Premier League kick off: 39 reasons we love the EPL
THE Premier League is back and we’re pumped about the storylines that will dominate the next nine months. Here’s 39 reasons #WhyILoveEPL.
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THE Premier League is back and we’re pumped about the storylines that will dominate the next nine months as, hopefully, we get a title race to remember.
Here’s what we love about the EPL. Let us know what you love about it too!
1. Arsene Wenger v Jose Mourinho
Sure, the handshake thing is a tad childish, but who else can’t wait to see how this master mind games manipulators take it next level this season? It will have to be epic to top last season’s push and shove on the sidelines, but you get the sense they have it in them, especially if Arsenal can sustain a title challenge. Jose makes the verbal running while Arsene plays his part with a perfect smoulder. Having (sort of) ended the hoodoo against Mourinho in the Community Shield, Wenger left us in no doubt how much a win in the league over his rival would mean.
2. Long bombs
That sound of a commentator calmly going about his business as the ball is passed to a player in the centre circle and then … OH AND HE’S SCORED, WHAT AN UNBELIEVEABLE GOAL FROM CHARLIE ADAM!’ How on earth did that just happen?
3. The poachers
Former Liverpool and England legend Michael Owen caused a stir when he ranked Charlie Adam’s gob smacking goal from his own half down at number five on his top 10 from last season, dismissing it as a simple case of hitting a ball hard and straight. What caught Owen’s eye were the deft touches in crowded penalty areas. A Charlie Austin flick up and finish in the turn. Wayne Rooney’s ability to bring down a fizzed pass with one toe and swivel to score with the opposite foot. Alexis Sanchez making space to volley in against Manchester City. Breathtaking moments where defenders are left gaping in shock.
4. Louis van Gaal
What a character! One day surly and dismissive, the next whooping it up in good, err, spirits at Manchester United’s end of season party. He’s in the Mourinho class as a quotes machine and yet wildly unpredictable, much like his scatter gun transfer dealings. There are always questions over his English usage, leaving you with the sense that he’s messing with our heads.
5. Brendan Rodgers
The Liverpool boss seems so together and decent until that shocking moment when he doesn’t. One of those came on the tour Down Under when quizzed about the imminent arrival of Christian Benteke. He doesn’t seem poised under pressure, has delivered very little and has spent a quarter of a billion in the process. This is the year Rodgers proves the sceptics wrong and carries LFC fans to heights of joy, or he proves the rest of you right and you relish his messy crazy-faced downfall.
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6. New characters
Welcome to Alex Neil, who, at 34 years old, will be the youngest manager in the Premier League this season. He’ll be well known to the club’s fans after gaining them promotion but most of us will get a fresh look at him and his personality.
He seems ready for the hype. “Some of the best in the world get questions,” he says. “(Lionel) Messi was apparently too small when he started, so if he can be questioned then who am I?”
At Bournemouth, Eddie Howe is just four years older than Neil and steered the three promotions required to get them to the top flight. He was named the Football League’s Manager of the Decade this year, while Gary Lineker suggested he could be ‘the English Special One’.
At Watford, Spanish 50 year old Quique Sanchez Flores is the club’s fifth manager in a year!
The odds are long on all three lasting the season, but we’re about to find out much more about their chances of survival in the next few weeks.
7. Surprise clubs
It takes a lot to break the hold of the top seven clubs but every so often there is a breakout team that threatens the established order and delights neutral fans. Last year Southampton were widely tipped as a relegation chance after being stripped of key talent but Ronald Koeman’s sharp recruiting and tactics won them a place in Europe. Can he do it again, or will another club such as a revamped Stoke City or Swansea, break out?
8. Multiculturalism
When the EPL kicked off in 1993 foreign players and managers were rare. The TV money, global appeal and competitiveness of the league has made it a magic melting pot blending skills from across the world. Take Watford — an incredible 22 different nationalities make up their EPL squad this season. There are Aussie connections too with Harry Kewell coaching the under 21s and Xane Zaineddine playing for the under 18s.
9. Sexy football
Yes. Yes. Go on. Yes! Oh wow! Yes! Let’s talk about Cesc, baby. So much we love about the beautiful game was there in the Chelsea build up and Fabregas’s pass no one saw to create Andre Schurrle’s team goal classic against Burnley last season. A season before it was that magical Gunners goal against Norwich that mesmerised Norwich. You watch it unfold before you, scarcely believing they pulled it off.
10. Celebrations
Goal celebrations come in different forms. There’s the run the length of the pitch to taunt your old fans variety, the heart shape formed by the fingers, the slapping or kissing of the badge. But the best ones are the funny ones. Look no further than Wayne Rooney’s brilliant reaction to scoring against Tottenham last season. On the day of the game video was released showing him being knocked down by a former teammate in his house and Rooney celebrated his goal with a hilarious fake KO routine.
11. Non celebrations
Not everyone’s cuppa, but we like the respect players often show to former fans. It doesn’t always go as planned, however. A favourite moment of last season was when West Ham’s Alex Song failed to celebrate a strike against Arsenal. But he went from sombre to enraged when the goal was subsequently ruled out for a teammate being offside.
12. They’re keepers
The EPL is blessed with some of the world’s best goalkeepers with Thibaut Courtois, David De Gea, Petr Cech and Hugo Lloris among them. Even if they belong to someone else there’s a grudging respect when they prove the difference at the end of a game. Unless of course they’re playing your team, then they’re just jammy.
13. Early kick offs
Fans in England might bemoan the early start times but they can be a fabulous prime time bonus for those of us so far from the EPL epicentre. It makes your week if your team is in battle at 9.30pm on a Saturday night, but the timeslot also elevates a battle between other teams you might not support into an occasion. Man United v Tottenham is a perfect example.
14. The excess
Manchester United splashed out 60 million pounds on Angel Di Maria and sold him at a 15 million pound LOSS. The staggering amount of money involved in wages and transfers is only trending one way, with a new TV deal coming soon. The top, top players are superstars to the level of the greatest film stars or rock gods. As much as we pretend to hate the money in the game, we’re relentlessly fascinated.
15. The WAGs
Thanks to an endless appetite from fans, and an explosion in social media selfies, the lifestyles of wives and girlfriends are increasingly feted. There’s no doubt the WAGs have always played a role in the transfer market, but we’re learning more about their impact than ever before. David De Gea’s dalliance with Real Madrid included updates on his girlfriend’s reported refusal to reside in Manchester. Last year’s team mate Angel Di Maria’s family was spooked by a home invasion, and we know where he’s ended up. This year we welcome a new notable WAG with tennis star Ana Ivanovic in a relationship with Bastian Schweinsteiger.
16. Hard core fans
Will we ever get bored of fat, shirtless men in subzero temperatures, crying as their team stuff up the local derby in the last minute?
17. Meltdowns
In the past we’ve seen meltdown classics from the likes of Kevin Keegan and Alan Pardew, while last season we saw Wenger lose the plot with Mourinho and Nigel Pearson provided his own lowlights reel with an attack on a rival player and his crazy “are you an ostrich” rant at a local reporter. Sadly Nige has departed — put down to sexual escapades of some of his players in Thailand — but there are sure to be more examples of manager meltdowns over the next nine months. If we had to guess, we’d suggest a close eye on Rodgers and Van Gaal.
18. The scandals
Is it us or are the scandals becoming increasing lame? It’s only a few years back and Mario Balotelli was setting off firecrackers and burning down houses, while players were on the front pages for all manner of unsavoury escapades. The scandal du jour is players taking ‘Hippy Crack’ — or nitrous oxide, a legal but apparently dangerous high. Then there’s the case of Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny, excommunicated for a sly durry in the showers after a game against Southampton.
19. Adam, Robbie and Bozza
Adam Peacock has the toughest job in TV, stuck between Fox Sports’ livewire Premier League pundits. You get laughs, you get analysis but most of all you get passion in an infectious blast that keeps you up all night long.
20. Relegation battles
Last year the title was a forgone conclusion early in the piece, and the battle for fourth was a procession. But the talk was dominated by moves at the bottom. Leicester’s miracle escape, Newcastle’s incredible dive from mid-table complacency to a fight to the bitter end. Fans of the EPL newcomers and others down around the drop zone are talking in terms of “getting to 40 points” as quickly as they can. The pressure is on before a ball is kicked.
21. Final day drama
It’s the one day of the season when all 20 teams play simultaneously. Last year’s was a fizzer at the top, if not the bottom. Hopefully this year it all goes own to the wire.
22. Emerging stars
We are watching legends in the making. In the footsteps of Giggs, Henry and Shearer come new stars who we’ll remember for ever more.
23. The intense pressure
How will they go in the fishbowl? Last year all the pressure was on Angel Di Maria, Alexis Sanchez and Diego Costa as big-money movers with reputations on the line. Two out of three weren’t bad. This year heralds a new cast, Raheem Sterling in the starring role, who must perform from the off or be branded rubbish by you fickle, fickle fans.
24. Premature pronouncements
Bastian Schweinsteiger? He’s clearly rubbish, always injured, overweight and anyway, why would a genius like Pep Guardiola have let him leave if he wasn’t washed up hack with his best days behind him? This is the just the latest example of a big star being written off before he’s even had a chance to prove himself. The EPL and massive media machine that covers it brings out the bluster in all of us.
25. Slip ups
In a game where moments can determine the result of a game, or even the destination of a title, slip ups go down in history. Vieira giving the ball away to Giggs, Stevie G’s slip against Chelsea, John Terry falling over and allowing Theo Walcott to burst through. Magic. Devastating.
26. Late shows
“Aguerrrrro!”. “It’s up for grabs now!” Drama often comes late in football, where you must be on your game until the bitter nail biting end, almost every match and all season.
27. The underdogs
Massive clubs share the stage with smaller outfits, and none come smaller than AFC Bournemouth, who will pop their EPL cherry despite a ground capacity of around 12,000. Up against the mega money machines of the top six, the Cherries are a throwback. Just days out from kick off the fans couldn’t source replica shirts and the season tickets are yet to be released.
28. Transfer window
Football’s dirty pleasure keeps the game in the news and hearts and minds of the fans every day of the year. Your club being linked to dozens, and some case hundreds, of players from big names to no names helps expand your knowledge and let’s you pretend you know all about the best holding midfielders in Ligue 1, or the key differences between Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Michy Batshuayi.
29. Let’s do the time warp
You’re a goal down and the minutes race away. You’re under the pump hanging onto a lead or chasing an unlikely draw, time stands still. Scientists will deny it, but we all know football bends time.
30. Happy Sundays sleep ins
EPL means late nights, which, if you’re lucky, means Sunday sleep ins. The only thing better than that is waking up to the realisation that your team won a big game in the early hours. A loss and you roll back over with the pillow over your head.
31. Christmas football
It’s often said that the lack of a winter break is an obstruction to English teams winning the Champions League. But for us the Christmas period is special, with games to enjoy at our leisure on those bright summer holiday mornings. There’s even time to give your fantasy team the necessary attention, before a quick drive to the beach.
32. Podcasts
How do you fill those soulless, meaningless days between games? If you need therapy to face those often seven day (more in the dreaded international breaks) gaps between EPL hits, then we suggest podcasts. Your club probably has at least one, and possibly several. Then there are the general pods. Let us recommend this beauty!
33. Crazy score lines
The great competitiveness of the league (and critics will suggest its naivety) leads to some outrageous results. Last year the champions Chelsea were touched up 5-3 by Tottenham, but there was an even bigger shock in Leicester 5, Manchester United 3.
34. The funny songs
Often cruel, sometimes legendary. A recent favourite, West Ham fans singing at the Lord Voldemort look alike Jonjo Shelvey: “He’s coming for you, He’s coming for you, Harry Potter, He’s coming for you!”
35. The emotional songs
You’ll Never Walk Alone has echoed around the world, and most clubs have an anthem that gives their fans goosebumps. There’s West Ham’s Forever Blowing Bubbles, with bubbles drifting across the ground, Manchester City’s Blue Moon, and this year we’ll once again hear ‘On the ball, City’ the Norwich standard that dates back to the 1890s and is believed to be the oldest song still used by fans today.
36. Celebrity fans
Queen Elizabeth II is a Gooner (but then so is Piers Morgan). Her son Prince William, is a Villa fan, “I wanted to have a team that would give me more of an emotional rollercoaster, which looking back, was a bad idea!” It’s a rollercoaster he shares with Hollywood super star Tom Hanks.
37. Hope springs eternal
It’s the hope that kills you? No way, it’s the hope that drives you back year in, year out for 38 matches with only one ultimate winner. For some, the hope is at its peak today before a ball is kicked.
38. The internet
How good is it when a famous player (on a rival team) slips over, or misses an open goal from three yards, or does an out of this world piece of skill? So how much better is it when social media takes the moment and explores it in depth with memes, vines and hilarious parody? Thanks to the internet we never have to stop watching Stevie G fall over his own feet.
39: the 39th game
Well, not that exactly, for how can it possibly work? But for the innovation. Innovation in coverage, technology, laws and entertainment. Let’s get it started!
Tell us #WhyILoveEPL on Twitter. The writer is @toneharper.
Originally published as Premier League kick off: 39 reasons we love the EPL
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