Premier League

[Corky Ramirez up on 94th St.]

Perhaps this belongs on the soccer thread, but I figured in a way this wouldn't fit there.

I consider myself a fan of soccer, but up to this point it's been relegated to playing and writing about it. I'm a newbie when it comes to the Premier League and have tried to catch it when the matches are on TV — including today's 3-0 win for Liverpool — and reading up. I'm even dedicating myself to watching/reading about the MLS this year.

Anyway, my question is, who should I follow in the Premier League? I don't want a team that has one multiple times (Man U), just a solid team with history that plays well and has an outside chance of winning the championship at some point — kind of like a Northeastern or Harvard in the Beanpot. I went through this 15 years ago when the Whalers moved. I couldn't stay away from hockey for too long, so I became a nomad ... I tried liking the Maple Leafs, Canadiens (WTF was I thinking) and Islanders, but couldn't do any of them. Finally, in 2007, I just bit the bullet and started following the Bruins (since every game is broadcast here in Connecticut, and there were no players on the team who played against Hartford in 1997), and have been rewarded ever since. I consider myself a diehard Bruins fan now ... but i don't pay much attention to the span between 1979 and 1997.

Back on topic. Today's Liverpool-Everton game was fun to watch and I figure now would be a good time to choose a team to follow. So I'm trying to make connections. Liverpool seems too easy because John Henry owns them (I'm a Sox fan). I like to drink Newcastle. I went to high school in Norwich. My brother lives in Bolton. I want to get to England someday, so I'd prefer to find a team that has a sweet place to watch it live.

Keep the anti-soccer sentiment off this. Thanks.

 

[buckweaver]

What is it with you Boston people and asking the whole world to help you pick an EPL team? 8)

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7546063/after-patriots-super-bowl-loss-questing-distraction-english-premier-league-tottenham-hotspur

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/060719

 

[Corky Ramirez up on 94th St.]

Oh Jesus Christ. I'm not reading that.

 

[imjustagirl]

Newcastle.

 

[PCLoadLetter]

I started following Norwich years ago because they had ties to the Lotus car company -- Lotus was their jersey sponsor, and I'm a lifelong Lotus fan. Seemed as good a reason as any. They then promptly dropped down two levels to League One, but they're back in the Prem and doing well enough to stay.

Scratch Man U off your list. Don't be that guy.

If I were to pick a team now, I'd probably back Everton. They're always competitive, though not top 4. They're in Liverpool, which is cool, but they don't have the asshole fan baggage of that other Liverpool team. Their keeper is Tim Howard and it's where Landon Donovan's been playing on his latest European foray.

Arsenal is probably the most palatable of the traditional frontrunners. They're always near the top, but never ever at the top, and can be counted on to never win any hardware. Nick Hornby's "Fever Pitch" was about his lifelong love of Arsenal, and it made it hard for me to root against them.

Blackburn has my favorite jersey in the league, but I wouldn't get too attached -- they could be facing the drop.

 

[Stitch]

I've always liked Man City, even when it was a third-division club for a while. There are plenty of mid-table clubs to like.

I also like Nottingham Forest in the Championship. If you have FOX Soccer Plus, you can watch a couple of matches from that league per week.

 

[kingcreole]

I have a hard time cheering for one Premier League team, but I have no trouble hating Manchester United. I just follow Americans in England and hope they and their teams do well.

 

[Webster]

I am a Manchester United fan because when I first started watching English soccer over a decade ago, I loved the way that they played. Not sure why they are more evil than Chelsea or Man City. At least United's current 20ish year run was originally based on a bunch of home grown players.

I'd say find the player or two who you like and watch that team. Players like Silva (Man City), RVP (Arsenal -- for now), Rooney (Man United) or Bale (Spurs) will make you love the game. You can watch Fulham (for Dempsey, who is having a great year), Spurs (for Friedel) or Everton (for Tim Howard) as well for the best US players.

It's amazing how quickly you can begin to have opinions about all of the players on a team after only a few weeks.

I think following a team in the top 6 is easier, if only because their game are on FSC or ESPN2 nearly every week. Plus, even though this year hasn't been great for English teams, the knockout stages of the Champions League are great to watch, and if your team is in those games, it is even better.

 

[Azrael]

Man City, especially once they turn back into a pumpkin.

 

[westcoastvol]

Newcastle.

Except for The Verminator knocking one through the pipes in the 95th minute yesterday!
AR-senal! AR-senal! AR-senal!

 

[westcoastvol]

Arsenal is probably the most palatable of the traditional frontrunners. They're always near the top, but never ever at the top, and can be counted on to never win any hardware. Nick Hornby's "Fever Pitch" was about his lifelong love of Arsenal, and it made it hard for me to root against them.

Ditto, and the fan network is amazing. I've gone to Arsenal game-watching meetups all over the world. Watching Arsenal-ManU with 600 people on a Sunday/Monday midnight in a hotel in Singapore was a highlight of my last vacation, even though the Gooners lost to ManUre.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

QPR

 

[micropolitan guy]

I'm a Wolves fan. Probably going to get relegated, so Wolves don't fit your criteria. I also enjoy Spurs, a very enjoyable style to watch, so they might be a good team for you to follow.

Sunderland has also been very entertaining since their coaching change, and Stoke always gives you their best. Fulham has Clint Dempsey, the top US player in the BPL.

 

[rmanfredi]

I'm a Wolves fan. Probably going to get relegated, so Wolves don't fit your criteria. I also enjoy Spurs, a very enjoyable style to watch, so they might be a good team for you to follow.

Sunderland has also been very entertaining since their coaching change, and Stoke always gives you their best. Fulham has Clint Dempsey, the top US player in the BPL.

Fulham's not a terrible choice - they've certainly had an extensive track record of American players, if that's important. The downside is that I can't see them having "an outside chance of winning the championship at some point" as you requested - they'll go through an annual swoon because the schedule breaks weird and they are terrible on the road, but then rally to finish around sixth through ninth. Then again, contending for a championship eliminates all but about five teams from your list, and you've already dismissed two of them. I might just root for Newcastle and hope.

 

[Bubbler]

Leeds United ... wait ... (sighs with resignation) ... ****.

 

[Bubbler]

If you don't want an English team, you could go with Swansea from Wales. They're plucky and have knocked off a few of the big boys this season.

 

[Beaker]

I started following Spurs years ago as a kid. I can remember watching the old Fox Sports World.

There are plenty of ways to pick a team to follow, my suggestion would just be to find a team you like watching and go with it.

 

[Birdscribe]

Arsenal is probably the most palatable of the traditional frontrunners. They're always near the top, but never ever at the top, and can be counted on to never win any hardware. Nick Hornby's "Fever Pitch" was about his lifelong love of Arsenal, and it made it hard for me to root against them.

Ditto, and the fan network is amazing. I've gone to Arsenal game-watching meetups all over the world. Watching Arsenal-ManU with 600 people on a Sunday/Monday midnight in a hotel in Singapore was a highlight of my last vacation, even though the Gooners lost to ManUre.

This.

Plus, they play the way the game's supposed to be played: passing, movement, creativity. It doesn't always work for them -- as recent history has born out -- and the Gunners will frustrate you by spitting up ridiculous goals that a decent Bronze-level club team would prevent.

But when Arsenal is on, it's great, great soccer to watch.

Still, as Webster (one of my go-to soccer gurus here) pointed out, there are some great players -- including Americans like the aforementioned -- to root for. As an Arsenal fan and a fan of American soccer in total, I hated it when Friedel went from Aston Villa to Spurs and I do have a soft spot for Everton because of its affinity for Americans (see Howard, Tim and Donovan, Landon) and as a former soccer coach, its excellent manager -- David Moyes.

All of this said, just don't pick Chelsea, Corky. Unless you have an affinity for nouveau-riche teams full of self-absorbed douchenozzles (yes, more than most) owned by Russian billionaires with ADD and rooted on by one of the most racist, xenophobic fan bases in Europe.

 

[imjustagirl]

All of this said, just don't pick Chelsea, Corky. Unless you have an affinity for nouveau-riche teams full of self-absorbed douchenozzles (yes, more than most) owned by Russian billionaires with ADD and rooted on by one of the most racist, xenophobic fan bases in Europe.

Man, that sounds right up my alley!

 

[NoOneLikesUs]

Tottenham has a great history and a classic stadium, but this club is a bit of a joke these days. First off, the manager Harry Redknapp might not be able to read or write. Seriously. He testified as much in his tax evasion trial. The North London rivalry with Arsenal gets Spurs fans going, but their reaction to positive results is quite laughable and makes you question their collective sanity. Take this DVD of a draw they released in the official club shop for example:

http://shop.tottenhamhotspur.com/product/arsenal-4-4-spurs-dvd/36631/

(yes, it's real)

Man City are new money and quite detestable. The following is an image of a Man City fan crying with his team down 1-0 with 7 minutes left in regulation:

Chelsea are old and Roman might be getting bored. More importantly John Terry is a racist. And chavs. Yuck.

Liverpool would be all right if the fans weren't delusional and did not have a massive persecution complex. They're never won the Prem, BTW. It will not be happening anytime soon either.

Arsenal are perhaps the worst of them all. Read the history. They're very proud to tell you that they have never been relegated, but they used dubious methods to get into the top flight in the first place. Hornby's book is a great account of what it's like to be a fan until you realize he's bitching and moaning about an 18-year gap between first division championships. Oh how you've suffered! Highbury was a library at the end and the Emirates is a lovely place where Piers Morgan can eat his prawn sandwiches in relative peace. Wenger is a serial moaner who will call into question any tactics used against him which produces an unexpected defeat (i.e. his multi-season campaign against Stoke's Rory Delap).

You might as well go with ManU. Yeah, they have millions of fans who live no where near Manchester, but they have more or less built their empire in a respectable manner. The club's history is filled with colorful characters (George Best and Eric Cantona come to mind) and the story of how they rose out of the ashes of the Munich disaster is quite amazing. I don't like 'em, but you can do a lot worse.