With the football season nearing its end, many of you will have seen the fantastic story of Leicester City, who have just clinched their first-ever top-tier league title in their 132-year history! Of course, I am going to look at that here, but I will cover news from the other divisions too.
Premier League
So, Leicester are the PL Champs! With two games to go, the Foxes have made history, thanks to Tottenham's failure to protect a two-goal lead last night at Stamford Bridge. Eden Hazard's superb strike from just inside the box gave Chelsea a share of the spoils, and ended any hopes the north Londoners had of overhauling the Foxes.
From near-relegation a year ago to champions now, it has been a true fairytale. One of the things their triumph proves is that you can't always buy success; team-work and commitment are just as important. Let's look at the cost of the first-team squads of the four teams seemingly headed to next season's Champions League:
Leicester City - £54.4 million
Tottenham Hotspur - £161.1 million
Arsenal - £251.9 million
Manchester City - £418.8 million
Interesting, eh? Let's not forget that City's most expensive signing Kevin De Bruyne cost as much as Leicester's entire squad! Yup, the Manchester club spent £54 million on him...
What is also interesting is a look at the betting odds...
Again, most of you will have heard of the 5000/1 odds on a Leicester PL title at the start of the season, but we can compare them to ACTUAL odds given on other events at the same time.
For Andy Murray to name his first-born child "Novak" was a remarkably short price at 500/1!
Likewise, for Simon Cowell to become Britain's next Prime Minister you could get 500/1!
For Playboy's Hugh Hefner to announce that he is a virgin, the odds lengthen at 1000/1!
The price quoted for current Prime Minister David Cameron to become the new manager at Aston Villa F.C. was still half Leicester's price at 2500/1!
Finally, for Piers Morgan to become Arsenal manager was only 2500/1!
As you can see, Leicester weren't just a "long-shot" at winning the Premier League, it simply wasn't going to happen. Except that it did... Many congratulations from me too!
At the other end of the PL table, Aston Villa are already relegated, succumbing without a fight. In fact, the last time they picked up a league point was twelve matches back - on 6th February - when they beat Norwich. The other two to go down should come from Newcastle, Sunderland, and the aforementioned Norwich. Personally, I have a feeling that Sunderland will survive...
In the Championship, Burnley are up. The other automatic spot will go to either Middlesbrough or Brighton - who face each other on Saturday! The unsuccessful team will join Hull, Derby, and Sheffield Wednesday in the play-offs. Bolton, MK Dons, and Charlton are all relegated to League One.
Wigan are back up to the Championship at the first time of asking, and will be joined by either Burton Albion or Walsall. Probably Burton... Millwall and Bradford are confirmed for the playoffs, with the last place going to either Barnsley or Scunthorpe. Meanwhile, Crewe and Colchester are down. Doncaster are almost certain to join them, and the fourth victim will be Blackpool or Fleetwood.
Northampton Town are League Two Champions. The other automatic promotions will go to two of Accrington Stanley, Oxford Utd, and Bristol Rovers. The three remaining play-off spots will go to Portsmouth, Plymouth, and my own team, AFC Wimbledon! The pair leaving the Football League are Dagenham & Redbridge (despite an impressive 3-0 victory against Crawley on Saturday), and York City.
Cheltenham regain their league status after an impressive season in the National League. Joining them will be Forest Green, Braintree, Grimsby, or Dover.
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