OOTB Soccer Thread

[BlueKicks]

People who have become fans of Leicester will probably fade away over the next few years.

The only thing more miraculous than them winning the Premier League this season, would be them becoming an established top-four team in England.

I can see Kante and Mahrez leaving in the summer for bigger clubs and more $$$. And once the chips fall, it's very hard to unearth jewels like those two a second time.

 

[TarHeelNation11]

People who have become fans of Leicester will probably fade away over the next few years.

The only thing more miraculous than them winning the Premier League this season, would be them becoming an established top-four team in England.

I can see Kante and Mahrez leaving in the summer for bigger clubs and more $$$. And once the chips fall, it's very hard to unearth jewels like those two a second time.

I still need to see some evidence that Leicester has a bunch of American fans all of a sudden. I mean, hell, their official Twitter only has 411,000 followers and we are talking about a club who's leading the most-watched sports league in the entire world (literally).

And yes, I think Mahrez will certainly leave. I think Vardy might stick around for the long haul though. BlueKicks, is LCFC's academy any good? I don't think it's well-known for producing stars like Southampton and West Ham is, is it?

 

[BlueKicks]

I still need to see some evidence that Leicester has a bunch of American fans all of a sudden. I mean, hell, their official Twitter only has 411,000 followers and we are talking about a club who's leading the most-watched sports league in the entire world (literally).

And yes, I think Mahrez will certainly leave. I think Vardy might stick around for the long haul though. BlueKicks, is LCFC's academy any good? I don't think it's well-known for producing stars like Southampton and West Ham is, is it?

Yeah, I doubt there's that many but was just going along with it. Too short a window for there to be an influx of Leicester fans. I look forward to hearing the pronunciations of it, if it is the case!

Their academy is pretty baseline - not terrible but not noteworthy. In fact, the recent emergence of Ben Chilwell is probably one of the more high-profile cases for them. He looks like he's going to be a good player - likely a future England international.

I think Andy King is the only other current contributor who spent some time at the academy.

 

[TarHeelNation11]

Yeah, I doubt there's that many but was just going along with it. Too short a window for there to be an influx of Leicester fans. I look forward to hearing the pronunciations of it, if it is the case!

Their academy is pretty baseline - not terrible but not noteworthy. In fact, the recent emergence of Ben Chilwell is probably one of the more high-profile cases for them. He looks like he's going to be a good player - likely a future England international.

I think Andy King is the only other current contributor who spent some time at the academy.

Not that hard to pronounce if you're familiar with British English. "Lest-uh"

 

[Hark_The_Sound_2010]

the most-watched sports league in the entire world (literally).

What's the metric used to determine this? I realize soccer is the most watched sport worldwide - but I figured between the EPL, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A, and the thousands of other leagues across the world, that each individual league's viewership wouldn't compare to the NFL (pretty much the entire USA which is the size of Europe - as well as plenty of international fans) and the NBA (USA and the billion+ people in China that tune in for the Yao's, Lin's, and Yi's of the league).

 

[TarHeelNation11]

What's the metric used to determine this? I realize soccer is the most watched sport worldwide - but I figured between the EPL, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A, and the thousands of other leagues across the world, that each individual league's viewership wouldn't compare to the NFL (pretty much the entire USA which is the size of Europe - as well as plenty of international fans) and the NBA (USA and the billion+ people in China that tune in for the Yao's, Lin's, and Yi's of the league).

I'll try to find the numbers but I'm pretty confident I'm correct.

ETA: couldn't find actual numbers of per-game viewership but this article is pretty telling.

 

[BlueKicks]

This Washington Post article says:

On Tuesday, the English Premier League announced that Sky Sports and BT Sport would retain the league’s domestic television rights at a staggering cost: About $7.9 billion over three years starting in the 2016-17 season, a 70 percent increase over what they’re currently paying. And when international rights are factored in, the league is expected take in about $13 billion over the course of the deal, or around $4.3 billion per year.

For comparison’s sake, the NFL earns about $3 billion per year from its television deal, while the NBA will take in about $2.66 billion per year when its new television deal begins in the 2016-17 season.

 

[TarHeelNation11]

Per the article I linked, they say the EPL (I despise how they want everyone to abbreviate it BPL) reaches 4.7 billion homes, which of course means it just reaches those homes; it's up to those 4.7 billion people to tune in or not.

And Hark, with respect to what you said about other European leagues stealing some of the viewership, it's not really the case. The EPL gets disseminated way more than the other Euro leagues. Only recently did German football even get shown on channels most people get in America. Some Italian and Spanish and French soccer gets shown in the U.S., but EPL has always been king.

 

[Billheel]

Haha I'm just messing with you about Spurs. And you know people who follow Leicester? I don't know a single one who does unless he's an ex-pat.

I only know one who says he pulls for them but it's for a dumb reason. There is a community in Asheville named Leicester and he lives there. Says it's his hometown team.

 

[Hark_The_Sound_2010]

Per the article I linked, they say the EPL (I despise how they want everyone to abbreviate it BPL) reaches 4.7 billion homes, which of course means it just reaches those homes; it's up to those 4.7 billion people to tune in or not.

Yes - this was my main point/question. I'm sure it reaches more homes than NFL/NBA, and as shown above it's evident they rake in more money from TV deals, but I wasn't sold on that directly correlating to more viewership. If 5-10% of some random countries TV market is interested in the league, they'll pay to be able to televise it - but it would take a lot of those to add up to the same amount of viewers that the other two leagues get by having such a large percentage of such a large market.

And Hark, with respect to what you said about other European leagues stealing some of the viewership, it's not really the case. The EPL gets disseminated way more than the other Euro leagues. Only recently did German football even get shown on channels most people get in America. Some Italian and Spanish and French soccer gets shown in the U.S., but EPL has always been king.

Noted. I guess that explains why pretty much everyone who has a European team in the US is a fan of one of the EPL teams. That is, outside of the bandwagon Madrid and Barca fans. I'll have to do some research on it to pick a squad of my own.

 

[TarHeelNation11]

Yes - this was my main point/question. I'm sure it reaches more homes than NFL/NBA, and as shown above it's evident they rake in more money from TV deals, but I wasn't sold on that directly correlating to more viewership. If 5-10% of some random countries TV market is interested in the league, they'll pay to be able to televise it - but it would take a lot of those to add up to the same amount of viewers that the other two leagues get by having such a large percentage of such a large market.



Noted. I guess that explains why pretty much everyone who has a European team in the US is a fan of one of the EPL teams. That is, outside of the bandwagon Madrid and Barca fans. I'll have to do some research on it to pick a squad of my own.

It's outdated now because it's 5+ years old or so, but this article will still be an enjoyable read for you Hark. Bill Simmons went through a thorough process to select his EPL team. I think you'll find it interesting the criteria he considered important.

 

[Hark_The_Sound_2010]

It's outdated now because it's 5+ years old or so, but this article will still be an enjoyable read for you Hark. Bill Simmons went through a thorough process to select his EPL team. I think you'll find it interesting the criteria he considered important.

Good read. The early leader for me is probably Everton - but need to do some more research. I like that they're rivals with Liverpool (the Red Sox ownership, although they've brought us 3 World Series titles after 86 years of agony, have completely sold out and have turned everything about the team into a marketing stunt, and are pretty much universally hated up here. They also bought Liverpool - and have tried to stuff that team down everyone's throat in New England on their TV Network that carries the Red Sox games - NESN) so that could be reason enough to pull for Everton.

 

[TarHeelNation11]

Good read. The early leader for me is probably Everton - but need to do some more research. I like that they're rivals with Liverpool (the Red Sox ownership, although they've brought us 3 World Series titles after 86 years of agony, have completely sold out and have turned everything about the team into a marketing stunt, and are pretty much universally hated up here. They also bought Liverpool - and have tried to stuff that team down everyone's throat in New England on their TV Network that carries the Red Sox games - NESN) so that could be reason enough to pull for Everton.

Everton would be a fantastic team to support (paging @UNC71-00)

They used to be really good in the 80s. They're a very blue-collar type club like the Red Sox and have a great atmosphere at Goodison Park. They've sucked this season but they usually punch above their weight class in general. Be forewarned though, they are the kings of draws. They draw so many matches it seems.

 

[Hark_The_Sound_2010]

I feel like Everton would be good in that it wouldn't be hopping on the Man U or Chelsea bandwagon. I just want to make sure they have some prayer at being decent (i.e. making the Champions league every few years or so). And honestly the Liverpool rivalry is enough to do it on its own. I don't mind draws - but hopefully they're more in the 1-1 or 2-2 realm as opposed to 0-0. I do like scoring.

 

[TarHeelNation11]

I feel like Everton would be good in that it wouldn't be hopping on the Man U or Chelsea bandwagon. I just want to make sure they have some prayer at being decent (i.e. making the Champions league every few years or so). And honestly the Liverpool rivalry is enough to do it on its own. I don't mind draws - but hopefully they're more in the 1-1 or 2-2 realm as opposed to 0-0. I do like scoring.

They've suffered from lack of investment (buying players) and their chairman has desperately tried to find a rich buyer for years now. I THINK they've finally found one? But I'm not sure. Not sure they'll sniff the Champions League without a bit of a squad overhaul, but they were very close to finishing in the top 4 multiple times in the 00's and early 10's.

There's a bar I go to occasionally in Atlanta that shows soccer on Saturday and Sunday mornings, and it's the home of the official Atlanta chapter of Everton supporters. From what I can tell, it seems like a bunch of ex-pats with a few Americans sprinkled in. They're entertaining though; they sing and chant and whoop and holler the whole time, and they go nuts when the Toffees score.

 

[BlueKicks]

On the topic of teams who have a promising (immediate) future, I'd say:

Top Two
Manchester City
Tottenham (if Pochettino stays)

Top Four Locks
Chelsea
Arsenal

Top Four Contenders
Liverpool
Leicester
Manchester Utd
West Ham

I hope I'm wrong but I don't think Roberto Martinez lasts the year as the Everton manager. I like him a lot but the pressure on him from fans and people outside of the club is growing pretty significantly. He told Bill Kenwright that his aim was Champions League qualification when he took over in 2013. They're not even close at the moment.

It also looks like Romelu Lukaku is going to be a pretty hot name in this summer's transfer market. He's made it pretty clear he wants to play in the Champions League, and probably will if someone comes with £40M+. That'd be a big set back for Everton to lose him.

 

[UNC71-00]

I feel like Everton would be good in that it wouldn't be hopping on the Man U or Chelsea bandwagon. I just want to make sure they have some prayer at being decent (i.e. making the Champions league every few years or so). And honestly the Liverpool rivalry is enough to do it on its own. I don't mind draws - but hopefully they're more in the 1-1 or 2-2 realm as opposed to 0-0. I do like scoring.

As a 3rd generation lifelong Everton FC fan (I named my kid Toffee), I think I can speak for the rest of the lads in saying we would welcome your application, but no promises.

 

[BlueKicks]

Manchester City just conceded the most pathetic goal in Champions League history.

 

[TarHeelNation11]

Manchester City just conceded the most pathetic goal in Champions League history.

View embedded media

LOLLLLLLLLL

 

[TarHeelNation11]

Manchester City does so little with so much. It's astounding.

 

[UNC71-00]

What happened? Vine was taken down

 

[BlueKicks]

What happened? Vine was taken down

Ah yeah, they're pretty earnest about stopping Vines. (Fight the power)

Great result for City in the end. Two away goals at Parc des Princes is probably one of their best ever European achievements to date.

 

[TarHeelNation11]

What happened? Vine was taken down

Goalie passed it to the center back from a goal kick. Center back nonchalantly goes to turn with the ball. A PSG guy flies in and steals the ball and puts a shot in goal all in one motion. The goal was empty because the goalie hadn't gotten back in position yet. Lol.