billsportsmaps.com

Thanks to the contributors to the 2008-2009 FA Cup page at Wikipedia, {click here}.   Thanks to Tony’s English Football Site {click here}.   Thanks to Historical Football Kits {click here},  for the kits in the club profile boxes.
Thanks to the FootyMad.net sites, for their invaluable Cup History sections on each club {click here (set to Everton FC Cup History)}.

To best view the Cup Ties/Club Profiles chart to the the left of the main map,  1. click on the above image,   2. click on the upper left-hand side to maginify (ie, at Arsenal v. Cardiff City),  3. then magnify the screen 4 or 5 times (via pressing “Shift” key and “+/=” key simultaneously).   That makes the type in each club’s profile box more readable without squinting.  Then you can scroll down to see all the match-ups. [One note:  I listed seasons spent in the 2nd Level for those Premier League clubs that have no major titles (Fulham and Middlesbrough).]

Thanks to the Historical Football Kits site,  for the kits  {Click here}.

FA site,  at the FA Cup page,  {Click here}.

BBC/ FA Cup,  {Click here}.

 


Fa Cup headlines: {Click here (FA site) }.

FA Cup fixtures and results  {Click here (BBC/ FA Cup) }.

The FA Cup is officially known as The Football Association Challenge Cup.  It is the oldest football competition in the world.  The 2008-2009 FA cup is the 128th edition.  Cup-holders are Portsmouth FC,  from the south coast of England,  in Hampshire. 

The competition begins it’s Fourth Round Proper on the weekend of 23rd through 25th January, 2009.   

Of the 32 clubs still alive in the 2008-2009 FA Cup,  there are 15 Premier League clubs,  13 League Championship clubs (the 2nd Level),  2 League One clubs (the 3rd Level), z ero League Two clubs (the 4th Level),  and 2 Conference clubs (Non-League, and the 5th Level).   The clubs involved have current average attendances (from league matches) ranging from 75,268 (Manchester United) to 1,814 (Kettering Town). 

Torquay United FC and Kettering Town FC are the two survivors from the record 8 Non-League clubs which made it to the FA Cup Third Round.  I decided to do a gallery of Torquay,  because their’s was the biggest “giant” killing of the 3rd round,  made a little less big because the club the Gulls beat,  Blackpool FC,  are sort punching above their weight.  Blackpool are holding steady in the 2nd Level, for the second straight season,  but can’t even draw over 10,000 if they wanted to…they basically are stuck (for the moment, they hope) playing in half a stadium at the partially refurbished Bloomfield Road.  Nevertheless,  the difference in league placing between Blackpool and Torquay is currently 60 places,  so I don’t care if the two clubs’ crowds are only about 5,700 per game apart…5th Level Torquay beating 2nd Level Blackpool is still a big upset.

To see Torquay United Gallery, including kit history (all kit illustrations copyright: Historical Football Kits site) click on the following title…torquay-united_plainmoor_gallery_with-kit-history.gif

Historical Football Kits site {Click here}.

Kettering Town had the fortune of drawing,  then beating,  the smallest minnows in the draw,  7th Level club Eastwood Town.  Both Kettering and Torquay are in the Conference,  having come to the fifth Level from opposite ends.  Torquay spent for talent last summer,  hoping to get back to League status  {see this (FA site: Lee’s delight at Cup win, 3rd Jan.) }.  So the club should feel very good about the financial gains of an extended Cup run,  they earned it. 

Northamptonshire’s Kettering Town won promotion from the Conference-North to the Conference for the first time in 5 years.  Kettering Town were the first club in England to have a sponsor’s ad on their jerseys,  in January 1976  (it was an ad for Kettering Tyres,  and it was banned,  so they made the writing say “Kettering T”,  but the FA weren’t having it.  3 years later,  Liverpool became the first top-flight club to succumb to advertising on their kit).  Now Kettering Town have taken their current 15 minutes of fame to do a sort of karmic payback on the whole Pandora’s Box of kit advertisements that they opened…{see this  (Guardian.co.uk site: Kettering chairman supports Palestinian plight, 2nd January.) }.

Torquay have a nice draw…they host Coventry City (in 13th place in the 2nd Level, aka the Championship),  which gives the Gulls the chance of facing a decent-sized club that is beatable.  Kettering Town have a tougher draw…hosting Ptremier League club Fulham.   I am sure Kettering Town wish they were facing Fulham a year ago,  because since then,  Fulham manager Roy Hodgson has turned the Cottagers into a more formidable side,  by far: they sit 10th in the Prem.

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The FA Cup Fourth Round kicks off with one match Friday,  a classic Derby,  between out-of-form Derby County (who have sunk to 20th in the Championship),  and steadily-improving Nottingham Forest,  who have fought their way out of the relegation zone to 18th in the Championship,  and have won 4 straight, including all 3 games since Billy Davies (the former Derby County manager) took over as manager on 1st January.  The two clubs,  from the neighboring regions of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire,  are separated by about 15 miles.  The fixture is made all the more intriguing because of Nigel Clough’s recent appointment as manager of Derby County.   This is the son of Brian Clough,  the man who managed both these clubs to their first National Titles.  Clough and his (then) trusted righthand-man Peter Taylor led Derby County out of the Division Two,  and to the Division One Title in a period of 4 seasons (1968-’69 to the title in 1971-’72). 

Clough’s acerbic nature rubbed many in high positions the wrong way,  and after falling out with the Rams’ board,  Clough and Taylor walked in 1973.  Virtually his entire staff,  including his network of scouts,  followed.  And 2 years and two false starts later (at Brighton & Hove,  then disastrously for 6 weeks at Leeds United),  Clough did the whole trick again with Derby County’s biggest and closest rival,  Nottingham Forest. 

Clough took over at Forest in January, 1975,  when the club was in 13th place in Division Two.  They gained promotion two seasons later.  And in the 1977-’78 season,  Clough’s Nottingham Forest became the last English club to win the Championship in their first season back in the top flight.  Nottingham Forest then went on to win the European Cup in back-to-back years,  1979 and 1980.   [ Nottingham Forest are the only club to have won the European Title more times than their National Title. ]  The Brian Clough page in Wikipedia, {Click here}.

Nigel Clough comes to Derby County from 5th Level-leaders Burton Albion.  He spent 10 years as manager there,  gaining Burton promotion to the Conference in 2002,  and leaving the club in a commanding first place position,  when he accepted Derby County’s offer in the first week of 2009.

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There are two other marquee match-ups this weekend… Manchester United v. Tottenham,  one of 13 fixtures Saturday;  and Liverpool v. Everton (the Merseyside Derby),  one of two fixtures Sunday. 

For Fixtures, Results…Click on the following http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/fa_cup/default.stm .

Thanks to Tony’s English Football Site (for attendance figures)  {Click here}.

Thanks to the Colours Of Football site,  for the kits on the map (well, most of them; a few weren’t up to date, or existant, so I had to use Wikipedia kits).  http://www.colours-of-football.com/ .

Thanks to Historical Football Kits site {Click here}.

Thanks to the FA site  {Click here} (I used their FA Cup banner).

Thanks to the contributors to relevant pages on Wikipedia {FA Cup 2008-’09 page, Click here}.

Thanks to EPL Talk,  for linking up to my last FA Cup post.  http://www.epltalk.com/ .

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FA site/ FA Cup {Click here}.

This season,  a record 8 Non-League clubs have made it to the FA Cup Third Round. One of them is Forest Green Rovers FC,  a Conference club from the West Country, in rural Gloucestershire. Rovers are faring poorly in the Blue Square Premier League this season, and are in the relegation zone at 22nd place. Nevertheless, they have qualified for the FA Cup Third Round for the first time in their history. Nicknamed ‘the Little Club on the Hill’, Forest Green Rovers were “famous” for their sloped pitch on their old ground, The Lawn.  {See this, ‘The Leaving of the Lawn’, from BBC Gloucestershire}. The club moved a little bit down the hill and into their new ground, The New Lawn, in August, 2006 (they are still situated high above the town of Nailsworth). Last season they had their best league placing ever, at 8th place in the 5th Level.

“Green’s Derby Aim” by Julian Bennetts, at the FA site {Click here}.

Here is the entry on Forest Green Rovers {Click here}, from the Blue Square Conference Football Ground Guide .

The manager of the club is Jim Harvey, who joined Forest Green in September, 2006, after a recent spell of 11 seasons as manager of Morecambe. Harvey had suffered a heart attack in November, 2005. While Harvey recuperated, Morecambe, under interim manager Sammy McIlroy, were subsequently promoted to The League at the end of that season (2005-06), and Harvey lost his job to McIlroy.  The two ex-friends don’t speak to each other any more. When Harvey took over at Forest Green, the club were at bottom of the league. Harvey led the club to safety that season (2006-07), avoiding relegation with a game to spare. Last season, led by Welsh international Stuart Fleetwood’s 28 goals, Forest Green had their best year ever. Fleetwood was sold to Charlton last summer. This season, FGR’s leading scorer is Andy Mangan, with 9 goals. The Liverpool-born striker (age 22) has played on League sides Accrington Stanley and Bury.

Saturday, Forest Green Rovers will play host to Derby County. Forest Green are 76 places below Derby in the League Pyramid. The Rovers’ website reports a sell-out {see this, at http://www.forestgreenroversfc.com/}. Forest Green may be able to benefit from an unsettled Derby side, as Paul Jewell resigned as Derby manager on Monday 29th December (Chris Hutchings is at the helm for the match v. Forest Green). The game will be televised live by Fox Soccer Channel, in North America. 

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Below: Map of 2008-09 FA Cup Third Round Clubs from the Lower Leagues (20 Clubs: 9 Clubs from League One, 3 Clubs from League Two, 6 Clubs from the Conference, 1 Club from the Conference North, and 1 Club from the Unibond Premier League).   

On the map below, I have added a list of the clubs’ average attendance; included are all the fixtures involving these clubs…

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Below: Map of the 2008-2009 FA Cup Third Round Clubs from the Premier League and the League Championship (44 Clubs).

I didn’t have time to update attendances for the map below, but the whole FA Cup Third Round Fixtures List is there…

Fixtures List {Click here (BBC site) }.

Thanks to Tony’s English Football Site {Click here}.

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[Now Updated to 29th December...Droylesden ruled out/ Chesterfield now in  {see this (from the FA site) }.

{FA to rule Monday, 29th December on Droylsden roster irregularity  {see this}.

Through 23rd December: Droylsden 2-1 Chesterfield. {see this (Sky Sports)}.

Through 16th December: Blyth Spartans 1-0 Bournemouth;  Droylesden 0-2 Chesterfield, abandoned after 72 minutes (floodlight failure).

Through 10th December: Kettering Town 2-1 Notts County.

Through 9th December: Chesterfield 2-2 Droyslden (Replay necessary);  Stockport County 1-2 Gillingham;  Tranmere Rovers 1-2 Peterborough United. 

Through 3rd December: Morecambe 2-3 Cheltenham Town;  Carlisle United 0-2 Crewe Alexandra. ]

FA Cup Third Round Draw,  {Click here}.  Fixtures {Click here}.

Histon shocks Leeds United {see this}.   Second Round Results {see this].

[ Note: Map is updated to all games played on 18th November.  Text below is not updated.   All re-plays have been played,  except for Grays Athletic v. Carlisle United.  All clubs that won re-plays have been added to the map.  Sorry if there are any errors...I just wanted to get the updated map out there before I shut down for today.] 

FA Cup First Round replays are scheduled for Monday and Tuesday.  There was one match on Monday…Northampton Town 2-5 Leeds United.  There are 14 replay matches scheduled for Tuesday…{Click here}.

On the chart to the right of the map,  clubs which have secured passage to the Second Round are listed in large type.  These 26 clubs have thieir crests shown on the map,  along with a thumbnail description of the club,  which includes the club’s name,  it’s location,  it’s league and level,  and it’s average attendance as of 10th November, 2008.  

Clubs which must play replays on 18th November are listed in small type.  When the replays are all done,  I will add the winners’ crests and thumbnail information to the map, and make another post before the Second Round Proper (which is scheduled for 29th November) .

The current  attendance figures of clubs which have advanced to the Second Round so far range from the 19,747 per game that League One’s Leicester City draw,  all the way down to the 240 per game that Curzon Ashton are drawing.

Of the 26 clubs who have qualified,  there are 18 clubs from the League,  and 8 non-League clubs.

Curzon Ashton FC,  from Ashton-under-Lyme,  Greater Manchester,  plays in the Unibond First Division North.   This league is in the 8th Level in the English Football pyramid.  Here is the official site of the Unibond leagues:   http://www.unibondleague.com/.

There is one club from the 7th Level who has qualified:   Eastwood Town FC,  of Nottinghamshire.  [ Note: the image on ETFC's crest is of Badgers,  which is their nickname. ]   The club plays in the Unibond Premier Division.  Here are the tables for the Unibond Leagues (7th and 8th Levels) : http://www.unibondleague.com/tables.php

Two clubs from the 6th Level have qualified:  Alfreton FC,  of Derbyshire,  and Blyth Spartans AFC,  from Northumberland.   Both are in the Conference, North…currently billed as the Blue Square North.  

There are 4 clubs from the 5th Level,  which has been traditionally known as The Conference (official name is now the Blue Square Premier  League) :   Kidderminster Harriers FC are from around 15 miles south-west of Birmingham,  in Worcester .   Torquay United FC hail from the Torbay area of Devon.   Histon FC are from a small suburb of Cambridge.   Forest Green Rovers FC are from the Cotswold Hills {see this},  in the small town of Nailsworth,  which is near Stroud, Gloucestershire.   Here is the 5th and 6th Levels’ official site:  http://www.footballconference.co.uk/.

17 clubs have qualified from the League.   [The league,  of course,  being the top 4 Levels,  the top two of which don't enter the FA Cup until the Third Round.] 

There are 10 clubs from the 4th Level,  League Two.    They are (in descending order of current average attendance) :  Bradford City FC,  Port Vale FC,  Gillingham FC,  Notts County FC,  Wycombe Wanderers FC,  AFC Bournemouth,  Brentford FC,  Chesterfield FC,  Morecambe FC,  and Macclesfield Town FC.

The 8 clubs from the 3rd Level,  League One,  are (in descending order of current average attendance) :  Leeds United FC,  Leicester City FC,  Millwall FC,  Peterborough United FC,  Tranmere Rovers FC,  Scunthorpe United FC,  Leyton Orient FC,  and Crewe Alexandra FC.

There are six clubs who are still alive who are from Greater Manchester.  There are five clubs from Greater London who are still alive.  There are three clubs are from the south Derbyshire/ south Nottinghamshire region of the East Midlands who have qualified for the Second Round:   Alfreton Town,  Eastwood Town,  and Notts County.  These three clubs are located rather close together,  within a circle with a radius of about 10 miles. 

Thanks to Tony’s English Football Site for attendance figures   [Note: the link is set to go to the League One attendance figures. ] {Click here}.

FA site: http://www.thefa.com/TheFACup/TheFACup/.