2015-16 English Premier League/Champion's League
- Thread starter Niles
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And the whole world, barring a pocket of North London, is with you.This is nothing short of remarkable. And I don't think this team will let it slip. Dilly-ding, dilly-dong!
I do have a question for you specifically though, since you're a Leicester supporter, so you're the best person to ask. How much credit does Nigel Pearson "deserve" (as some pundits put it) for this?
I know he put the team together and he was responsible for the 7-match winning run at the end of the season last year and many Leicester fans were upset when he was sacked in the summer, but when I hear pundits say he deserves a "huge" part of the credit for this, it's mind-boggling. He hasn't been there all season. It's not like Ranieri replaced him in October or December. Ranieri has been there all 38 games. It's like a Chelsea fan giving AVB credit for winning the Champion's League instead of Di Matteo, or a Man Utd fan blaming Fergie for the players not performing under Moyes. You certainly don't hear that.
So assuming the title is won, does Pearson really share the credit with Ranieri?
Pearson built the foundations of this current side with some very astute signings (Mahrez for £400K???) and instilled a sense of belief into the team that led to the Great Escape last season. Ranieri clearly liked what he saw, otherwise he would have tinkered some more.
So yes, I think most Leicester fans will give an affectionate nod to Pearson and recognise that to some extent we couldn't have done it without him. For me, though, the key has been keeping Craig Shakespeare and Steve Walsh behind the scenes. If they had left with NP, we would probably be finishing in the bottom half.
Pearson had pretty much taken the team as far as he could, though. I was in a minority in thinking Claudio's appointment was inspired, and a sign of real ambition by our owners (who are brilliant by the way). It's his skills and nous that have brought out the best in the team, and he deserves the lion's share (or do I mean, fox's share) of the credit.
Hope your dad will be alright. I certainly know all about health scares. So here's to your dad being okay and Newcastle staying up.
Thanks for that. Truth be told, he's dying. Kidneys are failing (>15%), and he does not want to bother with dialysis. I just think that he is "ready" to go. Mom died 8 years ago now, and he has been kind of "marking time" since then. Not what any of us kids want to hear, but it is likely the truth.
Supporting Leeds has been trying, but it's also taught me what true support is. From the heights of the Champions League to the lows of League 1. But I have to say that Leeds fans have been extremely welcoming. Back when I was still posting on fan forums and blogs (this must've been 10-11 years ago), they welcomed me into the fold and even though they knew I was American, never once did they call me "Plastic" or "Fake Yank" or "rentboy" or whatever silly names that I see from time to time thrown by local fans at foreign fans or people who have never actually been to the stadium. They told me about the history, told me about the rivalries, and back when YouTube was still in its infancy I saw as many clips as I could of those old Leeds teams. I was also given advice by one guy I still haven't forgotten.
"We fans stick together, but everyone else hates us. Every other club. They all hate us but we don't give a (bleep). Marching on together, mate."
I know that I'm supposed to hate Man Utd (I never knew why until relatively recently...I thought it was because of the Cantona transfer but apparently it goes back to an acrimonious FA Cup tie in the 60's) but I don't really hate Man Utd. Of course if Leeds play them I want them to lose, but I don't hate them. I also don't hate Chelsea even though I'm supposed to. At most, it's schadenfreude for when they don't do well. I guess I'm also supposed to hate Bradford and Sheffield United, but I still can't. I did display a bloodlust against Sheffield United when we battled them in the Championship. I can say that I won't cry if Norwich get relegated this year. They took 3 of our best players from us. So good riddance if they do go down.
I know that Leeds fans have conducted themselves poorly on a few occasions. I also know that those teams of the 60's and 70's were AWESOME, but also should've won more than they did...they were perhaps the Arsenal of their time. And when I saw the Damned United movie, I immediately sought out clips and articles of the actual Clough/Revie rivalry to try and fill in what the movie fictionalized. It really does seem like it was a poisonous situation and Clough never had the dressing room, similar to the Mourinho thing this season. Those players, who had only ever played for Revie, should've checked their egos. Yeah they made it to the European Cup final that year, but just look at what Clough did at Forest a few years later!
I have no idea. Sometimes I read the articles of that idiot's antics and I laugh because it is just SO ridiculous. Then I think "He's destroying my club, I shouldn't laugh," but what can you do? I look at what Leicester has achieved with stable owners and I'm just wistful...why can't we have that? Instead we're stuck with a guy who admits that he hired one of our managers because the man was "Good looking." WHAT? Please, have mercy on us and sell.
The football league seems to want to punish Leeds, I swear. We got a 10 point deduction for going into administration in League 1, which was per the rules, and then they tack on an extra -5 just because they want to warn other clubs or something or set a precedent. Please. Good thing we duly got promoted after that.
But since then, other than a few promising campaigns under Simon Grayson, it's all been Lower League Mediocrity(tm) with that idiot Cellino acting on his crazy whims. Such is life unless you support a Premiership club, I suppose.
I can't switch loyalties, though. I still get goosebumps when I hear "Marching on Together." I remember how friendly and welcoming the other fans were even though I haven't been to Yorkshire, or even the UK for that matter. I remember the euphoria when Jermaine Beckford scored in front of the Stretford End at Old Trafford and knocked Man Utd out of the Cup, and those heartbreaking Wembley losses in Playoff finals when we missed out on promotion. This is my club. I can't switch loyalties.
But I can still enjoy Leicester's season this year.
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Sorry to hear that, I totally sympathize as my Grandfather did the same thing.
Well said. Pearson is very good manager, who I'm surprised hasn't found another job yet, but he lacks that international reputation.
I'm not sure the likes of Fuchs (who I think has been excellent), Okazaki, Kante, or Inler (who has been unfortunate to miss out so often this season) would have been as inclined to join the Foxes had Pearson been in charge.
Supporting Leeds has been trying, but it's also taught me what true support is. From the heights of the Champions League to the lows of League 1. But I have to say that Leeds fans have been extremely welcoming. Back when I was still posting on fan forums and blogs (this must've been 10-11 years ago), they welcomed me into the fold and even though they knew I was American, never once did they call me "Plastic" or "Fake Yank" or "rentboy" or whatever silly names that I see from time to time thrown by local fans at foreign fans or people who have never actually been to the stadium. They told me about the history, told me about the rivalries, and back when YouTube was still in its infancy I saw as many clips as I could of those old Leeds teams. I was also given advice by one guy I still haven't forgotten.
"We fans stick together, but everyone else hates us. Every other club. They all hate us but we don't give a (bleep). Marching on together, mate."
I know that I'm supposed to hate Man Utd (I never knew why until relatively recently...I thought it was because of the Cantona transfer but apparently it goes back to an acrimonious FA Cup tie in the 60's) but I don't really hate Man Utd. Of course if Leeds play them I want them to lose, but I don't hate them. I also don't hate Chelsea even though I'm supposed to. At most, it's schadenfreude for when they don't do well. I guess I'm also supposed to hate Bradford and Sheffield United, but I still can't. I did display a bloodlust against Sheffield United when we battled them in the Championship. I can say that I won't cry if Norwich get relegated this year. They took 3 of our best players from us. So good riddance if they do go down.
I know that Leeds fans have conducted themselves poorly on a few occasions. I also know that those teams of the 60's and 70's were AWESOME, but also should've won more than they did...they were perhaps the Arsenal of their time. And when I saw the Damned United movie, I immediately sought out clips and articles of the actual Clough/Revie rivalry to try and fill in what the movie fictionalized. It really does seem like it was a poisonous situation and Clough never had the dressing room, similar to the Mourinho thing this season. Those players, who had only ever played for Revie, should've checked their egos. Yeah they made it to the European Cup final that year, but just look at what Clough did at Forest a few years later!
I have no idea. Sometimes I read the articles of that idiot's antics and I laugh because it is just SO ridiculous. Then I think "He's destroying my club, I shouldn't laugh," but what can you do? I look at what Leicester has achieved with stable owners and I'm just wistful...why can't we have that? Instead we're stuck with a guy who admits that he hired one of our managers because the man was "Good looking." WHAT? Please, have mercy on us and sell.
The football league seems to want to punish Leeds, I swear. We got a 10 point deduction for going into administration in League 1, which was per the rules, and then they tack on an extra -5 just because they want to warn other clubs or something or set a precedent. Please. Good thing we duly got promoted after that.
But since then, other than a few promising campaigns under Simon Grayson, it's all been Lower League Mediocrity(tm) with that idiot Cellino acting on his crazy whims. Such is life unless you support a Premiership club, I suppose.
I can't switch loyalties, though. I still get goosebumps when I hear "Marching on Together." I remember how friendly and welcoming the other fans were even though I haven't been to Yorkshire, or even the UK for that matter. I remember the euphoria when Jermaine Beckford scored in front of the Stretford End at Old Trafford and knocked Man Utd out of the Cup, and those heartbreaking Wembley losses in Playoff finals when we missed out on promotion. This is my club. I can't switch loyalties.
But I can still enjoy Leicester's season this year.
There is still hope for Leeds, I think the fans will drive out that muppet of an owner soon enough.
Leicester has gone through similar financial struggles, but strangely got away with them pretty much scott free in the past (as have QPR, Cardiff, and many others). Somehow in the past the Foxes had a huge tax bill unpaid to go along with strange finances and not penalized at all for it, and even now they sold their world marketing rights to some business in an industrial plaza who doesn't even have a phone. Something will come of that story, especially after they win the league as they are an unfashionable midlands club and newspapers will want to point that out.
QPR are the biggest cheats at the moment, massive, and I mean massive loses which their lawyers are trying to cover up so they don't get penalized by financial fair play rules.
Unfortunately, teams who adhere to the rules of financial fair play, like Leeds, Forest, Blackburn, etc get punished. I was saddened by the example made of Leeds by the football league, honesty doesn't always pay off in that world I guess.
Oh yes, back to the season at hand. I watched the live match when Spurs played WBA (I admit, I watch too much football), while Spurs were the better side in the first half, they almost seemed like they thought maximum effort wasn't required.
Olsson had Kane in his pocked, especially in the 2nd half, and Lamela and Eriksen didn't support him enough to allow Kane more space.
The biggest point for me was on 75 minutes Dier got injured. Spurs need a goal, only Rondon is causing any real trouble going forward for WBA, and who does Pochettino bring on? Ryan Mason. Surely Chadli should have come on then with 15-20 minutes left to try and add that little bit extra in attack.
Olsson had Kane in his pocked, especially in the 2nd half, and Lamela and Eriksen didn't support him enough to allow Kane more space.
The biggest point for me was on 75 minutes Dier got injured. Spurs need a goal, only Rondon is causing any real trouble going forward for WBA, and who does Pochettino bring on? Ryan Mason. Surely Chadli should have come on then with 15-20 minutes left to try and add that little bit extra in attack.
Come ON Leicester . . . get it done at Old Trafford.
That would be sweet. I don't see how Spurs will be able to pull off 3 wins anyway, what with Alli out for the year and Dier uncertain with the concussion. A Spurs' loss clinches for Leicester, too. Chelsea and Southampton are not cakewalks by any stretch of the imagination, and Newcastle are fighting for their lives. Frankly, I'd rather have ManU at Old Trafford.
It could all end by Monday. I can't see Spurs beating Chelsea...as bad as Chelsea has been this year, they HATE Spurs. They will be totally up for this game. Even if Leicester draws or loses at Old Trafford, Spurs have to overcome a 26-year long hoodoo at Stamford Bridge to prolong the title race. Chelsea will take immense pleasure in frustrating them and crushing their dreams.
Leicester v. Man Utd will not be easy. Man Utd are stingy defensively these days and Rashford and Martial could be explosive. On the other hand, Mahrez will probably skin Rojo alive. Honestly I see this game going 1-1. But if Leicester do win, it'll be great to watch.
Leicester v. Man Utd will not be easy. Man Utd are stingy defensively these days and Rashford and Martial could be explosive. On the other hand, Mahrez will probably skin Rojo alive. Honestly I see this game going 1-1. But if Leicester do win, it'll be great to watch.
And Newcastle has risen out of relegation, with Sunderland having a game in hand (but Chelsea and Everton won't be walks in the park by any means).
Job done today with the draw at Old Trafford, now it's down to the traditional spurs collapse under the weight of their own expectations tomorrow.
Maybe. I however am like Ranieri...I will wait until it is mathematically assured. Spurs have not won at Stamford Bridge since 1990. This is *the* derby for Chelsea fans as far as I know, so I wouldn't be surprised if we see the "real" Chelsea show up tomorrow and smash Spurs 3-1 or something. Then again, Chelsea is a strange team this year. In any case, Spurs know what they have to do. They HAVE to win. Against their biggest local rivals aside from Arsenal, who delight in crushing their dreams. And inside an entire stadium that has fond memories of Ranieri and would love to see him lift the trophy. It'll be compelling to watch. That said, of course I'm waiting for the huge Chelsea boot to crush what's left of the Spurs dream. I want to see the look of defeat on Harry Kane's face. Payback for the lions pic on Instagram.
As for the match today...Leicester got the job done. More contentious referee decisions and non-calls. If you could argue that the Depay foul was a penalty, you could also argue that Mahrez deserved a penalty (it was a nailed-on penalty, all day long. Mahrez was kicked in the box, whereas Depay fell over after being touched). If Drinkwater got two bookable fouls, why not Rooney? Huth did pull Fellaini's massive afro, but Fellaini threw an elbow at him. The Man Utd fans wanted a red card for Simpson denying Lingard a goalscoring opportunuty, but what planet are they on? Two players coming together fighting for the ball, and Lingard falls over. No call for me. Vardy got sent off for a similar situation 2 weeks ago. Lingard did the same thing, really.
The result was more damaging to Utd than it was for Leicester, because Man City lost to Southampton. They have a game in hand, but they'll still be behind even if they win it.
And what on earth is going on at Liverpool? The most inconsistent team ever. Klopp has work to do.
As for the match today...Leicester got the job done. More contentious referee decisions and non-calls. If you could argue that the Depay foul was a penalty, you could also argue that Mahrez deserved a penalty (it was a nailed-on penalty, all day long. Mahrez was kicked in the box, whereas Depay fell over after being touched). If Drinkwater got two bookable fouls, why not Rooney? Huth did pull Fellaini's massive afro, but Fellaini threw an elbow at him. The Man Utd fans wanted a red card for Simpson denying Lingard a goalscoring opportunuty, but what planet are they on? Two players coming together fighting for the ball, and Lingard falls over. No call for me. Vardy got sent off for a similar situation 2 weeks ago. Lingard did the same thing, really.
The result was more damaging to Utd than it was for Leicester, because Man City lost to Southampton. They have a game in hand, but they'll still be behind even if they win it.
And what on earth is going on at Liverpool? The most inconsistent team ever. Klopp has work to do.
Well done young Darlow with that penalty save for Newcastle. I used to see Darlow stay behind for a hour after training sessions when he was a youth player at Forest, all he would do is practice his ball distribution for that hour. It's such an underappreciated but critical part of the modern game, just watch poor sides struggling to win the ball back as their keepers aimlessly boot the ball blindly up the pitch over and over.
I knew Newcastle would improve as soon as they got rid of the wally with a brolly, he is a good coach but a useless manager.
However, I still think it is too late for them, there is Defoe at Sunderland who just refuses to give up.
As for the Foxes, well I think Morgan won it for them today with that point. I have a feeling Chelski will thump Spurs tomorrow.
As for Man U, well their fans are used to getting every single decision at home called their way, but refs are not intimidated anymore now that gum chewing Scot is gone from the sidelines.
Also, they will NEVER win anything with Carrick and Rooney playing in the central midfield roles. They still haven't properly replaced Roy Kean and will suffer until they do.
As for Liverpool, it seems they played half of their youth team today so they can rest players for their upcoming tie with the yellow submarine.
I knew Newcastle would improve as soon as they got rid of the wally with a brolly, he is a good coach but a useless manager.
However, I still think it is too late for them, there is Defoe at Sunderland who just refuses to give up.
As for the Foxes, well I think Morgan won it for them today with that point. I have a feeling Chelski will thump Spurs tomorrow.
As for Man U, well their fans are used to getting every single decision at home called their way, but refs are not intimidated anymore now that gum chewing Scot is gone from the sidelines.
Also, they will NEVER win anything with Carrick and Rooney playing in the central midfield roles. They still haven't properly replaced Roy Kean and will suffer until they do.
As for Liverpool, it seems they played half of their youth team today so they can rest players for their upcoming tie with the yellow submarine.
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Fellaini's elbow was really bad. Every time I watch a ManU game, I marvel at what a thug that guy is. I guess you have to be in that role, but I just don't like him. I'm sure he's wonderful with children, though. Speaking of gum chewing, does Sam Allardyce have an endorsement deal with Bazooka? He's almost as bad as Pirates manager Clint Hurdle.
Big men do what they can get away with in the box like that...gone are the days of John Charles. Personally I think Roy Keane was a bigger thug in the Man Utd colors. A great player and captain, absolutely...but a thug. Fellaini's days playing at Old Trafford are numbered anyway. Whoever comes in after Van Gaal will ship him out.
If you think Big Sam is bad with the gum, Sir Alex was worse. But those two were big buddies. I guess Sam learned it from him. That's probably what they talked about over all that postmatch wine.
That was a great point for the Foxes at Man Utd, particularly as United could have been out of sight by half time. Schmeichel's save from Lingaard to keep the score at 1-0 was absolutely world class. The Leicester of old would have succumbed under the pressure, but "Foxes Never Quit" isn't just a saying and they fought their way back with an equaliser against the run of play. The second half performance was much better and a draw was a fair result - I would have taken that before kick off.
Huth has been getting away with a lot all season and to pull an opponent's hair is unforgivable, but Fellaini's reaction was violent and he should face consequences, notwithstanding the provocation.
I think both the Mahrez and Memphis calls were penalties, but neither was given, so it evened itself out. We will miss Drinky for the Everton match, but I hope the race is over by then!!
Huth has been getting away with a lot all season and to pull an opponent's hair is unforgivable, but Fellaini's reaction was violent and he should face consequences, notwithstanding the provocation.
I think both the Mahrez and Memphis calls were penalties, but neither was given, so it evened itself out. We will miss Drinky for the Everton match, but I hope the race is over by then!!
Congratulations to the Foxes. 132 year wait to finally sit on top of English football.
LOL Spurs. Played dirty too, didn't they? Oh well. Dream is dead at Stamford Bridge.
CONGRATULATIONS LEICESTER CITY, PREMIER LEAGUE CHAMPIONS 2016!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Played dirty too, didn't they? Oh well. Dream is dead at Stamford Bridge.CONGRATULATIONS LEICESTER CITY, PREMIER LEAGUE CHAMPIONS 2016!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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