We're Back in Premiership Business!

It seems as if this past international break lasted longer than ever; it's finally over. We start with a bang this morning, with high-flying Liverpool visiting relegation threatened Palace. Then we have the 10am kickoffs, including high flying ManYoo hosting relegation threatened Swansea. We then finish with high flying Man Citeh visiting relegation threatened Everton. Do you sense a pattern? Join me for all the Premiership action this morning, won't you?

England v. Italy Live!

I'm hoping for another morale-boosting win for the England boys against the Azurri this evening. I'll be monitoring the match at work, so I may drop in and out a bit as students breeze in for advisement. However, if you have a chance to check in for a cuppa and a chat, please do. Come on, England!

Python Fest on Netflix

Holy Killer Rabbits, chaps - news out of Netflix today that the entire Python catalog is going to begin streaming on the service next month. That's all of the films, all of the original telly shows, all of the specials. The lot. It's enough to make Dinsdale Piranha want to nail a head to the floor with sarcasm. If you're not a Netflix customer, now is the time. Fetch me the Comfy Chair!

Pick Your England Squad!

Okay, LOBers, we're heading into two key World Cup warm-ups this week (The Netherlands tomorrow and Tuesday against Italy). Gareth Southgate has announced his squad. You know the drill - pick your favorite starting XI from this lot: 

Goalkeepers: Jack Butland (Stoke), Joe Hart (West Ham; loan from Man City), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Burnley)

Defenders: Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Harry Maguire (Leicester), Alfie Mawson (Swansea), Danny Rose (Tottenham), John Stones (Man City), James Tarkowski (Burnley), Kieran Trippier (Tottenham), Kyle Walker (Man City), Ashley Young (Man Utd)

Midfielders: Dele Alli (Tottenham), Lewis Cook (Bournemouth), Eric Dier (Tottenham), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Lallana (Liverpool), Jesse Lingard (Liverpool), Jake Livermore (West Brom), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Liverpool), Raheem Sterling (Man City), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal)

Forwards: Marcus Rashford (Man Utd), Jamie Vardy (Leicester), Danny Welbeck (Arsenal)

Premiership Plus Predictions Game - Week 31 Update

A very happy Tuesday afternoon to all of you LOBers. I'm here as usual to update the PPP game this week. As we head into the last stretch of the Premiership season, much of league looks fairly baked in. Sure, Newcastle, Swansea, Palace and now Southampton have taken turns in the dreaded 18th spot. And, yes, Boro, are now in the Championship playoff spaces. But that has changed little in our standings. The only action that did was Mo Salah's four-goal blitz against Watford on Saturday, which pushed him well above the injured Harry Kane onto 28 goals. So, those of us who plumped for HK for the Golden Boot have now suddenly lost 6 points.

Here are the current standings:

1. MOT the Hoople - 39 points
2. Swansong - 34 pts
3. Gooner71 - 31 its
4. What's Up Wheaton Simon - 28 pts
5. Yellows - 25 pts
6. Man Utd Rules - 24 pts
7. The Saint - 22 pts
8. Someone Said - 19 pts
9. United We Stand - 17 pts
-  West Ham Rising - 17 pts
11. Blue Devil - 16 pts
12. Red Devil 1FCK - 15 pts
13. Red Dragon - 14 pts

FA Cup Quarterfinal Sunday

A very happy Sunday morning, everyone! If yesterday's schedule was complicated, today's is the mark of simplicity. We've got two FA Cup Quarterfinals on tap for today. We start at the DW Stadium, with Wigan taking on Southampton. This is likely to be the tie that produces the semi-finalist that everyone will hope to get out of the draw. Later on today, we've got Chelsea v. Leicester in a battle of the blues. So grab some brekkies and join me for all the Cup action this morning.

A Busy Day of Cup and League Action

Morning, chaps! It's a busy morning of FA Cup Quarterfinal and domestic league action and I couldn't be more excited about watching it. It all starts in a moment with the Swansea v. Spurs quarterfinal. The Premiership kicks off at the usual 3pm GMT time. I'll have my eye on the Yorkshire Derby clash between Leeds and Not a Big Club. And we wrap things up at the end of the day with Liverpool v. Watford in the Premiership. Much, much later is a rare Saturday evening FA Cup tie for United.

2018 Champions League and Europa League Quarterfinal Draw

The quarterfinal matches for both the Champions League and Europa League have been determined. The highlight of the Champions League matches surely must be the all Prem match ,Citeh vs Liverpool, the only team to have defeated Citeh in the Prem this season. There is also a repeat of last season's Final where Real meet Juve. In the Europa League Arsenal must be happy that they are facing CSKA Moscow. Here is the draw in full:

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTER-FINAL MATCHES

FC Barcelona v AS Roma

Sevilla v Bayern Munich

Juventus v Real Madri

Liverpool v Manchester City

EUROPA LEAGUE QUARTER-FINAL MATCHES

RB Leipzig v Marseille

Arsenal v CSKA Moscow

Atletico Madrid v Sporting Lisbon

Lazio v Red Bull Salzburg

Premiership Plus Predictions Game - Week 30 Update

Happy Thursday, lads! I've been busily working on a number of projects during the Fredonia Spring Break this week, so I've finally had a chance this morning to update the PPP game. Not a lot to report, actually. The standings are much as they were last week, due to Citeh's continual dominance at the top and Palace, Stoke and WBA's continual struggles at the bottom. Chelski crashed out of the Champions League at the Nou Camp last night, which means that Yellows' interest in the CL has ended for this season.

Here are the current standings:

1. MOT the Hoople - 45 points
2. Swansong - 37 pts
3. What's Up Wheaton Simon - 34 pts
4. Man Utd Rules - 30 pts
5. Gooner71 - 29 pts
6. The Saint - 25 pts
-  Someone Said - 25 pts
8. Red Devil 1FCK - 21 pts
9. Red Dragon - 20 pts
10. Yellows - 18 pts
11. United We Stand - 17 pts
-  West Ham Rising - 17 pts
13. Blue Devil - 16 pts

No, I'm not riffing on the Manc LOBber's pain

The Guardian had an entertaining post today. Who said it worst? Demented Grandpa #45*, or Little Joe Moan? Take the quiz! https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/mar/14/jose-mourinho-or-donald-trump-who-said-it

Second Leg Champions League Round of Sixteen Highlighted by United vs Sevilla

It's very simple for United ; Win and they are through to the quarters. It may be a close shave against the Barbers of Seville, but United must win. The other Champions League Match is Roma vs Shakhtar. There are lower division league matches as well on a busy March Tuesday. Join me for all the action and banter,

Spring Forward Sunday Double Header

Spring forward chaps. Like it or not, it's reality. With that being said, we have a double header, starting with the Gunners vs the Hornets followed by the Cherries vs the Spuds. Come around for the action and you will probably see some goals.

Early Saturday Morning Classic!

This weekend's Premiership action starts with a bang with one of English footer's classic rivalries - United v. Liverpool at Old Trafford. So, stumble out of Bedfordshire early, brew up a strong cuppa and join me for the festivities, won't you? I'll be right here as usual on the LOB.

Premiership Plus Predictions Game - Week 29 Update

My apologies for my tardiness in posting this week's update. I got a bit busy at work and I also wanted to wait to see the outcome of yesterday's titanic Champions League clash between PSG and Real Madrid. The Spanish club ended up on top, which means that Blue Devil, MUR, Someone Said, and West Ham Rising have all lost their interest in the CL. The other major event over the weekend was the swapping of relegation spots between Swansea and Crystal Palace. With the South London club slipping back into 18th, that means that a lot of us who had banked on a Swansea relegation lost three or four points. Meanwhile, MOT the Hoople continues to sit pretty at the top of the league.

Here are our latest standings:

1. MOT the Hoople - 45 points
2. Swansong - 37 pts
3. What's Up Wheaton Simon - 34 pts
4. Gooner71 - 31 pts
5. Man Utd Rules - 30 pts
6. Someone Said - 29 pts
7. The Saint - 25 pts
8. Yellows - 22 pts
9. Red Devil 1FCK - 21 pts
10. Red Dragon - 20 pts
11. United We Stand - 17 pts
-  West Ham Rising - 17 pts
13. Blue Devil - 16 pts

More Frozen Footer

When we were kids, a winter storm like this would have knocked out virtually all of the football league schedule. Fortunately, will under soil heating and modern groundskeeping technology today, both of these rather intriguing fixtures are on for today. We start with Arsenal's trip to Brighton. Having suffered back to back 3-0 losses to Citeh this week, Arsenal need a tonic, and lowly Brighton might provide that. Later, it's a big clash between Citeh and Chelski at the Etihad. It's first v. third - how much bigger can you get. So, pour yourself a cuppa and join me from 8:30am onward.

An Abbreviated Football League Schedule Thanks to Winter Storm Emma

The Premier League Schedule is in tact, but there are cancellations at every other level in the U.K. thanks to the unusual wintry March weather in the U.K. Join me if you can.

Friday Footie Festival!

As the footie gods would have it, a massive storm swept through WNY last night, dumping a foot and a half of snow on us and shutting down the Fredonia campus for the first time since November 2015! That means that I'll be on hand this afternoon to follow my beloved Leeds United as they travel to nearby Middlesboro for a Friday evening bonanza. Let's start the weekend with three points, lads. #MOT!

Mid-Week Footie Wrap-Up

It's been an especially busy week here at work this week, so I haven't been able to indulge in any of the good stuff. So, I thought I would chip in with a bit of a mid-week update as we near the weekend.

On Tuesday, Swansea saw off Not a Big Club 2-0 with goals by Jordan Ayew and Nathan Dyer to move into the quarter finals of the FA Cup. On the same day, their city rivals The Evil Blades saw off Reading 1-3 to join the rest in the quarter finals.

Yesterday, Spurs had some fun with Rochdale in their 5th Round replay, thrashing them 6-1 with goals throughout the side.

Currently, Arsenal are getting a stern lesson from Citeh at the Em. Citeh are simply on another planet these days. It's 0-3 at half-time as I type, a scoreline that will surely put more pressure on Arsene Wenger.

Your thoughts on all of this, gents?