Plus, EPL Promotion Final, the 401 Derby, Muskoka clubs and teams, and an important reminder

Not too long ago the English Premier League was a three-horse race between Manchester City, Arsenal, and Liverpool.

The latter eventually went into a weird tailspin that saw them eliminated from contention for any trophies, leaving City (remember, we only hate Mancs) and the Gunners.

With both eliminated from European competition before the semi-finals, it became a race to the league title.

And somehow Arsenal managed to lose their grip on first place in recent weeks, opening the door for the most annoying club in world football, Man City – yes, they’ve taken that title away from Man United (those Mancs again) – to pip them for first heading into the last weekend of play.

In a make-up match midweek, there was a ton of hope that Tottenham could do their most hated rivals in Arsenal a huge favour by nipping a point or three against City.

Alas, it was not to be, and the blue side of Manchester is two points up on the Gunners heading into the last day of the EPL season on Sunday.

Both teams are at home and both matches start at 11 a.m. City hosts ninth-place West Ham and Arsenal hosts 15th-place Everton. Neither match is particularly tough but neither are they “gimmes” either.

City will have to earn their title as West Ham will not lay over for them. Same goes for Arsenal as Everton would love to finish on a high by preventing a title win.

The simplest way to a title is for City to win. They could also win the title with a loss should Arsenal draw or lose.

If Arsenal win and City lose, the title heads to North London. If Arsenal win and City draw, the title also heads to North London due to superior goal difference.

Myself, and every true football fan in the world, is hoping beyond hope that West Ham opens the door for the Gunners and they make their way through in fine fashion.

Unfortunately, that hope means a lot of things have to go the right way – for everyone except Man City – on Sunday afternoon.

You can watch the matches live on FuboTV Canada (subscription required).

C’mon Leeds!

One of the most fun things in any lower league is the promotion playoffs where one team gets that final spot in the top flight the next year.

It happens in most countries, but for some reason the four-team playoff in the EFL Championship to get to the Premier League is often the most interesting.

Over the past year or so, I’ve made no qualms about cheering for Leeds. I do for two reasons – a couple of my buddies’ cheer for them – namely cousins Glen Duffield and Nathan Sowrey – and Italian up and coming star Willy Gnonto plays for them.

One year removed from being relegated, they have a chance to go right back up (as the song goes) and they’ll be taking on Southampton in the playoff final at Wembley Stadium for the right to do so.

Southampton also are looking to go right back up after being relegated last season.

Leeds finished the year in third place on 90 points and beat Norwich in the playoff semis, while Southampton was only three points behind in fourth and defeated West Brom to make the final.

The final takes place on Sunday, May 26 at 10 a.m. and can be seen on DAZN Canada (subscription required).

401 Derby!

It’s often pegged as the Canadian Classique, but the 401 Derby sounds better to me, and the most natural rivalry in North American soccer is back at it on Saturday night at BMO Field.

I’ve been to quite a few of the Toronto FC – Montreal matches over the years and they’re never boring. Frustrating at times, exhilarating at others, but never boring.

This rivalry isn’t like some of the manufactured ones in MLS. The Toronto-Montreal rivalry has been around for over a century in every sport imaginable and it was only right that the two would find themselves bitter enemies on the pitch as well.

I won’t be there this weekend due to other commitments, but I’ll be paying attention to what’s going on.

With both teams having suffered tough losses last weekend and in the mid-week matches, they’ll be extra motivated to get three points in this one.

True derby matches between historical rivals – no matter where they are played – are always physical, emotional, and tough to predict.

On that note, it looks like Federico Bernadeschi (nice and fresh after being suspended for the mid-week match against Nashville) and Lorenzo Insigne (having been slowly brought back into the rotation after injury) will be together again for this huge match.

This is their chance to really show how far this team has come since the 2023 debacle and a good showing against Montreal will set everything up for a strong rest of the season.

The match is being streamed on Apple TV – MLS Season Pass (a subscription is required).

Muskoka United FC, Huntsville SC, Bracebridge SC

Quick updates on the three Muskoka clubs and associated programs.

The MUFC squads are starting their competitive aged league seasons this week with the development aged leagues coming soon.

Though some have had pre-season friendly matches and been to tournaments in recent weeks.

The U16 Boys were one of those teams, and were in Oshawa last week and finished with one draw and two close losses to very good teams. They were competitive in the face of stiff competition and the coaching staff was happy with the effort while knowing they can be even better as the year goes on.

Both the Huntsville Soccer Club and Bracebridge Soccer Club house league programs from U4 to Adult Recreational are starting their summer season on Victoria Day and it promises to be a lot of fun for all involved.

On the adult note, the Muskoka O45 team starts their HDSL campaign on Friday, May 24 in Innisfil.

The newly formed Huntsville United Men’s team has started practicing and playing exhibition matches in their first year of existence as they work towards bigger and better things.

They have plans to travel to a few tournaments and represent our community well. Good work is being done by the team leads George Johns, Paul Borbeau, Brendan Morris, and Billy Golding. They have enlisted Mike Hill to help as a coach and mentor as well.

This week they fell to Orillia 5-1 with Caley Brown scoring the lone Huntsville goal.

Important Reminder – May 25 Celebration of Life

Don’t forget to come by Conroy Park on May 25 to celebrate the life of our wonderful friend Graham Pollington.

He will be greatly missed by his family, friends, and our community. The event runs from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and there will be a fun kickaround on the pitch in his honour.

Also, don’t forget to vote “yes” to the town survey to commemoratively rename the North Fields at McCulley Robertson to Pollington Fields. Learn more about it (including a link to the survey) at: Honouring Local Legends.

That’s it for this week. Stay tuned for more local happenings, Toronto FC commentary, the Euro Club finals and more next week. Thanks for reading and don’t forget to subscribe below.

Ciao for Now!