It’s not a good-bye.
Thank you all for watching and for supporting the Premier League all these years on FOX Soccer. It’s been a blast and our pleasure bringing it to you, the fans.
As a reminder, FOX Sports 1, America’s new sports network, will be our new home for soccer starting August 17. Until then, FOX Soccer has next weekend’s Champions League final on tap, as well as this summer’s Gold Cup and plenty more.
Seemingly one of the most talked-about stories in football at the moment is Radamel Falcao’s next destination. Newly-promoted Monaco looked set to have won the race for the Colombian’s signature, but it has emerged that Manchester City is close to snapping up the Atletico Madrid star.
Also Chelsea looks set to have a busy transfer window, with Fernando Torres looking likely to leave Stamford Bridge in the summer.
For this rumor and the rest of today’s transfer gossip, click here.
As the season comes to a close, we examine the history and impact of relegation from the Premier League with our three-part series “Surviving on Top.” Various topics during in our discourse include the overview of relegation, the 21-year history of Premier League relegation, as well as statistical and financial analysis on the impact of relegation.
To start, the most recent team to seal their fate to England’s second-tier league - the Football League Championship - were Wigan after their defeat against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday:
Wigan previously held the distinction of being one of 11 clubs that never suffered relegation from the Premier League; with Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham, Stoke and Swansea also in the list. Conversely, of the 45 clubs that have enjoyed spells in the Premier League, eight of them have been relegated three or more times from the top flight:
On Saturday, we take a look at the statistical odds of relegation and promotion, as well as the financial impact for each club in their respective league. All of this is leading up to FOX Soccer’s coverage of the final Premier League matchday with nine games live on broadcast across the FOX family of networks.
Photo: Jamie Trecker / FOX Soccer
By Jamie Trecker
SALFORD, MANCHESTER, ENGLAND
On Saturday it was drummers, today it was drum kits. At about 10 a.m. on Sunday, the Angel Centre, a multi-use facility next door to the old Royal Salford Hospital, opened its doors to a scruffy lot unloading vans.
No, it was not Chelsea pulling up to play at Old Trafford (we’ll get to that later). Manchester is hosting a massive music festival, Sounds from the Other City, that will take place across 11 venues and feature some 130 acts. Most of the venues are small, but the bands aren’t. The headliners include trance music pioneer Simon Postford, Glasgow noise-rockers Divorce, and Oregon’s well-regarded Parenthetical Girls.
Did I mention the venues are small? Bands will be playing in the same pub where Marx and Engels discussed the means of production over an open fire. On Sunday, the Salford Arms was clearing a path for all the equipment while I made my way to Old Trafford. The manager’s expression was equal parts exhaustion and panic.
Photo: Jamie Trecker / FOX Soccer
By Jamie Trecker
LONDON, ENGLAND
Wembley Stadium will turn seven later on this year. For a toddler, it’s getting quite a workout. Over the next several weeks, London’s iconic stadium will host the FA Cup and UEFA Champions League finals and then the Football League promotion playoffs – the richest game in all of soccer.
On Thursday, we were invited to an FA program shoot (you’ll see it on May 25) that will show off some of the stadium’s history and legacy. One of the most surprising things about it is how vibrant a venue it is outside of game days. During our taping, Wembley was crawling with tours, so many that the guides had to call in reinforcements and extend hours. It should come as no surprise that many of these visitors spoke German.
One thing that those visitors got to see – and did not know it – was the Champions League trophy itself. It’s kept in a silver gig crate up in the FA’s office on the fourth floor, and two young men carry it down to you. As we had the trophy outside, next to Bobby Moore’s statue, for security purposes we asked the tour group leaders to tell the visitors it was a replica. But, I can tell you now, that if you were a visitor between 2:30 and 3:30 on Thursday, you saw the real thing. Special congratulations to the enterprising little boy who went up and touched it.
Photo: Jamie Trecker / FOX Soccer
By Jamie Trecker
LONDON, ENGLAND
The problem with London is getting there. In my case, that means a 12-hour trip, all told, and it’s invariably filled with screaming children. It could be worse – my grandparents did this on boats, after all – but sleep deprivation leads one to see things that cannot possibly be there. Like sunshine. In May. In England.
This promises to be the first May bank holiday in recent memory that isn’t wretched. Spring in England is a bit like summer in Scotland: cold, damp and unforgiving. Spring in England teases you with green things coming up in the garden and then dashes the hopes of a nice day out on your bike with a gale. I packed a parka and rain gear only to find that people are out in shorts in the capital today. It’s 55ºF today. It’s going to be 70º here on Saturday. This is a full-scale heat wave for England.
This means we’re actually going to see soccer in the sunshine, and four pretty meaningful games to boot. Spurs host Southampton in a should-win while QPR play Arsenal in a game that the Gunners must-win. The latter’s a London derby, however, so make no bets. Newcastle have a tricky fixture at Boleyn Ground against West Ham while Sunday, we get to see if Chelsea can keep up with the newly-crowned Premier League champions Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson dubbed Robin van Persie’s spectacular volley against Aston Villa, “the goal of the century”.
But this effort from Elisabeth Jeppesen, a 27-year-old striker for little known Norwegian ladies side, Medkila is making waves throughout Norway.
See how this compares to RVP’s best.
Tune in to Goals on Sunday at 1pm & 4pm ET for full poll results
Tune in to Goals on Sunday at 1pm ET for full poll results
Paris Saint-Germain increases its interest in Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney, with United holding out for an offer of more than £20million. Find out what the press make of it all by checking out the latest edition of Paper Chase.
