rules, innit? The team with the better final score wins?
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How do you find the stress levels this season Andrew ?
I am confident the team will galvanize and finish in safety, albeit in the bottom third.
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Well everyone said they couldn't keep it up but and sure enough, here we are in February and they are still atnear the top bottom of the Premiership.
..
Oh dear!
4 March, a double pointer..
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It's just been on the radio: they've sacked Ranieri.
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So much for the the 'vote of confidence' from the board. ::-)
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Poor show.
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So much for the the 'vote of confidence' from the board. ::-)
The vote of confidence is just a euphemism for 'you'd better update your CV'.
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Yes, it's code VC is the reverse of CV.
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So much for the the 'vote of confidence' from the board. ::-)
What were they confident of?
Confident he'd be gone soon?
It's a strange one. I mean Leicester were fundamentally shit 2 years ago, precisely as shit as they are now in fact.
Between two periods of being shit they somehow won the Premiership title.
Ranieri CLEARLY made an error of judgement by staying. The very best he could have hoped for was an average season.
If he'd retired last summer they would be installing a bronze statue of him now.
Arsene Wenger, are you watching? Sometimes a good manager has the luxury to choose their moment, they can leave as a hero or a villain.
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People have been writing off The Arse for years now but he still manages to stick around not seeing ze incident.
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And now, the quarter finals of the CL, and the only british club left in the tournament.
Wow !
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And now, the quarter finals of the CL, and the only british club left in the tournament.
Wow !
It doesn't sit right with me, that the players now seem motivated enough to play the "Ranieri way" once more.
Having said that, we should never feel sorry for Premier League managers.
They tend to earn more from one contract than the rest of us earn in a lifetime, and abject failure in the contract doesn't seem to have any effect on their monetary reward, or their chances of future employment.