The scores were tabulated after an exhaustive survey of countless hipsters leaving several insanely cool music festivals that you've never heard of because you're not cool enough. On the other hand you are free to celebrate draws like wins, wins like sex, and avoiding relegation like a trophy.
They are fresh off a bounce-back season in which they earned promotion back to the big dance thanks to a sturdy defense and my guy GK Daniel Bachmann between the pipes. It remains to be seen if they can solidify their spot in the Premier League and avoid becoming a yo-yo club but they are a real family-friendly club with a cool stadium Vicarage Road in a convenient location and will always hold a soft spot in my heart as they have always been very cool to me.
The Canaries are constantly bouncing back and forth between the top two divisions. They have earned a reputation as a fun club to watch that loves playing attractive soccer but naively gives up a ton of goals. Importantly, Norwich just signed American striker Josh Sargent who at the moment is looking like our starting 9 for the next World Cup qualifying cycle, which should raise their profile a bit.
Fun fact: They have some of the more unique jerseys in the league, which could be a good draw if yellow makes your eyes pop or you are a Green Bay Packers fan and want to be able to re-use your existing sports paraphernalia.
The Bees are unique. This is their first season in the top flight of English soccer in 75 years and they got things started off on the right foot by beating Arsenal. Win, lose or draw it should be an interesting season… or perhaps seasons!? Fun fact: the scenes after the opening day win was pretty damn cool and a nice reminder of what soccer is all about:.
Burnley is the smallest city to host a Premier League team and that underdog spirit permates the club — which is a flowery way of saying that this is a club where offense and fun go to die. Manager Sean Dyche is a ginger with an acerbic wit and his press conferences are usually entertaining, but it is not necessarily a good thing when the most dynamic force at the club is not allowed to kick a ball. Nevetheless, by hook or by crook the Clarets have found a way to draw and win obviously their way to survival every year since If you are looking for flashy super stars and lots of goals, you should definitely look elsewhere.
The Eagles have been a solidly lower middle class Premier League club for years now. If your dad drinks Bud Heavies they might feel a little like home. The squad is in the midst of some major personnel changes that included the replacement of long-time manager Roy Hodgson who retired with Patrick Vieira, a one-time star player for Arsenal but let's just say his track record as a manager is… less impressive. Who knows, but they have a bunch of workmanlike players with several standouts eg, Wilfried Zaha and Eberechi Eze to add some spice.
The club is located in the greater London area so traveling to see them is relatively convenient, they are the only club in the league with cheerleaders, and the Selhurst Park game day experience is supposed to be a lot of fun. The fans despise their cheap ass owner Mike Ashley, so if you have a complicated relationship with your parents then perhaps Newcastle might speak to you.
Several mooted agreements to sell have fallen through, including one that would have flooded the team with Saudi Arabian cash, but at the moment Newcastle feels like it is flying in a bit of a holding pattern waiting for a deal to be consummated. In the meantime they have some fun players like Allan Saint-Maximin who is great on social media , ex-Falcons FC winger Miggy Almiron, Joe Willock and Callum Wilson but the manager Steve Bruce demands the team play a slow, dreary style that sucks for everyone involved.
He may not be long for the job. James is allegedly about as good as it gets. Fun fact: the club has one of the most straightforward and iconic jerseys around though recently they have begun to mess with it because money. The Saints were for many years considered the gold standard for upper mid-table mediocrity, which believe it or not is a pretty big compliment.
However, years and years and years of watching their most talented players and coaches — eg, Ronald Koeman, Mauricio Pochettino, et al poached by the likes of Liverpool, Spurs and United finally took their toll as Southampton has fallen down the pecking order just a bit and has recently been fighting and clawing to stick around the Premier League.
Manager Ralph Hasenhuttl who came over from RB Leipzig has instilled a high-pressing style that is usually entertaining but sometimes ends up in lopsided losses like the drubbing to United in February. Geographically, the club are an attractive side being located on the south coast of England not far from London and aesthetically they have some of the more pleasing jerseys in the league. Bonus fact: Southampton have precisely one trophy to their name — the FA Cup — so nobody will accuse you of being a glory-hunter if you become a Saints fan.
The Seagulls have spent most of their time in the lower divisions but recently carved out an interesting niche for themselves as a team that manages to avoid relegation by the skin of their teeth, so if close shaves or doing jusssssssst enough to get by are your thing then take a look.
Bonus fact: one oddity that I don't quite understood as a bloody yank is that Brighton is located just down the coast from Southampton yet the two clubs apparently have no animosity and there is no rivalry between them to speak of. Friendly neighboring teams? Regardless, love it or hate it, there is no denying two things: 1 there is a faint whiff of controversy surrounding the club's backroom dealings and 2 whatever is in their special sauce it is definitely pretty tasty as they are not established as an upper middle class club.
There are some question marks this season such as a new manager Bruno Lage from Benfica of course and whether Raul Jimenez can return to the world class form he was in before David Luiz cracked his skull open like a coconut, but they have a lot of quality and one truly unique player in Adama Traore. Fun fact: if you are Portuguese or are Iberian-inclined this is definitely the club for you. A hugely historical club that was a founding member of both the original Football League in and the Premier League in , the Villans have won tons of silverware and believe it or not used to be a force in European competitions decades ago but the club fell on especially hard times right around the time Randy Lerner — owner of the world-beating Cleveland Browns — bought them in Leading what they hope will be a charge into the top-six and European competition is a dangerous attacking force that includes Brazilian starlet Richarlison, Icelandic midfield maestro Gylfi Sigurdsson and promising Italian striker Moise Kean, whom the Toffees swooped in to acquire from Juventus in one of the most surprising moves of the summer transfer window.
Leicester City: Forever Cinderella. Leicester City stunned the world by winning the Premier League in in what was the most improbable feat the league has ever seen. Leicester has won the league more recently than Manchester United and Arsenal, and it's a title Liverpool has never won.
It's a team that fights hard, prioritizes teamwork and has some really good players. Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel is quite the player, and striker Jamie Vardy is synonymous with that title run. Add in the signing of talented midfielder Youri Tielemans and an experienced coach in Brendan Rodgers, and you've got a stable club that can make some noise. West Ham: Why would you want to root for West Ham if you have no connections to the team or London and don't really know anything about ironwork?
The best answer I have for that question is bandwagon jumping is unpleasant. As someone new to following the Premier League in the last decade, rooting for the Hammers just made sense. Sure, West Ham is short on trophies, superstars and American fans.
And, at best, the Hammers are the fourth-most talked about team in their own city. But that's the appeal. A club named for ship builders that's a perennial underdog? I'd rather cheer for them any day than become another American millennial front-runner in a Chelsea jersey.
Watford: Watford's trophy case may be bare, but this is a team that is an underdog that plays for the love of the game, has a fantastic fan base and some cool colors with a mix of yellow, black and red.
Watford has never won a trophy of any significance, but that's the appeal for rooting for them, because when the club does, it will be absolutely magical. The club made the final of the FA Cup last season before getting blasted by Manchester City, but coach Javi Garcia has brought stability to this team and hopes to have another deep cup run this season with their quick pace and fierce midfield.
Crystal Palace: Two of the three owners are Americans, they have a really cool stadium in Selhurst Park and are always the underdog. But this team, with it's unique blue and red jersey, has some really good players with Wilfried Zaha leading the way. The club has flirted with relegation in recent seasons but has a bit of stability now. Crystal Palace plays a fast, frantic style that is a pleasure to watch and is always involved in some of the wildest games of the year.
Bournemouth: The true underdogs. The Cherries are in most games they play and give the big dogs a run for their money more often than not. Just 10 years ago, they were in the fourth division.
They climbed up to the third division, and three years after that they made it to the second division. There for just two seasons, they earned Premier League promotion in and have finished on average around 13th place which is more than respectable.
Also, the Cherries is an awesome nickname and the red and black look is slick. Aston Villa: Well, when I first became a Villa supporter it was because I was looking for two things.
The first was that I didn't want to support a big six club because I hate front-running. The second was, while I didn't want to root for one of the top clubs, I also didn't want to run the risk of seeing my team relegated, and Aston Villa was big enough to avoid that pitfall. Or so I thought! Several years later that's what happened, but now they're back! And if you're a fan of redemption stories, then Aston Villa is the club for you. They've come close to the top of the mountain, fallen off of it, and have now begun the climb back toward the top.
And, unlike a lot of newly promoted clubs, it's a large club that's well-funded and has a strong desire to stay and challenge the big six. Plus, the name is cool. Aston Villa sounds like the name of an estate that James Bond would retire to and drink martinis. Norwich City: Noriwch is the second division champs and hoping to make noise to stave off relegation. The Canaries have awesome yellow and green uniforms and one of the coolest stadiums in Carrow Road.
This is a small team that has been in the Premier League for just four seasons since Part of the excitement is fighting off survival and staying in the top flight, and this team has a chance.
While winning titles is great, this is a club satisfied by just staying in the top flight for the long term. Expect them to struggle a bit, but staying up would feel nearly as good as winning a trophy. Sheffield United: Sheffield United played just one season in the Premier League since the early 90s This is a serious underdog that had a really good run in the early 20th century with four FA Cup titles.
This team isn't used to being in the top flight and you probably don't know somebody who supports them, so here is your chance to be unique. They probably won't have any players you've heard of, but it's a chance to read up about the history and find that connection. Their manager, Jurgen Klopp, is one of the best in the world and is currently under contract until Liverpool is a historic club.
They play their home games at Anfield, a world-famous stadium with a magnificent atmosphere. Manchester City was the most successful English team in the s. They won four Premier League titles in that time, having previously not finished on top of the division since City plays attractive soccer, and their manager Pep Guardiola is among the most successful of the modern era. Their wealthy benefactors from Abu Dhabi virtually guarantee that City will be a major force for as long as the present ownership remains in place.
Chelsea has won as many Premier League titles as any other club since they were bought by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in The London side has tended to focus on short-term results in the last 15 years, but the appointment of club legend Frank Lampard as a manager in perhaps hints at a change of approach. They won the title in , , and , and in the latter campaign, they became the first English team since to go the entire season unbeaten. Arsenal has slipped down the pecking order in recent times, though.
They remain a popular club with a reputation for playing good soccer, but their current coach Mikel Arteta has a big job on his hands to make the Gunners challengers again. Manchester United is the most successful club in English domestic soccer, having won the league 20 times in their history.
Thirteen of those triumphs came under Alex Ferguson, whose remarkable year tenure as manager came to an end in After taking charge in , Mauricio Pochettino transformed Spurs into occasional title challengers despite having a much smaller budget than their rivals.
Spurs play at the newest stadium in the Premier League, which is widely regarded as one of the most impressive arenas in world soccer. Leicester City was responsible for the most extraordinary title triumph in the history of soccer when they won the Premier League in After a slight dip following that unprecedented success, Leicester is on the rise again.
Brendan Rodgers, who took charge in , is the most highly-rated manager from the United Kingdom.
0コメント