***Official Soccer Discussion Thread*** (9 Viewers)

[Spartans Rule]

Chicago gets one random crap group game, a US group game, an Argentina group game, and a semifinal. Not bad. Thinking this might be my best opportunity to make a bad financial decision in the name of futbol.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Chicago gets one random crap group game, a US group game, an Argentina group game, and a semifinal. Not bad. Thinking this might be my best opportunity to make a bad financial decision in the name of futbol.

Same for the Bay Area, except a quarter (possibly Mexico) instead of a semi. Might be worth trekking into the HellDome for this.

 

[B Maverick]

Chicago gets one random crap group game, a US group game, an Argentina group game, and a semifinal. Not bad. Thinking this might be my best opportunity to make a bad financial decision in the name of futbol.

Same for the Bay Area, except a quarter (possibly Mexico) instead of a semi. Might be worth trekking into the HellDome for this.

Lets see... Rose Bowl has a Brazil match, Mexico Match, and a match from the USA group that doesnt involve the USA. No knockout stage games.

 

[Christo]

So being a n00b trying to learn the ropes (all of these damn leagues are overwhelming).

What's with the apparent Chelsea hate in here?

Because they're scum.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Chicago gets one random crap group game, a US group game, an Argentina group game, and a semifinal. Not bad. Thinking this might be my best opportunity to make a bad financial decision in the name of futbol.

Same for the Bay Area, except a quarter (possibly Mexico) instead of a semi. Might be worth trekking into the HellDome for this.

Lets see... Rose Bowl has a Brazil match, Mexico Match, and a match from the USA group that doesnt involve the USA. No knockout stage games.

Brazil would be pretty good. Prob not even worth trying to get a ticket for Mexico.

 

[El Floppo]

Jose is a clown, but he took me Inter to CL glory with a pretty similar team as this Chelsea squad.

IMO they should have kept him around just for the CL.

 

[Christo]

Jose is a clown, but he took me Inter to CL glory with a pretty similar team as this Chelsea squad.

IMO they should have kept him around just for the CL.

Seen on the interwebs:

For you Arsenal fans laughing about Jose's sacking: Since Arsenal last won the PL, Jose came to England and won the PL twice, went to Italy and won the treble, went to Spain and won La Liga, and came back to England and won the PL.

 

[Native]

According to Tancredi Hiddink and Chelsea agreed to terms. Hope it's for more than 1 season.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

According to Tancredi Hiddink and Chelsea agreed to terms. Hope it's for more than 1 season.

Isn't it almost certain to be an interim job for Hiddink? I would expect a six month contract.

 

[Eephus]

According to Tancredi Hiddink and Chelsea agreed to terms. Hope it's for more than 1 season.

Isn't it almost certain to be an interim job for Hiddink? I would expect a six month contract.

He's 69 years old

 

[Native]

According to Tancredi Hiddink and Chelsea agreed to terms. Hope it's for more than 1 season.

Isn't it almost certain to be an interim job for Hiddink? I would expect a six month contract.

He's 69 years old

I always rated him highly. But I hear you guys....

 

[Sinn Fein]

According to Tancredi Hiddink and Chelsea agreed to terms. Hope it's for more than 1 season.

Isn't it almost certain to be an interim job for Hiddink? I would expect a six month contract.

Yeah - have to expect Chelsea to re-visit the permanent position in the summer.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

According to Tancredi Hiddink and Chelsea agreed to terms. Hope it's for more than 1 season.

Isn't it almost certain to be an interim job for Hiddink? I would expect a six month contract.

He's 69 years old

I always rated him highly. But I hear you guys....

He had a great caretaker run at Chelsea taking over for Scolari, but has since done pretty poorly. I really can't imagine this will last past June 1.

 

[Eephus]

According to Tancredi Hiddink and Chelsea agreed to terms. Hope it's for more than 1 season.

Isn't it almost certain to be an interim job for Hiddink? I would expect a six month contract.

He's 69 years old

I always rated him highly. But I hear you guys....

He had a great caretaker run at Chelsea taking over for Scolari, but has since done pretty poorly. I really can't imagine this will last past June 1.

Felix Magath is standing at attention, whip in hand, ready for when the phone rings

 

[GoFishTN]

According to Tancredi Hiddink and Chelsea agreed to terms. Hope it's for more than 1 season.

Isn't it almost certain to be an interim job for Hiddink? I would expect a six month contract.

Isn't Chelsea an interim job for everyone?

 

[roadkill1292]

According to Tancredi Hiddink and Chelsea agreed to terms. Hope it's for more than 1 season.

Isn't it almost certain to be an interim job for Hiddink? I would expect a six month contract.

Isn't Chelsea an interim job for everyone?

Average time on the job in PL is something like 21 months (and that's not the lowest number around Europe or South America). So unless you're Arsene Wenger, every job is pretty much interim.

I wonder what the current manager seniority rankings in PL are?

 

[Sammy3469]

According to Tancredi Hiddink and Chelsea agreed to terms. Hope it's for more than 1 season.

Isn't it almost certain to be an interim job for Hiddink? I would expect a six month contract.

Isn't Chelsea an interim job for everyone?

Average time on the job in PL is something like 21 months (and that's not the lowest number around Europe or South America). So unless you're Arsene Wenger, every job is pretty much interim.

I wonder what the current manager seniority rankings in PL are?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_Football_League_managers

 

[AAABatteries]

According to Tancredi Hiddink and Chelsea agreed to terms. Hope it's for more than 1 season.

Isn't it almost certain to be an interim job for Hiddink? I would expect a six month contract.

Isn't Chelsea an interim job for everyone?

Average time on the job in PL is something like 21 months (and that's not the lowest number around Europe or South America). So unless you're Arsene Wenger, every job is pretty much interim.

I wonder what the current manager seniority rankings in PL are?

Without looking at Sammy's link I did a quick inventory and my guess would be the Bournemouth manager (no clue what his name is) as I think he's been with them a while bringing them up to to th EPL. The Norwich guy maybe has been around a while too. Of the EPL mainstays I'm guessing that it's Martinez or Hughes?

 

[Sinn Fein]

According to Tancredi Hiddink and Chelsea agreed to terms. Hope it's for more than 1 season.

Isn't it almost certain to be an interim job for Hiddink? I would expect a six month contract.

Isn't Chelsea an interim job for everyone?

Average time on the job in PL is something like 21 months (and that's not the lowest number around Europe or South America). So unless you're Arsene Wenger, every job is pretty much interim.

I wonder what the current manager seniority rankings in PL are?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_Football_League_managers

Pochettino has the 6th most seniority in the league

 

[Tom Hagen]

According to Tancredi Hiddink and Chelsea agreed to terms. Hope it's for more than 1 season.

Isn't it almost certain to be an interim job for Hiddink? I would expect a six month contract.

Isn't Chelsea an interim job for everyone?

Average time on the job in PL is something like 21 months (and that's not the lowest number around Europe or South America). So unless you're Arsene Wenger, every job is pretty much interim.

I wonder what the current manager seniority rankings in PL are?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_Football_League_managers

Including Chelsea over 10% of the managers on that list started in December 2015.

 

[Ned]

Sorry, I forgot shader was a Liverpool guy. I remember him tinkering with the idea of supporting ManU when he first arrived on the scene. That made me blind with anger and apparently affected my memory.

Yep, United fans are the worst. Like Hitler and OBL had a litter of babies.

I've been a FA for a year now. I just can't decide.

Maybe I'll pick United just for you, GB.

 

[El Floppo]

Sorry, I forgot shader was a Liverpool guy. I remember him tinkering with the idea of supporting ManU when he first arrived on the scene. That made me blind with anger and apparently affected my memory.

Yep, United fans are the worst. Like Hitler and OBL had a litter of babies.

I've been a FA for a year now. I just can't decide.

Maybe I'll pick United just for you, GB.

You know you want some Leicester.

but yeah- jumping on a champion team and all...

 

[El Floppo]

According to Tancredi Hiddink and Chelsea agreed to terms. Hope it's for more than 1 season.

Isn't it almost certain to be an interim job for Hiddink? I would expect a six month contract.

Isn't Chelsea an interim job for everyone?

Average time on the job in PL is something like 21 months (and that's not the lowest number around Europe or South America). So unless you're Arsene Wenger, every job is pretty much interim.

I wonder what the current manager seniority rankings in PL are?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_Football_League_managers

Including Chelsea over 10% of the managers on that list started in December 2015.

so do we get to see Preki now or what?

 

[GoFishTN]

According to Tancredi Hiddink and Chelsea agreed to terms. Hope it's for more than 1 season.

Isn't it almost certain to be an interim job for Hiddink? I would expect a six month contract.

Isn't Chelsea an interim job for everyone?

Average time on the job in PL is something like 21 months (and that's not the lowest number around Europe or South America). So unless you're Arsene Wenger, every job is pretty much interim.

I wonder what the current manager seniority rankings in PL are?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_Football_League_managers

Pochettino has the 6th most seniority in the league

1st most stylishness.

 

[Autumn Wind]

For anyone interested in Premier League managerial tenure, I just updated my chart. With Jose gone the average has dropped from 774 days to 731.5. https://public.tableau.com/profile/chris.holmes#!/vizhome/PremierLeagueManagerialTenure/PLManagerCombined

 

[jonessed]

Sorry, I forgot shader was a Liverpool guy. I remember him tinkering with the idea of supporting ManU when he first arrived on the scene. That made me blind with anger and apparently affected my memory.

Yep, United fans are the worst. Like Hitler and OBL had a litter of babies.

I've been a FA for a year now. I just can't decide.

Maybe I'll pick United just for you, GB.

You know you want some Leicester.

but yeah- jumping on a champion team and all...

I don't think it's realistic that they will continue to be a top team. They aren't going to keep Mahrez or Vardy. Too much money for them to be made elsewhere. Best to stay with more established clubs. Not necessarily top clubs, but those that have at least established themselves as regular EPL teams.

 

[El Floppo]

it was what I thought was an obvious joke.

 

[shader]

Sorry, I forgot shader was a Liverpool guy. I remember him tinkering with the idea of supporting ManU when he first arrived on the scene. That made me blind with anger and apparently affected my memory.

I get it. I find myself really annoyed with most United fans that I meet. Mostly because they are half-hearted fans. Like they watch the games every now and then, don't really care, and kind of think it's "cool" to be a Man U fan.

 

[jonessed]

it was what I thought was an obvious joke.

It didn't seem out of the realm of possibility.

 

[shader]

Sorry, I forgot shader was a Liverpool guy. I remember him tinkering with the idea of supporting ManU when he first arrived on the scene. That made me blind with anger and apparently affected my memory.

Yep, United fans are the worst. Like Hitler and OBL had a litter of babies.

I've been a FA for a year now. I just can't decide.

Maybe I'll pick United just for you, GB.

Once you've started watching for that long, I don't know how you ever really pick a side. I knew going in I had to pick one and digest everything I could about the team. I read fan forums, learned about players, watched youtube and got invested in the online Liverpool community. That helped a lot.

If I had it to do over again and I was deciding right now, I'd pick Liverpool again.

But if I couldn't decide, here's my rundown on the top choices:

Man City: It's a bit "front-runnerish", but despite that, this is still a team that really hasn't had a ton of success in Europe. Zero champions league titles. They aren't a popular choice since they basically "bought" their way into the bigtime, but if you want to follow a team that wins, they aren't super popular and imo have the brightest future of all EPL clubs.

Liverpool: Biased, but Liverpool has the best manager in the EPL. Fanbase desperate to win, getting a big stadium addition, team is still very young, when they do win it will be very, very special. 2-3 great seasons under a great manager with money coming in from the new stadium and Liverpool could re-establish themselves as a European powerhouse as the money is currently there, and bigtime success could see it explode.

Man U: Very rich and powerful, throws money around left and right, arrogant, annoying, and has a huge Chevy symbol on the front of their jersey. Why would you pick them? Seriously.

Chelsea: It takes guts to pick them right now. Everyone hates Chelsea, and they are owned by a Russian Oligarch. But they are based out of London and they will always be in the hunt. But still, everyone hates them. If you don't mind picking the team that everyone hates, pick Chelsea. But then we won't like you as much. Your choice.

Arsenal: Popular "trendy" pick. Arsenal is like Georgia in college football. Always good, always close to the top, always getting great players, but never winning anything. That being said, it's fun to be on the side of a team that never wins, once they start winning. I personally think they are the favorites this year, so there's that.

Tottenham: They are young? Don't know. I suppose you could pick them if you think their new stadium/NFL deal will financially put them towards the top. They also have a pretty good young coach I guess. But to me this is a very boring team with little history, and with little reason to see how they ever break into the top. Tottenham is the type of club that imo will be most affected by all the premier league money. It will make it more difficult for them. Same with Liverpool, only I feel Liverpool have a world class coach at just the right time, otherwise I'd be quite worried.

Leicester: If you are looking outside the box, pick them. Young and exciting. You get to watch a small club try to grow into a powerhouse. Unfortunately, I think it will ultimately lead to disappointment as Vardy and Mahrez leave for more money and Leicester turns into Swansea.

If you can't decide, just enjoy watching the game and root for the underdog each year. I think the EPL is changing and each year there will be a new underdog to challenge the big boys.

 

[B Maverick]

For anyone interested in Premier League managerial tenure, I just updated my chart. With Jose gone the average has dropped from 774 days to 731.5. https://public.tableau.com/profile/chris.holmes#!/vizhome/PremierLeagueManagerialTenure/PLManagerCombined

imagine how far that drops when Wenger hangs it up. Wenger 7018, the rest 7612

Sorry, I forgot shader was a Liverpool guy. I remember him tinkering with the idea of supporting ManU when he first arrived on the scene. That made me blind with anger and apparently affected my memory.

I get it. I find myself really annoyed with most United fans that I meet. Mostly because they are half-hearted fans. Like they watch the games every now and then, don't really care, and kind of think it's "cool" to be a Man U fan.

I can understand that. Its the recent bandwagon fans. All they know is the recent trophies and SAF. Nothing about the Busby Babes or Munich Air Disaster.....

 

[The Gator]

Sorry, I forgot shader was a Liverpool guy. I remember him tinkering with the idea of supporting ManU when he first arrived on the scene. That made me blind with anger and apparently affected my memory.

Yep, United fans are the worst. Like Hitler and OBL had a litter of babies.

I've been a FA for a year now. I just can't decide.

Maybe I'll pick United just for you, GB.

You know you want some Leicester.

but yeah- jumping on a champion team and all...

I don't think it's realistic that they will continue to be a top team. They aren't going to keep Mahrez or Vardy. Too much money for them to be made elsewhere. Best to stay with more established clubs. Not necessarily top clubs, but those that have at least established themselves as regular EPL teams.

 

[B Maverick]

Sorry, I forgot shader was a Liverpool guy. I remember him tinkering with the idea of supporting ManU when he first arrived on the scene. That made me blind with anger and apparently affected my memory.

Yep, United fans are the worst. Like Hitler and OBL had a litter of babies.

I've been a FA for a year now. I just can't decide.

Maybe I'll pick United just for you, GB.

Once you've started watching for that long, I don't know how you ever really pick a side. I knew going in I had to pick one and digest everything I could about the team. I read fan forums, learned about players, watched youtube and got invested in the online Liverpool community. That helped a lot.

If I had it to do over again and I was deciding right now, I'd pick Liverpool again.

But if I couldn't decide, here's my rundown on the top choices:

Man City: It's a bit "front-runnerish", but despite that, this is still a team that really hasn't had a ton of success in Europe. Zero champions league titles. They aren't a popular choice since they basically "bought" their way into the bigtime, but if you want to follow a team that wins, they aren't super popular and imo have the brightest future of all EPL clubs.

Liverpool: Biased, but Liverpool has the best manager in the EPL. Fanbase desperate to win, getting a big stadium addition, team is still very young, when they do win it will be very, very special. 2-3 great seasons under a great manager with money coming in from the new stadium and Liverpool could re-establish themselves as a European powerhouse as the money is currently there, and bigtime success could see it explode.

Man U: Very rich and powerful, throws money around left and right, arrogant, annoying, and has a huge Chevy symbol on the front of their jersey. Why would you pick them? Seriously.

Chelsea: It takes guts to pick them right now. Everyone hates Chelsea, and they are owned by a Russian Oligarch. But they are based out of London and they will always be in the hunt. But still, everyone hates them. If you don't mind picking the team that everyone hates, pick Chelsea. But then we won't like you as much. Your choice.

Arsenal: Popular "trendy" pick. Arsenal is like Georgia in college football. Always good, always close to the top, always getting great players, but never winning anything. That being said, it's fun to be on the side of a team that never wins, once they start winning. I personally think they are the favorites this year, so there's that.

Tottenham: They are young? Don't know. I suppose you could pick them if you think their new stadium/NFL deal will financially put them towards the top. They also have a pretty good young coach I guess. But to me this is a very boring team with little history, and with little reason to see how they ever break into the top. Tottenham is the type of club that imo will be most affected by all the premier league money. It will make it more difficult for them. Same with Liverpool, only I feel Liverpool have a world class coach at just the right time, otherwise I'd be quite worried.

Leicester: If you are looking outside the box, pick them. Young and exciting. You get to watch a small club try to grow into a powerhouse. Unfortunately, I think it will ultimately lead to disappointment as Vardy and Mahrez leave for more money and Leicester turns into Swansea.

If you can't decide, just enjoy watching the game and root for the underdog each year. I think the EPL is changing and each year there will be a new underdog to challenge the big boys.

Overall pretty nice breakdown.

The Checy logo is horrible. I also hate that they have an official partner for something in almost every retail category. But they have built a global brand with the money to back it. However, if they dont remember how they got there they are destined to go full liverpool and fall from grace.

I became a fan when I saw them vs Lillistom in Norway in 1992. So much more entertaining then the Leeds v Arsenal game I saw there too. But with any team you become a fan of, I agree, learn about them.

 

[CGRdrJoe]

Lately Manu has grown on me but only because we've adopted a drinking game with them. It started during the World Cup, every time schweinsteiger is said you take a drink of beer and well naturally when he came over to the epl we had to keep it going. It's a shame United don't play more late games, drinking at 8 am on a Saturday is sometimes hard to explain

 

[jonessed]

Sorry, I forgot shader was a Liverpool guy. I remember him tinkering with the idea of supporting ManU when he first arrived on the scene. That made me blind with anger and apparently affected my memory.

Yep, United fans are the worst. Like Hitler and OBL had a litter of babies.

I've been a FA for a year now. I just can't decide.

Maybe I'll pick United just for you, GB.

Once you've started watching for that long, I don't know how you ever really pick a side. I knew going in I had to pick one and digest everything I could about the team. I read fan forums, learned about players, watched youtube and got invested in the online Liverpool community. That helped a lot.

If I had it to do over again and I was deciding right now, I'd pick Liverpool again.

But if I couldn't decide, here's my rundown on the top choices:

Man City: It's a bit "front-runnerish", but despite that, this is still a team that really hasn't had a ton of success in Europe. Zero champions league titles. They aren't a popular choice since they basically "bought" their way into the bigtime, but if you want to follow a team that wins, they aren't super popular and imo have the brightest future of all EPL clubs.

Liverpool: Biased, but Liverpool has the best manager in the EPL. Fanbase desperate to win, getting a big stadium addition, team is still very young, when they do win it will be very, very special. 2-3 great seasons under a great manager with money coming in from the new stadium and Liverpool could re-establish themselves as a European powerhouse as the money is currently there, and bigtime success could see it explode.

Man U: Very rich and powerful, throws money around left and right, arrogant, annoying, and has a huge Chevy symbol on the front of their jersey. Why would you pick them? Seriously.

Chelsea: It takes guts to pick them right now. Everyone hates Chelsea, and they are owned by a Russian Oligarch. But they are based out of London and they will always be in the hunt. But still, everyone hates them. If you don't mind picking the team that everyone hates, pick Chelsea. But then we won't like you as much. Your choice.

Arsenal: Popular "trendy" pick. Arsenal is like Georgia in college football. Always good, always close to the top, always getting great players, but never winning anything. That being said, it's fun to be on the side of a team that never wins, once they start winning. I personally think they are the favorites this year, so there's that.

Tottenham: They are young? Don't know. I suppose you could pick them if you think their new stadium/NFL deal will financially put them towards the top. They also have a pretty good young coach I guess. But to me this is a very boring team with little history, and with little reason to see how they ever break into the top. Tottenham is the type of club that imo will be most affected by all the premier league money. It will make it more difficult for them. Same with Liverpool, only I feel Liverpool have a world class coach at just the right time, otherwise I'd be quite worried.

Leicester: If you are looking outside the box, pick them. Young and exciting. You get to watch a small club try to grow into a powerhouse. Unfortunately, I think it will ultimately lead to disappointment as Vardy and Mahrez leave for more money and Leicester turns into Swansea.

If you can't decide, just enjoy watching the game and root for the underdog each year. I think the EPL is changing and each year there will be a new underdog to challenge the big boys.

This is an odd perspective. How long have you been watching the EPL?

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

Yeah, I think shader's perspective is kind of insane. If you're looking to pick a team, my humble advice is to watch games and find a team that plays in a way you enjoy. Yeah, the style of play and the players might change, but at least you've come by your fandom honestly and can then decide whether you want to stick with them through the lean times or not. I wouldn't base my decision on who's trendy or who spends money or even who's owned by the least offensive billionaire.

I also have no problem with Man U fans who don't cite the Busby babes or Liverpool fans who don't talk about Bill Shankly. I grew up a Redskins fan. My connection wasn't to Sammy Baugh or Sonny Jurgenson. It was to John Riggins. Because I actually saw him play and formed a connection. I'm an Arsenal fan and I don't give a #### if my fellow fans know who Herbert Chapman or even Tony Adams are. I'm aware of the history, but it has nothing to do with my connection to the team.

 

[shader]

Sorry, I forgot shader was a Liverpool guy. I remember him tinkering with the idea of supporting ManU when he first arrived on the scene. That made me blind with anger and apparently affected my memory.

Yep, United fans are the worst. Like Hitler and OBL had a litter of babies.

I've been a FA for a year now. I just can't decide.

Maybe I'll pick United just for you, GB.

Once you've started watching for that long, I don't know how you ever really pick a side. I knew going in I had to pick one and digest everything I could about the team. I read fan forums, learned about players, watched youtube and got invested in the online Liverpool community. That helped a lot.

If I had it to do over again and I was deciding right now, I'd pick Liverpool again.

But if I couldn't decide, here's my rundown on the top choices:

Man City: It's a bit "front-runnerish", but despite that, this is still a team that really hasn't had a ton of success in Europe. Zero champions league titles. They aren't a popular choice since they basically "bought" their way into the bigtime, but if you want to follow a team that wins, they aren't super popular and imo have the brightest future of all EPL clubs.

Liverpool: Biased, but Liverpool has the best manager in the EPL. Fanbase desperate to win, getting a big stadium addition, team is still very young, when they do win it will be very, very special. 2-3 great seasons under a great manager with money coming in from the new stadium and Liverpool could re-establish themselves as a European powerhouse as the money is currently there, and bigtime success could see it explode.

Man U: Very rich and powerful, throws money around left and right, arrogant, annoying, and has a huge Chevy symbol on the front of their jersey. Why would you pick them? Seriously.

Chelsea: It takes guts to pick them right now. Everyone hates Chelsea, and they are owned by a Russian Oligarch. But they are based out of London and they will always be in the hunt. But still, everyone hates them. If you don't mind picking the team that everyone hates, pick Chelsea. But then we won't like you as much. Your choice.

Arsenal: Popular "trendy" pick. Arsenal is like Georgia in college football. Always good, always close to the top, always getting great players, but never winning anything. That being said, it's fun to be on the side of a team that never wins, once they start winning. I personally think they are the favorites this year, so there's that.

Tottenham: They are young? Don't know. I suppose you could pick them if you think their new stadium/NFL deal will financially put them towards the top. They also have a pretty good young coach I guess. But to me this is a very boring team with little history, and with little reason to see how they ever break into the top. Tottenham is the type of club that imo will be most affected by all the premier league money. It will make it more difficult for them. Same with Liverpool, only I feel Liverpool have a world class coach at just the right time, otherwise I'd be quite worried.

Leicester: If you are looking outside the box, pick them. Young and exciting. You get to watch a small club try to grow into a powerhouse. Unfortunately, I think it will ultimately lead to disappointment as Vardy and Mahrez leave for more money and Leicester turns into Swansea.

If you can't decide, just enjoy watching the game and root for the underdog each year. I think the EPL is changing and each year there will be a new underdog to challenge the big boys.

This is an odd perspective. How long have you been watching the EPL?

I'm a very biased, newbie fan in my second year. I imagine my perspective is terrible. Each month I learn so much more about the game. I like to talk about it, but I USUALLY stay out of posting too much because I typically write a bunch of dumb stuff. When you are learning a sport, your opinion is likely kind of worthless for awhile.

 

[Sebowski]

Shader's Arsenal doesn't hit anywhere close to me. I love them because when I first tried EP a few times I felt like they were the only team playing the style of soccer that I knew in that league. The beautiful game, if you will. The rest of the EPL to me at that time from what I saw was not the soccer I grew up playing and loving. Arsenal "had it right" for me. It's the same reason Eddie Guerrero was my first big WCW crush

And the only things I know about Georgia are that it's the home of The Big Boss Man, traffic in Atlanta is ####### brutal, and it sells 40s, which Florida didn't when I was at FSU, so I could get to the border in 20mins for a few cases a couple times a year for a 40 party.

 

[shader]

Shader's Arsenal doesn't hit anywhere close to me. I love them because when I first tried EP a few times I felt like they were the only team playing the style of soccer that I knew in that league. The beautiful game, if you will. The rest of the EPL to me at that time from what I saw was not the soccer I grew up playing and loving. Arsenal "had it right" for me. It's the same reason Eddie Guerrero was my first big WCW crush

And the only things I know about Georgia are that it's the home of The Big Boss Man, traffic in Atlanta is ####### brutal, and it sells 40s, which Florida didn't when I was at FSU, so I could get to the border in 20mins for a few cases a couple times a year for a 40 party.

I imagine most people are like that, they start liking a team because of the way they play when they first start following the sport.

I can't imagine many people watching Chelsea last year and saying "man I love the way they park the bus and turn the games into utter snoozefests".

 

[Christo]

Lately Manu has grown on me but only because we've adopted a drinking game with them. It started during the World Cup, every time schweinsteiger is said you take a drink of beer and well naturally when he came over to the epl we had to keep it going. It's a shame United don't play more late games, drinking at 8 am on a Saturday is sometimes hard to explain

Explain to who? You need to find different people to hang out with at 8 am on Saturdays.

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

Shader's Arsenal doesn't hit anywhere close to me. I love them because when I first tried EP a few times I felt like they were the only team playing the style of soccer that I knew in that league. The beautiful game, if you will. The rest of the EPL to me at that time from what I saw was not the soccer I grew up playing and loving. Arsenal "had it right" for me. It's the same reason Eddie Guerrero was my first big WCW crush

And the only things I know about Georgia are that it's the home of The Big Boss Man, traffic in Atlanta is ####### brutal, and it sells 40s, which Florida didn't when I was at FSU, so I could get to the border in 20mins for a few cases a couple times a year for a 40 party.

I imagine most people are like that, they start liking a team because of the way they play when they first start following the sport.

I can't imagine many people watching Chelsea last year and saying "man I love the way they park the bus and turn the games into utter snoozefests".

Only Manchester City scored more goals than Chelsea last season. You supported a team that scored 30 less goals than Chelsea last season.

 

[Kafka]

According to Tancredi Hiddink and Chelsea agreed to terms. Hope it's for more than 1 season.

Isn't it almost certain to be an interim job for Hiddink? I would expect a six month contract.

Isn't Chelsea an interim job for everyone?

Average time on the job in PL is something like 21 months (and that's not the lowest number around Europe or South America). So unless you're Arsene Wenger, every job is pretty much interim.I wonder what the current manager seniority rankings in PL are?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_Football_League_managers

Pochettino has the 6th most seniority in the league

1st most stylishness.

Nonsense...Tony Pulis.

 

[bentley]

Yeah, I think shader's perspective is kind of insane. If you're looking to pick a team, my humble advice is to watch games and find a team that plays in a way you enjoy. Yeah, the style of play and the players might change, but at least you've come by your fandom honestly and can then decide whether you want to stick with them through the lean times or not. I wouldn't base my decision on who's trendy or who spends money or even who's owned by the least offensive billionaire.

I also have no problem with Man U fans who don't cite the Busby babes or Liverpool fans who don't talk about Bill Shankly. I grew up a Redskins fan. My connection wasn't to Sammy Baugh or Sonny Jurgenson. It was to John Riggins. Because I actually saw him play and formed a connection. I'm an Arsenal fan and I don't give a #### if my fellow fans know who Herbert Chapman or even Tony Adams are. I'm aware of the history, but it has nothing to do with my connection to the team.

It really just comes down to a simple choice. You can either be a Liverpool fan and be full of goodness and light and style and have a huge crank or you can be some kind of ####### and follow somebody else.

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

Yeah, I think shader's perspective is kind of insane. If you're looking to pick a team, my humble advice is to watch games and find a team that plays in a way you enjoy. Yeah, the style of play and the players might change, but at least you've come by your fandom honestly and can then decide whether you want to stick with them through the lean times or not. I wouldn't base my decision on who's trendy or who spends money or even who's owned by the least offensive billionaire.

I also have no problem with Man U fans who don't cite the Busby babes or Liverpool fans who don't talk about Bill Shankly. I grew up a Redskins fan. My connection wasn't to Sammy Baugh or Sonny Jurgenson. It was to John Riggins. Because I actually saw him play and formed a connection. I'm an Arsenal fan and I don't give a #### if my fellow fans know who Herbert Chapman or even Tony Adams are. I'm aware of the history, but it has nothing to do with my connection to the team.

It really just comes down to a simple choice. You can either be a Liverpool fan and be full of goodness and light and style and have a huge crank or you can be some kind of ####### and follow somebody else.

I refuse to believe that John Green has a huge crank.

 

[Sinn Fein]

Tottenham: They are young? Don't know. I suppose you could pick them if you think their new stadium/NFL deal will financially put them towards the top. They also have a pretty good young coach I guess. But to me this is a very boring team with little history, and with little reason to see how they ever break into the top. Tottenham is the type of club that imo will be most affected by all the premier league money. It will make it more difficult for them. Same with Liverpool, only I feel Liverpool have a world class coach at just the right time, otherwise I'd be quite worried.

I kind of like that Spurs are under the radar in terms of supporters - but having said that - if there is one team today who is capable of going on a several year run with the same core group of players its Spurs.

They are the youngest team in the league - they still have a bit of growing up to do - but they are quite competitive right now. They don't need the money - judging by the very low net spend over the last 7-8 years. They have a core of Kane, Dier and Alli - who will each likely make the England squad for the Euros next summer. Lamela has taken forever to settle in England, but he is playing well, they just brought in Heung-min Son - who is likely to bring additional sponsorship money from Korea, Christian Eriksen has only one rival for best free-kick taker in the league, Alderweireld and Vertonghen are becoming the best CB tandem in the league - and they just started the pairing this season. Hugo Lloris is a world-class keeper, who for some reason wants to stay in London - thus he is unlikely to leave Spurs anytime soon.

From an American standpoint - it won't be long before Cameron Carter-Vickers is a regular part of the team - some think he has moved up to 4th choice CB - but I think a loan this January would do him well. I do worry that with Kane, Dier and Alli on the squad - the pull towards playing for England will be strong.

Pochettino is a fascinating young coach - he inspires incredible loyalty among his players, and he continues to push young players into the English National team. Not everyone is a fan of his 4231 set-up, but he plays an exciting pressing style that is fun to watch.

True, Spurs don't have a great recent history (except finishing ahead of Liverpool in 7 of the last 8 seasons), and there is a lot of heart ache that comes with watching them play - expecting to be let down...but I really believe this is a team on the cusp of a great run - I think it starts next season, they can finish top-4 this year - but they are missing a bit of experience that keeps them from dropping points in games they shouldn't. They won't be big spenders in the transfer market until at least summer of 2017 - but they are quietly locking up players on new deals - keeping the core intact.

PS - I think finances, with the new TV revenue, will be a bit-overrated. I think it will come down to lower turnover, and bringing more players in via academies. FA is already looking to reduce the number of foreign players on teams, and Spurs are well-positioned to take advantage - particularly compared to some of the other traditionally big squads.

 

[Autumn Wind]

I'm wondering if I shouldn't just find an underdog that seems to be beating the odds and root for them each season. I picked Swansea last year and quickly learned the pain of rooting for a small-time club that will be forever selling stars. Watching them completely fall apart this year is just too reminiscent of watching the Raiders for the better part of the last 20 years. If they're gonna crap out and get relegated I'm not sticking around, and if that makes me a bad person then so be it. Life's too short to be miserable watching sports.

All that said, I'm enjoying Crystal Palace's run this year. In a lot of ways their story is very Swansea-esque, but hopefully their new American money will enable them to not fall apart as easily as the Swans have.

 

[El Floppo]

I still see Arsenal as the invincibles, even if that was a while ago. Still like how they play though, even if they aren't winning hardware.

And I loved watching Chelsea last year. Hazard was off the charts and Darth Costa was the perfect villain. And yeah, lots of goals.

 

[The Gator]

Jfc there are a lot of words on this page.

 

[roadkill1292]

Mou spotted in the stands at Brighton, watching the battle with Middlesbrough for first place.

 

[roadkill1292]

Boro looking sharp btw, up two at the half. Gulls staring at their first loss.