The Corner Poll: Arsenal Leads the Premier League Vibes Rankings
Winning will eventually rule the day, but before the season begins, feelings and vibes are enough to rank all 20 Premier League clubs.
For the last several years, one of my favorite things to write during college football season has been the D Poll, an exercise that began as my own alternative to the traditional rankings that dominate the sport and eventually became something much less serious than that. The premise was never to rank teams based solely on who I thought was best, nor was I particularly interested in creating another version of the AP Poll. Instead, I wanted something that reflected how I actually felt about teams at that particular moment, taking into account the results on the field alongside the vibes and feelings surrounding everything else.
Now that The Football Corner exists, it only felt right to bring that exercise along for the ride. The D Poll, much like the ancient humanoids in 2001: A Space Odyssey, is evolving. Perhaps some magical monolith from the great beyond has given me the tools to do this. (I wish.)
Anyway, I hope that didn’t fly over too many people’s heads. The D Poll is now becoming The Corner Poll, and instead of being exclusive to college football, versions will appear throughout the season for the Premier League and NFL as well.
The rules are pretty simple. Winning matters, and once we actually have games to judge, it’ll matter more than anything else. But this isn’t a power ranking in the traditional sense, and it’s definitely not supposed to tell you who would beat whom on a neutral field. The Corner Poll is instead meant to be a snapshot of how I feel about these teams right now, and those feelings are allowed to change dramatically from one week to the next.
That distinction is especially important for the inaugural Premier League edition because the season hasn’t even started yet. This is not my predicted final table. Newcastle United sitting at No. 17 doesn’t mean I think Newcastle is going to finish 17th. There’s every chance Newcastle finishes in the top 10, but I don’t like the vibes surrounding the Magpies right now.
It’s really that simple.
My much more extensive Premier League preview will be here soon enough, complete with all the predictions and analysis anyone could possibly want. This isn’t supposed to replace that. For now, these are simply the vibes and feelings rattling around my head as we prepare for another season of Premier League football.
