OT: Final weekend -- English Premier League

Submitted by Wolverine In Iowa on

All ten games kick off at 10:00am EDT tomorrow morning.

Two teams have already been relegated:  Blackburn Rovers and Wolves.  Three teams have technical chances to be relegated:  Bolton, Queens Park Rangers and Aston Villa.  Villa is safe unless Bolton wins and makes up a 17-goal differential.  The basic scenario is that Bolton needs to win and QPR loses for Bolton to remain in the EPL.  Bolton loses or draws, no matter what happens in QPR's game, they go down.  If QPR draws and Bolton wins, Bolton will have to erase a 9-goal differential.

Now for the fun part:  the championship.

Man City wins the championship if they win and Manchester United draw or lose.  If both City and United win, Man City will be champion based on goal differential unless United erase an 8-goal differential.  Man City also will win if they draw and United loses, or if they both draw.  If both teams lose, Man City wins the championship barring an absurd blowout that costs City.

Man United wins the championship if they win and City draws or loses.  See above for scenario if both United and City win.

City play QPR at home, while United play Sunderland away.

Up the Red Devils!!!!

go16blue

May 12th, 2012 at 3:40 PM ^

Basically, if United does better than City they win the league, if City does better or they both get the same result, City wins the league. Personally, I'm going to be tuned in to Tottenham and Arsenal, us Spurs need to pick up points to clinch 3rd place and a champion's league spot. I'm going to be using my dual monitors to stream 3 games, Tottenham with sound in one window, Arsenal and Newcastle/City sharing the other one, with ESPN's ticker along the bottom. So excited!

COYS!

bluedog10

May 12th, 2012 at 4:11 PM ^

I'll be watching my Toffees taking on Newcastle on my computer while flipping between the Manchester United and Man City games on the television.  Normally I would love to see Newcastle beat out the Spurs or Gunners for a champs league spot, but unfortunately I'll be pulling for a victory to keep Everton above Liverpool in the table.  Come On You Blues!

rosedani

May 12th, 2012 at 4:15 PM ^

Here to support Tottenham... go yids!

 

I dont see Arsenal dropping the ball against West Brom and beating Fulham will be a tall task for Harry's men to slide into third. Hopefully, Deuces doesnt take over the game like he is capable of doing and the Spurs pick up all three points to finish off the season.

the fume

May 12th, 2012 at 4:22 PM ^

All I care about is Arsenal winning thier game, I'm saving up for the fox soccer package next season but i'm not going to do it if the Gunners are not in the CL.....not to mention they need to sign some players this off-season.

 

Beyond that it would be nice to see City wrap it up and the Spurs keep that 4th place in case Chelsea loses the final.

manchild56

May 12th, 2012 at 6:03 PM ^

City since I have no rooting interest in EPL soccer. I do not have a favorite team but started folling it two years ago because of Streak for the cash on ESPN.

bacon1431

May 12th, 2012 at 6:11 PM ^

I remember marking the Wigan vs Wolves matchup for Survival Sunday on my calendar at the start of the season. Felt that it could decide who stays and who goes. Now it's meaningless for both squads. Oh well.

Rooting for City to win just to have somebody new do it. Although I don't approve of their spending. But I don't approve of the spending of most top teams. But it's how the system works. So I'll go for the lesser of two evils as ManU has already had their fair share of success.

Also hoping for Newcastle to get a spot in Champions League. Would be a great accomplishment for that club. Means I'm also rooting against Chelsea in the CL Final.  

MGoRyan

May 12th, 2012 at 6:34 PM ^

No offense. Snooooooooooze. 90 minutes and the losing team accidently scored on itself. No wonder our country can't get excited.



My brother-in-law is from that way, I try so hard to watch with him, but my relatives are Michigan and Chicago Bear lineman. Soccer will never appeal (despite my 6 years playing((10 red cards in 10games))).

go16blue

May 12th, 2012 at 10:08 PM ^

I was there. We dominated the whole game, only gave up a goal on a silly mistake (goalie rushed way too early). We should have won. It was a blast, though, we almost scored at the very end.

On a side note, our striker looks (and plays) exactly like Didier Drogba.

bacon1431

May 12th, 2012 at 10:15 PM ^

What was the crowd like? I'm gonna try and make the next home game on a weekend I don't work. Wish there was a gametracker or something I could follow. I was hoping they'd tweet updates because I turned on the mobile updates for them. One tweet during the whole game haha

go16blue

May 12th, 2012 at 11:00 PM ^

The crowd is great, just so long as you're with the North Guard Supporters. There were really two sections: the main bleachers with people sat and watched, and the slightly smaller bleachers on the opposite side where people stood, cheered, and chanted. I was actually pleasantly surprised by the turnout & atmosphere.

dlcase1708

May 13th, 2012 at 12:59 AM ^

I was working at the game, and the atmosphere was outstanding. We definitely played much better than Cleveland, but to be quite honest, I think the poor quality of the field contributed to Cleveland being able to stay in the game. Definitely enjoyable, only wish we could have come out with the w.

gopoohgo

May 12th, 2012 at 10:48 PM ^

As a United fan, I'll be the first to congratulate the 'noisy neighbors' for their 1st Premier League title in what, 40+ years?

Also as a United fan, I wonder what this season would have been like if Vidic didn't blow out his knee and was lost for 2/3 of the season.

Shoulda woulda coulda; no excuse for United not having the defensive depth to at least put out a semblance of decent back four; WAY too many goals given up, especially with two goal leads, for this to be a championship side.

Hoping for a QPR miracle draw, and United beating a tough Sunderland team tomorrow.

Finally, UCL final would have been awesome...if Chelsea wasn't missing 1/2 of their defensive backfield and two midfielders.  Munich can't defend (doubly so missing Badstuber) but they sure as hell can score, and especially with the final @ Allianz, the Blues are dead.

GoBlueBrooklyn

May 12th, 2012 at 11:39 PM ^

Terrible season for my Reds, but I have hope we can pull it together next year. At this point, League Cup, Europa Qualification and hopefully finishing above Everton will have to do. Roll 2012-13 and come on City!

StoneCold

May 13th, 2012 at 2:31 AM ^

Yes, EPL is done for this season but still lots of football to look forward to like Champions League final, MLS (hoping Soony Saad and Justin Meram see the pitch a bit more) and, of course, Euro 2012.  BTW, I think this commercial is excellent...

flysociety3

May 13th, 2012 at 11:05 AM ^

I really want to try to become of a fan, but I dont have any allegiance to a team in the Premiership, so it makes it hard...

 

Any suggestions? What team should I root for? 

Here's my criteria: loyal, loyal fans(dont like bandwagoners)....tradition....not too flashy....competitive (dont have to be the best, but at least decent)

Huss

May 13th, 2012 at 11:36 AM ^

Everton, Fulham, Sunderland, and Wigan are the clubs I'd look at if I were you.

Especially Wigan, which has somehow slain all of the top teams in the league this year despite starting out in the relegation zone.  I love their potential.

go16blue

May 13th, 2012 at 12:29 PM ^

Come support Tottenham Hotspur! Far from a bandwagon team, but still successful (we just got 4th place). I think every team has loyal fans, and we are certainly no exception. I'm afraid strong winning tradition goes hand in hand with glory seeking fans (see: all of the Liverpool, Man U, and Arsenal fans on this blog), so you'll have to pick one. 

I would suggest looking up the various histories of each team, you can't just decide to be a fan of a team, something has to pull you in. For me, it was Tottenham's jewish history. Back when antisemitism was rampant, the team was attacked for being run by jews, even though none of the players were jewish. We took it and wore it as a badge, calling ourselves a "jew army." To this day, fans often call each other yids. 

When I started watching soccer, I was torn between Tottenham and Liverpool (just because of their tradition, to be honest it was glory seeking in retrospect, I thought they would be much better than Tottenham). I watched a Tottenham game and rooted for them, but when I watched Liverpool I just could't get myself to root for them the same way. That's when I knew I was a Spurs fan.

bacon1431

May 13th, 2012 at 12:53 PM ^

Join me as a Wolves fan!!!

Although we are dropping down to the Championship, so you won't be able to watch many games. But great tradition and fans, not a free spending club with money coming out of the owner's arse. Passionate rivalry with West Bromwich Albion in the Black Country Derby.

I would definitely suggest rooting for a MIdlands team if you're a fan of Midwest teams in teh States. But either way, it's fun to follow a team and root for them. Just don't root for United, Chelsea, City, Liverpool, or Arsenal. Then there's little chance you'll be labeled a bandwagon fan.

bluedog10

May 13th, 2012 at 3:05 PM ^

Join me as a Everton supporter!

They are historically a color you can already get well behind (Blue).  They have a deeply loyal fanbase.  They've never been relegated in the 20 years of the Premier League and have been competitive quite a majority of those seasons.  They don't have foreign big money backing so they certainly aren't "buying" any success they have.  They have a "fun" rivalry with Liverpool FC.  They had a fantastic second half of this season this year and they are very similar to UM football with a history of success but a bit of a lull since their last set of glory days (80's).

There is a nice American flavor to the club as well with Tim Howard as the keeper and Landon Donovan having played twice for Everton on loan.

I agree that as long as you don't pick City, Man U, Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool you really won't be jumping on any bandwagon.  Although I would add Tottenham to the list as well...bit of the "popular pick" with espn and other american analysts the last while.

bluedog10

May 13th, 2012 at 3:55 PM ^

That's definitely fair.  Honestly I've only followed the prem for a few seasons and even more recently finally adopted Everton as my club to support after watching a variety of clubs and games.  I guess just speaking more from my own experience it seemed as though Tottenham was the trendy pick to support because they weren't the typical "top-5" club.

Fwiw, I'm a big fan of the way Bale plays and love watching him. Do you think Spurs are able to keep him and/or Modric around this offseason? I'm hoping an agreeable transfer deal gets worked out for Pienaar to move back to Everton permanently since he has been solidly in-form recently and doesn't seem to fit in with Tottenham well.

go16blue

May 13th, 2012 at 8:05 PM ^

I think Bale stays regardless, we are very keen on keeping him and he seems content in London. If we miss out on Champions League football, it will be difficult to keep Modric unless we make some big purchases. Even if we do make it to the Champions League it may be difficult, as he seems unsettled, but I think we can keep him. So long as Redknapp stays, I wouldn't be surprised if Pienaar leaves, but if we end up with a new manager (something that looks unlikely at this point), he might fit a bit better.

spavsner

May 13th, 2012 at 8:32 PM ^

I think keeping Modric will be very difficult for you guys -- he wanted to bolt last year, and Chelsea will be hot on his heels again this summer.  I agree with you on Bale, though, if only because the price tag 'Arry and Levy have put on him is patently absurd.  You'll be rooting pretty hard for Bayern though, huh?

(Who says Arsenal and Tottenham supporters can't get along?)

Huss

May 13th, 2012 at 11:33 AM ^

lololololololol

I've never seen a team less used to success than the Sky Blues.  Their ability to creatively fuck up every advantage they obtain from Man U in the standings is impeccable.

Looks like my Gunners are positiioning themselves nicely for the 3rd spot.  W00t!