You need to apologize to Derek Rae!

Look chaps, I'm as guilty as anyone for making fun of linguistic shape-shifter Derek Rae, but enough is enough. Start pronouncing players names correctly and stop that sniggering at the back. https://www.theguardian.com/football/the-set-pieces-blog/2021/sep/30/how-pronounce-footballers-names-bruno-fernandes-gianluigi-buffon-wojciech-szczesny

Premiership Plus Predictions Game - Week 6 Update

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I'm here as usual to update you on our PPP standings. With the 1-1 draw between Palace and Brighton yesterday, we ended the sixth round of matches in the Premier League. The lead continues to rotate around the three most likely title contenders, with Liverpool on top this week, City, Chelsea, United, and Everton trailing them. My beloved Leeds United are sadly in the dropzone now, keeping company with Burnley and Norwich at the bottom. In the Championship, Bournemouth continue their excellent form, alongside WBA and a rotating cast in the playoff spots. 

In Europe, Napoli are on top of Serie A now, denying us of points, while Real and Bayern continue to give us two points apiece. In the Golden Boot stakes, Jamie Vardy has joined Michail Antonio and Mo Salah at the top on 5 goals, while Paul Pogba continues to lead the Assist chart and Ederson is alone on 5 clean sheets. 

All of this means that MOT the Hoople leads our standings this week - here they are in full: 

1. MOT the Hoople - 37 points

2. The Bee's Knees - 33 pts

3. Teddy Goalsevelt - 31 pts

-  West Ham Rising - 31 pts

5. Swansong - 30 pts

6. Man Utd Rules - 29 pts

7. Red Dragon - 26 pts

8. United We Stand - 24 pts

9. Pink Kits - 23 pts

-  Red Devil 1FCK - 23 pts

11. Gooner71 - 22 pts

-  The Saint - 22 pts

-  Someone Said - 22 pts

14. Yellows - 21 pts

15. What's Up Wheaton Simon - 19 pts

16. Blue Devil - 16 pts

 

The North London Derby!

Morning, chaps! I'm settling in to enjoy the North London Derby after a bit of lie-in on a Sunday morning. Despite the league standings, Arsenal v. Spurs is still one of the biggest matches of the domestic season. Both sides have plenty to play for today, in addition to the usual pride. So, I'm hoping for a bright and open match with loads of goals. Who's with me? 
 

Saturday Starts with a Bang!

Morning, boys! We start with a bang with two early crackers. On the channel, Citeh take on Chelsea, while on The Cock, United host Villa. That's followed by a plethora of traditional kick-offs including my beloved Leeds against West Ham at the Elland Road ground. Join me, won't you? 
 

Premiership Plus Predictions Game - Week 5 Update

A very good Tuesday morning, everyone. I'm here as usual with the update on our PPP game this week. Well, another week has spun around and another team is now atop the Premier League - Chelsea. That means that the three participants who picked Chelsea to win the title - MOT, WHR, and Red Dragon - are leading our pack. It now appears, even at this early stage of the season, that there are three true title contenders - Chelsea, United and Liverpool. Below them are likes of City, Spurs, Leicester, Everton...and Brighton? At the bottom, Newcastle and Burnley swapped places but remain roommates with Norwich in the basement apartment of the Premier League. In the Championship, Bournemouth and Fulham are in the automatic promotion spots but the likes of Stoke have joined the trailing pack. In Europe, many of us are picking up points from Bayern finally finding the top of the Bundesliga, while Real Madrid and Inter top their respective leagues. Mo Salah has now joined Bruno Fernandes and Michail Antonio as the top scorers, while the top goalkeepers are merely the two Brazilians Alisson and Ederson. 

All this means that our former champion MOT the Hoople is on top of the standings this week. Here they are: 

1. MOT the Hoople - 49 points

2. West Ham Rising - 41 pts

3. Red Dragon - 40 pts

4. The Bee's Knees - 36 pts

5. Teddy Goalesvelt - 32 pts

6. Swansong - 30 pts

7. Man Utd Rules - 28 pts

8. United We Stand - 26 pts

9. Pink Kits - 25 pts

-   Red Devil 1FCK - 25 pts

11. Gooner71 - 24 pts

12. The Saint - 23 pts

-  Someone Said - 23 pts

14. What's Up Wheaton Simon - 22 pts

15. Yellows - 19 pts

16. Blue Devil - 17 pts

 

Sunday in the Prem

 

I had a bit of a lie in after a late night, so I'm late to the party this morning, but I'm really looking forward to this one. A real test for both sides. Join me, won't you? 

Saturday Morning is Alright for Football

Morning boys! It's time for our Saturday morning ritual - watching the good stuff. We start with a bit of rubbish. To be honest Wolves v. Brentford should probably be on the Cock, but someone at NBC - doubtless a Brentford fan - has put it on the channel. That's followed by the usual 10am kickoffs, including Burnley v. Arsenal. We finally wrap up with Villa v. Everton on NBC. Join me for all the fun and games, won't you? 
 

A Spot of Friday Footer!

Happy Friday, everyone! I'll be settling in for this afternoon's match in an hour or so. It's been a difficult start to the season for my beloved Leeds, with two matches against title contenders in the first four matches. Fortunately, this evening, we're traveling to Newcastle, who are mired in the relegation zone. Last season, we took six points from the Magpies, beating them 5-2 at home and 1-2 at St. James' Park. So, this needs to be our first win of the season. Come on, you Leeds! #MOT!
 

Premiership Plus Prediction Game - Week 4 Update

Happy Hump Day, PPPers! The international break has meant that I haven't updated our standings in a couple of weeks, but the domestic club game was back in earnest at the weekend, so it's time. As a result, Man Utd are back on top of the league, albeit by goals scored, and four of the five top slots are taken up by the elite sides (Chelsea, Liverpool and City alongside United). At the bottom, Burnley, Newcastle and Norwich continue to struggle. In the Championship, plucky Bournemouth have taken over the top spot, but WBA and Fulham continue to press for promotion. Bruno Fernandes' goal against Newcastle means that he shares the Golden Boot top spot with four goals, while Paul Pogba is running away with the Top Assists race, with 8 assists now. In Europe, Real Madrid, Roma and Wolfsburg are top of their respective leagues. 

So, here are the current standings: 

1. The Bee's Knees - 43 points 

2. Red Devil 1FCK - 40 pts

-  The Saint - 40 pts

4. United We Stand - 35 pts

5. Blue Devil - 30 pts

-  West Ham Rising - 30 pts

7. Swansong - 29 pts

-  MOT the Hoople - 29 pts

9. Man Utd Rules - 27 pts

-  Red Dragon - 27 pts

11. What's Up Wheaton Simon - 26 pts

12. Teddy Goalesvelt - 19 pts

-  Yellows - 19 pts

14. Someone Said - 18 pts

15. Gooner71 - 17 pts

16. Pink Kits - 17 pts

 

Some Old Boys blogging about Young Boys vs United

 

It's the start of the Group stages of the Champions League and United travel to the Swiss capital go Berne to face Young Boys . They have a strong lineup and three  points are a must . Join me for all the action if you can

A Classic Match-up, Revisited

A very happy Sunday morning, chaps! At one time, Leeds v. Liverpool was one of the biggest fixtures of the old First Division season. But this is 2021, not 1971, so the priorities are different for my beloved Leeds United. The Whites were able to hold the then champions to a draw at Elland Road last spring, and that result would be more than satisfying today. However, my patented rubric says that we don't need anything from matches with the top teams, so Marcelo Bielsa and the boys can go into this one without any sense of expectation and just have a bit of fun and express themselves. Come on, you Whites! #MOT!
 

Back to the Prem!

Morning, boys! It seems like forever since we were together on a Saturday morning for some of the good stuff, but here we are again. It all gets started with Crystal Palace entertaining table-topping Spurs on NBC Sports. That's followed by the usual 3pm GMT fixtures, including a Ronaldo-led United at Newcastle on USA. There's also the intriguing relegation battle between Arsenal and Norwich. We end with Chelsea v. Villa. Join me for all the good stuff, won't you? 
 

England Visit the Poles!

While not always playing the most sparkling, attacking football, Gareth Southgate's England side have notched five victories in a row in Qatar 2022 qualifying and are currently the only side in Europe with a perfect record. Today, they've got a stern test away to Poland. One more win would almost assuredly secure England top spot in the group. Come on, England! 
 

England Host Andorra

Morning, chaps - who's up for some England World Cup qualifying action today? I hope you all are, as England host Andorra for what should be a spot of shooting practice at Wembley this afternoon. This should be a chance for Gareth to change things up a bit and loosen the reins. So, join me from noon today on The Deuce for all the action! 
 

El Salvador v. US Live!

Greg Berhalter's USMNT side begin their Qatar 2022 campaign tonight on the road in El Salvador. These are precisely the kind of matches that have, in the past, tripped up the US college kids, so they'll have to be cautious tonight. There is a lot of buzz around this squad of up and coming stars from the European leagues, so I'm anxious to see them get off to a winning start. Join me from 10pm EST on CBS Sports. 
 

England Continue their World Cup Quest!

England have started their Qatar 2022 qualifying campaign in fine fettle, with a perfect record of three wins on the trot in Group I. Today, they meet Hungary in Budapest in what should be the most difficult fixture in the series against a team that is in second on 7 points. If Gareth's boys can get through this one unscathed, the rest of the campaign should go swimmingly. Let's hope that the Three Lions can continue the great form that they showed this summer in their run to the Euro 2020 final. Come on, England! 

Join me for all of the action from 2:45pm EST onward on The Plus.