Champions League Wednesday - Gameday 2 Live!

I'm back on Wednesday afternoon to follow this afternoon's matches. Yesterday was a poor one for the English clubs, with Arsenal and Chelski both going down to defeat. Today, we've got the two Manc clubs. United take on Wolfsburg, having done reasonably well in Gameday 1, whereas Citeh have a must-win against Borussia today. In other matches of import today:

Atletico take on Benfica
Shakhtar host moneybags PSG
and Juventus play Sevilla

Join me from 2:45 pm EST onward for all the fun.

Who's Up for Some Champions League Action?

This fella, for sure. Gooner's eyes will be firmly planted on the action out of the Emirates against Olympiacos but there are loads of other tasty fixtures in the Money Grubber's League this afternoon, including:

Porto v. Chelski
Barca v. Leverkusen
Bayern v. Zagreb

Join me from 2:45pm EST onward to follow these matches and others live here on the LOB!

Premiership Plus Predictions Game - Week 7 Update

Hey, presto, chaps - look what's happened in a mere week of PPP madness. As if to prove the point I was making about bandwagoners and Man Citeh, the Etihad mob lost another to the Spuds on Saturday, allowing for their city cousins United to take over the spot. Barca also lost the top spot in La Liga to Villarreal this weekend. It all means that our inveterate ManYoo fans United We Stand and his brainwashed son The Saint are at the top of the charts this week. Next week - who knows; stay tuned. 

Here are the current standings: 

1. The Saint - 27 points

2. United We Stand - 23 pts

3. Swansong - 18 pts

- Yellows - 17 pts

6. West Ham Rising - 16 pts

7. Man Utd Rules - 15 pts

- The Red Devil 1FCK - 15 pts

9. Gooner71 - 14 pts

10. Blue Devil - 12 pts

11. Chelskilad - 11 pts

- The Red Dragon - 11 pts

- Someone Said - 11 pts

Another Big Saturday Morning in the Premiership

Morning, chaps - it's another big, big Saturday morning in the Premiership. We start with the intriguing match-up of Man City, who've had a slight bump in their road recently against Spurs who've get to catch fire this season. This is followed some great games at 10am EST, including Leicester v. Arsenal and United v. Sunderland. At the end of the day, we've got the champions Chelsea against woeful relegation favorites Newcastle. Don't miss any of it - join me this morning on the LOB for all the action!

Mid-week Capital One Cup Madness!

I have to admit it - when Leeds went out of the Capital One Cup in the first round this season, a lot of my interest in the tournament ended. So, I followed but didn't watch any of the action yesterday. The teams who emerged victorious were :

Everton, Villa, Stoke, Hull, Leicester, Boro, Bournemouth, Man Citeh.

We'll see how the other clubs in the competition this afternoon, starting at 2:45pm onward.

Premiership Plus Predictions - Week 6 Update

Happy Monday, fellas. First of all, my apologies to those of you who changed your prediction for title winners to Man City before the transfer deadline. I completely forgot to count those points in last week's tally. Because of those eight points, three PPPers - Simon, Yellows and Man Utd Rules have jumped out to a significant lead, a good 10-12 points better than the rest of us plodders. Other than that, we're much the same as last week. Here are the current standings:

1. What's Up Wheaton Simon - 33 points
2. Yellows - 29 pts
3. Man Utd Rules - 28 pts
4. Swansong - 19 pts
5. The Red Dragon - 15 pts
- Someone Said - 15 pts
- West Ham Rising - 15 pts
8. Chelskilad - 14 pts
9. Gooner71 - 13 pts
10. Blue Devil - 12 pts
11. Red Devil 1FCK - 11 pts
- The Saint - 11 pts
- United We Stand - 11 pts

Sunday Morning in the Prem

It starts with the Spuds vs Palace on Born in the USA followed by a double header at 11 AM Eastern with the Saints vs United and Liverpool vs Norwich. Some good matches are in store.

A Saturday Morning London Derby

Morning, chaps! I'm up early and looking forward to the London derby between Arsenal and Chelsea this morning. Last season, this fixture produced some real fireworks, including a famous dust-up between the managers. I should be a cracker. That's followed by the regular fixtures, including my beloved Leeds away to the Evil Dons. We finish up the day with table toppers Citeh against West Ham.

Footie Trivia of the Week!

It's been a trifle quiet on the LOB this week, so I'm assuming that you lot have all been bunkered down at work during the CL and Europa nonsense.

I'm very much looking forward to the early morning clash between the Londoners tomorrow, which has inspired this trivia question:

"Arsenal supremo Arsene Wenger has been at the club for 19 years. Since he arrived in 1996, their London rivals Chelsea have gone through (gulp) 14 managers! Name them for me.

(Bonus: One of those fourteen managers was a former Arsenal star - who izzat?)

Good luck, chaps!

Premiership Plus Predictions - Week 5 Update

We got back to the domestic leagues this weekend and didn't the sparks fly! Some great matches and even greater goals. All the action had an effect on our game, as well. Citeh are still on top and the Tyne-Tees sides are still on the bottom. However, Barca have snuck into the top spot in Spain, giving their fans four points in that category. I also assigned 1 point for the three of us who knew that Alan Pardew was up for a scrap at some point (he did so with Manuel Pellegrini on Saturday afternoon).

So, here are the current standings:

1. Yellows - 24 points
2. What's Up Wheaton Simon - 23 pts
3. Man Utd Rules - 21 pts
4. Swansong - 20 pts
5. West Ham Rising - 18 pts
6. The Red Devil FCK1 - 17 pts
7. The Red Dragon - 16 pts
- Someone Said - 16 pts
9. Gooner71 - 14 pts
- The Saint - 14 pts
11. Blue Devil - 12 pts
12. Chelskilad - 11 pts
- United We Stand - 11 pts

Sunday Morning in the Prem

Morning, chaps! I'm settling in to watch the match from the Stadium of Light this morning - Sunderland v. Spurs. Are Sunderland relegation favorites? Are Spurs the real deal or the fakers they've been for several seasons? Join me from 8:30am onward here on the LOB to find out.

Now, Where Were We?

It seems like ages since the last ball was kicked in anger in the Premiership. Now that we've had a two week break to see inevitable future Knight of the Realm Sir Wayne Rooney notch his half ton, we had get back to the good stuff. And it is good this morning. First up, what will Chelski do to get back on track. They've got a tough one this morning at Goodison against the Toffees. That's followed by the 3pm GMT kickoffs including Arsenal's least favorite fixture - against Stoke - and highflying  Leicester against Swansea. At the end of the day - what better than United v. Liverpool, the old rivalry rekindled.

Join me for all the love this morning here on the LOB.

The Specials on Saturday Night Live - 1980

When I was listening to Marc Maron's conversation with Saturday Night Live alumnus Fred Armisen today, I noted that Fred's favorite SNL musical guest was a 1980 set by The Specials - and I thought, "I don't think I've ever seen that." So - here they are in all their glory, at the height of their powers, doing "Gangsters." See if it doesn't give you goosebumps.

Cut and paste this link into your browsers, rude boys!

http://vk.com/video16170376_169234497

Trolled by TV Azteca

As if being trounced by the Brazilian bees last night wasn't bad enough, the boffins at TV Azteca have sliced and diced the Donald's racist speech about Mexicans to ratchet up the heat for the October 9th Confederations Cup play-in game in Mexico.

Another quiz

Well done the Roon for getting his 50th goal for his country yesterday. But there are 9 others who have played in the EPL who also have 50. Name 'em.

England v. Switzerland Live!

Roy Hodgson used to be manager of Switzerland. Today, he takes a bit of a stroll down memory lane and the sassy Swiss come to Wemberley for what seems like a bit of a dead rubber of a tie. England have already qualified top of the group after their pounding of San Marino on Saturday. The Swiss nearly bollixed things up for themselves against Slovenia on Sunday, but ended up 3-2 winners. They only need a draw today to qualify.

I'll be in and out this afternoon, but feel free to use this thread to post your comments.

Euro 2016 Qualifiers Live!

Morning, chaps - it's been a great weekend of Euro 2016 action, with England qualifying for France. This morning it's Wales' turn in their key match-up with Israel. The Gooner and I are bedding in to watch the match this morning. Join us for all the action here on the LOB.

England Squad for San Marino and Switzerland Qualifiers

It's all on the line tomorrow afternoon in San Marino for England tomorrow, chaps. Erm, that is, England will qualify for France 2016 with a (predictable) win over the Latinate minnows. Here is the squad that Woy has chosen for that away day as well as the home fixture on Tuesday against the Swiss:

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Manchester City), Jack Butland (Stoke City), Tom Heaton (Burnley).
Defenders: Nathaniel Clyne (Liverpool), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), Kieran Gibbs (Arsenal), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), John Stones (Everton), Phil Jagielka (Everton).
Midfielders: Michael Carrick (Manchester United), James Milner (Liverpool), Ross Barkley (Everton), Jonjo Shelvey (Swansea City), Ryan Mason (Tottenham Hotspur), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Fabian Delph (Manchester City).
Forwards: Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City), Theo Walcott (Arsenal).

So, what kind of side would you choose from that lot for tomorrow's match? 

Footie Trivia of the Week

As we enter our first interminable International Break of the season, I thought it might be fun to tackle another brain teaser, this time European Championship themed.

"In the 55 year history of the European Nation's Cup (now the UEFA European Championship or simply Euro), there have been 32 competing nations from across Europe:

1. Two sides have competed a record nine times; three sides have competed eight times - name those five sides.

2.  Name the five nations that no longer exist that have competed in the tournament.

3.  Which European nations have never competed in the European Championships?

Good luck, folks!

New additions at OT

It cannot be coincidence that after a Dutch manager shows up, and a Dutch Skunk departs, that the cheese residue causes this kind of problem. Don't put down those glue traps because it would be cruel to Mata. http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/sep/01/manchester-united-mice-infestation-criticised-council

Transfer Deadline Day Live!

Happy Transfer Deadline Day, lads! You can follow all the big moves throughout the day here at the LOB. The big news so far is that £29 million deal to move David De Gea from United to Real seems appears to have broken down. Will Twilight stay at Old Trafford? And where is his head at now?

I'll look for your comments throughout the day.