Congratulations Leicester

[shane]

The BBC brought that infographic out last weekend while Leicester were playing United.

So it's obviously logical that they should use City. No agenda there. None at all.

You're absolutely right. BBC desperate to have a pop at City.

Thats quite the victim complex you've developed there.

 

[markwwfc1992]

Sorry, but please do not call it "The EPL".

 

[CEngelbrecht]

And they only got to compete in the Euro 92 finals because Yugoslavia, who had won Denmark's qualifying group, weren't able to compete in the finals

Yeah. The stuff of legends.

Sorry, off-topic.

 

[smat]

I think people are going a bit overboard here, those calling it the greatest achievement in sport are clearly cocooned into the EPL bubble - never mind Montpelier achieved the exact same thing a few years ago and Kaiserslautern achieved something even more impressive less than 20 years ago.

It is the biggest shock in Premier League history, but going beyond that is subscribing into the EPLs hyperbole machine.

The one party who has really lost out here are the TV companies who paid so much for the EPL, they will spin it but they look it reflects badly on their brand and makes their product look weak compared to continental competition. The fate of Leicester in the Champions League next season will only reinforce this.

But still, fans of most clubs go through their whole lives without expecting, never mind actually achieving, winning the top division so you have to be happy for their fans. It means far more to them than Chelsea or Man Utd fans winning the league.

As for the bookies? They got it horribly wrong with their ludicrous 5000-1 odds and now stand to make an absolute fortune from well wishers betting on their rubbish sides winning the league. The gambler, as always, will be the one who loses out.

As if Montpellier winning the fucking French league is the same

 

[Gashead]

'The league is weaker, that's why Leicester won it' is nonsense. The team in 4th is in the Champions League semi-final, the team in 8th is in the Europa League semi-final. To me that suggests that the league has depth.

Also, I think the money divide is the reason why people are touting it as the greatest sporting achievement ever. Although I do agree that Montpellier faced the same battle, due to PSG/Monaco etc.

 

[D B Disco]

Congratulations Leicester, and thank you...for keeping the dream alive for the rest of us.

 

[St. Juste]

As if Montpellier winning the fucking French league is the same

It is the same, they finished 14th the season before and won the league against teams with a vastly superior budget.

It genuinely couldn't be any more similar, I don't understand where your confusion is coming from?

'The league is weaker, that's why Leicester won it' is nonsense. The team in 4th is in the Champions League semi-final, the team in 8th is in the Europa League semi-final. To me that suggests that the league has depth.

Also, I think the money divide is the reason why people are touting it as the greatest sporting achievement ever. Although I do agree that Montpellier faced the same battle, due to PSG/Monaco etc.

Well I think the league is weaker, and the European achievements this season do mirror it, yes 2 teams have overperformed but far more teams have underperformed relative to European competition. We could be facing two all Spanish finals this season, the EPL is no where near that.

Also despite being 8th Liverpool have a huge budget, both within the EPL and within European competition generally. Their good performance, knocking out Dortmund, is hardly that surprising. What is surprising is that they lost to a team with a fraction of their finances and fanbase in the semi final first leg.

Does anyone really think Leicester would win Serie A ahead of Juventus, Ligue 1 ahead of PSG, the Bundesliga ahead of Bayern or La Liga ahead of Barcelona?

No, but they faced a host of underperforming clubs this season and took full advantage.

 

[Benji]

I want a live stream of Ranieri's smiling face.

 

[HarvSFC]

'The league is weaker, that's why Leicester won it' is nonsense. The team in 4th is in the Champions League semi-final, the team in 8th is in the Europa League semi-final. To me that suggests that the league has depth.

Also, I think the money divide is the reason why people are touting it as the greatest sporting achievement ever. Although I do agree that Montpellier faced the same battle, due to PSG/Monaco etc.

Monaco weren't in Ligue 1 that year. While PSG got taken over that season, they didn't have the likes of Cavani, Lavezzi, Ibrahimovic or Silva. Sakho (the Liverpool one) was the captain.

So yeah, it wasn't the best of years in Ligue 1, whereas the likes of City and Chelsea have been spending their mega-millions for a few years now, albeit before this massive TV deal comes into place.

 

[rudebwoyben]

I want a live stream of Ranieri's smiling face.

I want a channel just full of Ranieri quotes on heavy rotation.

 

[smat]

It is the same, they finished 14th the season before and won the league against teams with a vastly superior budget.

It genuinely couldn't be any more similar, I don't understand where your confusion is coming from?

I don't have any confusion, I'm incredulous at your crap comparison. Leicester didn't just have to finish ahead of PSG, literally the only good team in France, they had to finish ahead of Man City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Man United, bla bla bla. They defied odds of 5000-1. Montpellier were 80-1, for good reason. It was much, much harder for Leicester. Can't be arsed to look up the respective wage budgets compared to others in their leagues, but so help me god I will if you continue with this deranged point of view.

 

[JimJams]

You're having a fucking laugh. Teams with a vastly superior budget? You're aware (evidently not) that Monaco weren't in Ligue 1 at that point so the only Uber rich side in the division was PSG and they were in their first year under the new owners and they didn't even complete ownerwhip until 2012. So who blew Montpellier out of the water then in terms of money spent? How do any of them compare to Man City, Chelsea, Man Utd etc?
PSG came 4th the season prior to Montpelliers win with Lille winning the league with a side that was subsequently stripped of its best players including Cabaye, Gervinho and their top scorer Sow.
Remind me which Chelsea players were prized away by bigger clubs in the summer. Or which Man City players? How many of the top clubs were essentially asset stripped on the pitch to allow other teams to come above them in the following season?\
After the dominance of Lyon for what seemed an eternity Ligue 1 became an open shop where anybody had a decent chance to win it. It was far more comparable to the Championship than any of the top leagues in terms of the number of likely winners.

Also your last point is pretty stupid really isn't it? Did anyone really think Leicester would win the Premier League ahead of Chelsea, Man City, Arsenal, Manchester United? Or y'know, Spurs or Everton or West Ham for that matter.... To say that it couldn't have been achieved in another league is just pure denial. Ok you don't think Leicester are as good as Juve, but they don't have to beat Juve for 38 games, you have to beat the rest, and that's what we've done. We didn't beat Arsenal in 2 games, we didn't beat Man Utd in 2 games, but we didn't drop points to the likes of Norwich, Newcastle, Sunderland. Juve lost to 16th placed Udinese. We haven't had such slip ups.

I'm assuming you're just going to be one of the growing numbers of contrarians that pop up to tell everybody it's not as good as they think it is.

 

[smat]

Also...

The party's over.

 

[markwwfc1992]

It is the same, they finished 14th the season before and won the league against teams with a vastly superior budget.

It genuinely couldn't be any more similar, I don't understand where your confusion is coming from?



Well I think the league is weaker, and the European achievements this season do mirror it, yes 2 teams have overperformed but far more teams have underperformed relative to European competition. We could be facing two all Spanish finals this season, the EPL is no where near that.

Also despite being 8th Liverpool have a huge budget, both within the EPL and within European competition generally. Their good performance, knocking out Dortmund, is hardly that surprising. What is surprising is that they lost to a team with a fraction of their finances and fanbase in the semi final first leg.

Does anyone really think Leicester would win Serie A ahead of Juventus, Ligue 1 ahead of PSG, the Bundesliga ahead of Bayern or La Liga ahead of Barcelona?

No, but they faced a host of underperforming clubs this season and took full advantage.

The French league was/is weak, and the gulf of quality between the top and bottom clubs in the French league is a lot more 'minimal' than the top and bottom of the Premier League.

The year Montpelier won the league, Monaco had money but they still weren't a very good team, and PSG were nowhere near as good as the team they are now. Teams such as Lyon, Marseille, etc wern't that much better than Montpelier.

If you compare it to Leicester winning the Prem, you have Man City, Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham who all are huge clubs to contend with.

 

[AFCB_Mark]

Also...

The party's over.

This isn't Man United under Fergie, who presumably got to the point where a title win was greeted with a faint smile and a shrug of the shoulders. The party will be going on for months for Leicester! Rightly so.

 

[Christian Slater]

Congratulations Leicester.

Supporting a L2 club as I do, I rarely take much interest in what's happening in the Premier League. This season has been different.

Incidentally, I saw this on the BBC website earlier. Says a lot, doesn't it? Mahrez cost £400,000.

View attachment 3252

Would have been even bigger if they'd put Mangala in ahead of the overworked and often injured Kompany.

When City sign Laporte they'll have spent more on centre backs in three years than Leicester have on players in their entire history.

 

[Destruction]

Sorry, but please do not call it "The EPL".

Good shout mate.

It's the BPL, where for everything else, there's Barclaycard.

 

[AdrianFish]

Did anyone win any money on Leicester? I think I placed a bet at the start of the year on them. There was money in my Ladbrokes account this morning

 

[St. Juste]

I don't have any confusion, I'm incredulous at your crap comparison. Leicester didn't just have to finish ahead of PSG, literally the only good team in France, they had to finish ahead of Man City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Man United, bla bla bla. They defied odds of 5000-1. Montpellier were 80-1, for good reason. It was much, much harder for Leicester. Can't be arsed to look up the respective wage budgets compared to others in their leagues, but so help me god I will if you continue with this deranged point of view.

So going for 14th to 1st in a top 5 European league with 20 teams is not comparable to going from 14th to 1st in a top 5 European league with 20 teams? Hmm, okay then.

PSG were not "literally the only good team in France", when you are making such clearly incorrect statements it is hard to take anything you say seriously. Lille, Lyon, Bordeux and Lille were all good teams with far money than Montpelier. It was an excellent achievement and directly comparable to what Leicester have achieved - indeed it is virtually identical.

This 5000-1 thing is quoted all the time, and often without any foundation. How many bookies were actually offering those odds? How many were offering 80-1 on Montpelier? What validity does random bookie odds have anyway given they are created by a bunch of failed quants in an anonymous bookies office in Slough? According to the bookies it is more likely that Andy Murray will name his first child Novak than Leicester winning the league - it's almost as if their opinion is completely and utterly worthless.

You're having a fucking laugh. Teams with a vastly superior budget? You're aware (evidently not) that Monaco weren't in Ligue 1 at that point so the only Uber rich side in the division was PSG and they were in their first year under the new owners and they didn't even complete ownerwhip until 2012. So who blew Montpellier out of the water then in terms of money spent? How do any of them compare to Man City, Chelsea, Man Utd etc?
PSG came 4th the season prior to Montpelliers win with Lille winning the league with a side that was subsequently stripped of its best players including Cabaye, Gervinho and their top scorer Sow.
Remind me which Chelsea players were prized away by bigger clubs in the summer. Or which Man City players? How many of the top clubs were essentially asset stripped on the pitch to allow other teams to come above them in the following season?\
After the dominance of Lyon for what seemed an eternity Ligue 1 became an open shop where anybody had a decent chance to win it. It was far more comparable to the Championship than any of the top leagues in terms of the number of likely winners.

Also your last point is pretty stupid really isn't it? Did anyone really think Leicester would win the Premier League ahead of Chelsea, Man City, Arsenal, Manchester United? Or y'know, Spurs or Everton or West Ham for that matter.... To say that it couldn't have been achieved in another league is just pure denial. Ok you don't think Leicester are as good as Juve, but they don't have to beat Juve for 38 games, you have to beat the rest, and that's what we've done. We didn't beat Arsenal in 2 games, we didn't beat Man Utd in 2 games, but we didn't drop points to the likes of Norwich, Newcastle, Sunderland. Juve lost to 16th placed Udinese. We haven't had such slip ups.

I'm assuming you're just going to be one of the growing numbers of contrarians that pop up to tell everybody it's not as good as they think it is.

I never said Monaco were in the league, I said they defeated teams with vastly superior budgets. And they did. And I've even mentioned who those teams were.

Chelsea didn't need to be asset stripped, their performance dipped at a quite incredible rate whilst Man City grossly underperformed in this gimme of a league title. Arsenal too for that matter.

Ligue 1 being more comparable to the Championship? Only 6 teams have won it since 2001 - an incredible 1 more than the EPL.

Delusion? Not really, more a recognition that in no other league this season have the favourites done as poorly as they did in the EPL this season. Juventus started poorly but then blew away the league - and they would have done this regardless of whether Leicester had been there or not. Similarly, Barcelona have had an incredible league campaign and would not be usurped by lowly Leicester. Their success, great as it is, relied on the two favourites of Chelsea and Man City capitulating. And that hasn't happened anywhere else in Europe this season.

It's a bit sad that, rather than being happy at this success, you are attacking anyone who doesn't buy into the "greatest achievement in sport" hyperbole. Yes, you've done something amazing winning the league, now why do you insist on dragging Montpeliers achievement through the dirt? Or Kaiserslautern for example? Leicesters achievement is remarkable but not unique and it's the height of arrogance to suggest otherwise.

Good shout mate.

It's the BPL, where for everything else, there's Barclaycard.

Is it even sponsored by Barclays any more? EPL is by far the most appropriate thing to call it.

 

[Stevencc]

St. Juste just busted onto this forum, made a name for himself, raised some hell and sat back admiring the mess he made.

 

[smat]

IT'S FUCKING ST HUGH!!!!!!!!!!

 

[chriss cooper]

As a Man city fan, once it became clear this wasn't our season, i think most football fans wanted the foxes to win, an Historic season, Will no doubt put a lot more pressure on Managers & squads who dont deliver in future , hope they can keep the squad together tho .

 

[Pagnell]

Great.

 

[Stevencc]

Do any of the Man City fans on here support just the one side?

 

[G.B]

no, i'm comfortable enough admitting we're all despicable human beings

 

[Stevencc]

no, i'm comfortable enough admitting we're all despicable human beings

I've always respected both your opinion and your complete honesty mate.

 

[G.B]

thank you mate

 

[Jockney]

Have they interviewed that fat c*** Jobber yet?

 

[Stevencc]

Congratulations Leicester, with warmest regards - BlueMoon...

 

[Stocky]

Congratulations Leicester, with warmest regards - BlueMoon...

God knows why about 70-80% of Manchester refer to City and their fans as "The Bitters"

The Arabs have spent over 2 billion pounds on Man City. Leicester have spent next to nothing, an amazing achievement. Manchester City fans should be ashamed. Their most famous fan is Myra Hindley. And now this.