Sunday Prem Footie

 It's a Sunday triple with two 8:30 kickoffs and an 11 AM kickoff . The pick of the lot has to be the high flying Spuds vs Liverpool at SFL where Balo makes his Pool debut. The other 8:30 match is is Villa vs Hull City. The late one is the newly promoted Foxes vs the Gunners from the Crisps.

Saturday Prem Footie

It's a typical Saturday Prem triple header as United kick off early at Turf Moor to face newly promoted Burnley. This is followed by Man Citeh vs Stoke and concludes with an intriguing encounter at Goodison Park as Everton hosts Chelsea. Also, if we can wish Elizabeth a Happy Birthday today.

Capital One Cup Round Three Draw

The draw for the 3rd Round of the League Cup was made yesterday and it's thrown up some really interesting match-ups. Sadly, neither of our favorite Uniteds will be in the round, having been dumped out this week. Instead, the punters will be served up MK Dons v. Bradford (sigh). But what about Arsenal v. Southampton and the return of Calum Chambers to St. Mary's? That's just one of five all-Premiership fixtures. Here's the draw in full:

Chelsea v Bolton
Arsenal v Southampton
West Brom v Hull
Crystal Palace v Newcastle
Leyton Orient v Sheff Utd
Cardiff v Bournemouth
Sunderland v Stoke
Derby v Reading
Liverpool v Middlesbrough
MK Dons v Bradford
Man City v Sheff Wed
Burton v Brighton
Swansea v Everton
Shrewsbury v Norwich
Fulham v Doncaster
Tottenham v Nottm Forest

Ties to be played on September 23-24.

David Hockaday Walks the Plank

       Bob will be delighted to hear that David Hockaday has walked the plank after just six matches in charge. Neil Redfearn will take over his duties while Massimo Cellino looks for a successor. It was a  move that was never popular with LUFC fans and Cellino was going to sack him after the 4-1 loss to Watford on Saturday,  but had a change of heart. However, the dramatic 2-1 Capital One Cup loss to Bradford City was the straw that broke the camel's back.  What does that say about Cellino , who appointed Hockaday in June?

Midweek Footie Madness!

Another day, another big day of fixtures in a number of different tournaments. Top of my list is the Yorkshire derby between Leeds at Bradford in the 2nd Round of the League Cup. At the same time, Arsenal will hope to finish off Besiktas in order to quality for the Champions League. Join me for all the fun this afternoon, won't you?

JHJ Ice Bucket Challenge

So, Mike Nocito… an LOBer… was Ice Bucket Challenged by the other member of Johnny Hates Jazz.
Here is Mike taking up the offer… a classic count to three… way to keep counting Bruv

JHJ

Capital One Second Round Live!

I'm back in the office this afternoon in time to follow the 2nd Round of the Capital One Cup. The main fixture of course is United's trip to the evil MK Dons. Join me if you're around.

Premiership Plus Predictions Game - Week 2 Update

The number of the week is "14." That's the score for not two, not four but six of our participants in our PPP game this week. With Spurs on top, no one's getting any title points this week (and the Gooners are sad). But there are still plenty of points around. Here are the current standings:

1. Swansong - 22 points
2. United We Stand - 19 pts
3. Blue Devil - 17 pts
4. Gooner71 - 15 pts
- Man Utd Rules - 15 pts
6. Chelskilad - 14 pts
- The Red Dragon - 14 pts
- STrose - 14 pts
- West Ham Rising - 14 pts
- Yellows - 14 pts
11. What's Up Wheaton Simon - 13 pts
12. The Red Devil FCK1 - 13 pts
- Someone Said - 13 pts

The First Big Test!

Well, well well - if it isn't Mr. Balotelli. Why always him? Because you're so bloody entertaining, Mario - that's why. He's back in England just in time for a return to the Etihad for the first big match of the season - Citeh hosting Liverpool. Wow - you couldn't script this stuff, could you? I'll be around for the fireworks this afternoon. Don't think about missing it!

A Premier League Sunday Triple Header

It's a Sunday triple header . The Spuds host QPR and Hull City host Stoke City at 8:30 while United hosts Sunderland at 11 AM. Spuds vs Spuds vs QPR is on CNBC. How will they fare?

The East Anglian Derby Retturns!

It's Week 3 of the season and we're already getting some tasty fixtures coming along. I'm up early to watch the return of the East Anglian Derby between our old stomping grounds of Norwich and Ipswich. It all starts on BEin at 7:15am. That's followed shortly by Villa v. Newcastle on NBC Sports Network. Join me for all the business here on the LOB.

Crazy Mario Heading Back to the Prem!

Oh, happy day! Mario Balotelli has agreed to terms with Liverpool, who will pay Milan £16 million, in order to return to the Premiership. Our Saturday mornings will never be the same again. Have Pool just bought the title or just a major personnel headache?

Your thoughts, gents?

Premiership Plus Predictions Game - Week 1 Update!

The Premiership is back and so is the PPP game. Now that we're through the first round of matches, it's time to take stock. Sadly, no one predicted that Swansea City's Ki Sung-Yeong would be the first goalscorer this season, nor did anyone see Spurs' Kyle Naughton getting the first red card. So - no points there. A few of us have picked Chelsea for the title, so we're leaping to the top of the charts with those 10 points. It's early doors, though, so that will likely change next weekend. Here are the current standings:

1. Blue Devil - 24 points
- Chelskilad - 24 pts
3. STrose - 22 pts
- Swansong - 22 pts
5. The Red Dragon - 16 pts
6. Gooner71 - 15 pts
7. United We Stand - 14 pts
8. Man Utd Rules - 13 pts
- What's Up Wheaton Simon - 13 pts
10. West Ham Rising - 11 pts
11. Yellows - 9 pts
12. The Red Devil FCK1 - 8 pts
13. Someone Said - 5 pts

The First Sunday Prem Footie of the Season

It's day 2 of the 2014-2015 season and Pool host a depleted Sotton squad followed  by the Toon vs Citeh. They were last season's top two , so let's see what they have.

The Premiership Starts Here!

It's back, gents, and I couldn't be more excited. The 2014/2015 Premiership season starts with a bang tomorrow morning at 7:45am with Manchester United's home opener against Swansea. I'll be up early to watch my Leeds boys in their home opener against Boro. Join me me for action early doors, won't you?

I am the LOB Champion Arm Folder

Enjoy the season, LOB lads.

Pulis Walks the Plank

Crystal Palace's pre-season preparations were thrown into chaos today as manager Tony Pulis walked out of the club "by mutual consent." No points if you guessed Pulis to win the Sack Race - the season has to actually start before the Sack Race can begin. What on earth are Palace up to?

Your thoughts, gentlemen?

Capital One Cup - Second Round Draw!

The draw for the second round of the Capital One (League) Cup was made this evening. This is the round where the Premiership sides (minus the ones in the Champions League) enter the tournament. The tie of the round is unquestionably Manchester United's trip to meet the Fake Dons.

Dog Days of Summer Footie

I'm thinking the same as this dog as I will be inside, escaping the South Texas heat. I will be watching Capital One Cup Action as well as the UEFA Super Cup. The Fake Dons vs The Real Dons play in the Capital One cup Bein televised on BEIN while Real vs Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup is being televised on FS1. Both matches kick off at 2:45 EDT and make sure to stay cool and hydrated.

Ted Lasso is Back!

With the Premiership about to return on August 16, NBC Sports Network have rolled out a sequel to the hilarious "Ted Lasso" bit featuring Jason Sudeikis as a clueless American coach. Enjoy!

The Season's Curtain Raiser

It's still the Charity Shield in my book! We kick off this season with League Champions vs FA Cup Winners. Arsenal vs Manchester City…. Hope it's a good game
Join me
UWS

It All Starts Here!

The Football League season starts today and I couldn't be more excited about it. Leeds start the season as a complete mystery package with Massimo Cellino having signed everyone but the tea lady in Serie A. We could potentially start at Millwall today with eight new players. Unfortunately, I'll be driving back to Fred-town via Alexandria during match-time, so I'll be relying on updates. Enjoy it if you're following it today.

Champions League Playoff Draw

The draw for the Champions League playoffs was made today, pitting Arsenal against Turkish outfit Besiktas, while Celtic - who only got into these playoffs through the backdoor - will play Maribor from Slovenia. In the tie of the round, Napoli will face Bilbao. Here's the draw in full:

Maribor v. Celtic
Salzburg v. Malmo
Aalborg v. Apoel
Steau v. Ludogorets
Slovan Bratislava v. FC Bate
Besiktas v. Arsenal
Standard Liege v. Zenit St. Petersburg
FC Copenhagen v. Bayer Leverkusen
Lille v. Porto
Napoli v. Bilbao

Ties will take place on August 19/20 and August 26/27.

Guardian Premiership Previews

Just how excited about the coming season are you lot? As you're putting together your predictions this next week, take a look at the excellent previews on the Guardian website. You can start with Arsenal and click through the other previews in the right menu:

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/aug/04/premier-league-preview-arsenal

Roll on the 16th!

2014/2015 Premiership Plus Predictions Game

Believe it or not, we're only a few days away from the start of the English domestic football season again. It all gears up on Friday afternoon with the opening match of the Championship, followed by a full schedule of Championship matches over the weekend and the Community Shield curtain-raiser on Sunday between Manchester CIty and Arsenal. 

So it's time to get those predictions in for the 2014/2015 edition of the PPP. Please get me your choices in the following categories by the end of the week and I'll include you in this year's game. Remember - on offer for the winner is the vaunted LOB Shield now held by Simon. 

* Premiership Champions (10 pts)

* European Qualifiers (Choose #s 2-5 in the Premiership) 3 points each

         plus a bonus point

* Relegated sides (2 points each plus bonus point for correct order)

* Promoted sides (2 points each plus bonus point for correct order)

* League Cup winner (6 points)

* League Cup losers (2 points)

*  FA Cup winner (8 points)

*  FA Cup losers (2 points)

*  Europa League Winner (6 points)

* Champions League Winner (8 points)

* La Liga (Spanish) Champions (4 points)

* Bundesliga (German) Champions (4 points)

* Serie A (Italian) Champions (4 points)

* First Goalscorer in the Premiership (2 points)

* First Player to Get a Red Card in the Premiership (2 points)

* First Manager to Get Sacked in the Premiership (2 points)

*  Premiership top scorer (6 points)

RIP: Lakenheath High School?

Sad news tonight via Facebook and our LHS classmate David Teska that our dear old alma mater is soon to be no more. That's right, friends. The building that we attended is to be demolished and the high school moved to another site. I've chatted with David tonight about starting a letter-writing campaign to save the tree that was dedicated to UWS' dad and former LHS Vice Principal Thomas Nocito. I'll let you all know about the plans for that.

Meanwhile, if you've got a memory to share about your time at LHS, let's hear it.