Time to pick the new Premier League team I will support next season — Letter to Sons

7 min readJun 29, 2025

It is time for my annual special edition blog, where I pick the Premier League team I’ll support next season. Some of you football, aka soccer, fans are thinking, “What is wrong with this guy?” My wife can answer that question. It is a lot. However, this is something I do every year. In this blog, I will explain why I do it, how I do it, and which team I’m supporting next season.

Hardcore football fans, be warned — this may make you mad

Let me start with my usual words of warning. If you are a hardcore football fan, you are not going to like this. I understand your anger if you came from a town, or supported the same team your entire life, and are a hardcore fan. You will not believe that I am going to switch teams. There’s a saying that you can change a lot of things about your life. You can change your address, your job, and even your wife. But you never ever dare change your Premier League team. Well, that’s what I’m about to do. If you’re not a football fan and wonder what a hardcore fan looks like. Recently, some Liverpool fans booed one of their own because he decided he was going to go play for another team. That’s what hardcore fans do.

I am a lifelong football fan

Some of you may think I’m a stupid American Ted Lasso-like character who does not know the game of football. You are incorrect. I love the game of football. It is the sport I watch the most. I played it growing up. My brother also played, and my dad coached. Both my sons played soccer growing up. I love the game, and I respect the game. Switching Premier League teams every year is simply something I do for fun.

Three years ago, we were Tottenham fans

Let’s get into why I do this. Three years ago, I approached my wife with the idea that I wanted to go see a Premier League match. I let her pick the team. I said, “Pick a London team, it’ll be easy to get there.” She picked Tottenham Hotspur. Some of you know how this story goes. Being a Tottenham fan was tough. Yes, we had a blast at the stadium in North London. It is beautiful, but the team, oh my. This conundrum is the genesis of why I decided I needed to switch teams. Blame the Tottenham Hotspurs, not me. I will mention that the Spurs did win a trophy this year. Hats off to them.

Two years ago, I supported Manchester City

Two years ago, I was a Man City fan. Talk about an awesome change. They won the league. Below you see a picture of Riley and me at the game where they raised the trophy. We had a magnificent time. Unfortunately, all good things come to an end. It was a rough season for Man City this year.

It was horrible being a Southampton football fan

This past season, I was a Southampton football fan. I went from supporting a team at the top of the table to the bottom. It was awful. They finished last in the league and are being relegated. They were the second-worst team in Premier League history. It was horrible being a Southampton fan.

We did have fun at Southampton’s stadium

On a more positive note, I will mention that Riley and I had a lot of fun visiting Southampton and watching the team play at St Mary’s Stadium. The other benefit I will mention is that tickets were a lot cheaper to see Southampton than Man City. I wonder why that is?

I am a huge Bayern Munich football fan

Some of you may still be scratching your head, wondering why he does this. There are several reasons. The main one being I’m a huge Bayern Munich fan and don’t really care that much who wins the Premier League. I do worry about how Bayern Munich does year after year because they are the greatest team in the world. They proved it again this season, winning the Bundesliga. I’m so happy that Harry Kane finally got a chance to raise a trophy with a winning team.

What football teams are in the Premier League this season?

Enough of the why I change my Premier League football team each year. Let’s get into how I pick my team. Below you see a list of the 20 teams that will play in the Premier League next season. It includes the three newly promoted teams — Burnley, Leeds United, and Sunderland. Good luck to them. In the last two seasons, the newly promoted teams have all been relegated back to the championship level.

The rules I use to make the selection

Here are the rules I use to make the selection.

No repeats are allowed. Man City and Tottenham are not eligible. Southampton is obviously not available since they were relegated.
The choice has to be completely random.
I will be a fan for the year. That means I’m going to join the fan club, I will buy a jersey, and place a bet that the team wins the Premier League. Most importantly, I will attend a home game.

ChatGPT picks my Premier League football team

I use artificial intelligence via the ChatGPT tool to make the selection. I asked the tool to list all the teams and then remove Manchester City and Tottenham from the list. Below are the 18 left starting at Arsenal all the way down to Wolverhampton. Next, I randomly select a Premier League football team.

My new Premier League football team will be Everton.

I’m happy not to be a Southampton fan anymore. This year it’s Everton.

Everton is a fantastic choice for many reasons

I am super excited about this pick for several reasons. Below are the top five.

Everton is a historic club with a great legacy. They’ve been around for over a hundred years.
The location where Everton plays is Liverpool. I’ve never been there. Kim is a huge Beatles fan, and I’m sure she will be thrilled to go to a game in Liverpool.
They have a new stadium. It’s located on the river. I cannot wait to see a game in this new stadium.
There are American linkages to this football team. Tim Howard and Landon Donovan both played for them and it is owned by an American investor.
There are some famous fans, such as Sir Paul of the Beatles, who is a fan even though he doesn’t talk about it much. Roger Bennett from the Men and Blazers show and podcast is a lifelong Everton fan.

You know who’s not going to be excited about this choice? Several of my friends are diehard Liverpool fans. They hate this team. There is a huge rivalry between the two Liverpool-based teams.

Bonus reason — Wrexham is not that far away

A bonus reason that Everton is a great choice — Wrexham. If you’re like me and you watch the show Welcome to Wrexham, I would love to go see a game. Wrexham is only about an hour away from Liverpool. That would be an amazing trip. Go to Liverpool, watch Everton, and shoot down to Wrexham and catch a game there as well.

My younger son still hates this idea

In case you hate this idea and want to punch me in the face, don’t feel bad. My younger son, Riley, hates this idea as well. He always has since I came up with it. If you notice in the pictures, though, he is willing to travel to watch these games across the UK with me. Riley has a bigger problem. He’s a Leicester City Football Club fan, and they’re going down, relegated again. I have sympathy for poor Jamie Vardy. What a crappy way to finish off his last season at Leicester.

You have probably figured out the real reason why I do this. It is an unbelievably awesome excuse to go to the UK and watch Premier League football games year after year after year. Below you see a picture of Riley and me in London. That’s where we stayed when we went to the Southampton game. We had a blast.