Your English Premier League Postseason Awards

  By Justin Sherman (@JShermOfficial)

We already broke down the 2016 La Liga season, so we move north to examine the English Premier League. In one of the most exciting EPL seasons of all-time, an unlikely champions rose, and a juggernaut fell.


Check out some of the other highlights of the season below.

Arsene Wenger: Arsenal's Teflon Don

By Justin Sherman (@JShermOfficial)

In today’s world of 24-hour news coverage and overnight “experts,” born deep in the doldrums of social media, the coaching profession has become one of the most scrutinized on planet earth.

The days of patient understanding and requisite team-building once afforded to all, is now just for a chosen few who take shelter in the land of the “elite."

But what, exactly, gets one into this exclusive club?

I’d care to guess that most people’s first choice would be championships. Others may say longevity, consistency or stability, but the true holy grail lies in the possession of all of the above.

Sir Alex Ferguson had it.

Bill Belichick and Gregg Popovich have it.

Then there’s those that had it all, but now only have some.

Dominoes Beginning to Fall in European Soccer

Could Pep Guardiola (right) bring Lionel Messi to Manchester City with him? The two were unstoppable together at Barcelona, and Messi may be ready for a new challenge in a new league.

 By Justin Sherman (@JShermOfficial)

Ed. Note- Manager changes and upstart clubs in some of Europe's biggest leagues have sent shock waves throughout the soccer world in recent days. So, naturally, our chief soccer guru Justin Sherman has to weigh in. Here's how he sees things shaking out in England, Spain and Italy.

Guardiola makes it official, but will Messi follow?

Manchester City let the most well known secret out of the bag Monday morning, as it became official that Pep Guardiola will be their new manager. The Spaniard will take over in July, supplanting the successful, yet less accomplished, Manuel Pellegrini. The timing of it all is a bit odd, considering both City and Guardiola's current club, Bayern Munich, are still in the Champions League, and could potentially face each other in the later rounds.

Talk about awkward, and what a conflict of interest, whether real or perceived, this would create for Guardiola.

But, for two reasons, this had to happen now.

After Munich, Where Will Star Manager Pep Guardiola Land?

By Justin Sherman (@JShermanOfficial)

After months of speculation regarding Pep Guardiola’s future, following his reluctance to sign a contract extension with German powerhouse Bayern Munich, the inevitable was announced a few weeks back -- Guardiola is gone.

Despite two-and-a-half extremely successful years in Bavaria, that included back-to-back Bundesliga titles and one German cup, the Spaniard has decided to end a marriage that seemed destined to be short lived from the start.

Who knows, maybe things would have been different with a Champions League triumph or two. After all, Guardiola’s appointment was completely centered around conquering Europe, since Bayern had been facing little opposition on the domestic front lately. However, he failed to add to the two Champions League trophies he won while in charge of Barcelona, having reached the semifinals for the past two seasons, before losing in embarrassing fashion.

There have also been disagreements with the Bayern medical staff, which led to a parting of the ways with the highly regarded team doctor Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt last season, along with three other members of staff. Despite this, Guardiola will finish the season with Bayern, again leading the Bundesliga table, and again entering the Champions League as a prohibitive favorite.

Guardiola has made his intentions for next season clear: It's a job in the English Premier League, or nothing.

He will go into next summer as quite possibly the most sought after coaching free agent in history, and so let's break down his potential landing spots.

Leicester City: The Underdog that European Soccer Needs

By Justin Sherman (@JShermOfficial)

The Underdog -- More than a word, it’s a story.

A story we love not only in sport, but in life.

From Buster Douglas’ punch that rocked Mike Tyson in the Tokyo dome, to Jeremy Lin moving the world’s most famous arena into pandemonium. Our underdogs come in all shapes, sizes, colors and creeds. It’s one of the few times our prejudices get placed on the backburner, as we sit rubbing our eyes asking “is this real?”

Our latest fascination comes from a small city in the East Midlands of England, and a club that finished 14th in last season’s Barclays Premier League.

Is Wayne Rooney Still Elite?

By Justin Sherman (@JShermOfficial)

In every sport around the globe scouts, fans, and managers are always looking for the next great star.

As much as we value a player's service and past triumphs, results in the present are the only thing that truly matter. Father time is undefeated, and for some, that realization hits like a ton of bricks.

In a way, Wayne Rooney has always been in a race against that time. To understand where we now stand, one must know how we got here.

Can Klopp Save Liverpool?

By Justin Sherman (@JShermOfficial)

Liverpool and its supporters live by the slogan “you’ll never walk alone,“ but for many of the club’s managers, that motto has’t quite matched reality.

Another season arrived, and with it came the hefty expectations of a club trying desperately to recapture past glory days gone by. The Brendan Rodgers era officially ended last week as the board (led by Fenway Sports Group and founder John Henry) decided to sack the Irishman just 11 games into the campaign. Despite splashing out $123 million in the summer transfer window, Liverpool has only managed to win four games thus far in 2015.

Cristiano Ronaldo's 10 Greatest Goals

By Justin Sherman (@JShermOfficial)

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a pair of goals in Wednesday's Champions League match against Malmö, reaching two historic milestones in the process.

With his first goal, Ronaldo joined the illustrious 500 goal club, becoming its 25th member all-time. With his second, he equaled Raúl’s club record of 323 goals for Los Blancos. Raúl’s tally was achieved in 741 appearances, while Ronaldo took a mere 308 to match him.

In honor of the prolific forward's historic milestones, we countdown the Top-10 goals of Cristiano Ronaldo’s career.

Is Chelsea Already Out of the Title Hunt?

Manager Jose Mourinho will have to correct things quickly if the season is to be saved for Chelsea.

By Justin Sherman (@JShermOfficial)

It was a cool London day in March and the year was 1982. Second division foes Chelsea and Crystal Palace locked horns in a tight and hard fought game, ultimately ending with the Eagles winning 2-1 on a late goal. If you are suffering from deja vu, don’t worry, you're not alone.

For the first time in 33 years, Palace won at Stamford Bridge using the same formula. 

After new arrival Radamel Falcao came on and pulled the Blues level with his goal in the 79th minute, it was a forgone conclusion the game would end in a tie, or worse, for the Eagles. Unfortunately for Chelsea supporters, Joel Ward was having none of that Kool-Aid. Just two minutes later, Yannick Bolasie sent in a cross that found the outstretched leg of Sako, passing it on the volley to Ward who gracefully headed it home.

To put in perspective just how big of a win this was for Palace, consider that Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho’s side had lost just ONCE in 99 home games. In typical Mourinho fashion, he deflected some of the blame for the loss, placing it at the feet of the referee, while heaping a small amount of praise on Palace.

"The first thought is to Palace,'' Mourinho said. "They come with everything. They were lucky but they deserve the luck. My team, I think we deserved more. I don't want to say we deserved to win, because it's not true."

"The referee did a big mistake. Clear penalty with the result 0-0 and obviously with influence in the result. The one with Zouma that I watch at half-time on television. It was a clear penalty. (But) I prefer to go in this order, when I say Crystal Palace first.''

Through four league games, Chelsea have only managed a total of four points, putting them eight points adrift of league leaders Manchester City and 13th in the EPL. City, on the other hand, have looked unbeatable.