The following article is written by EPLNFL, a longtime reader of EPL Talk and a resident of Chicago.

Every year now about the end of June many EPL fans in the US and Canada get the news they long to hear, the teams that they often get up before sunrise for on a frigid December morning will be coming to your town to play on a sunny day with topical conditions prevailing.

What a thrill it is to think that the legends of the English game will soon be walking the turf of your local stadium where only the NFL has tread before. You’ll pay almost anything for it, to have the opportunity to say I saw Alex Ferguson in person, I actually got within 20 feet of Roy Keane, or I saw Phil Neville go to the turf in Toyota Park.

Once you appear at the game nothing quite meets your expectation. David Moyes looks older in person then on TV. Sir Alex doesn’t look like a knight, and a nil nil pre-season draw is not worth the price of parking let alone admission. $15.00 for parking at Toyota Park for those who care about that stuff.

The great and well deserved popularity of the EPL worldwide has required English teams to show up at far distant corners of the Earth each summer to show the product in person and make a few extra bucks, yen, you name the currency, on top of the experience of visiting a far off land.

What does the local fan get besides a inflated ticket price and a feeling that the game must be some kind of rip off designed by former big oil executives? In the end, the very thing the EPL does not want to do is accomplished — turning fans off. At least David Moyes and his Everton team had the good manners of letting hardcore Fire fans walk away with a good feeling. The local Chicago soccer blog had more than one person saying if Everton is 5th in the Prem then the Fire must be Champions League material after a 2-0 victory where the Fire controlled the game without the great Mexican star C. Blanco and the former Fulham star Brian McBride.

Yes, I know about the players that Everton did not play, that they have been traveling across America, and are trying to get into shape for the season ahead, but the fact is Everton did not look good while the Fire using anyone who showed up at Toyota Park in a red jersey looked, just okay.

This is not to blame Everton or West Ham or other EPL teams that visit the US (except maybe Man. U. during their last trip to the US) for a lack of effort or concern about the American fan. It’s just that pre-season soccer is an exhibition game and the management and players rightfully treat it as such. When it’s a semi-tropical night in Chicago in July and your season will still be in full swing come next Easter you’re not going to be at full speed. So, the EPL team is bound to disappoint the American fan who just paid big bucks to see a drab and dull exhibition.

So whats the solution to all of this for the American fan? When you total my entire cost for two seats, parking and food, my total was about $150 for the night.

This was not my idea, but the only conclusion is to give us Yanks the real deal. Give us the 39th game here in the US or give us nothing at all, except if we can get it on HD TV, which is better then seeing it in person.

Related posts:

1. Chicago 2-0 Everton: Photos And Match Report
2. FSC Presents FA Cup Final Viewing Parties in New York and Chicago
3. Everton Adds US Tour To Preseason Schedule

EPL Talk reader EPLNFL was at last night’s friendly between Chicago Fire and Everton at Toyota Park. Here’s his mini-report from the game:

“As a Fire fan I had a great time with a 2-0 Chicago victory. As a EPL fan I was disappointed in Everton and the quality of play. They were extremely cautious with the ball during the first half moving the ball more backwards then forward at times. In the second half, they came out more aggressive and tried to break the ball up the middle — with no results however.

Clearly Everton is training and weary from the US Tour, but the Fire was without Blanco and McBride which leaves them with no offense. David Moyes is a favorite of mine and, of course Tim Howard I follow with great interest, but if Everton keeps up this form it’s the bottom half of the table this season!

There were about 250 people in the American supporters group for Everton and an additional group of English fans on the US tour. The American supporters seemed to be a very good group and no trouble was seen by me. The tour group seemed to be on the verge of a beer too many but gave no trouble.”

To view more photographs from the game, visit the EPL Talk photos section.

Thanks to EPLNFL (aka Lou Bruno) for providing the photos and mini-match report. A more detailed match report will be published tomorrow.

Editor’s note: To be fair, this was not Everton’s first team squad. Several players got a run-out for the Toffees including new faces Jose Baxter, Dan Gosling and Jack Rodwell. 

Related posts:

1. Everton Performance Against Chicago Disappoints Diehard EPL Fan
2. Photos from Today’s Everton v Bolton Match
3. Report from Chelsea Press Conference in Chicago