July 1st to 5th - A good week for West Ham saw them pick up four points in their battle against relegation. They came from behind to beat Chelsea 3-2 on Wednesday night and followed that up with a 2-2 draw at Newcastle on Sunday. Those results leave David Moyes' side four points clear of the drop zone. With just five games to go Norwich are seven points from safety. A four-nil defeat at Arsenal and a one-nil defeat at home to Brighton leaves them looking odds on for a swfit return to the Championship.

Man United put five past Bournemouth on Saturday to temporarily move into the top four. However, Chelsea scored three without reply at home to Watford on Saturday night to regain fourth spot. Willian scored a penalty for the third successive game in that one as they retained their two-point lead over Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side. Wolves prospects of a top four finish faded after they lost two-nil at home to Arsenal - goals from Saka and Lacazette saw the Gunners move up to seventh in the table.

Champions Liverpool arrived at Man City on Thursday night after a week on the sauce and promptly crashed to a four-nil defeat. De Bruyne, Sterling and Foden had Guardiola's side three up at the break and the scoring was rounded off by an Oxlade-Chamberlain own goal. The Reds did sober up long enough to see off a dogged challenge by Aston Villa on Sunday following late goals from Sadio Mane and Curtis Jones.

Elsewhere over the last few days, Leicester picked up a badly needed three points with a three-nil win at home to Crystal Palace. Jamie Vardy ended his goal drought in that one, scoring twice to make it 100 goals from Leicester. The Foxes have a three point cushion over Man United in third place. The weekend's action ended with Southampton beating recently deposed champions one-nil at St Marys - Che Adams scored the only goal in the first half as Man City lost for the ninth time this season!

Three people share the lead in the July competition with a score of 69 points after the first few days of the month - Aidan Scanlon, Bobby Hynes and Wayne Donovan. Con McSweeney and Graham Goodwin complete the early top five. Full details below:
 

July 7th to 12th - A four-nil defeat at home to West Ham confirmed a swift return to the Championship for Norwich City. Michail Antonio scored all four goals at Carrow Road, dobuling his league total for the season in ninety minutes. Daniel Farke's side have now lost 24 games but will be fondly remembered by Liverpool fans for an early season victory over Man City.

Two home victories for Watford saw them pick up a vital six points in their battle against the drop. A two-one home win over Norwich was repeated against Newcastle on Saturday. Troy Deeney scored two second half penalties as the Hornets moved onto 34 points. There were also vital victories for the other teams facing relegation over the weekend. Trezegeut scored twice as Aston Villa beat Crystal Palace two-nil. Dominic Solanke scored his first goals for Bournemouth as they beat Leicester four-one on Sunday night. Those results leave Bournemouth and Villa occupying the final two relegation spots, three points behind West Ham and Watford with three games to go. West Ham's final two home games are against Watford on Friday and Aston Villa on the final day so it's still all to play for at the bottom.

Man United's champions league fate rests in their own hands (irrespective of what happens with Man City's European ban appeal). A victory on Monday night at home to Southampton will see them climb ahread of Chelsea and Leicester and into third place. Chelsea's hopes suffered a blow with a three-nil defeat at Sheffield United on Saturday evening.

Liverpool's one-hundred percent home record came to an end as the champions were held at home by Burnley. Andy Robertson opened the scoring with a header but the Reds were pegged back by Jay Rodriguez's equaliser in the second half. Man City closed the gap at the top to 21 points with a five-nil hammering of Brighton. Raheem Sterling took the match ball home after that one, notching a hat-trick at the Amex Stadium.

An 82 point haul from the weekend's games sees Graham Goodwin move into the lead in the July competition. He has a six point lead over Wayne Donovan in second place. Callum Dunne and Roisin Joyce are third and fourth - full details below:
 

July 14th to 19th - At one stage earlier in the season Leicester were being tipped by many as possible challengers to runaway leaders Liverpool. However, with just one game to go they are now hanging on for dear life in the race for a top four finish. Whatever happens between now and next Sunday, they'll need to beat Man United in their final day showdown. A three-nil defeat at Spurs on Sunday which included a Harry Kane double means Brendan Rodgers side need a strong finish on the final day. That was the second win for a resurgent Spurs side who also won at Newcastle in midweek and now lie sixth in the table.

A good week for Arsenal saw them beat Liverpool at home and then beat Man City in the FA Cup Semi Final to book a place in the final at Wembley. The Gunners came from behind to beat the champions with goals from Lacazette and Nelson. A draw at Burnley looks to have put paid to Wolves hope of a top four finish - an injury time penalty from Chris Wood cancelled out Raul Jiminez' opener. Wolves can of course still qualify for the Champions League with victory in the Europa League. We at Block 102 wish them every success in that quest.

Man United look good for a top four finish after a two-nil win at Crystal Palace. Goals from Rashford and Martial at Selhurst Park means a win at home to West Ham on Wednesday night will leave them three points clear of Leicester with one to play. Chelsea are still third - an Olivier Giroud goal was enough to see off relegated Norwich on Tuesday night.

At the bottom, West Ham are safe after a three-one win at home to Watford on Friday night. Goals from Antoni, Soucek and Rice in the first half were enough to see the Hammers guarantee Premier League football for another season. Bournemouth's two-nil defeat at home to Southampton leaves them in a perilous position. They'll need a win at Everton on the final day to stand any chance of survival. The midweek games between Watford and Man City and Aston Villa and Arsenal could see their fate sealed before then though.

A seventy-point haul from the week's games saw Brian Prendergast move into first place in the July competition. He leads previous leader Graham Goodwin by four points. Aidan White picked up 75 points (including six ten-pointers!) to move into third place. Callum Dunne and David Cooney complete the top five for the month - full details below:
 

July 20th to 26th - Plenty of drama in the final week of the season. Aston Villa survived relegation following a one-nil at home to Arsenal and a one-all draw at West Ham on the final day. Despite their final day win at Everton, Bournemouth return to the Championship after five seasons. Watford's gamble of sacking Nigel Pearson with just two games to go backfired spectacularly after a four-nil defeat at home to Man City was followed by a 3-2 defeat at Arsenal on the final day.

Man United's 33rd penalty of the season proved decisive as they won two-nil at Leicester to finish third. Bruno Fernandes scored and Jesse Lingaard added a second in injury time as the team to beat next season finished on 66 points like last season. Martin Tyler was estatic and unavailable for comment. Chelsea finished fourth - their two-nil win at home to Wolves on the final day was enough to see them over the line.

Champions Liverpool finished with two victories. A five-three win at home to Chelsea was followed by the trophy presentation and a three-one win at Newcastle. A goal for Dwight Gayle against the Reds in the final week of the season is usually enough to bring on a dose of the two-bob-bits but with the league clinched a long time ago, there was no such panic with Van Dijk, Origi and my player of the season, Mane putting the gloss finish to a glorious campaign. The Reds finished with a club record 99 points and set a new record of 32 wins in a 38 game season. Null and void that...

Elsewhere, Man City signed off with a five-nil win at home to Norwich. Danny Ings' late goal wasn't enough to steal the golden boot off Jamie Vardy. Brighton's two-one win at Burnley ensured Ederson won the golden glove award from Nick Pope. Tottenham finished sixth after a one-all draw at Crystal Palace.

A score of 78 points from the final week of the season was enough for Victoria Reid to win the monthly prize for July. Caroline Carroll finished second, seven points behind. The top five for July was completed by Graham Goodwin, Roisin Joyce and Brian Prendergast. Full details below:

 

Premier League 2019-2020 - July Leaderboard
No.
 Lst Chg
Name
Team Name
Pts
Lst
Chg
Support the Site:
1
11
10
Victoria Reid
Tristan's Titans
259
181
78





2
7
5
Caroline Carroll
Mane 10
252
181
71
3
2
-1
Graham Goodwin
Pochettino's Parrot
250
193
57
4
10
6
Roisin Joyce
LCR FC
249
181
68
5
1
-4
Brian Prendergast
Magical Mustafi
248
197
51
6
25
19
Con McSweeney
Dowtcha Boys
246
162
84
7
14
7
Declan O'Neill
Athletico Spurs
243
176
67
8
9
1
Gary Fitzpatrick
Sun's Out Gunn's Out
243
181
62
9
4
-5
Callum Dunne
Seattle Sound Lads
242
186
56
10
21
11
Anastas Popov
Super Saints
237
166
71
11
5
-6
David Cooney
Lifeafterhazard
237
185
52
12
12
0
Philip Jordan
Frankie's Army
237
180
57
13
15
2
Eamon Fox
It's Never Over, Never Really Over
235
176
59
14
19
5
Bobby Hynes
Born To Run
232
167
65
15
39
24
Phil Doyle
FC Muertos Errantes
230
145
85
16
26
10
Brian Haughton
The Wexicans
227
161
66
17
37
20
Mai-Ly Turner
Mo The Magnificent
227
151
76
18
20
2
Kevin Philpott
Kevlaar
225
167
58
19
35
16
Gerard McCluskey
Breffni Blues 2019
224
153
71
20
16
-4
Damien Martin
Rath Rovers
223
175
48
21
8
-13
Darragh Kenny
Luca Connell CSC
223
181
42
22
6
-16
Wayne Donovan
Deprive The Five
223
182
41
23
32
9
Joe Turner
The Joy of Six
222
156
66
24
22
-2
Jonathan Fox
Klopp Of The League
222
166
56
25
28
3
Joe Behan
Melchester Rovers
218
161
57
26
27
1
Gavin Morgan
Aimless Wanderers
217
161
56
27
33
6
Liam Keohan
Irish Gunner
214
156
58
28
3
-25
Aidan White
Return of the Villans
213
187
26
29
24
-5
Ciaran O'Hart
Riverchapel Plate
213
162
51
30
13
-17
Eoghan Farrelly
Last Chance Saloon
213
179
34
31
17
-14
Frank McSweeney
Poolabu
212
171
41
32
18
-14
Aidan Scanlon
Kilflynn Santos
211
167
44
33
30
-3
Niall Carroll
Dejan 6
210
157
53
34
36
2
Sean O'Mairtin
Creweless
210
152
58
35
31
-4
Ralph Goodwin
Gorey Celtic Stars
208
157
51
36
38
2
Brian Mullen
Where's Tony Galvin Now?
206
147
59
37
29
-8
Andy Dunne
Matipswich Town
202
157
45
38
42
4
Brendan Maguire
Cantthinkofone
202
140
62
39
23
-16
Micheal Joyce
At Last 2019
201
166
35
40
45
5
Gerry Draper
Everton10
197
136
61
41
46
5
John Brophy
Carrig Combo
196
136
60
42
41
-1
Gary McGurk
Origi In Madrid
193
143
50
43
47
4
Dave McGinley
Reservoir Dubs
190
130
60
44
34
-10
Kris Stainton
Ole's Revolutionaries
189
154
35
45
40
-5
Paul Moore
TAA LAA
184
144
40
46
44
-2
Gerry Moore
Unai Has The Pepe In His Step
183
138
45
47
43
-4
Craig Calvert
United Manchester FC
180
140
40
48
48
0
Richard Johnston
Ba Mhaith Liom Cupan Tae
164
111
53
49
51
2
Trevor Byrne
Noddys 11
119
62
57
50
49
-1
Liam Geraghty
What Shade of Blue?
102
96
6
51
50
-1
Karl Boland
Boaty McBoatface FC
91
81
10
52
52
0
Simon Scanlon
Taking It Serious This Year
78
48
30
53
53
0
Aiden Desch
NumNuts
34
26
8
54
54
0
Gary Donnelly
Storm A Brewstering….
30
22
8
55
55
0
Paul Prendergast
The Untouchables
30
22
8
56
56
0
Matthew Lynch
The Village Idiots
28
18
10
57
57
0
Anthony Michaels
Offside Ref
22
16
6
58
58
0
Barry McGoldrick
The Blarney Pilgrims
22
16
6
59
59
0
Chris Keohan
Moves Like Agger
22
16
6
60
60
0
Javier Suarez
Tika Taka
12
12
0