The EPL-NFL Connection
With the English Premier League and NFL now both underway for another season, fans new to either will be looking for pointers as to which team to follow in 2016-17. Our pals at Betway have come up with a handy guide for the uninitiated based on comparable team traits, while we’ve decided to offer a couple of alternative options…
THREE THEY GOT RIGHT
New England Patriots-Manchester United
The bond between these two powerhouses goes beyond the fact that opposing fans hold an intense dislike for them, but winning titles is always a good place to start getting under the skin of rivals. The Patriots were once everyone’s favourite underdog, much as United were in the days between the Busby Babes and Fergie’s Fledglings, but now a huge fanbase is weighed equally by the boo-boys looking on from the outside with envy. Both have strong followings outside their home market – United almost anywhere in the world, the Patriots especially in the UK thanks to their Wembley visits – and for Bill Belichick, see Sir Alex Ferguson: sometimes unpleasant to the media, but arguably the outstanding coaches of all-time in their respective sports.
Dallas Cowboys-Liverpool
Faded giants? Both Dallas and Liverpool have known the glory days, garnering Lombardi Trophies and league and cup titles with regularity back in the day, but that day, in both cases, is now well over 20 years ago. Both remain among the best in terms of worldwide recognition and historical record, yet continue to come up short in the modern era, despite having facilities and personnel to compare with the new leading lights. As with Daniel Sturridge on Merseyside, the Cowboys are pinning their hopes on an oft-injured star in quarterback Tony Romo.
Seattle Seahawks-Manchester City
Money talks in both Seattle and Manchester, with wealthy owners ensuring that their clubs want for nothing and, while City enjoyed a brief period of success in the past (so far back it actually pre-dates the Seahawks), both are definitely in the mix in current times as a result. An influx of talent – the Seahawks through the draft and free agency, City via wildly expensive transfer market signings – has propelled the clubs to the forefront in their respective leagues, although both have been made to realise that success still isn’t going to come easily, as City’s two Premier League crowns sandwich the Seahawks’ lone Super Bowl success in 2013. And, much like Pete Carroll entered Seattle with a point to prove in a new environment, so too did Pep Guardiola this year. He’ll hope to match Carroll’s success.
THREE WE PREFER
Cincinnati Bengals-Arsenal
If there was ever a viable NFL-Premier League comparison, it has to be between perennial contenders who continually come up short. Cincinnati and Arsenal have flattered to deceive so often in recent times that they could have been separated at birth, but the similarities continue well beyond teasing their fans with glimpses of glory. Both teams have stuck with their head man longer than some supporters may have wanted, but Arsene Wenger – at 20 years, the Premier League’s longest tenured manager by a mile – and Cincinnati’s Marvin Lewis – whose 13-year reign is outlasted only by Belichick – continue to provide their team’s owners with just enough to keep them around. Neither was helped by injuries to key players last season but, by the same token, neither appears overly desirous of bringing in big-name talent over the offseason to provide that final push beyond an annual first-round knockout.
New York Jets-Everton
The Jets and Toffees have lost sight of their greatest successes in the mists of time, and continue to live in the shadow of big-city rivals as a result, but both could be poised for an upturn. Just a year after Todd Bowles took charge of ‘Gang Green’, Everton also have a new manager with a defensive bent. Just as Bowles knows the taste of Super Bowl success as a player, so Ronald Koeman has reached the pinnacle with club and country, his European Championship triumph with the Netherlands ironically coming in the same year as his peer’s Lombardi Trophy. Both men have big names in key scoring positions, with Brandon Marshall and Romelu Lukaku respectively, and low-key candidates pulling the strings in Ryan Fitzpatrick and Gareth Barry.
Denver Broncos-Chelsea
This one might be a reach given their most recent campaigns, but cast your mind back just four short years to when Roberto Di Matteo rode back down King’s Road to lead Chelsea to an improbable FA Cup and Champions League double. Sound familiar? It was only the previous year, 2011, that one John Elway returned to his old stomping ground intent on turning around the fortunes of a fallen giant, one which had won two Super Bowls with his hand on the ball rather than the tiller. Just as Di Matteo transformed success as a player with the club he went on to (briefly) manage – witness a slew of silverware between 1996-2000 – Elway got back to the top with his as Denver claimed their third Lombardi last season. Hopefully for John, the season after success won’t go downhill the same way as it did for Robbie!
For the very best live odds, head on over to Betway’s NFL section.