billsportsmaps.com

December 18, 2015

Football Clubs of London (all Greater London-based association football clubs in the top 5 divisions of football in England – 16 clubs): location-map with current domestic leagues home average attendances.

london_football-clubs2015-16_5-premier-league-clubs_9-football-league-clubs_2-conference-national-league-clubs_16-london-clubs-in-the-top5-div_map_post_db_.gif
Football Clubs of London (all Greater London-based association football clubs in the top 5 divisions of football in England – 16 clubs): location-map with current average attendances




Links…
-London (en.wikipedia.org).
-Football clubs of London (top 8 divisions)…Football in London (en.wikipedia.org).
-A recent article on football in London, from the Two Unfortunates site…Football Cities: London (on 9 Nov.2015, by Rob Langham at thetwounfortunates.com).
-London Photos Archive (londontopia.net).
london-at-night_aerial-shot_thames_tower-bridge_west-london-view_d_.gif
Photo credit above – unattributed at londontopia.net.

    Map of the Football Clubs of London
    (all Greater London-based association football clubs in the top 5 divisions of football in England – 16 clubs)

By Bill Turianski on 18 December 2015; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.

Update: Welling United were relegated out of the 5th division in May 2016. Sutton United, of south-west London, were promoted to the 5th division in May 2016. If you are curious to see where Sutton Utd are located, click on the following, 2016–17 [Non-League] National League (aka the Conference) [5th division England], map w/ 15/16-crowds-&-finish./+ features on the 4 promoted clubs (Solihull Moors, North Ferriby United, Sutton United, Maidstone United).

Three clubs who will be moving to new grounds in the very-near or somewhat-near future (West Ham Utd, Brentford, AFC Wimbledon)…
On the map, I have included the details of the West Ham United stadium move. {See this, Boleyn becomes bygone: West Ham’s Upton Park upheaval a sign of the times (by Daniel Taylor, on 28 Nov.2015, at theguardian.com/football/blog).} The map has also been be updated with respect to Brentford’s new ground, now that it is 100% certain that Brentford will begin construction on their proposed new stadium, approximately 1.5 km E of Griffin Park. {See this, Go-ahead for Brentford FC stadium and 650 homes (on 14 Dec.2015, at constructionenquirer.com)./ Also see this, Brentford take significant step towards Lionel Road stadium as Hounslow Council activate CPO (getwestlondon.co.uk by Tom Moore from 2 Aug. 2016).} Similarly, the map has been updated now that fan-owned AFC Wimbledon has won council approval for their new ground and their return, east, near-to Wimbledon, in Merton. {See this, Go-ahead for new stadium – AFC Wimbledon is ‘delighted’ that Merton Council has approved the club’s plans to build a new stadium in the borough (on 12 Dec.2015, at thedonstrust.org).} AFC Wimbledon had recently secured a cash-raise-sale of their Kingsmeadow ground in south-west London, in order to fund their planned new stadium in Merton. {See this, AFC Wimbledon close on new stadium near Plough Lane after Chelsea sale (by David Conn, on 17 Nov.2015, at theguardian.com/football).}

Map of London-based football clubs (top 5 divisions/16 clubs)…
The map shows the locations of the football grounds of the 16 clubs. The grounds’ names are listed next to small crests of the clubs. To best view an enlarged map-section, I recommend clicking on the white-shaded City of London (right in the center of the map)…that should give you an enlarged map-section which includes all 16 clubs. I have included a few extra details for the Greater London map – the aforementioned City of London’s small confines are noted, as are the locations of the following: Regent’s Park; Hyde Park, Parliament [Westminster]; Trafalgar Square (in Westminster), Wembley Stadium (in north-west London); the Royal Observatory, Greenwich [home of 0 degrees longitude (the Prime Meridian), and Greenwich Mean Time]; and the Dartford Crossing. (The Dartford Crossing is a vital and heavily-traveled dual-tunnel/bridge crossing located on the River Thames just east of Greater London, which connects Dartford, Kent to Thurrock, Essex, and is the only fixed-road crossing of the Thames east of Greater London; the busiest estuarial crossing in the UK, it services around 130,000 vehicles daily). The four largest municipalities adjacent to Greater London are also noted (the Medway Towns [incl. Gillingham] in Kent, Southend-on-Sea in Essex, Slough in Berkshire, and Watford in Hertfordshire). Some other municipalities adjacent to Greater London are also listed, mainly to point out the closest-to-Greater-London clubs (Watford in Herts, home of Watford FC/1st Div/Premier League club; Borehamwood in Herts, home of Boreham Wood FC/5th Div club; and Dartford in Kent, home of Dartford FC/5th Div club). Though not officially located in Greater London, these 3 clubs could be considered de-facto Greater London clubs, owing to proximity and road-and-rail-connections to central London.

My first map of London teams was posted 6 years ago…
The first time I covered this topic – in mid-December of 2009 – it was a quick decision, a very-hastily-made map, and a swift posting {here, Football Clubs of Greater London, 2009-10 season [top 5 divisions/15 clubs]}. Then, through the past 6 years, that Dec. 2009 map-&-post of the Football Clubs of London has become my most-viewed map. (That is because lots of football fans from all over the world Google-search with queries such as “football teams in london [Image search]“, or “london football clubs [Image search]“.)

So I figured it was high time I re-visited this topic. Hayes & Yeading FC are no longer on the map (they are a 6th Division club now), while two South London clubs – Bromley FC and Welling United FC – have progressed to the 5th Division and are now featured on the new map here. This time, in addition to listing each of the featured clubs’ total-seasons-in-1st-division and major-titles-(w/-last-title-listed), the map page now includes a photo of each club’s stadium. Some of the stadium-photos I selected are aerial shots of the stadiums, some of the photos are exterior shots, and some are interior and interior-game-action shots…basically I just selected the coolest-looking photo I could find for each club’s ground. The stadium-photos at the foot of the map page are arranged left-to-right/top-to-bottom by average home league attendance figures [current attendance figures to 13 Dec.2015/sources linked to at the foot of this post]. Date of the stadium’s opening & stadium capacity is listed in the caption-box above each club’s stadium-photo. The chart at the right-hand side of the map page is also ranked from highest-drawing-London-club-in-top-5-divisions (Arsenal) to lowest-drawing-London-club-in-top-5-divisions (Welling Utd).

Oh, and in case you are wondering, there is one Greater-London-based club, in the current-6th Div/National League South, that has a decent shot at gaining promotion to the 5th Level, and that is Sutton United, who are located in South London and currently [18 Dec.2015] are in the play-off places in fourth.

Update: Sutton United did win promotion to the 5th division. Here is a recent map-and-post (Aug 2016) I made which has the location of and information about Sutton United, 2016–17 [Non-League] National League (aka the Conference) [5th division England], map w/ 15/16-crowds-&-finish./+ features on the 4 promoted clubs (Solihull Moors, North Ferriby United, Sutton United, Maidstone United).
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Thanks to all at the following links below…
Photo credits on the map page -
-Arsenal (Emirates Stadium), exterior entrance with cannons in foreground, photo by Ronnie Macdonald at File:Emirates Stadium -canons.jpg.
-Chelsea (Stamford Bridge), aerial photo by Tom Shaw/Getty Images Europe via zimbio.com.
-Tottenham (White Hart Lane), exterior roof-top view of stadium, photo unattributed at tottenhamhotspur.wikia.com/wiki/White_Hart_Lane.
-West Ham Utd (Boleyn Ground aka Upton Park), aerial photo by Tom Shaw/Getty Images Europe via zimbio.com.
-Crystal Palace (Selhurst Park), photo of exterior of Holmesdale Road Stand, by Rosella Scalia at thecroydoncitizen.com [article: The road to Selhurst Park, by Rosella Scalia].
-Fulham (Craven Cottage), photo of the actual Craven cottage there at the ground, unattributed at premierleague.com/fulham.
-Charlton Athletic (The Valley), aerial photo by Mark Fosh at File:Charlton Athletic football ground.jpg.
-Queens Park Rangers (Loftus Road), interior of the ground during a match (action shot), photo by Lee Abbamonte at leeabbamonte.com/sports-weekend-in-london.
-Brentford (Griffen Park), aerial photo by David Levene at theguardian.com/travel/interactive/2013/mar/15/brentford-football-club-pub-each-corner-interactive.
-Millwall (The New Den), street-level exterior photo of the New Den, photo by fussballinlondon.de [Millwall/The Den].
-Leyton Orient (Brisbane Road), aerial photo by Tom Shaw/Getty Images Europe via zimbio.com.
-AFC Wimbledon (Kingsmeadow aka Cherry Red Records Stadium), photo unattributed at getwestlondon.co.uk/afc-wimbledon-2014-15 .
-Barnet (The Hive), photo taken from the Jubilee line by Paul50, uploaded by Dave H at onlybarnet.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5329&start=570 [thread: The Hive ground].
-Dagenham & Redbridge (Victoria Road aka Chigwell Construction Stadium), photo by Rambler1977 via stadiumdb.com/stadiums/eng/victoria_road.
-Bromley (Hayes Lane), photo from stadien-in-baden-wuerttemberg.de/England.
-Welling Utd (Park View Road), photo by the Onion Bag.blogspot.com [Saturday 26th February - Conference South Welling United 1 v Weston-Super-Mare 0.] (onion-bag.blogspot.com).

Also, Thank You, to…
-All who contributed to…Football in London (en.wikipedia.org).
-Nilfanion…Blank relief map of Greater London, by Nilfanion (using UK Ordnance Survey data), at File:Greater London UK relief location map.jpg.
-Soccerway.com: attendances on map page are from from soccerway.com.
-Non-League clubs’ attendances from NonLeagueMatters.co.uk.
-Lanterne Rouge at the Two Unfortunates, for the great article on football in London circa 2015 and for re-tweeting recent tweets from @billsportsmaps.
-Àxel Aguilar, @aguilaraxel, for several re-tweets and for solid advice this year – he told me i needed a better banner at twitter :l (he was right).
-Martín Donato, @martindonato, for several re-tweets and recommends, etc.

Happy Holidays & best wishes for 2016, to all who visit here.

May 1, 2012

Conference National, May 2011-12 – the 1 promoted club – Fleetwood Town FC – and the 4 play-off clubs / Plus a map of the 7 Lancashire-based Football League clubs in the 2012-13 season.

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2011-12 Conference (aka Blue Square Premier League), Top of the Table map



bbc.co.uk/Sport/Football//Non-League
Conference National Play Off fixtures.
2011-12 Conference National (aka Blue Square Bet Premier League) Play Offs
all times below are GMT (ie, Britain) / subtract 5 hours for Eastern Time (US & Canada)
Semi Finals,
First Leg,
York City v Mansfield Town 2nd May 2012. Kick Off 19:30.
Luton Town v Wrexham 3rd May 2012. Kick Off 19:30.
Second Leg,
Mansfield Town v York City 7th May 2012. Kick Off 14:00.
Wrexham v Luton 7th May 2012. Kick Off 16:30.
Play Off Promotion Final,
Sunday 20th May 2012- at Wembley Stadium – 3pm Kick Off.

2011-12 Promotion / Play-offs Map. Promoted to the Football League: Fleetwood Town FC, with second promotion spot to play offs winner.

From Guardian.co.uk/Football League blog, from 10 April 2012, by Jacob Steinberg, ‘Long-term planning leaves Fleetwood Town on verge of promised land – A win over Wrexham will take Fleetwood into the Football League for the first time in their turbulent history‘.

On the 16 April 2012 broadcast of the BBC London Non-League {Season 5 Episode 37 podcast here}, Fleetwood Town chairman and local businessman Andy Pilley confirmed that the club has actually turned a small profit for the 2011-12 season [interview with Micky Mellon and Andy Pilley at ~16:00 into BBC Non-League Football Show Season 5 Episode 37 (Mon. 16 April 2012)].

This despite the fact that Fleetwood Town had the highest wage bill in the league, and drew just 2,264 per game to their home league matches (9th-highest in the league). So Crawley Town they are not – unlike last season’s Conference champions Crawley Town, Fleetwood Town does not have undisclosed ownership which has plowed far more money into a promotion campaign than any other club in the league could ever hope to invest. FTFC’s money comes from a local source. From the fleetwoodtown.com site, ‘Andy Pilley is…the founder and managing director of Business Energy Solutions (BES). He founded the company in 2002 from a spare bedroom following the deregulation of the energy market.’ And sure they spent to get promoted – FW Jamie Vardy cost six figures to buy from Conference North club FC Halifax Town. But Fleetwood Town have still managed to live within their means, and thanks to their great FA Cup run, and broadcast revenue from their Third Round match versus Blackpool, they even managed to make a profit. Congratulations to Fleetwood Town FC, its chairman Andy Pilley and the board, its manager Micky Mellon, it’s players, its supporters, and all the folks who pitch in at the Highbury Stadium up there on the Fylde in coastal Lancashire…the Cod Army will now take their deserved place in the 2012-13 Football League’s League Two.

Below is a little chart I put together that shows the recent league history and average attendances of Fleetwood Town in the past 8 seasons. In that space of time, Fleetwood Town have been promoted 5 times and have seen their average attendance increase from 206 per game to 2,264 per game – a jump from the 9th Level to the 4th Level and a numerical increase at the gate of over two thousand a game. Also shown is Fleetwood Town’s Highbury Stadium before and after the Parkside Stand was opened in April 2011…
fleetwood-town2004-05-to-2011-12__attendances_LEAGUE-HISTORY_parkside-stand_13e.gif
Image and photo credits above – bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleetwood_Town_F.C.. fwpgroup.co.uk/projects.

Below – Fleetwood Town, 2011-12 Conference National champions -
Seen below are Fleetwood Town’s manager, Micky Mellon and the team’s top 2 leading scorers from the 2011-12 season, Sheffield-born Jamie Vardy (age 24), and Liverpool-born Andy Mangan (age 25).
fleetwood-town_micky-mellon_jamie-vardy_andy-mangan_h.gif
Photo credits above – Mickey Mellon, photo by Ian Hodgson at dailymail.co.uk .
Jamie Vardy, photo by Derick Thomas at fleetwoodtoday.co.uk.
Andy Mangan, photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images Europe via zimbio.com.

Map of the 7 Lancashire-based clubs in the Premier League/Football League

Fleetwood Town’s first-ever promotion to the Football League means there are now 7 clubs from Lancashire that are in the top 4 levels of English football (that is, of course, the Premier League (1st Level), Football League Championship (2nd Level), Football League One (3rd Level), and Football League Two (4th Level) -
Blackburn Rovers (Premier League or League Championship {TBD} for 2012-13),
Blackpool (League Championship for 2012-13,
Burnley (League Championship for 2012-13,
Preston North End (League One for 2012-13),
Accrington Stanley (League Two for 2012-13),
Fleetwood Town (League Two for 2012-13),
Morecambe (League Two for 2012-13).
Click on image below for map of 7 Lancashire-based clubs in the Football League/Premier League -
lancashire_football-clubs_2012-13_.segment_.gif
Photo credits above -
Morecambe, Tony Scholes at http:clarets-mad.co.uk/feature, league_two_[stadiums].
Fleetwood, fwpgroup.co.uk.
Blackpool, Terry Robinson at geograph.org via en.wikipedia.org’.
Preston, skyscrapercity.com/thread, PRESTON | Deepdale Redevelopment.
Blackburn, Blackburn Rovers/fussballtempel.net
Accrington, bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view.
Burnley, Simon Kirwan at lightboxuk.photoshelter.com.

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Photo credits on the map page –
Fleetwood Town/Highbury Stadium – placenorthwest.co.uk. fleetwoodtownfc.com. fwpgroup.co.uk.

Wrexham/Racecourse Ground – redpassion.co.uk

Mansfield Town/Field Mill – findaproperty.com. 100groundsclub.blogspot.com/2010/02/field-mill. bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view.

York City/Bootham Crescent – bluesqfootball.com. campdavemorecambe at flickr.com. cqout.com/shop/Footy Postcards.

Luton Town/Kenilworth Road – SoccerWord.com. Stadiums.Football.co.uk. lutontoday.co.uk/’Grand designs for Kenilworth Road’. bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view.

Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘2011–12 Football Conference‘.
Thankls to soccerway.com, for attendance figures.
Attendance data from 2005-06 to 2008-09 from: http://www.tonykempster.co.uk/gridsindex.htm.
Thanks to fleetwoodtown-mad.co.uk at League History for Fleetwood Town league history.
Thanks to FWP Group fgor the aerial photo of Highbury Stadium, http://www.fwpgroup.co.uk/projects/default_item.php?id=101.

December 23, 2009

Football Clubs of Greater London, 2009-10 season. All clubs from the 5 highest levels (5 Premier League clubs, 8 Football League clubs, and 2 Conference National clubs – 15 clubs).

Please Note: I have made a more recent map of London football clubs, at the following link (December 2015), Football Clubs of London (all Greater London-based association football clubs in the top 5 divisions of football in England – 16 clubs): location-map with current domestic leagues home average attendances.
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Once you click to get on to the main map page,  the map of Greater London is viewable in full screen when you click near the center of the map…right on the rectangular Millwall crest.  Besides showing the ceremonial counties which ring Greater London,  I added surrounding towns.  I did this with Google Earth,  and then I checked town populations;  sorry if I missed any significant towns.  I added a few details in central London…Hyde Park,  Regents Park,  Parliament,  and the boundaries of The City of London. 

The crests of all the clubs on the map itself are all the same size,  while the crests next to each club’s profile are sized to reflect domestic league average attendance from 7 December, 2009.  The 15 clubs’ average attendances are listed at the far left.

The following link has the list of all London football clubs in the top 8 Levels,  including the 15 clubs on the map,  plus the 3 London-based clubs in the Conference-South (6th Level),  and the 23 London-based clubs in the Isthmian Leagues (7th and 8th Levels) [aka Ryman Leagues]…{click here (Football Clubs in London page at Wikipedia)}. 

Here is a nice site called Football In London. It’s by a German fan, but it’s in English. It has lots of info on all the Premier League clubs and Football League clubs from London [for 2010-11, it is again 13 clubs from London that are in the top 4 Levels], including plenty of photos of each club’s ground… fussballinlondon.de

Thanks to ITV for gate figures and percent capacity figures {click here}.    Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org {click here (set at Hayes & Yeading page)}. 

January 7, 2008

Football Clubs of Northern and Northeastern England, including Cumbria, Tyne-and-Wear, Durham, Humberside, and Lincolnshire.

Filed under: England's Regions — admin @ 6:47 am

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[Listed numerically in order of highest average attendance, within the context of the entire 92-club English Football League.]

3. Newcastle United: 50,686 avg. attendance, in ’06-’07; up 0.4%, this season.  Newcastle sit 11th, in the Premiere League.  Alex Ferguson took 3 and a half years to finally win a trophy with Manchester United (hired in Nov., 1986/ FA Cup, in May, 1990).  Many Newcastle fans aren’t even giving Sam Allardyce 6 months to show results. 

11. Sunderland: 31,887, avg. attendance, in ’06-’07; up 36%, this season.  Sunderland are in the relegation zone, at 18th place, in the Premier League.   The Black Cats might be doomed to be the biggest yo-yo club in the world.  When you have the country’s 11th-biggest average gate, while not even in the top flight, you are a relatively big club.  When you are relegated, then promoted 4 times in 12 seasons, then you are a yo-yo club.  And when you are back in the Premier League’s relegation zone this late into the season, nothing has changed. 

13. Middlesbrough: 27,730 avg. attendance, in ’06-’07; down 5%, this season.  Middlesbrough sit 15th, in the Premier League.   Middlesbrough finds a way to get a good result, every few games (like beating league-leaders Arsenal).  But then they look uninspired, for games at a time.  One wonders when owner Steve Gibson’s patience with Gareth Southgate will end. 

32. Hull City: 18,758 avg. attendance, in ’06-’07; down 9%, this season.  Hull sit 9th, in the League Championship (the 2nd Level).   The Tigers continue their gradual climb.  Hull City was a 4th Level club as recently as 2004.    Hull is the 10th largest city in Great Britain [and until 2008 promotion, was the largest city to have never had a football club in the English first division]. 

50. Carlisle United: 7,907 avg. attendance, in ’06-’07; down 5%, this season.  Carlisle sit in the promotion places, at 2nd, in League One (the 3rd Level).   Carlisle is hampered by being the most isolated club in the League.  The Cumbrians have had 2 promotions in 3 years; they could go up again, but the presence of 2 big clubs in this league this season (Leeds and Nottingham Forest) will make it difficult.

62. Scunthorpe United: 5,669 avg. attendance, in ’06-’07; up 19%, this season. Scunthorpe sit in the relegation zone, at 22nd, in the League Championship.   The Iron might be a victim of the highly competitive caliber of the current League Championship.  Anyone can literally beat anyone, but someone has to be relegated, and it will probably be at least 2 of the 3 minnows (Scunthorpe, Colchester, and Blackpool) punching above their weight in the second tier, this season.

69. Lincoln City: 5,176 avg. attendance, in ’06-’07; down 28%, this season.  Lincoln City sit 21st, in League two (the 4th Level).   The Imps have lost in the playoffs for an astounding 5 straight seasons.  This season, they started out so poorly, they were in the relegation zone.  But new manager Peter Jackson (ex-Huddersfield Town boss) has righted the ship.

70. Hartlepool United: 5,087 avg. attendance, in ’06-’07; down 3%, this season.  Hartlepool sit 15th, in League One (the 3rd Level).  Relegated in ’06, ”Pools” bounced right back to the third tier last spring. 

79. Grimsby Town: 4,379 avg. attendance; down 0.3%, this season.  Grimsby sit 15th, in League Two (the 4th Level).  Talk about keeping the status quo: The Mariners are at the same spot they finished last season, 15th; and their attendance is almost exactly the same. 

82. Darlington: 3,814 avg. attendance, in ’06-’07; up 8%, this season.  Darlington are in the playoff places, at 6th, in League Two (the 4th Level).  The Quakers ownership might have over-estimated their potential fan base.  The club currently plays to a creepy 16% capacity in their new white elephant, The Balfour Webnet Stadium.  Crowds are up from last year, though, and will likely increase further, if they gain promotion.  Last year they faltered down the stretch, finishing 11th.

92. Boston United: 2,152 avg. attendance, in ’06-’07; down 32%, this season.  Boston United are now out of the League, after double-relegation (one relegation for finishing second-to-last place in League Two; one more relegation for financial irregularities).  They sit 10th, in the Blue Square North Division (6th Level). 

**List of all 92 Clubs from the 2006-’07 English Football League  [with Average Attendance/ Titles/ FA Cups/ Seasons in First Level.**

List, Clubs #1 to #46  (Manchester United, to Southened United), click here.attendancemaplegendcombinedleagues.gif

List, Clubs #47 to #92  (Milwall to Boston United), clickattendancemaplegendcombinedleagues2.gif here. 

!!!Note: To best read the lists, left-click on thumbnail (duh), then left-click to enlarge the list; then diminish screen twice [via pressing "SHIFT," and "-"  keys simultaneously.] 

January 5, 2008

Football Clubs of Essex, Herts, and East Anglia (and adjacent areas).

Filed under: England's Regions — admin @ 11:32 pm

essex_east-anglia2.gif





East Anglia comprises Norfolk (Norwich City), Suffolk (Ipswich Town), and Cambridgeshire (Peterborough United).   East Anglia is very rural, and agricultural-based.  Ipswich Town’s nickname is the Tractor Boys, and Norwich is the only major city in Britain not linked to a motorway, or waterway.  Herts is short for Hertfordshire (Watford), and is in the heart of the north London commuter belt.  It is home to many large corporations, like Tescos supermarket chain.  In recent years, this county has increasingly become a bedroom community for the expanding London metropolis.   I have also included the clubs from Bedfordshire (Luton Town), Buckinghamshire (Wycombe Wanderers and MK Dons), and Kent (Gillingham).

Essex (Southend United, and Colchester United) has been a dormitory area for London workers for decades.  The southern half of the county can be described as built up/run down: Southend is a famous sea-side resort area that has seen better days.  The northern half of Essex is similar to Suffolk, in terms of it being less citified and more bucolic.   Layer Road, Colchester United’s home, is a real throwback.  Other League Championship clubs do not like coming to this 6,200-capacity bandbox relic.
colcheater_united_layer_road3.gif 

Layer Road will be gone after this season, when Colchester United move to a new 10,000 seat stadium, outside of town, called (believe it or not) Cuckoo Farm.  I really hope Colchester survives the drop this season [Editor's note: they didn't]. 

2006-’07 Season Average Attendance/ % Change, this season (so far)./ League Standing.  [Clubs listed in numerical order, within the context of the entire 92-club English Football League.]

16. Norwich City: 24,545 avg. attendance, in ’06-’07; down 0.5%, this season.  Norwich sit 20th, in the League Championship (the 2nd Level).  The Canaries have been playing much better since Glen Roeder took over, as manager.  They look like they will soon be safe from relegation worries.  This is a club with a large, and loyal fan base, and they don’t deserve to be in the third tier.   

22. Ipswich Town: 22,445 avg. attendance;  down 7%, this season.  Ipswich sit in the playoff place, at 6th place, in the League Championship (the 2nd Level).  The Tractor Boys are undefeated, at home, in the league, but are dreadful away.  They play exciting up-tempo passing football, much in the tradition of the Ipswich side that won the 1978 FA Cup, under Bobby Robson.  But don’t expect them to have a serious run at promotion, unless they start winning on the road.norwich_ipswich.gif   

33. Watford: 18,751 avg. attendance, in ’06-’07; down 11%, this season.  Watford are in the promotion places, at 2nd place (tied on points, for first place, with West Bromwich, and Bristol City), in the League Championship (the 2nd Level).  The Hornets has been slipping, lately, after a great start.  This was following their humiliating last-place finish in, and relegation from, the Premier League last season.  Their promotion chances have went from a near-lock, to more like 50-50, due to their poor recent form and the glut of competitive clubs in the second tier. watford.gif  

46. Southend United: 10,024 avg. attendance, in ’06-’07; down 22%, this season.  Southend sit 11th, in League One (the 3rd Level).  The Shrimpers haven’t recovered from their single season foray into the 2nd Level, and selling prolific striker Freddy Eastwood (to Wolves).  They have a pretty large fan base for an historically third level club.  But in the last 20 years, they have spent more time on either side of the third tier…8 seasons in the 4th Level, 5 seasons in the 3rd Level, and 7 seasons in the 2nd Level.   

49. Luton Town: 8,580 avg. attendance, in ’06-’07; down 23%, this season.  Luton, after going into administration, and being deducted 10 points, are in the relegation zone, at 21st place, in League One (the 3rd Level).   Luton were helped tremendously by making it to the 3rd Round of the FA Cup, and receiving broadcast revenues from their fixture with Liverpool, on Sunday.  It meant the players could actually get paid, for the first time in several weeks.  They seem to have been through the worst of it, and are playing well in the league, recently, so they will probably avoid back-to-back relegations.  What the Hatters really need is a new stadium.   Their Kenilworth Road Ground is dilapidated, and the club are unable to expand it, due to it’s location in a residential neighborhood.  One entrance to the ground actually goes under some homes.  This is a club that won the League Cup in 1988, and has spent 16 seasons in the top flight, so their current plight is a shame.

 56. Gillingham: 6,282 avg. attendance, in ’06-’07; up 0.2%, this season.  Gillingham sit 18th, in League One (the 3rd Level).   The Gills are a club that has spent most of it’s existence in the 3rd Level, except for a 5-year spell recently in the second tier (2000-’05).    southend_luton_gillingham.gif   

57. MK Dons: 6,034 avg. attendance, in ’06-’07; up 40 %, this season.  Milton Keynes Dons are in First place in League Two (the 4th Level), leading by 11 points.  Energized by their brand new, 22,000-seat “stadium:mk,” the high-scoring Dons seem a sure bet to return to the 3rd Level.  Whether they will ever make it back to the top-flight, where the original club (Wimbledon FC) spent 14 legendary seasons (and won the 1988 FA Cup), remains to be seen.  There is much ill-will towards this club, which pulled up stakes, and moved to a gentrified “new town,”  like some cynical American sports franchise fleeing to the Sun Belt.

67. Colchester United: 5,466 avg. attendance, in ’06-’07; down 0.6%, this season.  Colchester are in the relegation zone, at 21st place, in the League Championship (the 2nd Level).  Colchester shocked the League Championship last season , with a 10th place finish.  It was the U’s first-ever season in the second tier.   But en route, they were forced to sell versatile fullback/midfielder Greg Halford last January (he’s now on Sunderland).  Then they sold a big offensive threat, Chris Iwelumo (who is racking them up now with Charlton).  Then league-leading 24-goal scorer Jamie Cureton asked out, saying the club lacked ambition (he’s now on Norwich).   All this has seriously set Colchester back, and they’ll likely be in a relegation battle until May.  Manager Geraint Williams has admitted he has to try to find talent on the cheap, during the January transfer window.   Lead scorer/ assists leader is 22-year old Irish winger Mark Yeates, who is deadly accurate with his curling free kicks.  42-year old Teddy Sheringham is doing his swan song here. 

72. Wycombe Wanderers: 4,983 avg. attendance, in ’06-’07; down 12%, this season.  Wycombe are in the promotion places, at 7th place, in League Two (the 4th Level).  The Chairboys spent 10 seasons in the 3rd Level, and are keen to return; they’ve fizzled in the playoffs 2 of the last 3 years.

83. Peterborough United: 4,662 avg. attendance, in ’06-’07; up 14 %, this season.  Peterborough sit in the promotion spots, at 5th, in the League Two.  “The Posh” are on the upswing, with deep pocketed new ownership, and a place in the 4th Round of the 2007-’08 FA Cup.  They are favored by many to gain promotion to League One.   

Thanks to Colours Of Football for the kits (www.colours-of-football.com).

January 4, 2008

Football Clubs of Hampshire, Berkshire, the West Country, and South Wales.

Filed under: England's Regions — admin @ 8:19 am

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The logos of the bigger clubs on the map are sized to 2006-’07 average attendances, and reflect the size of the club’s fan base. 

Almost all of the League clubs from this region are doing very well.  Both Bristol clubs were promoted, last season (City to the 2nd Level, Rovers to the 3rd Level).  In fact, Bristol City are currently tied, on points, for the lead in the 2nd Level.  This is a stunning development, and great to see.  Bristol is the 6th-largest city in England, but has not seen top-flight football since Bristol City were relegated out of the old First Division, in 1980.  Manager Gary Johnson is an unassuming bloke, who worked miracles with mighty minnows Yeovil Town ( 2 promotions in 4 seasons).   At BCFC, he has assembled a tenaciouis squad that can beat anyone, even on the road.  People are now actually starting to take this club seriously, as promotion candidates.  

Former Conference dwellers Yeovil Town had their highest ever finish last season (5th place, 3rd Level).  Cheltenham, a tiny club, are punching above their weight, hanging on for dear life in the 3rd Level (they have the fan base of a 5th Level [Conference] club, really).  Plymouth are actually competing for a playoff place in the 2nd Level (they have never been in the top-flight).  Reading’s debut season in the Premier League, last term, produced a dream-finish of 8th place, and it looks like they will survive the inevitable sophmore slump.  Swindon won promotion back to the 3rd Level.  And in 2006-’07, Portsmouth had their best season in 52 years.

Of the two Welsh clubs, Swansea City is definately faring better, what with a new stadium, solid attendance figures (for the 3rd Level), and a three-point lead in League One.  Cardiff City are doing OK, but they seem to be treading water, and their perpetually delayed new ground is really needed.

That leaves just Southampton (stuck in the purgatory of the 2nd Level), and poor Torquay (relegated out of the League, and into the Conference [5th Level], only to start drawing significantly more fans than last season). 

2006-’07 Season Average Attendance/ % Change this Season (so far)/ Club standing in The League.  [Clubs listed in numerical order, within context of the entire 92-club English Football League.]

17. Reading: 23,829 avg. attendance (in ’06-’07); avg. attendance down 2%, this season. Reading sit 13th, in the Premier League, on January 2, 2008.    20. Southampton: 23,556 avg. attendance (in ’06-’07); down 11%, this season.   Southampton sit 15th place, in the 2nd Level.    31. Portsmouth: 19,862 avg. attendance (in ’06-’07);  down 2%, this season.  Portsmouth sit 8th, in the Premier League.    37. Cardiff City: 15,223 avg. attendance (in ’06-’07); down 10%, this season. 

39. Plymouth Argyle: 13,012 avg. attendance (in ’06-’07); down 1%, this season. Plymouth sit 7th, in the 2nd Level.    41. Bristol City: 12,818 avg. attendance (in ’06-’07); Up 17%, this season.  Bristol City sit 3rd, in the 2nd Level.     42. Swansea City: 12,720 avg. attendance (in ’06-’07); down 6%, this season. Swansea City sit First, in the 3rd Level.    52. Swindon Town: 7,419 avg. attendance (in ’06-’07); down 6%.  Swindon Town sit 12th, in the 3rd Level.

58. Bournemouth: 6,028 avg. attendance (in ’06-’07); down 6%, this season.  Bournemouth sit in the relegation zone, at 22nd, in the 3rd Level.    60. Yeovil Town: 5,765 avg. attendance (in ’06-’07); down 5%.  Yeovil Town sit 8th, in the 3rd Level.   66. Bristol Rovers : 5,476 avg. attendance (in ’06-’07); Up 28%, this season.  Bristol Rovers sit 19th, in the 3rd Level.   80. Cheltenham Town: 4,359 avg. attendance (in ’06-’07); down 0.6%, this season.  Cheltenham sit in the relegation zone, at 22nd, in the 3rd Level.    86. Torquay United : 2,633 avg. attendance (in ’06-’07); Up 26%, this season.  Torquay United sit 2nd, in the 5th Level (The Conference).

December 28, 2007

Football Clubs of the West Midlands.

Filed under: England's Regions — admin @ 6:21 am

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The kits of each club on the map are proportionally sized, to reflect their 2006-07 average attendance figures.

Average attendance.  / Percent change in gate figures this season. /  Current placement in the table:

8. Aston Villa: 36,214 average attendance, last season.  This season: Up (+ 9.3 %).  Aston Villa are in 8th place, in the Premier League (the 1st Level).   15. Derby County: 25,945 avg. attendance, last season.  This season: Up (+ 32.7 %).  Derby are in last place, in the Premier League.   21. Leicester City: 23,206 avg. attendance, last season.  This season: Down (-11.2 %).  Leicester are in 18th place, in the League Championship (the 2nd Level).   24. Birmingham City: 22,274 avg. attendance, last season.  This season: Up (+ 15.8 %).  Birmingham are in 14th, in the Premier League.  

27. Wolverhampton Wanderers: 21,968 avg. attendance, last season.  This season: Up (+ 9.7 %).  Wolves are in 8th place, in the 2nd Level.   28. Nottingham Forest: 20,617 avg. attendance, last season.  This season: Down (- 5.3 %).  Forest are in 2nd place, in League One (the 3rd Level).   29. West Bromwich Albion: 20,472 avg. attendance, last season.  This season: Up (+ 1.7 %).  WBA are in 1st place, in the 2nd Level.   30. Coventry City: 20,342 avg. attendance, last season.  This season: Down (-6.3 %).  Coventry are in 16th place, the 2nd Level.   

36. Stoke City: 15,749 avg. attendance, last season.  This season: Down (-10.0 %).  Stoke are in 3rd place, in the 2nd Level.   62. Walsall: 5,716 avg. attendance, last season.  This season: Up (+5.8 %).  Walsall are in 7th place, in the 3rd Level).   73. Notts County: 4,974 avg. attendance, last season.  This season: Down (-13.6 %).  Notts Co. are in 18th place, in League Two (the 4th Level).   77. Port Vale: 4,725 avg. attendance, last season.  This season: Down (-1.1 %).  Port Vale are in last place, in the 3rd Level.

December 26, 2007

Football Clubs of South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, and surrounding area.

Filed under: England's Regions — admin @ 4:55 pm

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With the exception of Doncaster and Barnsley, the clubs on this map are currently in varying degrees of doldrums.  Leeds has turned the corner, and will probably get back to the 2nd Level by season’s end.  But how far Leeds United has fallen, since playing in the Champions League Semi-Final in 2001, can be seen simply by the small size of their kit on the map.  This is a club with an historically huge fan base, and as recently as 2001, they drew 39,000 per game.  Leeds sits third in the 3rd division, on Boxing Day.   The two Sheffield clubs look like they’ll be spending another season in the second tier, so their fans will be assured of displaying their mutual loathing twice next season.  Sheffield United are in 11th, in the 2nd division; Sheffield Wednesday are just above the drop zone there, in 21st place.   Bradford has the unwanted distinction of currently leading the 4th Level in attendance (13,500), after being relegated last season, then slashing ticket prices.  Bradford City sits 15th, in the 4th division. 

Now that I think about it, Huddersfield isn’t really doing that bad, but I’m sure their respectably sized fan base feels that a club of their (medium) size and history (3 National Titles, and 1 FA Cup, all between 1922-26) deserves to be in a higher level than League One (3rd Level).  Huddersfield Town sit 12th, in the 3rd division.    Barnsley have spent 66 seasons at the Second Level, more than any other club.  Barnsley sit 12th, in the 2nd division.   Doncaster has went from non-league to the upper half of the 3rd Level, in 5 seasons.  Plus, they have a nice new ground, The Keepmoat Stadium.  Doncaster Rovers sit in the playoff places, at 6th, in the 3rd division.   Rotherham was in the second tier 3 years ago, but financial difficulties have dropped them to the 4th Level.  Rotherham United sit in the playoff places, at 5th, in the 4th division. 

I included the two clubs in northern Derbyshire and northern Nottinghamshire, because of their proximity to South Yorkshire.  Chesterfield was relegated to the 4th Level last season, but could bounce back.  Chesterfield sit in the playoff places, at 5th, in the 4th division.    Mansfield might be relegated out of the League.  Mansfield Town sit second from last (23rd), in the 4th division.

As with my last posting, this map shows the 2006-07 average attendances by the size of the clubs’ kit.  The larger the club’s average gate, the larger the kit is on the map.

2006-07 Average attendance.  (Clubs listed numerically in ranking, within the context of the entire 92-club English Football League).  

12. Sheffield United: 30,512 average attendance.   18. Sheffield Wednesday:  23,638.  25. Leeds United: 21,613.   42. Barnsley: 12,773.   45. Huddersfield Town: 10,573.   48. Bradford City: 8,694.   51. Doncaster Rovers: 7,746.   76. Rotherham United: 4,673.   81. Chesterfield: 4,235.    84. Mansfield Town: 3,176. 

This is the anniversary of the fire at the Valley Parade ground, in Bradford, in 1985, in which 56 were killed.  See this article, on the Pitch Invasion site.

  

December 24, 2007

Football Clubs of Greater Manchester, Lancashire, and Merseyside.

Filed under: England's Regions — admin @ 11:18 pm

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The Manchester/Lancashire/Liverpool area is crammed full of storied football clubs.  This map shows a generalized kit design of the football clubs of this region, proportionally sized to reflect their 2006-07 average attendance. [Clubs shown on the map are listed below, by average attendance, in numerical order within the context of all 92 clubs in the English Football League (2006-07 Season).] 

1. Manchester United: 75,826 average attendance.   4. Liverpool: 43,561.   6. Manchester City: 39,997.   7. Everton: 36,739.   19. Bolton Wanderers: 23,606.   26. Blackburn Rovers: 21,275.   33. Wigan Athletic: 18,159.   38. Preston North End: 14,430.   44. Burnley: 11,956.   54. Tranmere Rovers: 6,930.   55. Blackpool: 6,877.   56. Oldham Athletic: 6,334.   72. Stockport County: 5,514.   85. Rochdale: 2,898.   87. Bury: 2,588.   91. Accrington Stanley: 2,260.               

For this season (2007-08), another club would be added to the map.  Morecambe FC (“the Shrimps”) were promoted to the 4th Division (League Two), last spring.  {Wikipedia profile, here.}   {kit(tens), here}    It’s their first-ever season in the League.  I indicated where Morecambe is, on the map.  It’s the dot north of Blackpool.  Morecambe’s average gate this season, so far,  is 3,386.  If they keep up their form (8-6-5: 30 pts.), they’ll stay up.  Go Shrimps !

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