Premiership Plus Predictions Game - 2018/2019 Season Call-Out!

Hi there, chaps! Believe it or not, it's that time again. Even though we've barely recovered from the Russia 2018 World Cup, the summer close season is rapidly coming to an end. with only a few days until the 2017/2018 domestic season starts with a full Championship program next weekend and the traditional curtain raiser The Community Shield Game at Wembley on Sunday, it's time for all of you to consult your crystal balls again. As you'll see from the attached image, our pal Red Devil 1FCK is the current holder of the vaunted LOB Shield, which we'll all be challenging for this season.

With thanks to Red Dragon, I've got three new categories for you this season (First Player to Score a Hat-trick in the Premier League, Player of the Year, and Young Player of the Year). Here's the basic set-up. 

2018/2019 Premiership Plus Predictions Game: 

1. Premiership Champions - 10 points

2. European Qualifiers (Choose #s 2-5 in the Premiership) - 4 points each plus a bonus point for the correct order)

3. Relegated sides - 3 points each plus bonus point for correct order

4. Promoted sides - 3 points each plus bonus point for correct order

5. League Cup winner - 6 points

6. League Cup loser - 2 points

7. FA Cup winner - 8 points

8. FA Cup winner - 2 points

9. Europa Cup winner - 4 points

10. Champions League winner - 6 points

11. La Liga champions - 2 points

12. Bundesliga champions - 2 points

13. Serie A champions - 2 points

14. Premiership top scorer - 6 points

15. First Goalscorer in the Premiership (2 points for actual first goalscorer; 1 point for first goalscorer in the PPP pool)

16. First Player to Get a Red Card (including two yellow cards) in the Premiership - (2 points for actual player; 1 point for first player in the PPP pool) 

17. First Player to Score a Hat-trick in the Premier League - (2 points for actual player; 1 point for first player in the PPP pool)

18. First Premiership Player to Get an FA Ban for an Off-Pitch Incident - 2 points

19. First Premiership Player to Get a Second Yellow Card for a Silly Offense - 2 points

20. First Premiership Manager to Get a "Vote of Confidence" (shortly before getting the sack) - 2 points

21. First Premiership Manager to Get Sacked in the Premiership - 2 points

22. First Two Premiership Managers to Get into a Touchline Fight - 2 points

23. Player of the Year (based on the player awarded by the Professional Footballer's Association (PFA) - 2 points 

24. Young Player of the year (based on the player awarded by the PFA) - 2 points

Please get me your predictions in the above categories either by replying to this email or on the LOB blogsite by Friday morning, August 10, if you'd like to be part of this year's game (yes, that will give you one week to judge the potential Championship promotion favorites). I'll be updating the standings weekly throughout the season both on the LOB blogsite and here by email. Please let me know if there is a better email at which to reach you. 

Good luck to all of you this season!

Another Busy Day of ICC Cup Action

It's a marathon day of ICC Cup action less than a couple of weeks from the start of the season. Arsenal defeated PSG 5-1 earlier this morning on Singapore. The remainder of the action today and into really early Sunday morning on the East Coast is from the U.S. The schedule from this side of the pond with kickoff times is a s follows:

Chelsea vs Inter 2:05 PM on ESPN News
United vs Liverpool at 5:05 PM on ESPN
Bayern vs Citeh at 7:05 PM on ESPN
Barca vs the Spuds at 11:05 PM on ESPN

All of the above matches are on Watch ESPN as well. Take a break from your Summer projects if you can and enjoy all the action.

A Busy Night of ICC Cup Action a Cure For the Summer Time Blues or a Midsummer Night's Dream?

If you are looking for some footie to watch then there are some ICC matches that may interest you. The matches involving the Prem teams begins at 8:05 PM with Citeh vs Liverpool on the Deuce, followed by Roma vs the Spuds , also on the Deuce and kicking off at 10:05 PM. The action concludes with United vs Milan on ESPN and kicking off at 11:05 PM. All the action is also available on ESPN 3 as well. Join me for all the action and the usual banter.

Who is Going Where?

With only a few weeks to go before the start of a new domestic footie season, it's high time to keep our eyes on the summer transfer market. Fortunately, the boffins at the Guardian have put together their usual excellent website to keep up with these matters. Allison to Liverpool? Mahrez to Citeh? Jorginho to Chelski? They've got the lot.

You can find the website here: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/jul/22/summer-transfer-window-club-by-club-guide-premier-league

RIP Paul Madeley (1945-2018)

Sad news today of the death at the age of 73 of Elland Road legend Paul Madeley. Paul was an integral part of the Revie team that I fell in love with back in the early 70s. He'll be missed. RIP.

Ten Players Whose Values Surged at Russia 2018

I came across this interesting piece by Martin Laurence in the Guardian today that listed ten players whose market values grew the most during Russia 2018. They are:

1. Eden Hazard - Chelsea and Belgium
2. Thomas Meunier - PSG and Belgium
3. Denys Cheryshev- Villareal and Russia
4. Harry Magiure - Leicester and England
5. Yerry Mina - Barcelona and Colombia
6. Raphael Varane - Real Madrid and France
7. Benjamin Pavard - Stuttgart and France
8. Sime Vrsaljko - Atletico and Croatia
9. Domagoj Vida - Besiktas and Croatia
10. Ivan Perisic - Inter and Croatia

Are there any of those potential stars who you'd like at your clubs?

Here's the link to the piece by Laurence: https://www.theguardian.com/football/who-scored-blog/2018/jul/18/world-cup-transfer-window-ten-players-value

Congratulations, Blue Devil!

I'm taking a victory lap around the office this afternoon, as I've totted up the final points from our Russia 2018 Predictions Game and it appears that I've won this round by two points.

The final round of points was very simple. Only Gooner picked France to win it all, so he gets the eight point bump, leaping up to seventh on 54 points. No one picked Paul Pogba to score the winning goal in the final nor did any of us pick Luka Modric to pick up the Golden Ball trophy, even in defeat.

So here are the final standings:

1. Blue Devil - 65 points
2. The Bee's Knees - 63 pts
3. Red Dragon - 62 pts
4. Someone Said - 58 pts
5. Red Devil 1FCK - 57 pts
6. Man United Rules - 55 pts
7. Gooner71 - 54 pts
8. The Saint - 53 pts
-  Swansong - 53 pts
10. West Ham Rising - 49 pts
11. United We Stand - 46 pts

Only about a month before the Premiership gets going again - I'll be in touch soon to get started with the 2018/2019 PPP.

THE WORLD CUP FINAL 2018

Oh how it could have been!!! Oh how I could have been a bag of nerves at this moment!!! Alas, our beloved England couldn't manage to go that one extra step and make this tournament so so so special.
So the Final that we didn't want brings together France and Croatia... who will be World Champs?

Join me as  Russia 2018 comes to an end

UWS

England's Russia 2018 World Cup Wraps Up!

England's magnificent Russia 2018 World Cup dream wraps up this afternoon with the 3rd/4th match-up. I know that we haven't blogged the England games up until this point, but maybe we might want to chip in on this one. I'm a complete numpty in that I thought this one started at 2pm!!!!

Russia 2018 Predictions Game - Semi-Final Update!

(Heavy sigh)....Hiya, chaps. Well, most of us were a lot happier earlier in the week than we are now. I came wheeling into work on my bike Wednesday morning with Baddiel and Skinner's anthem in my earbuds. Ah well...I'm here with a heavy heart to update our humble predictions game.

This time, it's six points for each of the winning sides who will appear in the Final on Sunday. Only three of us - Bee's Knees, Red Dragon and Gooner - chose France to appear in the final and none of us picked Croatia, so those three have taken a giant leap up the tables. So, going into the final round, the game has tightened up to two points between yours truly and Bee's Knees.

So what's left?

* 8 points for the Golden Boot
* 8 points for the MVP (Golden Ball)
* 2 points for scorer of the wining goal on Sunday
* 1 point for the first manager sacked in the pool

Here are the current standings:

1. Blue Devil - 65 points
2. The Bee's Knees - 63 pts
3. Red Dragon - 62 pts
4. Someone Said - 58 pts
5. Red Devil 1FCK - 57 pts
6. Man United Rules - 55 pts
7. The Saint - 53 pts
-   Swansong - 53 pts
9. West Ham Rising - 49 pts
10. Gooner71 - 46 pts
-   United We Stand - 46 pts

Long Live the LOB!

Hi guys - As I was going through my phone today, I came across this image of all of us enjoying the England win over Colombia. While the England campaign ultimately came up short, this image will be the lasting memory of Russia 2018. Thanks for the magic week, gents; I can’t wait for the next one!

World Cup Semi Final #2.....THE REAL SEMI!!

I can't believe I am typing this but our beloved England are playing in a World Cup Semi Final!! Can they go one step further than 1990..... I SAY YES!! COME ON ENGLAND!!!!!
Already I am very nervous but hopeful. As it says above.... IT'S COMING HOME!!

UWS

World Cup Semi Final #1....the other semi!!

So, today starts the beginning of the end of our month long party.  The party only has four participants and all are from Europe. We are all looking forward to tomorrow's BIG one with our beloved England having surprised everyone and making it to the final four.... but that's for tomorrow!

Today, a barnburner of match up between two neighbors and rivals. France and Belgium are two powerhouses of today's football and the winner will be favorites for the Final but neither scare me!!
Many Premier League players will be on show today and will all be familiar.
Let's hope for a great match.... and may the best team win....then lose!!

Join Me

UWS

Russia 2018 Predictions Game - Quarterfinal Update

Another thrilling round of Russia 2018 spun by this weekend and - somebody pinch me! - England are still in the tournament. Given that Germany, Brazil, Argentina and Spain are all home and watching on the telly at this point, the points at this stage are sparing. Most of us only predicted one or two of the semi-finalists (France and England were most of those choices for us). I assigned 4 points for each of those sides. Harry Kane is still top of the goalscoring charts with 6 goals, with Romelu Lukaku (4 goals) the only realistic threat to that record at this point. What we have left are these categories:

First manager (in the LOB pool) to get the sack - 1 point
Two finalists - 6 points each
Champion - 8 points
The player to score the winning goal in the final - 2 points
Golden Boot - 8 points
MVP - 8 points

Here are the current standings:

1. Blue Devil - 65 points
2. Someone Said - 58 pts
3. Red Devil 1FCK - 57 pts
-  The Bee's Knees - 57 pts
5. Red Dragon - 56 pts
6. Man Utd Rules - 55 pts
7. The Saint - 53 pts
-  Swansong - 53 pts
9. West Ham Rising - 49 pts
10. United We Stand - 46 pts
11. Gooner71 - 40 pts

The Quarterfinals Wrap Up

A very good afternoon from The Cottage where we are celebrating another famous England win. Now we can relax and enjoy the last quarterfinal match between Croatia and Russia. Whoever comes out of this one will be England's opponents in the semifinals. I fancy Croatia but Russia have the home crowd advantage, which has seen them go longer into the tournament than any could have predicted. Join me for all the action!

Happy Birthday, UWS!

Many happy returns on your birthday today, UWS. We all know what you want on this special day - a big England win. Have a great day, mate!

Russia 2018 - Quarterfinal Day 1!

Wahay! We've reached the Quarterfinal stage, chaps. Settle in this morning for some of the best matches that we're likely to see this month. We start sharpish at 10am with tournament favorites France against wily veterans Uruguay. The French seemed to be picking up some steam in their Round of 16 match; can they keep it up today?

That's followed with what, on paper, would seem to be the most delicious match-up in the round - Brazil v. Belgium. The Selecao have been there before, while the Belgians have the firepower and are coming off a dramatic come-back against Japan in the R16.

Join me all day long for more LOB World Cup chatter.

Russia 2018 Predictions Game - Round of 16 Update!

Phew! We all barely recovered from that England win on penalties against Colombia on Tuesday evening. That rounded off an eventful Round of 16 for Russia 2018. For this round, each participant gets 3 points for each winning nation that they correctly predicted. Most of us ended up guessing half of winners, with France, Brazil, Belgium and England being the most popular. I also assigned one point to Bee's Knees and West Ham Rising for being the first in our pool to have a prediction for a match going to penalty kicks (England v. Colombia) come up. And three of us - Blue Devil, MUR and Someone Said - are still getting 8 points for correctly guessing Harry Kane as the top goalscorer - he's now on six goals from three matches in the tournament.

So here are the current standings as we approach the Quarterfinal stage tomorrow:

1. Blue Devil - 57 points
2. Red Dragon - 52 pts
3. Man United Rules - 51 pts
4. Someone Said - 50 pts
5. Red Devil 1FCK - 49 pts
-   The Saint - 49 pts
-   Swansong - 49 pts
-   The Bee's Knees - 49 pts
9. West Ham Rising - 45 pts
10. United We Stand - 42 pts
11. Gooner71 - 36 pts

The Lakenheath Old Boys Celebrate a Famous England Win!

We're celebrating a famous England win this morning by consuming some of the finest Colombian. 

Come on, You England!!!

It's a day of destiny for Gareth Southgate's plucky young England side. The path is reasonably clear for England. Beat Colombia today and that sets us up for a Saturday afternoon match-up with the winner of this morning's match against Sweden and Switzerland. Win that one and we've a Wednesday afternoon semi with either Croatia or Russia. Then, and I'm really dreaming, if we win this one, we'd in the Final presumably against either Brazil or France. Wow!

The Lakenheath Old Boys at The Cottage

The LOB gang is in the house at The Cottage this week enjoying the World Cup action and each other's company. Here's to many more reunions in the future!

Morning, LOBers! How fabulous was that first day of Round of 16 action? Bloody marvelous, that was! This tournament is shaping up to be the best one since 1982 in my view. Here's hoping today's matches live up to it. We start with 2010 World Cup winners Spain against the hosts Russia. Putin's gang impressed in an admittedly weak Group A, while Spain managed Group B with maximum efficiency, rarely getting out of second gear.

Later in the day, we've got the dynamic Croatian team that crushed Argentina's dreams against a plucky Danish side that road their luck in Group, placing second to heavy favorites France. I should be a fascinating day of action on the tough side of the bracket. Join me for all the fun!