Welcome to We Are Hooligans, Your No.1 Stop for Everything on the English Premier League

Hello and welcome to Fansided’s newest footballing venture, aptly titled We Are Hooligans.

My name is Sam McPhee and I was the head writer and editor of The FA Daily up until a few days ago when that blog was dissolved into the new network of football sites Fansided is presenting to you.

I’ll give you a little of my background before I move on to what we/I are planning on doing for the site and what to expect.

Before I begin, as Fansided is an American site I want to take this opportunity to set the record straight for all you yanks that may (hopefully are) reading. Soccer as you know it is not the actual name of the sport with the round ball. It’s traditional name is football. Soccer was invented because countries like America, and to an extent Australia, because they have other codes of sport in their country which they either officially or unofficially refer to as football. Here in Australia we have four codes in which people refer to them as football, so I at times find myself drawn into the blasphemous word that is soccer. So for you Americans, Australians and whoever else who hesitate when I say football, that is it’s real name and there will not be a mention of the word soccer on this site from now on, so allow that change in your vocabulary.

As I said my name is Sam McPhee and I am 20 years of age. I live in Sydney, Australia and have played football at a high level since I was 5 years of age. It was the first sport I played as a child and is the most consistent and pivotal sport I still play today. I have had a life long obsession with football and consider myself a true student of the game. Whilst I obviously always do my utmost best to be completely impartial and unbias, I have to admit that I am a deeply passionate gooner and it’s likely that through no real intention that a lot of Arsenal content will find it’s way onto We Are Hooligans. That will not hinder my ability nor my desire to broadcast a fair and equal environment in which all teams, all players and all fans are not only welcome but expected to play as significant role as the next.

Not to toot my own horn, but the name We Are Hooligans was actually a product of my brainstorming, and I feel it is both a light hearted yet completely accurate portrayal of what we are about here and what the English Premier League is about.

When people think of the EPL they think of the most passionate basis of supporters in world football, maybe in all of sport. Their passion to their teams is carried through generations and their undying support for their team is so strong it leads to conflict of words and violence. Whilst that is most certainly a negative, it’s a never-ending image upon which the incomparable love for the game and their team is built upon and what separates them from the rest of the world. What astounds me the most is the influence the fans have on their clubs. If fans do not like a player, a manager or a board member, they make their intentions very clear and do not let up until something changes, whatever that may be. The clubs of England both respect and fear their fans to the point where each and every member of their fan base has a role to play in the running of the club. I love that about the English Premier League.

As the name suggests, we are all hooligans, and as a result I expect nothing but banter. If I say something you disagree with, then disagree with me like a hooligan. There is no other way to go about it. I will not hold back and I do not expect any different from the readers. If you agree with me, great, let me know because it just feeds my ego and we all know they have a never-ending hunger. I will reply to and answer any questions anyone ever has of me, the site or the topics at hand.

The most important thing for me regarding my writing is entertainment. You can and most likely will choose BBC Sport or Soccernet for your lightning fast, up to date news and ‘expert’ (loose term) opinion, and I cannot argue with that. But I try to write differently than anyone else out there. Whether you agree with me or not is not what I am after. As long as people are entertained I can live with whatever love or hate generates from that. If I am failing to do that, then that is where I expect the readers to call me up on it. If you want me to talk about specific things, great, let me know and I will be sure to bring that into the fold whenever I can.

I will be starting a VLOG (video blog over YouTube) and will be posting a video each Monday (or Tuesday when necessary) at the conclusion of each round of Premier League action with my analysis of each game. I do try to watch most games over the course of the weekend, but it is more likely there is more to discuss on the bigger teams. If you are a fan of the smaller teams do not worry, you will never be forgotten and I will do my best to ensure everyone gets a fair go. The VLOG will start next week.

I can’t think of anything else to say at the moment but I am very excited for the commencement of this blog and I mean to follow through with everything I have promised above and much more.

You can contact me over Twitter (mcphee23) or by email (sam_mcfee@hotmail.com) about anything and everything football, this site, Australia or basically anything sport. I also write for the King James Gospel over on Fansided’s NBA network so if you ever want to talk NBA or basically anything with a ball I am certainly your man.

I look forward to working with all of you in the future. Thanks for reading.