Just for a bit of fun.....
To me the Premier League was in its heyday between 1995-2005: Man Utd and Arsenal were at their best and had a real rivalry, there wasn't a top 6 so everyone else could beat everyone else, football kits had design instead of all this template nonsense, all this money hadn't entered the game yet so transfer fees were still modest, and the league still had a British core, with only real foreign talent in teams. Oh, and Charlton were there too.....
There were also some big teams with history and large fan bases which are no longer in the Premier League. Sure, teams like Bournemouth, Brighton, Huddersfield, Cardiff, Burnley, Palace have all earned their current places in the Premier League, but it's a shame that big teams such as Leeds, Forest, Villa etc. aren't there right now.
With that in mind, what is your ideal 20 team Premier League? You can only choose teams who have been there before (there's 49 to choose from - have a go at this quiz if you fancy it
https://www.sporcle.com/games/g/premierleaguealltime?t=soccer).
Mine:
1. Arsenal
2. Aston Villa
3. Blackburn
4. Bolton
5. Charlton
6. Chelsea
7. Everton
8. Fulham
9. Leeds
10. Leicester
11. Liverpool
12. Man City
13. Man Utd
14. Newcastle
15. Nottingham Forest
16. Sheffield Wednesday
17. Southampton
18. Spurs
19. Sunderland
20. West Ham
Comments
Aston Villa
Blackburn Rovers
Charlton Athletic
Chelsea
Coventry City
Everton
Leeds United
Leicester City
Liverpool
Manchester City
Manchester United
Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest
Sheffield Wednesday
Southampton
Sunderland
Tottenham Hotspur
Wimbledon
West Ham United
Welling
VCD
Thamesmead
Ebbsfleet
Dartford
Bromley
Cray
Maidstone
Dulwich
Dagenham
Leyton Orient
Hornchurch
Grays
Southend
East Thurrock
Canvey Island
Tooting & Mitcham
Tonbridge
(sigh)
Millwall
Mine
Arsenal
Aston Villa
Brighton (and not the Stripey Nigels!)
Burnley
Charlton
Chelsea
Everton
Ipswich
Leeds
Leicester
Liverpool
Man City
Man Utd
Newcastle
Pompey
Sheffield Wednesday
Sunderland
Spurs
West Brom
West Ham
Arsenal
Aston Villa
Blackburn
Charlton
Chelsea
Everton
Fulham or QPR
Leeds
Leicester
Liverpool
Manchester City
Manchester United
Middlesbrough
Newcastle
Sheffield Wednesday
Southampton
Sunderland
Tottenham Hotspur
West Brom
West Ham
Arsenal
Aston Villa
Blackpool - weekender
Bournemouth - see Blackpool
Cardiff City - token welsh
Charlton Athletic
Chelsea
Crystal Palace - south London derbies are fun
Everton
Fulham - it’s nice once a season to not be in a shithole
Leeds United - love em or hate em good day out
Liverpool
Man City
Man United
Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest - hooters
Portsmouth - guaranteed away win
Sheffield United - needs a Sheffield club
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United
Notable absentees;
Wolves, most unwelcoming place for away supporters because you can’t go in any pubs.
Sheffield Wednesday, prefer United.
Brighton, awkward to get to and yawwwnn.
Southampton, meh.
Derby, crap away day.
Leicester, clappers.
Watford, dull.
2. Man Utd
3. Blackburn
4. Arsenal
5. Chelsea
6. Man City
7. Leicester
8. Southampton
9. West Ham
10. Spurs
11. Aston Villa
12. West Brom
13. Nottingham Forest
14. Derby
15. Everton
16. Newcastle
17. Sunderland
18. Leeds
19. Sheffield Wednesday
20. Wolves
2. Manchester United - can't have a Premier League without them
3. Sheffield United - great away day and good fans
4. Bradford City - Local one for me, good club too
5. Sunderland - 1998 replay every year
6. Bournemouth - good club, soft spot for them
7. Leyton Orient - local derby
8. Norwich City - good club, good fans
9. Brighton - so they can take six points off Palace
10. Portsmouth - good club, good fans and an easy three points on the road
11. Blackpool - their fans deserve it. Only if Oyston is out though.
12. Notts County - oldest club in the Football League, so a must
13. Fulham - best London away day? Only if they ditch the neutral section though.
14. Everton - great club, shame they're leaving Goodison, proper football ground
15. West Bromwich Albion - good way day, good fans
16. Preston North End - with their history, they have to be there
17. Yeovil Town - just so I can have a better away day than the infamous drenching
18. West Ham United - just for one year to be relegated
19. Millwall - just for one year to be relegated
20. Crystal Palace - just for one year to be relegated....on zero points
Man Utd
Man City
Liverpool
Everton
Spurs
Leeds
Sheff Wed
Charlton
Forest
Derby
Chelsea
Blackburn
Burnley
Villa
Newcastle
Birmingham
West Brom
Sunderland
Wolves
Chelsea
Man U
Liverpool
Spurs
Man City
________________________ Have to have the big 6
Charlton
Newcastle
Sunderland
Leeds
Sheffield U
Birmingham (over Villa)
Norwich
Cardiff
Portsmouth
Blackburn
Notts Forest
Bradford
Fulham
Everton
A good mix there, not too bothered about london derbies as we dont really do that well. Also hatred for Millwall and Palace far override anything unless we had guranteed 6 points every season.
Edit- I would probably lose a few of the top 6 but dont think it would feel right in the grand scheme of things.
Good away days:
2. Fulham
3. Portsmouth
4. Blackpool (and crap owner solidarity)
5. Newcastle
6. Brighton
7. Bournemouth
8. Villa (good balti pies)
Reasonably likeable fans:
9. Everton
10. Sunderland
11. West Brom (and my Grandpa was a fan)
12. Norwich
13. Spurs (just find they have more likeable fans than Chelsea or Arsenal)
14. Leicester
15. Sheffield United
16. Manchester City
'It wouldn't feel right without'/feels special beating:
17. Manchester United
18. Arsenal
19. Liverpool I suppose, though was tempted to say f**k them.
20. Leeds, I work up there a lot and so would be interesting.
Feels fine without Chelsea.
And that’s not the fault of those clubs, but down to the fact that the Premier League is so lop sided that it feels as though the majority of matches have very few footballing stakes.
Charlton (obvs)
Arsenal (my late dad's team)
Newcastle (good away day)
Wigan (used to live near there)
Sheffield United (used to live near there)
Bolton Wanderers (used to live near there)
Swansea (debating whether to have a Welsh team but they're better than Cardiff and their players always did me good in fantasy football!)
Brighton & Hove Albion (gotta have a South Coast trip and fellow Palace haters)
Leicester (just deserve a place on the basis they won the league against all odds)
Everton (the team actual Scousers support, not morons from Surrey)
Bristol City (away day)
Reading (not too far away)
Maidstone (local team)
Bromley (local team)
Hartlepool (great nickname, great fans, deserve a break)
Palace & Millwall (just for the derbies more than anything)
Watford (close by)
Plymouth (need a team down that way)
Colchester (Essex team needed I guess?)
Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham - I just don't care. The game needs less money in it so I pruned some of the big money teams to give others a chance.
West Ham - might have been included if they hadn't nicked a stadium from the taxpayers. Boycott.
Otherwise I've lived in several places across the North and have had good days/nights out in certain places.
Footballing reasons didn't really come into it, considering this is a hypothetical top 20, assuming that all the teams play a vaguely similar standard of football (except Palace and Millwall who are still shit).
Millwall first team to be relegated following heavy defeat at The Valley. Palace to be relegated on goal difference following heavy defeat at Charlton on last day of the season.
If we can get back up to the Championship and stay competitive that'll do moi.