This week the gang are a bit tetchy so club rivalries come to the fore and ‘bantz’ ensue. How childish. We go through the Premier Leagues dirty laundry and also have all the usual features including the mispronunciation of players names. You don’t get all that on Match of the Day do ya?
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Its a compact mobile podcast this week that, as tradition dictates, descends into a chaotic mess. But fear not, we still have a full dissection of the weekends Premier League as well as all the usual’s. PS, its worth listening right to the end to witness Russ’ mini breakdown. (smileyface)
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He is becoming a big player for Spurs, his assists and now goals may help Spurs push on next year.
Here we go again spittin’ bare Premier League bars for man dem. or something… What we do know is we have the weekend round up, predictions, stat attack and some swears. We also chat about the FA cup a bit and invent a new unit of measure. What joy…
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The Cleanpairofshorts Premier League team of the week. Via Russ…
Schmiechel – Some important saves helped earn Leicester 3 more points in their survival bid.
Fonte – Defended resolutely despite the loss. A goal as well topped off the performance.
Shaw – Effective going forward which in turn helped stifle Ivanovic’s attacking contribution to the game.
Zabaleta – Defensively better than recent performances. Important to cities win.
Rose –Showed maturity in his defensive work.
Zouma – Filled the Makelele role dutifully. A bright prospect.
Lennon – Pace and trickery caused Burnley problems.
Navas – Involved in both goals. Man cities biggest threat.
Bentaleb – Controlled the midfield and influenced the game in spurs favour.
Kane – England’s rose.
Vardy – Key man to Leicester’s Renaissance. His goals could keep them up.
The Gang are back with more Premier League chat. We take a look back at the weekend, drop some stat bombs and give our predictions for the next round of fixtures. All this plus a surprise quiz. More football than Sterling can huff…
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Here’s Mike’s Premier League Team of the Week…
Vardy
His work rate this season has been second to none but people questioned his ability to score the goals needed. I think after the tackle, the run and to finish it off with a wonderful strike to win three huge points, it might silence his critics for a while.
Valencia
Man United are flying and other players will grab the headlines but this chaps work rate and defending has proven what an intelligent player he is.
Bolasie
Before Pardew this young man showed us snippets of what he can do. Now with Pardew at the club he has direction and confidence and his talent is shining though. An 8 minute hat-trick and assist is not a bad day at the office. Well done Bolasie, well done Pardew, all hale Palace.
Hill
He may not be the most flamboyant player and was on the losing side but when you are in a relegation fight he is the man you want. He gives it everything and played very well against the mega stars of Chelsea.
Schneiderlin
Done the job, class act.
Benteke
Just like Bolasie a small change can have massive rewards and he has fired Villa to safety, well almost. We all knew he had the ability, he just needed that small change in the way Villa played and to feel loved again, me and Russ love you Benteke.
The Premier League title race is becoming predictable. Unless you support one of three, possibly four, teams your club will not win the Premier League. Unless you support another one or two certain other teams, you’re not going to qualify for the Champions League. And an argument could be made that finishing fourth is not an achievement at all, aside from the obvious financial gains.
So all this sounds like the Premier League is a pretty boring experience right? Well no, it isn’t. That’s because the real excitement, action and drama lies in the relegation battle. The threat of relegation invokes a plethora of emotions where every kick and tackle has a consequence and the highs of league survival can be the sweetest nectar you’ll taste, countered by the depths of sorrow and woe that comes from relegation, and surely feeling something is better than the numb nothing of finishing 8th or 9th.
The real value comes from the fact no one is safe from the joyous struggle of the drop. Huge, history rich teams have fallen from the top tier. Forest, Middlesbrough, Leeds, Ipswich, to name a few, have all tasted doom and not many return, so the safety mark is imperative. The chasse to the end of the rainbow. But what is that mark? Folklore has us believe that 40 points is the magical number. Reach that and you’ll live to fight another season. But is that true…?
Here are the stats:
The Stat Attack:
· Three times relegation has been decided on goal difference, 1995/96, 1997/98 and 2007/08
· The ’40 point’ safety mark has only literally been the case three times
· 19 full premier 38 game seasons
· Highest points total needed was 43 in 2002/03
· Lowest points total needed was 31 in 2009/10
So what’s the magic number? Well the mean average of every minimum points total for all 38 game Premier League seasons is… *drum roll*
36.84210526
The 40 point mark is a myth, so mget 37 points and you’re golden. As of this post there are still 8 teams not safe, and you know what that means, plenty of excitement left in the season.
OW & RG
The Premier League is back and so are we. Football gumpf spills from our mouths and into your ears as we discuss the weekends movers and shakers and predict next weeks results. Also, how many points do you need to stay up? plus Keith and Barbara…
Have a listen.
Here’s Ollie’s Premier League team of the week.
BPL GW 31 (04/APR/2015)
GK: Howard (Everton) – Pulled off a naughty little save, with his substantial American paw, clawing out a looping effort. Athletic.
LB: Taylor (Swansea) – Promising ex spurs man showing some of his early promise. The next BALE lol?
CB: O’Shea (Sunderland) – Tough season for this much decorated Irishman, showed off some of his big game experience. Stalwart.
CB: Stones (Everton) – The opposite of O’shea, young and upcoming CB who has already been to a world cup at his tender age, played well in a physical game. Promise.
RB: Bellerin (Arsenal) – Ex Barca youngster (yes another one), slowly has edged his way into Wengers starting 11, lovely finish and did as well as anyone up against the pace of (pound)-Sterling. El classico.
CM: Herrera (Man Utd) – Forced his way into LVGs starting line-up, helped by Di Marias poor form and Fellaini /Rooney playing in a more advanced role, scored a brace and was tireless. Cutie.
CM: Joey Barton (QPR) – The controversial central midfielder produced a man of the match performance, leading his team to a much needed victory. Twitter.
CM: Charlie Adam (Stoke) – 64 yards. Beckharooney.
LW: Sanchez (Arsenal) – Scored with a delightfully finish, terrorised the Liverpool defence, Arsenals best player this season. Pocket Rocket.
RW: Lennon (Everton) – Hes certainly smiling now, showed glimpses of his old England form, ran at fullbacks and played some decent balls into the Southampton Box. Eyebrow-slit.
ST: Gomis (Swansea) – 50% of his goals in this match were overhead kicks, filling the size 14 boots that Bony left. Jonjo’s mate.
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