Hi I've decided I'm going to try to get into soccer this year with the Premier League since i'm kinda tired of the NFL and I've enjoyed going to a couple of college games. I'd enjoy a team recommendation. Using the 100% Accurate Ancestral Origin Finder that is "googling '(last name) name origin" I have placed myself in Lancashire to narrow things down, but obviously I have no idea of support trends there.
So the main difference between Soccer and the NFL (or most American sports) is that the success of the individual teams tends to be more consistent from year to year, mainly because we do not have salary cap rules, nor do we have a draft. Talking about Premier League teams specifically, if a team has big buying power (and, to a degree, is well run) it should remain competitive long term. Conversely, teams that do not have that buying power are going to struggle to stay competitive year to year, and most of those inevitably have to sell to bigger clubs to survive longer team. There is also a price here to getting things wrong. If you pick a bad NFL team or your team becomes bad (I am a Texans fan, so I have some experience of this), the worst that happens is a bad season, and then you have a good set of draft picks to try to pick yourself back up. In the Premier League, if you fall you fall out of the division entirely, and it is very difficult to get back into it. To give an example, in the early 2000s Leeds United were a really good Premier League team. They finished in the top 4, and got to the semi finals of the Champions League. Then they were relegated and weren't in the Premier League for 16 years. They were promoted back into the Premier League in 2020, and were then relegated again last season.
There is a lot of regional loyalty in football. If you grew up in a family supporting a particular team, you probably support that team and will stick with them regardless. But as an outsider coming into the sport, you realistically want to support a good, well run team. It means you'll get to share in some success, but you'll also get to watch them more because better teams are on tv more. Which practically is a good thing. You're just not going to enjoy supporting a Championship team trying to get back to the Premier League. In practice that reduces the pool of viable teams quite a bit, and here are my thoughts on them:
Manchester City - They are the dominant team in English football at the moment, and probably will be for quite some time. Why? Because they have all the money, the best players and one of the best coaches. They play outstandingly attractive football. They're also under serious investigation for breaching Financial Fair Play rules (the only thing we have that even remotely controls spending), so could see their last six or so titles stripped from them. In any event, they're seen by established fans as a soulless team who almost hasn't really earned their success because of the sheer amount of money they have spent. Every generation there's a team that kids start to support because they're the best team, and City are that team at the moment. They have established fans who have supported them for a long time, but this isn't remotely the same club that they supported decades ago. They didn't build themselves up and properly earn their success. They were bought by the Qataris who just flooded the club with money. Over the years it has hurt me when Liverpool's other rivals have earned success, such as winning the Champions League. City did it last year and I genuinely didn't care. I just don't see them as a serious team despite their success. Honestly I don't really see why you'd support them. There's just so little genuine joy in it in my view.
Arsenal - During the years when United were dominant (see below) Arsenal were the only team who consistently challenged them until Chelsea were bought out by Abramovich. They were managed by Arsene Wenger, and he revolutionised the way football was played. His players were skilled and physically fit, and they played great football. They're the only Premier League team to go the entire season unbeaten (in 2003/04). Then when Wenger moved on they dropped back for a while and didn't challenge for the league for a while. That changed last year. Their current manager (Mikel Arteta) has them playing great football with some good, young players. It's like the old Arsenal in many ways. They came second last year, and I cannot guarantee that they'll maintain that challenge and finish top 4 (which is where you want your team to finish to secure Champions League football), but they have a good chance to. They're also a well run team that plays good football, so should be on your shortlist.
Manchester United - Alright. Deep breath. I'll try to be objective. Full disclosure; I am a Liverpool fan and I therefore dislike Manchester United. It's just how it is. In my lifetime they've been the most dominant team, because they were managed by probably the best manager of all time (Alex Ferguson). As a Liverpool fan, being subjected to their consistent and long term success was really tough. Even now, they remain one of the biggest clubs in the world on sheer appeal. However. On the pitch they've been pretty dysfunctional since Alex Ferguson retired. They've spent a lot of money (they have the global appeal to spend a lot of money), but they have bought a lot of duds. They have churned through managers who weren't given a chance to mould the team into their own style of play. They now have a new manager, Erik Ten Haag, who I quite like, and last season he managed to get them into the top 4, which was an incredible achievement. But this season they've started really badly, and last season is starting to look like a fluke. Fundamentally, I just don't think they're a very well run club, and they haven't been for a while. They're a massive club. But not a well run one, and most of the United fans I know are very frustrated by that. It is for that reason that I'd suggest you don't support them, because I don't know when that will be fixed.
Newcastle United - Who? Well, you might well ask. But you have to consider them. They've always been a decent enough Premier League team, and in the 90s contended for the title. In the 00s they were relegated and promoted again a couple of times. Then they were bought by Saudi Arabia, who have flooded the club with money just like the Qataris did with City. In their first full season under control, they finished in the top 4, which would have been unthinkable even a year before. Does that mean they're just going to become like City? Maybe. But maybe not. The thing is, they haven't just bought all the best players in the world. They've got in a manager (Eddie Howe) who has a good national reputation, but he isn't world renowned like Guardiola was before City got him. They've spent quite a lot of money on players, but they've bought young players to develop, not well known world beaters. In my view it makes them a bit more likeable and a team that is easier to support. They've also not had that massive success
yet, so you can at least get in one the ground floor with them.
Chelsea - They were generally seen as a 'pretty good' team until 2004, when Roman Abramovich bought them with Russian money. Then they became contenders, and won a lot of trophies in subsequent years. They then started to be run in a really dysfunctional way, and churned through managers at an incredible rate, even when those managers won trophies. They've recently been bought by Todd Boehly, who has just continued the approach of pumping incredible amounts of money into the club. But they are still really badly run, and last season finished 12th, which is just unthinkable for a club with this much money. They have just brought in Mauricio Pochettino as their manager, and he's good and likeable, but honestly I wouldn't go near them. They've started badly this season again, and chances are Pochettino won't last until Christmas if they don't improve. A club that is really unlikeable in my view, and I don't see why you'd choose to support them.
Tottenham Hotspur - I'm putting them here because they've been a 'big team' for a while but have always fallen short of sustained challenge and haven't won a trophy in ages. To the point where teams that choke are referred to as being a bit 'Spursy'. And they've just sold their best player. They've actually started really well, but my fear is that we'll reach a point where they just can't compete against any of the teams above them on this list. At which point supporting them probably won't be fun. I do have a bit of a soft spot for them, but I wouldn't support them in your position.
Liverpool - Right. Obviously I support Liverpool, so I cannot pretend I'm not biased. Liverpool were dominant in the 70s and 80s, and during that time became one of the biggest clubs in the world. In the 90s we didn't do a lot. In the 00s we were always challenging for the Premier League, and finished second on a few occasions, but also won a trophy every few years (including a really memorable Champions League win in 2005). In 2013/14 we should have won the league, but choked and let City win it. Then in 2015 we appointed Jurgen Klopp as our manager, and everything changed. He's not perfect, and in particular has had some poor behaviour towards referees recently that I don't like. But generally he's pretty well liked by football fans generally. He's passionate. He speaks his mind. He's charismatic. And his teams play really good football. In the last five years he's taken us to three Champions League finals (winning one of them), has won the FA Cup and League Cup, and we also won the Premier League in 2019/20. We do spend a lot of money, but our owners do not bankroll us like City's owners do. I know there are opposition fans who do not like us, but our fan base is a lot of fun, and even then we have a smaller stadium than the likes of Old Trafford, the atmosphere at Anfield during a big match is just something else. I know I would say that, but actually an awful lot of very well known players for other teams say that Anfield is the hardest ground to play at because of the crowd. It's a big reason why I love this club. We had a down year last year and still finished 5th, but the club was transitioning, with a lot of older players having moved on. Early signs this season are decent, but we are now competing against the likes of Newcastle, with a lot more money than us. Still, we should still be competitive and should still finish in the top 4 consistently going forwards, because the club is well run and has the profile to spend money year on year.
There are other teams. Brighton have not been in the Premier League for very long, but are incredibly well run. The problem is, there is always a team like Brighton that comes along every three, four or five years. They rarely maintain their position long term. They'd be a fun team to support because they've started really well this season again, but they'll likely always be a team that needs to sell to big clubs to survive, and not a big club themselves. That sort of club is always so much more vulnerable than you think. Equally, Aston Villa look good this year and may push for a European place. They've also been a Premier League club forever so are pretty stable. But they're unlikely to maintain this sort of form long term. Basically every other team is more likely to get relegated than sustain a challenge for the title, so I'd stick to the ones I've listed.
And of the ones I've listed, I'd go Liverpool, Arsenal or Newcastle. Probably in that order for all the reasons I've said. I am biased in favour of Liverpool but hopefully have explained why I'd still go for them. If you already tended towards them you must have had your reasons too.
