OT - English Premier League
I've gone a large portion of my life without paying much attention to soccer, but in the past two weeks I've gone from indifferent to curious to enthralled.
A buddy of mine, from Liverpool, has really gotten me into it. (In turn, I have hooked him on Michigan football.)
One huge plus is that most games start pretty early on the East Coast so you can have a few pops and get sober before the next day of work.
I was just wondering how many other fans are out there in this community, and who do you cheer for? I'm also kind of still trying to figure out the whole system ... the FA cup, the UEFA Champions League and how that all works, so any help would be appreciated.
Cheers.
February 23rd, 2010 at 4:47 PM ^
Man U
One of my best friends is from England and he got me hooked.
February 23rd, 2010 at 4:49 PM ^
... I have been instilled with a distinct hatred for them.
February 23rd, 2010 at 4:57 PM ^
Man U:World
Yankees:USA
Man United the team of frontrunners around the world.
February 23rd, 2010 at 6:23 PM ^
Real Madrid: World
Man U: England
Yankees: USA
Real spends far more and has most of the largest signings in the history of the sport at least in terms of salary and transfer fee.
February 24th, 2010 at 10:54 AM ^
I grew up supporting Man City (which is about the same as cheering for the Maple Leafs, Indians, Lions, Browns etc. in terms of lifetime of frustration quotient). Recent wealthy ownership has my hopes up.
February 23rd, 2010 at 4:49 PM ^
here as well. Spent a couple weeks in Manchester in High School and Tim Howard played for them. Been hooked ever since. A season of reloading this year
February 23rd, 2010 at 4:54 PM ^
Manchester City is my favorite team, I picked them up a couple years ago when they had lots of young talent. My favorite player is Carlos Tevez, he is one the hardest workers in soccer, and had a very hard upbringing (link below). I'm a Chelsea and Man U hater
West Ham United is cool team, if you haven't seen the movie "Green Street Hooligans" you should.
http://74.125.93.132/search?q=cache:TuHPFZGzWBYJ:www.goal.com/en-gb/new…
February 23rd, 2010 at 4:52 PM ^
My favorite European team is Real Madrid, who obviously isn't in the EPL. I like to follow Man U, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, and some of the other English teams, but don't really have much of a preference.
February 23rd, 2010 at 5:20 PM ^
became an Arsenal fan by default, but ended up liking them for all the right reasons. I also played on a Sunday League team there with a guy that played a bit for West Ham and he got me turned on to them a bit.
I don't care what anybody says here in the U.S., the fans and craziness there far surpasses anything that we have here. Same go for South America, I was lucky enough to see Boca play river Plate in Buenos Aires and that was an experience. They start splitting fans into separate sections about 10 blocks from the stadium (Boca's) depending on what colors they are wearing. the sections are divided by huge fences and we spent a good part of the game avoiding bottles, both plastic and glass, full of piss from the upper deck. Tons of fits and such inside and outside the stadium before and after. It was a melee.
February 23rd, 2010 at 6:42 PM ^
Actually, I don't even think many Americans would dispute that European soccer fans take things to another level. Soccer is practically a metaphor for war over there. (OTOH, rugby is 180 degrees apart - rival fans are incredibly polite to each other.)
February 23rd, 2010 at 4:57 PM ^
Barcelona.
Best style of play in Europe.
Best team in Europe.
Six titles in 2009.
February 23rd, 2010 at 4:59 PM ^
Fulham. Got interested by the willingness to give Americans a shot. Got hooked by Roy Hodgson's ability to assemble a solid defense out of paper clips, bubble gum and imposing Norwegians.
February 23rd, 2010 at 5:08 PM ^
Tim Howard and now Landon Donovan. Favorite club Real Madrid. Favorite team to watch Spanish National team.
The Champions LEague is basically a tournament of the 32 best European Clubs from the Premier Leagues of countries. Power house club countries like England (EPL), Germany , Italy ( Serie A), Spain get four entries while some countries only get one entry. Barcelona beat MAnU is last year's final. It is an incredible tournament that goes on during the regular club season.
This is not to be confused with the Europen championships where players play for their native European country (not their club). Spain is the defending champion and will likely battle Brazil as favorites for the World CUp in Africa this summer.
February 23rd, 2010 at 5:49 PM ^
Everton here too. I like Chelsea and Liverpool but as a newer fan (got into the EPL a couple of years ago) just couldn't see hitching up to the gold standard teams.
One disagreement---I find watching EPL far preferable to either Spain or Italy. To me, the atmosphere and announcing, as well as the play, can't be beat. I do acknowledge that Barca plays the prettiest game.
February 23rd, 2010 at 9:40 PM ^
My favorite national team (not national league) are the Spanish national side. The midfield play and ball possession is to soccer is what Crazy Jims is to hamburgers.
February 24th, 2010 at 10:12 AM ^
Supporting Everton and Liverpool is like being a fan of Michigan and Ohio State....
February 24th, 2010 at 2:18 PM ^
Everton here as well, good to see some more fans of the Toffees, and good to see them give it to Man U and Chelsea back-to-back. Man U fans = bandwagon fans.
February 25th, 2010 at 10:41 AM ^
doesn't mean their fans are bandwagon fans. Man u fans are some of the most loyal fans in the world and have suffered through some not so great seasons previous to sir Alex taking the reigns. Even when they fall short of their goals I don't hear them screaming for the coaches head and jumping off the bandwagon, unlike fans of a certain University I know......just sayin'.
February 23rd, 2010 at 7:34 PM ^
+1 For Everton.
Everton is my favorite team and having Donovan is like icing on the cake.
February 23rd, 2010 at 5:12 PM ^
The Champions League is a the biggest deal in European club soccer. It's a competition for the top teams in Europe based on the top finishers in each league from the previous season. The top leagues (England, Spain, Italy, Germany etc.) get multiple spots, which is why the top 4 is so important in the Premier League. Smaller leagues only send their league champion. It's played in knockout-stage qualifiers, then groups of 4 like World Cup, then back to knockout stages for the Round of 16 forward.
The UEFA Cup (I think called the Europa League now) used to be the Champions League-type of event, the pinnacle of European club soccer, but is sort of like the NIT to the Champions League's NCAA tourney...it's the next best teams who didn't make the Champions League, or got knocked out early on in the Champions League.
The FA Cup is a knockout competition in which virtually every team in England has a place (imagine March Madness for every D-1 bball program).
The Carling Cup is a knockout competition, but only for teams in the Premiership and in the "Football League" of England, which means the top league and the 3 below it. This is the least prestigious event, and many top Premier League teams don't really care about this competition, with Man U, Arsenal, Chelsea sometimes sending reserve players.
February 23rd, 2010 at 5:41 PM ^
Breakdown of CL
EPL, La Liga, Seria A- Top 3 to CL, 4th CL Qualifying
French, Portugal, Germany- Top 2 CL, 3rd CL qualifying
Dutch, Greece, Scotland, Turkey- 1st CL, 2nd CLQ
Leagues in Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Russia, and Denmark all send either one or two teams to CLQ
Carling Cup is unofficially called The Liquid Cup to second the point above.
February 23rd, 2010 at 5:18 PM ^
So I worked for a company in southern california for a number of years, and my boss (owner of the company) loved Man U. He goes overseas several times a year to attend games. One year, Man U was playing a lesser known team, Wigan, in the final of the Carling Cup, so I told him I was going to root for Wigan. After all, for Manchester it was just one more trophy in an overflowing case, but for Wigan it would be the greatest victory in team history.
Well a few months later after another trip to the UK, he said he had brought me back a gift... and it was a Wigan hat, which I still wear regularly. I have since added a Wigan scarf to my collection.
They struggle to avoid relegation in the EPL every year, but it makes the big victories much sweeter - like earlier this year when they beat Chelsea by two goals.
February 23rd, 2010 at 5:19 PM ^
When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high, and don't be afraid of the dark.
At the end of a storm, there's a golden sky, and the sweet silver song of a lark.
Walk on through the wind,
walk on through the rain, though your dreams be tossed and blown.
Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart, and you'll never walk alone... You'll never walk alone.
Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart, and you'll never walk alone... You'll never walk alone.
February 23rd, 2010 at 6:59 PM ^
awesome!
Now sing me "Anfield Road."
February 23rd, 2010 at 5:26 PM ^
I support Arsenal. Did an internship here way back when and was hooked by Dennis Bergkamp and Arsenal. Love the Wenger's philosophy and the way they play. There are even a few comparisons to Michigan - young team, great offense when it clicks, so-so defense.
The FA Cup is a great competition. It involves teams from throughout the system (Premier League, Championship, League One, League Two and the Conferences). It's unseeded so you need a little luck of the draw. It's normally good for a few surprises eg Man U lost at home this year to League One Leeds United.
EDIT: Forgot to mention that the top four teams in the Premier League qualify for Champions League. The top 3 automatically qualify for the group stage and the fourth place team has to play in a qualifying round.
February 23rd, 2010 at 5:29 PM ^
When you consider their backgrounds, their coaching and playing histories, they success in coaching, their stubbornness to their playing style, the way they did or are revolutionizing successful yet staid organizations (through nutrition, training and strength and conditioning).......
....Arsene Wenger and Rich Rodriguez have a LOT in common.
February 23rd, 2010 at 7:40 PM ^
Although I'm not a huge Arsenal fan, I think that Wenger is one of the best in the EPL. Unlike other major clubs (i.e. Chelsea, Real Madrd), Arsenal usually brings up talent from their development teams. Like you mentioned, the triangle passing that they stubbornly play is sometimes amazing to watch.
February 23rd, 2010 at 5:34 PM ^
is kind of tough, because if you want to follow a team you can actually watch consistently, you sort of have to choose one of the big clubs, since those are the ones they always put on TV. And the way the economics work those teams will almost always be frontrunners going forward (though Liverpool better be careful). So you'll be branded if you root for any of Barca, Real, Inter, Man U, Chelsea, Pool, Arsenal, Milan, Juventus or Bayern.
But if you wanted to follow, say Portsmouth (bad example, no one wants to follow Portsmouth where they're headed), I would applaud your individuality and wish you the best on finding more than maybe a game on FSC every 5 weeks.
February 23rd, 2010 at 5:40 PM ^
ESPN has been showing more games both EPL and La Liga, I think every weekend EPL on Saturday and La Liga on Sunday. And with the internet, watching games isn't hard at all.
February 23rd, 2010 at 5:41 PM ^
Because you can find pretty much every EPL game streaming online by going to a site like www.myp2p.eu
February 23rd, 2010 at 5:50 PM ^
about the internet feeds, although soccer on the internet is kind of a double-edged sword: there are a ton of feeds because the whole world cares about it, but that also means that there are a zillion bots looking for feeds to quash, so I find more often than not that the feeds that survive are pretty poor quality.
But maybe I'm just looking in the wrong place. I usually try out atdhe.net
Regardless, I don't recommend anyone start rooting for Pompey.
February 23rd, 2010 at 5:47 PM ^
The TV coverage is a bit weird. Even living in the UK, 30%ish of the Arsenal matches are not televised in the UK despite having both Sky and ESPN UK. All the 3pm (local time) Saturday matches are blacked out in the UK (but not elsewhere). So, the game can be on FSC but not on in the UK.
February 23rd, 2010 at 5:43 PM ^
I tend to cheer for Liverpool or Chelsea when I watch them on TV. But I have been enjoying watching Donovan and Everton over the last few weeks. Especially their victory over MANU last Saturday.
I especially like the ESPN2 HD games, need more games on HD, big negative of FSC.
February 23rd, 2010 at 5:47 PM ^
That's about what the FA Cup actually is. Over 700 teams entered this year. Top-level teams get byes into the round of 64; teams from the ninth- and tenth-tier leagues have to win eight games just to make it that far. (But aside from the byes, who you play is purely random draw.)
As for the Champions League: it's about the equivalent of taking OSU, PSU, Iowa, Alabama, Florida, LSU, Texas, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Arizona, Oregon St, Georgia Tech, Cincinnati, Pitt, Boise State, TCU, Troy, CMU, and East Carolina and putting them in a tournament during next season. Unlike the FA Cup, which is straight knockout, the Champions League has knockout qualifying rounds, followed by double-round-robin pool play from which the top two in each group qualify to a 16-team knockout.
February 23rd, 2010 at 5:48 PM ^
played OH football for 11 years, got a nat'l championship, but got hooked on "futbol" in college since my best friend was born into it: son of US nat'l team trainer.
spurs in EPL and of course, spread the word- go yanks, SA 2010!
although my fav player of all time is king eric cantona, frenchman for MAN U, you still gotta love robbie fowler MAN CITY- 1. his nickname was god, 2. he once got down and sniffed the timeline as a goal celebration... HA!
February 23rd, 2010 at 6:14 PM ^
... They play a beautiful game and games at Highbury (old stadium) are beyond comparison.
Now, having them always come in 2nd or 3rd, has become frustrating after so many years, but I love them, nonetheless.
February 23rd, 2010 at 8:32 PM ^
I was lucky enough to see them play Sunderland at Highbury back in 1996. The atmosphere was beyond compare. The internet has made following the team much easier now.
I actually would rather watch the EPL over the NFL in most cases. Some of that is because I am a Lions fan, but I enjoy it greatly.
February 23rd, 2010 at 6:20 PM ^
One note for those not already aware: the Champions League final this year will be on a Saturday, not midweek as in the past, and is supposed to be carried live on Fox. Not FSC, but the mothership Fox network. And in HD.
February 23rd, 2010 at 6:27 PM ^
If you're new to soccer, particularly getting introduced by a Brit, you may feel pressure to call it football or take some guff for calling it soccer.
Don't fall for it! You're in America, we have a name for the game, it's soccer. The "socc" in soccer is short for "association" as in "football association", so it's a name of English origin anyway, if you need to justify it to any Eurosnobs.
If you want to talk about football, and kits, and boots, and the pitch, and "a clumsy challenge", that's all fine, but there's also nothing wrong with using the words our American vernacular has substituted.
February 23rd, 2010 at 6:40 PM ^
I normally don't watch EPL (or much of any soccer these days, unfortunately) but I've always liked Man U.
They've had quite a history and have recently enjoyed lots of success. I normally stick to my roots and watch Serie A, but I definitely like watching the other leagues and rooting for all the different teams in each.
February 23rd, 2010 at 6:42 PM ^
How it works:
There are three major competitions played at overlapping times throughout the year.
#1 is the Premiere League. These are the top 20 teams in England. Everyone plays everyone else twice, home and away. 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 for a loss.
Top points getter wins the league. No playoffs. It's a pure table, which is great. Bottom three get demoted out of the Premier League, which is a massive kick in the junk revenue-wise. Traditionally, winning the league is the biggest deal in England.
#2 is the FA Cup. Basically every tiny football club in England gets to play in this single elimination, random draw tourney. Think Hoosiers. The small clubs have a chance (but dont usually win). The big boys get byes until the round of 64, IIRC. The finals are always played at Wembley, and the competition is played concurrently to the league.
#3 is the Champions League. Top few teams from each country get in this awesome big money tourney. Winner are declared champions of Europe. This has grown in importance wildly over the past few years. Also played simultaneously to the regular season
#4 is the Carling Cup AKA League cup. this is a single elim tourney, but only for the top 80 or so teams (the League, as they call the top competitions). This is pretty much an afterthought for most teams. It doesn't have the history and romance of the FA cup.
February 23rd, 2010 at 6:46 PM ^
Lots of respect for European footy-ballers above and deservedly so. One thing I would love to steal from Euro Soccer’s playbook is the chants and songs. For those who have been over the pool to a match will tell you that these cries are a big part of the experience. They have chants for when they win, lose, at individuals, refs, coaches, ect.
Portsmouth has one of my favorites as it is simple and direct. See link:
http://www.fanchants.com/football-songs/portsmouth-chants/play-up-pompe…
We should have some at Mich games for 2 reasons: fandom fun +15 and jack up players.
Now who is creative enough to come up with one?
February 23rd, 2010 at 6:48 PM ^
I was born in Suffolk (AF brat) so I've always been a fan of Ipswich Town. While they currently are fighting off relegation from the Championship thanks to Mr. Roy Keane getting them off to a piss start, they used to be quite good.
As for EPL, I really like what O'Neill has done with Aston Villa. They're a pretty young pacy team with lots of upcoming English players, and great to use in FIFA 10.
February 24th, 2010 at 1:43 PM ^
My Family is from Wales and we we have many relative in Manchester England. As such we made many trips to Manchester and Old Trafford growing up to watch the red devils play.
It is a great game and very entertaining to watch. I scanned quickly and didn't see mention of how the cups all work (which was one of the OP's questions).
FA Cup: This is a domestic competition in England where clubs from all of the divisions play for the title (not just the premier league teams). This gives a chance to those in the lower divisions to test their skills against the best clubs in England. It does happen that teams from the lower divisions win from time to time. Cardiff City was in the final last year.
Carling Cup: Another domestic tournament played by all divisions of English football. Man U won this last year.
Along with the Europeans Champions league you also have the UEFA Cup. The uefa cup competition was traditionally open to the runners-up of domestic leagues, but the competition was merged with UEFA's previous second-tier European competition, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, in 1999. Since then, the winners of domestic cup competitions have also entered the UEFA Cup. Also, clubs eliminated in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League and the third placed teams at the end of the group phase could go on to compete in the UEFA Cup. Also admitted to the competition are three Fair Play representatives, eleven UEFA Intertoto Cup winners, and winners of some selected domestic League Cup competitions.
The champions league is obviously the most prestigeous of the tournaments. I saw that another poster talked a bit about this one so I will only mention again that the top four teams from the top teir leagues gain entrance to the tournament while some other leagues only get one entry.