After Sunday’s World Cup Final, many soccer fans will be jonesing for more games to watch before the Premier League season kicks off again on August 14. But thankfully, there are quite a few summer preseason friendlies featuring European teams that you’ll be able to watch on US television.

Here’s the schedule of games thus far (all times Eastern):

• Friday, July 16: Celtic v Man United, ESPN2, 7pm
• Saturday, July 17: San Jose Earthquakes v Tottenham Hotspur, ESPN, 4pm
• Wednesday, July 21: Celtic v Sporting, Fox Soccer Channel and FoxSoccer.tv, 8pm
• Wednesday, July 21: Philadelphia Union v Man United, ESPN2 & ESPN3.com, 7:30pm
• Thursday, July 22: NY Red Bulls v Spurs, New York Football Challenge Tournament, Fox Soccer Channel and FoxSoccer.tv, 8.30pm
• Friday, July 23: Man City v Sporting Lisbon, Fox Soccer Channel and FoxSoccer.tv, 8.30pm,
• Sunday, July 25: New York Football Challenge 3rd place match, Fox Soccer Channel + FoxSoccer.tv, 1pm
• Sunday, July 25: New York Football Challenge Final, Fox Soccer Channel + FoxSoccer.tv, 3:30pm
• Sunday, July 25: Kansas City Wizards v Man United, Fox Soccer Channel, 6pm
• Wednesday, July 28: MLS All-Stars v Man United, ESPN3.com and ESPN2, 8.30pm
• Saturday, August 7: LA Galaxy v Real Madrid, Fox Soccer Channel, 10.30pm
• Sunday, August 8: Community Shield, Chelsea v Man United, Fox Soccer Channel, 10am

The list of summer friendlies is definitely not as many as what we saw two years ago when Setanta Sports seemed to be carrying a ton of preseason games. But times have changed. In the coming days to weeks, I expect to see more games added such as the annual Emirates Cup and other tournaments. GolTV usually shows a few friendlies involving European teams also.

Here’s the complete list of preseason friendlies being played by European teams this summer across the United States. And here’s the list of preseason friendlies being played by Premier League clubs around the world.

Out of the above games, which ones are you looking forward to watching the most? And which ones will you be attending in person?

Manchester City will play Portland Timbers in a friendly in July as part of their US preseason tour.

Starting July 13, City will begin a nine-day training camp at Nike’s headquarters outside Portland, Oregon, prior to leaving for the east coast of their US tour.

“Not only is Nike’s excellence in sport, research and product development world renowned, but in their Portland campus they have some of the finest training facilities in America,” said City manager Roberto Mancini. “It is a real privilege to have been invited there and our whole club will benefit from the experience.”

Manchester City’s game against Portland Timbers is scheduled for July 17th and will be played at Merlo Field on the University of Portland campus. The capacity of the stadium is only 4,892. According an EPL Talk reader, tickets will only be available to Portland Timbers season ticket holders.

In addition to playing a friendly against the Timbers, City will also play Inter Milan, Club America, Sporting Lisbon and Red Bull New York on their US summer tour.

After being overlooked for so many summers, the United States will have several Premier League clubs coming to North America in July. In addition to Manchester United confirming a tour of North America and Tottenham Hotspur playing a couple of friendlies, Manchester City today announced additional tour dates, while Bolton Wanderers today announced a three-game tour of North America.

Manchester City today added a game against Club America to be played in Atlanta. And Steven Goff’s Soccer Insider column is reporting that an announcement will be made Monday that Manchester City will play against Inter Milan in Baltimore. That would be a mouthwatering tie that would feature Roberto Mancini against Jose Mourinho (we hope).

Here are all of the dates to remember for the Man City tour:

• Sporting Lisbon and Red Bull New York v Manchester City, July 22-25, Harrison, NJ
• Club America v Manchester City, July 28, Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA
• Inter Milan v Manchester City, July 31, M&T Stadium, Baltimore (tentative)

Bolton Wanderers manager Owen Coyle, who is no stranger to having his team play friendlies in the States after Burnley came over last summer, will be pitting his team against the following opponents:

• Charlotte Eagles v Bolton, July 14
• Charleston Battery v Bolton, July 17
• Toronto FC v Bolton, July 21

Visit our preseason friendlies page for the complete list of games featuring Premier League teams. And stay tuned to our Premier League TV schedule page to find out which games will be shown on television (when announced).

One of America’s worst kept soccer secrets has finally been confirmed. Manchester United will be touring North America this summer and playing five games across the continent from Canada to the United States and finally to Mexico.

• Celtic v Manchester United, July 16, Rogers Centre, Toronto
• Philadelphia Union v Manchester United, July 21, Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
• Kansas City Wizards v Manchester United, July 25, Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas
• MLS All-Stars v Manchester United, July 28, Reliant Stadium, Houston
• Chivas v Manchester United,  July 30, Guadalajara

“It’s great to be going back to North America,” Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said. “I enjoyed the last two tours there in 2003 and 2004 immensely. The quality of the facilities is outstanding and there is real enthusiasm in the crowds. It’s especially pleasing to be going in a World Cup year, when interest in football will be at its height.”

Manchester United will head to the States on July 12 and will train in Chicago, where their new sponsor – Aon – is based.

Manchester United is one of three Premier League clubs who will be playing pre-season friendlies in the United States this summer. Also heading stateside will be Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City. For a complete schedule of where Premier League clubs will be playing around the world this summer, be sure to bookmark EPL Talk’s Premier League Preseason Schedule.

Manchester United is reportedly scheduled to play a friendly against the Kansas City Wizards on July 25, most probably at Arrowhead Stadium, as part of the Red Devils’ summer tour of the United States.

The news of Manchester United’s friendly in Kansas City comes from a tweet (pictured above) posted on Twitter by a communications intern at the Wizards. And on the same day, a tweet was posted by Wizards president Robb Heineman as well as a note on the BigSoccer message boards where he confirmed the date.

So far, the only confirmed friendly featuring Manchester United is their July 30th game against Chivas in Guadalajara, Mexico. But the Red Devils are strongly linked with friendlies against Celtic (on July 16 or 17 in Toronto, Canada); against the MLS All-Star team (on July 27 in Houston, Texas; and possible friendlies in Chicago, Boston and/or Philadelphia).

Everton announced today that the club will be embarking on a preseason tour to Australia this summer in what will be their first visit since 1987.

The Toffees will play three games down under against A-League sides. Obviously, the tour will be extremely popular for Everton because of the popularity of Aussie and Everton hero Tim Cahill.

Cahill may still be involved in the World Cup when Everton plays its first game down under. Or, if Australia exits the tournament early, Cahill may be ready to play for the Blues.

• Brisbane Roar v Everton, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane; Saturday, July 10
• Melbourne Heart v Everton, Etihad Stadium, Melbourne; Wednesday, July 14
• Sydney FC v Everton, ANZ Stadium, Sydney; Saturday, July 17

For the updated list of Premier League teams on preseason tours this summer, visit EPL Talk’s Preseason Friendlies page which will be updated all summer long courtesy of EPL Talk blogger John Boschini.

Manchester City will be touring the United States this July as part of their pre-season preparation for the 2010-11 Premier League season.

“The summer tour of America is going to be tremendously exciting for Manchester City,” said Manchester City chief executive Gary Cooke. “I am well aware of the support there is for us in America. It’s important for us to take City into new territories, and help spread the word to new and existing Blues fans around the world.”

Manchester City hasn’t released the itinerary of matches they’ll be playing, but it’ll be a number of games played on the East Coast of the United States. As soon as EPL Talk learns what the itinerary is, we’ll share it on this site.

UPDATE: Steven Goff is reporting that Manchester City is likely to play Club America in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome on July 28.

The return of Manchester City to the United States is a huge plus since City has a history of playing in the States from the late 70s to early 80s.

Manchester City is the first Premier League club to officially announce that they’ll be touring the United States this summer. Manchester United has confirmed that they’ll be playing in Mexico against Chivas on July 30 and will presumably play several matches in the United States and one in Canada as part of their plans. One of the games is supposed to be the MLS All-Star Game in late July in Houston. Also, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Newcastle United, Everton and Fulham are also seriously considering playing matches in the States this summer. It’s going to be quite a busy time after the 2010 World Cup!

There is talk that Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur could be playing friendlies in the United States this summer. It’s music to my ears and I’m sure many other soccer fans in America. But while teams in the past such as Chelsea, Everton and others have tried to conquer the States, they all have come up short so far and haven’t maximized the level of success that’s possible.

When you think about it, which Premier League club is America’s team? There are large numbers of Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal fans. And definitely sizable numbers of Tottenham, Chelsea and Leeds United supporters. But no one team has blown the roof off America. All of the above teams have medium to high levels of support, but none of them can claim to be “America’s team.”

The closest you’ll find to “America’s team,” not in the number of supporters but in how loyal their fans are despite being smaller clubs, are Fulham and Everton. But even they haven’t been able to figure out the secret to success in breaking wide open in America.

So, here’s my blueprint for Premier League teams if they want to conquer America:

1. Sign top American talent. There are large numbers of soccer fans in the United States who haven’t picked a Premier League team to follow yet. Or, if they have, their loyalty to that team can easily change if another team became more attractive for particular reasons. For Premier League clubs trying to break through in America, it’s imperative that these clubs have one or more Americans on their team.While Chelsea has had massive crowds come out to their games in the States, they would have been more popular if they had an American in their squad. As an example, remember how much Oguchi Onyewu was cheered when he was substituted on for AC Milan last summer and how loud the crowd was whenever he touched the ball. Also take note of the attention that Everton has achieved because of Landon Donovan’s loan deal at the club. Last but not least, consider how much impact an American has when he achieves something wonderful in England. While not everyone is a Fulham supporter, you only had to browse the message forums and blogs to see what impact Clint Dempsey’s wondergoal against Juventus had on soccer fans in the U.S.A. last week.
2. Play top American talent. It’s one thing to sign American players, but it’s another thing to play them quite often. This definitely is dependent on the American player — to make sure that he deserves to be playing when he’s on form — but it’s also very dependent on a manager who is open to American players. For example, former Fulham manager Lawrie Sanchez seemed reluctant to play Americans who were at Craven Cottage during his short stay there.
3. Play attractive free-flowing soccer. When Wigan Athletic played their first season in the Premier League during 2005-06, they won over large amounts of American fans because of their attacking style of football that continually put opponents on the back foot. The underdog angle was also a big reason why Wigan won over a lot of American fans that season. For the most part, Americans want to see entertaining soccer and lots of goals. Catenaccio is not something most Americans enjoy.
4. Tour the North American cities that will make a difference. Too often in the past, Premier League clubs have toured America but played in the wrong cities. When a club has an opportunity to play 3-4 games, it needs to make sure that it maximizes the impact of playing in those cities. Take Everton, for example. In recent years, they’ve played in North American cities including Salt Lake City (in the horrid Rice-Eccles Stadium), Edmonton and at the Home Depot Center for a low-key friendly in front of 100 spectators. To me, those opportunities were wasted. Although, to be fair, the club is not as big as it is now that Donovan played for them. But whether it’s Everton or any other Premier League club, the cities the club plays in is vital. New York, Los Angeles and Seattle are now must-visits. Chicago and Toronto are included in the next wave.
5. Don’t expect overnight success. Too many Premier League clubs expect overnight success in the United States. It takes hard work and persistence as well as tours over a few summers before a team can unlock the success in this country. Chelsea is going about it the right way by playing in the States every couple of seasons. Manchester United and Liverpool haven’t played here in years but may expect overnight success when it isn’t possible.
6. Hire a US media specialist. Unless you’re Garry Cook and you know how different the US media is, it’s vital that Premier League clubs hire expert PR specialists to make sure the media experience in the States is different than the UK. The US media expects to get more access to players than the UK media. Interviews are crucial and it’s vital that clubs make players available to the media such as radio, local television and the press so they can help sell the game to the general public. If Premier League clubs act like they do in the UK, they’ll have a tough time winning over the media.
7. Keep the United States in your plans all year long. When a tour of the United States is over, Premier League clubs return to England and focus on their season but they often don’t think about the States anymore until the following summer. But for soccer fans in the States, they eat, live and breathe soccer 365 days a year. Even during the season, Premier League clubs need to do a better job at marketing themselves and communicating with their soccer audience in the States (and other countries) by conducting interviews with key media outlets rather than completely ignoring them.

If Premier League clubs are truly committed to becoming popular in the United States, they need to focus on these seven easy steps and I’m confident it will happen. The struggle thus far has been that teams have only done some but not all of the steps.

Manchester City has taken it one step further by having talks with MLS commissioner Don Garber regarding starting its own MLS franchise in America. I honestly don’t think that’s the solution to being successful in the States since EPL clubs are on television more often than MLS ones are. But if you have a ton of money to spend, it can’t do any harm.

Most of us would agree that it appears very likely that Stan Kroenke may be the new owner of Arsenal Football Club in the near future. The American billionaire has been slowly purchasing shares for more than a year now and is on the verge of having the magic 30 per cent number that will require him to make a formal takeover bid.

Whether Kroenke becomes the new owner sooner or later, it would behoove Arsene Wenger to begin developing a close and amicable relationship with Kroenke especially if the American will soon be his boss. But Wenger is already throwing his toys out of the pram over the sensitive topic of Arsenal Football Club and the desire of Kroenke and Arsenal Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis to send the team on a lucrative preseason tour to the United States next summer.

Wenger is not a fan of having his routine broken. Each summer he takes his team to Austria for preseason training and then often plays in a couple of tournaments typically in Holland and London. He’s been doing this for several years and doesn’t fly his team halfway across the world. Chelsea typically tour the United States or Asia. Manchester United typically travel to Asia and Africa. Liverpool often travel to the Far East, while many other Premier League clubs also go overseas.

When Wenger was asked about a possible US tour next summer, he replied:

“No – it doesn’t prepare the players properly, it’s not possible to take players who are just back from World Cups or European Championships, and the Champions League qualifiers might be vital to the season.”

It’s a logical answer from a smart man, but the reality is that the other top Premier League clubs will be sending their teams on lucrative preseason tours around the world, so it’s not as if Arsenal would be disadvantaged. And if Arsenal finish in the top two, they don’t need to play Champions League qualifying games. How about that for an incentive to do well this season, Mr. Wenger?

Plus the United States is not on the other side of the world. Arsenal has flown to Moscow before to play in the Champions League against CSKA Moscow. A non-stop flight from London to Moscow is approximately four hours. A non-stop flight from London to New York is eight hours.

During Barcelona’s 12-day tour of the United States this past summer, the Spanish club generated $8.5 million. Sorry Arsenal fans, but Arsene Wenger would be a fool to pass up on this kind of money especially during a time where that money could help pay for a new striker or defensive midfielder.

Money aside, Arsenal’s tour of the United States would go a long way to help develop the brand of the club in the United States where the club has a huge following, which would only be made bigger by the club playing a few games Stateside. Plus, even after a World Cup, the club would still have plenty of time to play a 12-day tour in the United States before the 2010-2011 Premier League season begins on August 14.

Photo credit: Arsenal Station.

The likelihood that Everton will tour the United States this summer for preseason friendlies is slim. That’s because the club are in negotiations to visit Australia and New Zealand, according to an online Kiwi newspaper.

Everton are in talks with Phoenix, a club team in Wellington, New Zealand to play a match at their Westpac stadium in July, 2009. The Merseyside club has already agreed to play Perth Glory from Australia, although that match is contingent on Everton being able to playing at least one other team down under.

Everton are reportedly also in discussions to play teams from Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast. If the deal to go down under goes through, the Australian and New Zealand clubs will share the cost Everton’s travel expenses.

Wellington Phoenix chief executive Tony Pignata also revealed he was speaking to Fulham about a possible pre-season fixture.

Everton has visited the United States for preseason tours four times in the past five years, so it’ll be a shame if the Goodison Park club decides to go down under.

While the Premier League is in full swing, the clubs are busy behind the scenes organizing their preseason friendlies. Manchester United will be touring South Korea, China, Indonesia and Malaysia, while Chelsea will be traveling to the United States for a friendly against Seattle on July 18. Arsenal, meanwhile, have been discussing the possibility of playing the Peace Cup tournament in Spain which begins in late July. For the complete list of matches featuring Premier League teams, visit EPL Talk’s preseason friendlies page.