I support Everton, for my sins. Born into it. The reason I asked you in the other thread for your American teams, whether it's in NFL/NBA/MLS/whatever is because it goes a long way into understanding your mindset. There's teams like Brighton that adopt a youth orientated model, for example, where they fully embrace young talent. Sometimes it's a little naive(?) to watch, much like youth is, but they just finished 8th in a competitive league so it's working. A lot of the people that reach out to this thread have an attachment to America, too. They like the idea of backing a team which embraces their own. My team Everton have had arguably the greatest American goalkeeper (Tim Howard) and joint-record goalscorer (Landon Donovan). Does this sort of thing mean anything to you? Sometimes politics matters. Let us know your sports story, essentially?
Great Q! I’ve been a life long FL panthers fan (from South Florida). Went from being underdogs to getting their shit together / building a back to back winning team. Feel like Aston Villa has a similar make up with a historic team that has had decades of bad luck and is finally seeing some wins
There’s a mix of clubs represented in this thread. We have a few Arsenal, Man United, and Tottenham fans, plus fans of Everton, Brighton, Liverpool, Ipswich, Man City, Nottingham Forest, Newcastle, Crystal Palace, and more (plus some non PL teams like Bayern and Barcelona). I think @bigmike was the last person to post here asking this question and we recommended Brighton for them. History might be something that interests you. Historically, the big clubs are Man United, Liverpool, and Arsenal. Clubs like Chelsea and Man City were bought by dodgy people who poured money in and made them dominant forces for a while, too, and they’re writing their history now. Villa, Forest, Everton and Spurs are all really historic clubs too, and the first two got relegated before coming back and are experiencing a ressurgence. I’d say location is important too. I lived in Birmingham for years and it’s a very working class, super diverse, but not particularly touristy city that can be the butt of a lot of jokes, perhaps unfairly. Maybe Philadelphia is the closest thing in the US. I think shortlist a few clubs you like the sound of, and catch a few games when you can.
Villa, Brighton, Bournemouth, Palace are the clubs I’d say fit your description. Honestly, Spurs do as well but I don’t wish that on anyone.
Villa are really fun, and have a great manager who is a Europa specialist, and they always have a chance against any of the Big Six. They're not the most commercially sound, and have a very high wage structure, and as such could suffer in the market over the next few seasons, but its been fun watching them improve year on year. Check out all the teams, squads and history and follow your gut, and choose your favourite, but dont choose Chelsea. Chelsea are the worst team in the universe.
Also, timing is important. I could wax lyrical about how much I love Arsenal, what a community it is, how huge and diverse the fanbase is, etc. But we just won our first PL in two decades, and so joining now would be a bit pointless in a way. You kind of missed all the hardship that made the end of May one of the greatest moments in my life, you know? I always feel you want to start supporting a team who are still yet to achieve something massive, so that when it does, it means more? Could just be me though ha.
A team like Nottingham Forest is another one that could interest you, then, as they've had the decades of bad luck but now find themselves in a good position going into the new season with a very highly-rated coach in Glasner. Their owner is an absolute gutter of a person, though. Everton have had lots of bad luck, but much like @Swoos, I wouldn't wish it on anyone haha
Matching rights is nice but I don’t see any situation where he’d want to come back haha It sucks to lose him. But I think the club being aggressive in the window + the big fee makes it easier to swallow. Hope he does well for Brighton.
@HeckYeahMatt EPL already has enough fans. Join me and @orangehorizon in being a Bundesliga guy! granted, Bayern are basically the Yankees/Dodgers equivalent, but it’s fun to win and still have the competitive side in continental competition. I decided to start loosely following Brighton on the premier league side of things, but just because I love the prospect/youth approach they have, plus their logo. A seagull is very Florida-friendly. I haven’t done much to really pay attention to them, though, only watching a handful of matches so can’t offer much insight.
Can’t argue though that being a Chelsea supporter would go hand in hand with being a Florida Panthers fan
This is currently true lol Panthers are going to be our biggest rival the next few years. I’m ready to hate them.
When you finish 17th back to back you have to overpay. We have plenty of money to spend without it putting us into a bad situation. An overpay is perfectly fine and needed. Maddison Fernandes Tonali will be awesome
Tonali Fernandes Van Hecke Robertson Senesi That’s already a pretty damn good window. And we are going to sign a couple more in the attack. Could be a transformational window for us.
He’s worth it to Spurs, certainly. Others, nah, but that’s just the tax of modern football in the English super league these days - particularly as a rich club with no leverage (no Europe, back to back 17th places, some pretty wretched vibes in the club for a handful of years).
Fernandes and Tonali will be what Cunha and Mbeumo were to United last summer. Certified PL ballers that will slot right in and immediately raise the levels. Prices are fucked though and continues to blow up the market.