Forbes have released their annual list of the world’s richest clubs, and the results reveal a dramatic shift in global football. While Real Madrid occupy the top spot for the fourth consecutive year (valued at $3.645 billion), English clubs now occupy six of the top 10 spots. Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur have each seen their value increase by over 40% in one-year.
It’s relegation season in the Premier League and there are three teams living on the edge of the drop: Sunderland, Newcastle United, and Norwich City.
Each of the three teams control their own fate to a degree. 17th place Sunderland has the most clear cut fate: with two games left to play, including one today, if they win out they stay up.
Some real Green Street Hooligan s*** happened today. The famous movie surrounding West Ham soccer hooligans pretty much came to fruition ahead of the Hammers' final match at the Boleyn Ground. Upon lovable Manchester United's arrival, Hammer fans took to the street to throw any and everything at the Red Devils bus. And when we say any and everything, we mean it. It caused a 45 minute delay to the match, and it was absolute madness. Check it out:
The Premier League had a big surprise for fans this year. As the main attraction of English football for most of the year, Leicester City were given 5000-1 odds to win the league. Even those odds seemed to make light of their situation, but in spite of it all they became Premier League champions this week with an unlikely campaign led by a former blue collar worker.
His name is Jamie Vardy. He grew up in Sheffield, South Yorkshire in England, playing football. At 16, rejected by his hometown Sheffield United FC, he started working for a carbon fiber factory.
When I found out that Claudio Ranieri and Leicester City had brought out Andrea Bocelli to serenade the King Power Stadium before Leicester City’s first match as Premier League champions, I got really excited. Not only because Nessum Dorma is one of my favorite songs, or that only a few days prior we at The18 had used it as the soundtrack to a reaction video for Eden Hazard’s goal that won Leicester the title, but because I knew that it would be one of the greatest scenes I would see all year.
It's pretty safe to say that unless you're a Chelsea fan, you probably hate Diego Costa. His mastery of the dark arts of football tends to rub a lot of people the wrong way. He is the pantomime villain of the Premier League, the Loki of the world's game, the Iago to the Othello that is the Premier League referee.
The Chelsea vs. Tottenham 2-2 draw was significant in that it handed Leicester City the title, but even if that outcome had not come to pass, the game itself was still a classic for the ages. It was a blood-and-thunder, old school derby. It was the kind of game that Manchester United and Liverpool used to produce back when those teams actually had players who cared about the occasion.
Leicester City are Premier League champions! WOOOOOOO! The plucky 5,000-1 underdogs have done it! It's the greatest sports story of all time! We are all Leicester City! How can you not love this team?
Well, I can think of a few reasons.
LEICESTER CITY HAVE WON THE PREMIER LEAGUE. With a seven-point lead over Spurs and only two games left to play, Leicester City’s 77 points have secured them the title of 2015/16 Premier League champions.
Jamie Vardy has been announced as the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year for 2015-16. The award is voted upon by approximately 400 journalists who make up the FWA.
Vardy has had a quite a year. He has been the face of Leicester's fairy tale run, scoring 22 goals in 36 appearances, and he broke Ruud Van Nistelrooy's record by scoring in 11 consecutive Premier League games earlier this season.