By Yemisi Adegoke (@briticoyemo)
It’s the time of the year all football fans dread: The Premier League is over.
380 matches, 1052 goals scored, dreams realized and hopes crushed, highs, lows, controversies and everything in between.
So how do we stop ourselves from falling into a abyss of boredom and longing? Never fear my list to fill the void is here.
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Engage your brain in other ways: Let’s say the average football game is 93 minutes (including extra time), if you follow every game your club plays in a season that mean’s you’ve dedicated a whopping 3,534 hours to football. This does not include the Champions League. Now you have more time on your hands you can actually get down to tackling other things. Like that reading list that has been shoved away somewhere. Don’t have one, check out this one. If reading’s not your thing why not start to learn a language? That way you can watch La Liga, Serie A or Bundesliga without help!
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Other sports: It may be hard for some die hard fanatics to contemplate but there is a whole world of sport out there and the end of the Premier League may be just the time to explore it. This month alone sees: Cycling: Gino d’Italia, Athletics Diamond League, Diving World Championships, T20 Cricket, Rugby Union, F1: Monaco Grand Prix and The French Open. And if that’s not enough there are still football finals to look forward to, Europa (14th May ) FA Cup (17th May) , and Champions League (24th May).
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Transfer speculation: Since there’s no football there’s plenty of time to speculate. The transfer window opens on July 1 and closes on September 1 (this year). With David Moyes sacking and Van Gaal’s imminent arrival at Old Trafford there’s bound to be a shake up, many suspect a fair few of the old guard will be sold to make room for some new blood. After Liverpool’s costly defensive errors it’s likely they’ll be looking to strengthen their back line. Arsenal fans will be desperately hoping for a striker and replacements for the likely departure of Bacary Sagna and Mikel Arteta. Speculating and rumour mongering can go on and on, lasting well until the new season starts.
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Fantasy football preparation: Now is the perfect time to start planning your fantasy football team, buff up on your stats and get channeling your Manuel Pellegrini.
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Relive some of the magic: This season has been thrilling: the unexpected resurgence of Liverpool as a footballing powerhouse, the unforeseen demise of Manchester United, the cheeky barbs of Mourinho and the mid-season collapse of Arsenal. The champions Manchester City were only on top of the league for 14 days throughout the season such was the unpredictability of the league this year. So if the drought is too much for you to bear then feel free to relieve some of the season’s best moments.
- Never fear salvation is here: Thankfully we don’t have to wait until August for top level football, because almost everyone’s favourite footballing competition is around the corner. Yes, the World Cup. Hosted in Brazil, it looks set to be a fantastic competition but who will emerge as victors? The hosts? Germany? The Brits? Or will it be an African nation? 30 days until we find out!
Image: dailymail.co.uk