Help me choose a Premiership team!

[BakedBeans]

And this is going to seem silly, but I find bright red kind of obnoxious. I can't imagine myself wearing a red jersey anywhere.

Alas, Bill Shankly didn't think about how good some american that had never seen anfield, had no clue about the club would look in it. The kit was definitely not made with you in mind.

He chose all red because "it made us look (bloody) 7ft tall"

 

[Don't panic]

OK – you've caught my attention here. Any reason why, might I ask?

(I should add that we're not – and nor have we ever been, unfortunately – a Premier League team. Only a matter of time though ).

i know, i know.
i (kind of) follow Hull because I spent a few months visiting the univ there, ages ago.

Quote
Originally Posted by Don't panic
Serie A: Inter Milan

Not getting much joy out of watching those, I'm guessing.

i hear you: the eternal underachievers. they are actually fun to follow, because they are usually contenders both in italy and europe until the end.
they haven't won anything important in years, but every year could be 'the year'.

arsenal was the same wasn't it?

 

[BakedBeans]

The thing with Inter is that they spend horrific amounts of money and have won sod all for many many years.

Remind me a bit of newcastle.

 

[aloofman]

Alas, Bill Shankly didn't think about how good some american that had never seen anfield, had no clue about the club would look in it. The kit was definitely not made with you in mind.

He chose all red because "it made us look (bloody) 7ft tall"

Clearly, he made a terrible miscalculation by pleasing millions of fans around the world and disappointing me.

 

[BakedBeans]

Clearly, he made a terrible miscalculation by pleasing millions of fans around the world and disappointing me.

 

[rose red]

My team is Bolton Wanderers, it's local, and it does not tick any of your boxes except possibly the kit.

What it does have is history, one of the founding members of the Football League, and an international squad about 14 or 15 different nationalities. They have a reputation of playing boring football, but that's put about by the London based press who don't seem to like us. There's not much money here, and true footie fans have admired what the club has done with limited resources, finishing in the top ten in the past few years.

It may be worth keeping an eye on Bolton. There is a young American player who is expected to break into the first team, and it's always good to follow a player from the start rather than jump on the bandwagon. His name is Johann Smith.

Anyway, good luck with your choice.

 

[BakedBeans]

My team is Bolton Wanderers, it's local, and it does not tick any of your boxes except possibly the kit.

What it does have is history, one of the founding members of the Football League, and an international squad about 14 or 15 different nationalities. They have a reputation of playing boring football, but that's put about by the London based press who don't seem to like us. There's not much money here, and true footie fans have admired what the club has done with limited resources, finishing in the top ten in the past few years.

It may be worth keeping an eye on Bolton. There is a young American player who is expected to break into the first team, and it's always good to follow a player from the start rather than jump on the bandwagon. His name is Johann Smith.

Anyway, good luck with your choice.

Bolton midfielders got over the pain in their necks yet?

 

[Jaffa Cake]

aloofman, I implore you – whatever you do, even if you don't listen to anything else I ever tell you – do not under any circumstances follow the example set by one of your fellow countrymen. Great pain, anguish and humiliation will follow, I guarantee it. And we don't want that for you.

 

[aloofman]

aloofman, I implore you – whatever you do, even if you don't listen to anything else I ever tell you – do not under any circumstances follow the example set by one of your fellow countrymen. Great pain, anguish and humiliation will follow, I guarantee it. And we don't want that for you.

?

 

[Silencio]

?

Bugmenot helps fix that one. It's an article about another American searching for a Premiership club to root for, and how Villa's fans won him over in the end. That it's a big enough deal to warrant a story on their website is a bit, uh, disturbing.

 

[aloofman]

Bugmenot helps fix that one. It's an article about another American searching for a Premiership club to root for, and how Villa's fans won him over in the end. That it's a big enough deal to warrant a story on their website is a bit, uh, disturbing.

Maybe he's also an NFL Browns fan? The Cleveland owner is interested in buying them.

 

[Jaffa Cake]

Maybe he's also an NFL Browns fan? The Cleveland owner is interested in buying them.

Indeed he is – and I'm sure he wouldn't be more unpopular than the current Villa chairman Doug Ellis. We played Villa in a pre-season friendly last night, the stewards had to go around the away end and take down a number of 'Ellis Out!" banners.

It's been a while since I've seen a more miserable set of supporters. You've got to feel sorry for them.

By the way, if the links not working for you then here's the 'story' from the Villa website...

While newspapers speculation mounts about a high profile American link, www.avfc.co.uk can confirm the Claret and Blue Army has definitely been boosted by one Stateside Villan.

Last week we reported on Brant Johnson's search for a Premiership team to support and asked fans to explain why Villa were the only sensible choice.

You responded magnificently with passionate, heartfelt arguments and Brant today confirmed he is now 100 per cent Villa.

He wrote: Thanks so much! Well, I clicked my way to the Aston Villa web site the other afternoon and read the email this evening. I was quite (pleasantly) surprised to see the headline regarding my quest to find the club I should support with so much great reasons to support Villa from fans. Also, I found even more convincing responses in your email.

To be quite honest I expected to have to sift through all sorts of statistics and stories and old game footage to make my decision. However, I was incorrect. Seeing the effort made by putting my search for a suitable club to support on the club's main page, and even more greatly, the kind and thoughtful outpouring of words from Villa fans has already made up my mind.

The fans have showed their passion and made some strong points about the club. This extra effort will certainly be the unique memory that I will look back on as what cemented me as one who will bleed Claret and Blue through and through.

There are of course, other great reasons too... I am certainly pleased not to take the lazy route of simply routing for one of the big three (or is it four now, with Chelsea's new found deep pockets?).

My research also yielded the tidbit that Black Sabbath are Villa fans, which doesn't hurt being I'm definitely a metalhead. Also, being of Swedish ancestry, it doesn't hurt having Mellberg on the roster!

When the season kicks off next month I will be fervently rooting for Villa, and will be doing so till I'm six feet under! Now it's time for me to start reading up on my team's history Thanks to all those who submitted the persuasive and decisive responses.

I'm a Villan, I'm one of you now!

Sincerely, Brant Johnson.

Welcome on board Brant. Let's just hope you have plenty to cheer about for years to come.

Poor sod.

 

[mouchoir]

I would agree. The Spurs are also one of the most Britsh teams in the Premiership (although that probably doesn't matter to you), they are becoming a good side under Martin Jol and we develop a good team. 3 teams to avoid like the plague are: Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal. Liverpool is another good choice who tend to finish high aswell.

Classic spud talk! You say 'most British side' (so what?) and then go on to mention they are led by a dutchman...

You should go for Arsenal – exciting attacking football led by Henry, scorer of the most sublime goals! And a lovely new stadium this season.

Failing that Liverpool...

 

[aloofman]

Here's a question: why do some teams have road uniforms that are completely different colors from their home ones? Example: Arsenal looks like Red Cross workers at home and bumblebees on the road.

 

[Jaffa Cake]

Here's a question: why do some teams have road uniforms that are completely different colors from their home ones?

Er... so they look totally different from the home kit?

It varies from team to team – some have specific reasons for using certain colours on their away kit. Some may consider the colours lucky, other teams who have changed their home colours in the past may use the old colours as a nod to their history. For example, Leeds United used to play in yellow and blue but changed their colours to all white to emulate Real Madrid (ha ha!) – they still wear yellow and blue as away colours though.

Another good example would be from a few years back when Manchester United wore a halved yellow and green shirt on their travels – it was based on the colours of Newton Heath, the team who would go on to become Manchester United, and was worn to commemorate the founding of the club or something.

 

[Queso]

Another good example would be from a few years back when Manchester United wore a halved yellow and green shirt on their travels – it was based on the colours of Newton Heath, the team who would go on to become Manchester United, and was worn to commemorate the founding of the club or something.

I liked the Stealth Kit United wore at The Dell that time. Patterned grey in such a way that their players were so well camouflaged against the crowd they couldn't see each other and lost 3 - 0

 

[MacBoobsPro]

Here's a question: why do some teams have road uniforms that are completely different colors from their home ones? Example: Arsenal looks like Red Cross workers at home and bumblebees on the road.

The main reason is to help prevent colour clashes on the pitch. You wouldnt want Arsenal in their red and white shirts playing against Man Utd with their red shirts and white shorts because it would be a nightmare for the ref. And as Jaffacake has mentioned alot of them are based on historical events, teams colours etc.

 

[Jaffa Cake]

I liked the Stealth Kit United wore at The Dell that time. Patterned grey in such a way that their players were so well camouflaged against the crowd they couldn't see each other and lost 3 - 0

It was only bettered by Sir Alex bemoaning the fact that they only lost the match because of said shirts...

So, aloofman – any closer to choosing your team?

 

[BakedBeans]

It was only bettered by Sir Alex bemoaning the fact that they only lost the match because of said shirts...

So, aloofman – any closer to choosing your team?

Start from A and choose the first one you come too

 

[aloofman]

So, aloofman – any closer to choosing your team?

I'm leaning toward Spurs. I'm watching as many games as possible on Fox Soccer Channel, which is replaying last season's games a couple times a day. This week they have been showing "Tottenham Classics," but they just seem to be renamed versions of the reruns. The last two "classics" have included a tough-luck 1-0 loss to Bolton and a 3-1 spanking by Newcastle. Those don't seem like game Spurs fans would want to see again. Is this a lesson for me, that the losses need to be dwelled on just as much as the wins?

I'm going to keep watching games for another week. I want to be sure because I'm not going to change my mind about it.

 

[Jaffa Cake]

I'm leaning toward Spurs.

Good man.

The last two "classics" have included a tough-luck 1-0 loss to Bolton and a 3-1 spanking by Newcastle. Those don't seem like game Spurs fans would want to see again. Is this a lesson for me, that the losses need to be dwelled on just as much as the wins?

A tough luck loss? See, you're making excuses for losing already. That's a good sign.

I think it's better to see how you feel in defeat than victory. Anyone can take joy in a victory – but if they lose and you're not fussed, then your heart's not in it. If the defeat makes you feel sick, then you're halfway there.

 

[aloofman]

Good man.

A tough luck loss? See, you're making excuses for losing already. That's a good sign.

In this case I think it really qualifies as a tough luck loss. There were four goals disallowed for various reasons, including one by each side in a five-minute span for the ball traveling out of bounds on a corner kick. The one goal in the game was a long shot that was perfectly placed. It wasn't lucky in the sense that I'm sure he was aiming for a spot the goalie couldn't reach, but I'll bet he wouldn't hit it again the next five times he tried.

On the other hand, I watched another game last week (can't remember who played) that was by far the most exciting scoreless game I've ever seen, more thrilling than many high-scoring games. Lots of scoring chances that didn't work because of a great save, a defender barely got there in time, hit the post/crossbar, etc. This game that had no goals was more entertaining than all but a handful of the last World Cup's games. It was pretty cool.

 

[Jaffa Cake]

Good to see you're getting into it and are appreciating that a high scoreline doesn't automatically mean an exciting game.

You'll soon start getting excited about all manner of bizarre things – I was beside myself earlier when our squad numbers were announced on our club website.

 

[Jaffa Cake]

Start from A and choose the first one you come too

AFC Bournemouth aren't a Premiership club, unfortunately.

 

[JurgenWigg]

Manchester United = the Yankees?

I didn't read through all the posts, but they haven't won a title in some time now...

Personally, I'm a Chelsea supporter, so obviously I'm going to say go with them, but I mean you watch the world cup, you know the star players, pick out a few and hunt them down.