billsportsmaps.com

February 29, 2016

2015-16 FA Cup, Sixth Round: location-map, with current average attendances & fixtures list, featuring the 7 clubs that have qualified for the 6th round proper and the 2 clubs with a 5th round replay (Arsenal & Hull City)/ + an illustration of the managers & top scorer(s) for each club.

Filed under: 2015-16 FA Cup — admin @ 9:12 pm

2015-16_fa-cup_6th-round_location-map_crowd-sizes_post_b_.gif
2015-16 FA Cup, Sixth Round: location-map, with current average attendances & fixtures list, featuring the 9 clubs still alive in the competition as of 1 March 2016




By Bill Turianski on 29 February 2016; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.
Links…
-The competition…2015-16 FA Cup (en.wikipedia.org).
-BBC’s FA Cup page…FA Cup (bbc.com/sport/football/fa-cup).

    The managers and the top scorer(s) of the 9 teams still alive in the 2015-16 FA Cup, as of 7 March 2016
    (Goals from all competitions in 2015-16, inclusive to 29 February 2016)…

2015-16_fa-cup_6th-round_9-teams_managers-and-top-scorers_arsenal_chelsea_crystal-palace_everton_hull-city_manchester-utd_reading_watford_west-ham-utd_i_.gif
Photo credits above –
Arsenal: Arsene Wenger, photo by Stuart MacFarlane at gettyimages.co.uk; Olivier Giroud, photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images Europe via zimbio.com.
Chelsea: Guus Hiddink, photo by Chelsea FC at chelseafc.com/news; Diego Costa, photo by Mathew Impey/Wiredphotos.co.uk via dailymail.co.uk/football.
Crystal Palace: Alan Pardew, photo by Paul Greenwood/BPI via dailymail.co.uk/football; Yohan Cabaye, photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images Europe via zimbio.com; Scott Dann, photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images Europe via zimbio.com; Wilfried Zaha, photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images Europe via zimbio.com.
Everton: Roberto Martinez, photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images via theguardian.com/football/blog ; Romelu Lukaku, photo by Everton FC at evertonfc.com/news.
Hull City: Steve Bruce, photo by Clive Ross/Getty Images Europe via zimbio.com; Abel Hernández, photo by yorkshirepost.co.uk/football.
Manchester Utd: Louis van Gall, photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images Europe via zimbio.com; Wayne Rooney, photo by nbcsports.com/[Premier League].
Reading: Brian McDermott, photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images via gettyimages.com; Matěj Vydra, photo by Ben Hoskins/Getty Images Europe via zimbio.com.
Watford: Quique Sánchez Flores, photo unattributed at espnfc.com; Odion Igalho, photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images Europe via zimbio.com.
West Ham Utd: Slaven Bilić, photo by West Ham United FC at whufc.com/news. Dmitri Payet, photo by Getty Images via telegraph.co.uk/football. Réunion flag [unofficial], flags.net/[French Overseas Department of Réunion]
___
Thanks to all at the links below…
-Contributors at 2015-16 FA Cup (en.wikipedia.org).
-Blank map of UK historic counties, by Nilfanion (using UK Ordnance Survey data), at File:United Kingdom police areas map.svg.
-Blank relief map of Greater London, by Nilfanion (using UK Ordnance Survey data), at File:Greater London UK relief location map.jpg.

-Current average attendance figures from Worldfootball.net.
-Stadium capacities, from List of football stadiums in England [listed by capacity] (en.wikipedia.org).

February 17, 2016

2015-16 FA Cup, Fifth Round Proper: location-map, with current average attendances & fixtures list (16 clubs)/ + illustrated article: in February 1972, the greatest FA Cup upset ever: 5 February 1972 FA Cup 3rd Round replay, Hereford Utd 2-1 Newcastle Utd (aet).

Filed under: 2015-16 FA Cup — admin @ 11:02 pm

http://billsportsmaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2015-16_fa-cup_5th-round_location-map_crowd-sizes_post_b_.gif
2015-16 FA Cup, Fifth Round Proper: location-map, with current average attendances & fixtures list (16 clubs)



By Bill Turianski on 17 February 2016; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.
Links…
-Preview…FA Cup fifth round: 10 things to look out for this weekend…(theguardian.com/football).
-The competition…2015-16 FA Cup (en.wikipedia.org).
-5th Round fixtures… 2015-16 FA CUP 5TH ROUND (soccerway.com).
-BBC’s FA Cup page…FA Cup (bbc.com/sport/football/fa-cup).

    Breaking news [~15 Feb. 2016]…Under pressure from the Premier League, the FA considers scrapping all FA Cup replays…

-From Telegraph.co.uk, from 15 Feb.2016, by Ben Rumsby, FA Cup could become midweek competition with no replays (telegraph.co.ukfootball).

-From bbc.uk/football, from 16 Feb.2016, by Saj Chowdhury… FA Cup replays: Relive some of the competition’s best ever (article with several highlight videos, at bbc.co.uk/football). As commenter Zee Zee Top says (in the comments section in the BBC article linked to above)…’ “The FA are in talks with the Premier League”. In that sentence you can see all that is wrong with English football. Why should the Premier League have the power on the level of the FA? As with every thing else in the country the richest get sway and power over everything else – the sooner Scudamore and his pack of Sky thieves can be kicked out of football the better. Beyond a joke now.’…(comment by Zee Zee Top on 16 Feb. 2016 at bbc.co.uk/sport/football).

Scrapping FA Cup replays would be a shame and a disservice to all the small, lower-League, and non-League clubs in English football…
FA Cup replays are a vital source of revenue for lower-League and non-League clubs. As John Ashdown says in the Guardian/football article linked to at the top of this post, ‘Smaller clubs handed away draws at the big boys need the carrot of a replay. So suck it up, Premier League. Replays need to stay.’

Arguably the greatest FA Cup upset ever was in a replay match, and that was the match between Hereford United and Newcastle United, which took place in February of 1972. It was a thrice-postponed replay of a 3rd round fixture, won in epic fashion by the now-defunct-and-back-then-non-League Hereford United. That match, for all intents and purposes, effectively propelled Hereford United into the Football League the following season.

    44 years ago this month, was the greatest FA Cup upset ever: Hereford Utd 2-1 Newcastle Utd (aet)

-Video highlights [Hereford Utd 2-1 Newcastle Utd (aet), third round FA Cup replay in 1972] (3:01 video at bbc.com/football).

-Best FA Cup tie ever (2007 Observer Sport/E.ON poll)…winner: Hereford Utd 2-1 Newcastle Utd [1971-72 FA Cup 3rd Round replay from 5 Feb. 1972]. Article, with recollections of players and other participants, as told to Jamie Jackson…It’ll Never Happen (The Observer via theguardian.com/football).

The now-defunct Hereford United FC existed from 1924 to 2014, and spent 31 seasons in the Football League (last in 2011-12). The club reached the second tier (the old Second Division) in 1976-77, its best league position. (A Phoenix club now exists, the 9th level/Midland Football League club Hereford FC.) Hereford United were a semi-pro team back then in the early 1970s, and, back in the days before there was any automatic promotion-&-relegation between the Football League and non-League football [ie, pre-1986-87], Hereford United were a long-time member of the Southern League. Meanwhile, Newcastle United were, of course, a long-established top flight club (NUFC finished in 11th place in the First Division in 1971-72).

As a non-League team, Hereford entered the 1971-72 FA Cup competition in the 4th qualifying round, beating local rivals Cheltenham Town. Then Hereford beat another non-League side, King’s Lynn, in the 1st round in November 1971 (in a replay, by the score of 1-0, in front of 7 thousand in Hereford). Then Hereford beat 4th Division side Northampton Town in the 2nd round in December 1971 (by the score of 2-1, in Hereford, in front of 8 thousand).

Then Hereford drew a 3rd round match-up with Newcastle United for the 3rd round in early January 1972. Five thousand Hereford supporters made the 330 km (or 207 mile) trip up north to St James Park in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and the Bulls shocked the talent-laden Newcastle squad (which featured 6 internationals), playing them to a 2-2 draw before a crowd of 39,301 (which was near-temporary-capacity, as Newcastle were rebuilding part of their ground at the time).

The replay was set for Hereford’s Edgar Street ground, but then there were 3 postponements due to a waterlogged pitch. So when the rescheduled match was finally played in early February 1972, it was being played at the same time as the 4th round proper, and it was to be played on a chewed up and very muddy pitch. It was quagmire, to put it plainly, one which could really only benefit the underdogs.

It was a nationally-broadcast match on BBC. An overflow-capacity crowd of 14,313 was on hand, but that official attendance figure is rather low, because Hereford had printed up extra tickets, plus there were extra fans perched on trees that overlooked the ground, as well as there being many fans precariously placed on the floodlight pylons (which you can see in a photo below). The real crowd there that day was estimated to be over 16,000. In the screenshots below you can see just how packed-in the crowd was.

Newcastle were on the attack from the start, but Hereford GK Fred Potter made several key saves, with the red-clad Newcastle hitting the woodwork a couple times as well. Hereford also hit the post, early on in the 2nd half. There was no scoring until very late in the match, when the Newcastle and England FW Malcolm ‘Supermac’ Macdonald headed in a deep cross from MF Viv Busby (in the 82nd minute/see 1st fuzzy screenshot below). It was Macdonald’s 23rd goal of the season (he scored 32 goals in all competitions in 1972-72). That was when 31-year-old Hereford player/manager Colin Addison made a substitution, replacing Hereford-born DF Roger Griffiths with MF Ricky George. Griffiths had suffered a broken leg earlier in the game but had played on (!). That player-substitution would prove to be crucial. Three minutes after Newcastle had taken the lead, Hereford equalized with a 30-yard wonder-strike by part-time carpenter Ronnie Radford, in the 85th minute (see 2nd fuzzy screenshot below). Radford’s thunderous goal came off a neat give-and-go with FW Brian Owen. An in-game pitch invasion ensued (see 3rd fuzzy screenshot below). Delirious joy in Heredfordshire. When that pitch invasion was finally sorted, the match resumed, and a little bit later regulation time ended at 1-1, so the 30-minute added-extra-time was to be played. In the 23rd minute of aet (103′), Ronnie Radford found MF Dudley Tyler on the right, who passed it into the box to that late substitution, Ricky George, who found some space, turned and shot a daisy-cutter which slid into the net just inside the far post (see 4th fuzzy screenshot below). There then was another bonkers pitch invasion by the giddy Hereford faithful. The Bulls held off Newcastle for the rest of added extra time, and a giant-killing of legendary proportions had just occurred. And then, of course, a third pitch invasion ensued (see photos and 5th fuzzy screenshot further below).

Four days later, on 9 Feb. 1972, Hereford, having drawn West Ham United in the 4th round, played that First Division team to a 0-0 standstill at Edgar Street in front of another overflow-capacity crowd (estimated at ~15,000). But five days after that, on 14 Feb. 1972, Hereford’s fairy-tale 71/72 Cup-run ended in a 2-1 loss to the Hammers in front of 42 thousand at the Boleyn Ground in East London.

Three months later, Hereford United finished in second place in the 1971-72 Southern League, 2 points behind Chelmsford City. And, finally, in the summer of 1972, five months after their historic Cup-upset-win over Newcastle, Hereford United were elected to the Football League Fourth Division, for the 1972-73 season.

-From FourFourTwo.com, from Jan.2015, by Leo Moynihan, Hereford vs Newcastle: Ronnie, Motty, Supermac & Co. on the FA Cup’s greatest-ever upset

    The greatest FA Cup upset ever: 5 February 1972 FA Cup 3rd Round replay, Hereford Utd 2-1 Newcastle Utd (aet)

hereford-utd_2-1_newcastle-utd_1971-72_fa-cup_3rd-round-replay_5-february1972_ronnie-radford_ricky-george_h_.gif
Photo credits above – Newcastle Utd and Hereford Utd early 1970s jersey badges from historicalkits.co.uk/Newcastle_United & historicalkits.co.uk/Hereford_United/Hereford_United. Screenshot of ESPN re-broadcast of BBC game-video uploaded by Gr8Footy at 05/02/72 Hereford United v Newcastle United (youtube.com). 3 screenshots of BBC game-video uploaded by Simon Bonelle at Hereford Utd v Newcastle Utd 5 Feb 1972 (Hereford Utd Goals) (youtube.com). In-game-time pitch invasion by Hereford fans after the Radford goal, photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images via dailymail.co.uk. Post-game pitch invasion, photo from Popperfoto/Getty Images/Bentley Archive via Memory Lane: the FA Cup third round – in pictures (theguardian.com/football/gallery/2015/jan). Hereford Utd home kit illustration and early 1970s Hereford Utd crest, illustrations by Historical Football Kits site at historicalkits.co.uk/Hereford_United/Hereford_United. Ronnie Radford, Ricky George, and teammates celebrate afterwards in the dressing room, photo unattributed at fourfourtwo.com.
___
Thanks to all at the links below…
-Contributors at 2015-16 FA Cup (en.wikipedia.org).
-Blank map of UK historic counties, by Nilfanion (using UK Ordnance Survey data), at File:United Kingdom police areas map.svg.
-Blank relief map of Greater London, by Nilfanion (using UK Ordnance Survey data), at File:Greater London UK relief location map.jpg.
-Blank relief map of Greater Manchester, by Nilfanion (using Ordnance Survey data), at File:Greater Manchester UK relief location map.jpg.
-Blank relief map of West Midlands, by Nilfanion, at File:West Midlands UK relief location map.jpg

-Current average attendance figures from Worldfootball.net.
-Stadium capacities, from List of football stadiums in England [listed by capacity] (en.wikipedia.org).

-Thanks to the contributors at Hereford United 2–1 Newcastle United (en.wikipedia.org).

January 25, 2016

2015-16 FA Cup, Fourth Round Proper: location-map, with current average attendances & fixtures list (32 clubs).

Filed under: 2015-16 FA Cup — admin @ 8:35 pm

2015-16_fa-cup_4th-round_location-map_crowd-sizes_post_b_.gif
2015-16 FA Cup, Fourth Round Proper: location-map, with current average attendances & fixtures list (32 clubs)



    2015-16 FA Cup, Fourth Round Proper: location-map with current average attendances (32 clubs)

By Bill Turianski on 25 January 2016; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.com.

Links…
FA Cup 2015/16 4th Round Preview (facupfactfile.wordpress.com).
The competition…2015-16 FA Cup (en.wikipedia.org).
4th Round fixtures… 2015-16 FA CUP 4TH ROUND (soccerway.com).
BBC’s FA Cup page…FA Cup (bbc.com/sport/football/fa-cup).

Here is a chart I put together which shows the 5 biggest Cup-upset-wins and the 6 biggest Cup-upset-draws in the 3rd Round (note: it is old content, which I originally posted on 8 January). So, after the ten 3rd Round re-plays, the two biggest Cup-upset-wins in the 3rd Round were by a couple of League Two teams: Oxford United over Swansea City (a difference of 54 league places & 3 league divisions), and Portsmouth over Ipswich Town (a difference of 46 league places and 2 league divisions)…
[click on the following], billsportsmaps.com/2015-16_fa-cup_3rd-round_upset-wins_upset-draws_jan2016.

Update on 30 Jan.: biggest (and only) Cup-upset win in the 4th Round (so far): third division side Shrewsbury Town 3-2 over second division side Sheffield Wednesday (a difference of 39 league places and 1 league division) {see this, Shrewsbury’s Jack Grimmer records last-gasp win over Sheffield Wednesday (Press Association article via theguardian.com/football).
___
Thanks to all at the links below…
-Contributors at 2015-16 FA Cup (en.wikipedia.org).
-Blank map of UK historic counties, by Nilfanion (using UK Ordnance Survey data), at File:United Kingdom police areas map.svg.
-Blank relief map of Greater London, by Nilfanion (using UK Ordnance Survey data), at File:Greater London UK relief location map.jpg.
-Blank relief map of Greater Manchester, by Nilfanion (using Ordnance Survey data), at File:Greater Manchester UK relief location map.jpg.
-Blank relief map of West Midlands, by Nilfanion, at File:West Midlands UK relief location map.jpg

-Current average attendance figures from Worldfootball.net.
-Stadium capacities, from List of football stadiums in England [listed by capacity] (en.wikipedia.org).

January 1, 2016

2015-16 FA Cup, Third Round Proper: location-map with current average attendances (64 clubs)./+ Update, with chart showing the 5 cup-upset wins and the 6 cup-upset-draws.

Filed under: 2015-16 FA Cup — admin @ 9:27 pm

2015-16_fa-cup_3rd-round_location-map_crowd-sizes_post_c_.gif
2015-16 FA Cup, Third Round Proper: location-map with current average attendances (64 clubs)



    2015-16 FA Cup, Third Round Proper: location-map with current average attendances (64 clubs)

By Bill Turianski on 1 January 2016; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.com.

Links…
2015/16 FA Cup 2nd Round Review (facupfactfile.wordpress.com).
FA Cup 3rd Round Preview (facupfactfile.wordpress.com).
The competition…2015-16 FA Cup (en.wikipedia.org).
3rd Round fixtures… 2015-16 FA CUP 3RD ROUND (soccerway.com).
BBC’s FA Cup page…FA Cup (bbc.com/sport/football/fa-cup).


Update (chart below posted on 9 Jan.2015 at 6:30 pm GT/1:30 pm ET, after all the early Saturday fixtures were finished/updated again after Sunday results)…

    2015-16 FA Cup 3rd Round, the 5 cup-upset-wins and the 6 cup-upset-draws…

2015-16_fa-cup_3rd-round_upset-wins_upset-draws_jan2016_n_.gif
___
Thanks to all at the links below…
-Contributors at 2015-16 FA Cup (en.wikipedia.org).
-Blank map of UK historic counties, by Nilfanion (using UK Ordnance Survey data), at File:United Kingdom police areas map.svg.
-Blank relief map of Greater London, by Nilfanion (using UK Ordnance Survey data), at File:Greater London UK relief location map.jpg.
-Blank relief map of Greater Manchester, by Nilfanion (using Ordnance Survey data), at File:Greater Manchester UK relief location map.jpg.
-Blank relief map of West Midlands, by Nilfanion, at File:West Midlands UK relief location map.jpg

-Current average attendance figures from Soccerway.com.
-Stadium capacities, from List of football stadiums in England [listed by capacity] (en.wikipedia.org).

November 30, 2015

2015-16 FA Cup, Second Round Proper: location-map with current average attendances./ Plus: a short article and an illustration about the biggest 1st-round-upset (Bristol Rovers 0-1 Chesham United).

Filed under: 2015-16 FA Cup — admin @ 2:34 pm

2015-16_fa-cup_2nd-round_location-map_crowd-sizes_post_b_.gif
2015-16 FA Cup, Second Round Proper: location-map with current average attendances




By Bill Turianski on 30 November 2015; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.com.
Links…
2015/16 FA Cup 1st Round Review (facupfactfile.wordpress.com).
Brief article on 1st Round upsets…FA Cup first-round round-up: Chesham’s Ryan Blake stuns Bristol Rovers (Press Association article at theguardian.com/football).
The competition…2015-16 FA Cup (en.wikipedia.org).
2nd Round fixtures…2015-16 FA CUP 2ND ROUND (soccerway.com).
BBC’s FA Cup page…FA Cup (bbc.com/sport/football/fa-cup).

    The Biggest Upset in the 2015/-6 FA Cup 1st Round: Bristol Rovers 0-1 Chesham Utd
    (Chesham were placed 75 league places & 3 divisions below Bristol Rovers)…

Chesham (pronounced “Chess-um”) is a town of around 21,000 located just north-west of Greater London, in the low-rolling-hills of southern Buckinghamshire. Chesham is 40 km (or 25 mi) by road from central London. In the last half-century or so Chesham has increasingly become a commuter-town, and in fact Chesham is the last stop on the Metropolitan line of the London tube {see it on a map at en.wikipedia, here}. Chesham United are a 7th-Level/Southern Premier side. Established in 1917, Chesham wear claret-and-sky-blue and feature a crest with a rook and a green-&-white chessboard (a reference to the first syllable in their name). Their nickname is the Generals. The reason for that is in the club’s founding…as this excerpt from the club’s website says, …”[Chesham United] was formed in 1917 following the merger of Chesham Town FC (who were founder members of the Southern League in 1894 when still known as just Chesham FC) and Chesham Generals (who took their name from the General Baptist Church in Chesham Broadway) {excerpt from History – A Brief Overview of Chesham United at cheshamunited.co.uk}. Chesham United are managed by Andy Leese, who has been at the helm since the summer of 2007 {from the Chesham Utd website, Andy Leese profile, here}.

Chesham United currently average 276 per game (and were the sixth-lowest-drawing of the 80 clubs to have qualified for the 2015-16 FA Cup 1st Round). The last time Chesham qualified for the FA Cup 1st Round was in 1994-95, and their best Cup run was in 1979-80, when they went to the 3rd Round. This season, in the 1st round, Chesham drew a tough away match versus 4th-division (League 2) side Bristol Rovers. At kickoff, Chesham Utd were placed 75 league places and 3 leagues below Bristol Rovers (Chesham sat 17th in the Southern Prem/ they currently sit 19th, 4 points above the relegation-zone.)

5,181 were in attendance there (on Sunday the 8th of November 2015), at the Rovers’ Memorial Stadium in Horfield, on the northern edge of the city of Bristol. That gate included a solid and more-than-twice-their-home-crowd-size 573-strong traveling support for Chesham United (see some of the traveling fans in photo below). Meanwhile, many if not most of the Bristol Rovers supporters there at the Memorial Stadium that day were happy to see the return of one of their favorites, the ex-Bristol Rovers Striker Barry Hayles, who, at 43 years old, is now a player/coach of Chesham United. (Barry Hayles had netted 32 goals in 64 League matches [excellent 50% strike-rate there] for Bristol Rovers in the 1997-to-1999 time-frame. Then Hayles moved on up 2 divisions to Fulham, where he helped them get promoted to the Premier League in 2001; then Hayles scored 13 Premier League goals for the Cottagers in three seasons, before moving on again, back to the 2nd division, playing for Sheffield Utd, Millwall, Plymouth Argyle, and Leicester City, among others.)

So, the old FA Cup magic was certainly in the air (but not, alas, for the Gas faithful), when Barry Hayles came on as a 72nd-minute substitute to a warm ovation. And 5 minutes later, fed by a Hayles pass down the left-midfield-flank, Chesham FW Ryan Blake dribbled forward about 20 yards and then unleashed a low and powerful 25-yard strike that beat the Rovers goalkeeper, to put Chesham on the scoreboard {that goal can be seen at 0:55 of the video at the first link in the next paragraph). Then the Chesham defense held the lead for 20 minutes, and at around 90+7, the ref blew the whistle and Chesham United had just stolen an improbable road victory. Improbable, for sure, when you look at the vast gulf that separates the pro 4th division from the amateur 7th level. And also improbable when you look at the shots-&-corner-kicks totals: Bristol Rovers had 25 shots (and 17 corner kicks) versus Chesham Utd, who had just 6 shots (and 4 corner kicks). A special mention must go out to Chesham captain Toby Little, who, in the first half, on a Rovers’ corner kick, saved a goal at the line by heading away a definitely-going-in-shot (seen at 0:30 in the video linked to below). And a special mention also goes to Chesham ‘keeper Shane Gore, who made some crucial saves down the stretch, as Chesham held on. Now Chesham United have drawn an even larger club away in the 2nd Round…versus Bradford City, who are a 3rd-division side who regularly draw above 18 K for their League 1 matches. Chesham will travel up to West Yorkshire to play Bradford at Valley Parade on Sunday the 6th of December 2015 (at 2 pm Greenwich Time/9 am Eastern Time).

{Youtube.com video of Ryan Blake’s goal (seen at 0:55 in the video)Bristol Rovers 0-1 Chesham United – Emirates FA Cup 2015/16 | Goal & Highlights (1:42 video uploaded by FATV at youtube.com).}
{Article on Bristol Rovers 0-1 Chesham Utd, at BBC’s FA CCup page, here.}

Below, the biggest upset in the 2015-16 FA Cup 1st Round…Bristol Rovers 0-1 Chesham Utd (75 places and 3 leagues separated the clubs…)
chesham-utd_fa-cup_1st-round_8-nov-2015_chesham-75-places-below_-bristol-rovers_0-1_chesham-utd_barry-hayles_ryan-blake_m_.gif
Photo and Image credits above –
Main Stand at Chesham Utd’s The Meadow, photo by agroundhoppersdiary.blogspot.com at agroundhoppersdiary.blogspot.com/2012/04/chesham-united-meadow-park. Kits illustration from Chesham United F.C. (en.wikipedia.org). Chesham Utd traveling fans, photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images Europe via zimbio.com. Chesham Utd’s Brad Wadkins is fouled by Bristol Rovers’ Tom Lockyer, leading to a missed penalty (28th minute), photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images Europe via zimbio.com. Photo of Barry Hayles scoring for Bristol Rovers circa 1997, unattributed at bristolpost.co.uk. Photo of the 43-year-old Barry Hayles entering the game, photo by Trevor Hyde at cheshamunited.co.uk/news/the-fa-cup-in-pictures;-chesham-win-away-at-bristol-rovers. Photo of Ryan Blake after scoring, photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images Europe via zimbio.com. Photo of the Chesham squad celebrating with traveling Chesham fans after the big upset victory, photo by Trevor Hyde at cheshamunited.co.uk/news/the-fa-cup-in-pictures;-chesham-win-away-at-bristol-rovers.

___
Thanks to all at the links below…
-Contributors at 2015-16 FA Cup (en.wikipedia.org).
-Blank map of UK historic counties, by Nilfanion (using UK Ordnance Survey data), at File:United Kingdom police areas map.svg (commons.wikimedia.org).
-Blank relief map of Greater London, by Nilfanion (using UK Ordnance Survey data), at File:Greater London UK relief location map.jpg.
-Blank relief map of Greater Manchester, by Nilfanion (using Ordnance Survey data), at File:Greater Manchester UK relief location map.jpg.

-Current average attendance figures from Soccerway.com.
-Current average attendance for lower Non-League clubs (7th and 8th Levels), at non-league-matters.co.uk.

-Thanks to Chesham United official site for club history and Cup-run information, cheshamunited.co.uk.

October 29, 2015

2015-16 FA Cup, First Round Proper: location-map with current average attendances./ Plus: illustrations and a few words about each of the four FA Cup first-timers (Barwell, Didcot Town, Salford City, Whitehawk).

Filed under: 2015-16 FA Cup — admin @ 8:56 pm

2015-16_fa-cup_1st-round_location-map_crowd-sizes_post_h_.gif
2015-16 FA Cup, First Round Proper: location-map with current average attendance




Links…
-Competition…FA Cup (en.wikipedia.org).
-First Round: fixtures/teams…FA Cup/First Round Proper (en.wikipedia.org).
-FA Cup at soccerway…FA Cup [Summary] (soccerway.com/national/england/fa-cup).
-BBC’s page on the FA Cup…FA Cup (bbc.com/sport/football/fa-cup).

By Bill Turianski on 29 October 2015; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.com.

    2015-16 FA Cup 1st Round Proper, featuring the 4 clubs in the FA Cup 1st Round for the first time ever
    (Barwell, Didcot Town, Salford City, Whitehawk)…

Barwell F.C.
The yellow-and-green-clad Barwell FC, nicknamed the Kirkby Roaders (after their 2.5-K-capacity ground), are located in south-western Leicestershire, in Barwell, which is about 2 km NE of Hinckley, and about 19 km or 12 miles SW of Leicester (by road). Barwell FC are a 7th Level side in the Northern Premier League, and currently sit 15th. This is a rather new club, being formed in 1992, from a merger between Hinckley FC and Barwell Athletic, both of whom had been in the 11th Level Leicestershire Senior League, and both of whom had never reached the FA Cup 1st Round. For 7 November 2015, in the 2015-16 FA Cup 1st Round, Barwell have drawn a home tie versus 5th-division side Welling United (of SE London).
barwell-fc_kirkby-road-ground_e_.gif
Photo and Image credits above – Barwell 15/16 kits, illustration from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barwell_F.C. Panoramic photo of Kirkby Road ground by Tim at tims92.blogspot.com/panoramic-pictures. Photo of main stand unattributed at fortheloveoffootballblog.com.

Didcot Town F.C.
Didot Town FC, who wear red-and-white, are nicknamed the Railwaymen, and are from Didcot, which is located 16 km or 10 miles S of Oxford (by road) in Oxfordshire. Didcot Town are the lowest-placed and smallest-drawing club to qualify for the 2015-16 FA Cup 1st Round. Didcot are currently averaging 130 per game. {Source: nonleaguematters.co.uk/divisions [Southern Div 1 S & W].} Didcot are an 8th Level club in the Southern League Division One South and West, and currently sit 16th. Didcot have drawn a home tie in the First Round, on the Sunday (8th Nov. 2015), and will face League Two (4th Division) side Exeter City. The match will be televised. {See this from the Didcot Town site, Didcot v Exeter chosen for Live TV Game (didcottownfc.co.uk).}
didcot-town_draycott-engineering-loop-meadow-stadium_c_.gif
Photo and Image credits above – Didcot town 15/16 kits, illustration from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didcot_Town_F.C. Main stand at Didcot’s ground, photo by David Bauckham at pyramidpassion.co.uk/didcot_town. Photo with cooling towers and training facility in background, photo by Hants at exeweb.com/2012/10/10/fa-cup-101213-didcot-town-v-maidenhead-united-match-report/. Photo of roofed terrace behind goal, in a downpour, photo by JJ Willow at flickr.com.

Salford City F.C.
Located within the city of Salford in west-central Greater Manchester, Salford City FC play in Kersal, Broughton, Salford about 4 km NW of Manchester city centre, and only about 3 km N of Old Trafford [home of Manchester Utd]). As it says in the Kersal page at en.wikipedia.org, “[Kersal's] immediate proximity to Manchester effectively makes it a suburb of that city, although it is politically and administratively separate.” Like Barwell (see two sections above), Salford City are also a 7th Level side in the Northern Premier League; Salford currently sit in the play-off places in 4th. Salford City wear red-and-white (but wore orange before 2014-15/see 3 sentences below for why they changed to MUFC-type kit). Salford City play at the 1.4-K-capacity Moor Lane in the Kersal area of Broughton, and are nicknamed the Ammies (a reference to the club’s 1963-to-1989 official name of Salford Amateurs FC). Salford City were a 9th Level club just 8 seasons ago, and have gained 2 promotions since then – first being when they won automatic promotion as 2nd-place-finishers in the 9th-level 2007-08 North West Counties Football League Division 1. Then in March 2014, in a 10%-share/each consortium with a majority investor [50%-owner, the Singapore businessman Peter Lim], a bunch of famous ex-players, who all made their names just down the road at Old Trafford, bought the club. Those 5 being Manchester United alumni Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Paul Scholes, and Nicky Butt (aka the Class of ’92). {See this, Why the f*** did we buy a football club?’: Scholes, the Nevilles, Giggs and Butt reveal the highs and lows of the Salford City takeover in new BBC documentary, article by Mike Keegan at dailymail.co.uk/sport/football).} Then Salford City, in their first season under the new Red-Devil-alumni-owners, won the 2014-15 Northern Premier League Division One North, winning promotion to the 7th Level Northern Premier League. (Ryan Giggs has said the club has a 15-year goal of reaching for the upper reaches of the Football League.) For their FA Cup First Round debut, Salford City have drawn a home tie, versus 4th-division side Notts County, and it will be the first match in the 1st Round, on Friday evening the 6th of November, and of course it will be televised.
salford-city-fc_moss-road_r-giggs_g-neville_p-scholes_n-butt_k_.gif
Photo and Image credits above – Salford City 15/16 kits, illustration from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salford_City_F.C. Photo of main stand by pitch-side-stories.com/salford-city. Photo of Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, and Nicky Butt at Salford City’s Moor Lane ground [March 2014], photo by salfordstar.com. Main stand at Salford’s Moor Lane, photo unattributed at thesportbusiness.co.uk.

Whitehawk F.C.
From Greater Brighton, in East Sussex, Whitehawk are located a couple kilometres east of the Brighton city centre. Whitehawk FC are nicknamed the Hawks. The club was established in 1945, as Whitehawk & Manor Farm Old Boys FC. Whitehawk wear red and white, but the shield on their crest is a darker brick-red. They play at the spartan yet sylvan Enclosed Ground, which has a capacity of 2,000, with a main covered stand which seats about 120. Whitehawk are in their second season in the 6th level, in the National League South (National League South [2015-16]). Whitehawk have a modestly small fan-base, and draw second-least in their league, at just 246 per game currently. But…Whitehawk are sitting fourth and are in the play-off places, so, were they to gain promotion, Whitehawk would (almost cetainly) be the smallest club in the top Non-League division [the 5th division]). Whitehawk have drawn a home tie for the FA Cup 1st Round, on the Saturday (7th Nov 2015), and it will be versus 5th-division side Lincoln City. I think this could be a winnable fixture for Whitehawk, especially if enough folks in Sussex decide to attend the match.
whitehawk-fc_the-enclosed-ground_b_.gif
Photo and Image credits above – Whitehawk 15/16 kits, illustration from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitehawk_F.C. Aerial photo of the Enclosed Ground, unattributed at manygameshaveiseen.blogspot.com/2013/07/whitehawk-0-v-3-brighton-hove-albion. Photo of fans at the Enclosed Ground, watching a match in the rain, photo by StephenHarris at panoramio.com/photo/32272002.
___
Thanks to all at the links below…
-Blank map of UK historic counties, by Nilfanion (using UK Ordnance Survey data), at File:United Kingdom police areas map.svg (commons.wikimedia.org).
-Blank relief map of Greater London, by Nilfanion (using UK Ordnance Survey data), at File:Greater London UK relief location map.jpg.
-Blank map of Greater Manchester, by Nilfanion (using Ordnance Survey data), at File:Greater Manchester UK relief location map.jpg.

-Current average attendance figures from Soccerway.com.
-Current average attendance for lower Non-League clubs (7th and 8th Levels), at non-league-matters.co.uk.

-And a big thanks to this brilliant blog which I never knew about…FA Cup Factfile, https://facupfactfile.wordpress.com/2015/10/26/fa-cup-201516-1st-round-preview/. I got the info on all the clubs-in-the-Cup-for-the-first-time from this blog.

Powered by WordPress