English football clubs – Map: After the COVID-19 Pandemic Suspension / All clubs in England (and Wales) that drew over 1,000 per game in 2019-20, at the season’s suspension. Map with 133 clubs. Includes Restart information, by League.
…
…
By Bill Turianski on 4 June 2020/ updated on 9 June and 17 June 2020; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.
The map shows all clubs in the English football system which drew above 1,000 per game in 2019-20 (average attendance from home domestic league matches, up to the seasons being suspended in mid-March 2020).
The attendance figures are final, because all remaining fixtures will be played behind closed doors. Or, in the case of the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th-levels, all remaining fixtures will not be played.
Further below are league-by-league descriptions of restarts, or league-cancellations. (Note: Information on Restarts (or league-cancellations) can also be found at the top-centre of the map.)
Near the foot of this post is various info on the clubs on the map…Which clubs drew above 40-K. Which clubs drew above 20-K. Which clubs are new to the map, as compared to last season (King’s Lynn Town, Spennymoor Town, Wealdstone). And the breakdown of clubs on the map, by league-level.
…
2020 COVID-19 Pandemic in English football:
-On 13th March 2020, the Premier League season was suspended.
-The English Football League (2nd, 3rd & 4th divisions) was also suspended on 13 March.
-In the 7th level, the Isthmian Leagues and the Southern Leagues were also suspended on 13 March; and then the 7th-level Northern Premier League was suspended three days later, on 16 March.
-The National League (5th & 6th Levels) was last of the top 7 league-levels to suspend their seasons – on the 20th of March.
-On the 9th of April, the FA announced that the 2019-20 seasons would all be cancelled (‘expunged’) for non-League Steps 3-7 (ie, league levels 7 through 11). {See this: Coronavirus: All football below National League to end (bbc.com/football).} That meant all of the seasons had now been declared null and void for all leagues in the 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th & 11th levels. No titles to be awarded, no promotions or relegations to be handed out: all of the 2019-20 seasons for Steps 3 through 7 (levels 7 through 11) would be stricken from the books. Perhaps the clubs that were dealt the cruelest blow by this were 7th-level/Northern Premier side South Shields [who are located just south of Newcastle], and 10th-level/Combined Counties Football League D-1 side Jersey Bulls [of the Channel Islands]. South Shields were 12 points clear on top of the Northern Premier League, with 9 games remaining, when the league was suspended {table including attendances, here}. Jersey Bulls had already clinched promotion to the 9th tier: they had won all 27 matches and were 20 points clear {table including attendances, here}. South Shields averaged 1,669 per game, in a league where the median average attendance was 432 per game. Jersey Bulls averaged 669 per game, in a league where the median average attendance was 42 per game. Neither will win promotion.
-On 22 April 2020, National League clubs (5th division and 6th level) voted to end the season, with promotion and relegation still ‘under careful consideration’.
-On 13 May, EFL League Championship clubs (2nd division) voted to continue with the season, with plans for players to return to training on 25 May, and the league to restart on 20 June (following, roughly, the same re-start schedule as the Premier League). Play-offs to be played as usual (albeit behind closed doors).
-On 15 May 2020, EFL League Two (4th division) voted to end the season, with the final table being determined on a points-per-game basis. The play-offs would be played as normal (behind closed doors). Thus, Swindon Town are champions and will be promoted to the 3rd division, along with 2nd-place-finisher Crewe Alexandra, and 3rd-place finisher Plymouth Argyle. (Note: the weighted PPG switched the top two teams in the table, not that it really mattered too much, as both Swindon and Crewe won automatic promotion anyway.)
-On 28 May 2020, the Premier League announced it was set to Restart on 17 May, with a full slate set for the weekend of 20-21 June {see two paragraphs below}.
-That left just one division undecided…League One (3rd division). That decision did not come until Tuesday 9 June. That was when English Football League clubs met, with the intention of approving the league’s new mechanism for ending a campaign early in the event of the COVID-19 pandemic ruling out the possibility of a normal conclusion. The biggest problem with a 3rd-division-restart was that many third-tier clubs are on shaky financial footing right now, and playing out the rest of the season without ticket revenue could ruin many League One clubs.
-9 June…EFL League One voted, by an ‘overwhelming majority’, to end the season, with the final table being determined on a points-per-game basis. The play-offs will be played as normal (behind closed doors). Thus, Coventry City are champions and will be promoted to the 2nd division, along with 2nd-place-finisher Rotherham United. The biggest change using PPG was that Wycombe Wanderers moved from 8th place to 3rd place, because they hand a game, or games, in hand, compared to the four teams above them {see this, from bbc.com/football}. Relegated from the 3rd division are: Tranmere Rovers, Southend United, Bolton Wanderers.
-17 June…National League clubs [24 in 5th level/44 in 6th level] voted to determine the season on a points-per-game basis. That meant Barrow AFC would be 5th division champions, and will return to the Football League after 48 seasons in non-League football. In the 6th tier, NL-North side King’s Lynn won promotion to the 5th division, by supplanting York City as 1st place finisher (via a better PPG). And NL-South side Wealdstone won promotion to the 5th division as well. Play-offs set to begin on 18 July, and to end no later than 30 July. Relegation in the 5th division still TDB, depending on what EFL L2 does (just one team is expected to be relegated out of the 4th division – currently that would be Stevenage, but Macclesfield Town might be penalized further, and thus be relegated instead). {See this, from bbc.com/sport…Barrow promoted back to English Football League after National League vote.}
Premier League: Project Restart.
Completion of the season to is begin on Wednesday 17 June, with 2 matches that were not played from previous rounds, then a full slate to be played on the weekend of 20-21 June. (The two Wednesday 17 June fixtures are Man City v Arsenal and Aston Villa v Sheffield Utd.) {See this from bbc.com/football.} The plan is to complete all 92 remaining fixtures by Sunday 26 June, with the FA Cup final to be played on Saturday 1 August. (UEFA has set a deadline of 2 August, for all leagues in Europe to finish). At some points in the restart, some teams will have to play as many as 3 games in a week {see this from theguardian.com/football}. All games are to be played behind closed doors. The games are to be played at the home-clubs’ venues, with the exception of several ties…‘Concerns over the possibility of fans gathering outside grounds have led the police to request the following games take place at neutral venues: Manchester City v Liverpool, Manchester City v Newcastle, Manchester United v Sheffield United, Newcastle v Liverpool and Everton v Liverpool. The police have also asked that this list includes any match that may see Liverpool win the title.’ {-Excerpt from What, when, where? Questions answered on Premier League’s return, by Paul MacInnes at theguardian.com/football on 29 May 2020).}
The games will be played every day starting with Saturday 20 June. Match times: Friday 8pm; Saturday 12.30pm, 3pm, 5.30pm, 8pm; Sunday 12pm, 2pm, 4.30pm, 5pm; Monday 8pm; Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 6pm, 8pm.
-4 June 2020: Premier League clubs agree to five substitutions and nine players on bench (by Guardian Sport and PA Media at theguardian.com/football).
…
The map shows all clubs which were drawing above 1,000-per game, before play was suspended in mid-March 2020. Most leagues had completed between 70% and 80% of the season when play was suspended (I break down the percentages, league by league, below). In the Premier League, most teams had played 29 games (four teams had played 28 games) {2019-20 Premier League table}.
Below is a suspended-season summary of each league, in Levels 1 through 7. (Includes percentage of season competed, and league positions at mid-March season suspension with respect to titles, automatic promotions and relegation). (Note: The list below is repeated on the map, at the top-centre, just to the right of the main map, in a sidebar). (Also, TBD means To Be Determined.)
(1st Level) Premier League 2019-20: Season to Restart on Wednesday 17 June.
(20 teams / 38-game season; winner is English title-winner / 1st through 4th places qualify for the UEFA Champions League Group Stage.)
Most teams had played 29 games (four had played 28) {73% or 76% completed}.
Liverpool lead by 25 points (two wins short of clinching the title).
Currently in the qualification-zone for the UEFA Champions League Group Stage: Liverpool, Manchester City, Leicester, Chelsea.
Currently in the Relegation Zone: Bournemouth, Aston Villa, Norwich.
(2nd Level) EFL Championship 2019-20: Season to Restart on Saturday 20 June. Then Play-offs to be played as usual (albeit behind closed doors).
(24 teams / 46-game season; 1st & 2nd place are Promoted*; bottom 3 are Relegated. *3rd through 6th places play for 1 promotion-place in the Play-offs.
All teams had played 37 games {80% completed}.
Currently in the Automatic Promotion places: Leeds in 1st place, 7 pts. clear of 3rd; West Brom in 2nd place, 6 pts. clear of 3rd.
Currently in the Relegation Zone: Charlton, Luton Town, Barnsley.
(3rd Level) EFL League One 2019-20: Season has ended: On 15 May, clubs voted to end season with immediate effect, with the final table being determined on a points-per-game basis. Automatically Promoted teams, and Relegated teams, listed below. Play-offs to be played as usual (but behind closed doors).
(23 teams / 44-game season; 1st & 2nd place are Promoted*; bottom 3 are Relegated. *3rd through 6th places play for 1 promotion-place in the Play-offs.
Teams had played between 34 and 36 games {77% to 81% completed}.
Automatically Promoted teams (2): Coventry City, Rotherham.
Relegated teams (3): Tranmere, Southend, Bolton.
(4th Level) EFL League Two 2019-20: Season has ended: On 15 May, clubs voted to end season with immediate effect, with the final table being determined on a points-per-game basis. Automatically Promoted teams listed below. Play-offs to be played as usual (but behind closed doors). Relegation TBD.
(24 teams / 46-game season; 1st & 2nd & 3rd place are Promoted*; bottom 2 are Relegated. *5th through 7th places play for 1 promotion-place in the Play-offs.
Teams had played between 36 and 37 games {78% to 80% completed}.
Automatically Promoted teams (3): Swindon Town, Crewe Alexandra, Plymouth Argyle.
Relegation Zone: Macclesfield, Stevenage.
(non-League/5th Level) National League 2019-20: Season has been terminated. Then on 17 June, the clubs voted to decide final standings on an unweighted points-per-game basis. Automatically Promoted team listed below. Play-offs to be played as usual (but behind closed doors). Relegation TBD: but Chorley will definitely be relegated; the other relegations depend on what EFL L2 will do.
(24 teams / 46-game season; 1st place is Promoted*; bottom 4 are Relegated. *2nd through 7th places play for 1 promotion-place in the Play-offs.)
Teams had played between 35 and 39 games {76% to 85% completed}.
Automatically Promoted team (1): Barrow.
Relegation Zone: Ebbsfleet, Maidenhead, AFC Fylde, Chorley.
(non-League/6th Level) National Leagues North & South 2019-20: Season has been terminated. Then on 17 June, the clubs voted to decide final standings on an unweighted points-per-game basis. Automatically Promoted team listed below. Play-offs to be played as usual (but behind closed doors). Relegation: no teams will be relegated (because 7th-level leagues were declared null and void).
(Two separate 22 team leagues / 42-game season; 1st place is Promoted*; bottom 3 are Relegated. *2nd through 7th places play for 1 promotion-place (in each league) in the Play-offs.
Teams had played between 31 and 35 games {74% to 83% completed}.
Automatically Promoted team (1): NL-N: King’s Lynn (who were in 2nd place, but had better Points Per Game than York City) {table, here}.
Automatically Promoted team (1): NL-S: Wealdstone.
Relegation Zone: NL-N: Kettering Town, Blyth Spartans, Bradford (Park Avenue).
Relegation Zone: NL-S: Tonbridge Angels, Braintree Town, Hungerford Town.
(non-League/7th Level) Northern / Southern Central / Southern South / Isthmian Leagues 2019-20: Season has been cancelled (Expunged) [All four Level 7 leagues' 2019-20 seasons were declared null and void.].
(Four separate 22 team leagues / 42-game season; 1st place is Promoted*; bottom 3 are Relegated. *2nd through 5th places play in expanded inter-league format for 2 promotion-places total (between the 4 leagues) in the Play-offs.
All four Level 7 leagues’ seasons were cancelled (expunged).
(Teams had played between 26 and 35 games {62% to 83% completed}.
Automatic Promotion places: Northern: South Shields (1st) were 12 pts. clear. Southern Central: Peterborough Sports led on goal-diff, but Tamworth had 2 games-in-hand. Southern South: Truro City (1st) were 1 pt. clear w/ 2 games-in-hand. Isthmian: Worthing (1st) was 7 pts. clear. But no 7th-tier clubs will be promoted.
Relegation Zone: Northern: Matlock Town, Atherton Collieries, Stafford Rangers. Southern Central: St. Ives Town, Alvechurch, Redditch Utd. Southern South: Walton Casuals, Beaconsfield, Dorchester. Isthmian: Wingate & Finchley, Merstham, Brighlingsea. These clubs in the relegation zones got a big break, as no 7th-tier clubs will be relegated.
…
Aspects of the map page…
The map shows all clubs in the English football system which drew above 1,000 per game in 2019-20. (Data from approximately 70-to-80% of home domestic league matches [all the matches played up to the suspension of play in mid-March 2020].) Again, these attendance figures are final, because all remaining regular-season matches will be played behind closed doors.
(Note: in bold-17-to-36-point-type, on the map, are listed the 9 largest cities within England {all English cities with more than .6 million inhabitants, from: List of metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom (en.wikipedia.org)}…Greater London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield, Bristol. Also, in 12-to-15-point-type, on the map, are listed the 83 Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England. Also, in 14-point-all-cap-bold-type, are listed prominent British regional names such as: the East Midlands, the West Midlands, East Anglia, the West Country, and the Lake District; as well as North Wales and South Wales.)
Also, there is an inset-map for all the clubs from Greater London-plus-the-immediate surrounding area [Greater London (18 Clubs from Greater London + 3 from surrounding areas of the Home Counties).]
The expanded list on the right side of the map shows 7 things…
A) Attendance Rank.
B) 2019-20 Divisional status (League-Level; and league position when the seasons were suspended).
C) Home domestic league Average Attendance from 2019-20.
D) Seasons that the Club has played in the 1st division (there have been 121 seasons of English 1st division seasons [counting 2019-20]).
E) English titles won (with last title noted).
F) FA Cup titles won (with last Cup-win noted).
G) League Cup titles won (with last cup-win noted).
At the foot of the map-page are shown the crests of the top-50-drawing English-and-Welsh clubs, arranged L-R with their crests sized, to reflect their drawing-power. (The top 50 drawing clubs in the English league system in 2019-20 ended up being all the clubs which drew above 10.0 K per game.)
There were 9 clubs which drew above 40 thousand per game…
(In the previous season [2018-19], there were 8 clubs which drew above 40 K. The reason why there were 9 clubs drawing above 40 K in 2019-20 was that Aston Villa, who had just won promotion back to the Premier League, saw their attendance shoot up 5.6 K-per-game.)
(List below shows the 9 clubs that drew above 40-K-per-game in 2019-20 (with Numerical Change from 2018-19.)
-Manchester United, averaging 73.3 K per game (down -1.1 K-per-game from 2018-19).
-Arsenal, 60.2 K (up +0.3 K-per-game from 2018-19).
-West Ham United, 59.8 K (up +1.5 K-per-game from 2018-19).
-Tottenham Hotspur, 59.3 K (up +5.1 K-per-game from 2018-19).
-Manchester City 54.2 K (up +0.08 K-per-game from 2018-19).
-Liverpool, 53.1 K (up +0.16 K-per-game from 2018-19).
-Newcastle United, 48.2 K (down -2.8 K-per-game from 2018-19).
-Aston Villa, 41.6 K (up +5.6 K-per-game from 2018-19).
-Chelsea, 40.5 K (up +0.1 K-per-game from 2018-19).
And, in 2019-20, there were 32 clubs in the English league system which drew above 20.0 K per game. The clubs drawing above 20-K-per-game included the 9 highest-drawing clubs listed above, plus the 21 clubs listed below. Breakdown by division: 19 Premier League clubs (all except Bournemouth); 10 Championship clubs; 1 League One club (Sunderland).
-Everton (1), 39.1 K.
-Leeds United AFC (2), 35.3 K.
-Leicester City (1), 32.0 K.
-Wolverhampton Wanderers (1), 31.3 K.
-Sheffield United (1), 30.8 K.
-Brighton & Hove Albion (1), 30.3 K.
-Sunderland AFC (3), 30.1 K.
-Southampton (1), 29.6 K.
-Nottingham Forest (2), 27.7 K.
-Norwich City (1), 27.0 K.
-Derby County (2), 26.7 K.
-Crystal Palace (1), 25.0 K.
-West Bromwich Albion (2), 24.0 K.
-Sheffield Wednesday (2), 23.7 K.
-Stoke City (2), 22.8 K.
-Cardiff City (2), 22.8 K.
-Bristol City (2), 21.8 K.
-Huddersfield Town AFC (2), 21,7 K.
-Watford (1), 20.8 K.
-Birmingham City (2), 20.4 K.
-Burnley (1), 20.2 K.
…
There are 3 clubs on the map, who were not drawing above 1-K-per-game before 2019-20. {Here is my map from last season, 2018-19 English football clubs map/133 clubs}.
Those 3 clubs are:
∙King’s Lynn Town (of Norfolk), who drew 1.4 K, in the 6th-tier National League North. King’s Lynn Town are currently in 2nd place, 2 pts. behind York City, but King’s Lynn would be in 1st place, and in the automatic-promotion-place, using PPG {table, here}. {Here is my post on the National Leagues North & South 2019-20 from September 2019, which features a short illustrated article on King’s Lynn Town}.
∙Spennymoor Town (of Durham), who drew 1.1 K, also in the 6th-tier National League North. Spennymoor Town are in their 3rd season ever of 6th-tier football. Spennymoor is located, by road, 26 miles (41 km) south of Newcastle. Five years ago, Spennymoor Town were drawing 542 per game, in the 7th-tier Northern Premier D1-North. After winning promotion to the 6th tier for 2017-18, Spennymoor drew in the 800s-per-game, finishing in 8th in 2017-18, then in 4th place last season. Currently they sit 6th, in the play-off places – but would be outside the play-off paces if PPG were to be used {table, here}.
∙Wealdstone (of north-west Greater London, situated in the former county of Middlesex). Wealdstone drew 1.0 K in the 6th-tier National League South. Wealdstone were a founding member of the Alliance Premier League (present-day 5th division/the National League), in 1979-80. Wealdstone have led the 2019-20 National League South since September (they currently lead Havant & Waterlooville by 2 pts.) {table, here}. {Here is my post on the National Leagues North & South 2019-20 from September 2019, which features a short illustrated article on Wealdstone}.
The list goes to 1,000 per game (134 clubs), but I also included, on the list – and on the map – all clubs which drew in the 900s…of which there were only 3 clubs: Bomsgrove Sporting (7), Ebbsfleet United (5), Gateshead (6-N). So that made it 137 teams on the map. Here are all the clubs which just missed out being on the map: that is, all the clubs which drew in the 800s…5 clubs: Worthing (7), Chelmsford City (6-S), Slough Town (6-S), Blyth Spartans (6-N), Guernsey (8).
…
Here is the breakdown, by division (aka level), of…
All the clubs in the English football pyramid which drew over 1 K per game in 2018-19 (134 clubs).
1 – Premier League: all 20 clubs.
2 – EFL Championship: all 24 clubs.
3 – EFL League One: all 23 clubs.
4 – EFL League Two: all 24 clubs.
5 – [non-League] National League: 22 of the 24 clubs…The exceptions being Ebbsfleet United (who drew 979 per game), and Boreham Wood (who drew a club record 724 per game).
6 – [non-League] The 6th tier is comprised of 2 regional leagues: National League North & National League South. 18 of the 44 clubs in the 6th tier drew above 1.0 K per game (11 in NL-North, 7 in NL-South).
-York City (6-N), drawing 2,705 per game.
-Dulwich Hamlet (6-S), 2,183.
-Hereford (6-N), 2,049.
-Chester (6-N), 2,019.
-Maidstone United (6-S), 1,776.
-Darlington (6-N), 1,471.
-King’s Lynn Town (6-N), 1,417.
-Havant & Waterlooville (6-S), 1,390.
-Kidderminster Harriers (6-N), 1,364.
-Boston United (6-N), 1,304.
-Dartford (6-S), 1,182.
-Spennymoor Town (6-N), 1,182.
-AFC Telford United (6-N), 1,148.
-Altrincham (6-N), 1,139.
-Weymouth (6-S), 1,077.
-Bath City (6-S), 1,064.
-Wealdstone (6-S), 1,031.
-Southport (6-N), 1,006.
7 – [non-League] The 7th tier is comprised of 4 regional leagues: Northern Premier/Southern Central/Southern South/Isthmian Leagues. 3 of the 88 clubs in the 7th tier drew above 1.0 K per game (all 3 from the Northern Premier League).
The three 7th-level clubs which drew above 1 K per game were:
-South Shields (7-Northern Premier), 1,669.
-FC United of Manchester (7-Northern Premier), 1,668.
-Scarborough Athletic (7-Northern Premier), 1,001.
Final breakdown of the 134 clubs drawing over 1,00 per game in 2019-20: all 20 Premier League clubs; all 71 Football League clubs; 43 non-League clubs / 130 English clubs and 4 Welsh clubs.
___
Sources for map…
Thanks to all at the links below…
-Blank map of English Metropolitan and Non-Metropolitan Counties, by Nilfanion, at File:English metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties 2010.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.
-List of metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom (en.wikipedia.org).
-Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England (en.wikipedia.org).
-Local government in Wales/Principal areas of Wales (en.wikipedia.org).
Attendance figures…
-worldfootball.net. (2019-20 Average attendances from the 1st division through 4th division.)
-nonleaguematters.co.uk. (2019-20 Average attendances of all non-League clubs on the map, ie from 5th division, 6th division, and 7th division.)
-League tables from soccerway.com.
-Information on COVID-19 Pandemic on English football from several sources including theguardian/football, bbc.com/sport/football, 2019-20 Premier League (en.wikipedia.org).
