Similarities between Columbus and Leicester City F.C.?

[NotWendell]

Are Columbus Blue Jackets the NHL's Leicester City of the British Premier League (BPL)?

Both teams do not have star player and are considered very average, however, both play a solid team game and play for each other.

Do you think CBJ could win the Presidents Trophy similar to what Leicester City did in the BPL? Leicester City is now dominating the Champions League and perhaps could win it all. Could CBJ do something similar and win the Stanley Cup this year?

Could this be the Cinderella story the NHL has been waiting for so long?

OK, I really admire the attempt here. LCFC campaign would be analogous to the Cleveland Browns winning the Super Bowl. Too much parity in the NHL for a Premier League comparison.

 

[Dylonus]

Bobrovsky isn't a star?

Leiscester City was a cinderella story. CBJ is a very young team with TONS of talent; they just finally hit their potential all at the same time.

 

[NotWendell]

Bobrovsky isn't a star?

Leiscester City was a cinderella story. CBJ is a very young team with TONS of talent; they just finally hit their potential all at the same time.

Well, at this point in the season last year, the CBJ were dead last in the league. Outhouse to the penthouse, but no where near the Leicester story.

 

[LordNeverLose]

Great points by everyone.

But I would argue that Columbus was predicted to finish dead last in the standings by some "experts". Especially with their very difficult two month schedule playing against top teams, many, including myself predicted Torts to be fired by Christmas.

Both teams predicted to play poorly the whole season, instead they both rise to the challenge and won their leagues (Columbus potentially winning).

If Columbus was never allowed to pick in the first 3 rounds and had a cap of $10M, it'd be equal.

 

[DaveG]

Florida Gulf Coast has a significantly better chance at winning the NCAA tournament according to oddsmakers then Leicester City had at winning the EPL last year.

 

[spacemunky]

This thread came as a surprise.

Nice too see so many here who are knowledgeable of football and in particular Leicester.

Was expecting "soccer" sucks!

Leicester City winning the Premier League last season was one of the greatest ever achievements in sports, imo.

 

[El Diego]

Really weird that the two biggest arguments against the similarities are essentially contradictory, that being that Leicester's win was more unlikely and that they did in fact have (multiple) stars.

Anyway, the statement that Leicester had legit stars only makes sense in hindsight.

Jamie Vardy - 5 goals in 34 matches the previous season
Riyad Mahrez - 4 goals and 3 assists in 30 matches the previous season
N'Golo Kante - Signed for 5.6m pounds (not that much), had one season experience in a top flight league

 

[Peat]

The comparison only works if Columbus has someone making Skittle vodka and drinking port out of Lucozade bottles.

 

[deathtouchtrample]

Ok now that enough people have **** on OP.

Better question: Better/more unlikely cinderlla story, 1980 US Olympic Hockey gold or 2016 Leicester City PL champs?

 

[Tulipunaruusu*]

Anyway, the statement that Leicester had legit stars only makes sense in hindsight.

Jamie Vardy - 5 goals in 34 matches the previous season
Riyad Mahrez - 4 goals and 3 assists in 30 matches the previous season
N'Golo Kante - Signed for 5.6m pounds (not that much), had one season experience in a top flight league

None of them had notable success so far at the English Premier League level but Kante for example joined from top-performing SC Caen in France and was a key player straightaway. Fuchs played for Schalke 04 in Germany. Drinkwater was a product of Manchester United's academy. Inler, coming from Napoli, couldn't even get into the side.

I believe it is totally different thing to have to stars which are more like an attraction than highly-skilled individuals capable of counter-attacking. It is not the players who make the team but team who makes the player in most cases. In Northern America you have strange star cult surrounding sports so I believe it is especially important to see past the hype if you want to accurately picture phenomenoms.

 

[Gsus]

I'd say it's harder to do in Premier League. Other teams have such a star lineups and spend money as much as they want to basically. I like the BJs' depth while they don't have any real star players.

Hard to compare two different sports but I feel like if Columbus played Chicago/Pittsburgh for seven games they would have better odds than Leicester playing a 7 game series against City/Chelsea.

 

[Colorado Avalanche]

Not even close. Leicester to beat all those rich teams in Premier League is insane achievement (that's why the crazy odds).

 

[DeltaSwede]

Ok now that enough people have **** on OP.

Better question: Better/more unlikely cinderlla story, 1980 US Olympic Hockey gold or 2016 Leicester City PL champs?

Now we're talking!

Leicester.

Defeating the USSR was an incredible feat by a group of amateurs, but the separation is the fact that it was in a tournament and not in a league environment where consistency played a huge role. Leicester didn't have to win 5-10 games. They needed to be a great team for months, in one of the most competitive top leagues in Europe, if not the most competitive.

Leicester was a team of misfits and castoffs with one of the smallest player budgets in a league that is usually dominated by teams with owners that are Russian oil billionaires or a Sheykh or two. It should have been impossible for a team like that to beat out the money and stars. Leicesters squad was roughly valued at 90 million Euro. That's what the big teams spend on two stars, if not less. Only Bournemouth had a squad valued less than Leicester at 68 million. So, Leicester was 19th out of 20 teams in terms of total player value. http://www.transfermarkt.com/premier-league/startseite/wettbewerb/GB1/plus/?saison_id=2015

Leicester - 90
Chelsea - 580
Man City - 450
Arsenal - 410
Man U - 375

Beginning of the season they were 5000/1 to win the league title and among the favourites to get relegated. Their manager was favourite to be the first to get fired and the team was heavily critisized for hiring him before the season by pretty much everyone.

 

[El Diego]

None of them had notable success so far at the English Premier League level but Kante for example joined from top-performing SC Caen in France and was a key player straightaway. Fuchs played for Schalke 04 in Germany. Drinkwater was a product of Manchester United's academy. Inler, coming from Napoli, couldn't even get into the side.

I believe it is totally different thing to have to stars which are more like an attraction than highly-skilled individuals capable of counter-attacking. It is not the players who make the team but team who makes the player in most cases. In Northern America you have strange star cult surrounding sports so I believe it is especially important to see past the hype if you want to accurately picture phenomenoms.

No one was lauding Kante as a star until he played in the Premier League. Fuchs I would say was a "really good player" not a "star". Lots of people are products of Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea, etc. Inler was done at that point.

I'm not trying to say these guys weren't/aren't good, but none of those players, ahead of that season, were seen as true stars. After they had career years, yes, but to use this analog if Columbus wins the cup we are gonna look back and say "Wow Wennberg/Werenski/Atkinson are such stars!". It would be true, yes, but no one would have came into this year thinking they would be this good (and who knows if they'll stay this good).

I guess my point is that that part of the comparison isn't that far off.

 

[Tulipunaruusu*]

Leicester scouting team knew what they acquired in underrated or undiscovered players. I think the Blue Jackets have had similar success in Hartnell, Karlsson, Saad and Jones trades even if we do not include drafting.

So while the public perception lags behind it is not impossible to see the talent far before it hits in you the face on the ice. In example a different approach or environment could hide the talent instead of showcase it like it did for Leicester or now Columbus. Surely there are overrated players or players who fit like a glove in Columbus' current roster even now but the offensive core of Wennberg, Saad, and Hartnell is real. These are players who work fiercely inside the play, some even without any recognition because the culture around the game has not updated to their level.

 

[Eisen]

What? No. Leicester's feat was the greatest in sport history. Nothing else will ever match that

Kaiserslautern winning the Bundesliga coming out of the second league in the same year.

 

[Number8]

No, it's not even close.

The Greenville Swamp Rabbits winning the Presidents Trophy would be like Leicester City.

Bingo. All credit to CBJ having a good season but it's two different worlds. What Leicester did is almost inconceivable.

 

[Number8]

Leicester scouting team knew what they acquired in underrated or undiscovered players. I think the Blue Jackets have had similar success in Hartnell, Karlsson, Saad and Jones trades even if we do not include drafting.

So while the public perception lags behind it is not impossible to see the talent far before it hits in you the face on the ice. In example a different approach or environment could hide the talent instead of showcase it like it did for Leicester or now Columbus. Surely there are overrated players or players who fit like a glove in Columbus' current roster even now but the offensive core of Wennberg, Saad, and Hartnell is real. These are players who work fiercely inside the play, some even without any recognition because the culture around the game has not updated to their level.

Come on. CBJ is a good story so far. Even better if they complete the season at this pace. But let's not get overly dramatic. "Underrated or undiscovered?" Leicester - very much so. Columbus using example you provided -- not at all.

Jones was a 1st Rounder -- #4 no less, and a known stud. CBJ gave up a very big asset for him to boot.

Saad was a 2nd Rounder and a well known commodity in Chicago. The guy has played something like 5 seasons and already has 96 PO games and two Cups to his name. Chicago traded his rights because of cap issues nothing more nothing less.

Hartnell was a 6th overall pick with more than 1,100 GP and more than 300 goals.

Karlsson is a second round pick rookie who has 12 points. He ain't the engine driving Columbus.

Enjoy your team's success but don't disparage what Leicester did by claiming Columbus is some sort of Cinderella situation.

 

[FuriousSenator]

Great points by everyone.

But I would argue that Columbus was predicted to finish dead last in the standings by some "experts". Especially with their very difficult two month schedule playing against top teams, many, including myself predicted Torts to be fired by Christmas.

Both teams predicted to play poorly the whole season, instead they both rise to the challenge and won their leagues (Columbus potentially winning).

It really doesn't matter. There are no cinderellas, no real shockers, in the NHL. It's a closed 30 team league with extreme forced parity. How many teams are more than 3 games above .500 so far this year? 6 or 7?

The top team in the NHL could very easily win 10-1 one night and lose 10-1 the next regardless of opponent. It's the nature of the game and the system. The 8th ranked team usually has a pretty decent chance to knock off the 1st in each Conference in the playoffs too.. Nobody is a cakewalk.

In English football (and all football), teams regularly lose fewer than 5 games total the WHOLE SEASON. In 2005, Arsenal didn't lose a single game in their entire 38 game premier league season. Not a single game. None of this play mediocre and squeak into the playoffs and get hot stuff.

In addition, football is an open system: teams move up and down the pyramid every year and if you aren't good enough you are relegated out of your league. So looking big picture Leicester didn't just beat the 20 teams of the Premier League, they beat the 92 teams of the four top leagues, and extending it further, they came out the best of a whole country pyramid which includes over 7,000 teams that could potentially one day be Premier League champions.

They did all of that with a (relatively) low pay roll and having literally just been promoted two years before. The only thing that would come even close is, as others have mentioned, if the NHL one day decided to do promotion and relegation with the AHL, and an AHL club jumped into the NHL and the next year won the Stanley Cup.

This type of historical sporting occurrence is literally not possible in the NHL end of story.

 

[I am not exposed]

Vardy and Mahrez are huge talents so not really comparable.

Jackets have no standout forward they are all playing well.

No, he really isn't that good!

It really doesn't matter. There are no cinderellas, no real shockers, in the NHL. It's a closed 30 team league with extreme forced parity. How many teams are more than 3 games above .500 so far this year? 6 or 7?

The top team in the NHL could very easily win 10-1 one night and lose 10-1 the next regardless of opponent. It's the nature of the game and the system. The 8th ranked team usually has a pretty decent chance to knock off the 1st in each Conference in the playoffs too.. Nobody is a cakewalk.

In English football (and all football), teams regularly lose fewer than 5 games total the WHOLE SEASON. In addition, football is an open system: teams move up and down the pyramid every year and if you aren't good enough you are relegated out of your league. So looking big picture Leicester didn't just beat the 20 teams of the Premier League, they beat the 92 teams of the four top leagues, and extending it further, they came out the best of a whole country pyramid which includes over 7,000 teams that could potentially one day be Premier League champions.

They did all of that with a (relatively) low pay roll and having literally just been promoted two years before. The only thing that would come even close is, as others have mentioned, if the NHL one day decided to do promotion and relegation with the AHL, and an AHL club jumped into the NHL and the next year won the Stanley Cup.

This type of historical sporting occurrence is literally not possible in the NHL end of story.

Now we're talking!

Leicester.

Defeating the USSR was an incredible feat by a group of amateurs, but the separation is the fact that it was in a tournament and not in a league environment where consistency played a huge role. Leicester didn't have to win 5-10 games. They needed to be a great team for months, in one of the most competitive top leagues in Europe, if not the most competitive.

Leicester was a team of misfits and castoffs with one of the smallest player budgets in a league that is usually dominated by teams with owners that are Russian oil billionaires or a Sheykh or two. It should have been impossible for a team like that to beat out the money and stars. Leicesters squad was roughly valued at 90 million Euro. That's what the big teams spend on two stars, if not less. Only Bournemouth had a squad valued less than Leicester at 68 million. So, Leicester was 19th out of 20 teams in terms of total player value. http://www.transfermarkt.com/premier-league/startseite/wettbewerb/GB1/plus/?saison_id=2015

Leicester - 90
Chelsea - 580
Man City - 450
Arsenal - 410
Man U - 375

Beginning of the season they were 5000/1 to win the league title and among the favourites to get relegated. Their manager was favourite to be the first to get fired and the team was heavily critisized for hiring him before the season by pretty much everyone.

Yeah, Ranieri had done poorly with Greece. He didn't win a game, and lost to the Faroe Islands!!!

He was the favourite for the sack. It was quite incredible what they did.

 

[AlanHUK]

What? No. Leicester's feat was the greatest in sport history. Nothing else will ever match that

Not even the greatest in English football.

year 1 - promotion to top tier
year 2 - win top tier & league cup
year 3 - win european cup, 2nd in league, retained league cup
year 4 - retained european cup, won european super cup, 4th in league, lost in the final of the league cup.

Leicester have got a ways to go yet.

 

[syc]

The have a 70,000,000 payroll!!!! LC spent 1/10th what the big teams spent.

If you really need to reach then here it is. They are sports teams in a major league that people who don't follow these leagues would not know that these teams exist. So yes they are very much the LC of the NHL along with 20 other NHL franchises.

 

[Tulipunaruusu*]

Enjoy your team's success but don't disparage what Leicester did by claiming Columbus is some sort of Cinderella situation.

I am not basing this on what Leicester did but on what Leicester was as the outcome is not all or not even beginning of research. From the process alone you can find huge amount of similarities between these two teams. It is usually the story itself which finds new forms of hype and myth if you do not research the whole story completely so if anyone is writing traditional cinderella stories around this phenomenom the truth has already likely been muddled.

"Underrated or undiscovered?" Leicester - very much so. Columbus using example you provided -- not at all.

Jones was a 1st Rounder -- #4 no less, and a known stud. CBJ gave up a very big asset for him to boot.

Saad was a 2nd Rounder and a well known commodity in Chicago. The guy has played something like 5 seasons and already has 96 PO games and two Cups to his name. Chicago traded his rights because of cap issues nothing more nothing less.

Hartnell was a 6th overall pick with more than 1,100 GP and more than 300 goals.

Jones was salvaged. I do not think Ryan Johansen was exactly even part of the offensive core in the Blue Jackets for a continued period of time despite having some promising success earlier on. Johansen is not exactly a world class forward inside the play. He might be a point scorer with a great wrist shot waiting for his payday.

Chicago had every option to sign long-term with Saad and part with someone else.

Hartnell was traded for R.J. Umberger plus a fourth round pick. It was Hartnell who allowed Dano (and Wennberg) to rise as big part of the Saad trade, boosting the rookie's stock in the same line. In Hartnell's every season since the trade he has continued to be an incredible offensive support player so you could say Philadelphia's reasoning for the trade wasn't exactly accurate.

Given that the context we are dealing with is the NHL (draft and heavily restricted rights) I think those fairly recent trades showcase reasonable eye for top talent which was the foundation in Leicester success and transformation. It ain't like the Blue Jackets have to acquire unknown players to compare in individual talent just as Leicester signed many well-known players and top league veterans in the game given their relatively huge resources in world competition.

 

[FinnBruin]

Along the same lines, I read somewhere that in England if you were to put a parlay on Leicester winning the PL, Brexit passing and Trump winning the Presidency you would've won something like 50,000 pounds if you put down 5.

You'd surely win a lot more than 50k for that. 5 pounds on Leicester alone would have won you 25k, Brexit and Trump both had odds somewhere around 4:1 most of the time I believe, so by my calculations putting 5 pounds on that parlay should have net you around 400,000.

Well, now that I think about it, a lot more, because back before the PL season that Leicester won began, Trump wasn't even the Republican nominee or the favorite for it so his odds would have been way higher as well.

Leicester had Vardy, a regular in the English national team. They relied heavily on Mahrez, a player often linked to the absolute best clubs in the world and Kante who is now a big piece in the team that has the lead in EPL this year (Chelsea). Cant really get how they aren't considered star players. Its a lot more lite Leipzig in Bundesliga.

They became stars during that season though, so that actually could be a comparable to Columbus - Cam Atkinson and Sam Gagner aren't stars right now, but if they keep playing like this, they will become that just like Vardy and Mahrez did.

Leipzig is totally different, most people were expecting them to at least challenge for top 5, Leicester were the #1 favorites to be relegated before the season.

 

[User9992]

Agreed with some posters above... There is no salary/payroll cap in soccer, so it's way harder for a small & poor provincial teams like Leicester F. C. to go to top and win the league like last year.