Tag: leicester

Maddison’s misjudgement tarnishes growing reputation

Stuart Campbell

A moment of mindlessness. The anticipation from James Maddison was that Brighton & Hove Albion’s defender Shane Duffy would foul him. To try to win his team a penalty, he fell to the ground without being touched. Referee Chris Kavanagh was not fooled.  He immediately saw that Maddison was being deceitful and issued the player a second yellow card of the game.  It was necessary for Leicester City to play for over an hour with 10 men because of Maddison’s dismissal. It has created unwanted attention for him which contrasts sharply with…

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Champions League group stages produce familiar names… and Leicester

A Different League

Barcelona, Real Madrid, Arsenal, PSG, Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, Man. City and, umm, Leicester City all hope to be at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on 3 June. That’s where Europe’s premier football event, the Champions League final, will be played and 12 teams are already safely through the group stage after five games to next February’s knockout round. Read on to see who could be joining them and which players have lit up the tournament so far. Group A Undefeated Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal top Group A with 11 points, but…

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Claudio Ranieri’s Tinkerman tendencies are costing Leicester City

A Different League

Was Leicester City’s Premier League win all a dream? That’s the question that was being asked on social media during the Foxes recent 3-0 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and it seemed a legitimate one, such was the ease with which the Blues beat the 2016/17 Premier League champions. The defeat felt like more than just a lost three points for the Foxes. It was a power shift. Chelsea, the 2015-16 champions, were re-establishing themselves as a force in English football and Leicester City were being put in their…

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Hull enjoy winning return to the Premier League

Vincent Van Genechten

Hull enjoyed a dream return to the Premier League, as they started the new season by producing a courageous performance to surprisingly defeat reigning champions Leicester. Hull overcome adversity to secure win Despite being managerless and having only 13 senior players available, Hull defied their current problems to record an unlikely but deserved victory over an uncharacteristically lacklustre Leicester, who became the first team to begin a Premier League title defence with a defeat, since Arsenal did so in 1989, when the Gunners lost to Manchester United. In stoppage time…

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Premier League 2016-17 season preview

Vincent Van Genechten
Pep Guardiola

The new Premier League season is finally upon us! Time to preview the 2016-17 campaign! Top two It seems the two Manchester clubs will battle for the English football crown this season. Manchester City have Pep Guardiola to coach them and made a couple of excellent signings this summer. Ilkay Gundogan could be gold in City’s midfield, while Leroy Sane adds pace and creativity, and John Stones is made to play in a Guadriola-led team due to his great feet. But can the Citizens play Guardiola football? That’s the big…

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Contrasting friendly fortunes for Premier League quartet

Stuart Campbell

At present English Premier League teams are engaging in intensive pre-season programmes, with four of the biggest clubs in the division having just played high profile friendly matches, three of which took place in the U.S.A and the other Gothenburg. Chelsea, Leicester City, Liverpool and Manchester United were all in friendly action against quality opposition, as they edged closer to the start of the 2016-2017 Premier League season. Leicester suffer heavy loss That is due to open on 13 August, when Leicester will begin the defence of their Premier League…

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Leicester lose head of recruitment to Everton

Vincent Van Genechten

Leicester City’s assistant manager and head of recruitment Steve Walsh has left the club and joined Everton, as reported by the Daily Mail. Despite only signing a new contract with Leicester in April to remain as Claudio Ranieri’s joint assistant along with Craig Shakespare, Walsh will now assume the fresh challenge of being Everton’s director of football. Prior to Walsh’s appointment, the Toffee’s major investor Farhad Moshiri and chairman Bill Kenwright had previously held talks with Sevilla’s technical director Ramon Rodriguez Verdejo, also known as Monchi, over his potential to…

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Premier League clubs ranked based on transfer policy: Leicester lead, four big clubs fail to deliver

Vincent Van Genechten

With the Premier League season in the books, it’s time to look back at the efficiency of all the English clubs’ transfer policies during the summer and winter transfer windows. The International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) calculated the average transfer fee per player fielded for every Premier League club and compared those rankings to the ones in reality. Not surprisingly, Leicester City lead the way. The Foxes jumped 17 places, no club in Europe’s five biggest football competitions came close and in England Watford are ranked second with a mark of…

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Leicester to replace Jamie Vardy by record bid for “Spanish Jamie Vardy”

Vincent Van Genechten

Leicester City were crowned Premier League champions after an amazing season, beating all big English clubs by a mile and winning their first ever league title. Meanwhile, the Foxes are in danger of losing a couple of their star players. Just think about the likes of Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez, and N’Golo Kante, with a number of big clubs interested in their services. However, there are also other clubs that want a piece of Leicester’s best players. According to The Daily Mail, West Ham are set to make an audacious £20…

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Small champions in big competitions: these teams set the example for Leicester City

Vincent Van Genechten

Leicester City were crowned the most surprising Premier League champions ever as Tottenham drew 2-2 at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea on Monday. However, despite the Foxes’ amazing accomplishments, they are not unique in football history, as there have been more “small” champions in Europe’s five biggest competitions – England, Italy, Germany, France, and Spain. Premier League: Blackburn Rovers (1995) Before Leicester won it this season, there were only five teams who had won the Premier League since 1992: Manchester United (13), Chelsea (4), Arsenal (3), Manchester City (2) and… Blackburn…

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ESPN declares the Premier League has been won by…Tottenham! [Video]

Vincent Van Genechten

By drawing 2-2 at Chelsea, Tottenham handed Leicester City their first Premier League title in the club’s history. However, at ESPN not everyone was aware of this historic fact… Painful mistake! Proof that ESPN is run by douchebags. pic.twitter.com/EwAPF4V0xp — 6th Man (@blondebutters) 2 mei 2016

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Arsenal to fight for Bundesliga defender, facing interest for star midfielder

Vincent Van Genechten

Once again, Arsenal have come up short in their first title bid since the 2003/2004 season and have been linked with numerous transfer targets. The Gunners are said to be preparing a bid for Bayern Munich centre-back Mehdi Benatia during the upcoming summer transfer window. According to a report by The Daily Star, the Moroccan international is about to leave the Bundesliga giants as Borussia Dortmund’s star defender Mats Hummels recently stated he’s leaving the club to join Bayern. The 29-year-old is a long-term target of Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, but…

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Twitter celebrates Riyad Mahrez winning the PFA Player of the Year award

Vincent Van Genechten

On Sunday, Leicester City forward Riyad Mahrez was crowned the Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the Year. The Algerian joined the Foxes during the 2014 January transfer window and has been the team’s most important player during their tremendous Premier League run. Twitter celebrated Mahrez’ win with much praise: 24th April 2015: Riyad Mahrez an unused sub vs Burnley. 24th April 2016: Riyad Mahrez wins PFA Player of the Year. pic.twitter.com/wZ1z2JEFty — BBC Sporf (@BBCSporf) 25 april 2016 Congratulations to @LCFC’s Riyad Mahrez on being voted @PFA Player of the Year…

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PFA announces nominees for Premier League’s Player of the Year award

Vincent Van Genechten

As the Premier League season has entered it’s final stage, the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) has announced the nominees for the Player of the Year award. Like always, there are six nominees. The first one is Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez. The Algerian joined the Foxes in the winter of 2014 from French side Le Havre and has rocketed his club to Premier League gold with 16 goals and 11 assists, making him the favourite to win the award. Riyad Mahrez has been directly involved in 27 Premier League goals, more than any other…

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Chelsea admit huge transfer mistake

Vincent Van Genechten

It has been a disappointing season for Chelsea, who are currently sitting in tenth place in the Premier League table. The Blues are expected to appoint current Italy head coach Antonio Conte to be the long-term successor of Jose Mourinho, starting from next season, to rocket them back to Premier League success. Conte wants to bring Romelu Lukaku back to Stamford Bridge to lead his attack, as Roman Abramovich has agreed that Mourinho made a mistake in selling the Everton striker, according to The Sun. However, the Belgian recently revealed he…

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This stat proves Riyad Mahrez is Premier League’s Most Valuable Player

Vincent Van Genechten

Leicester City are still on track to claim the Premier League style in shocking fashion. The Foxes are leading the table after 29 matches, being five points clear of Tottenham. There’s only one team that didn’t win the English top flight crown in that situation: Arsenal during the 2002/2003 season, meaning Leicester have a pretty good shot. Jamie Vardy has hit the net 19 times for the Foxes, but the overall feeling is that Riyad Mahrez is their most valuable player. The Algerian has scored four goals less than his…

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Five key moments in Leicester City’s amazing story

Vincent Van Genechten

Leicester City is dreaming about a first Premier League title. The Foxes’ success has been build on an amazing story and no one would have believed they would lead the likes of Manchester City, Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool at this point in the season. Therefore, we recount five key moments in Leicester’s amazing story, going from England’s third-tier to title contenders in a span of seven years. 1. Getting Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez Leicester won The Championship in 2014, promoting to the Premier League for the first time…

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Brazilian flop star to make shock return to Premier League?

Vincent Van Genechten

Former Manchester City star Robinho is reportedly eyeing a shock return to the Premier League, with the latest rumours claiming he could join Leicester City or Swansea City, according to The Daily Mail. The 32-year-old spent the last few months with Guangzhou Evergrande, winning the Chinese Super League along the way. His contract has expired, however, and he’s free to sign a deal with the team of his choosing. Robinho joined Manchester City from Real Madrid in 2008 for £30.10m, but after a promising first season with the Citizens (scoring 14…

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Study reveals Arsenal will win the Premier League

Vincent Van Genechten

Arsenal are going to win the Premier League for the first time since 2004, that is if you believe a computer. American company Stats simulated each of the remaining league matches 10,000 times in order to predict the final standings, as reported by the Sun. The Gunners came out on top with a predicted 74.8 points and a 45.3 per cent chance of taking home their first Premier League crown in 12 years, just ahead of Manchester City, with the Citizens finishing with an estimated 74.1 points and a title winning chance of 42.3 percent.…

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Why Roy Hodgson must take Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy to the Euros next summer

A Different League

Jamie Vardy has been in sensational form for Leicester City throughout the early stages of the season. The Foxes striker has scored an incredible 14 goals so far this campaign, netting in eleven consecutive fixtures – a new Premier League record. On current form, Vardy is streets ahead of other potential candidates for Roy Hodgson’s squad, including Wayne Rooney, the injury-prone Daniel Sturridge and even Tottenham’s main man Harry Kane. At the time of writing, Vardy is an absolute shoo-in for the European Championship. While he isn’t the most experienced…

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