The Cool Zone

Clubs often oscillate between eras of different vibes. From being the analytical darling to the dumpster fire that gets cheap shots, there’s an era for each club.

Perhaps the most intriguing category is the clubs that find themselves as everyone’s favorites, otherwise known as the cool zone.

After scouting and selling some top prospects, Bournemouth now find themselves firmly in the cool zone. Joining the likes of Brighton and Crystal Palace, they arrive at a spot previously occupied by the likes of Southampton a decade ago.

Clubs in this realm exist to draw neutral fans in. Either ahead of the curve in terms of playstyle or transfer strategy, they represent the fringes of football coming forward. Essentially, the hipsters or nerds’ favorites, these teams become darlings for a few seasons, where dreams of Europe become real.

However, as Southampton proved, clubs in the cool zone have a shelf life. As soon as the missteps start, they cascade over, drowning the club. The sport catches up to them and they can’t keep up, forcing teams back to irrelevance. 

The cool zone is both a blessing and a curse.

A chance to break out and prove one’s worth in a league decided by wealth, but the bottom can, and will, drop out at any second.

As the biggest football league, the Premier League continues to act as a barometer of what is cool in the sport. Its clubs become anointed as a sort of ambassador for the new era of the sport. 

Brighton, out of all the potential candidates, symbolizes the cool zone better than most. Since being promoted with Graham Potter, the Gulls have been the model of any mid-table club. Never really in danger of falling below 12th nor capable of a title run, they exist in the best type of limbo.

While every new manager brings with them a unique style, there still exists that stasis of a core level of competency. However, where they truly win fans over is their scouting.

PHOTO: AFC Bournemouth/Facebook

Essentially playing football manager in real life, Brighton remains the best scouting team in the Premier League. It’s not just a matter of picking the best talents, but uncovering interesting talent pools as well. Their work in South America, especially in Ecuador, proves that it pays off to understand the trajectory of national projects.

These are the hallmarks of a club in the cool zone: existing near the middle of the pack and scouting some of the league’s next stars. Southampton excelled at this in the past, and now it’s Bournemouth’s turn. Their past season elevated them to this position, thanks to their hipster-loving manager and an excellent string of transfers.

Clubs existing in the cool zone also consistently get the benefit of the doubt. Returning to Brighton, despite their inability to rise from the midtable, they are always seen as a plucky, fun team. Even as they get lapped by Forest and Villa, they have one thing those teams don’t, an aura of calm.

Finding themselves fully in the cool zone, these clubs become the next big thing in the sport.

With the spotlight fully on them, they act without the scrutiny of the teams on the fringes of the zone, while receiving all the plaudits.

A cruel mistress, clubs only get the chance to briefly dance with the cool zone. As the end of the dance draws near, these teams’ fortunes in the top flight start to flip.

Burnley, Southampton, and West Ham all saw their time up as the darlings ended with a thud. For some of them, the damage became irreparable. As they vacated the zone, these teams entered hell.

Southampton’s struggles are well documented, as basically years of poor transfers saw them slip down into the footballing abyss. Burnley losing Eddie Howe tore from them the sun around which the club revolved. For West Ham, they typically transition from terrible to decent every other season, with no clear plans in mind.

All these clubs essentially saw their fortunes turn because the rest of the league caught up to them. No more could the cute transfers or tactics propel them to stability.

As soon as you become unable to stay ahead on player transfers, the pipelines dry up. Southampton learned this, as they became unable to build competent squads. Larger clubs caught up to the scouting inefficiencies and regained their monopoly.

Similar for managers, as Eddie Howe showed by only regaining form with a revised system at Newcastle. No manager lasts long with these teams, as they get poached or they’re unable to adequately adapt. When teams are built around the vision of one manager, their fates become intertwined with them, for better or worse.

Teams that enter the cool zone in magnificent fashion exit it in a whimper. A long, drawn-out death made worse knowing that it can never get better.

The cool zone becomes the barometer for teams looking to escape the malaise of the bottom of the table. By becoming the media darlings, Bournemouth are now firmly in the cool zone.

They now face the consequences of the zone, both good and bad.

PHOTO: AFC Bournemouth/Facebook