Help me pick an EPL side

[Pratters]

I have followed them from the time they were not a good side 4-5 years back and saw them improve and become the best football side in the world. The possession play they play is beautiful to watch. I don't follow Barcelona because others do, I do because I love the way they play their football. It is the club which put Unicef on their jersey when any sponsor could have got them tons of money. I am reading a book about the club's history and have been a hard core Barcelona fan over the years. I don't know many Barcelona fans as the only other one I can think of is biased_Indian on this site. So I didn't start following them just because they had many fans or were winning (they weren't winning that much when I started supporting them).

 

[sledger]

 

[PhoenixFire]

Bit harsh sledger you ****, makes some reasonable points. Barca are infinitely less hateable than most other clubs.

 

[sledger]

Not sure how I have been harsh tbh.

 

[PhoenixFire]

Yeah but you are a ****.

 

[Matteh]

I have followed them from the time they were not a good side 4-5 years back and saw them improve and become the best football side in the world. The possession play they play is beautiful to watch. I don't follow Barcelona because others do, I do because I love the way they play their football. It is the club which put Unicef on their jersey when any sponsor could have got them tons of money. I am reading a book about the club's history and have been a hard core Barcelona fan over the years. I don't know many Barcelona fans as the only other one I can think of is biased_Indian on this site. So I didn't start following them just because they had many fans or were winning (they weren't winning that much when I started supporting them).

Haha 'not a good side'.

 

[sledger]

Yeah but you are a ****.

Oh yeah, can't fault you there.

 

[Pratters]

Haha 'not a good side'.

They were going through a rough period and weren't any where near what people come to associate with Barcelona now. I saw them then and then saw them develop in the Rijkaard era.

The departures of Núñez and van Gaal were as nothing compared to that of Luís Figo. As well as club vice-captain, Figo had become a cult hero and was considered by Catalans to be one of their own. However, Barça fans were distraught by Figo's decision to join arch-rivals Real Madrid and during subsequent visits to the Camp Nou Figo was given an extremely hostile reception, including one occasion, when a piglet's head was thrown at him from the crowd. The next three years saw the club in decline and managers came and went, including a short second spell by Louis van Gaal. President Gaspart did not inspire confidence off the field either and in 2003, he and van Gaal resigned.

After the disappointment of the Gaspart era, the combination of a new young president Joan Laporta and a young new manager, former Dutch and Milan star Frank Rijkaard, saw the club bounce back. On the field, an influx of international players, including Ronaldinho, Deco, Henrik Larsson, Ludovic Giuly, Samuel Eto'o, and Rafael Márquez, combined with home grown Spanish players, such as Carles Puyol, Andrés Iniesta, Xavi Hernández and Víctor Valdés, led to the club's return to success. Barça won La Liga and the Supercopa de España in 2004–05, and stars Ronaldinho and Eto'o were voted first and third in the FIFA World Player of the Year awards.

(Wiki)

 

[sledger]

 

[Matteh]

Christ, sounds like they nearly went down...

 

[sledger]

Christ, sounds like they nearly went down...

They nearly went down to 4th place tbf.

 

[Pratters]

@ Matteh - They were not a good side when I started following them. There was a lot of turmoil. It wasn't bandwagon jumping.

 

[sledger]

 

[Indipper]

@ Matteh - They were not a good side when I started following them. There was a lot of turmoil. It wasn't bandwagon jumping.

Been a Barca fan ever since they first won the European Cup back in 1992 (bandwagon jump, but I was new to football and Johan's lads were awesome). In all that time they were never anything but a good side and they were always counted among the favourites to pick up the league before the season.

 

[Goughy]

Pratyush, the reason why your comment was funny (and it was) is that Barca may have had a slightly down year in 03 (or whenever) but they are the 2nd or 3rd wealthiest team in the world (depending on the source) and, oh wait, some consider them to be the the biggest and most successful club in the World

 

[Pratters]

Fair enough Indipper and Goughy. When I started following Barca, I was not very knowledgeable about club football. I was not aware of the rich history or financial resources of Barca. It is very inaccurate to say I bandwagon jumped.

 

[Matteh]

Ahhh, the Roseboy defence.

I still don't see it, Barcelona/Man Utd are some of the clubs with a genuinely worldwide presence. You don't achieve that by being crap. Even watching a game and seeing 80,000 at the Nou Camp might've made it obvious.

 

[Pratters]

So every one who doesn't have an initial Barcelona connection bandwagon jumped according to you? That's a sweeping statement and I don't quite agree with your view.

 

[silentstriker]

OK, no need to start this. I'll just follow Real Madrid in Spain, Manchester United in the UK, Inter Milan in Italy and Bayern Munich in Germany. That way, everyone is happy.


In reality though, I still can't decide between the Spurs or Newcastle. Newcastle = awesome fans, Spurs = I can hate on Aresnal fans on CW.

Liverpool has that awesome song, but I feel bad about picking a team that's really good and has crappy beer.

 

[Johnners]

Spurs if only for the Arsenal thing imo