Congratulations Leicester

[tommo84]

Well done to them. Well done to Ranieri. Remarkable achievement. Wish it was us. Bollocks to the bandwagon-jumpers though. This is Leicester's incredible achievement - nobody else's and it sure as shit ain't Chelsea's despite the way they celebrated last night.

I don't begrudge them having another stormer next season but I doubt they will. I do however look forward the sycophants up and down the country who are currently behaving like Leicester winning the league is somehow the whole country's achievement reverting to type and sniping and sneering at them if they do indeed start to fall by the wayside in the future. Those same people who were writing them off 6 months ago but have been sucking them off in recent weeks will go back to trashing them just as quickly. It's the modern way of football and its wholly unpleasant.

But in the meantime congratulations to them. Fantastic. Here's to a better Premier League in the future because of the example they (and with us not far behind) have set this season.

 

[talkshowhost86]

It's a great achievement and they kept their heads when everyone else failed to.

We should have beaten West Brom, we should have beaten Chelsea from 2-0 up, and we should have beaten Arsenal when winning against 10 men. But even then we'd still be a point behind them at this stage, and that highlights just how well they've done in the run in.

It's a shame that we're the ones to suffer most directly (assuming we finish 2nd of course) but that doesn't belittle their achievement.

As for Spurs, we need to win against Southampton to get over the last two results and if we do then 2nd is a great achievement considering our aims at the start of the season. If Poch can keep this team together, add a bit more depth and maybe a wise-head or two, then I think we can go on to stay in the battle for the title next season.

 

[dvdhopeful]

Humility is needed, no excuses or backhanded compliments, just congratulations to Leicester.

We will come back stronger next year, Champions League was the aim this season, we have achieved that - we have many reasons to be proud. COYS

 

[DiscoD1882]

Yesterday morning some classy guy tried signing up with the username "LCFC2016champions".......There would have been carnage......obviously he got short shrift.

Even behind the scenes we're watching out for the more mentally unstable of you because we care.

bet that was the goat. cheeky cheeky goat.

 

[Colonel_Klinck]

Massive pint of this for some in this thread. Get over it they beat us to the title fair and square.

 

[WalkerboyUK]

Probably already been posted somewhere, but this is the table as of 2nd Jan 2016:

Yet fans of 19 other PL clubs say we bottled it.

 

[vicbob]

Interesting how Sky will play this next season. When we finished in the top 4 we were never classed as one of the big 4, even last year when we finished 5th, the extended the big 4 to the big 5 to include Liverpool (and not us), surely they wont be able to ignore the current Champions, so will it be a big 6 next year, Man City, Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Leicester.

Still I will accept being under the radar at the start of next season again.

Back to the OP's point, I would like to say congratulations, but the media love in and all the anti spurs shit has actually made the last few weeks a rather unpleasant end to a fantastic season, so I can't quite bring myself to do it, sorry.

 

[ajspurs]

It's a great achievement and they kept their heads when everyone else failed to.

We should have beaten West Brom, we should have beaten Chelsea from 2-0 up, and we should have beaten Arsenal when winning against 10 men. But even then we'd still be a point behind them at this stage, and that highlights just how well they've done in the run in.

It's a shame that we're the ones to suffer most directly (assuming we finish 2nd of course) but that doesn't belittle their achievement.

As for Spurs, we need to win against Southampton to get over the last two results and if we do then 2nd is a great achievement considering our aims at the start of the season. If Poch can keep this team together, add a bit more depth and maybe a wise-head or two, then I think we can go on to stay in the battle for the title next season.

It is a shame when you look back over past matches that we should have won. I actually think we've gotten better as a team as the season's gone on though, for instance if we were like how we are now we would not have lost to United in the first game of the season.

The fact is we always suffer from a few of those sort of lacklustre WHL performances in the season to lower opposition, it was against Stoke, WBA and Newcastle this season but the funny thing is that all those games follow similar patterns, it's not like we happen to be unlucky and face those teams when they're playing out of their skins or anything. I still think we lack one or two class players who can score us some easy goals with a bit of individual brilliance.

Stoke, Newcastle, WBA, Everton, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea at home are the games off the top of my head that we failed to get 3 points from at White Hart Lane. WBA, Swansea, Everton and Arsenal are some of the away games we've also failed to win. Everton and Arsenal away being the tougher away games but they were games that should have returned 6 points from the football we played in both those games. It hurts a bit when you look at that because there's a lot of dropped points were you'd think there wouldn't be there

 

[spursZed]

Congratulations to them.

 

[JonnySpurs]

I can't congratulate Leicester and I'm not going to. I respect the fact that they managed to get the results needed to win this league but for the life of me I still can't quite figure out how it's happened. I've also always disliked them, back to their Martin O'Neill, Robbie Savage, Muzzy Izzet days. I can't explain why, I just always have.

If I didn't know better I'd swear there was some kind of witchcraft involved although in reality I think that it's just been a perfect storm of their well executed long ball, counter attacking gameplan, dumb luck (refereeing decisions etc) and opposition teams taking them for granted thinking that they won't be able to do them what they've done in the weeks & months before.

In my opinion they are not the best team in the league, they have just been the most effective at getting the points needed to win it. I realise that sounds contradictory but it's just how I feel. When I watch them I see a team with 30% possession of the ball week in, week out and yet they still manage to get the wins. That is unheard of in football and in itself has to be a freak stat. I've talked to fans of other teams in the league and all of them have said they weren't impressed by Leicester. Alternatively they have said that the opposite about us and that we play easily the best football.

I appreciate that none of this really matters, Leicester are champions and nothing can change that but I'm not gonna crown them with any glory because I simply don't want to.

Fuck em.

 

[minesadouble]

I thought Poch got his post-match comments on Sky absolutely right last night. Being gracious in defeat and a good “loser” is not a sign of weakness. It is an indication of strength and determination that it will be our turn next. Insecurity and petulance go hand in hand.

Congratulations Leicester. Had it been Spurs merely jostling for 4th/5th as we hoped back in August, we’d have been willing Leicester on if they were being pursued by, say, Man City or United. It is a remarkable achievement by a good manager (and charming man), at a “small club”, with a team of unheralded players. I think calm analysis in the days ahead will show that they deserved it (just), despite our better stats in every area but points gained.

Yes, Leicester’s football is limited in ambition. But they executed a narrow strategy perfectly over 38 games. Yes, they were lucky, during the run-in in particular, but all champions need luck. If the celebrations and media-hype are already tiresome, turn off the TV and radio (as I did as soon as Poch had finished his interview last night). No MOTD or Talkshite for me.

This is not the thread to contrast Spurs’ football and luck with Leicester’s. But it does seem typical Spurs misfortune that, in any other Season, neutral fans, the media and perhaps even Sky, we would have been the “story”. But instead Leicester were cast as Cinderella and Spurs got to play the Wicked Witch; a great part, all the best lines, but doomed in the final scene. We had to fight not just our opponent but the entire audience willing us to fail.

Still, it was a much better role than Chelsea, Liverpool and United, who barely got parts in the background Chorus. One thing I’ll never understand is what Spurs did in a previous life to nourish such animosity and vitriol in Chelsea, West Ham and Arsenal. Why should all three major London Clubs hate us more than any other?

We took only 7 points out of 18 from our three “derbies” (3 from W. Ham, 2 from Arsenal, 2 from Chelsea). Put another way, we dropped 11 pnts. We should have taken more but undoubtedly those teams raised their games against us, particularly West Ham away and Chelsea last night. Meanwhile Leicester’s local rivals include Coventry, Birmingham City and Notts Forest ! From what I saw, few Premiership sides shifted up a notch in matches against Leicester.

However, they undeniably handled the run-in better than we did. We had glorious moments (3-0 United, 4-0 at Stoke) while they simply ground out narrow wins. We did have a poor start to the Season but the fact is that we topped the table on 5th March for 13 minutes until Sanchez equalised. Dropped points on the run-in were the difference. The gap grew rather than narrowed.

The exuberance and grit of our young players gained us the most points from losing positions. But that statistic is a double-edged sword. We got into losing positions more often than Leicester. And worse, we dropped too many points from winning positions (last night above all). Somehow we contrived to have the best attack, best goal difference and best defence, but we still struggle defend a lead.

Let Leicester have their moment. It’s deserved. And I’m over the disappointment. I’m going on Sunday and I truly hope the players can get over it too, put on a show against Southampton, enjoy a post-match parade and secure 2nd place above Arsenal. Would I have taken that at the start of this Season? You bet I would.

 

[SpartanSpur]

Football needed this, proof that the game is a sport and not a business after all, and players can achieve their goals by working together rather than trying to transfer their way to success. Any other season I would have loved the whole journey, but Spurs being Spurs I couldn't even enjoy this (and we've suffered as much from the Sky 4 Cartel as much as anyone).

That said I have no love for their football since the turn of the year, although their team spirit, focus and tactical discipline has been out of this world. Ranieri is a great guy and was superb in changing their tactics mid season. Kante, Mahrez and Vardy have been stars too, Drinkwater, Schmeichel Huth and Morgan superb also. They deserve the title no doubt, and the likes of 5000-1 will never be seen again, this achievement will be immortalised in football, the question is whether it does so as a nice quiz question 20 years down the line...

 

[Maxtremist]

Did anyone see the stat the Premier League tweeted?

Premier LeagueVerified account‏@premierleague
Leicester's record since losing to Arsenal on 14 Feb: WDWWWWWDWD Goals conceded: 5 #BPL #LCFCChampions

Whatever you want to say about their fans, their players etc... they did it on the pitch. I know we've still got the tightest defence in the league but only conceding 5 goals since the middle of Feb? If that isn't the stuff of champions I don't know what is.

Congrats to Leicester, I will say that for sure. There are some players on that team who I just can't support (Vardy). As a team and as an achievement and just what that means for sport... it's incredible.

 

[nailsy]

Congratulations to Leicester - an unbelievable achievement.

Congratulations Leicester.

Personally I am happy for their fans, and I hope they enjoy it.

Very diplomatically put

One of the (few) upsides to Leicester winning the title is that its finally killed off one of the BSoDL's favourite put downs whenever anyone has the cheek to moan about Levy.......You know the one, where they turn around and say who could do a better job than Levy? Or who could buy the club and do better?

Well, I give you Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.......... he's a little bit taller, has a full head of hair and a league title. The best chairman in the EPL

You forgot the most important thing....he gets the beers in!

http://www.skysports.com/football/n...ter-owners-reward-foxes-fans-with-a-free-beer

 

[CosmicHotspur]

We will do well next season having learned some hard lessons in this one.

I actually doubt that Leicester will do as well next season and could actually settle around the middle of the table.

 

[avonspurs]

Tweeted my congrats to them last night. Through gritted teeth, it's great that a club outside of SKY's TOP FOUR have won the league. The gritted teeth in place because it's rare for a team to potentially end up above Arsenal and definitely end up above Man City, Man Utd, Chelscum and not win the league. Plus to have the best GD, most goals scored, least goals conceded, league's top scorer (probably) and still not win the league......

L/T, however, I still think we are best suited to challenge in the future. I can see Leicester having problems managing the games next year, unless they invest heavily during the summer (which comes with it's own problems). However, i'd rather have a mediocre season next year if I could say 'PREMIER LEAGUE CHAMPIONS' this year.

Can't wait for next season. I'm thinking Kane is probably going to be found out next season....two-season wonder!!!!

COYS

 

[alex3]

 

[CosmicHotspur]

Look who turned up...

 

[Jack2]

It's amazing and massive achievement, have to congratulate Leicester and Ranieri! They showed that it's still possible to win without splashing insane amount of cash all around the place. I think it's also a very good thing for the Prem and football in general, very refreshing. Of course I hoped us to be the refreshment!

I really didn't expect us to battle for the Prem title this season, however when I now look back this season, I have to say I'm a bit disappointed that we couldn't do it. Althought we will be even better next season, I'm afraid it will be much more difficult to win it, because I think Man City especially, Man utd, Chelsea and even Liverpool will be there once again. And L'Arse...

But still two important games to go, 'cause we can't let the Gooners take the 2nd place!

COYS!!!

 

[Gassin's finest]

Hats off to Sig. Ranieri, a master of the catenaccio. Every now and again someone gets a group of underdogs together, instills a seige mentality and us v the world bullishness, and manages to upset the narrative. Wimbledon winning the fa cup in 88, Greece winning Euro 2004... hell even Chelsea winning the CL was pure Italian game killing.

Ranieri never set out to win a title... he was to solidify and stabilise a team that was on the verge of relegation and falling apart... Pearson and players were a joke; unpleasant, Ill disciplined and fractured. He's managed to unify them into a unit, more a platoon than a football team.

It just worked far better than expected, while all the recent moneybags teams have started to fall victim of their own indulgence and vulgarity... Chelsea players purposefully being poor to evict a manager, Man Utd signing marquee managers and players to disjointed effect, City bizzarely announcing a new manager with a third of the season to go... and of course arsenal being arsenal, daft prats that they are.

How sustainable Leicester will be going forward we don't know. But we're sour because when it was all set to be our season, a random championship level club has pulled one of these rare seasons out of the bag. However we know we have been building steadily towards this future, to challenge for titles, and we've arrived there now. Back in the European top table, back amongst the elite, and on paper the best team around. And we will only improve. We'll be here again next season.

So hats off the Leicester, Ranieri, and the occasional success of the catenaccio. Modern football did need this, if only to kick all those bloated football franchises in the head... much like punk in 77.