Page 4 - Tottenham Hotspur

By Greg Lea.
In an ideal world, the vote for the PFA Player of the Year would not take place until after the denouement of the season, when the full fixture list has been fulfilled and the team honours handed out. The current arrangement means ballots have probably already been completed, however: in recent years, players have had to submit their votes by mid-March, when there is usually around a quarter of the campaign remaining.

Given that the voting is likely to have already taken place, then, here are the likely contenders for the 2015/16 PFA Player of the Year crown:

Riyad Mahrez, Leicester City

With 16 strikes and 11 assists to his name, Mahrez has been directly involved in more goals than anyone else in the Premier League. The Algeria international is Leicester's primary creative force, with his direct dribbling, fine footwork and much-improved end product causing problems for almost every defender he has

It's been a thoroughly unpredictable season of football in the English Premier League, so it stands to reason that the 2015/16 FA Cup would take an unpredictable turn as well. Following a winding and at times bizarre season, the FA Cup exploded in a series of upsets and close calls in the quarterfinals. Now, with most of the tournament's supposed frontrunners eliminated and one replay match left to decide the full semi-final draw, we are going to take a look at what happened and what could happen going forward.

The Tournament So Far

At the outset of the 2015/16 FA Cup, most of the teams earned assumed frontrunner notices were the teams that always get those notices: Premier League giants like Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, and Manchester United. After the third round-the first to feature most of the supposed top contenders-there was little reason to think that one of those "Big Four" clubs

By Greg Lea.

With the two teams in contention for the Premier League title, last weekend's meeting between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal was billed by many as the most important north London derby of all-time. For the first time in the fixture's history, the biggest winners were Leicester City.

Both Mauricio Pochettino and Arsene Wenger expressed regret that their team were unable to claim all three points from the clash at White Hart Lane, which ended with Spurs and Arsenal each taking a share of the spoils after an entertaining 2-2 draw. The fact that their two closest rivals both dropped points was fantastic news for table-topping Leicester, who duly took full advantage with a 1-0 victory over Watford at Vicarage Road that moved them five points clear at the summit of the standings a few hours later. It was a showing that gave the best indication yet that Claudio Ranieri's side have what it takes to pull off what would be the most extraordinary title triumph

Right now, Leicester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, and arguably even West Ham United are all battling to clinch one of the English Premier League's top four spots. As in previous years, the top four clubs in the division this season will qualify for the Champions League-with the top three earning entry into the group stage and the fourth-place club heading into the final play-off round.

The race for these four slots is even more intense this year, given the fact that last year's EPL champion-Chelsea FC-has very little chance of qualifying for the Champions League. As such, clubs that haven't traditionally qualified for Europe's most prestigious tournament in the past-Leicester, Tottenham, and West Ham are getting ever close to breaking the cycle in 2016.

But what if England didn't get four spots in the Champions League? Recent rumors have suggested that the Premier League could, at some point in the not-too-distant future, be

When Manchester United faced off against Midtjylland for the first leg of the 2015/16 UEFA Europa League, in many ways, the game was an important one. The Red Devils were looking to save face, after a disappointing season in the Premier League and an early exit from the Champions League; these troubles have left the once-dominant English heavyweights looking almost weak. The Europa League could prove to be United's last shot at a trophy for the 2015/16 campaign.

And yet, there was a least one thing missing from United's big round of 32 game: Manchester United fans.

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The Manchester United Boycott

Indeed, as has been reported in publications all throughout Europe, Manchester United supporters planned a boycott

By Karl Matchett.

Tottenham Hotspur's excellent recent run of form in the Premier League has propelled them to second place and the biggest challengers to Leicester City to win the title this season.

It's not a battle for supremacy in England's top flight which would have been expected at the beginning of the campaign, but Spurs and the Foxes have proved to be the most consistent and resilient sides around.

Now, with increasing games on the London side's fixture list thanks to their Europa League exploits, manager Mauricio Pochettino needs to weigh up the benefits of keeping a successful side playing together regularly, against the burn-out and possible fatigue accumulation which could severely hamper the charge for silverware in the latter stages of the season.

Leicester City lost a game last weekend, falling 1-2 against Arsenal, but the defeat barely seemed to matter. The Foxes remain the highest ranked team in the Premier League, and as the weeks go on, it's becoming increasingly probable that they will at very least contend for the top-flight title in 2016. Such a victory would be a game-changer for the EPL, not because this has been a great or even particularly good season for English soccer, but because it would further challenge the idea of the Premier League's virtual "class system."

Since the English Premier League began with the 1992/93 football season, the division has crowned 23 champions. The 2015/16 campaign will mark the 24^th Premier League winner. However, despite the fact that this league has now persisted for nearly a quarter of a century, the number of different soccer clubs to actually hoist the trophy remains a very small figure. Indeed, 23 seasons in, only five different teams have won the Premier

By Karl Matchett.

Leicester City's victory over Manchester City last week seemed to finally convince Premier League watchers that the Foxes were the real deal, this season at least, and could go on to actually win the title-but there are still one or two more challengers to keep at bay.

One of those is Tottenham Hotspur, who themselves have the chance to not just further dent Manuel Pellegrini's team's hopes of reclaiming the league title, but also cast themselves into the same light as Leicester. Spurs visit the Etihad Stadium over the weekend as the first part of a week which could propel them from being top-four probables to being a team capable of winning major honours this season.

Considering Spurs'

Has there ever been a Premier League season as tumultuous and unpredictable as this one? Starting with Chelsea's complete and utter collapse and continuing with surprisingly limp campaigns from both Liverpool and Manchester United, the 2015/16 English Premier League has been anything but a foregone conclusion. In fact, 25 weeks into the competition (and with only 13 games to go until the end of the season), the EPL title is still anyone's game.

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Leicester City: Your New Frontrunners?

Leicester City, previously part of the Premier League's so-called "middle class," have been one of the major game-changers this season. Spurred forward by a record-breaking scoring run from Jamie Vardy, the Foxes have been hanging around

The January transfer window is never as eventful as the summer gap. Fewer teams dip into the market to flesh out their ranks or spend big on new stars, and fewer clubs are willing to let go of big stars. In other words, you're never going to see a Cristiano Ronaldo transfer in January, or any transfer fees that land in the top 10 or 20 of all time. Still, this year's January window was bigger than it has been in the past, with Premier League spending topping £1 billion for the first time ever. Read on to find out which clubs made the biggest signings of the month.

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Pep Guardiola: Sure, he's not a player, but the deadline day announcement that Pep Guardiola is indeed on his way to Manchester City handily overshadowed everything that was going on in the