I personally am a big fan of Eddie Howe. A young, enthusiastic, English manager who has done great things at the seaside club with very limited resources. If the FA MUST hire an Englishman, Howe is my pick. But if the manager of a side 13th in the Premier League table is the man for the job, we as Englishman need to re-evaluate our expectations. Don't hire an Englishman just for the sake of it.
Verdict - FICTION
Arsenal - THE INVINCIBLES ARE THE BEST ENGLISH TEAM OF ALL TIME
I have actually compiled an entire article on this point recently which was published by Clickon Sports. So if you want more details feel free to find it either on this site or on Clickon (Re-named as 'The Versed') . But to make it short and sweet for the sake of busting the myth. Did the 03/04 Arsenal side reach a record points total? No. In fact when Premier League champions are concerned, five sets of champions recorded more points. Goals, they scored loads right? Nope. In the last decade, eight of the ten champions of England scored more then the Invincibles. But they did go unbeaten right? Yes, in the league, but they actually lost their biggest game of the season to Chelsea in Europe. But going unbeaten is an incredible achievement. Fact, but do the maths - you can go unbeaten in the Premier League season and still get relegated. Please go an read my piece I wrote on this, I can't stress that point enough!
VERDICT - FICTION
Brighton & Hove Albion - A GOOD DAY OUT
I was struggling to find something to say about Brighton, they have only returned to the first tier of England this season after a long hiatus. Their fans are nothing to shout about, but yet are also nothing to be embarrassed about. The try to play decent football, but also are known to try and grind out a result. So what what can I say? You know you'd love an away day at Brighton. A lovely sea-side town, one of the warmer places to go in England. And when it comes to the football, your side always have the possibility of bringing home three points from the Amex. No one really hates Brighton, because how can you hate them?
VERDICT - FACT
Burnley - THE GINGER JOSE MOURINHO
Dyche's nickname isn't quite as memorable as 'the special one' but it's perhaps as complimentary. Burnley are a side who, time after time, upset expectations. I can speak for everyone who wrote the claret and blues off this season (I predicted them to finish dead last!) But Sean Dyche's side currently find themselves in 7th place, and been flirting with the top 6 for much of the campaign so far. Where as last season they were virtually unmatched at home, this time around their away record is exemplary. There is always something with the side from Turf Moor, they find a way to scratch and claw themselves to where they want to be. Not quite total football, but football none the less. masterminded by the ginger Jose Mourinho.
VERDICT - FACT
Chelsea - "I'VE BEEN A FAN SINCE THE 90'S"
Any fan of the blues that claims to have been a fan before the Russian money came in. Ask them one simple question. "Who is Jesper Gronkjer?" If they can not tell you that Gronkjer scored the winner in the last game of the 2002/2003 Premier League season. The goal which secured Champions League football and secured that Roman Abramovic invested his fortune in Chelsea instead of going across London to Spurs. If they can not answer this question, the were likely, not chanting blue is the colour before 2003.
Verdict - FICTION
Crystal Palace - THE BEST FANS IN THE COUNTRY
Crystal Palace fans, like most fans in England, will claim to be the best in the country. But unlike most, they make a real go of it. Claret and blue flares burning, flags waving, and songs singing throughout most games at Selhurst Park. And they have earned a reputation for being extremely supportive to their side. Maybe not the popular or obvious choice, but the case is very much there for Palace fans. However, the fact is, the noise coming from Selhurst is significantly lower at times of turmoil then it is when things are looking up. Where as this is the case for most sides, I personally do not believe the 'best fans in the country' would let their support drop off when their club is struggling for form. A bit harsh yes, but this is my article so I'm going with it.
VERDICT - FICTION
Everton - THE OTHER SIDE FROM MERSEYSIDE
Do the Toffee's have the rich history of Liverpool? No. Do they have the current attacking power of Liverpool? No. Do they have the world wide support of Liverpool? No. But to call Everton the 'other side from Merseyside' would be a disservice. Particularly in the 1980's, Everton were as good as any side in Europe - winning one FA Cup, one European Cup Winners Cup, and two English league titles. However the Heysel Stadium disaster, which lead to a ban of English clubs from European competitions saw Everton lose their chance to compete for more top prices across the continent. And much of the title winning side moved on as a result. A history worth shouting about, which could have been so much more if it wasn't for outside events.
VERDICT - FICTION
Huddersfield town - THEY'RE JUST HERE TO ENJOY THE RIDE
The Terriers just seem happy to be here. The fans, the players, even the manager and the board. I think it's fair to say that very few people would expect Huddersfield to still be a Premier League side in 5 years time. This is no dig on the Yorkshire side, they simply are not a big enough side to compete with the riches of the biggest league in the world. The only other Premier League sides of a similar size to Huddersfield are Brighton and Bournemouth, both of which have a financial backing that simply is absent for the Premier League first timers. It will be fun while it lasts no doubt however to anyone involved with the club.
VERDICT - FACT
Leicester City - CRISPS
Now this one really did make me laugh, but how can it not be crisps! Their best player of all time? Arguably Gary Lineker. As his Twitter bio will tell you - "Still flogging spuds." In reference to his glistering career as a representative for Walkers crisps. Speaking of Walkers crisps, the famous old ground, Filbert Street, was replaced in 2002. And in it's place we got, the Walkers stadium. Crisps through and through.
VERDICT - FACT
Liverpool - THE HISTORY CHANNEL
Now this one hurts (I'm a Liverpool fan if you are new to this site!) Liverpool football club have, without a doubt, the most storied and successful history in English football. 18 League titles. 5 European Cups. 7 FA Cups. And 8 League Cups. An incredible tally. But then, you realise there has only been one trophy won by the reds in the last decade (A league cup in 2011.) And even more painful reading for Liverpool fans, they haven't won the league title in the last 28 years. 1990. And yet Liverpool fans claim to be following one of the biggest sides in Europe. In terms of prestige, no doubt, Liverpool are up there with Barcelona and Real Madrid. But how can a claim be made for Liverpool to be one of the world's biggest sides, without a league title in 28 years?
VERDICT - FACT
Manchester City - OIL MONEY HAS BOUGHT SUCCESS
Can you really argue with this? Manchester City were a mid table side, dwarfed in size by their cross city rivals United as recently as the mid 2000's. When one of Sheikh Mansour's investment companies acquired City the amount of money that was being thrown around was unheard of, even by fellow Premier League side Chelsea, the most recent team to benefit from foreign money. Although I would argue that 'Pep has bought the title' in this most recent season is a floored argument, you can not say with any confidence what so ever that City would not have won two Premier League titles in the past five years if it wasn't for Mansour's cheque book.
VERDICT - FACT
Manchester United - THEIR FANS DON'T LIVE IN MANCHESTER
No matter how much I'd love to claim that the 20 times champions of England have no Manchester based fans, they do sell out Old Trafford every week. They are, at the end of the day, one of the most well supported sides on the planet. So the fact that you always see someone representing the red devils when you go on holiday is not exactly surprising. A pretty staggering statistic is that, out of every ten adults ON THE PLANET, there is on average of between one or two United fans amongst the bunch. Now United's clear use of signings from certain countries to indulge their foreign fans *cough cough* Kagawa *cough cough* is a story for another time, and although United do have a huge amount of fans outside of Manchester, this is down to their immense support more then their lack of Manchester based support.
VERDICT - FICTION
Newcastle United - THE BIGGEST CLUB IN ENGLAND
Try and have a conversation about the current state of Newcastle United with a Newcastle fan right now. It's almost a certainty that you will hear your fair share of shouting and swearing. And this frustration is built from the incredible last of success lately for a club the size of Newcastle. Now during the 90's, the Kevin Keegan and Kenny Dalglish era, Newcastle were a very good side. Kind of the way Spurs are a very good side now. But did they win anything? You know the answer to that. In fact, they haven't won a trophy since 1955. Maybe it's time those expectations are lowered a tad.
VERDICT - FICTION
Southampton - LIVERPOOL'S OUT OF TOWN ACADEMY
Since 2014 the Saints have sold a grand total of 6 first team players to the red half of Merseyside. Most recently Virgin Van Dijk for a Liverpool record £75 million. Sadio Mane, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Nathaniel Clyne and Rickie Lambert have also made the switch in the last four years. It's not all doom and gloom for Southampton however, as they have received over £170 million in transfer fees from these players and aren't massively worse off in their league position. But calling Southampton Liverpool's out of town academy? It's easy to see why!
VERDICT - FACT
Stoke City - A COLD TUESDAY NIGHT AT STOKE
No one looks forward to an away day at Stoke. The generic statement thrown around by fans since Stoke joined the English Premier League. Under Tony Pulis the Potters were a hard to beat, well drilled, tough tackling side that loved a good old long throw. When Pulis was replaced with Mark Hughes the crunching tackles were replaced with tricky wingers, the Welshman trying to change the ideology of Stoke. 'Stoke-alona' however didn't last long, and now not only are this Stoke side not hard to beat at home, the style Hughes tried to implement never really saw the light of day.
VERDICT - FICTION
Swansea City - THE WELSH BARCELONA
When Swansea City were promoted to the Premier League in 2012, they brought with them a certain style of football, which drew the attention of many fans. A slick, passing style, seemingly implemented by the manager Brendan Rodgers. I say it was brought in by Rodgers as when he left to Liverpool, he took the style with him. Now, it wasn't an immediate change in style, under Michael Laudrup the Welsh club did win the League cup in 2013. But over time, the Spanish like tika-taka football has been replaced with a style much more expecting from a side battling relegation.
VERDICT - FICTION
Tottenham Hotspur - HARRY KANE WILL BREAK THE PREMIER LEAGUE SCORING RECORD
At the time of writing this Harry Kane has scored 99 Premier League goals. Alan Shearer, the record holder, ended his career with 260. That leaves Spurs' Kane with 161 goals to hit before he ties the great Shearer. Now Kane is 24, Shearer retired at 35 so lets assume Kane does the same. That's potentially 11 Premier League seasons left in his career. That would mean Kane would have to score an average of 15 goals a season for those 11 years to beat the record. This isn't impossible, the Englishman has scored 20+ Premier League goals for the past four seasons. But to keep that sort of form up for the rest of his career? That is one tough ask. And we haven't even factored in the possibility that some of the world's biggest clubs are after the Englishman. Say... Real Madrid? Virtually any time away from the top tier of English football would make this an impossible task. Sorry Spurs fans, you'll have to win a real trophy!
VERDICT - FICTION
Watford - MANAGERS JOB IS A 12 MONTH GIG
The fact is Watford have not had a manager last over a year in charge since 2012. Eight managers since then have taken charge of the Hornets to varying levels of success. It does make you wonder who is in charge of the hiring and firing at Watford with especially the last three gaffers - Quique Sanchez Flores, Walter Mazzarri and Marco Silva. All relieved of their day to day duties despite not doing a poor job at all. Their must have been a bet placed somewhere by the Watford board. 'Most managers hired and fired in ten years.'
VERDICT - FACT
West Bromwich Albion - YO YO CLUB
This one is simply just facts. Between 2002 and 2010, West Brom fans watched four promotions to the Premier League and three relegations back down to the Championship/Division one. To their credit, since 2010 West Brom have retained their Premier League status, in an attempt to shake their reputation as the yo-yo club of English football. But they aren't quite there yet.
VERDICT - FACT
West Ham United - THE WEST HAM WAY
The West Ham way. An idea that West Ham United fans demand a certain quality of football to be played by their team. With managerial appointments of recent times seemingly beating this idea into the ground, modern football fans are all too familiar with a very different West Ham way. (100%, I stole this one from Paddy Power.) The West Ham way - Win a trophy every 35 years, sign players you don't actually own, sign players who are never fit, BUBBLES.
VERDICT - FICTION
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