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"FacebookPinterest\n\nA new season of the English Premier League starts on Saturday, and this year looks to be another big one for soccer fans on both sides of the Atlantic. The EPL is by far and away the most popular soccer league here in America (sorry, MLS\u2014maybe someday), and the sport as a whole becomes more popular every year. If you\u2019re new to the sport and wondering what all the fuss is about, or how a game that can end in a 0-0 draw could attract so much attention, then check out these 7 reasons why this is the time to finally care about English soccer.\n\n1. It\u2019s Easier to Watch Than Ever\n\n You may have heard it already from Ted Lasso, but EPL matches will no longer involve 6 a.m. pub crawls, thanks to a new deal with NBC Sports. Every EPL match will be streamable on nbcsports.com for free, along with broadcasts across NBC\u2019s TV channels, 154 matches total are scheduled to air for the season. In all, NBC will air 30 hours of original Premier League programming per week, from matches to commentary. We\u2019ve certainly come a long way from watching matches on Spanish TV with the sound turned down. \n\n2. The Battle for the Bottom\n\n Want excitement? Whereas in American sports, the price for finishing last is mostly shame, in the Premier League, the three teams at the bottom of the table when the season finishes get relegated to the next league down\u2014like if the Astros were relegated to triple A. In their place, the top two of the lower league, as well as the winner of a playoff, get promoted. This year Cardiff City, Hull City, and Crystal Palace are the new editions to the Premier League, and they will be fighting hard to avoid going back down. Most of the attention gets focused at the top, but the battle to stay out of the relegation zone can make for some of the most exciting games of the season.\n\n3. Attack of the Strikers!\n\n The EPL is experiencing a golden age in terms of attacking talent, with players like Robin van Persie, Gareth Bale, Luis Su&amp;amp;#xC3;&amp;amp;#xA1;rez, Christian Benteke, and Michu confounding defenses week in and week out. While the question hangs over whether Su&amp;amp;#xC3;&amp;amp;#xA1;rez will move to Arsenal, or whether Bale will move to Real Madrid, there\u2019s still quite a bit of firepower even at the smaller clubs. Cardiff\u2019s Andreas Cornelius will certainly be a player to keep an eye on, as well as Dwight Gayle at Crystal Palace, Gary Hooper at Norwich, and Jozy Altidore at Sunderland. Thanks to the embarrassment of riches in strikers, the EPL will likely continue to be one of the most exciting leagues in the world to watch.\n\n\n\n4. So Long, Sir Alex\n\n Probably the biggest news during the offseason was the retirement of arguably the greatest manager in the history of English soccer, Manchester United\u2019s Alex Ferguson. And there isn\u2019t a lot of middle ground on that: With 13 Premier League titles, two UEFA Champions League titles, and 38 trophies in all, you\u2019re either decidedly for or against him. Ferguson\u2019s exit will quite possibly open a window at the top of the Premier League though for Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, and maybe even Tottenham to jump through\u2014not that his replacement is any slouch. At his previous post, David Moyes guided an underfunded Everton to a respectable finish nearly every season. How he handles one of the richest clubs in the world though will be something to keep an eye on. Certainly the fight at the top could finally be a lot more interesting.\n\n5. The &amp;quot;Special One&amp;quot; is Back\n\n Of the four top teams from last year\u2019s EPL season, three are getting new managers, but for Chelsea F.C., what\u2019s old is new again. Back in 2007, Jos&amp;amp;#xC3;&amp;amp;#xA9; Mourinho, who\u2019d brought two Premier League titles to the club, left amidst reports that he\u2019d had a major falling out with owner Roman Abramovich, and so ended Chelsea\u2019s run at the top\u2014as well as some of the most entertaining press battles ever to grace the English game. Of course, most of his livelier confrontations occurred with former Man U. boss Alex Ferguson, so it will be interesting to see if Mourinho carries on the tradition with his successor. \n\n6. Goaline Technology\n\n In the 2010 World Cup, FIFA was severely embarrassed by its failure to award a clear goal to England in their match against Germany, thanks to some seriously bad refereeing. Since then, goal line technology has become an increasingly hot topic. This year the EPL will be the first league to adopt a new &amp;quot;goal decision system&amp;quot;; the rest of the sporting world, meanwhile, would like to welcome soccer to the 21st century. The so-called Hawk-Eye system is similar to what\u2019s already being used in tennis, except that when the ball goes over the line, the referee\u2019s wristwatch will vibrate to tell him that it was a goal. As Premier League chief ecutive Richard Scudamore told Goal.com, &amp;quot;It will be factually over or it won\u2019t be over, and that will be the end of the debate.&amp;quot;\n\n7. Ars&amp;amp;#xE8;ne Wenger\u2019s Last Stand?\n\n It\u2019s a make or break year for Arsenal F.C. and their long-tenured manager, Ars&amp;amp;#xE8;ne Wenger. Wenger came to the club in 1996 and revolutionized the English game with a focus on nutrition and fitness, and a wide-open, attacking style of play; Arsenal went on to win the league in 1998, 2002, and 2004. But since their undefeated 2004 run, Arsenal has slipped into a nearly decade-long slump without silverware. Cash problems thanks to their expensive new stadium have contributed to a dearth of top-tier players (not to mention a hemorrhage of homegrown talent), but this year was supposed to be different. &amp;quot;This year, we are beginning to see something we have been planning for some time,&amp;quot; club chief ecutive Ivan Gazidis told reporters, &amp;quot;which is the escalation in our financial fire power.&amp;quot; Unfortunately, that has yet to materialize, and with deals for Luis Su&amp;amp;#xC3;&amp;amp;#xA1;rez, Gonzalo Higua&amp;amp;#xC3;&amp;amp;#xAD;n, and Lars Bender all falling through, the Gunners are looking less and less likely to sign a big-name player. And with another trophy-less season, things won\u2019t look good for the legendary French manager."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.gq.com/story/7-reasons-even-soccer-newbies-should-start-watching-the-english-premier-league>