Over the years, soccer has seen some of the worst haircuts in humanity. From Rene Higuita to Fabricio Coloccini of Newcastle, the Premier League alone has experienced some terrible trims.

Let’s take a look at some of the worst haircuts on the market, both past and present:

10. Raheem Sterling

Liverpool forward Raheem Sterling’s hairdo is just awful. The Liverpool winger’s haircut looks like it’s been possessed by ladies hair curlers. Sterling has the nerve to shave a line down the side of his head, leaving a ridiculously thin sideburn to add the finishing touches to an utterly dreadful haircut.

9. David James

Former England goalkeeper, David James seemed to have a different haircut for each match. Known as “calamity James,” the keeper was famous for his afros, comb-overs and cornrows. The former Portsmouth and Liverpool shot-stopper just couldn’t make his mind up while playing in between the sticks.

8. Rene Higuita

‘The Madman” was also known for his dodgy hair. The Colombian goalkeeper was best known for his scorpion kick, which saved a shot in a friendly game against England. His eccentric style of play got him into all sorts of trouble during his playing days. Yet his long, curly hair could have had him jailed.

7. A trio of defenders

The three defenders in modern soccer who look almost identical, with the same horrendous haircut, are David Luiz, Fabricio Coloccini, and Carles Puyol. Their curly locks look like a dog’s coat of fur. If they were to play in the same team together, people would mistake them for The Simpsons’ Sideshow Bob.

6. Marouane Fellaini

Another frizzy hair-do that is similar to Luiz, Puyol, and Coloccini’s is that of Marouane Fellaini, who currently plays for Manchester United. Fellaini’s hair could have been the reason for his impressive heading ability at Everton, which is something the big Belgian is known for. But not even that mop can help David Moyes’ dreadful first season at Old Trafford.

5. Ronaldo

The Brazilian Ronaldo had a haircut that looked like a shaven head, until you saw the front third of his crown covered in a short tuft of black hair. The reason for the style must have been to help his own son distinguish him from Roberto Carlos on TV, in his playing days.

4. Giovanni Simeone

The son of Diego has not only one of the worst haircuts ever, but this is quite possibly the worst thing I have ever seen. Without exaggerating, Simeone’s haircut generally looks like the hairdresser’s razor ran out of batteries halfway through the process. Although it certainly doesn’t look like a hairdresser has attempted to cut this, it was more likely Simeone himself.

3. Djibril Cisse

The striker is well known to followers of the Premier League for his spell at Liverpool between 2004 and 2007. Although some would argue Cisse may be better known for his selection of outrageous hairstyles rather than his playing ability, Cisse’s hairstyles were so bad that he once had a spider’s web cut into his hair, after he bleached it yellow.

2. Chris Waddle

One of the most renowned haircuts in English soccer has to be Chris Waddle’s mullet during his time at Tottenham. No words can describe the short sides, with long hair down the back. From the front it looks like a wig, but unfortunately, there’s no hiding the hideous haircut of the former English footballer.

1. Taribo West

The Nigerian had the worst haircut in the world. It could only be described as braids, but with most of his head shaved, and then the braids put up into pigtails. He even had the cheek to die his hair bright green at one stage during his career. West had a brief spell at Plymouth Argyle, where he made four appearances. The west-country club obviously weren’t big fans of his ability to play, as well as his terrible haircut.

People in soccer say that if you wear bright-colored soccer cleats then you need to be good enough to pull them off. Unfortunately, the same rule doesn’t apply to hairstyles, but these 10 soccer players got hell of a lot of stick for these shocking “barnets.”

“A serious soccer fan is never alone. We are a legion, and soccer is often the only thing we have in common.” Hunter S Thompson.

Supporting your team in the World Cup is one of the greatest joys for soccer fans. However, the stadiums can hold only so many seats. What about the legions of fans that are left without their voices being heard? How do you bring the soccer tribe into one global stadium where they can voice support for their favorite team(s) , socialize, share pictures and videos, organize in groups and be rewarded?  We call that the global stadium, a home of the global 12th player/man and Fanspectrum provides the concept and technology behind it.

The main concept of Fanspectrum is “Support” that is shown in real time on a global map. Certainly you can use “likes” and “followers” to measure numbers and influence but are they relevant when it comes to fans actually supporting the team during a specific match? Does FC Barcelona, as the leader in sports social media, really get support by its 62 million likes during the game? That would be one extremely large stadium. This is how we create that stadium.

During sign up process, the user has to choose his location and favorite teams. Favorite teams are the expression of users’ loyalty, and location provides the users’ seat in the global stadium.

The core feature of Fanspectrum is the Fan Battle where fans of one team battle against fans of the other team. By selecting “Support” for a specific team, the user enters that Fan battle with its feed. “Support” itself has 3 levels: “Full support” means complete support for the team, “Respect” is to show that you admire the team, and “Despise” is to show that feeling of rivalry when it’s impossible to like that team and therefore you despise it.  Every fan has those feelings. The team with the most “Support” wins the Fan Battle.

Fan Army is our second feature and can be described as a cross between MeetUp and group chat, where like minded fans can create their own entity which we call a Fan Army. Our vision is to create a network of unofficial supporter clubs here.

The third feature is the interactive global map (we call it Demographics for now), that shows the support given. This is the global stadium. Fans can see other fans and interact with each other.

All the activity on Fanspectrum, especially considering support and getting more people to support, is analyzed through our system and presented on Leaderboards, where the 12th player/man is crowned.

Every sport is played for fans. Fans need to be acknowledged and rewarded. Our goal is to give every fan that opportunity.

Download Fanspectrum in the iTunes App Store or download at Google Play.

Currently showing immense intent to pursue the aspirations of the motivated chairman, Southampton are continuing their journey to rise up the English soccer ladder.

Understandably, the Italian chairman was doubted when he decided to sack Nigel Adkins in January last season, following a run of just two league losses in 12 matches. However, you would struggle to find a Southampton supporter who would disagree with the chairman’s decision to replace Adkins with Mauricio Pochettino having already seen off Liverpool home and away, Chelsea, Manchester City and picking up a point at home to Arsenal since taking over as Saints’ manager.

The new-styled pressing approach was evident from the first match that the Argentine took over against Everton back in January, but it is now becoming obvious that the Saints team have developed and responded to the manager’s aims since coming over to Southampton.

Some would argue that Pochettino’s side failed to pick up a point at Norwich this season, or even beat a weakened West Ham United team at home, but the Saints side of last season had only picked up three league wins before Christmas, losing to West Brom, Wigan and the Hammers. Ian Holloway’s struggling Crystal Palace team head to St. Mary’s this weekend in search of their second win of the campaign, but Saints fans will be expectant of another three points to keep driving the team up into the top 10.

Any Premier League manager would admit that Anfield is one of the hardest places to pick up a result, so when Southampton went and took all three points last weekend for the first time in 10 years, there was certainly something to brag about on the South coast. There is also the last 16 of the Capital One Cup to boast about too, having seen off a resilient Bristol City side at St. Mary’s on Tuesday evening. Pochettino put out a completely different 11-man team compared to Saturday’s line-up at Anfield and still managed to progress into the next round.

The last two seasons have seen Southampton knocked-out of the League Cup by opposition lower than the Premier League with a full strength side out, but Tuesday evening’s fixture saw more youthful talent take to the field at St. Mary’s. Not only have results been going their way, but the club has also got young prospects coming through the system, as they have done for the past decade.

Calum Chambers, just 18-years-old, has already made four appearances for the first time in the Premier League this season and as a result, has been named in the England Under-19 squad for next month’s 2014 UEFA European Championship qualifiers along with Matt Targett, another Southampton graduate.

Saturday’s goalscorer at Anfield, Dejan Lovren, has confessed that the club are aiming for a Champions League spot within two years:

“Every player here thinks we can get into the Champions League within the next two years. It’s a big job, but everything is possible. Playing in the Champions League is an experience you can never forget and I hope to do it with Southampton. We can do something big this season, I want a place in the top seven or eight.”

Lovren gave up Champions League football to join the Saints during the summer; this shows how the ‘Southampton project’ is highly appealing to players on the market.

Becoming a Champions League team within two years of becoming a Premier League team is clearly a tough ask, but Southampton have already showed a statement of intent this season by beating one of the considered top six clubs in Liverpool. Pochettino’s side are now above Manchester United in the Premier League, but the Southampton fans will not be complacent following their impressive start to the campaign.

Southampton will play host to Crystal Palace this weekend as Ian Holloway’s side will be in search for just their second win of the season. The last time the two teams met were in April 2012 when Rickie Lambert’s brace saw Saints win 2-0 at Selhurst Park. Fierce rivals Portsmouth were also in the Championship during the 2011-12 season, which shows how much has changed from then up to last weekend. Southampton took all three points at Anfield, whilst Pompey lost 1-0 to Fleetwood Town at Fratton Park.

Speculation has surrounded Pochettino and his inability to speak English since joining the club in January, but evidence of the Argentine speaking reasonably good English dismisses this speculation with fact that the manager has spoken in English to Sky Sports presenter Ed Chamberlain (link below). In a recent press conference, Pochettino has expressed that he does speak English, and he will speak English to the media ‘soon’, but for now he will only speak English to the squad.

On 31 August 2012, Gaston Ramirez joined Southampton for a reported £12 million, but the Uruguayan can only find a place on the bench so far this season due to notable appearances from team mates Jay Rodriquez, Adam Lallana and James Ward-Prowse, all young English talent. Ramirez started against Bristol City in the Carling Cup on Tuesday evening and scored the opening goal, reminding Pochettino what the attacking midfielder is all about as he pushes for a first-team spot.

One negative from Tuesday evening’s tie against Bristol City was the attendance at St. Mary’s. Southampton fans have been out in force over the past few seasons during their rise back to the Premier League, but over-priced tickets for the Capital One clash resulted in just 8,000 spectators at the match.

Brazilian midfielder Willian has agreed personal terms with Tottenham Hotspur, and could complete a £30million deal either today or tomorrow, reports The Independent newspaper. The Anzhi footballer has reportedly passed his medical.

The Brazilian is fairly unknown to the Premier League, but the player has high expectations following the reported £30million transfer fee.

Willian Borges da Silva, commonly known as Willian, is a left midfielder who currently plays for Anzhi Makhachkala. The 25-year-old has only been at Anzhi since 31 January 2013, scoring once in his 11 appearances for the club. He has also played 11 times for the Brazil Under-20s, and played for the senior team twice.

The reason for the speculated move in the first place was due to Anzhi’s restructuring at business level. The club transfer-listed the whole squad, including new signing Willian.

At 25, Willian has already won the Ukrainian Premier League four times, the Ukrainian Cup and Super Cup three times and the UEFA Cup once.

Tottenham can expect a versatile, creative winger who can ease past a player with his skill and pace, as well as having an eye for goal.

Willian was just 19 when he signed for Shakhtar for a fee of $19million, he was then snapped up by Anzhi for a fee in the region of $35million, almost double his previous transfer fee.

Willian’s success at Shakhtar Donetsk has already made him a winner, which is something needed at White Hart Lane with top four the target this season. He has played in the Champions League and the UEFA Cup, giving him added experience in vital matches for Andre Villas-Boas. Willian was part of the Shakhtar team that won the domestic treble in the 2010-11 season.

René Meulensteen, ousted Anzhi boss, suggested Spurs will have grabbed “a major trump card” if they manage to sign Willian.

“I’ve worked with him for a short time but I really, really like him. He will be an asset for whoever’s going to get him.

“If it’s Spurs thats going to get him they’ll get an excellent player. He’s very versatile, he can play in different positions, he’s a creative player and an excellent professional with a very good personality.

“He’s going to be a major trump card for Spurs if they can get the deal to go through.”

Arsenal will be hopeful that last season’s hard work doesn’t go to waste as they take on Fenerbahce at Sukru Saracoglu Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey today at 2:45pm ET (for viewers in the United States, the match will be shown live on FOX Sports 1 and FOXSoccer2Go). Arsene Wenger has called for a big performance in the UEFA Champions League play-off game as he aims to take pressure off the club and its players due to a disappointing start this past weekend.

The Gunners’ bid to finish in the top four last term went right down to the final day of the season when a 1-0 win at Newcastle ensured they went into the hat for the Champions League play-offs. Now, only Fenerbahce stand between Arsenal and a place in European football’s premier competition.

Wenger admitted his side can’t afford any slip-ups.

“We fought very hard last season to be in the top four and this game has a vital importance,

“On the back of our defeat against Aston Villa, it’s important as well to bounce back straight away.”

Arsenal have been handed a number of fitness boosts ahead of the match. Bacary Sagna, Kieran Gibbs, Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshire and Tomas Rosicky all trained on Tuesday morning.

However, England international Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will miss the game after his knee injury has ruled him out for at least six weeks.

For Fenerbahce, the familiar face of Dirk Kuyt will greet viewers. Fenerbahce will select their strongest team, which they’re unable to do in the Turkish Super League due to a rule being introduced that limits sides to six foreign players.

The Turkish side also suffered an opening day defeat as they lost 3-2 despite having taken a two-goal lead against Konyaspor on Saturday.

Editor’s note: FOXSoccer2Go is currently offering a free trial, so if you live in the United States, you can watch the game live and online for free today. The match kicks off at 2:45pm ET.

Southampton have signed AS Roma and Italy striker Pablo Osvaldo on a £12.8million deal with the fee rising to £14.5million with add-ons. The prolific striker will be unveiled at St Mary’s tomorrow after signing a four year contract. The Saints have announced that the player should be ready to play against Sunderland this Saturday.

Twenty seven-year-old Pablo Osvaldo is the latest addition to Mauricio Pochettino’s squad this summer. The Italian breaks the club’s transfer record.

At Roma, Osvaldo scored 27 goals in 55 league appearances. The Argentina-born striker has been a journeyman footballer, playing for a string of clubs that include Bologna, Espanyol, Fiorentina, Lecce and others. At the national level, he has nine caps for Italy in which he has scored three goals.

After last week’s incredible story regarding Rickie Lambert who was called up to play for his country for the first time, scored with his first touch and became a father to his latest child, Saints fans thought the week couldn’t get any better. In addition to that, Lambert scored a crucial late penalty to give Southampton a 1-0 win away against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.

In comparison to last season, the Saints lost 3-0 and 2-0 against West Brom last season and have since signed Dejan Lovren, Victor Wanyama and now Pablo Osvaldo for a combined worth of around £36 million.

Nicola Cortese has shown serious intent since taking over control of the club when Markus Liebherr passed away in 2010. The Italian has spent enormous amounts of money on top signings and has sealed deals with promising youngsters at the club who have risen through the youth system such as Luke Shaw, Calum Chambers and James Ward-Prowse.

Southampton finished fourteenth last season and the supporters seemed content after a roller-coaster season, but they can expect better things to come in the near future as the club are showing ambition which could lead Saints into the top half of the Premier League.

The surprising sacking of Nigel Adkins seems a distant memory to all involved at the club, with the previous £7million record-signing of Jay Rodriquez now feeling like a decade ago. Earlier in the year, Pochettino revealed, “In the next two years I want to be back in the Champions League with Southampton and I believe it’s not unreal.” this signal of intent shown may well become reality as Saints fans are enjoying one of the best periods at the club.

This summer so far, Premier League clubs have signed even fewer English footballers than usual from the Championship. Incredibly, there have been only five signings from the Championship in this window despite the fact that the 24 teams of the Championship have English talent that are capable of making the step up to the top flight.

With many senior England players nearing the end of their international careers and Premier League clubs signing foreign stars from around the globe, the opportunities for English footballers to move up to the Premier League are continuing to decline each year. Out of last season’s top ten goalscorers in the Championship, six of them were English.

Dwight Gayle joined newly promoted Crystal Palace from Peterborough, whilst fellow newly promoted side Cardiff City snapped up John Brayford from Derby County for £1.5million. Forty-year-old Kevin Phillips was another player to be transferred from the Championship to the Premier League after signing a one-year deal with Palace after being loaned to them from Blackpool. Nathan Redmond made the move from Championship side Birmingham to Norwich City for a reported £2million plus up to £1.2million in add-ons, which may seem a lot of money for a 19-year-old without a single match in the Premier League. Likewise, Curtis Davies, who was signed by newly promoted Hull City for a fee believed to be in the region of £2.3million.

Premier League clubs now see young players like Redmond as a gamble as they are required to pay a greater fee in order to sign homegrown talent, despite the possibility of the player being a flop in the Premier League. With even more television funds for top-flight teams in recent years, Championship clubs are aware of the vast amounts of money that the Premier League clubs have available for transfers and negotiate for the highest possible transfer sum, resulting in extravagantly-priced English players.

The majority of clubs signing English players from the Championship are newly-promoted clubs joining the Premier League. Norwich and Swansea City are too excellent examples of teams that have a core of Championship and lower league footballers who have helped the club get into the top flight, while many of the same footballers have risen to Premier League levels.

Other English footballers in the Championship who should see opportunities in the Premier League in the near future include Blackburn’s Jordan Rhodes, QPR’s Charlie Austin and Watford’s Troy Deeney. Austin scored an impressive 24 goals for Burnley in the second-tier last season and still failed to attract a team in the Premier League to bid for the 24-year-old Englishman. Troy Deeney was another English player who scored 20 goals in the Championship last campaign, but narrowly missed out on promotion, leaving him behind in the second-tier. Deeney has begun this season in the Championship once again as a lack of bids from Premier League clubs has seen a drought in English players making enough progress through the leagues.

The 2013 UEFA Women’s Euro kicks off on Wednesday, July 10 in Sweden, the host nation. For viewers in the United States, all games will be shown live on ESPN3.

The venues for the Championship will include the 30,000 seater Friends Arena, which will host the final on July 28. Gamla Ullevi will also host three group matches and one semi-final, Nya Parken will also hold a number of group matches with the other semi-final. The quarter-finals and other group matches will be played in Guldfågeln Arena, Myresjöhus Arena, Arena Linköping and Örjans Vall.

The Germans will be looking to win their eighth title following their Euro 2009 success in Finland, but England will be keen to win their first Euro title after coming so close in the competition four years ago.

England, ranked seventh in the world, kick off their Euro 2013 against Spain on July 12 and will compete in the same group as France and Russia. Group C could be labeled as the hardest group in the tournament, with France becoming one of the most dominant nations of late. The Euro 2009 quarter-finalists were also impressive in the 2011 World Cup, finishing fourth under Bruno Bini. Russia’s best result in the European Championships is the quarter-finals but they will be fortunate to reach that far this year with the group they’ve been given, the side didn’t qualify for the World Cup in 2011 and have had a replacement coach since. However, Russia’s warm-up matches for the competition have been fairly successful, having only lost once since February.

Germany, one of the most successful teams in women’s football, will begin their campaign against the Netherlands at Växjö Arena. The two nations will compete in Group B with Iceland and Norway. It will be Iceland’s second time in the Euro’s, having competed in the Championship for the first time in 2009. In contrast, Norway are former European, World and Olympic champions and thus one of the most successful national teams

The first match of the tournament will be Italy vs Finland on July 10 at Örjans Vall. The Italians reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2009 and have looked strong under fairly new manager Antonio Cabrini, having remained unbeaten during the qualifying rounds for Euro 2013.

Italy and Finland will share Group A with tournament hosts Sweden and Denmark, who have failed to have much of an impact on women’s football in recent years. The Sweden international side have been granted with hugely generous funds to help develop the side, they are currently ranked sixth in the world, which is also their lowest ever FIFA ranking.

The 2013 Championship will be the final time the competition is held with just twelve teams. From 2017 onwards, 16 teams will compete.

By Josh Harris.

Nickname: The Baggies, the Throstles or Albion.

City: Located five miles outside of Birmingham, near the center of England.

West Bromwich Albion (sometimes referred to as West Brom or simply WBA) were founded in 1878. The Baggies play their home matches at The Hawthorns, a 26,000 seater stadium.

West Brom currently play in navy blue and white striped shirts and have done for the majority of their existence.

Arch-Enemy: The Baggies see Wolverhampton Wanderers as their main rivals more recently, compared to in the past when their fixtures against Aston Villa were fierce. Albion and Wolves have contested the Black Country derby more than 150 times.

Famous Players: West Brom’s famous players are Tony Brown – most appearances for the club, John Wile, Jesse Pennington, Ray Barlow, Ronnie Allen, Don Howe, Derek Statham, W.G Richardson, Bryan Robson, Neil Clement, Lee Hughes, Cyrille Regis, Billy Bassett and Jeff Astle.

Honors: In their history, West Brom have won the First Division once, the Second Division once, the FA Cup five times, the League Cup once, the FA Charity Shield twice and the FA Youth Cup once.

Fun Fact: Stoney Lane was the home ground of West Brom before the Hawthorns.

Read the latest West Brom articles.

By Josh Harris.

Nickname: Spurs, or the Lilywhites.

City: Located in north London.

Spurs were founded in 1882 and have played at White Hart Lane since 1899. White Hart Lane, known as ‘The Lane’ to most Spurs fans, holds over 36,000 spectators.

Tottenham’s kit has been predominantly white throughout most of their history.

The club’s most famous manager is Bill Nicholson, who changed the way the club played soccer by bringing a fast passing game to White Hart Lane. Under Nicholson, Tottenham won the top flight league in England, the FA Cup and Charity Shield in 1961. In 1963, the club won the European Cup Winners’ Cup.

Arch-Enemy: Tottenham’s North London neighbors and fierce rivals are Arsenal. In 1919, Arsenal only finished in fifth place in Division Two, but were dubiously elected to rejoin the First Division at the expense of local rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

Famous Players: Tottenham have many well known players from the past including: Martin Chivers, Ricky Villa, Les Allen, Paul Allen, Darren Anderton, Paul Gascoigne, Jimmy Greaves, Ledley King, Glenn Hoddle, Gary Lineker, Jimmy Dimmock, John White, Martin Peters, Steve Perryman, Teddy Sheringham, Chris Waddle, David Ginola, Steffen Freund, Chris Hughton and many more.

Honors: In the club’s history, Spurs have won the First Division twice, the Second Division twice, the Southern League once, the Western League once,  the FA Cup eight times, the League Cup four times, the FA Charity Shield seven times and in Europe they won the UEFA Cup twice and the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup once.

Fun Fact: The club’s motto is Audere est Facere (“To Dare Is to Do”). Also, when Spurs won the FA Cup in 1901, they were the only non-league club to win the competition after the formation of the Football League in 1888.

Read the latest Tottenham Hotspur articles.

By Josh Harris.

Nickname: The Swans.

City: Located in Swansea, alongside the coast in south Wales.

Swansea were founded in 1912. They play their home games at the Liberty Stadium, which holds just over 20,000 spectators. Prior to the Liberty Stadium, City played at Vetch Field.

Swansea play in a white kit, with white shirts, shorts and socks.

Arch-enemy: Swansea have a well-known and fierce rivalry with Cardiff City, which has been regarded as one of the most hostile rivalries in British football.

Famous Players: Notable Swansea players include Wilfred Milne – most league appearances, Roger Freestone, Herbie Williams, Robbie James, Bob Latchford, Wyndham Evans, Ivor Allchurch, Alan Curtis, Len Thompson, Lee Trundle, John Toshack and Trevor Ford.

Honors: Swansea have previously won the Football League Championship Final, League One (three times) and League Two. They have also won the Football League Cup and the Football League Trophy.

Fun fact: Swansea beat Bradford City 5-0 in the 2012-13 Football League Cup Final, which was the competition’s highest ever winning margin in the final.

Read the latest Swansea City articles.

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By Josh Harris.

Nickname: The Black Cats

City: Located in Sunderland, in the north east of England.

Sunderland were founded in 1879. They play in red and white vertical stripes, with black shorts and socks. The red and white stripes have been adopted by Sunderland since the 1887-88 season.

The Black Cats play at the Stadium of Light, a 49,000 seater stadium which has been their home since 1997. Previously to the Stadium of Light, Roker Park was the home of Sunderland for 99 years.

Arch-enemy: Sunderland have a main rivalry with nearby neighbors Newcastle. The fixture between the two sides is called the Tyne-Wear derby. The river Wear runs through Sunderland, while the Tyne river runs through Newcastle.

Famous Players: Notable former Sunderland players are Jimmy Montgomery – most appearances for the club, Len Ashurst, Gary Bennett, Bobby Kerr, Gordon Armstrong, Charlie Hurley, Bobby Gurney, Kevin Ball, Martin Harvey, Charlie Buchan, Dave Halliday, George Holley, Johnny Campbell, Kevin Phillips and Jimmy Millar.

Honors: Sunderland have previously won the First Division six times, the Second Division/Championship five times, the Third Division once and the FA Cup twice.

Fun fact: The nickname ‘Black Cats’ was decided by the supporters in a poll on the Sunderland website. Over half the suggestions were preferred as the ‘Black Cats’.

Read the latest Sunderland articles.

By Josh Harris.

Nickname: Potters.

City: Located in Stoke-On-Trent.

Stoke City were founded in 1863. Their home ground is the Britannia stadium, which has a capacity of over 27,000.

The Potters’ traditional home kit is red and white vertically striped shirt, white shorts and socks.

Stoke City fans were once known for their hooliganism in the 1970s, 80s, 90s and early 2000s. They were labeled the ‘Naughty Forty’.

Arch-enemy: The Potters’ local rivals are Port Vale, but due to the sides not being in the same division for much of their history. Other West Midlands teams such as West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers have increased rivalries.

Famous Players: Former Stoke City players who are notable include Eric Skeels – most appearances for the club, John McCue, Bob McGrory, Denis Smith, Alan Boor, Peter Fox, Jackie Marsh, Alan Dodd, John Ritchie, Freddie Steele, Frank Bowyer, Charlie Wilson, Johnny King, Tommy Sale and Gordon Banks.

Honors: In their history, Stoke City have won the Football League Third Division three times, the Third Division North, the Football Alliance, the Birmingham & District League, the Southern League Division Two twice, the League Cup once and the Football League Trophy twice.

Fun Fact: The Potters’ former ground (Victoria Ground) once had a capacity of around 56,000.

Read the latest Stoke City articles.

By Josh Harris.

Nickname: The Saints.

City: Based in Southampton, on the south coast of England.

Southampton were founded in 1885.

The Saints play their home games at St Mary’s stadium, which has been their home since 2001. Their previous ground was the Dell. St Mary’s can hold up to 32,690 spectators and has previously hosted international fixtures.

Saints have worn red for most of their history and the stripes have also been part of the home kit for much of their existence.

Arch-enemy: Southampton are involved in the South Coast derby, which is contested between themselves and Portsmouth. The fixture could also be called the Hampshire derby, as Portsmouth are in the same county just 17 miles apart. In recent years, the fixture has been labeled ‘El Classi Coast’.

Famous Players: Southampton notable players are Matthew Le Tissier, Terry Paine, Mick Channon, Nick Holmes, Tommy Traynor, Jason Dodd, Claus Lundekvam, John Sydenham, Francis Benali, Bill Rawlings, James Beattie, David Armstrong, Ron Davies, Marian Pahars, Alan Shearer, Kevin Keegan, Bobby Stokes, Rod Wallace, Peter Shilton, Tim Flowers and more recently Rickie Lambert and Adam Lallana.

Honors: The Saints have won the Football League One/Division Three, Third Division South, Southern League six times, FA Cup once, and the Football League Trophy.

Fun Fact: The Saints’ anthem is the popular sport tune ‘When the Saints Go Marching In’, and since the club’s official nickname is “the Saints,” they are one of only a few teams who do not change the original lyric.

Read the latest Southampton articles.

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By Josh Harris.

Nickname: Canaries.

City: Located in East Anglia, in the east of England.

Norwich were founded in 1902. The club were first promoted to the Football League First Division in 1972.

The kit colors of Norwich have changed in their history. The main colors were once light blue and white halved shirts, but since around 1907 the team have worn yellow and green shirts.

Arch-Enemy: Ipswich Town are the Canaries’ main rivals. The fixture is labeled the East Anglian derby.

Famous Players: Norwich have previous notable players such as Ron Ashman, Terry Allcock, Terry Anderson, Neil Adams, Kevin Keelan, Ian Culverhouse, Steve Bruce, Duncan Forbes, Mark Bowen, Darren Huckerby, Ian Crook, Martin Peters, Darren Eadie, Chris Sutton and Iwan Roberts.

Honors: In their history, the Canaries have won the Football League First Division, the Third Division twice, and the League Cup twice.

Fun Fact: The Canaries’ most famous supporter is celebrity cook Delia Smith. On 28 February 2005, Smith attracted attention during the half-time break of a home match against Manchester City. At the time Norwich were fighting an ultimately unsuccessful battle against relegation from the Premier League, and in order to rally the crowd, Smith grabbed the microphone from the club announcer on the pitch and said: “A message for the best football supporters in the world: we need a 12th man here. Where are you? Where are you? Let’s be ‘avin’ you! Come on!” Norwich lost the match 3–2. Smith denied suggestions in the media that she had been drunk while delivering the speech.

Read the latest Norwich City articles.

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By Josh Harris.

Nickname: Magpies, or the Toon.

City: Located in Newcastle, in the north east of England.

Newcastle United were founded in 1892. St James’ Park has been the home of Newcastle United throughout the club’s history and has hosted international and Olympic Games events. The stadium has a capacity of over 50,000 and is known as one of the finest football stadia in the United Kingdom.

The colors of Newcastle’s home kit is black and white stripes, which have been the colors for most of the club’s history. The colors were brought into the home strip since 1894 as the reserve team wore the stripy kit before the kit was transformed into the senior team.

Arch-enemy: The Toon have a fierce rivalry with Sunderland. The two cities are just ten miles apart situated in the north east of England. The first competitive meeting between the two sides was played in 1888 in a FA Cup tie. The fixture is known as the Tyne and Wear derby.

Famous Players: Notable Newcastle United players from past and present are Jimmy Lawrence – most appearances (496), Frank Hudspeth, Frank Clark, Shay Given, Bobby Mitchell, Alan Shearer, Rob Lee, Peter Beardsley, Nolberto Solano, Jimmy Milburn, Hughie Gallacher and Malcolm MacDonald.

Honors: In their history, Newcastle United have won the First Division four times, the Championship three times and the Northern League three times. They have won six FA Cups, two FA Youth Cups and an FA Community Shield. In Europe, the Magpies have won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and the UEFA Intertoto Cup once.

Fun Fact: Newcastle United have spent more than 80 seasons in the top-flight.

Read the latest Newcastle United articles.

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By Josh Harris.

Nickname: Red Devils.

City: Located in Stratford, outside the city limits of Manchester.

Manchester United were founded in 1878. United play at Old Trafford, a 75,000 seater stadium that has been their home since 1910.

The Red Devils wear red shirts, white shorts and black socks, a color combination that they have worn for most of their history.

Arch-enemy: Other than the big rivalry with Manchester City, United have other rivalries with Arsenal – due to the amount of times the two clubs have competed for league titles over the years, especially with the two managers in charge (Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger), Liverpool – due to the competition between the two cities during the industrial Revolution, Leeds United – due to the Wars of the Roses that was fought between the House of Lancaster and the House of York with Manchester United representing Lancashire and Leeds representing Yorkshire.

Many people may have heard of the Busby Babes, or Matt Busby, due to the Munich Air Disaster from 1958 when Busby (manager of Manchester United at the time) and his team were on an aircraft on the way back from a European Cup quarter-final victory against Red Star Belgrade. The plane crashed when attempting to take off after refueling in Munich, Germany. The plane had Manchester United players on board, eight of who died – George Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Duncan Edwards, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor and Billy Whelan. Others were also injured. Matt Busby was one of the most successful managers in United’s history, having won the First Division five times and FA Cup twice at the club. He was also the first manager to win the European Cup with an English team.

Famous Players: Notable Manchester United players are Bobby Charlton, Denis Law, Jack Rowley, Wayne Rooney, George Best, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, David Beckham, Eric Cantona, Brian Kidd, Brian Robson, Bill Foulkes, Roy Keane, Gary Neville and Gary Pallister.

Honors: Manchester United have a very large trophy cabinet, having won the First Division and Premier League 20 times, the Second Division twice, the FA Cup 11 times, the League Cup four times and the FA Charity/Community Shield 19 times. They have also won European competitions such as the European Cup/UEFA Champions League three times, the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup once, and the UEFA Super Cup once. They have even won the Intercontinental Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup once each.

Fun Fact: Sir Alex Ferguson is the most honored and longest-serving manager in the club’s history.

Read the latest Manchester United articles.

By Josh Harris.

Nickname: Manchester City have a number of nicknames including City, the Citizens, the Sky Blues and the Blues.

City: Located in east Manchester.

The club were founded in 1880 as St Mark’s, but in 1894 the name was changed to Manchester City.

City’s traditional home kit colors are sky blue and white.

Manchester City’s stadium is the City of Manchester Stadium, also known as Eastlands and the Etihad Stadium since July 2011 because of a sponsorship deal. The stadium is situated in east Manchester and is part of a 200-year operating lease from Manchester City Council after the 2002 Commonwealth Games. The stadium has been City’s home since the end of the 2002–03 season when the club moved from Maine Road. Before moving to the stadium, Manchester City spent in excess of £30 million to convert it to football use. Manchester City have used several grounds during their history after playing home matches at five different stadia. Between 1880 and 1887, the club settled at Hyde Road, its home for 36 years. After a fire destroyed the Main Stand in 1920, the club started to seek a new site and moved to the 84,000 capacity Maine Road three years later. Maine Road, nicknamed the “Wembley of the North” by its designers, hosted the largest-ever crowd at an English club ground when 84,569 attended a FA Cup tie against Stoke City on 3 March 1934. Though Maine Road was redeveloped several times over its 80-year lifespan, by 1995 its capacity was restricted to 32,000, prompting the search for a new ground which culminated in the move to the City of Manchester Stadium in 2003.

Manchester City were regarded as a mid-table Premier League team around 5-10 years ago, but that all changed in 2008 when the club were purchased by the Abu Dhabi United Group. The takeover immediately saw the club spend astonishing amounts of money on top class players in a bid to make Manchester City challenge for the Premier League title. After spending over £100 million on players in 2009, Manchester City were challenging for Europe and won the FA Cup in 2011. A year later, City won the Premier League on the final day of the season by beating relegation candidates Queens Park Rangers by scoring two goals in additional time to turn around a 2-1 deficit.

Arch-enemy: Manchester City are rivals with Manchester United, a rivalry that seems to have become more fierce over the years. The two clubs used to be local teams within Manchester, when spectators would watch United one week, then City the next. However, after the Second World War, a stronger rivalry developed and following both teams became uncommon. From then onwards, the fixture between the two teams became frequently bad tempered.

Famous Players: Manchester City players who are considered as notable are: Alan Oakes – most appearances (680), Joe Corrigan (3 Player of the Year Awards), Mike Doyle, Bert Trautmann, Paul Power, Billy Meredith, Eric Brook, Tommy Johnson, Colin Bell, Joe Hayes and Billie Gillespie.

Honors: Manchester City have won the First Division/Premier League three times, Second Division/First Division seven times and the Third Division Play-offs. They have also won five FA Cups, two Football League Cups and four FA Community Shields. They won the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1970.

Fun Fact: City’s first ever overseas manager was Sven-Goran Eriksson who was appointed in 2007.

Read the latest Manchester City articles.

By Josh Harris.

Nickname: The Reds

City: Located in Liverpool.

Liverpool were formed in 1892 and have played at Anfield ever since.

The club wore blue and white shirt colors for the first four years of its existence, before adopting the color red.

Originally used by Everton before moving to Goodison Park, Anfield has been Liverpool’s home since 1892. The capacity of the stadium at the time was only 20,000, although only 100 spectators watched Liverpool’s first match at Anfield.

In 1906 the banked stand at one end of the ground was formally renamed the Spion Kop after a hill in KwaZulu-Natal. The hill was the site of the Battle of Spion Kop in the Second Boer War, where over 300 men of the Lancashire Regiment died, many of them from Liverpool. At its peak, the stand could hold 28,000 spectators and was one of the largest single-tier stands in the world. Many stadia in England had stands named after Spion Kop, but Anfield’s was the largest of them at the time; it could hold more supporters than some entire football grounds.

Anfield could accommodate more than 60,000 supporters at its peak, and had a capacity of 55,000 until the 1990s. The Taylor Report and Premier League regulations obliged Liverpool to convert Anfield to an all-seater stadium in time for the 1993–94 season, reducing the capacity to 45,276. The findings of the Taylor Report precipitated the redevelopment of the Kemlyn Road Stand, which was rebuilt in 1992, coinciding with the centenary of the club, and is now known as the Centenary Stand. An extra tier was added to the Anfield Road end in 1998, which further increased the capacity of the ground but gave rise to problems when it was opened. A series of support poles and stanchions were inserted to give extra stability to the top tier of the stand after movement of the tier was reported at the start of the 1999–2000 season.

Arch-Enemies: Liverpool’s rivals are Everton, in which they contest in the Merseyside derby. The derby stems from the formation and dispute with Everton officials and the then owners of Anfield. Liverpool’s rivalry with Manchester United is viewed as a manifestation of the cities’ competition during the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century. The rivalry between the clubs intensified during the 1960s, after Manchester United became the first English team to win the European Cup in 1968, an achievement surpassed by Liverpool’s four European Cup victories in the 1970s and 1980s. Manchester United started to dominate English football during the 1990s, making the rivalry all the more intense.

Honors: Liverpool have won 18 First Division titles, four Second Division titles, seven FA Cups, eight League Cups, 15 Charity Shields/FA Community Shields, five UEFA Champions Leagues, three UEFA Cups and three UEFA Super Cups.

Famous Players: Notable Liverpool greats include Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, Steven Gerrard, Ian Callaghan, Ian Rush, Kevin Keegan, Kenny Dalglish, Jamie Carragher, Phil Neal, Ray Clemence, Emlyn Hughes, Tommy Smith, Bruce Grobbelaar and Alan Hansen.

Fun Fact: Liverpool have accumulated more top-flight wins than any other English team.

Read the latest Liverpool articles.

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By Josh Harris.

Nickname: The Tigers

City: Kingston-Upon Hull, located near north east of England.

Hull City play their home matches at the 25,500 seater KC stadium, which is shared by the city’s rugby league sides. The club were founded in 1904 and were recently promoted after finishing second in the Championship during the 2012-13 season. The club’s kit colours were traditionally white shirts with black shorts and socks, but during the 1990’s the kit was changed to ‘tiger skin’ designs, before gradually changing to amber and black stripes.

Arch-enemy: Hull City’s traditional rivalries are Sheffield United, but a recent survey suggested that Leeds United are considered the Tigers’ main rivals. There is also the ‘Humber derby’ that sees Hull play against Scunthorpe, who are separated by the river Humble. The two teams are rarely in the same division, but the most recent fixture was during February 2011, which saw the Tigers run out 5-1 winners.

Hull are no strangers to the Premier League, as they were promoted through the play-offs in 2008 thanks to a Dean Windass goal at Wembley against Bristol City. The Tigers were only in the top flight for two seasons though, as they couldn’t quite manage safety a second time after the lucky escape in their first season back in the top flight.

Against all the odds, Hull City managed to gain automatic promotion on a dramatic final day of the 2012-13 season. With the final league position depending on the result between Watford and Wolves, the Tigers’ had no option but to watch the final few minutes at Vicarage Road. Despite only managing a 2-2 draw with Cardiff, Hull’s promotion was confirmed due to Leeds beating third-placed Watford.

Famous Players: Former notable Hull City players include Ken Wagstaff, Dean Windass, John ‘Jackie’ Smith, Tommy Bleakley, Matt Bell, Jimmy Lodge, Bert Mills, George Maddison, Cliff Woodhead, Billy Bly, Raich Carter, Viggo Jensen, Andy Davidson, Brian Bulless, Doug Clarke, Brian Horton, Tony Norman, Ken Houghton and Chris Chilton.

Honors: The Tigers have won the Football League Championship Play-offs, League One and the Third Division North twice.

Fun Fact: The club’s widest winning margin was an 11-1 victory over Carlisle United in 1939.

Read the latest Hull City articles.

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By Josh Harris.

Nicknames: The Cottagers, the Whites, the Lilywhites, are all nicknames of Fulham.

City: Located in west London, alongside the River Thames.

The team have played at Craven Cottage since 1896, although Fulham have played at a number of different grounds since they were founded in 1879.

Fulham play in white shirts, black shorts white socks.

In July, 2013, Fulham was bought by American billionaire (and Jacksonville Jaguars owner) Shahid Khan.

Arch-Enemies: The supporters of Fulham consider their main rivals to be Chelsea. This is their closest rivals in terms of distance as Stamford Bridge is located in Fulham. However, the two sides have not always been in the same league as Fulham competed in Division Two for a number of years. Fulham have other rivalries with Queens Park Rangers and Brentford. They also have a slight rivalry with Gillingham, who are outside of London, but during their time in the lower leagues this fixture was a feisty affair.

Fulham have played at a number of grounds in their time as a club, whilst the renovation of Craven Cottage was taking place, Fulham had to play their home games at Loftus Road between 2002-2004. In July 2012, Fulham were granted permission to redevelop the Riverside Stand, increasing the capacity of Craven Cottage to 30,000 seats.

Famous Players: Notable Fulham players include George Best, Johnny Haynes, Edwin Van Der Sar, Rufus Brevett, Chris Coleman, Mark Pembridge, Lee Clark, Jimmy Bullard, Andy Cole, Steve Finnan, Paul Parker, Luis Boa Morte and Gordon Davies.

Fun Fact: In the 2010-2011 season, Fulham reached the final of the UEFA Europa League, but lost 2-1 after extra time to Atletico Madrid.

Read the latest Fulham articles.

By Josh Harris.

Nickname: The Toffees

City: Located in Liverpool.

Everton were founded in 1878 as St Domingo’s F.C.  The club were renamed to Everton a year later, before becoming one of the founding members of The Football League.

The Toffees’ ground is called Goodison Park, a 40,000 seater stadium that has been Everton’s home since 1892, following a move away from Anfield (yes, Anfield). A dispute between the Everton chairman John Houlding and the Anfield owner about how the club should be owned and run led to Houlding attempting to gain full control of the club by registering the company Everton F.C and Athletics Ground Ltd. In response, Everton left Anfield for Goodison Park. Houlding attempted to take over Everton and change the name, colors, fixtures etc., but The Football Association denied him, so instead, Houlding formed a new club, Liverpool F.C.

Everton’s traditional colors are royal blue shirts, white shorts and blue socks.

Arch-Enemy: As many are aware, Everton have a rivalry with Merseyside neighbors Liverpool. However, the Merseyside derby has been named ‘the friendly derby’, as it is often seen that the opposition supporters are stood side by side. Although on the field, this fixture has seen more red cards than any other Premier League fixture.

Famous Players: Notable Everton players include Neville Southall, Brian Labone, Dave Watson, Dixie Dean, Kevin Sheedy, Bob Latchford, Joe Royle and Roy Vernon.

Fun Fact: The club have entered the UK pop charts four times under different titles during the 1980s and 1990s when many clubs released a song to mark reaching the FA Cup Final.

Read the latest Everton articles.

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By Josh Harris.

Nickname: The Eagles.

City: Located in south London.

Crystal Palace play their homes games at Selhurst Park – a 26,000 capacity stadium.

Did You Know? Palace have worn a claret and blue kit for their history, as it was donated to them from Aston Villa.

Arch Enemy: The Eagles have a well-known rivalry with Brighton & Hove Albion, despite the clubs being over 40 miles apart. Palace also have a rivalry with Millwall, who have exchanged a number of players with the club during their history.

Famous Players: Some notable Crystal Palace players from the past include Nigel Martyn, Attilio Lombardo, John Salako, Kenny Sansom, Geoff Thomas, Andy Johnson, Chris Coleman, Andy Gray, Ian Wright, Jim Cannon (most appearances for the club), Terry Long, Albert Harry, Peter Simpson (record goalscorer), Edwin Smith, Mark Bright, George Clarke and Johnny Byrne.

Honors: Crystal Palace have won Division One once and the Football League Third Division South once. The Eagles were promoted to the Premier League in May 2013 when they beat Watford in the Play-off Final 1-0 in extra time with a Kevin Phillips goal.

Interesting Fact: Crystal Palace have been in administration twice, once in 1998 and then 2000.

Read the latest Crystal Palace articles.

By Josh Harris.

Nickname: The Blues

City: Located in west London.

The Blues, founded in 1905, have spent most of their history in the top tier of English soccer. Stamford Bridge has always been their home, but the Bridge hasn’t always been a modernized state-of-the-art 42,000 all-seater stadium. The new design was announced in the 1970s, but project problems occurred a couple of years later, which eventually led the club close to bankruptcy. A long legal battle meant that Chelsea’s future at the stadium wasn’t secured until the 1990s, when renovation work resumed. The Stamford Bridge freehold, the pitch, the turnstiles and Chelsea’s naming rights are now owned by Chelsea Pitch Owners, a non-profit organization in which fans are the shareholders. It is no secret that the fans and staff involved at Chelsea would like a bigger stadium, as the current club ownership have stated that a larger stadium is necessary in order for Chelsea to stay competitive with rival clubs who have significantly larger stadia, such as Arsenal and Manchester United.

Chelsea’s former manager Tommy Docherty changed Chelsea’s kit to blue shorts and white socks believing the colors were more modern and distinctive, since no other side used this combination.

Arch-Enemies: Chelsea do not have a traditional rivalry on the scale of the Merseyside derby or the North London derby because of their West London derbies with Fulham or Queens Park Rangers have not been  as prominent over the years since the clubs have often been in different divisions. It has developed that Chelsea fans find their fiercest rivalries with Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.

Famous Players: Chelsea have many notable players in their past, but one of the present would have to be Frank Lampard. The England midfielder has won a record three Player of the Year awards at the club, and has been the club’s top scorer in a season four times. Not to mention the 12 club cups Lampard has won at his time with Chelsea. Other notable players include Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who averaged almost a goal every two games, Ray Wilkins, Petr Cech, Alan Hudson, Steve Clarke, Jimmy Greaves, Marcel Desailly, Didier Drogba, Claude Makalele, Bobby Tambling, Dennis Wise, Kerry Dixon, Peter Bonetti, Ron Harris, Peter Osgood, John Terry, Gianfranco Zola and Ashley Cole.

Honors: Domestically, Chelsea have won six league titles, the First Division four times, the Second Division twice. They have won seven FA Cups, four Football League Cups, four FA Community Shields, and two Full Members Cup. In Europe, Chelsea have once won the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, and twice the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup. They have also won the FIFA Club World Cup.

Club fact: Chelsea are owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who is the 50th richest man in the world.

Read the latest Chelsea articles.

By Josh Harris.

Nickname: The Bluebirds

City: Based in Wales’s capital city, Cardiff.

Cardiff City were founded in 1899 and play at the Cardiff City Stadium in front of a capacity of around 27,000. The Bluebird’s previous home was Ninian Park for 99 years, as they moved grounds in 2009.

The Cardiff City home kit has been blue and white for the majority of their history, but in 2012 supporters were outraged when new Malaysian owners launched a new home kit which was red. The foreign owners also significantly changed the design of the club crest.

Arch-Enemy: Cardiff City have fierce rivalries with Newport County, but predominantly Swansea City. During matches between the two Welsh sides, the atmosphere is always ignited and matches are heavily policed to prevent clashes between supporters.

Famous Players: Len Davies is Cardiff’s most famous player, amongst others such as Robert Earnshaw, Carl Dale, Brian Clark, Joe Ledley, John Toshack, Peter Wittingham, Chis Pike, Michael Chopra, Willie Boland, Phil Dwyer, Don Murray, Peter King, Fred Keenor and Scott Young.

Honors: In their history, the club have won the Championship, League One, League Two, the FA Cup and the FA Charity Shield.

Fun Fact: Cardiff City have won the Welsh Cup 22 times.

Read the latest Cardiff City articles.

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By Josh Harris.

Nicknames: Villa, Villans, or the Lions

City: Located in Birmingham, England

Aston Villa play their home games at Villa Park.

The 42,788 seater stadium is a UEFA 5-star rated stadium, having hosted international fixtures as well as FA Cup semi finals previously. Aston Villa have played at Villa Park since 1897, after Aston Park (1874-1876) and Perry Barr (1876-1897).

Villa’s traditional kit colors are claret shirts with sky blue sleeves, white shorts and sky blue socks.

Arch-enemy: Aston Villa have a fierce rivalry with Birmingham City, this derby is known as the ‘Second City derby’. The two Midlands clubs are generally regarded as each other’s most fierce rivals, though this was perhaps less true between 1988 and 2002, when the two clubs were in different divisions and as a result did not play each other. Villa’s biggest local rivalry was Coventry City, but since Coventry play outside the Premier League, Aston Villa’s key local rivals now are Wolverhampton Wanderers, West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham City.

Famous Players: Aston Villa have provided more England internationals than any other club, with 71. Therefore, they have a number of famous and well known former players. Gareth Barry played over 400 times for the club, scoring 52 goals. Gordon Cowans had three stints at Villa, racking up 528 appearances. Dennis Mortimer also made over 500 appearances. Gerry Hitchens had a shorter spell at the club, but had a fantastic goal ratio, scoring 96 times in 160 matches. Harry Hampton was another top forward for the club, scoring 242 goals in 376 games. Defensively, Allan Evans was a top performer for Villa during the 70s and 80s, playing 380 times.

Honors: Aston Villa have won 10 domestic cups in total. They have won the First Division seven times, whilst winning the Second Division twice, and the Third Division once. They have also won the FA Cup seven times, and the League Cup five times. They have even won the FA Community Shield once, and the Football League War Cup. In Europe, Villa have won the European Cup, the European Super Cup and the Intertoto Cup once each.

Fun Fact: Aston Villa have spent 102 seasons in the top tier of English soccer; the only club to have spent longer in the top flight is Everton, with 108 seasons, making Aston Villa versus Everton the most-played fixture in English top-flight soccer.

Read the latest Aston Villa articles.

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By Josh Harris.

Nickname: The Gunners.

City: Based in north London.

Arsenal were founded in 1886. The club used to play in South East London, on the other side of the Thames river. In 1913, the club moved to north London and moved into Arsenal Stadium (more commonly known as Highbury), which was their home until 2006. They moved to their new ground just half a mile away named the Emirates Stadium, which cost over £390 million to build and has a capacity of 60,000.

For most of their history, Arsenal’s uniform colors have been bright red shirts with white sleeves. The choice of red is in recognition of a charitable donation from Nottingham Forest, soon after Arsenal was founded in 1886.

Arch-enemy: Tottenham Hotspur.

Honors: Arsenal have won the Premier League 13 times, the FA Cup 10 times, the League Cup twice, and the FA Community Shield 12 times. In Europe, the Gunners have won the European Cup Winners’ Cup once, and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup once too.

Did You Know? In 1919, Arsenal finished in fifth place in Division Two, but were dubiously elected to rejoin the First Division at the expense of local rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

Famous Players: Arsenal have a number of famous players including David O’Leary – the player with the most appearances for the club (722), Tony Adams – who is second in the all time appearance list with 668. He was also captain from 1988 to 2002, Thierry Henry – 228 goals in 396 appearances, Patrick Vieira, who made over 400 appearances.

Fun Fact: Arsenal have one of the best top-flight records in history, having finished below fourteenth only seven times.

Read the latest Arsenal articles.

By Josh Harris.

Nickname: The Hammers or the Iron.
City: Located in east London.

West Ham were founded in 1895. The Hammers have played at Upton Park since 1904 but the real name for the stadium is the Boleyn Ground. It is often referred to as Upton Park due to its location, in Upton Park. The Hammers are planning to move to the Olympic Stadium in 2015.

West Ham wear claret and blue. They have worn these colors for most of their existence.

West Ham supporters are well documented for their rivalries and hooliganism, during the 1970s and 80s, West Ham supporters (The Inter City Firm) were one of the first “casuals”, so called because they avoided police supervision by not wearing football-related clothing and traveled to away matches on regular Inter City trains.

Arch-Enemy: West Ham have the strongest and oldest rivalry with Millwall. The two sides are local rivals and fixtures between the teams have previously resulted in considerable violence and damage to buildings. Several pitch invasions during the matches have previously seen the game brought to a temporary halt.

Famous Players: The Iron have many past players who are well known, including Vic Watson, Billy Bonds, Frank Lampard Sr., Trevor Brooking, Bobby Moore, Alvin Martin, Jimmy Ruffell, Steve Potts, Geoff Hurst, Jim Barrett, Tony Cottee, Martin Peters, Paulo Di Canio, Joe Cole, Scott Parker, Johnny Byrne and Steve Potts.

Honors: In their history, West Ham have won the Second Division/Championship twice, the Western League, the FA Cup three times, the FA Charity Shield once, the European Cup Winners Cup once and the UEFA Intertoto Cup once.

Interesting Fact: The number 6 shirt is retired, in memory of the former England and West Ham legend Bobby Moore who wore the shirt.

Read the latest West Ham United articles

The tournament hosts Brazil will play the World and European Champions Spain on Sunday at Estadio do Maracana.

For viewers in the United States, the broadcast for the match will kick off at 5:30pm ET on ESPN and WatchESPN.

Spain confirmed their place in the final on Thursday evening after beating Mario Balotelli-less Italy 7-6 on penalties after a 0-0 draw in regulation and after extra time. Despite the victory, Spain took their time getting started in the first-half and the Italians could have easily gone two or three-up in the semi-final.

Brazil have had the advantage of playing in front of their home crowd throughout the tournament and that asset will prove even more helpful in the final, as the Brazilian supporters have failed to take to the Spain side during each of their matches so far.

Both teams remain unbeaten in the Confederations Cup and there isn’t much to separate the two sides on paper. Fernando Torres and Neymar are expected to set the tone for the finale as each sides’ main threat.

Brazil may have the benefit of extra rest as Spain’s encounter with Italy needed extra-time and penalties to secure a winner, whilst the Spaniards will go into the final full of confidence having scored every penalty in the shoot-out.

The final on Sunday will be the fourth major final Spain will play in five years, while a regenerated youthful Brazil side will hope to rekindle its glory under Filipe Scolari.

For the neutral, Spain versus Brazil is the final of dreams, even Spain captain Iker Casillas said: “I think everybody was waiting for this Confederations Cup final to be Spain vs. Brazil”.

The final will be a good insight for the rest of the world as the Confederations Cup has been labeled as the ‘warm-up’ for the FIFA 2014 World Cup Brazil.

Southampton supporters will have little to smile about today as their new home and away kits were released for the 2013-14 season.

The Premier League club, who finished 14th last season, have teamed-up with the famous sports manufacturer adidas, who are sponsors of many kits in English football.

Leaked pictures of the new home and away shirts were discovered on sites days before the official release by the club, with Southampton fans expressing their embarrassment and hopefulness that the leaks were fakes. Although it turned out to be the genuine 2013-14 shirts.

The Saints fans were disappointed last season when the club revealed a new strip (designed by Umbro), which failed to include any of the club’s traditional stripes, a feature that has been apparent in most of their kits throughout the Saints’ history.

Not only have the club released a kit without the traditional stripes again, but they have also raised the prices from last year’s strip. Shirt prices ahead of the 2013-14 campaign have risen to £50, compared to last season’s reasonable £32.

The Southampton players will have to wear non-striped shirts for another season as supporters question the chairman’s respect to the club’s tradition.

Nicola Cortese, the club’s controversial chairman, revealed season ticket holders would receive a 10% discount on the home/away shirt, this was a deal the supporters were happy with – until they realized how expensive the shirts were.

Despite scrapping the stripes, it was revealed last November that Southampton’s 2012-13 kit was the fastest selling ever for the club.

More outrage was expressed when the Southampton fans noticed other football league kits looked almost identical to the new strip. Bristol City’s new 2013-14 home shirt is shown to use the same Adidas template as the Saints’ newly released outfit.

The Saints fans have already started social network campaigns against the new shirt, with tweets directed at the football club reading “#SaveOurStripes”.

The second semi-final is an all-European affair, with reigning world champions Spain taking on Italy, the runners-up at UEFA Euro 2012. This match is also a re-run of last year’s continental final, which ended in victory for Spain.

Italy have vowed to use their imagination in the semi-final against the world and European champions, but Spain were already favorites before the Italy squad had been struck with injury problems.

Italy will be without their top goalscorer of the competition – Mario Balotelli and right-back Ignazio Abate at the Fortaleza’s Estadio Castelao.

Italian media reports suggest the former Florientina manager will deploy a compact 3-5-2 formation, with an all-Juventus back three of Giorgio Chiellini, Leandro Bonucci and Andrea Barzagli.

The system will be an attempt to stop Spain from holding the majority of possession throughout the match, and Spain defender Sergio Ramos remains wary of the Italy threat.

“Italy have a very strong competitive mentality and have always shown that, despite their last result against us.”

Spain have scored the most goals in the FIFA Confederations Cup 2013 with a tally of 15, seven goals more than their opponents despite playing the same amount of games.

Fernando Torres remains top goalscorer in the competition so far, scoring five goals. Spain team-mate David Villa has scored three goals and will be pushing Torres for the golden boot.

For viewers in the United States, Spain against Italy will be televised live on ESPN and WatchESPN today at 2:30pm ET.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s future is again under speculation following reports in Spain suggesting that the Portugal captain will meet Manchester United officials before heading back to pre-season in Madrid.

A Madrid daily newspaper (El Pais) has reported that both teams will deny the meeting, which is supposed to be held within the next few days, as it breaches a FIFA ruling.  Plus El Pais is reporting that Manchester United will offer Ronaldo a signing-on bonus of £42million if he pens the deal.

Recently appointed Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti is unlikely to sanction any deal that allows Ronaldo to leave the Santiago Bernabeu this summer.

Ronaldo has privately been urged to wait 18 months, until the end of his current contract, before making his big move in football.

It is believed that Ronaldo holds a deep affection for his previous club Manchester United and the Red Devils would be the only team he would join in England. This fondness was shown when Ronaldo refused to celebrate after scoring against United during a Champions League match at Old Trafford in March.

Contract negotiations have been put on hold between Ronaldo and Real Madrid, meaning the possibility of the 28-year-old leaving the club is greater than before, although the chance of him staying and seeing out his remaining contract is also a slight expectation.

What do you think? Can you see Ronaldo joining Manchester United this summer, or will he sign a new contract at Real Madrid? Give us your opinion in the comments section below.

Brazil host Uruguay in the first semi-final of the 2013 Confederations Cup today (2:30pm ET on ESPN and WatchESPN), a match which will add a little extra spice to what promises to be an intriguing encounter with a reinvigorated Brazil side, the first meeting between these old rivals since 2009.

The fact there have been no previous encounters between the sides in four years means that many of the players running out at the Mineirao on Wednesday will be facing each other for the first time in their international careers.

The winners of this match will go through to the final to face the winners of the other semi-final, either Spain or Italy.

Uruguay go into the semi-final clash fresh from an 8-0 victory over Tahiti, whilst their opponents have remained unbeaten throughout the tournament, having conceded just two goals.

The two teams are at different stages of their development, with the hosts having a change of personnel in recent times as the emergence of a clutch of players take their first steps onto the international stage, among them Neymar and Oscar.

In contrast, the majority of names in the Uruguay line-up are approaching the twilight of their careers, as Diego Lugano pointed out recently suggesting it could have been the “end for this generation” if the squad failed to qualify for Brazil 2014.

Uruguay striker Abel Hernandez has four goals so far this tournament, leaving him one behind lead goalscorer Fernando Torres, whilst Brazil top goalscorer Neymar has three goals to his tally so far.

Today’s FIFA Confederations Cup semi-final is already labeled one of the world’s biggest rivalries in international football.

Who do you think will win today? Vote in the poll below.

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Chelsea have shown continued interest in signing Edinson Cavani following a reported £49.3m fee has been agreed by the two clubs.

At the same time, there’s conflicting reports regarding whether a deal has been struck or not. Chelsea are reported to be in talks with Napoli regarding the Uruguayan striker. Meanwhile, reports in the press indicate that Cavani has told his mother and father to essentially “shut up” and not talk about his future plans, as both have been featured in the press in the past week pontificating about where the striker is heading.

Cavani has shown his worth this season, scoring 38 goals in all competitions, his most successful of his career to date.

Jose Mourinho has already set the marker since taking charge at Chelsea after signing Andre Schurrle from Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday.

Mourinho already has attacking options with the likes of Fernando Torres, Demba Ba and Romelu Lukaku all in the squad, which will return to pre-season on July 1.

The interest in Cavani will re-ignite transfer rumors of the forwards who are currently at Chelsea, with Torres’ future in doubt as the Spaniard is linked with a move to Barcelona.

Cavani was the Serie A top goalscorer last season and the 26-year-old looks in the prime of his career, a signing which would show real intent by Mourinho as the new Chelsea boss.

The Premier League season just wouldn’t feel right if Wigan Athletic weren’t in a relegation scrap with just two games remaining. Last season, Roberto Martinez’s men turned up the heat towards the final month or so, steering the Latics up to fifteenth to confirm survival once again, but this season is different. Wigan have an FA Cup final on their minds, and with two huge games after the final, Martinez has a dilemma on his hands. Should Wigan concentrate on the FA Cup final in order to try and win a trophy, or should they play a weakened side against Manchester City in the final and concentrate solely on Premier League safety?

After Tuesday’s 3-2 loss at home against Swansea, Wigan still remain in the bottom three, but missed a chance to move up three places in the league if they had held on to a win. The race for survival could be out of Wigan’s reach by this weekend, or it could go down to the final day of the season when Wigan host Aston Villa.

In recent years, we have witnessed big clubs like Wolves, Blackburn and Bolton all struggle after relegation from the Premier League, as they linger above the relegation zone once again in the Championship the following season (Wolves relegated to League One). Wigan have been yo-yoing above the relegation zone since the 2009-10 season, and supporters may fear that relegation this season could prove costly in the clubs stature after seeing former Premier League teams battle financially.

Martinez should concentrate on the club’s remaining Premier League fixtures, as the FA Cup final will be a very tough match due to Manchester City’s lack of title success in the league this campaign. Roberto Mancini, whose future is in doubt at City, will want to add another trophy to the Sky Blue’s cabinet and with nothing to play for in the league, City will field a full-strength side at Wembley against Wigan. Mancini’s side have already taken their foot off the gas in the Premier League following United being crowned Champions. It is evident they already have one eye on the Cup final.

Wigan take on Arsenal at the Emirates three days after the FA Cup final, a game which could be pivotal in the clubs survival hopes come the end of the season. Admittedly, the Arsenal match will not be easy for the Latics, as a Champions League spot will still be up for grabs for Arsene Wenger’s side. However, if Wigan can grab a win going into the penultimate game against Aston Villa on the final day, then survival could be in touching distance.

As much as an FA Cup would delight the supporters of Wigan, I think the Premier League is much more important for the club and Martinez should bare that in mind when fielding his chosen 11 for the Cup final against a strong Manchester City side.

Southampton Football Club are often complimented for their state-of-the-art facilities, including the 32,000 seater St Mary’s stadium, but what ever happened to The Dell, the Saints’ former home between 1898 to 2001?

The mid-1990s was when the people of Southampton knew The Dell wouldn’t be around for much longer, the club chairman at the time, Rupert Lowe, announced plans to move to St Mary’s on the banks of the River Itchen.

The new ground has witnessed some extraordinary sites since being made available for the 2001-02 season, with two relegations, two promotions, and fourteen managers, but things seem to have changed since the takeover of Markus Liebherr in 2009.

Everything is all very well and rosy now with St Mary’s as a UEFA 4-star rated stadium, but what ever happened to The Dell?

The Dell was the first stadium to have permanent floodlighting installed and was the home to Southampton for 103 years, including some of the club’s finest moments – including a 1976 run which ended in a win at Wembley. At the end of the 2000-01 season it was time to say goodbye to The Dell and the fans decided to strip all the seats for memorabilia, there were even some fans taking advertisement boards home with them.

Saints legend Matthew Le Tissier said goodbye to The Dell in style by scoring a last minute volley against Arsenal to win the match 3-2. A week later, the final game had taken place and it was Uwe Rosler who scored the final goal at the ground.

Following The Dell being knocked down, a housing estate was built on the site that used to host some memorable matches, the apartment blocks on the site make up the names of former Southampton players. Le Tissier – The first midfielder to score 100 goals in the Premier League – is one of the players with their names on the apartment blocks, along with Bobby Stokes, Ted Bates, Danny Wallace and Mick Channon.

Then: The Dell; Now: The new housing estate

The Dell had been redeveloped four times over its history and was iconic for the Milton Road Stands‘ wedge-like appearance. Prior to the Hillsborough disaster, The Dell once had a record attendance of over 31,000 people watch a single match, but due to the new obligations, the stadium was eventually restricted to a capacity of 15,200.

With Southampton all but safe in the Premier League for another season, the newly promoted club can now look towards the future and plan ahead for next season’s expectations. Prior to the 3-0 loss against West Bromwich Albion, there were talks about possible qualification for Europe through the Fair Play league, but the two red cards shown to Danny Fox and Gaston Ramirez shattered those prospects. Therefore, it begs the question, what does Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino have to do this summer to take Southampton to the next level?

During this campaign, we have witnessed the Saints grow and mature from strength to strength during their first season back in the top flight, with the arrival of Pochettino injecting an extra spark into the side who have kept outside of the drop zone since the turn of the new year. Despite the all-but guaranteed survival, Southampton fans will hope for some new additions to the squad over the summer, to eliminate any chance of being involved in another relegation battle next term.

But Pochettino has already set his sights on a top four finish next season as he revealed at a recent pre-match press conference. The 41-year-old told reporters: “In the next two years I want to be back in the Champions League with Southampton and I believe it’s not unreal.”

All supporters love to see confidence in their manager, but Pochettino may be looking a step too far when talking about a top four finish. Admittedly, Southampton have played some beautiful soccer this season and have beaten some of the best teams in England, but do the Saints really have similar quality and depth like Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham, who have filled the top five spots this season?

First on the ‘to do’ list for Pochettino will be sacrificing the players who have been out on loan and unused substitutes for most of the season. Players like Billy Sharp, Dean Hammond, Danny Butterfield, Lee Barnard, Jonathan Forte, Danny Seaborne, Steve De Ridder and Tommy Forecast have all played the majority of the season away from St Mary’s.

The back four have improved dramatically since the beginning of the season, but Pochettino will still need to strengthen this area of the team particularly. Too many goals have been leaked with the current defenders and despite the arrival of Vegard Forren – who arrived at the same time as Pochettino, he is yet to make an appearance for the club.

Southampton are well-known for having an astonishing youth set-up at the club, with previous graduates going on to respectively bigger clubs (Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain etc.) and the tradition continues with young left-back Luke Shaw, who has developed into a first team regular since making his full Premier League début in November. Shaw has now played over 20 times for the side since breaking into the team and looks to have cemented the left-back position for the future.

However, experience is key in the top flight and if they are to be taken to the next level by Pochettino, the Argentine must spend wisely in the summer and bring in prime, experienced players in order for the Saints to develop as an established Premier League outfit. The system of football that Pochettino has the side playing is effective. And there is no doubt that the ambition is instilled with the players, manager and chairman, and the bank balance at Southampton is far from empty, so I believe all Pochettino must do now is build a strong enough team to challenge for an improved final position next season.

Philippe Coutinho has taken to English soccer like a duck to water, having immediately adapted into Liverpool’s playing style. The Brazilian signed for the Reds in January for a reported £8.5m fee and has already shown his worth in a Liverpool shirt as the 2012-13 season draws to a close.

There was a great expectation when Coutinho arrived at Anfield and he has excelled brilliantly since stepping onto the pitch. The attacking midfielder scored on his full début during a 5-0 victory over Swansea, before setting up the sides’ first and second goals in the 4-0 win over Wigan in March.

Coutinho has added an extra dimension to Liverpool’s game since joining, giving them an extra attacking option with an abundance of creativity. His fast, direct play adds flair in the midfield and he can also play as a second striker on the flanks. It’s evident that Coutinho’s arrival has helped create more goals in the side as Liverpool have won by some unusual margins since February. With Coutinho, Liverpool have beaten Swansea 5-0, Wigan 4-0 and Newcastle 6-0. Encouragingly, the Reds have only lost twice in the Premier League with Coutinho in the squad.

Coutinho has been compared to Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho by Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino, who the 20-year-old played for at Espanyol.

Some critics may say that Coutinho has only scored twice since coming to England, but he has five assists to his name already and has created a number of chances for his colleagues, including the sensational through-ball to Daniel Sturridge during the 6-0 win over Newcastle.

There was a sense of expectation on the youthful promise in Jonjo Shelvey, Raheem Sterling, Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson as the transfer failings of the summer gave Brendan Rodgers little choice in attacking players in August. However, at £8.5m, Coutinho looks set to be one of the signings of the season in the Premier League at just 20 years of age. The Brazilian has been showing Liverpool what they have been missing in the first six months of the season. Admittedly, Sturridge has also added a positive dimension to the Reds’ strike force, but Coutinho has been the star of the show so far during the second-half of the campaign.

The short-figured playmaker may not have the most of towering physiques in the Premier League, but he certainly makes up for it in ability and skill as he has fitted into Rodger’s team securely. It will be a tough task to keep hold of Suarez during the summer with all the media speculation surrounding him, but Rodger’s may look to build his side for next year around Liverpool’s new number 10, Philippe Coutinho.

If you’re an owner of an Apple iPad and you’ve been searching for great soccer apps to check out, here are five of my favorites:

Score!

Score! is one of the best soccer apps out there with a wide range of memorable goals to reenact on your iPad. From the 1980’s to the Euros, or even goals from legends, Score! gives you the option to score some of the most iconic goals in world soccer history. This app even has commentary on the goals you score, which always tends to add excitement. Free.

Flick Kick

Flick Kick is a fantastic app for any competitive soccer-lovers. With an option to play online as well as single player, you can curl in some of the best freekicks possible. The aim is in the name — to flick the ball on the screen round the wall and into the goal. There are a wide range of game modes in single player mode, such as arcade, bullseye, skillshot or, for those of who like to challenge themselves, time attack. Whilst you face the goal, it’s your decision whether you want to bend it over the wall, try and drill it in, or even fool the goalkeeper with curl. Flick Kick is $1.99.

New Star Soccer

We’ve all dreamed about being a professional footballer, having your own flash car, huge mansion and playing for the top team. The New Star Soccer app is your chance to live that dream. Buy your own car, apartment and even iPhone or games consoles with your earnings. Score the chances that come to you as your teammates set you up, and you can return the favour. Set your popularity with the boss, the team, the fans and even your own girlfriend. If you’re feeling lucky, then why not take a trip to the casino and play blackjack or roulette. This app keeps you entertained for hours as you are living the life of a footballer. Free.

The Football App

The Football App allows you to check fixtures, results, news and latests scores. Free to download, the app is up-to-date with all the latest news and matches. It even allows you to check scores in leagues all around the world. If your team are in a sticky situation or can’t stop winning, you can check the live league tables to find out what position they are in whilst you read the live match reports that update every two minutes. It’s a great app to keep up with the latest soccer news. Free.

Fantasy Premier League

If you’re addicted to the Premier League’s free fantasy game, then download the Fantasy Premier League app. It’s not free, but this app gives you excitement throughout the whole season as the team picked by you earn or lose points each game week by playing in the Premier League. Check what players are in form and what player need dropping from your squad. The app has over 2.5 million players competing for various prizes. Fantasy Premier League is $0.99.

Are there any soccer iPad apps that we’re missing that you recommend? Share them in the comments section below.

In recent years, the Premier League has witnessed some of the harshest managerial sackings in soccer. The majority of dismissals in recent years have been at the expense of a manager who has just gained promotion with his side to the Premier League. Managers have been sacked (some unfairly) for their work in the top flight, whilst others have been replaced for reasons that are still unknown today. It begs the question whether managers who steer their team from the Championship up to the Premier League should be sacked immediately in order to prevent the disruption halfway through the following season when the team is struggling.

With Cardiff City’s promotion to the Premier League now confirmed, it is clear that Malky Mackay has done a fantastic job at the club. Although, it would make sense to replace him for a more experiened manager, someone who is ready for the Premier League with experience and previous occurrence of keeping teams in the top flight. Recently, Nigel Adkins was sacked midway through their first season back in the Premier League. Adkins was within the favorites to be sacked as soon as the 2012-13 season kicked off, as any inexperience top-flight manager would be. In a similar situation at the same sort of time, Brian McDermott was sacked from Reading despite leading them to promotion the previous season. It would prevent disruption within the squad and constant media exaggeration if the unproven manager would be sacked before his attempt to retain Premier League status the following campaign. In the summer, the soccer club could replace the manager and allow time for the squad to be regrouped and prepared for their season in the ‘big time’.

We witnessed Queens Park Rangers sack Neil Warnock in 2012 due to their ‘dangerous league position due to recent form’ according to the club’s owner, Tony Fernandes. The dismissal came just halfway through the season in January, meaning Warnock had little time to adapt to the Premier League. During 2011, Warnock’s QPR side topped the Championship table for the majority of the season, the team breezed to promotion and Warnock fully deserved a chance in the top flight.

However, it could be suggested that Warnock was out of his depth as a manager in the Premier League and should have been sacked as QPR were promoted. Some would say Tony Fernandes should have said thank you very much to Warnock and then replaced him with a more experienced manager, ready for the Premier League.

Roberto Di Matteo was another unfortunate manager to lead a club into the Premier League and face the sack midway through his first season in the top flight. Matteo was replaced by England manager Roy Hodgson at West Brom in 2011, despite leading the club to glory, but Matteo has gone on to bigger and better things – likewise West Brom, who are now considered a top half side in the Premier League.

As much as the suggestion of replacing the manager for a more experienced one would be welcomed in soccer, we must also remember that some managers are able to keep their newly promoted sides in the Premier League. Sam Allardyce has done a fantastic job at West Ham United since being promoted with the Hammers, but Allardyce has previous Premier League experience.

Most of us would love to see Jose Mourinho back in the Premier League again, as well as an assortment of other dream gaffers such as Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp, but here are five more realistic up-and-coming managers from the Football League who I’d love to see coaching in the Premier League.

1. Dougie Freedman

Dougie Freedman has very little managerial experience, but he has certainly learnt a lot since going into management. Freedman, once a Scotland international, was the assistant manager at Crystal Palace from 2010 and was eventually given the caretaker manager role after George Burley was sacked on New Years Day 2011. Many expected Freedman to take over as caretaker manager temporarily until the Palace board appointed a more experienced manager, but he was given the role on a full-time basis with a two and a half year contract. At the time of his appointment, Crystal Palace were in the relegation zone fighting against the drop towards League One. However, Freedman managed to guide the team to safety with just a game to spare. The successful start to management continued as Palace started the following season well, occupying a play-off place at the end of October and enjoying a good run in the Football League Cup, where they knocked out Manchester United at Old Trafford. Freedman’s side finished the season in 17th place but made another strong start to the season after.

However, it was announced that Freedman joined Bolton Wanderers in October 2012, despite his new side being 16th in the Championship (12 places below Crystal Palace). The move seemed to have paid off for the young manager though, as he remained unbeaten during his first full month in charge, something the club had not achieved for two years. Freedman had eventually led Bolton from 20th to 6th place in the Championship, a real achievement by any manager in the business. Despite the lack of experience, Freedman has taken like a duck to water in his first few seasons in management and deserves a chance in the Premier League with Bolton if he manages to gain promotion this season.

2. Nigel Pearson

Despite saving Carlisle from relegation on the final day of the 1998-99 season, Nigel Pearson’s managerial career never really took off until he took the reign at Southampton. Pearson had previous spells at West Brom, England Under-21s and Newcastle United as caretaker manager, but failed to make an impact. Pearson took charge at Southampton when the club were in real financial trouble, they were on the brink of relegation to League One, but on the final day of the season Pearson guided the side to a 3-2 win over Sheffield United despite being 1-0 down. Pearson had become a fan-favourite on the South Coast, but as he was only on a rolling contract Pearson moved on to Leicester City, who were also in League One at the time.

Pearson began his stint at Leicester City incredibly well securing a couple of Manager of the Month awards and taking the team through a 23 match unbeaten run. In April 2009, Pearson’s Leicester side had been confirmed as League One Champions, with the club eventually racking up their highest ever points tally of 96 points as they lost just four of their 46 league games.

Chris Powell then joined the coaching staff alongside Pearson as Leicester continued their surge under the manager, completing a full calender year undefeated. Another Manager of the Month award later and after remaining in the play-off positions for most of the season, Pearson had guided Leicester to the play-offs. The suddenly-successful manager had a fantastic chance to gain back-to-back promotions but his side lost on penalties to Cardiff City.

It was well documented that Pearson’s relationship with the chairman wasn’t the best, and despite the success made at Leicester, Pearson was almost forced out of the club as Paulo Sousa was lined up before Pearson left the club to join Hull City.

Despite Hull City’s financial problems at the time, Pearson managed to guide the side up to 11th in the Championship. The beginning of the 2011-12 season started well again for the manager, but it was clear that Pearson had his eye on the vacant manager role at Leicester City now that the owners had left the club.

During Pearson’s second stint at Leicester, Pearson has managed the side up to a challenging position for promotion to the Premier League, something that he fully deserves following his success at the club.

3. Gus Poyet

Gus Poyet’s first real breakthrough into management came after he left Tottenham Hotspur as assistant manager in 2008, the Uruguayan joined Brighton & Hove Albion a year later and kept the club in League One. After signing a new four-year contract, Poyet started the following season brilliantly and guided Brighton to the top of League One. He eventually steered Brighton 13 points clear at the top after eight straight league victories and then clinched the title in April 2011. Poyet was voted LMA League One Manager of the Year for his achievements in the 2010-11 season – his first full season as a soccer manager.

Things were only getting better for Poyet the following season as he made an impressive start in the Championship, winning the August Manager of the Month award and earning an improved five-year contract. In March 2012, Poyet won the Outstanding Managerial Achievement Award at the Footbal League Awards. He has since guided Brighton up to the play-off positions in the Championship, making them a forceful threat for promotion contenders. Poyet has experience of the Premier League from his assistant manager days, but deserves a shot at the top flight with his own team at Brighton.

4. Chris Powell

Sven-Goran Eriksson tipped Chris Powell to be a “very good manager in the future” in 2010 and that quote looks to be true as Powell already has a league title to his name, along with a Manager of the Year award. When Powell took over at Charlton with a three-year contract, the side were languishing in League One, they are now challenging for an outside chance of promotion through the play-offs in the Championship. Charlton are a relatively big club with respect, but the accomplishment Chris Powell has made is something to admire for any young manager. Powell may be in his early days of management but he has already proved he has what it takes to compete at the highest level and it wouldn’t be a surprise to many if he is managing in the Premier League soon.

5. Eddie Howe

Eddie Howe began his Bournemouth managerial career in 2009 as he was hired permanently following his youth manager role. Howe brought the club out of the relegation zone despite the Cherries having a 17 point deficit. The following season started fantastically for Howe, as Bournemouth won eight out of nine league games – a club record. Due to his success, Championship club Peterborough approached him to replace Darren Ferguson as their manager but Howe rejected.

Despite the club’s transfer embargo remaining in place for the rest of the season, Howe guided Bournemouth to promotion to League One. He was then approached by several clubs but announced he was staying at Bournemouth in January 2011. However, days later, Howe became the new Burnley manager.

Howe seemed to find it difficult at Burnley and said due to some of the players being older than him, he found the job “interesting”. Howe rejoined former club Bournemouth after winning 34 out of his 87 games in charge at Burnley. On his return, Howe managed to pick up the League One Manager of the Month Award after being unbeaten on his return.

The 35-year-old has had a successful second stint back at Bournemouth and looks set to gain promotion with the club into the Championship. A second promotion with the club will be a massive achievement and Howe deserves another move to a big club. A successful season in the Championship could be all he needs to make it into the top flight of English soccer.

Rickie Lambert has scored in all four of England’s top divisions, including 13 goals this season in the Premier League. The Scouser is currently the top English goalscorer in the top flight, and thus is deserving of a call-up to the England national team.

Remarkably, Lambert is ahead of Wayne Rooney, Daniel Sturridge, Danny Welbeck and Jermain Defoe in the Premier League goalscoring chart. Despite Roy Hodgson already naming his World Cup qualifying squad for England’s important upcoming games against San Marino and Montenegro, it’s a shame that Lambert wasn’t handed an opportunity to be in the squad and compete for his first England appearance.

England manager Roy Hodgson was at Lambert’s most recent match when Southampton played Liverpool at St Mary’s Stadium last Saturday. The Saints talisman scored a freekick in the 3-1 win that helped Southampton climb four points away from the relegation zone. Lambert is a Liverpool fan and revealed after the game that he ‘had to remain professional’ after scoring against his favoured club.

Southampton footballers are no strangers to recent England call ups. Hodgson called-up Lambert’s teammate Adam Lallana last September for a World Cup qualifier but the midfielder didn’t feature in the match against Ukraine.

Lambert also scored his 100th goal for Southampton this season, which is an impressive landmark for any player, especially for Lambert who helped the Saints gain back-to-back promotions to the Premier League.

Considering the England team’s poor record with penalties over the years, an added bonus for Lambert being called up would be his penalty-taking prowess. The striker has scored 31 out of 31 penalties for Southampton, which is almost as good as former Saints legend Matthew Le Tissier, who converted 47 out of 48 whilst at the club.

Lambert is no stranger to playing at Wembley either. He scored for Southampton in the Johnstone Paint Trophy final. Plus he played  for Bristol Rovers in the League Two play-off final at England’s national stadium.

When looking at form, there’s no doubt that Lambert should be selected for the England squad and, if he impressed during a future England match, he should possibly considered for the World Cup in 2014. He’s shown enough promise to be given a chance. The only tough question for Hodgson would be who to remove from his England squad to make room for Lambert.