To help SD and others, I decided to compare EPL to Big 12 teams, past, present, and (possibly) future
Yes, I know that the rivalries don't really fit in these analogies, I focused more on which programs are closest to each other.
Manchester City: Oklahoma State. New money abounds and is quickly putting both teams into the top levels of their respective sports. Hardly any history to speak of before they got their cash injection. Everyone wags their fingers at them for ruining their respective sports by buying great teams, but not so secretly hopes that they beat the crap out of Man United/Texas anyway.
Manchester United: Texas They are the Joneses. They have the money, the prestige, and the gigantic fanbase, 10% of which has actually stepped foot in Austin/Manchester. Always perceived to be a force to be reckoned with every year based on money and talent availability alone. Is somewhat unsettled by the rise of Manchester City/Oklahoma State and hates the crap out of the more blue collar Oklahoma/Liverpool fanbase(s).
Arsenal: Notre Dame. Very successful historically, but has underachieved in recent years (especially on Notre Dame's end, Arsenal's troubles aren't nearly as bad). Massive nationwide/worldwide fanbases and will always be relevant barring a major disaster.
Tottenham Hotspur: Missouri. History oscillates between very solid and mediocre/bad, but is a generally strong brand today. Has become extremely competitive as of late and started to crack the upper echelon of their leagues. Fanbase used to getting kicked in the nuts. Future prospects uncertain at best, dim at worst. Despises the crap out of Arsenal/Texas.
Newcastle United: Clemson. A program generally regarded as high-major, but hasn't won anything of substance since before the 1990's. Prone to very strange bouts of management/coaching. Underachieves way more than they should. Each season has a high potential for large amounts of popcorn.
Chelsea: Florida State. A very solid program that is very new money. Waited until the latter part of the 20th century to start amassing titles. Large bandwagon fanbase and an embarrassing wealth of resources, yet sometimes underachieves despite possibly having the most talented team in the nation/world.
Everton: EMAW. Deceptively strong history that nobody outside of the region really knows about (7th most successful club in English history, major success for emaw basketball before 1980's/DOD) to cement them as a solidly above-average program, overachieves every year in recent years while running on a budget that would bring a tear of joy to John Currie's eye. Fans are loyal and can make for a fierce home environment that absolutely nobody in the EPL likes playing in. Note: This analogy works much better for EMAW basketball than football in terms of history, but whatever.
Liverpool (I said Nebraska earlier to fire up sd, but it doesn't quite fit):
Oklahoma. The most successful program in terms of titles since the start of the 20th century. Consistently dominate their league but has stumbled lately, if ever so slightly. Bandwagon is large but more contained to their respective regions than Man U or Chelsea. Racism is off the charts
Fulham: West Virginia. Absolutely no history to speak of, but has recently vaulted to the big leagues in soccer/football. Is quickly gaining prominence and becoming upper-middle-class in their respective sports.
West Brom: Baylor. Both have a serviceable history but hadn't won crap in a LONG time until this year when they finished surprisingly high in the standings.
Swansea: TCU. Seemingly came out of nowhere (Wales, mid-major conferences) and hit the lottery to make it to the big leagues. Fanbase is small but loyal. Generally regarded as a cool underdog story by non-locals.
Norwich: Texas Tech. Quirky local fans, minimal history, and nobody ever really knows what the eff they're doing nor cares unless they come out of nowhere to shock people (like Norwich did in much of the 2nd half of this season/Tech did in 2008).
Sunderland: Texas A&M. Fans are loyal to a fault and are generally disliked by everyone else. Had some decent success early in their history, but hasn't been relevant in top flight competition for a long rough ridin' time.
Stoke City: Louisville. Has generally won eff-all in their history and is generally middling when it comes to big time football/soccer, but occasionally makes noise. Generally has deeper pockets than a number of programs with similar stature due to corporate investments.
Wigan: Iowa State. Absolutely nobody gives a crap except the locals. Can be a major pain in the ass to high-end teams at times.
Aston Villa: Nebraska. Fans are batshit and their history is very strong, but hasn't won anything of note since the late 1990's.
QPR: KU. Won some stuff back in the 1960's that nobody remembers. Largely irrelevant on a national scale. Facilities are low-end.
Bolton: Maryland. Hasn't won anything big since the 1950's, but had a period of relative competence from 2000 to 2010.
Blackburn: Colorado. Came out of nowhere and won a title in the 1990's and has a simultaneously solid yet turbulent history. Have been fighting to maintain even a semblance of relevance in recent years, and have generally failed.
Wolverhampton: Georgia Tech. Has had some surprisingly strong periods in their history, but have struggled to maintain national relevance in the 2000's.
