The All Soccer Thread(US soccer, EPL, European leagues, Spanish/Mexican leagues.)

[beach bum]

Sheffield Wednesday made it through 3-1 on aggregate over Brighton and is likely to play Hull City at Wembley. How disappointing for Brighton that they almost qualified on the top 2 spots only to be thoroughly outplayed by Sheffield Wednesday. Hull City won 3-0 at Derby so it is almost a done deal that they advance. I am rooting for Sheffield Wednesday now come up to the Premier League. They have not been there since the 1999-2000 season where they were there for the 8 previous seasons before its current 16 year absence.

[VHSCoach2]

Derby County beat Hull City 2-0, but Hull advances to the promotion play-in match on the 3-2 aggregate.

Hull will take on Sheffield Wednesday on May 28th.  I'll be pulling for Sheffield Wednesday in that one.

In other news, Manchester United beat AFC Bournemouth 3-1 today.  United finishes 5th in the table, while Bournemouth finishes 16th.

[AirWarren]

Gotta go with hull.

[beach bum]

I just left the gym. I had a great workout but kept glancing at the Liverpool game to see a bad result unfolding....... Sevilla wins 3-1 in the Europa League final. There will be no Champions League for Liverpool next year officially. Sevilla I believe was in 8th just like Liverpool in their league so it was their only way in too.

[beach bum]

I stand corrected. Sevilla finished 7th however it was still their only way to the Champions League next year.

[1-Adam-12]

May be a blessing for LFC.  That team now has no European commitments so can concentrate on the league and the domestic cups.  If Klopp plays his cards right Liverpool could have a really good 2016/17 season.

[beach bum]

May be a blessing for LFC.  That team now has no European commitments so can concentrate on the league and the domestic cups.  If Klopp plays his cards right Liverpool could have a really good 2016/17 season.

I agree, I have them and as much I hate to say it... Chelsea making the biggest leaps next year!

Zlatan could land in the EPL next year and he has 1 or 2 big years left and that could change the dynamic of the league.

[WPWells]

Zlatan will land at Liverpool

[beach bum]

Zlatan will land at Liverpool

I believe he will land at Liverpool or Arsenal.... I think it is possible! He has the ability to put a team over the top!

[VHSCoach2]

Crystal Palace scored in the final seven minutes to take a 1-0 lead on Manchester United in the FA Cup Final.

One minute later, Man U answers.

1-1 heading into extra time.

Man U wins its 12th FA Cup, 2-1.

[beach bum]

Crystal Palace scored in the final seven minutes to take a 1-0 lead on Manchester United in the FA Cup Final.

One minute later, Man U answers.

1-1 heading into extra time.

Man U wins its 12th FA Cup, 2-1.

What a game... Lingard's strike was incredible!

[1-Adam-12]

Unconfirmed reports are that Van Gaal is out at Man United.  Jose Mourinho would be his replacement.

The Special One may finally have got the job he has coveted.

[AirWarren]

Spit.

[1-Adam-12]

Amazing that we are on our 17th page. 

Now, a story from the lower English leagues.  Forgive the length, but it's necessary to tell the whole story.

Back in the early 2000s there was a club representing Wimbledon (yes, that Wimbledon) which had been in the Premier League or its equivalent since 1986, and won the FA Cup in 1988.

In 2000 they were relegated into what would now be the Championship, and in 2002, in a highly controversial move, moved to the town of Milton Keynes.  This spurred fans of Wimbledon to form their own club which they called AFC Wimbledon, or AFC for short. 

This team was placed in the ninth tier of English football.  Meanwhile, after the 2003-04 season, the old Wimbledon changed their name to MK Dons and in the meantime had been relegated into what is now League One.

AFC gained promotion twice in their first three years, while MK Dons was further relegated to League Two at the end of the 05-06 season.  From seven tiers' difference to only three in four years.

In 07-08, both AFC and MK Dons gained promotion.  AFC gained another notch in 08-09 moving to the Conference Premier, reducing the difference to two tiers.

At the end of the 2011 season AFC won another promotion; after only 9 years in existence they were now a League Two team and only one league back of MK.  They have remained in League Two since.  MK were promoted to the Championship in 14-15, but went right back down after this season.

This season AFC finished 7th in League Two, good enough to make the playoffs, and beat Accrington in extra time to make the finals.  Which sets this up:

If AFC can beat Plymouth in the finals at Wembley on May 30, they will gain promotion to League One, and thereby will be in the same league as their predecessor team.

How fitting--and ironic--it would be.

[1-Adam-12]

It's now confirmed that LvG got the sack today.

Your move, Special One.

[AirWarren]

No one will ever be good enough for Manchester United as a manager.

Unless your name is Sir Alex.

[beach bum]

I am going to be the first to predict that France will beat Spain in the Euro Final on their home soil for the title. Then in the Copa America I will take Argentina over Uruguay!

[AirWarren]

USA beats Ecuador tonight 1-0

[beach bum]

USA beats Ecuador tonight 1-0

That last group of guys played well together. They generated a lot of chances overall.  Paraguay and Costa Rica are very solid. Colombia speaks for itself. I think we can get out of the group stage but it will be tough.

[Lionheart88]

USA beats Ecuador tonight 1-0

Ugly, boring game.  Especially in the first half.  Nagbe turned things around eventually.  We need more of him with the USMNT.  Not least because it allows Bradley to drop back into a more natural defensive role.

[AirWarren]

Very boring game. There is potential but who knows.

[WPWells]

Let's go with our young players and drop a lot of the older ones

[beach bum]

Let's go with our young players and drop a lot of the older ones

What he said..... haha.

[Lionheart88]

Let's just play everyone in the right positions for once.

[AirWarren]

Bradley looked good in his defensive role.


Bedoya and nagbe(sp?) need to lead it along the way.

[AirWarren]

Hull city will be back in the EPL. GO ORANGE AND BLACK!

[beach bum]

U.S. scores early, Mexico beats Paraguay 1-0, Real wins, Hull comes up..... what a good day so far in the soccer world to watch.

[AirWarren]

Let's go USA!

[AirWarren]

GOAL!!!!!!!! John brooks!

[AirWarren]

4-0. Good showing by a couple of young USA players.

[VHSCoach2]

LR Rangers drop the match at home to the Dutch Lions, 4-1.

Lions went up 1-0 early, Rangers tied it up in the 79th minute, and then the Lions got 3 in the final 11 minutes.

[1-Adam-12]

Welcome back to the Prem, Hull City.  1-0 winners over Sheffield Wednesday today.

[WPWells]

USA looked great last night! All four goals scored by players under 25

[VHSCoach2]

Here's a breakdown of the promotions and relegations for the top 4 English football leagues:

Relegated from Barclays Premier League to Sky Bet Championship League:
1. Newcastle United
2. Norwich City
3. Aston Villa

Promoted from Sky Bet Championship League to Barclays Premier League:
1. Burnley
2. Middlesbrough
3. Hull City

Relegated from Sky Bet Championship League to English League One:
1. Charlton Athletic
2. Milton Keynes Dons
3. Bolton Wanderers

Promoted from English League One to Sky Bet Championship League:
1. Wigan Athletic
2. Burton Albion
3. Barnsley

Relegated from English League One to English League Two:
1. Doncaster Rovers
2. Blackpool
3. Colchester United
4. Crewe Alexandra

Promoted to English League One from English League Two:
1. Northampton Town
2. Oxford United
3. Bristol Rovers
4. AFC Wimbledon or Plymouth Argyle (play tomorrow)

Relegated from English League Two to National League:
1. Dagenham & Redbridge
2. York City

[Lionheart88]

Tough break for Millwall.  I was hoping they'd make it back up to the Championship.  My favorite sub-PL team in England.

[1-Adam-12]

Barnsley is another story about what shouldn't happen sometimes, does.  They were bottom of League 1 after 20 games this season, fired their manager and had a caretaker come in. 

That caretaker has taken them back to the Championship.  He should now get the job full time.

A little FA Cup history:  As a Championship side, Barnsley dumped Liverpool and Chelsea out of the FA Cup in successive rounds in 2008, and the Liverpool match was at Anfield. 

That was the same year that Portsmouth went on to win the Cup, on the way defeating Manchester United at Old Trafford thanks to a penalty. The goalkeeper on that occasion was Rio Ferdinand, usually a defender. Edwin Van der Sar had to go off injured at halftime and Tomas Kuszczak, his backup, was red-carded for the foul that resulted in the penalty. 

[VHSCoach2]

AFC Wimbledon wins!

[beach bum]

AFC Wimbledon wins!

I only like them because they have that giant Nigerian guy.... he is a beast!

[1-Adam-12]

And that's exactly what they call him. 

I looked him up. 5-10 and listed at 220 pounds.  I'd say he's a few more than that.

[VHSCoach2]

Zlatan has signed with Manchester United.

[Longfellow]

I am so not excited about that. Zlatan is my favorite player not on the USMNT, and I hate Man U. I'm disappointed in him

[beach bum]

Zlatan has signed with Manchester United.

Manure United will still somehow tank and get 4th with him next year I hope...

[WPWells]

Copa 100 is about to kick off!

[AirWarren]

Seems to be a big crowd. Where is this being played?


Let's go yanks!

[AirWarren]

Santa Clara?

[AirWarren]

Got a mixed lineup it looks. I was hoping to go young.

[AirWarren]

Terrible.

[AirWarren]

We need to get Jones out of there. He has thrown away so many balls tonight.

[AirWarren]

I swear. Getting ran out of town here.

[Lionheart88]

We need to get Jones out of there. He has thrown away so many balls tonight.

More than anything, we need to get Klinsmann out of there.