End of Season ?

Once the Cup Final is over, that's the end of the season. Or that's the way it once was.
The Wembley show piece drew down the curtain on a season and everyone got the summer off, to play tennis and cricket or row or ride, until August when the football started up again.
The 2 year gap between the World Cup (lasting four weeks) and the European Championships (another 4 weeks of Summer) put pay to that years ago. Add in the Play-Off finals, plus a few friendly warm-up matches and a Copa América tournament and before you know it Pre-season games are just a couple of weeks away and the 'close season' is over for another summer.

This last weekend saw Cup competitions in most countries played. Barcelona, PSG, Bayern Munich and Juventus all completing 'doubles' in their countries. Hibernian beat Rangers in Scotland and Man Utd (who then sacked their manager) overcame Crystal Palace at Wembley. Disappointment for Palace, but allowing West Ham to enter the Europa League as a result. See Hammers. 

I shall in my blog > whilst dummying past the small matter of a Champions League Final, this Saturday (because unless you have BT Sport you'll have to watch it down the pub) and also the Play-off Finals next weekend > treat this time as the 'close season'. A new football feature will be coming soon and the Football, Fútbol banner, will return in August. But a season wind-up surely wouldn't go a miss…

One final shirt or two: 

What a season for Papy Djilobodji. The Senegal player was a surprise transfer to Chelsea on deadline day back in Sept 2015. He famously played just 59 seconds as a sub in a League Cup match (link) before going on loan in January to Germany. 
He got banned in March for a throat silting gesture and then in the final game of the season scored the goal that kept Werder Bremen in the top division. He may have the freedom of Bremen…
Will we see him back in the number 15 of Chelsea ? Dunno.

This shirt stat makes for better reading….

Notes for Diary

Friday 11th June. Euros begin in France.
Wednesday 15th June. The day the new league fixtures come out.

And finally a story to expand the leagues in England…

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36335384
This would play havoc with my LION League Ladder Chart

See: http://billblogs2.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/football-league-tables.html