Premiership Plus Predictions Game - Penultimate Update

Hello, PPPers! We're almost there for this season. After Chelsea's resounding win over Arsenal in the Europa League Final, we only have the Champions League Final on Saturday left in this domestic season. That win gave four points to Swansong and, more significantly, MOT the Hoople, who now has pole position in our tournament. In addition, Bee's Knees, Blue Devil, MUR, MOT, Red Devil, Red Dragon, UWS, Simon all received 3 or 4 points for correctly picking Villa for promotion after their Playoff win on Monday.

This means that, if my calculations are right, MOT cannot be caught now and will be our champion for the 2018/2019 season. The only person who has a dog in the hunt for Saturday's final (Gooner) can only finish on 52 points if Liverpool win. Still, I'll wait until after Saturday's match to make things official.

For now, here are the current standings:

1. MOT the Hoople - 55 points
2. What's Up Wheaton Simon - 52 pts
3. Red Devil 1FCK - 48 pts
4. Gooner71 - 46 pts
-   Man Utd Rules - 46 pts
6. United We Stand - 45 pts
7. Swansong - 44 pts
8. Red Dragon - 43 pts
9. The Saint - 42 pts
10. The Bee's Knees - 40 pts
11. Yellows - 38 pts
-   West Ham Rising - 38 pts
13. Someone Said - 34 pts
14. Blue Devil - 23 pts

Europa League Final Live!

A very good Wednesday afternoon to all of you! I'll be skipping out of work a bit early today to enjoy the Europa League Final this afternoon. It's an all-Premiership affair and a London Derby, so the stakes couldn't be higher. If you're around this afternoon and watching, join me for all of the fun.

Bielsa Signs a Contract for Another Year!

In the best news I've heard all week, El Supremo Marcelo Bielsa has reportedly signed a contract to be at the helm at Elland Road for another season. I'm particularly relieved as I had heard that West Ham were sniffer around the gaffer, hoping to lure him away to the Capital. With Bielsa on his blue bucket and the promise of more spending on quality players next season, we might well have a chance at making a run for promotion next season. #MOT!

May is Out!

In big political news across The Pond this morning, PM Theresa May has done a Kevin Keegan and announced that she'll be stepping down on June 7. Much of this is due to her frustration around not being able to pull off a plan for Brexiting from the EU. This all sets us up for an exciting General Election period where May's successor as leader of the Tories (likely former London Mayor Boris Johnson) will go up against Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

We don't typically talk politics on this blog but feel free to weigh in.

Footie Trivia of the Week Returns!

With the 2018/2019 season beginning to wind down, it's gotten rather quiet around these parts. So, I thought I'd revive our old pal The Riddler. With the Championship promotion race culminating, sadly in the promotion of Norwich and Sheffield United (with Derby and Villa still to hammer things out at Wembley on Monday), I was thinking a bit about yo yo clubs. So how about this one:

"Which club has been promoted and relegated to the top division (First Division or EPL) more often than any other? (Bonus points if you can guess how many times!).

Good luck, chaps!

The butt-shot realized

I have stored in my memory, the image of Joel Hunter in the Dosedel's wall-in garden attempting this very thing repeatedly, and us welly-ing ball into his behind until he dropped. https://youtu.be/k6R18muvgfY

Premiership Plus Predictions Game - FA Cup Update

A very good Monday morning, chaps! I'm easing my way into summer mode this morning by reviewing the changes to our PPP game from the weekend's action. Man City's demolition of Watford on Saturday meant that Gooner, MOT the Hoople, Red Devil, Red Dragon, and Simon all received 8 points to their totals, which vaulted Simon and MOT to the top of the heap.

So, what do we have left to sort out. Well there is the Championship playoff between Derby and Villa on Memorial Day (3/4 points), the Europa League final on May 28 between Arsenal and Chelsea (4 points) and the Champions League Final between Liverpool and Spurs on May 1st (6 points).

Here are the maximum number of points for those with the best shots at the Shield now:

* What's Up Wheaton Simon - 56 points if Villa gain promotion and Arsenal win the EL
* Gooner - 56 points if Arsenal win the EL and Liverpool win the CL
* MOT the Hoople - 55 points if Villa gain promotion and Chelsea win the EL
* Man Utd Rules - 50 points if Villa gain promotion and Arsenal win the EL
* The Saint - 50 points if Derby gain promotion and Arsenal win the EL

Here are the current standings then:

1. What's Up Wheaton Simon - 52 points
2. MOT the Hoople - 51 pts
3. Red Devil 1FCK - 48 pts
4. Gooner71 - 46 pts
-   Man Utd Rules - 46 pts
-   The Saint - 46 pts
7. United We Stand - 46 pts
8. Red Dragon - 43 pts
-   Swansong - 43 pts
10. Yellows - 41 pts
11. The Bee's Knees - 40 pts
12. West Ham Rising - 38 pts
13. Someone Said - 37 pts
14. Blue Devil - 26 pts

FA Cup Final Day!

It's FA Cup Final Day. When we were kids growing up in Britain, it was like Christmas. We'd wake up early and watch the build-up on the BBC and ITV in our pajamas, the Football Focus and the It's a Knock-Out Specials. Everything that day built up to the match at 3pm. These days, the match is at tea-time, for no apparent reason and the build up isn't the same. But the Cup Final is still special. 

Unfortunately, it's Commencement Day today, so I'll be missing most of the build up that there is and some of the match. But I thought I'd post this to get us going. Enjoy the day, chaps! 

Championship Playoff Semi Final - Leeds v. Derby Live!

It's a big one for my beloved Leeds United this evening, with Derby County coming into the sacred ground of Elland Road for the second leg of the Championship Playoff semi-final. Fortunately, we're 1-0 up from the first leg at Pride Park on Saturday, thanks to Kemar Roofe's fifteenth goal of the season. A few more from Kemar and another big win tonight and we'll be Wembley bound. Come on, you Whites! MOT!

WBA v. Villa - Playoff Second Leg Live!

Afternoon, chaps! I'm tuning in a bit late to the WBA v. Villa second leg playoff match to see who will, hopefully, be my beloved Leeds United's opponents in the Playoff Final in a couple of weeks. If you're around and watching, do drop by for a chat.

Premiership Plus Predictions Game - Week 38 Update

A very happy Monday afternoon to all of you in PPP world. I hope that the beginning of the workweek is treating you well. As you all know, the domestic top flight wrapped up matters yesterday, with City predictably grabbing the title again from the clutches of a Liverpool team who ended up with the highest points tally for any unsuccessful title rival. That also meant that I was handed the wooden spoon for this year's competition, as the rest of you Notradamuses picked City to win the title, while I had tipped the Merseyside outfit.

Nothing else changed from last week to this one - the top five stayed the same, as did the bottom three and the Championship playoffs haven't been resolved yet, although Aston Villa and my beloved Leeds United are in pole position to head to Wembley for the Playoff Final now.

The big change is that both Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Sadio Mane closed the gap with Mo Salah to notch 22 goals in the Premier League this season, which means that they'll all share a stud of the Golden Boot. It also means that both The Saint and What's Up Wheaton Simon picked up six points and thus vaulted up to level first and third respectively.

It's still very tight at the top and will likely come down to the FA Cup, Champions League Final, Europa Cup Final and the Championship Playoffs. Here are the current standings:

1. Man Utd Rules - 49 points
-   The Saint - 49 pts
3. United We Stand - 48 pts
4. Up Wheaton Simon - 47 pts
5. MOT the Hoople - 46 pts
6. West Ham Rising - 45 pts
7. The Bee's Knees - 43 pts
-   Swansong - 43 pts
9. Gooner71 - 41 pts
-   Yellows - 41 pts
11. Red Devil 1FCK - 40 pts
12. Red Dragon - 38 pts
13. Someone Said - 37 pts
14. Blue Devil - 32 pts

Another Season Coming to an End

So, we started all of this way back in August and we have come down to the last day. Almost everything has been sorted all ready! Top Four...done, bottom three... done. Just the small matter of the title! NBC saying it is the best finish in a generation. I disagree. There have been plenty of exciting finishes in the Premier League era. Blackburn/United in '95, United/Arsenal in '99 and City/United in '12. I don't think there is any possibility of City dropping points at Brighton. It could be over in the first 15 minutes!
Join me on this Mother's Day

UWS

The Championship Playoffs Arrive!

Well, I tried to give myself a lie in while the Brummie Derby was going on, but my body clock said otherwise. Clearly, I was meant to get up and watch the Championship Playoffs today. It starts early with the Villa v. WBA clash at Villa Park. But of course that one pales in significance to the later one, where my beloved Leeds kick off against Frankie Lampard's Derby County.

There's no hiding the fact that we go into this playoff campaign in poor form, having ended the regular season with three losses out of four, torpedoing any chance of returning to the big time through automatic promotion to the Premiership. The good news is that our first playoff opponents are Derby, who we beat soundly in both league matches this season, 1-4 at the Ricoh Stadium where we'll play today and 2-0 at Elland Road where we'll meet on the hallowed turf on Wednesday. I would take a score draw today, setting us up nicely for that home leg in midweek. Come on, you Leeds! #MOT!

Is the Premier League the Best League in the World?

With Chelsea's dramatic penalty shoot-out win last night, we have confirmation that the four finalists in the two most highly prized European football competitions this will be English (Liverpool and Spurs in the Champions League Final and the all-London affair now between Arsenal and Chelski in the Europa League Final). The English Premier League (or Premiership, as I like to call it) has often been scoffed at by the proponents of tiki taka at the Guardian; however, this result must lead to conclusion, once and for all, that it is the best league on earth.

Your thoughts, gents?

Premiership Plus Predictions Game - Week 37 Update

Happy Thursday, everyone! Now that we're nearly through the European fixtures for the week, I thought it was high time to update our PPP Game. The Premiership season will wrap up this weekend, with only the title hanging in the balance between Liverpool and Man City. The other European slots are just about sorted, with Wolves still hoping to squeeze into the Europa League via their 7th place finish. Cardiff, Fulham and Huddersfield have been relegated.

In the Championship, Norwich and Sheffield United have, sadly, been promoted ahead of my beloved Leeds who will go into a playoff fixture against Derby on Saturday. WBA and Villa will meet in a West Midlands grudge match for the other playoff final slot.

And Barca, Juve and Bayern have won their respective leagues. Mo Salah is now all alone on 22 goals at the top of the goalscorer's chart, which means that a few of us who'd picked Sergio Aguero and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have lost six points this week.

All of that means that our ManYoo loving duo, MUR and UWS are top of the pops.

So here are the current standings:

1. Man Utd Rules - 49 points
2. United We Stand - 48 pts
3. MOT the Hoople - 46 pts
4. West Ham Rising - 45 pts
5. The Bee's Knees - 43 pts
-   The Saint - 43 pts
-   Swansong - 43 pts
8. Gooner71 - 41 pts
-   What's Up Wheaton Simon - 41 pts
-   Yellows - 41 pts
11. Red Devil 1FCK - 40 pts
12. Red Dragon - 38 pts
13. Someone Said - 37 pts
14. Blue Devil - 32 pts

The Champions League Semis Wrap Up

Well, then - that was a cracking match between Liverpool and Barca last night, wasn't it, now? Liverpool's shocking success and advance to the Champions League final means that we'll have at least one English side with a shot at the prize. Will we have two? That's all up to Spurs tonight. They'll start from a 1-0 deficit from the first leg at home, but stranger things have happened in this year's competition.

Join me for all the shenanigans this afternoon, if you have a chance.

The Championship Wraps Up

The Championship season comes to its conclusion this morning, with a few things still to sort out. Norwich and Sheffield United have been promoted but will still battle it out for the top spot today. Three sides are still in the race for the last playoff spot - Derby, Boro and Bristol City. The winner will meet Leeds next weekend in the first playoff semi final leg.

I'm hoping that my beloved Leeds will wrap up the regular season with a morale-boosting win away to hapless Ipswich Town, who were relegated back in October. 0-6 would be lovely. The bad news is that our replacement striker Patrick Bamford has been suspended for two matches; the good news is that our top goalscorer Kemar Roofe is back! Let's do this! Come on, you Leeds! #MOT!

Crunch Time in the Prem

Morning, chaps! It's now or never for those teams still fighting for something in the top leagues. This weekend sees the penultimate matches in the Premiership and the final matches of the Championship season. We start with Spurs' South Coast sojourn at Bournemouth. Spurs will want to consolidate their position in the top four with a big win to chase away those Ajax nightmares from midweek. That's followed by Wolves v. Fulham. Then, it's the relegation battle between Cardiff and Palace. Finally, if you'll still hungry for more footie, there is a tea-time kickoff for Newcastle and Liverpool. I'm not sure I'll be around for all of it, but there is plenty on offer nonetheless. Join me for a cuppa!

More Champions League and Championship Action!

If it's Wednesday, it must be time for more mid-week footie madness. Last night, Spurs were done over at their new patch by a rising, young Ajax team, much to the delight of the Gooner and other detractors. Tonight, it's Liverpool's time; they'll be going into the lion's den of the Camp Nou to see what they can make of Barca. We've seen in the past that the Spanish giants are not invincible, but the Reds will have to be at their very best to get something tonight.

In the Championship, we've got another vital clash, with Derby traveling to south Wales, hoping to get a win from Swansea. If they do, they're almost certainly assured a playoff spot, as Boro will need a seven or eight goal swing on the last day of the season on Sunday.

Let's be having ya this afternoon, eh?