Eagles as West Bromwich Albion? This “Pick Your Team” Thing Goes the Other Way, Too

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Screen shot from The Guardian.

The Union are on a bye week. Their playoff hopes, which seemed so promising less than a month ago, are now gasping for air in the deepest portion of the Delaware River.

The only thing positive that came out of Saturday night's 1-0 loss to Houston was my nearly 2-year-old son's initiation into Lot A tailgating (he's a big fan of pretzels and breaking into people's cars). Our fearless leader summed up the only real noteworthy play from the game -- a disallowed Union goal that should have counted. So says no less than the head of professional soccer refereeing in America.

The team still seems to be harping on the disallowed goal, which was, admittedly, a major kick to the gut. But they're also ignoring the complete lack of offensive creativity, midfield pressure, or set-piece defending. Whatever the reasons, they need to figure them out over the last five games if they have any intention of making the playoffs. And make no mistake, while this was never a title-contending team, missing a playoff berth would classify as a massive collapse and disappointment.

But we have more than a week until the Union's next must-win game-that-they'll-probably-lose. And with Big Red back in town tonight, I point you toward an interesting article from across the pond.

Remember when I tried to help you pick a Premier League squad back in August? Of course, I wasn't the only one with that idea (I hope you stayed away from last-place Sunderland).

And as it turned out, the idea spread across the pond a few weeks ago, where The Guardian tried to help Brits choose an NFL team to support. First, on the Eagles:

West Brom – Philadelphia Eagles

After Peter Odemwingie (now at Cardiff) returned to the club after his botched deadline day attempt to leave for QPR failed, Baggies team-mate Steven Reid took umbridge and squared up to him in training. Only this week, Eagles' wide receiver Riley Cooper and cornerback Cary Williams were involved in a similar piece of tomfoolery.

First of all, they had to pick the racist guy to use as an example? Really? Although, I have to give them props for use of the word "tomfoolery." I just wished they used one of my favorite British terms -- calling a fight a "row" (pronounced like "cow").

After the first week weeks of the Chip Kelly offense, I stick to my Swansea City comparison -- a team that won't win a title but is a lot of fun to watch.

As for the other comparisons in the article, I agree with the Liverpool/Cowboys note (not sure Ed Snider would approve that spelling of "organization").

Liverpool – Dallas Cowboys

A famous organisation supported all over the world, and the similarities don't stop there. The last time Liverpool won the league title was in 1990 while Dallas' wait for a Super Bowl stretches back to the 1995 season.

Both still possess very expectant supporters, though, despite their shortcomings in recent years.

Finally, the one that makes no real sense: Tottenham and Kansas City. Not only is there no real connection, Andy Reid is far better looking than Spurs' supposed heartthrob manager Andre Villas-Boas.

Screen shot from The Guardian.

>> Which team should I pick? Sportsmail compares the NFL with the Premier League [The Guardian]

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