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Showing posts with the label Wigan

There Will Be Live Blogs - The EPL Title

It all comes down to this. On the final day of the season, with the English Premier League title on the line , Chelsea will host Wigan Athletic at Stamford Bridge. They sit top of the table with 83 points, so three points from a victory will clinch it for them. If they draw or lose, however, Manchester United could sneak by them. The Red Devils host Stoke at Old Trafford, and are only one point back of Chelsea. A draw does them no good thanks to Chelsea's superior goal differential, but if they win and the Blues drop points, it will be United who are champions of England. Adding to the drama, all of Sunday's games take place at the same time, 11 a.m. Eastern/8 a.m. Pacific. I'll be live-blogging both the Manchester United and Chelsea games and throwing in updates from other ones from time to time. Come join me here then to see how the EPL title is decided! EPL Title

Farewell for now, Roy

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Photo: Former Sunderland manager Roy Keane [Getty Images via The Independent ] It was rather surprising to see Manchester United legend Roy Keane step down [ ESPN Soccernet ] from managing Sunderland last week. Keane achieved some outstanding success with the Black Cats, even though many don't seem to acknowledge that at the moment. When he took the team over in August 2006, they were sitting in the relegation zone of the Championship (for non-English football fans, that's the level below the Premier League). In that season, he took them from the bottom to the top, and earned not only promotion to the Premiership, but also the Championship title. He was named Manager of the Year at the Championship level, and deservingly so. Keane also had success with Sunderland in the Premier League last season and managed to keep them out of the relegation zone for much of the year. They pulled off a 15th-place finish, which is rather good for a just-promoted side (see County, Derby fo...

EPL: Manchester United v. Wigan: Live Blog

It's for all the marbles this time, as the final wave of EPL matches kick off across England and fans around the world set up camp on their couches, chairs and bar stools. By the end of the day, all will be decided, including the title race, the quest for European spots and the battle to avoid relegation. I'll be keeping track of the United - Wigan match mostly, but will fill in updates from the other important matches as they come. Feel free to leave thoughts or updates from other games in the comments. Here we go! 0:00: The Score is having feed issues on their UK end, so we're treated to more commentary from James Sharman (insightful) and Brian Budd (not so much). At least Budd's supporting United today: however, that somewhat speaks to his ridiculous nature, as he's usually a Liverpool fan, and Scousers and Mancunians tend to mix like sodium and water. I'd never support the Scouse, unless they were playing a team I hate more or a victory for them would aid Un...

EPL: Stage set for Sunday showdown

For once, the English Premier League has gone right down to the wire, with the championship, European places and the relegation battle all to be decided on the final day of the season. At the top, Manchester United and Chelsea are even on 84 points, but United have a vastly superior goal differential (+56 to +39). Thus, if United can secure an away victory against Wigan at the JJB Stadium, they will claim the title and Chelsea's game at home against Bolton will be meaningless. The Red Devils should be in good shape in their bid to claim a tenth Premier League title, as they look to have regained their form of old after last week's brilliant 4-1 victory over West Ham United , where they prevailed despite being limited to ten men after Nani's first-half suspension. However, Chelsea have also been hot lately, and they eked out a narrow 2-1 victory over United two weeks ago at the Bridge. United received some good news on the injury side this week, as Serbian central defender N...