English Premier League

[WhoWon?]

I started to watch alot more of the games towards the end of last season and can't wait for it to start up again but can anybody give me like a brief history of some of the teams and who their current best players are? I kinda want to pick a team to root for in the season, currently I'm just rooting for Liverpool by default due to the Red Sox connection.

[Premier]

Did someone called me?

[C-Jitsu II]

Some of the top teams

Manchester United - The biggest team in England, with the largest revenue, and the most trophies. They are the current champions and have won the title 4 times in the last 5 years. Some notable players are Wayne Rooney a striker and probably England's best player, Ryan Giggs a Welsh midfield player who is 37 and has been a regular in United's team for 20 years, and Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez a young Mexican striker and natural goal scorer who nobody (in europe) had heard of before United signed him last year. Also Sir Alex Ferguson has been the manager for the last 25 years, which is otherwise unheard of in top flight football, the average premier league manager lasts maybe 1 or 2 seasons.

Chelsea - Last seasons runners up, they've won the title 3 times in the last 7 years. They've also had 7 different managers in the last 7 years, and are now managed by Andre Villas-Boas a Portuguese manager who has only had 1 full season as a tope flight football manager. They have a strong squad, but their best players John Terry (captain and defender), Frank Lampard (midfielder) and Didier Drogba (striker) are all getting older and won't be in the team much longer. Last season they bought Fernando Torres (a striker) for £50m, but he only scored 1 goal in about 15 games!

Arsenal - One of the bigger clubs in England, but they haven't managed to win a trophy since 2005. Every season the clubs supporters are getting more frustrated, and criticising the clubs policy of buying young players and developing them instead of buying established stars. At the moment Arsenal are trying to hang onto two of their best players Cesc Fabregas who wants to go to his hometown club Barcelona, and Samir Nasri whose contract runs out at the end of the coming season. Other great players are Robin Van Persie a great Dutch striker, and Jack Wilshere a teenage midfielder who just had a breakthrough season.

Man City - Traditionally not one of the stronger teams in England, until last season when they won the FA cup they hadn't won a trophy since the 1970s. However, their new owners from Abu Dhabi have pumped hundreds of millions of pounds into the team. Last season they finished third, they could finish even higher this season. Their best player last year was Carlos Tevez who cost around £50m from Manchester United, however he isn't happy at the club and wants leave for either Italy or his native South America. They have a large squad, with a ton of great players like Yaya Toure, David Silva and new signing Sergio Aguero.

Liverpool - Traditionally they are one of the biggest teams in England with one of the largest and most loyal fan bases, they were the best team in England in the 1970s and 1980s. But they haven't won a league title since 1990 (despite winning a European Champions League in 2005). They suffered from bad management and ownership until Fenway Sports group took over last season, and appointed a new manager. For the last few seasons they've relied on Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres their two best players, however Gerrard is getting older and suffering from injuries and Torres is at Chelsea now. They've made some good signings recently though, Andy Carroll is a good young striker and Luis Suarez just helped Uruguay win the Copa America.

Tottenham Hotspur - Despite having less to spend on players and wages than the other top teams, Tottenham have managed to compete with them. Last season in the Champions League they defeated the then European Champions Inter Milan, and eliminated AC Milan. If they are going to compete for a top 4 finish they need to keep their best players; Gareth Bale the winger who tore apart Inter Milan, Rafael Van de Vaart the former Real Madrid playmaker and Luca Modric the midfielder who is wanted by Manchester United and Chelsea.

[CrazyDreams]

I'm 100% Tottenham. I was in your shoes a year ago, trying to pick a team to be loyal to, and after watching a bunch of games and doing some research Tottenham kinda "picked me" - I couldn't help but root for them; I love their style, their lineup, their manager, their history, etc... I'm no fairweather jackass either, so it's Tottenham for life!

C-Jitsu is right; we missed qualifying for the Champion's League this year (which blows) and if we want a chance to make it back there next year we desperately need to keep stars like Bale, VDV (lovin my VDV jersey btw), and Modric.


I do have a soft spot for Liverpool, especially with the Suarez and Carroll signings - it's completely reinvigorated the team and their fans.


Hey C-Jitsu, Blackpool was relegated out of the Premier League, right? I know they were teetering on the cusp there at the end. I really enjoyed watchin those underdogs play their hearts out - and those are some LOYAL fans they've got, they really stick by their squad.

[C-Jitsu II]

Hey C-Jitsu, Blackpool was relegated out of the Premier League, right? I know they were teetering on the cusp there at the end. I really enjoyed watchin those underdogs play their hearts out - and those are some LOYAL fans they've got, they really stick by their squad.

Yeah, Blackpool are out of the PL, and they were great to watch. It's always fun to see a small club with little or no Premier League experience come up and really have a go at the big clubs.

I think Swansea City might do that this year, like Blackpool they play attacking football and have really loyal supporters (they'll be the only Welsh club in the PL). I think it was only in 2008 that they were in the 3rd tier of English football.

[CrazyDreams]

Nice, I'll definitely make sure I watch Swansea City this year. Who doesn't love a rowdy, hungry underdog?!

[lion king 2]

Chelsea ftw! Torres still has time to develop if he hasn't let his bad streak get to his head. El nino's talent was undeniable, I refuse to believe it's all gone.

Drogba, Terry, and Lampard are all still game too, I don't see an immediate need for fresh new talent yet, granted I didn't catch much of last season.

[Budo]

West Ham!!!!!!!

We're going back up SOON!

[WhoWon?]

Good info, I watched alot of Man U, Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs matches last year....I really wish I could root for Man U because Chicharito is nasty but I know that's like rooting for the Yankees....I guess I'll probably stick with Liverpool unless somebody else catches my eye....I could probably be talked into Chelsea, I like their jerseys.

[OliG83v.2]

Good info, I watched alot of Man U, Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs matches last year....I really wish I could root for Man U because Chicharito is nasty but I know that's like rooting for the Yankees....I guess I'll probably stick with Liverpool unless somebody else catches my eye....I could probably be talked into Chelsea, I like their jerseys.

It's called a shirt!