Jackson Schmidtke writes about the English Premier League, U.S. Men's National Team and anything else futbol-related we tell him to write about. Follow him on Twitter.
Two weeks of Premier League play is in the books. I finally got to watch my first full match of the season on Monday with Manchester United taking on Chelsea. A busy August has regulated me to watch 'Match of the Day' highlights along with bits and pieces of other games in the past couple of weeks. It was a hard fought game and both teams should be happy with the draw.
So with two weeks of play done what do we know about this season? Really the answer is not much. But here are three things I have noticed so far.
1. NBC Sports Network’s coverage is fantastic As a soccer fan I’m still in awe of my ability to access every Premier League game. I might never leave my couch on Saturdays and Sundays this Fall. I can wake up early and watch soccer until the Wisconsin Badgers game comes on and then watch whatever college football games are on later in the day. Same thing goes for Sundays too. So much football/futbol and so little time to watch it all! NBC ‘s coverage should help grow the game and the Premier League in the United States and I’m very excited for the rest of the season knowing I will be able to have all sorts of access that I have not had prior to the NBC takeover.
2. The Transfer window is wackyI love the transfer system and hate it at the same time. It is really cool that teams own a players rights and can loan them out to other teams, but the constant rumors and sheer amount of players all over the world makes it hard to keep up with what is happening where. The Gareth Bale and Wayne Rooney sagas are seemingly wrapped up and done while still being completely wide open at the same time. The excitement that a rumor can spark in a fan base is amazing and when that player actually signs it is cool to see fans get giddy with excitement. Everyone expects the big boys of Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal to throw around money like it’s from Monopoly but it is been really refreshing to see teams like West Ham, Southampton, and Sunderland shell out money on bigger deals. With just under a week left in the window, it will be interesting to see what happens with the sagas mentioned above and any new drama that might arise.
3. No one knows what will happenIt’s been an intriguing two weeks and not very many assumptions can be made so far. It is probably safe to say that Chelsea, Manchester United, Spurs, Manchester City, and Arsenal are all going to finish on top of the league. After that it’s wide open. Arsenal looked poor against Aston Villa but stepped it up after that. Spurs, Chelsea, and Manchester United have all looked very good. Manchester City were shocked by Cardiff City last week in a game that could be pivotal later in the season when the race for the title and relegation battles begin.
It has been a very exciting season so far and we are only two weeks in. As things continue to shake out during the transfer window it is tough to make any predications or assumptions about teams. Give it a few more weeks and things will become a little clearer.
-Jackson
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