International Break, 4 Weeks In & the NFL

Comparables

• Both defending champs. Chiefs have been to 3 of last 4 Super Bowls. So, while not 3 wins a row like City, close enough. Both are favored to win the title this year. Keep in mind, Chiefs are not near the level of separation as MC.

Projection

• City have started 4-0 and are not really playing to their potential yet. All other contenders have given away points and seem to have issues. Road trip to Arsenal on 10/8 will tell us more.

• Both could win it all and are loaded at most positions but have some gaps to fill. Great history. Top Coach.

• The Reds must keep Mo Salah. A shored-up midfield helps, can it gel with the defense. Navigated a tough schedule early for 10 of 12 points.

• Both lost their best player, Harry Kane and Aaron Rogers. Both have lowered expectations for the season and, ironically, both started their downfall last year about the same time in the same stadium when the Packers stumbled in Hotspur stadium against the Giants.

• Manager Postecoglou has made a believer out of Spurs fans. No added European competitions and the ability to spend and add in the January transfer window make this a dangerous team.

• Both came close last year, have great players in non-scoring positions (Mid-Field/O-Line) and excellent leaders.

• Good wins and a confusing draw at home to Fulham and Arsenal are 2 points away from the top but it feels like more. Last minute win against Man U was big.

• Big clubs with big history with big fan bases and big personalities. Both with extremely high expectations and average coaches. Can beat and lose to anyone. Other fans love to see them lose.

• Unconvincing wins against Wolves and Forest and two tough road losses. This is not what MU fans expect and the pressure is on everyone, players and managers, to turn it around.

• Surprising, good season last year with young talent and high expectations this year. Not a big fan base, team is in a vacation town by the sea.

• Speed. This team is young, fast and can score goals. Disappointing home loss to W Ham but great win at home to Newcastle.

• Good sized club in a big market/city. Have their share of wins but seem to fall short of contending. Perceived as second fiddle behind “big brother”. If everything goes right, could catch lightening in a bottle.

• Lost Declan Rice but used the transfer fee to make the mid-field better without him. Could really surprise if they keep scoring on the counterattack as West Ham are around 35-40% possession and have been outshot 72-50 on the season.

• Team in the North, isolated. Resurgent and successful with lots of energy from the home fan base. Toon Army = Bills Mafia? Both teams play a fun to watch brand of football and have the talent to win it all. But something says they will fall short.

• What is the Toon Army - click the background link above for Newcastle.

• After a GREAT start at home pounding contender Villa and a tight loss at champion City, NU went up 1-0 and up a man in the first half at home to Liverpool. It looked like the Magpies were going to be a title contender. 3 halves of soccer later and Newcastle are on a 3 match losing streak. Too much talent and coaching here to not get into the top 10.

• Lots of history. Well known legends but have fallen short the last several years. Industrial community that really gets behind their team and also a great international following.

• Blown out against top competition on the road. Big winners against weaker competition. Expected strong defense has allowed 9 goals in 4 matches. Will need to get better to contend for Europe.

• Big city, big club, winning history, big money. Great players on paper but keep falling short.

• It’s been well documented, over $500M spent on players in 18 months but have only won 2 of their last 18 matches. At some point Poch and the $ are going to pay off, right?

• Solid. Good. Nice fan base, big city but not the biggest. Not the favorites but could win a bunch. Have not won a cup, or Super Bowl, but have been in the conversation on occasion. Great purple away kits this year for Palace!

• Will this be the year? The last 11 seasons Palace have finished between 10^th and 15^th in the PL with as few as 41 points and as many as 49. Have created a lot of scoring chances this year, just haven’t finished consistently. Convert more and a top 10 finish is possible.

• East Midlands club with a big fan base who have 1 title and some historical success but have not been in the picture since the 80s. Made some off-season moves but will they pan out and will the team gel? Whose club personality is “the spiky, provocative and great self-aggrandizer with a brash style”. Sounds like both clubs to me.

• Made some good late transfer window noise. Looked bad at times but figured out ways to turn it around and get a big win at Chelsea right before the break. 2 wins in 4 matches with a very difficult schedule and is always tough to beat at home. Will they get better as the season goes along? Could sneak into top 10.

• Small data-driven club completely outkicking their coverage. Have seen great success recently, not titles, but continue to exceed expectations and at times you wonder how they are doing it. Sold their better players and yet find excellent back fills.

• Have yet to lose this year but have some pretty disappointing draws. 1 win and 3 draws this season points them towards a middle of the pack finish. The Bees will struggle without their top scorer Ivan Toney who is out til January.

• Have never been near the title and bounced between bad and average. Like the Ford’s relationship to the Lions, Craven Cottage “built” the Cottagers. Both had surprisingly good seasons last year, finishing above the “middle”. Both also have a common fan - Marshall Mathers aka Eminem.

• After years of promotion and relegation between the PL and The Championship Fulham finished 10^th last year. Losing their primary scorer, Mitrovic, to the Saudi league is going to hurt but a surprising draw at Arsenal may give them something to build on.

• A medium sized club looking to take the next step up - but seem to just fall short. Both teams are in the “take one step back” process before hopefully taking two steps forward. A team in the middle of the country and the table. Both hope to not fall to the bottom this year.

• Considered by bettors as a relegation candidate to start the season, it seems the players got the message. This team is scrappy, plays hard and will benefit from a year where there are very weak teams at the bottom of the league.

• A relegation candidate (near last place) last year but continued to surprise. From the South Coast of the country. Not the smallest fan base but not near the biggest. ““Hot” young coach who seems to connect to his players. There is a commitment to win from ownership, but they are not expected to.

• Many think the Cherries are destined for relegation, but they may also benefit from a very poor bottom of the league. New manager Andoni Iraola really seems to understand this team and is getting them to play well early. Draws to West Ham and Brentford are good points and losses to top of table Tottenham and Liverpool are expected.

• Blue collar, passionate, fan bases with a lot of history wondering if their team will ever win something again. High expectations to start each year crash and burn pretty quickly. Second best team in their city/state.

• Disaster of a start for Everton after 2 straight years of saving relegation the last day of the season. What keeps the Toffees from relegation is their history and they find a way to avoid relegation on the last day, again.

• Both teams not expected to challenge this year, just hoping to stay afloat. Some good young talent, but not great. Will need to beat teams at the bottom/in their “division” in order to surprise people. Both teams have a strong connection to JJ Watt.

• Rough start, all at home, against top of the table competition and looking out matched. Only thing keeping Burnley from being rated lower is an expectation that ownership will make moves as the season goes on and that Vincent Kompany will help this team get better.

• The city of Sheffield is NOT Las Vegas but the clubs have a lot of similarities in how they are run. SU when it's been bought and Vegas with their move from Oakland. Both will not challenge for a title and will try to not finish at the bottom. The logos are pretty similar too - The Blades and The Raiders.

• Have shown good defense so far this year, have been playing hard, and all 3 losses have been by 1 goal. Going to need a lot more to stay out of the bottom 3. Manager Paul Heckingbottom brings a “nasty” style - seems to have transferred to his team.

• The organizations just don’t feel like top-level orgs, yet. Both stadiums need a lot of work, LT to get to PL standards, WC to keep sewer water from raining on fans. A popular pub near Kenilworth Road where you can spend a lot of your $ is The White House, just like in DC where The White House is spending all of our money.

• Like Sheffield and Burnley, this newly promoted team is looking very outmatched. They are supposed to be very defensive oriented yet have given up 9 goals in 3 matches. LT have brought several new players into their squad, but they are not performing together, yet.