All the very latest football news across Europe!

It's all change with the Premier League transfer window this year as it opens and closes earlier than before.

The new dates are to ensure that all transfers are completed before the start of the 2018/19 season.

The Premier League has confirmed the transfer window will open at midnight on 17th May.

It will then close at 5pm on 9th August - instead of 31st August, which it has been in previous years.

The reason for the changes to the transfer window are so clubs avoid disruption to their squads once the Premier League season has kicked off on 11th August.

In fact, deals can be agreed before 17th May, however, the paperwork cannot be processed until the window has officially opened.

That means domestic transfers can be completed from midnight on 17th May, but transfers from abroad can only be finalised once the FIFA Transfer Matching System (TMS) opens at midnight on 8th June.

In France, the transfer window will open on 9th June. In Italy and Germany it will be on 1st July and in Spain it will be on 2nd July.
The windows in those four leagues will close on 31st August.

The EFL transfer window is already open.
It opened on Monday, 7th May for domestic transfers. Clubs involved in play-offs can sign players now - but cannot play them until their season is over.

The EFL window closes at the same time as the Premier League, at 5pm on 9th August - five days after the new EFL season begins.

EFL clubs will still be able to sign players on loan until 31st August. They can also sign free agents up until the same date.

Everton have confirmed manager Sam Allardyce has left the club with immediate effect -skysports.com

The sacking of Allardyce means Everton will have to pay Allardyce £6m in compensation, after less than a year in charge. Ex-Watford boss Marco Silva is favourite to take over at Goodison Park - Daily Express

David Moyes has left West Ham. Moyes met David Sullivan on Monday to discuss whether he should carry on in the job as West Ham manager. Following that meeting it was reported in a club statement that he was unlikely to stay, despite the fact that he was only appointed last November - skysports.com

Former Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta is very close to becoming the club's new manager, taking over from Arsene Wenger. Talks between the Gunners and the 36-year-old Spaniard have progressed well, with former team-mate Santi Cazorla lined up for a backroom role - Independent, Daily Mail and Daily Mirror

Ex-Gunners captain Patrick Vieira, 41, says he has been left disappointed at the club's "token gesture" after being contacted about the vacant managerial position at Arsenal - skysports.com

Mauricio Pochettino is ready to snub Chelsea's advances to stay loyal to Tottenham - Daily Star

Danny Rose hopes Tottenham will give boss Mauricio Pochettino "what he wants" this summer as the club look to move to the next level. Danny Rose hopes Tottenham will give boss Mauricio Pochettino "what he wants" this summer as the club look to move to the next level- skysports.com

England manager Gareth Southgate will name his 23-man squad for this summer's World Cup in Russia today!
Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart and Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere will not be included. Southgate is unable to call up Liverpool pair Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Joe Gomez along with Swansea defender Alfie Mawson, who have been ruled out through injury - BBC Sport

Southgate said that "19 or 20" of his squad had been decided upon, with Liverpool's Adam Lallana and Trent Alexander-Arnold, Newcastle's Jonjo Shelvey and Chelsea's Ruben Loftus-Cheek among those in contention for the fringe places - BBC Sport

Manchester City's Joe Hart is furious after believing West Ham manager David Moyes cost him a World Cup place - Daily Mirror

Cristiano Ronaldo is wanted by Manchester United, who have two plans to sign the Real Madrid forward - Diario Gol (Spanish daily sports newspaper)

The first includes a swap deal with Paul Pogba and a fee of £43m, while the second would see them launch a £142m bid to re-sign their former player - Diario Gol (Spanish daily sports newspaper)

Real Madrid's 28 year-old midfielder Toni Kroos is leaning towards a move to Manchester United.
He has been earmarked as a replacement for the retired Michael Carrick, with the Germany international said to be keen on a Premier League move - Don Balon (Spanish news outlet)

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho will try to tempt AC Milan defender Leonardo Bonucci to Old Trafford this summer - Tuttosport (Italian sport newspaper published in Turin)

Paul Lambert's future as Stoke manager is still hanging in the balance, ahead of talks with the club hierarchy this week - Daily Telegraph

Championship side QPR will name ex-England boss Steve McClaren as their new manager to replace Ian Holloway, who was sacked last week - skysports.com

Eden Hazard insists he is happy at Chelsea but has challenged the club to match his ambition with new signings this summer. Asked what would persuade him to sign a contract extension with the club, Hazard said: "I'm waiting for new players next season. I want good players because I want to win next season the Premier League. That's why I'm taking my time. It's something big. I need to think about a lot of things. One thing I'm sure is that I'm happy here." - skysports.com

Clubs will have to part with £88m in order to sign highly-rated Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly, with the Daily Star reporting that Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea are interested.
The Senegalese international has been linked with a move away from the Serie A side over the last few windows - Daily Star

West Ham want Burnley and England keeper Tom Heaton to replace Joe Hart next term - The Sun

Manchester United are confident of signing 29-year-old Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld and are willing to spend more than £40m on the Belgium international - London Evening Standard

Inter Milan will bid for Manchester City and Germany midfielder Ilkay Gundogan if they qualify for the Champions League - Corriere dello Sport in Italian - (Italian national sports newspaper based in Rome)

A bidding war could break out as a number of top clubs are eyeing Leicester defender Harry Maguire. The 25-year-old centre back is wanted by Manchester City, as well as a number of other top Premier League clubs, and will be subject of close attention when he plays for England at this summer's World Cup - Daily Mirror.

Newcastle will make on loan Slovakian goalkeeper Martin Dubravka, 29, their first summer signing from Sparta Prague - The Sun

Atletico Madrid will watch Kieran Tierney in the Scottish Cup final and join the race for the Celtic full-back. The 20-year-old has caught the eye with the Scottish Premiership champions, with Man Utd, Tottenham and Bournemouth also said to be interested - The Sun

Leicester and West Ham will make moves to sign Manchester City's Patrick Roberts, who has been on loan at Celtic since 2016, after the Scottish Cup final - Daily Express

Romelu Lukaku will be fit to start for Manchester United in Saturday's FA Cup final against Chelsea.

Arsenal have held talks with 26-year-old Nice midfielder Jean-Michael Seri, who is valued at £40m by the Ligue 1 club. However, Premier League rivals Chelsea are favourites to sign the Ivory Coast international - Daily Mirror

Everton, Newcastle and Huddersfield are among the clubs in pursuit of Schalke 04 and Kosovo international Donis Avdijaj - Daily Mail

Huddersfield's on-loan defender Terence Kongolo looks to have made his last appearance for the club. The Terriers signed the 24-year-old from Monaco in January on loan for the rest of the season. Town fans had been hoping Kongolo would extend his stay in England but he now looks set to return to France with his latest Instagram post - skysports.com

League One champions Wigan Athletic want to turn 23-year-old Leicester left-back Callum Elder's loan into a permanent deal. The Australian has one year left on his contract at the King Power Stadium - Daily Mail

Stephen Thompson is close to selling his majority shareholding in Dundee United to an American investor - Daily Express

Manchester United and Liverpool are in line to be invited to take part in a new 24-team Club World Cup which could earn the clubs more than £100m - The Times

Liverpool are to sign midfielder Isaac Christie-Davies, 20, on a free transfer after the Englishman was not awarded a new contract at Chelsea - ESPN

Diego Maradona has signed a three-year contract to join top-flight Belarusian club Dinamo Brest as their new chairman. Argentine legend Maradona, a former World Cup winner recognised as one of the all-time greats, last month stepped down as coach of United Arab Emirates second division club Al-Fujairah after they failed to gain automatic promotion to the first division - skysports.com

Statistically, the ICT index score of the best performing players in the English Premier League so far this season!

The ICT Index (Influence, Creativity, Threat) was a new feature that began at the start of last season's Premier League campaign, and has continued to be used for the current one.

A football statistical index, it has been developed specifically to give a verdict on any player as a Football Premier League asset.

It condenses more than 40 match event statistics for three key areas – Influence, Creativity and Threat, to generate the data into a single score.

This score is what is known as an individual’s ICT Index score, and via this data is able to offer an accurate summary on player performance.


Season 2017/18 - Last update: 13/04/18 at 12:45pm (BST)

pm GMT


For those of you currently playing 'Fantasy Premier League Football' you may want to take note!

Goalkeepers:

1. Jack Butland (Stoke) 85.4 ICT Index 
2. Lukasz Fabianski (Swansea) 85.3
3. Jordan Pickford (Everton) 81.7
4. Jonas Lossl (Huddersfield) 76.1
5. David de Gea (Man Utd) 74.3
6. Nick Pope (Burnley) 74.2
7. Mathew Ryan (Brighton) 72.5 (pictured right)
8. Asmir Begovic (Bournemouth) 70.2
9. Kasper Schmeichel (Leicester) 69.0
10. Petr Cech (Arsenal) 63.8


Defenders:

1. Marcos Alonso (Chelsea) 185.2  ICT Index
2. César Azpilicueta (Chelsea) 145.7
3. Héctor Bellerín (Arsenal) 141.5
4. Harry Maguire (Leicester) 138.9
5. Ben Davies (Tottenham) 138.6 (pictured right)
6. Lewis Dunk (Brighton) 136.0
7. Nicolás Otamendi (Man City) 132.5
8. Shane Duffy (Brighton) 126.0
9. Aaron Cresswell (West Ham) 120.1 *Currently out injured
10. James Milner (Liverpool) 118.5


Midfielders:

1. Mo Salah (Liverpool) 397.7  ICT Index
2. Kevin De Bruyne (Man City) 335.8
3. Christian Eriksen (Tottenham) 301.0
4. Alexis Sanchez (Man Utd) 291.6
5. Raheem Sterling (Man City) 275.9
6. Eden Hazard (Chelsea) 270.1
7. David Silva (Man City) 260.7
8. Mesut Özil (Arsenal) 248.6
9. Dele Alli (Tottenham) 241.6
10. Leroy Sané (Man City) 231.2


Forwards:

1. Harry Kane (Tottenham) 358.0 ICT Index
2. Sergio Agüero (Man City) 302.5
3. Roberto Firmino (Liverpool) 283.3
4. Romelu Lukaku (Man Utd) 253.9
5. Álvaro Morata (Chelsea) 211.4
6. Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal) 211.0
7. Jamie Vardy (Leicester) 200.4
8. Josh King (Bournemouth) 160.9 (pictured right)
9. Gabriel Jesus (Man City) 154.8
10. Jay Rodriguez (West Brom) 151.82




1. Influence

Influence is the first measurement. This evaluates the degree to which that player has made an impact on a single match or throughout the season.

It takes into account events and actions that could directly or indirectly effect the outcome of the fixture.

At the top level these are decisive actions like goals and assists. But the Influence score also processes significant defensive actions to analyse the effectiveness of defenders and goalkeepers.

2. Creativity

Creativity assesses player performance in terms of producing goalscoring opportunities for others. It can be used as a guide to identify the players most likely to supply assists.

While this analyses frequency of passing and crossing, it also considers pitch location and quality of the final ball.

3. Threat

This is the third measure, producing a value that examines a player's threat on goal. It gauges individuals most likely to score goals.

While attempts are the key action, the Index looks at pitch location, giving greater weight to actions that are regarded as the best chances to score.

All three of these scores are combined to create an overall ICT Index score. That then offers a single figure that presents a view on that player as a Football Premier League asset.

Statistically, the ICT index score of the best performing players in the English Premier League so far this season!

The ICT Index (Influence, Creativity, Threat) was a new feature that began at the start of last season's Premier League campaign, and has continued to be used for the current one.

A football statistical index, it has been developed specifically to give a verdict on any player as a Football Premier League asset.

It condenses more than 40 match event statistics for three key areas – Influence, Creativity and Threat, to generate the data into a single score.

This score is what is known as an individual’s ICT Index score, and via this data is able to offer an accurate summary on player performance.


Season 2017/18 - Last update: 09/02/18 at 10.30am GMT


For those of you currently playing 'Fantasy Premier League Football' you may want to take note!

Goalkeepers:

1. Lukasz Fabianski (Swansea) 73.3 ICT Index 
2. Jordan Pickford (Everton) 65.0
3. Jonas Lossl (Huddersfield) 63.4 (pictured right)
4. Asmir Begovic (Bournemouth) 27.4
5. Kasper Schmeichel (Leicester) 59.4
6. Jack Butland (Stoke) 58.8
7. Nick Pope (Burnley) 56.9
8. David de Gea (Man Utd) 56.6
9. Mathew Ryan (Brighton) 55.5
10. Fraser Forster (Southampton) 48.9


Defenders:

1. Marcos Alonso (Chelsea) 163.0  ICT Index
2. Héctor Bellerín (Arsenal) 127.5
3. Ben Davies (Tottenham) 115.2
4. César Azpilicueta (Chelsea) 113.4
5. Nicolás Otamendi (Man City) 109.8
6. Harry Maguire (Leicester) 108.5 (pictured right)
7. Lewis Dunk (Brighton) 106.8
8. Nacho Monreal (Arsenal) 104.8
9. Shane Duffy (Brighton) 100.9
10. Ryan Bertrand (Southampton) 98.9


Midfielders:

1. Mo Salah (Liverpool) 304.0  ICT Index
2. Kevin De Bruyne (Man City) 276.4
3. Alexis Sanchez (Man Utd) 238.8
4. Raheem Sterling (Man City) 229.3
5. Christian Eriksen (Tottenham) 215.1
6. Mesut Özil (Arsenal) 208.7
7. Eden Hazard (Chelsea) 203.3
8. David Silva (Man City) 200.6
9. Xherdan Shaqiri (Stoke) 189.7
10. Leroy Sané (Man City) 181.6 *Currently out injured


Forwards:

1. Harry Kane (Tottenham) 302.4 ICT Index
2. Sergio Agüero (Man City) 251.8
3. Roberto Firmino (Liverpool) 210.2 (pictured right)
4. Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal) 199.2
5. Romelu Lukaku (Man Utd) 195.6
6. Álvaro Morata (Chelsea) 174.5 *Currently out injured
7. Jamie Vardy (Leicester) 160.6
8. Gabriel Jesus (Man City) 136.5 *Currently out injured
9. Marcus Rashford (Man Utd) 131.1
10. Wayne Rooney (Everton) 125.2




1. Influence

Influence is the first measurement. This evaluates the degree to which that player has made an impact on a single match or throughout the season.

It takes into account events and actions that could directly or indirectly effect the outcome of the fixture.

At the top level these are decisive actions like goals and assists. But the Influence score also processes significant defensive actions to analyse the effectiveness of defenders and goalkeepers.

2. Creativity

Creativity assesses player performance in terms of producing goalscoring opportunities for others. It can be used as a guide to identify the players most likely to supply assists.

While this analyses frequency of passing and crossing, it also considers pitch location and quality of the final ball.

3. Threat

This is the third measure, producing a value that examines a player's threat on goal. It gauges individuals most likely to score goals.

While attempts are the key action, the Index looks at pitch location, giving greater weight to actions that are regarded as the best chances to score.

All three of these scores are combined to create an overall ICT Index score. That then offers a single figure that presents a view on that player as a Football Premier League asset.

The players released by each Premier League club after the 2016/17 season

The Premier League has announced its clubs' retained and released lists, with the likes of Manchester United's Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Chelsea's John Terry among the big names on their way. Also on their way out are Crystal Palace's Mathieu Flamini and Joe Ledley, Manchester City's Jesus Navas and Pablo Zabaleta, Everton's Arouna Kone, Swansea's Marvin Emnes and West Ham's Alvaro Arbeloa.

The list shows who is being let go at the end of their contract on June 30, though it is by no means definitive with deals possibly still to be done.

ARSENAL

Yaya Sanogo, Stefan O'Connor, Kristopher da Graca and Kostas Pileas

BOURNEMOUTH

Callum Buckley, Jake McCarthy and Alexander Neale

BURNLEY

Joseph Barton, George Green, Christian Hill, Michael Kightly, Taofiq Olomowewe and Richard Pingling

CHELSEA

John Terry and Alex Davey

CRYSTAL PALACE

Corie Andrews, Kwesi Appiah, Jonathan Benteke, Fraizer Campbell, Luke Croll, Mathieu Flamini, Ezekiel Fryers, Ryan King-Elliott, Joe Ledley (right), Randell Williams and Ben Wynter

EVERTON

Arouna Kone, Conor McAleny, Jack Bainbridge, Delial Brewster, Michael Donohue, Tyrone Duffus, Russell Griffiths, Connor Hunt, Josef Yarney and James Yates

HULL CITY (relegated)

Alex Bruce, Luke Lofts, Shaun Maloney, Bradley Maslen-Jones and Johan Ter Horst

LEICESTER CITY

Michael Cain, David Domej, Brandon Fox, Cedric Kipre, Matthew Miles, Kairo Mitchell and Marcin Wasilewski

LIVERPOOL

Tom Brewitt, Jake Brimmer, Jack Dunn, Toni Gomes, Kane Lewis, Alex Manninger (retired) and Adam Phillips

MANCHESTER CITY

Willy Caballero, Jesus Navas (right), Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna, Pablo Zabaleta, Callum Bullock, Billy O'Brien and Ellis Plummer

MANCHESTER UNITED

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

MIDDLESBROUGH (relegated)

Victor Valdes, Brad Guzan, Bradley Fewster, Niall McGoldrick, Lewis Maloney, Junior Mondal, Jo Wheatley, Nathan Convery, Brandon Holdsworth and Matthew Wilson


SOUTHAMPTON

Martin Caceres, Lloyd Isgrove, Cuco Martina and Harley Willard

STOKE CITY

Daniel Bachmann, Shay Given (right), Liam Edwards, Harry Isted, Joel Taylor, George Waring and Harvey Read

SUNDERLAND (relegated)

Victor Anichebe, George Brady, Will Buckley, Dan Casey, Jan Kirchhoff, Sebastian Larsson, Carl Lawson, Joleon Lescott, John O'Shea, Oliver Pain and Steven Pienaar

SWANSEA CITY

Gerhard Tremmel, Marvin Emnes, Liam Shephard, Josh Vickers, Owain Jones, Tom Dyson, Tom Holland and Alex Samuel

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

Filip Lesniak

WATFORD

Rene Gilmartin, Mathias Ranegie, Ola Adeyemo, Charlie Bannister, Ogo Obi, Rhyle Ovenden, Josh Roe, Treon Johnson and Andrew Thomas

WEST BROM

Daniel Barbir, Zachary Elbouzedi, Darren Fletcher, Callam Jones, Sebastien Pocognoli, Jack Rose and Andre Wright

WEST HAM

Alvaro Arbeloa (above right), Sam Howes, Sam Ford, Kyle Knoyle and Sam Westley

A Statistical Analysis of the 2016/17 Premier League season

2016/17 English Premier League Season - all the stats!


Premier League Champions: Chelsea
Runners-up: Tottenham

Relegated: Hull, Middlesbrough and Sunderland

Average Attendance: 35,821
Largest Attendance: Manchester United v. West Bromwich Albion 75,397
Lowest Attendance: AFC Bournemouth v. Middlesbrough 10,809
Aggregated Attendances: 13,612,316

Most Home Goals: Bournemouth 6 Hull 1
Most Away Goals: Hull 1 Tottenham 7
Highest Goals Total: Swansea City 5 Crystal Palace 4

Longest Winning Streak: Chelsea 13 games
Longest Unbeaten Streak: Manchester United 25 games
Longest Home Winning Streak: Tottenham Hotspur 14 games
Longest Losing Streak: Hull City 6 games
Longest Winless Streak: Middlesbrough 16 games


Player Stats:

Top Premier League Goalscorer: Hary Kane (Tottenham) 29 goals

Most Hat-Tricks: Hary Kane (Tottenham) 4

Most Goals From Inside The Box: Romelu Lukaku (Everton) 24

Most Goals From Outside The Box: Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool) 6

Most Left-Footed Goals: Romelu Lukaku (Everton) 12

Most Right-Footed Goals: Hary Kane (Tottenham) 20

Most Headed Goals: Fernando Llorente (Swansea) & Christian Benteke (Crystal Palace) 7

Most Shots: Sergio Agüero (Manchester City) 139

Most Shots On Target: Hary Kane (Tottenham) 58

Most Shots Off Target: Christian Benteke (Crystal Palace) 49

Most Shots Without Scoring: Jason Puncheon (Crystal Palace) 45

Most Woodwork Strikes: Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) 9

Most Premier League Assists: Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) 18

Most Chances Created: Christian Eriksen (Tottenham) 112

Most Attempted Passes: César Azpilicueta (Chelsea) 2,459

Most Stray Passes: James Milner (Liverpool) 439

Most Crosses: Gylfi Sigurdsson (Swansea) 304

Most Through Balls: Alexis Sánchez (Arsenal) 48

Most Fouls Won: Wilf Zaha (Crystal Palace) 120

Most Penalties Scored: James Milner (Liverpool) 7

Most Penalties Conceded: Jose Fonte (West Ham) 4

Most Tackles: Idrissa Gueye (Everton) 135

Most Blocks: Ben Mee (Burnley) 46

Most Interceptions: Laurent Koscielny(Arsenal) 91

Most Clearances: Steve Cook (Bournemouth) 352

Most Throw-ins Taken: Matt Lowton (Burnley) 405

Fastest Player (mph): Shane Long (Southampton) 21.94

Most Miles Covered: Gylfi Sigurdsson (Swansea) 269

Most Sprints: Dele Alli 2,542

Most Clean Sheets: Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea) 16

Most Saves: Tom Heaton (Burnley) 141

Most Catches: Lukasz Fabianski (Swansea) 66

Most Goals Conceded: Lukasz Fabianski (Swansea) 69

Most Fouls: Christian Benteke (Crystal Palace) 81

Most Yellow Cards: José Holebas (Watford) 14

Most Red Cards: Miguel Britos (Watford), Grant Xhaka (Arsenal) and Fernandinho (Manchester City) 2

Most Offsides: Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United)

Most Games Subbed Off: Eden Hazard (Chelsea) 25

Most Games Subbed On: Hal Robson-Kanu (West Brom) 24


More Team Stats:

Bournemouth won more penalties (10) than any other Premier League team, scoring seven.
Ryan Frazer won five of those ten.

Hull gave away 13 penalties this season, the most of any side in a single Premier League campaign.

Top of the fair play league were Liverpool with 54 yellow cards and no red cards.

Bottom of the fair play league were Watford with 83 yellow cards and 5 red cards.


More Player Stats:

Jose Holebas (Watford) was given 14 yellow cards for Watford in the Premier League this season, equalling the Premier League record for a player in a single PL campaign

Harry Kane (Tottenham) is one of only five different players to score three hat-tricks in a Premier League season. The only player to score more than three is Alan Shearer (5) in 1995-96.

Hary Kane (Tottenham) and Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) became the fourth and fifth player to score 20+ goals in three consecutive Premier League seasons (after Shearer, Henry and van Nistelrooy).

Hary Kane (TottenhAM) became the sixth player to score a hat-trick in successive EPL appearances and the first since Wayne Rooney in 2011.

Salomon Rondon (West Brom) scored a hat-trick of headers in West Brom’s win over Swansea City at the Hawthorns in December. It was only the second time this had happened in the Premier League, with the first coming via Duncan Ferguson for Everton v Bolton in December 1997

Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) hit the woodwork nine times this season – the record in the Premier League since Opta began analysing (in 2006-07) is 10 by Robin van Persie in 2011-12.

Mesut Ozil (Arsenal) created 12 goalscoring chances in Arsenal’s win over Sunderland in May. This is a record by a single player in a Premier League match since Opta began collecting this metric in 2003-04.

Outfield players who played every minute of the season: Steve Cook (Bournemouth) Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea) and Ben Gibson (Middlesbrough).

Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea and Arsenal) became the first Spaniard to make 300 appearances in the Premier League.

Curtis Davies (Hull) suffered his fourth relegation from the Premier League (2005-06 with WBA, 2010-11 with Birmingham, 2014-15 and 2016-17 with Hull). Only Nathan Blake and Hermann Hreidarsson (5) have suffered more as a player.

Gareth Barry (Everton, Aston Villa and Manchester City) surpassed 600 Premier League appearances, becoming only the second player to pass this landmark in the competition after Ryan Giggs (632).

Following his debut goal at Bournemouth, Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United) has now scored on his debut in the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, France Ligue 1 and Champions League.

Peter Crouch (Stoke) scored his 50th headed Premier League goal in their final day match against Southampton – the first and only player to reach this landmark.

Jack Rodwell (Sunderland) broke the Premier League record for longest run of games started without winning, going 39 in a row without ending up on the winning side (two for Man City, 37 for Sunderland) before he started Sunderland’s 4-0 away win over Crystal Palace.

Jermain Defoe (Sunderland) became the fourth player to score 10+ goals in 10 different Premier League seasons, after Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard.

Christian Benteke (Crystal Palace) has now scored more Premier League goals at Anfield as an opposition player, for Palace and Aston Villa (5) than he ever did while playing for the club in the 2015/16 season.

Against West Ham, Bournemouth's Josh King became the sixth player to fail from the penalty spot and still score a hat-trick in the same Premier League game.


Managerial Stats:

Bob Bradley (Swansea) lasted just 84 days in charge of Swansea City (October 4, 2016 – December 27, 2016) – this was the third shortest reign by a permanent Premier League manager after Rene Meulensteen at Fulham in 2013-14 (75 days) and Les Reed at Charlton in 2006-07 (40 days)

Craig Shakespeare (Leicester) became the first British manager to win each of his first five Premier
League games. Only three managers have won more; Manuel Pellegrini (9), Sven Goran Eriksson (7) and Carlo Ancelotti (7).

Antonio Conte (Chelsea) has won the league title in four successive seasons as a club coach after winning the Serie A title with Juventus in 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14.


General:

Chelsea’s point tally of 93 was the second-highest seen in a Premier League season, after Chelsea – 95 points in 2004-05.

Tottenham’s goal difference of +60 is the highest in Premier League history for a non-title winning side

Chelsea (30 wins) have broken the Premier League record for most wins in a season (29), also by Chelsea in 2004/05 and 2005/06). The Blues are the first to do it in a 38-game English top-flight season.

Crystal Palace became the first team to win on three consecutive Premier League trips to Anfield since Chelsea in October 2005.

Liverpool had 80.4 per cent possession in their away game at Burnley in August but still lost 2-0. This was the highest possession recorded by a losing side in a Premier League game since 2006-07.

There were 10 draws played out by Manchester United at Old Trafford this season in the Premier League – the joint-most by a team at home in any Premier League season.

Crystal Palace became just the third team in Premier League history to score four goals away from home, yet lose the game when they were beaten 5-4 by Swansea City.

On Saturday April 29, there were no goals scored at home on a day with five Premier League games for the first time ever!


Referees:

Most Penalties Awarded: Michael Oliver 16

Most Red Cards: Mike Dean 5

Most Yellow Cards: Bobby Madley 125

Statistically, the best performing players in the English Premier League so far this season!

The top ten performing English Premier League outfield players in each of their respective positions since the start of the season, ranked according to the exclusive CIES Football Observatory’s approach to the technical analysis of performance. Only footballers fielded for at least 60% of minutes are included in the rankings.
Data provider: OptaPro.

For those of you currently playing 'Fantasy Premier League Football' you may want to take note!

Season 2015/16 - Last update: 31/08/2015

Centre-Backs:

1. L. Koscielny (Arsenal) 100.0
2. A. Williams (Swansea) 78.2 (right)
3. J. Fonte (Southampton) 61.4
4. C. Smalling (Man. United) 60.0
5. E. Mangala (Man. City) 57.1
6. F. Fernández (Swansea) 53.2
7. E. Can (Liverpool) 53.1
8. J. Vertonghen (Tottenham) 48.7
9. S. Cook (Bournemouth) 47.4
10. V. Kompany (Man. City) 46.9

Full-Backs:

1. A.Kolarov (Man. City) 100.0
2. N. Monreal (Arsenal) 96.8
3. J. Amavi (Aston Villa) 86.5 (right)
4. C. Soares (Southampton) 80.5
5. S. Francis (Bournemouth) 75.9
6. J. Holebas (Watford) 71.7
7. L. Shaw (Man. United) 67.5
8. S. Coleman (Everton) 63.1
9. A. Nyom (Watford) 58.6
10. C. Daniels (Bournemouth) 57.6

Defensive Midfielders:

1. Y. Touré (Man. City) 100.0
2. F. Coquelin (Arsenal) 87.1
3. A. Ramsey (Arsenal) 75.5
4. J. Cork (Swansea) 64.1
5. J. Shelvey (Swansea) 60.6
6. J. McArthur (Crystal Palace) 59.0 (right)
7. N. Matić (Chelsea) 58.6
8. E. Capoue (Watford) 56.9
9. B. Schweinsteiger (Man. United) 51.8
10. L. Fernandinho (Man. City) 51.2

Attacking Midfielders:

1. D. Silva (Man. City) 100.0 (right)
2. E. Hazard (Chelsea) 75.0
3. J. Montero (Swansea) 73.0
4. S. Cazorla (Arsenal) 72.8
5. M. Özil (Arsenal) 71.2
6. S. Mané (Southampton) 66.0
7. R. Barkley (Everton) 62.4
8. J. Morrison (WBA) 60.5
9. W. Hoolahan (Norwich) 57.8
10. J. Mata (Man. United) 57.1

Forwards:

1. D. Tadić (Southampton) 100.0
2. A. Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal) 97.9
3. R. Mahrez (Leicester) 92.7
4. C. Wilson (Bournemouth) 74.7
5. A. Koné (Everton) 65.3
6. B. Gomis (Swansea) 60.2 (right)
7. R. Sterling (Man. City) 56.4
8. M. Diouf (Stoke) 47.4
9. S. Agüero (Man. City) 46.8
10. D. Costa (Chelsea) 41.4


The Football Observatory is a research group within the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES), a private foundation affiliated to the University of Neuchâtel, in Switzerland. Set up in 2005 by Drs Raffaele Poli and Loïc Ravenel, it currently comprises a staff of full-time permanent researchers specialised in the statistical analysis of football.

The CIES Football Observatory has regularly been mandated to undertake original analysis by several prestigious institutions such as, but not limited to, FIFA, UEFA, European Club Association (ECA), European Professional Football Leagues (EPFL), Swiss Football League (SFL), Aspire Academy, as well as top-flight European clubs in several countries.

CIES Football Observatory, Avenue DuPeyrou 1, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland, +41 (0)32 718 39 00

The Physio Room - Premier League Injury Update

Following an enforced fortnight break due to international matches right across the globe, the Premier League is back this weekend with some enthralling fixtures.


The stand out game is Saturday's match between Arsenal and Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium.
The teams lie sixth and seventh in the table respectively and although both clubs may have given up the ghost of lifting the Premier League trophy for this season, they are both desperate for a win as they strive for a top 4 finish come May.

However both clubs are ravaged by injury and the international break just compounded matters further. Arsenal are missing the likes of Koscielny, Walcott and Ozil but could welcome the return of Mathieu Debuchy against 'The Reds' - while United's injury list mirrors a 'long list football coupon' you might find in a bookmakers - Falcao, Blind, Rojo, Jones, Rafael and Young are all definitely ruled out this weekend and there are fitness doubts over De Gea, Shaw, Di Maria and Carrick.

Another interesting fixture this weekend is Liverpool's trip to South London on Sunday, where they take on Crystal Palace, the team that destroyed their title hopes last May in front of the cameras at Selhurst Park. Liverpool will be looking for revenge but have only won two of their last eight PL games, and are missing some crucial players including Daniel Sturridge. Palace are also on a poor run of form but they currently have a squad with the fewest injuries in the league.

Meanwhile Everton take on high-flying West Ham at Goodison, Leicester host Sunderland, 2nd in the table Man City face 5th in the table Swansea, struggling QPR go to a rejuvenated Newcastle under Alan Pardew, and an improving Stoke side play basement boys Burnley, who recorded their first PL victory of the season last time out. Finally Steve Bruce's stuttering Hull entertain a very unpredictable Spurs side, and on Monday evening the surprise early pace-setters Southampton go to a wibbly wobbly Villa Park, where Paul Lambert's side haven't won a home game since 31st August.

See which Premier League players are feeling below par this week, and will instead be staying at home to play 'camps' in the front room with their kids, whilst hoping the missus might be up for a bit of hanky panky at the suggestion of a game of 'Doctors and Nurses' come bedtime.

Also if you are playing 'fantasy football' this season the latest injury news may help you re-jig your team or teams accordingly.

Here is the link to The Physio Room Injury Table

My Alternative Best & Worst Premier League Memories of the 2013/14 Season

It has been a thrilling Premier League season, full of twists and turns at the top, the middle and the bottom - with Manchester City emerging as champions in the end.
There have been brilliant goals, memorable matches, wonderful performances, as well as some more controversial moments and outbursts. As a Palace fan you may feel the following piece shows some bias towards the South-London Club! However they have been applauded by many this season for their achievements, both on and off the field.


Biggest Gripe:
Crying fans. You know who you are. Get a grip!
Secondly: Stupid kick-off times and inconsiderate scheduling, when all everybody wants is a game on a Saturday afternoon.
Thirdly: Yellow cards for players removing their shirts during a goal celebration.

Best and Worst Fans:
According to a Premier League fans' pole held by The Guardian newspaper Crystal Palace fans were considered the best away support by almost one-third of all Premier League clubs, namely Cardiff, Chelsea, Everton, Southampton, Swansea and West Ham, with Fulham fairing the worst.
The bleacherreport ranked Selhurst Park as the ground with the best atmosphere in the Premier League.
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville and former Palace and England defender Gareth Southgate also praised the atmosphere at Selhurst Park.
Neville said of the Palace faithful: "They’ve been the best fans this season by a million miles. I don’t know what they’re putting in the water there. They’re mad."

Most Bizarre Goal of the Season:
On 2nd November 2013 Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic scored after 13 seconds in Stoke's 1-1 draw with Southampton.
The goalkeeper's long kick forward got carried in the wind before bouncing over Saints keeper Artur Boruc at the other end of the pitch and finding the net.

Other Premier League goal-scoring goalkeepers:

Peter Schmeichel (Aston Villa) v Everton in 2001

Brad Friedel (Blackburn) v Charlton in 2004

Paul Robinson (Tottenham) v Watford in 2007

Tim Howard (Everton) v Bolton in 2012

Best Goal of the Season: Pajtim Kasami for Fulham at Selhurst Park:
There have been some phenomenal strikes in the Premier League this season. But in terms of technique nothing betters Kasami's effort in Fulham's victory over Crystal Palace in October. Fulham trailed 1-0 in what was a huge game for them. Sprinting at full pelt, the Swiss international burst through the defence, controlled Sascha Riether's long-ball with his chest without breaking stride, and then unleashed a sumptuous right-footed volley which dipped over Julian Speroni's head from a near impossible angle. Shades of Marco Van Basten!

Special mentions also go to Jonjo Shelvey, and whilst Wayne Rooney’s goal at West Ham was truly special, the fact that goalkeeper Adrian was flapping around like a beached seal somewhat ruined it and for sheer bloody-minded Jeeeeeesus Christ-ness its Norwich City’s Norwegian Alex Tettey. His sublime long distance volley versus Sunderland, had everything - technique, pace, power and direction! An unlikely source but a screamer none the less!

Worst Penalty of the Season: Jason Puncheon
On the 11th January 2014 Jason Puncheon, the Crystal Palace midfielder became the first Premier League player to miss a penalty this season. After an atrocious spot-kick at White Hart Lane, blazing high and wide against Spurs, which included a bonus (and appropriate) face palm, it was rightly or wrongly labelled by many as the worst penalty kick of all-time!

Most Significant Own Goal of the Season: John Terry.
The beginning of the end of Chelsea's title ambitions. After thumbing Arsenal 6-0 the week before, Terry's own goal saw Chelsea lose at Selhurst Park and some of the results that followed including a home defeat to Sunderland and a home draw with Norwich saw any chance of them winning the title go up in smoke!

Quote of the Season: "They can die as soon as they want"
Hull City owner Assem Allam decides the best way to endear himself to the club's fans is to attempt to change the name that has stood for more than a century and tell the fans they can kill themselves if they don't like it. (But to his credit he appointed a good manager in Steve Bruce, supported his wise purchases of Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic in the January transfer window and can now look forward to an FA Cup final appearance against Arsenal).

"I want to congratulate again Mike Dean. I think his performance was unbelievable and I think when referees have unbelievable performances, I think it's fair that as managers we give them praise. So fantastic performance"
He hasn't won anything this year but Jose Mourinho has been quote gold. This time he lands himself in hot water by coming across all sarcastic after Sunderland inflicted a first home defeat in 78 matches for the Chelsea manager.

Worst Club Chairman:
Malaysian businessman Vincent Tan was allowed to get away with changing Cardiff City's colours from their famous blue to (lucky) red while the club were heading towards the Premier League. He then attempted to adopt his own transfer policy by signalling his intent to only sign players with the (lucky) number eight in their birthday, and he even booed his own team off the field. But what turned the tide against him was sacking manager Malky Mackay, the man who took them there and was so highly regarded by the fans, despite a poor start to the season. It was a bitter parting and it is hard to see how Tan's relationship with Cardiff's fans can recover, especially after relegation.

Best Match of the Season: Crystal Palace 3-3 Liverpool.
For the sheer drama of the late turn-around, it was one in a million. One of those matches that makes you think the Premier League really is the best most unpredictable league in the world.

Worst Match of the Season: Manchester Utd 0-0 Chelsea.
Back in August 2013 no-one knew quite how bad Manchester United were going to be under David Moyes, and so Jose Mourinho thought he was being really, really ball-achingly clever when his Chelsea side turned up at Old Trafford, opted to play no forwards and bored his way to a goalless draw.
He wasn’t.

Best Signing of the Season: Jason Puncheon.
Having arrived on loan at Crystal Palace at the start of the season, the 27 year-old winger signed a long-term deal in January, and Palace became his 11th club, in his much travelled career. He established himself as a key member of a team which surpassed all expectations. There were seven goals, all of them important, and it is testament to Puncheon's character that he excelled having had to endure the humiliation of that dreadful penalty miss against Tottenham, as Tony Pulis's side cruised to Premier League safety.

Worst Signings of the Season:
1/ Erik Lamela. A £30m signing from Roma as Spurs looked for a replacement of sorts for Gareth Bale. Ten starts in all competitions for Tottenham. One goal. Hardly any memorable moments. Disappeared over the second half of the season with a mystery back complaint. Massive problems learning the language. Hard to know how it could have gone any worse. The Argentine winger was probably the worst replacement since Alberto Aquilani tried to fill a Xabi Alonso shaped hole in Liverpool’s midfield.

2/ Second is Norwich's Ricky van Wolfswinkel. Chris Hughton splashed £8.5m on van Wolfswinkel from Sporting Lisbon as the supposed answer to his goalscoring problems - built his Norwich team around him, got one goal in return (a fortuitous opening-day goal against Everton), saw his team turn into rubbish and got himself the sack to top it all off

3/ Third is Marouane Fellaini. A £27.5m disaster (Tottenham's Roberto Soldado also deserves a mention.)

Most Controversial Moments of the Season:

1/ A manager headbutted a player.
Just take a moment to think about that. Maybe think about your manager at work and imagine if he/she did the same to someone who worked for a rival company. Pardew did just that to Hull’s David Meyler. A seven-game ban followed on top of a £100,000 club fine, during which time Newcastle were abysmal, but Pardew has managed to hang onto his job by his fingernails, but for how long?

2/ Jose Mourinho scares a ballboy:
What is it with Chelsea and ballboys? Last season it was Eden Hazard who gave a Swansea youngster the boot and this season manager Jose Mourinho decided to give a young Crystal Palace ballboy a stern lesson during the match. Unhappy with the boy taking too long to give the ball back, Mourinho warned him he could be “punched” if he continued the delaying tactic.

3/ Chris Smalling dresses as a suicide bomber:
The poor Manchester United press office. Not only have they had to deal with the David Moyes debacle, but Smalling decided to give them a bit of extra work by hosting a fancy dress party and going as a suicide bomber. The tabloids got families of terrorist attack victims to condemn the United defender and he promised to limit his fancy dress options to zombies, cowboys and Fred Flintstone in the future.

Most Deluded Fans in the Premier League:
Newcastle fans are the most deluded in the Premier League, just edging out West Ham's
Yes, Newcastle lost six matches in a row, that led to a mass walk-out at St James' Park during the win against Cardiff. Yes, their manager headbutted an opposition player. But they had secured a top-half finish way back in February. Why then do the Newcastle fans consider their Club to be a laughing stock? Anyway the Geordie fans just edge out London's East End fans as the most deluded in the Country.

Psychologist of the Season: Dr.Steve Peters
Every team will be on the hunt for their own Dr.Steve Peters. The psychologist is said to have worked wonders at Anfield this season, but the meltdown at Crystal Palace suggested that when the pressure was on Liverpool were not quite as in control as they would have liked.

Waste of a Talent: Wilfried Zaha
The £15m man who would save English football was given little chance to impress by David Moyes before being loaned to Cardiff. And no one could make them look good.

Unlikely Hero: Dwight Gayle
Two years after playing in the Conference North, a year after relegation to League One with Peterborough, and with just 88 minutes of Premier League football under his belt in 2014, Crystal Palace striker Dwight Gayle was the unlikely man to end Liverpool’s title hopes and finish the season as the Club's top goalscorer.

Worst Director of Football: Joe Kinnear
“Judge me on my signings,” said Newcastle’s newly appointed director of football last summer. They did and he was sacked in February having failed to bring in a single player on a permanent transfer.

Young Player of the Year: Séamus Coleman
There were a few candidates in here including Ross Barkley, Joel Ward, Raheem Sterling and Luke Shaw, but Coleman was quite simply superb. His seven goals this season were priceless and he was an instrumental part in what made Everton's defence one of the meanest all season (conceding only 39 goals - only Chelsea had a better record).

Worst Refereeing Decision: Andre Marriner’s error in mistakenly sending-off Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain instead of Kieran Gibbs at Stamford Bridge in March, and this despite Oxlade-Chamberlain telling Marriner he was the culprit. To make matters worse Chelsea went on to win the game 6-0.

Defining Moment of the Season:
If Liverpool had won the Premier League then it would have been Philippe Coutinho’s superb winner against Manchester City following a Vincent Kompany sliced clearance.

But as they didn't then of course it is Steven Gerrard’s slip against Chelsea which allowed Demba Ba to score.

It was a moment in time which ensures that, no matter how hard you work, how much you sacrifice, how much you long for success for your team, your fans and your city, you are still susceptible to the crazy storylines which run throughout football.

Changes for Next Season:

Lifetime bans for supporters that leave the stadium while the game is in the balance. You know who you are!

My Premier League Worst XI of the 2013/14 season:

Maarten Stekelenburg (Fulham)

Matt Lowton (Aston Villa)

Fernando Amorebieta (Fulham)

Modibo Diakite (Sunderland)

Aly Cissokho (Liverpool)

Erik Lamela (Spurs)

Marouane Fellaini (Man U)

Mohamed Diame (West Ham)

Andreas Cornelius (Cardiff)

Ricky van Wolfswinkel (Norwich)

Jozy Altidore (Sunderland)

My Alternative Premier League Best XI of the 2013/14 season:

Julian Speroni (Palace)

Joel Ward (Palace)

Marin Skrtel (Liverpool)

John Terry (Chelsea)

Leighton Baines (Everton

Raheem Sterling (Liverpool)

Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal)

Fernandinho (Man C)

David Silva (Man C)

Romelu Lukaku (Everton)

Sergio Aguero (Man C)

The Top Divers in the English Premier League

'Diving' is the most elaborate form of cheating in professional football, but it stems from a basic disrespect and lack of authority in the game.
Diving is bringing down the whole reputation of football. Trying to trick and deceive the referee is cheating and too often it goes unpunished. At present, players can be suspended and fined for violent conduct even if the referee does not see the incident at the time. This should also be the case for diving!

Here is a list (in no particular order) of current Premier League players with a reputation for diving:


Danny Welbeck - Manchester United 

The Manchester United striker might be one of English football's brightest prospects, but has a tendency to tumble to the ground under no contact. His most recent attempt to con the referee came at White Hart Lane last Wednesday, as Welbeck pretended to fall over Vlad Chiriches’ outstretched leg in an attempt to earn his team a penalty (right). Welbeck may have been let off the hook by referee Howard Webb, but it definitely won't have helped his reputation.

Andy Carroll - West Ham United

The currently injured West Ham striker has been cautioned twice for a diving offence in his Premier League career, and on both occasions they have been blatant dives. For a man of Carroll's size it's quite amusing when he tumbles over to try and claim a free kick......his dives are horrendous and he hardly ever gets away with them.

Ashley Young - Manchester United 

Ashley Young has got his fair share of critics. The England and Manchester United star has been at the ­centre of several diving storms in recent seasons after seeming to go to ground too easily. The problem got so bad that he was warned about his conduct by Sir Alex Ferguson, while ­current manager David Moyes has also done the same. The latest controversy saw Young dive to earn United a ­penalty in their Champions League clash at Real Sociedad last month. It's fair to say not everyone is convinced that he was fouled, especially after he was booked for taking a tumble (right) at Old Trafford against Crystal Palace last September.

Daniel Sturridge - Liverpool

The Liverpool and England goalscorer has been called out twice in his Premier League career so far, and has dived throughout his time in the Premier League. He occasionally dives for Liverpool and was known to do it for Chelsea.

Fernando Torres - Chelsea 

The Spaniard averages a yellow card
for simulation every 66 games. He's
picked up three yellow cards so far in the Premier League, however he gets away with a fair few.
However back in October 2012 Torres received a second yellow card for simulation that resulted in him getting sent off. It left Chelsea with just nine players on the pitch, and in many people's eyes Torres behaviour was seen to have contributed considerably that day to a 3-2 defeat to arch-rivals Manchester United. Within six minutes of his red card Van Persie shot against the post and the ball came out to Rafael before Hernández applied the final touch for a dramatic victory.

Javier Hernández - Manchester United

Hernandez, also known as Chicharito is one of the most clinical finishers in the Premier League. He has a superb strike rate of a goal every two and a bit games for the Red Devils, but also has the unwanted reputation of going to ground far too easily. As a result and has been booked a couple of times for diving.

Oscar - Chelsea 

Oscar, the Chelsea attacking midfielder is at number two. He receives a yellow card at least once every 26 games, the latest incident of the Brazilian diving was at St Mary's stadium on New Years Day where Chelsea were victorious over Southampton. Oscar was faced with a choice last Wednesday: round the Southampton goalkeeper and score a virtuoso goal or dive and try to win a penalty.
Incredibly, the Brazilian let out a shriek and launched himself into the south coast’s rainy skies (right). It was a shameful, perplexing act that was punished with a yellow card by referee Martin Atkinson.

Luis Suarez - Liverpool

Luis is a wonderful footballer, one of the very best in world. Suarez could play for anyone with the form he's in now, unbelievable with the ball and scores the most terrific goals. However, the Uruguayan is a very controversial player as he's been known to cheat before. Most recently he was blasted for simulation, although he was not booked, after the Liverpool striker appealed in vain for a penalty during the Reds' 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge on 29th December.

Adnan Januzaj - Manchester United  

The Belguim born Manchester United winger has broke onto the scene this season with some brilliant performances in the Premier League. Unfortunately the winger has already been booked five times this season (3 of those for simulation), the last being on New Years Day during their 2-1 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur. Januzaj is now behind only Gareth Bale in the all-time list of top-flight divers, despite making just 14 Premier League career appearances!

Current English Premier League Form Guide

Current Form Guide based on last 5 Premier League results as at Midnight Monday 9th Dec 2013

Pos  #                                 Last 5 Results       Points      
                     

  1 (7)    Newcastle Utd         WWWLW            12
  2 (1)    Arsenal                    LWWWD            10               

  2 (3)    Chelsea                   DWWWL             10
  2 (19)  Crystal Palace          DWLWW            10
  2 (2)    Liverpool                WDLWW             10
  2 (4)    Manchester City      LWWWD             10
  7 (5)    Everton                   DDWWD              9
  7 (14)  Norwich                  WLWLW              9
  8 (11)  Aston Villa              WDDWL               8
  8 (13)  Stoke City               DWLDW               8
  8 (10)  Swansea City           DWLWD              8
11 (9)    Manchester Utd      WDDLL                5
11 (6)   Tottenham               DLLDW                5
13 (12)  Hull City                  LWLLD               4
13 (8)    Southampton          WLLLD                4
13 (20)  Sunderland             LWLDL                4
16 (18)  Fulham                   LLLLW                3
16 (17)  West Ham Utd        LLWLL                 3
17 (15)  West Brom              DDLLL                 2

17 (16)  Cardiff City             LDLDL                 2

# (Current League Position)

Dindane Dong – Could Aruna hold the key to the Palace!

The 2012/13 football season is reaching its climax and now it’s time for Crystal Palace Football Club to pull one final rabbit out of the hat!

Crystal Palace’s recent form has dipped with 'The Eagles' taking just 2 points from their last five Championship fixtures, conceding 10 goals and scoring just twice in the process. Palace and hitman Glenn Murray have not scored since our 2-2 draw with Leeds at Selhurst Park back on the 9th March.

A month on and this poor run of form threatens to destabilise Palace’s promotion push. It looks very much like Palace will have to settle for a play-off place at best, but I think the Club still need another seven points from their remaining five games to be sure.

So what can the boys from London SE25 do to make sure that this nine month long season ends with a bang and at least the opportunity to compete for a place in the financial promise land that is the Premier League!
A new TV deal coming into play next season will see the bottom placed top flight side still receive around £60million in TV cash.

Enter Mr Aruna Dindane.......!

Dindane is an experienced 32 year-old Ivory Coast international, who plyed his trade with RSC Anderlecht in the Belgium league between 2000 and 2005, helping the club win two league titles and winning the Belgium League Player of the Year award in 2003. He then joined French Ligue 1 club RC Lens in 2005, where he spent five years which also included a loan spell with then Premier League outfit Portsmouth during the 2009/10 season, where he scored 10 goals in 24 Premier League appearances and helped the Fratton Park club to the 2010 FA Cup Final. He left Pompey at the end of the 2010 season and spent two-and-a-half years in the Middle East, before being released by Qatari side Al-Sailiya Sport Club in December 2012.

Dindane has represented his country at the 2006 African Cup of Nations held in Egypt. He was also selected for the Ivorian squad for the 2008 African Cup of Nations hosted by Ghana.
He currently has 67 international caps to his name and has scored 11 goals for his country, where he often partners Didier Drogba (right) in attack.
He also participated in the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cups, in Germany and South Africa respectively.

On 23rd March 2013, Dindane signed for Crystal Palace until the end of this season, after eventually receiving international clearance from the Middle East. On joining he clearly lacked match fitness and only made his first outing in a Palace shirt as an over-age player in the Under-21 development match versus Stoke City at Tooting and Mitcham's Imperial Fields last night, but he did play 70 minutes and more importantly got on the score sheet!

Ipswich Town at Portman Road is our next league game on Tuesday 16th   April, so the Ivorian has another 10 days to improve on his fitness. The Crystal Palace gaffer Ian Holloway is a student of the game and a deep thinker, and although I do not claim for one moment to be his eyes or ears I expect Dindane to play a part in this crucial fixture. I think Holloway sees something in Dindane that is lacking in the side at the moment. Dindane boasts a wealth of experience but that is not an area where I feel the squad is lacking with the likes of Phillips, Murray, Ramage, Delaney, Jedinak, Wilbraham, Dobbie and Speroni on the books!

It may be just as a goal threat, but equally ‘Ollie’ may feel Dindane can provide us with some 'fresh guile' or possibly something different tactically.

Dindane was training with Palace before he was officially signed. Holloway has been trying hard to get his fitness levels up. He may have featured against Blackpool at Bloomfield Road on Easter Monday if it had not been for an issue with red tape. There are only five league games to go and I cannot see why the gaffer would exert the amount of time and energy into Dindane, if he did not have a game plan that involved the Ivorian striker!

Whether he starts in place of Glenn Murray who is struggling with a hip injury as I speak, plays him alongside Murray in a 4-4-2 formation or behind Murray in a 4-4-1-1 formation that we have used frequently and fruitfully this season remains to be seen. He may alternatively be used as an impact substitute, particularly if we need a goal with the clock ticking down.

So what can the Palace fans truly expect from Aruna Dindane?
Well realistically and honestly, absolutely nothing! He has only played 14 competitive games since January 2012, and none since December 2012, that was before last night.

However now and then when you least expect it you can be holding the key to the ignition! Palace need a spark from somewhere right now, and in Dindane perhaps this skillfull, powerful and experienced striker can be dusted off and a like sparkling gem and be subsequently restored to its former glory.

Dindane (right) has nothing to lose and everything to gain! At present he only has a two-month contract. Could he inject that flash of brilliance, a magical on-field moment or two that could ignite the tail end of what has so far been a wonderful season for a Club, that were one of the favourites for relegation at the start of the season.

If Dindane can prove himself and help guide the Londoner’s to the Premier League I am pretty sure he could secure himself a lucrative deal with Palace next season, and perhaps become a fans’ favourite.

'Roy of the Rovers' material it may sound, but that’s what football dreams are all about..........so let’s just wait and see!

As Oscar Hammerstein once famously said: “If you don't have a dream, how are you going to make a dream come true?”

The Championship Play-Off Lottery!

The gloves are off!

Promotion to the English Premier league (EPL) next season and the huge financial windfall that goes with it is oh so close that clubs and their fans' can almost taste the sweet smell of success! It is akin to dangling a scratch and sniff card in front of a host of clubs, except that this season, for some inexplicable reason the clubs in the race for promotion seem to have lost their sense of smell!

With just eight games to go in the npower Championship there are seven teams that are in with a realistic shout of going up automatically. For those clubs that fail to make the two automatic places and with it a guaranteed place in the top flight of English football next season, four of them must face the drama and potential pain or elation that is part and parcel of the play-off lottery!

Cardiff look almost certain to go up automatically, probably as champions, but that still leaves one automatic promotion spot available, and six teams to fight it out for the right to take their place in the English Premier League at the start of the 2013/14 season.

The teams that fail to take that final automatic spot following a ten month season spanning 46 games will then have the outcome of their season defined by just two, possibly three matches. There is no single sporting event in the world more valuable to the winners, than the victors of the play-offs, who will end up approximately £85million better off, predominately made up from the commercial television revenue that the English Premier League generates. However, by convention the two finalists agree that the loser will keep all the gate receipts from the game, so as to very slightly soften the financial blow of missing out.......(at a guess i would say a figure in the region of £3million - peanuts in comparison).

The Football League Championship play-offs are a series of matches contested by the teams finishing from 3rd to 6th in the Football League Championship table. The semi-finals are played over two legs, with 6th playing 3rd and 5th playing 4th, with the return fixtures following. The final is played at Wembley Stadium and the winners are promoted to the English Premier League.

Cardiff have been top for sometime now, and although they have had the odd wobble over the last few months, so have everyone else around them. Taking Cardiff out of the equation as they are nine points clear of dropping out of the top two places, the battle for the second automatic spot is between Hull, Watford, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, Leicester and Brighton with Bolton and Middlesbrough in a position to pounce should the wheels fall off of any of the aforementioned clubs in the final month of the 2012/13 season.

As I write only two points separate 2nd placed Hull from 3rd placed Watford, just three points separate Hull from 4th placed Crystal Palace, while six points separate Palace from 6th placed Leicester. Brighton lie 7th on the same number of points as Leicester, but with an inferior goal difference.

Looking at the run-in:

Hull still have to play Watford, Middlesbrough and Cardiff, but face difficult games against Barnsley, Bristol City, Ipswich and Wolves, who are all fighting for Championship survival at the bottom.

Watford's fixtures obviously include Hull, but also Cardiff and Leicester and potentially tricky games against Peterborough and Blackburn who are both fighting to stay in the division.

Forest's run in includes games against Brighton, Cardiff, Middlesbrough and Leicester along with struggling Barnsley and Blackpool.

Leicester's fixtures include games against Brigthon, Bolton, Watford, Palace and Forest and they like Hull and Forest face Barnsley.

Brighton's run in includes matches against Forest, Leicester,and Middlesbrough, along with relegation candidates Wolves and Peterborough and struggling Blackpool.

Crystal Palace would seem to have the easier of the run-ins, but as anyone who watches Championship football knows, there are no easy games in this league hence why no teams have run away at the top or been cast adrift at the bottom. Four points separate the bottom four clubs, and only eight points separate the bottom eleven.

Palace only play Leicester of the current top ten teams, but face a plethora of fixtures against struggling sides, namely Blackpool, Barnsley, Ipswich, Blackburn and Peterborough on the final day.

You can argue that it's better to play teams around you at the top as you are in control of your own destiny, but at the same time they are the form sides. On the otherhand playing the bottom sides may seem a better option, but they will be fighting for their lives and definitely won't role over easily. Perhaps fixtures against mid-table teams with nothing to play for is the best option, but to be honest this is not a division where any one team has the 'right' to beat another team, and the higher you finish the more that club earns financially.

There will also be players at all clubs in the division playing for new contracts or looking to impress the powers that be at other clubs. At the end of the day as a club you firstly need to get out and win your own fixtures, then you will have done everything in your power to put yourself in a the best possible position come the end of the season. What will be will be, but at the end of the day you cannot rely on other teams to do you so called 'favours.'

When the Championship play-offs were first introduced for the 1986/87 season, they originally featured a top flight team as well as the three second tier clubs. This format was continued for the 1987/88, but discontinued afterwards to include only the four teams who finished behind the team or teams winning automatic promotion. As before, the semi-final and final were both two-legged.                                              

                                                              

        The New Wembley Stadium

Since 1989/90, the final has been a single game, played at Wembley Stadium, although from 2001 to 2006, it was played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, while Wembley was being rebuilt.              

Ipswich Town have been in the Championship play-offs a record seven times: 1987, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000, 2004, and 2005, making the final only once and winning it in 2000.

Leicester City have reached the Championship play-off final four times, losing two in 1992 and                 1993 and winning two in 1994 and 1996.

Crystal Palace have also appeared in the final four times, losing in 1996 and winning in 1989, 1997 and 2004.

Birmingham City have reached the Championship play-offs four times consecutively from 1999 to 2002, losing the first three attempts before, in 2002, reaching the Play-Off Final at the Millennium Stadium, and finally winning promotion to the Premier League.

The team finishing highest in the league (third) has succeeded in winning promotion ten times out of twenty-six seasons up to 2012, with the 4th placed team managing four promotions, the 5th six promotions and the 6th five promotions.

The play-off winners have managed to finish above the Championship winners and runners-up in the subsequent Premier League season on five occasions: Blackburn Rovers in 1992/93, Leicester City in 1996/97, Ipswich Town in 2000/01, West Ham United in 2005/06 and Swansea City in 2011/12.

Championship Play-Off Records:

Most play-off promotions: 3 – Crystal Palace (1989, 1997, 2004)

Most play-off finals: 4 – Crystal Palace, Leicester City

Most play-off final defeats: 3 – Sheffield United (1997, 2003, 2009)

Most play-off participations: 7 – Ipswich Town

Most unsuccessful play-off participations: 6 – Ipswich Town (from 7 in total)

Teams without any unsuccessful play-off participations: Notts County (1991), Hull City (2008), Burnley (2009), Swansea City (2011)

Biggest aggregate win: Chelsea 6–1 Blackburn Rovers (1988); Leicester City 6–1 Cambridge United (1992); and Hull City 6–1 Watford (2008)

Biggest home win: Leicester City 5–0 Cambridge United (Semi-final, 1992)

Biggest away win: Birmingham City 0–4 Barnsley (Semi-final, 2000)

Biggest win in a final: Bolton Wanderers 3–0 Preston North End (2001); Sheffield United 0–3 Wolverhampton Wanderers (2003); and Leeds United 0–3 Watford (2006)

Highest scoring final: 8 goals – Charlton Athletic 4–4 Sunderland (1998)

Highest scoring play-off match: 8 goals – Charlton Athletic 4–4 Sunderland (Final, 1998); Ipswich Town 5–3 Bolton Wanderers (Semi-final, 2000)

Highest scoring tie (aggregate): 12 goals – Ipswich Town 7–5 Bolton Wanderers (2000)

Highest attendance: 86,703 – Bristol City vs Hull City (Final, 2008)

Lowest attendance: 9,225 – Cambridge United vs Leicester City (Semi-final, 1992).

The English Premier League:

The competition formed as the FA Premier League on 20 February 1992 following the decision of clubs in the Football League First Division to break away from The Football League, which was originally founded in 1888, and take advantage of a lucrative television rights deal. This deal will be worth £3 billion as of 2013–14, with BSkyB and BT Group securing the rights to broadcast 116 and 38 games respectively.

The Premier League is the most-watched football league in the world, broadcast in 212 territories to 643 million homes and a TV audience of 4.7 billion people.

The Premier League distributes a small portion of its television revenue to clubs that are relegated from the league in the form of "parachute payments". At the end of the current season 2012/13 those clubs relegated from the EPL will get a proposed £23m in the first year after relegation and £18m in the second, followed by £9m a year in years three and four!

In contrast Championship clubs that are not in receipt of parachute payments will receive around £2.3m in solidarity payments. This ridiculously one sided financial divide is currently being looked into by The Football League as they attempt to look at ways of mitigating the advantage of parachute payments handed to clubs relegated to the Championship. Some Football League Club owners who attended a summit meeting last Wednesday (20th March 2013) claimed they may have to walk away from the game if they were forced to compete with clubs that received more in parachute payments than their entire budget for the year.

Attached is a link to The Guardian's article on the subject right here!