Happy 15th Birthday, LOB!

Congratulations, everyone in the LOB universe! Somehow the crackpot idea I had in my sickbed recovering from appendicitis back in 2006 is still with us fifteen years later. It's been a marvelous run, with lots of great banter. Thanks to all of you who have participated over the years. I'm looking forward to the next fifteen years starting with some spirited blogging during the matches this weekend. See you there!

Premiership Plus Predictions Game - Week 33 Update

Another week, another PPP update. We've baring down on the end of the season and every week makes the picture that little bit clearer. The big events over the weekend were Man City's win over Spurs in the League Cup Final, which meant 2 or 6 points or, in the case of UWS, a full 8 point haul for successfully predicted both the winner and loser. Norwich and Watford have both booked their returns to the Premier League promised land for next season and we know the four playoff contenders as well (Brentford, Bournemouth, Swansea and Barnsley). Added to that was Harry Kane's two-goal haul against Newcastle last Friday, which means that he's a goal better on 21 than Mo Salah in the Golden Boot competition. So Mo Salah fans lost six points this week. It all means that Red Devil is back on top for this week. Here are the current standings: 1. Red Devil 1FCK - 43 pts - Swansong - 43 pts 3. MOT the Hoople - 42 points 4. Blue Devil - 38 pts - What’s Up Wheaton Simon - 38 pts 6. Red Dragon - 35 pts 7. West Ham Rising - 31 pts 8. The Bee’s Knees - 30 pts 9. Teddy Goalsevelt - 28 pts 10. Man Utd Rules - 26 pts - United We Stand - 26 pts 12. Gooner71 - 25 pts 13. The Saint - 20 pts 14. Anfield Warriors - 17 pts 15. Someone Said - 14 pts 16. Pink Kits - 4 pts

The War of the Roses and the League Cup Final

Morning, boys - today has the feel of a bit of a classic, doesn't it? The highlight of the day is the first silverware on the line in the form of the League Cup Final between Citeh and Spurs. Before that, we've got a classic War of the Roses league match-up with United returning to Elland Road for the first time in 17 years. Last time out, we produced eight goals and a thrillfest. Let's hope for more goals today. Join me for all the fun, won't you?

That Post-ESL Moment

The ESL may have been squashed for now, but we're still feeling its after-effects, as if we're still hungover. Every day, there seems to be a protest outside a ground where supporters aren't allowed in. This morning, Liverpool host Newcastle at Anfield with the Reds at home for the first time since they pulled out of the ESL. Later on, there is a London derby between Chelski and West Ham, which should see similar fan action. Join me for all of the fireworks, eh?

RIP Chelskilad

It's with great sadness that I have to report that our dear friend Tony Nocito passed away yesterday evening. Tony was an early member of the Lakenheath Old Boys fold and a winner of our Lancer Cup. More importantly, though, he was a fine gentleman, a great friend and brother. He'll be sadly missed.

WELL SAID JAMES!!

 Glad he took 10 minutes of his show to show how said it could/would be!

Leeds v. Greeds!

Leeds v. Liverpool is a legendary fixture in its own right, with a storied history that goes back decades. Yet, given the announcement of Liverpool's involvement in a breakaway European league, this one should have extra bite to it tonight. We shared a seven-goal thriller on the opening day of the season, so I'm hoping for an open match with loads of excitement and goals. Come on, you Whites! #MOT! Join me for all the thrills and spills, won't you?

Sunday Prem and Cup Action

Morning, chaps - it's time for some more league and Cup action this morning. It starts with a crucial London derby match at the Emirates where Arsenal are desperately trying to assure some European football while Fulham need a win in order to continue to hope for continued Premier League action next season. That's followed by Man Utd, who will want to close the gap on a faltering Man City against Burnley who are now looking over their shoulders at relegation. Later in the day, we've got the second semi betweeen Leicester and Southampton. Join me for the fun, boys!

A Bit of the Prem and a Bit of the Cup

Morning, guys - I hope you're having a good start to your weekends whereever you are. I'm up early to catch the clash between Newcastle and West Ham. This one is crucial at both ends of the table. Newcastle obviously need points in order to keep Fulham and relegation away from their doors. West Ham are currently in fourth and trying to hang on to the dream of Champions League football for next season. Later on today, we've got the FA Cup semi-final between Man City and Chelsea at 12:30pm. Join me for all the action, eh?

A Spot of Friday Afternoon Footie

Happy TGIF, everyone! I finished my work a bit early today, so I'm taking advantage to settle in for a spot of the good stuff. It's Everton v. Spurs this afternoon, which has some real implications for the Europa League spots this season. The best result for Leeds fans who might harbor some dreams of finishing 7th is a draw this afternoon, which would leave Spurs in 7th on 50 points but with a match more played than my beloved Whites. Everton would be 8th on 49 points. Let's have a 3-3 thriller, eh lads! Drop on by for a chat if you're around, won't you?

Premiership Plus Predictions Game - Week 32 Update

Evening, folks - I wanted to wait until after the Champions League quarterfinals ended this evening to update our standings, as I had a feeling that they might have some impact on our game. And boy, did they ever. With both Bayern and Liverpool knocked out this week, about half of our pool lost their Champions League hopes. There were two other major developments in domestic football that made a difference for our game this week. First, Mo Salah added to his goal tally at the weekend and is now tied with Harry Kane at the top of the charts. So, all of those Mo fans who'd lost six points last week have it back this week. Added to that was the arrival of AFC Bournemouth in the Championship playoff spots for the first time in months, which has added three or four points to many players. All of that means that our current champion MOT the Hoople is back in pole position where he's been for much of the season. With six match days left, here are the current standings: 1. MOT the Hoople - 47 points 2. Swansong - 43 pts 3. Red Devil 1FCK - 42 pts 4. Blue Devil - 37 pts - Red Dragon - 37 pts 6. The Bee’s Knees - 36 pts 7. Teddy Goalsevelt - 33 pts 8. West Ham Rising - 32 pts - What’s Up Wheaton Simon - 32 pts 10. Man Utd Rules - 27 pts 11. Gooner71 - 25 pts 12. The Saint - 20 pts 13. United We Stand - 19 pts 14. Anfield Warriors - 17 pts 15. Someone Said - 14 pts 16. Pink Kits - 4 pts

Interesting Forest Green Article

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/apr/12/forest-green-aim-break-new-ground-ppointing-first-female-manager

The Sunday Premier League Action

Morning, boys - I've had a nice lie-in and a relaxing Sunday morning during the early one and am getting settled in to watch Spurs v. United. My Leeds boys did Ole and co. a favor by beating Citeh yesterday. Can they take full advantage? We'll soon see. Join me for all the action.

Up Early for the Leeds Boys

I'm up with the chickens this morning to roar on my boys. When I first looked at the fixture schedule for my beloved Leeds United, the month of April really stood out. "If we can just get to 40 points before then, we can really have some fun in April," I thought." Starting today, we play Manchester City away, Liverpool at home, Manchester United away and finally Spurs at home in the next month. Of course, we're likely to lose all four matches, but, given that we're now guaranteed another season in the Premier League, we can just go out and have a bit of fun. Sure, Man City may well turn us over this morning, but is there a neutral out there that won't be hoping that we can pull off a shock. After that, we've got the intriguing fixture of Liverpool v. Villa and finally the tea time fixture of Palace v. Chelsea. Come on, you Leeds boys! #MOT!

Premiership Plus Predictions - Week 31 Update

Happy Hump Day, everyone. It's been a couple of weeks since the last check-in due to the international break for the WC qualifiers, so it was a pleasure to get back to league play over the weekend. The results, to be honest, didn't shake up the league very much but they did shake up our table. The main factor was Harry Kane's two goal haul against Newcastle, which has him a goal up on Mo Salah now in the Golden Book stakes. That means that all of the Mo Salah fans, including our current champion MOT the Hoople, have lost six points at least temporarily this week. It leaves Swansong on top of the table now on 43 points, Red Devil on 42 points and MOT dropping to third on 41 points. Here are the current standings: 1. Swansong - 43 points 2. Red Devil 1FCK - 42 pts 3. MOT the Hoople - 41 pts 4. Blue Devil - 37 pts - Red Dragon - 37 pts 6. The Bee’s Knees - 30 pts 7. What’s Up Wheaton Simon - 29 pts 8. Man Utd Rules - 27 pts 9. Gooner71 - 25 pts 10. Teddy Goalsevelt - 24 pts 11. West Ham Rising - 22 pts 12. The Saint - 20 pts 13. United We Stand - 19 pts 14. Anfield Warriors - 17 pts 15. Someone Said - 14 pts 16. Pink Kits - 4 pts

The Sunday Rest

We had all of the good matches yesterday, so today we've just got the rest. I had a bit of a lie in this morning and was in and out of the Newcastle v. Spurs match during my brekkies and Sunday shower. I'll likely do some grading during the next rubbishy one between Villa and Fulham, but I'll be around for United v. Brighton later on. If you're watching, drop by for an afternoon snack, eh?

The Prem is Back!

Morning, boys! The Premier League is back with a bang today with a quite brilliant schedule of matches. And the best thing is that all four matches are on NBC Sports, as the footie gods intended. It all starts in a moment with Chelsea v. WBA, an intriguing amuse bouche for the rest of the day's action. Then it's the big one - the Yorkshire Derby - Leeds v. Sheffield United from Elland Road. We did the Blades over on their patch back in September. I'm hoping that we can do the double on them today and secure our Premier League safety while doing it. The tea-time kick-off is Leicester v. Man City. If any team has the potential to slow Citeh's progress, it's those sneaky Foxes. Then at the end of the day, it's another big one - Arsenal v. Liverpool. Who knows what will happen today - join me to find out.