Another Soccer Thread

Green Mean · April 30, 2012

Soooo....I've always been a soccer fan from afar since I have a lot of family in Europe. I've never really invested a ton of my time in the sport since there are so many options here and with the time zone differences etc...it just makes it harder. But I've contemplated this the past few months that I think i want to adopt an EPL team and follow them closely. As I am typing this I am watching MANU vs. MANC and it is a dandy. I have tho been watching quite a bit of EPL soccer the last few weeks and I gotta say it's gotten me really into it. But I don't have a team yet. Do any of you EPL/Euro leagues followers have any suggestions?

I've done some basic digging on the web and I do want a team that doesn't have a chance at getting relegated and a team with somewhat of a winning history or at least that isn't apathetic. I chose an EPL team mainly because of the language barrier and it would be easier to follow than say a team form Spain, Germany, Italy etc.

I read Bill Simmons' article from 2006 on his adoption process and it was a fantastic read and shed some light and gave me a good basic background on each of the teams. Other than that I think I'd like to follow a team that would provide a destination for me to go every year or two and go to games so I've come down to the teams I am most likely picking from.

Arsenal - Love the name and always have, love the city and have and will keep on visiting regardless because of my connection to the place(London based), 13 tites and always in the conversation as top teams and in postseason type tournaments.

Manchester City - I also have a connection to the city and I love their uniforms. I know some big rich sheikh bought them and some may equate them to the Miami Heat as far as them spending money galore right now. And watching them play MANU right now is fun and they're making a case. The travel ability is there too as that wouldn't be a problem and it is a big enough city and nice enough place to where you would not mind vacationing there. 2 division titles in it's history but with the recent turnaround they can easily be in the conversation as a upper echelon team.

Chelsea - Big time team owned by mega billionaire and they're a recognizeable brand...always seem to be on TV, London based which is great 4 titles but always in the mix of successful teams.

Liverpool - After Manchester United the most successful team in EPL...18 league titles (MANU has 19). I am actually a fan of all their jerseys. They're based in Liverpool which is away from London, Manchester, Birmingham etc so the travel ability to go there may not be as ideal as I'd like. They are owned by the Fenway Group and they used to be owned by the evil Tom Hicks so I am not sure how I feel about adopting them just yet.

Tottenham - This was the club Bill Simmons adopted and they're interesting. They are London based which traveling will not be a problem. They have 2 division titles but they're a team that while they don't seem to be a powerhouse type, they're a solid club across the board. Their uniforms are ok...not terrible but not my favorite either. And their full name of Tottenham Hotspur F.C. sounds cool.

I did consider Manchester United for a bit early on but I realized they are very much hated and they are the soccer's version of the New York Yankees and I seriously wouldn't want to root for a team like that.

As of now I think I'm leading towards Manchester City or Arsenal.

So any help or suggestions would be appreciated....I am excited to get the ball rolling but I just have to officially adopt a team and I just want to be sure that I don't have any regrets on the team afterwards. Thoughts?

kalebschumann · April 30, 2012

I vote for Liverpool!

They have all the history that anybody could ever want! All the titles, and call backs to the "Glory Days". And after some mediocrity in the 90's, they are a team on the rise, and have been in the mix the past decade.

Not to mention- you'd be able to start watching them in some important games right away on Saturday- the FA Cup!

KRAM1 · May 1, 2012

Why not do things a little differently and adopt the Scottish side Rangers FC? No, not Queens Park Rangers, but the Rangers FC Club from Scotland of the Scottish Premier Leagure. Unless, of course you are Catholic...in that case you might want to consider Celtic.

Censored by Laurie · May 2, 2012

Another convert...lovely!

I definitely advise following a top-half, EPL team...I think it's admirable that KRAM1 follows Coventry City, but it can be very difficult to track down a goodly number of lower division matches.

I'll do my best to equate your EPL options to North American sports teams...at least how I see them, though I'm sure my biases will show through a bit and would welcome feedback.

Manchester City - please, please don't follow them. They're the Miami Heat / '97 Florida Marlins...team with very little tradition who in the past 5 or so years have simply used the nearly limited financial resources of Saudi royals to buy (and over-pay) top players and such buy trophies...though with no real success on the trophy front to show for their investment (keep in mind, their win in the Manchester Derby (pronounced Darby) didn't secure them the EPL title...and I will laugh hysterically when they lose to Newcastle and ManU still wins the Barclays)

Manchester United - While the Yankees are the most apt comparison, it kinda comes without the same prejudices one from a market with a baseball team would carry with them. Think of being from some remote place...Bismarck, North Dakota...and wanting to follow a baseball team...I don't think many would fault you for following the Yankees. For me, ManU is the same way. Yes, you'd be following a front-runner...but one with ages of tradition, a legendary manager and a sustainable balance of buying quality players and developing young ones.

Chelsea - a less offensive City...before Abramanovich, The Blues were a middle of the table club...a billionaire injects lots of money and now they're top 4(ish). They still spend far too much (70M euro on Torres, 30M on Mata) but they're also making an effort to develop players now...not sure of an American comparison...maybe the Celtics when they brought in Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett...just without that whole decades of titles and tradition thing the Celtics had.

Liverpool - Montreal Canadians / LA Dodgers...tradition they have in spades, but mis-management (hi, Tom Hicks) has left them a bit of a lost club...their (lucky) win in the Carling Cup and shot at the FA Cup this weekend is the glimmering gild hiding a rusted interior...they'll be playing in Europe next season, but considering they may well finish as low as 10th in the table, undeservedly so. They no longer develop talent (Steven Gerrard is really their last success from their academy) and they don't have City or Chelsea money to compete. Things may get worse before they get better

Tottenham - New York Mets / New York Jets / LA Clippers - No club...and especially their fans...have more penis envy of the other clubs in London than Spurs. Here...a nice animation:

Newcastle United - Chicago Cubs...if they were working with Milwaukee's budget...Newcastle are kind of the lovable losers of the EPL...since they sold Joey Barton there really is no one on their squad I hate...I have a lot of respect for manager Alan Pardew and he has made a remarkable number of smart buys with limited resources (Papiss Cisse, Hatem Ben Arfa, Yohan Cabaye all leap readily to mind). I really hope they finish fourth in the table, Chelsea loses to Bayern and Newcastle get the Champion's League play-in round.

Fulham - they buy American...Clint Dempsey will be there for another 3 months...not much else...be kinda like being an Oakland A's fan.

Arsenal - my club. I honestly think the best comparison would be the present incarnation of the Texas Rangers. Our manager, Arsene Wenger does not like to spend money...when he does it is typically on younger players to tuck away for a few season and develop...he is starting to open the coffers a bit more these days (welcome to Emirates, Lukasz Podolski!!!) but Arsenal have and will always have one of the best training academies in Europe and will still field a good number of players who come through the ranks. Despite being trophy-less for now 7 seasons, they've finished top 4 for the past 15 I believe, have advanced to the knock-out stage in Champion's League for as long as I can remember. They are the epitome of consistency...and do so without spending recklessly. With the buy of Podolski, the sterling form of Robin van Persie, the return of Jack Wilshire and the continued development of the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott, Arsenal are poised for one hell of a season in '12-13.

Bias? Sure.

I will say this...Arsenal fans hate Spurs...yet I can't imagine any of us suggesting you support City over Spurs. City represents so much of what is wrong with European football. Anyone but City...but make it Arsenal.

And make your decision quickly...pick a team, watch their last 2 matches...and then get ready for the silly season known as the summer transfer window! It will really help you form a bond with your team, make you familiar with more players and teams from around the world and give you insight into the ridiculous amounts of money being tossed about on shit players like Andy Carroll.

bstnsportsfan3 · May 2, 2012

im starting to get into this too...really enjoyed the MAN U vs MAN CITY match yesterday. I have no clue what team to root for, what channels to watch games on (i have directv) and how to find good soccer news online about transfers (isnt that like free agency?) and stuff. any insite to this would be helpful

Censored by Laurie · May 2, 2012

im starting to get into this too...really enjoyed the MAN U vs MAN CITY match yesterday. I have no clue what team to root for, what channels to watch games on (i have directv) and how to find good soccer news online about transfers (isnt that like free agency?) and stuff. any insite to this would be helpful

It's like free agency on crack. Most of the players moving are actually under contract, but clubs will sell them with a year or so left if they think the won't resign or they think they're selling high...honestly, it's more like a stock market/swap meet than free agency in American sports.

ESPN's Soccernet is my go to...they keep pretty good club pages and run a nice transfer blog during the windows.

bstnsportsfan3 · May 2, 2012

It's like free agency on crack. Most of the players moving are actually under contract, but clubs will sell them with a year or so left if they think the won't resign or they think they're selling high...honestly, it's more like a stock market/swap meet than free agency in American sports.

ESPN's Soccernet is my go to...they keep pretty good club pages and run a nice transfer blog during the windows.

How about tv? doesnt directv have a soccer channel? do they show all epl games? anyone know?

Censored by Laurie · May 2, 2012

How about tv? doesnt directv have a soccer channel? do they show all epl games? anyone know?

I don't have any kind of cable or satellite so I can't help you with specifics too much, but I do know most EPL matches are broadcast here...I think the bar we go watch in has DirectTV...Fox Soccer broadcasts quite a few, Setanta and ESPN also.

bstnsportsfan3 · May 2, 2012

I don't have any kind of cable or satellite so I can't help you with specifics too much, but I do know most EPL matches are broadcast here...I think the bar we go watch in has DirectTV...Fox Soccer broadcasts quite a few, Setanta and ESPN also.

Cool...thanks for all the help.

Green Mean · May 2, 2012

Thanks for the responses guys.

Kram, while I am not opposed to adopting a Scottish team I would prefer to adopt one from a power league such as the EPL. Another thing I wanted to keep in mind was I wanted to have a lot of accessibility from home watching them on TV....EPL games are quite frequent and I'd want to be able to watch my team on TV...unless I am wrong I am assuming you don't find Scottish league teams on TV at least regularly for that matter.

Kaleb, Liverpool is totally in the mix though I do worry about travel accessibility. They're so tradition rich with the titles to back it but I don't see I'd ever be able to go to LIverpool and catch their home games. Obviously it's doable but would it be practical? Just a train of thought I have there.

Boston, as far as TV ESPN has started carrying a lot of EPL games on their networks and every once in a while Fox does a national broadcast. You can also check out the local FSN wherever you are and they regularly show EPL as well as Spanish and Italian games. And lastly the Fox Soccer Channel is a good one as they show a ton of games from the various Euro leagues. And if you're nearby a bigger city there is always a pub you can go too that probably show the games.

CBL...love the write up and your comparisons. You pretty much convinced me not to adopt MANC even though I so dig their home unis. So from a whole organizational and success standpoint for the present and future would Arsenal be the best bet? A team always developing young good players and yet still maintaining them and able to open their pocketbooks when push comes to shove? I have always had an affinity for their name and the fact that they're located in London would be great for travel accessibility there in the near future.

meanrob · May 2, 2012

Anybody who adopts ManU or City (Citeh?) at this point cares more about winning than actually following or supporting a team.

Say no to Chelsea, Abromavich is a tool and John Terry is such a douchebag that even douchebags think he's a douchebag. There's a special place in hell for him.

Liverpool sucks. Sad but true. Actually it's not sad. But it is true.

Being an American I don't truly understand it but everybody hates Tottenham. Chelsea hates them. Arsenal hates them. West Ham hates them. I've never met anyone who wasn't a Tottenham fan who didn't at minimum dislike them. Word is even Leyton Orient fans hate them. (Sorry, a little League One humor there).

Arsenal is the "big club" I mind the least. Don't like them, just mind them the least. Wenger drives me crazy sometimes, it's a miracle that he goes blind when his team benefits from a bad penalty or foul, but he loves to point out when things go against his team. He's not the only manager to do this (did anyone see the Stoke fans mocking him at Stoke game? Hilarious!) but it's really annoying when he does it. His outrageous accent probably doesn't help.

I follow Newcastle but don't do it. Yes, this year has been fabulous but the owner is a clown and it won't get any better than this year for a while. I started following them around 2003 and all I can say is that I'm glad I wasn't a fan when they choked away the title to Manchester United. They haven't won anything since I've followed them. Or 50 years before that. Hence the Chicago Cub reference from CBL. I wanted to follow a club that wasn't in London, had some success, and wasn't a relegation candidate so I could watch their games on TV (insert faulty logic comment here). Plus Sir Bobby Robson was their manager and there wasn't a classier guy in football. And yes, I like their kit. Of course Newcastle sacked him when they were in 7th and after that Newcastle couldn't even smell 7th place for years. Graeme Souness?!? Really? From Sir Bobby to that sorry piece of........sorry, getting off topic.....

To me, picking a club at the top is boring. Does a ManU fan even get excited by winning the Premiership anymore? Wow they beat Wigan , they're supposed to beat Wigan (actually they didn't, which is why they won't win the title but you get my point). It just doesn't seem fun week to week. You either are supposed to win or it's a crushing loss. Going into almost every game and supposed to win? Bah humbug on that.

If I was you I'd go with a middle of the table team. Besides being different from every other dumb American following football, you'd get joy out of small victories. Manchester United gets bounced out of the Champions League? So what, they won it a couple of years ago. Fulham gets to the Europa League final and they go nuts. Speaking of nuts, I would've given one of mine to be at the game against Juventus when Dempsey scored that goal. The goal. You Tube- Dempsey Goal Juventus. That moment is why people love football.

Everton is a good choice. Fulham too. There's another team up in the Northeast that has a great manager but as a Newcastle fan I cannot recommend them. Say no to Blackburn, QPR, and the other bottom 5 teams. Villa is a mess. Swansea and Norwich are great stories and play attractive football but those teams will probably go back down in the next couple of years. I love Stoke's guts and the Britannia (home stadium) goes crazy for Stoke but seriously, who would pick Stoke?

What about West Ham? Great name, but not a fan of the color "Claret". Still to be seen if they can make it back.

Sorry, I realise this has been little help.

In other words, go with who you want but really learn about the game. I lived with a West Ham fan for two years and I learned a ton. Forget the American thought of judging a season by standings alone. There's way more to English football than just where your team finishes in the standings. Individual games have their own importance, more than just 3 points. College football will always be my one true love but getting up on a Saturday or Sunday morning and watching the EPL has become a close second. If you live in Dallas go to Londoner for a game. They usually open early and serve a mean English breakfast.

And get into the FA cup. The FA cup is awesome. I like it more than most English fans I've met. Unless your team loses to Stevenage early. Really Newcastle, Stevenage?

As far as the internet goes, espn's soccernet is good, foxsoccer is ok but always has highlights and football365.com is a decent place to get the english and sometimes funny perspective.

Watch the European Championship this summer on espn. Great way to learn a lot of the players if you don't know them and get your soccer fix til the next season.

Liverpool sucks.

Cheers.

Edited May 2, 2012 by meanrob

Censored by Laurie · May 2, 2012

Rob...I agree with your take on United and City, but I do get the guy who starts following United. The guy who takes Citeh at this point truly only cares about winning and has no knowledge of history.

Your take on Terry made me lol...I did cheer for them against Barca, but hopefully his douche-baggery costs them against Bayern Munich.

Champion's League is a big part of the allure of following a bigger club...at least for me...I think it's the absolute top level of soccer that you'll see anywhere. It also makes the run-in to the end of the Premier League season absolutely intoxicating...four teams vying for third right now, made all the more important if Chelsea wins the Champion's League which would eliminate the 4th place play-in. Plus you get to watch your club considerably more if they're also playing in a European competition.

Green Mean...take my opinion with the considerable bias that I carry...but yes, I feel the coming seasons at Arsenal are going to be truly special.

Army of Dad · May 2, 2012

Thanks for the responses guys.

Kram, while I am not opposed to adopting a Scottish team I would prefer to adopt one from a power league such as the EPL. Another thing I wanted to keep in mind was I wanted to have a lot of accessibility from home watching them on TV....EPL games are quite frequent and I'd want to be able to watch my team on TV...unless I am wrong I am assuming you don't find Scottish league teams on TV at least regularly for that matter.

Kaleb, Liverpool is totally in the mix though I do worry about travel accessibility. They're so tradition rich with the titles to back it but I don't see I'd ever be able to go to LIverpool and catch their home games. Obviously it's doable but would it be practical? Just a train of thought I have there.

Boston, as far as TV ESPN has started carrying a lot of EPL games on their networks and every once in a while Fox does a national broadcast. You can also check out the local FSN wherever you are and they regularly show EPL as well as Spanish and Italian games. And lastly the Fox Soccer Channel is a good one as they show a ton of games from the various Euro leagues. And if you're nearby a bigger city there is always a pub you can go too that probably show the games.

CBL...love the write up and your comparisons. You pretty much convinced me not to adopt MANC even though I so dig their home unis. So from a whole organizational and success standpoint for the present and future would Arsenal be the best bet? A team always developing young good players and yet still maintaining them and able to open their pocketbooks when push comes to shove? I have always had an affinity for their name and the fact that they're located in London would be great for travel accessibility there in the near future.

Don't just pick a team based on uniforms. EPL teams change uniforms faster than we change shades of green. They will be similar of course, but they also end up with some afwul shirts too. I think Norwich might stick around for a bit, though I do not think they will be pushing for a place in one of the European cup competitions.

THOR · May 2, 2012

fox soccer channel and fox soccer plus show numerous games throughout the week and weekend. espn has early morning saturday games (7 am).

picking a team at the top is like being a ut fan without going there, don't be that dude. there is more joy is supporting a championship side and watching them come up through the division. relegation/promotion battles are much more exciting than top of the table battles for champions league.

brighton is my team...championship side...promoted from the first division this past year, finished 10th in the championship...hard to watch those games, but there are ways to follow the action online through the radio or gamecast.

i wouldn't pick any of the teams that you are thinking about due to the ut comparison...don't pick a team because they win...pick one that could use the support and will be much more satisfying when they accomplish great things.

Edited May 2, 2012 by THOR

meanrob · May 2, 2012

It's odd how when your team doesn't compete in the Champions League how little interest you have in it. I'll watch games here and there but it's usually the same teams every year and the last couple of years i've not paid as much attention. Not saying it isn't a great competition, it is (see last week's semi-finals) but i'm just not as enthusiastic about it.

On another point, I don't have a problem with what City has done. That's the way it's done. There's no draft and academies just aren't as important to the big clubs as they used to be. Sure, City and Chelsea have done it to the extreme but it's no different than what Arsenal, ManU, and any other big club has been doing for years. They buy players from other teams. I want Newcastle to buy better players, and i'd be a hypocrite if I bitched about another team just because they could buy BETTER players. It's the system and that's the way it is.

Somebody mentioned uniforms, or kits as the english call them. If you are new, get ready for the wacky third kit. It's a way for the clubs to make money and have a completely different uniform if they play someone with similar colors. Even the away kits can get a little nutty from year to year. Newcastle's colors are black and white and they had the craziest yellow kit a few years ago and an orange one this year. Weird. Everton had (has?) a pink and black kit. I really dug Arsenal's gold one a few years ago. Sometimes they're good but most of the times they are bad....real bad.

One last thing, if you have fox soccer channel, make sure to dvr the Premier League Review show and the Saturday and Sunday Sky Sports shows. It's their equivalent of sportscenter. You'll get all the highlights and good insight. I like watching Sky Sports because they show highlights from the Premier league all the way down to League Two.

THOR · May 2, 2012

One last thing, if you have fox soccer channel, make sure to dvr the Premier League Review show and the Saturday and Sunday Sky Sports shows. It's their equivalent of sportscenter. You'll get all the highlights and good insight. I like watching Sky Sports because they show highlights from the Premier league all the way down to League Two.

you are a fan...league two...nice!

everton's camo kit is pretty cool

champions league is great, but it's generally the same teams...cyprus did have a surprise team this year, but with relegation/promotion, it's always different and exciting! hoping that the tangerines (blackpool) get promoted through the playoffs this year!

Green Mean · May 3, 2012

Good stuff folks.

I did have a question tho...on top of the EPL season I know there will be random friendlies or random games that will be for a different cup or tournament(which seems bizarre to me)...do all the teams participate in that? Or is it the top 4 finishers of the league from that year or previous year? If I'm not mistaken for UEFA cup the top 4 teams from each of the Euro leagues compete in that cup. If your team is consistently not in the top 4 then do they only pretty much play EPL games with a few friendlies or are there other type of cups for those that may also finish lower than the top 4? I hope that makes sense.

Censored by Laurie · May 3, 2012

Good stuff folks.

I did have a question tho...on top of the EPL season I know there will be random friendlies or random games that will be for a different cup or tournament(which seems bizarre to me)...do all the teams participate in that? Or is it the top 4 finishers of the league from that year or previous year? If I'm not mistaken for UEFA cup the top 4 teams from each of the Euro leagues compete in that cup. If your team is consistently not in the top 4 then do they only pretty much play EPL games with a few friendlies or are there other type of cups for those that may also finish lower than the top 4? I hope that makes sense.

They're not friendlies, rather cup competitions. In England, there are two major cups whose matches are played in between the Premier League schedule...during the Fall its the Carling Cup and in the Spring (with some over-lap with the Carling) its the more prestigious FA Cup. Both competitions include both every Premier League teams and clubs from the lower levels of English soccer, so it gives the little fish a chance at the top clubs and through the years there have been some rather remarkable upsets. Similar cups with similar mid-season scheduling take place in other European leagues (Copa del Ray in Spain, DFB Pokal in Germany, Coupe de France).

Champion's League and Europa League are the all-European competitions. UEFA uses a coefficient to determine the number of clubs from each league...it's weighted toward the EPL, La Liga and the Bundesliga...each has 3 automatic qualifiers and 1 play-in spot for Champions League and will likely put another 3-4 clubs in Europa League.

Last year Arsenal had four consecutive matches in four different competitions in the course of a week and a half (let's not discuss the results...)...scheduling like this illustrates the need for a deep squad. When you hear terms like "winning the domestic double" or "they have a chance at a quadruple", it's referring to the variety of competitions. This Saturday, Liverpool (despite their mediocre spot in the Premier League table) has a chance at a domestic double when they play Chelsea in the FA Cup final, having already beaten Cardiff City to win the Carling Cup.

Censored by Laurie · May 3, 2012

For Rob...wow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NtZGGzO40o&feature=related

meanrob · May 3, 2012

I missed the game but when I saw the highlight of this I yelled out loud.

It's one hell of a goal but when I saw it was the number one highlight on sportscenter (beating out a no-hitter and goal in 3rd OT hockey playoff game) it surprised me a bit.

Shock result, shocking goal.

Too bad futbol is so boring.

Green Mean · May 4, 2012

I appreciate all the great info. I think I'm leaning towards Arsenal. Tho I do have a last question for those that may know but what is the deal with Aston Villa? Birmingham is one of the bigger cities and markets in the UK but they don't seem to be a power broker in the EPL...is there a story on those guys?

mattmartin817 · May 4, 2012

Go with an Everton or a Newcastle. I've been a long time United fan, and as someone previously stated it can get a little boring watching them win championship after championship after championship. I usually adopt a second team every season and try to follow them throughout the season. Arsenal is a good team out of the big clubs to follow, I can respect gooner attitude. City is trash, Chelsea isnt much better. Another great resource to help keep track of all things EPL and other leagues is the Guardian website, http://www.guardian.co.uk/football. It usually has some pretty good stories and the rumor mill is always a good time.

On another note, anybody think Pep Guardiola ends up in the EPL in a season or two? I think he'll replace Mancini regardless of the outcome this season. Don't see him going to another spanish club or Serie A team.

Censored by Laurie · May 4, 2012

I appreciate all the great info. I think I'm leaning towards Arsenal. Tho I do have a last question for those that may know but what is the deal with Aston Villa? Birmingham is one of the bigger cities and markets in the UK but they don't seem to be a power broker in the EPL...is there a story on those guys?

Villa, Birmingham City, West Brom, West Ham, Middlesbrough and a slew of others are all fairly sizeable clubs who in my opinion have suspect leadership and are struggling to adapt in a more money-ed Premier League. Not that they need huge cash infusions, more that they've poorly navigated transfer markets and have failed to develop appealing talent at the academy level.

Villa took a 50+ million pound loss this past season, now have a night club scandal to deal with and with 2 tough matches ahead are far from clear of the final relegation spot.

I hate Birmingham City b/c of last year's Carling Cup final. Really have nothing else against them.

Go with an Everton or a Newcastle. I've been a long time United fan, and as someone previously stated it can get a little boring watching them win championship after championship after championship. I usually adopt a second team every season and try to follow them throughout the season. Arsenal is a good team out of the big clubs to follow, I can respect gooner attitude. City is trash, Chelsea isnt much better. Another great resource to help keep track of all things EPL and other leagues is the Guardian website, http://www.guardian.co.uk/football. It usually has some pretty good stories and the rumor mill is always a good time.

On another note, anybody think Pep Guardiola ends up in the EPL in a season or two? I think he'll replace Mancini regardless of the outcome this season. Don't see him going to another spanish club or Serie A team.

I truly have no issues with someone taking Newcastle...I'm really admiring their run-in. Everton are a boring watch, but have nothing against the Toffees either.

Pep is weak...Abramovich will probably take a run at him since Di Matteo isn't a big enough name for him...and Chelsea or Citeh or whoever can have him. That whole club is full of weak-willed players and their manager stepping down after a semi-final UCL exit personifies his club's attitude.

Green Mean · May 6, 2012

Thanks for all the great info and background. I have decided to adopt Arsenal. This should be a lot of fun!

Censored by Laurie · May 8, 2012

Thanks for all the great info and background. I have decided to adopt Arsenal. This should be a lot of fun!

Oh to...oh to be...oh to be a GOONER!

Great decision...Arsenal is a class club and the future looks very bright. Our Champion's League destiny is still in our own hands despite a disappointing home draw to Norwich City this past weekend...beat West Brom away and we're in for the 16th consecutive season.

We've already secured a deal for Germany international striker/winger Lukasz Podolski and it seems a deal is nearly struck for France international holding midfielder Yann M'Vila...those moves, plus securing Champion's League qualification should be enough to convince FA Player of the Year Robin van Persie to extend his contract.