What a season it has been in the English Premier League. We are coming up to the ending of the show, as we round the bend towards the last ten games of the season. The table is tight from top to bottom and the top four are in a very unexpected deadlock. In first place we have Leicester City, the underdog story of the year. The Foxes have a two-point advantage on the second place team but are looking consistent and hungry coming into the last set. The question which can’t seem to be ignored is: can they handle the pressure? Leicester’s most successful season in history happened nearly ninety-years ago in 1928-1929, where they placed second. Since then, they have been a typical division flopping team without a sight at the number one spot. I was hesitant after Leicester’s unconvincing win this weekend but they still have first place, and Jamie Vardy is still running so I have faith. Vardy has been a textbook example of a zero-to-hero story this season. The twenty-nine-year-old Sheffield, UK native has popped out of nowhere to become this year’s top goal scorer. He made his move to Leicester City in 2013 with a price tag of one million dollars. After this year he has gone up to an approximate eighteen-million dollars (if a trade were on the line). Not only is he a great soccer player, but also a class act off the pitch. Just four years ago, the striker was forced to wear an electronic tag to his training and game commitments after an incident in a Sheffield pub. Like most star trouble-makers, he’s got a gaggle of morons supporting him. Just recently Vardy obnoxiously tweeted “CHAT SHIT GET BANGED.” No, he did not hold back on the capitals. After reading such inspirational script, one poor lad in a London bar told his company that if Vardy were to score that weekend, he would get a brand new tattoo in his honour. That weekend, Vardy went on to score in his eleventh consecutive game, breaking the long-standing record set by Ruud Van Nistelroy. The lovely calf tattoo can be found using the genius of google – it’s worth it.
The inconsistency of the table goes farther than just Leicester’s brilliant performances. In second place we are watching the Tottenham spurs put up one of the best seasons they’ve ever had. In third place we have Arsenal. The gunners are feeling out of place as they are used to a solid fourth place finish, and their current form seems to be throwing a couple players off. Flamini is still great. That fourth spot (which is super important because the top four teams get to compete in Champions League next season) is taken by Manchester City. If you are a fan of City – I’m sorry to hear that. I hope they desperately choke in the last quarter of the matches. I also hope Raheem “The Snake” Sterling can shed of all his snakeskin in time for his next match-up against Liverpool. The twenty-one-year-old dad selfishly moved last year from Liverpool, also known as the best club in the world.
A couple things that you can watch for in this ecstatic finish is the rebounding efforts of Chelsea (the defending champions who were looking down the relegation rifle around Christmas time) who seem to be picking up their socks a bit. The fourth place fight between the two Manchester teams is getting very interesting right about now. Both teams are looking to get that champions league spot and United is just three points behind. They’ve also picked up some momentum after a big win against Arsenal, while eighteen-year-old young gun Rashford scores his fourth goal in two games for the Red Devils. Last but not least, you must not forget about the best club in the world. Liverpool is sitting pretty in ninth place and are looking for blood. The all-star combination of Lucas Leiva and Mamadou Sakho are confident that the team will be able to win their next ten games and win the league. The two stars, who are known as the Wayne Gretzky & Tiger Woods of the English Premier League, are the two definite players to watch for the rest of the year. “Sakho’s got the ball, he moves the ball forward to Lucas, it goes back to Sakho, he picks his head up and it’s back to Lucas. Brilliant play, absolutely magnificent.”