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June 14, 2010

2010 FIFA World Cup: Côte d’Ivoire (aka Ivory Coast), 23-man roster.

Filed under: FIFA World Cup, 2010,Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) — admin @ 10:40 am

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Côte d’Ivoire 2010 World Cup squad.

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The map shows the birthplaces of the 23-man squad of Côte d’Ivoire, which competed in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. At the bottom of the map page are photos of projected starters and key subs (16 player photos). International appearances (aka caps) and international goals are listed and are up to date as of 25th June, 2010 (ie, when Ivory Coast exited the 2010 World Cup).
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IvoryCoast.WorldCupBlog.org/.
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2 players on the Ivory Coast roster were born in Europe, defender Sol Bamba, who was born in Paris, France (and plays professionally for Hibernian of Scotland); and defender Guy Demel, who was also born in Paris (and who plays for Hamburg of Germany).

I have shown the youth clubs of the players in two rectangles on the far right of the map page. 4 players attended youth acadamies in Europe (including Didier Drogba), and that is shown in the upper rectangle, with club logos (of Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain, the Parisian fourth division amateur club Levallois SC, and the Belgian third division club KSK Beveren). Below that are listed the players who attended youth clubs/academies in the Ivory Coast, including the 13 players who were in the youth set-up of the Ivorian giants, ASEC Mimosas of Abidjan. [I showed all the logos I could find. I couldn't find logos of two tiny clubs, FC Bibo and CF d'Inter.]

13 players on the squad come from the largest city in the Ivory Coast, Abidjan. Abidjan has a population of around 3.8 million in the city and around 5.1 million in the metropolitan area {2006 figure}. Abidjan is the fourth-largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris, France; Kinshasa, DR Congo; and Montreal, Canada. As a whole, Ivory Coast has a population of around 15.4 million {see populations of 2010 World Cup nations here, from The Best Eleven site}.
Two more players come from Greater Abidjan, from Anyama, which is 10 km. NE of Abidjan. Anyama-born players in the squad are DF Benjamin Angoura (of Valenciennes in France) and FW Gervinho (of Lille in France).

The north of the country is predominantly Muslim. The recently ended Civil War in the Ivory Coast was drawn largely along Christian versus Muslim lines, with the Republic stronghold in the south, and the rebel-held north {see this map}. Two players on the Ivory Coast squad came from the northern region, both born in the second-largest city in the country, Bouaké (population of around 770,000 {2002 census figure})…the Touré brothers, Kolo (of Manchester Cty) and Yaya (of FC Barcelona).

The capital of Côte d’Ivoire is the centrally-located Yamoussoukro, which has a population of around 200,000 {2005 figure}. Two players on the squad were born in Yamoussoukro, defender Cheik Tioté (of FC Twente in the Netherlands), and Seydou Doumbia, a young striker (who plays in Russia for CSKA Moscow).

Two players, FW Salomon Kalou (of Chelsea) and back-up GK Daniel Yeboah (of ASEC Mimosas) were born SW of Yamoussoukro.
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Ivorian players in the 2010 Côte d’Ivoire World Cup squad, by locations of their current professional clubs…
In England, in the Premier League – 5 players.
In France, in Ligue Un – 4 players.
In Spain, in La Liga – 3 players.
In Germany, in Bundesliga-1 – 2 players.
In the Netherlansd, in the Eredivisie – 1 player.
In Russia, in the Russian Premier League – 1 player.
In Turkey, in Süper Lig – 1 player.
In Scotland, in the Scottish Premier League – 1 player.
In Romania, in Liga 1 – 1 player.
In Belgium, in the Belgian First Division – 1 player.
In Israel, in the Israeli Premier League – 1 player.
In Qatar, in the Qatar Stars League – 1 player.
In Côte d’Ivoire, in the Côte d’Ivoire Premier Division – 1 player.
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Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, Côte d’Ivoire national football team.

Thanks to official FIFA site, for caps and goals info, Côte dÍvoire Squad List.

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June 13, 2010

2010 FIFA World Cup: Netherlands, 23-man roster.

Filed under: FIFA World Cup, 2010,Netherlands — admin @ 9:59 am

Netherlands 2010 World Cup squad.

The map shows the birthplaces of the 23-man squad representing the Netherlands in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The Netherlands team made it all the way to the final, but fell just short, losing 1-0 to Spain in AET.

22 players on the Netherlands 2010 World Cup squad were born and raised in the home county of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Young defender Edson Braafheid, who plays professionally for Bayern Munich, was born in South America, in the former Dutch possession of Suriname. Braafheid emigrated to the Netherlands (ie, Holland) when he was a youngster and played in youth set-ups in the Amsterdam and Utrecht areas, before joining the FC Utrecht youth academy.

At the bottom of the map page are photos of projected starters and key subs (20 player photos). International appearances (aka caps) and international goals are listed and are up to date as of 11th July, 2010 (that is, the close of the 2010 World Cup).
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From The Guardian.co.uk, from 13 June, 2010, by Daniel Taylor: ‘World Cup 2010: Holland hope for harmony from their feuding stars‘.
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Dutch players in the 2010 World Cup squad, by locations of their current professional clubs…
In the Netherlands, in the Eredivisie (9 players).
In Germany, in Bundesliga-1 (6 players).
In England, in the Premier League (5 players)
In Italy, in Serie A (2 players).
In Spain, in La Liga (1 player).
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Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.eikipedia.org. Netherlands national football team.
Thanks to Demis of the Netherlands, for the Netherlands base map and the Suriname base map. Demis.nl [homepage];
Demis Web Map Server.

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June 11, 2010

2010 FIFA World Cup: Ghana, 23-man roster.

Filed under: FIFA World Cup, 2010,Ghana — admin @ 4:16 pm

Ghana World Cup squad.

The map shows the 23-man Ghana team for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. At the bottom left of the map page are photos of all the Ghana players who saw action in the 2010 World Cup (19 player photos).
From Guardian.co.uk/football/blog, by Jonathan Wilson on 30th June, 2010, ‘World Cup 2010: Ghana ready to fulfil their destiny…Denied a kick at the 1966 World Cup during their truly great years, the Black Stars are now aiming to put the rest of Africa to shame‘.
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There were 3 players on the team born in Europe… André Ayew (born in Seclin, France), Kevin-Prince Boateng (born in West Berlin, West Germany), and Quincy Owusu-Obeyie (born in Amsterdam, Netherlands).

14 players were born in the capital and largest city in Ghana, Accra. Accra has a population of around 1.6 million in the city and around 2.9 million in the metropolitan area {2000 figure}. [Ghana itself has a population of around 23.8 million {2010 estimate}.]

In the main map section, with each player there is listed, along with their birth place, the players youth clubs in Ghana and where the player pursued his professional career (in most cases in western Europe, though a few players have played or are playing in the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula).

3 players are playing professionally in Ghana right now: the two back-up goalkeepers – Daniel Adjei (Liberty Professionals), and Stephen Ahorlu (Heart of Lions); and DF Lee Addy (Bechelem Chelsea).

One player is playing in Egypt right now (DF Abdul Ayew, for Zamalek SC).
One player is playing in Qatar right now, MF Quincy Owus-Abeyie (Al-Sadd SC).
One player is playing in South Africa (young defender Jonathan Mensah, who is not to be confused with his teammate, the veteran defender John Mensah).

The players on the Ghana squad who are playing professionally in Europe right now are…
4 players -Italy: MF- Stephen Appiaah (Bologna), MF- Sulley Muntari (Internazionale), MF- Kwadwo Asamoah (Udinese), FW- Dominic Adiyah (AC Milan).

3 players – England: GK- Richard Kingson (Wigan Athletic, 75 caps), DF- John Paintsil (Fulham), MF- Kevin-Prince Boateng (Portsmouth).

3 players – Germany: DF- Hans Sarpei (Bayer Leverkusen), DF- Isaac Vorsah (Hoffenheim), FW- Prince Tagoe (Hoffenheim).

3 players – France: DF – John Mensah (Lyon, 62 caps), MF – André Ayew (the just-promoted Arles-Avignon), FW- Asamoah Gyan (Rennes).

1 player – Spain: MF- Derek Boateng (Getafe).

1 player – Netherlands, FW- Matthew Amoah (NAC Breda).

1 player – Norway, MF- Anthony Annan (Rosenborg).

1 player – Switzerland, DF- Samuel Inkoom (FC Basel).

Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org. Ghana national football team.
Thanks to World Soccer Shop.com, for the photos of the Ghana jerseys.

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June 8, 2010

2010 FIFA World Cup: Argentina, 23-man roster.

Filed under: Argentina,FIFA World Cup, 2010 — admin @ 8:59 am

Argentina 2010 World Cup squad.

The map shows the birthplaces and/or the hometowns of the 23-man Argentina team that competed in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. At the bottom, left on the map page are photos of all the players in the Argentina squad who saw action in their 5 matches in the competition (20 player photos, in the gear of their professional clubs). International appearances (aka caps) and international goals are listed in the chart section, and are up to date as of 3rd July, 2010.
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The map page is a bit complicated, with separate sections for inset maps of two of the three largest cities in Argentina, Buenos Aires and Rosario, Santa Fe Province. Córdoba is the second largest city in Argentina, slightly larger than Rosario, but Córdoba has a far smaller influence than Rosario in footballing terms. For starters, there has been no first division club from Córdoba for three years now, and no Córdoba club has ever won the title. Meanwhile, Rosario boasts 9 Argentine titles…5 by Newell’s Old Boys and 4 by Rosario Central (and there is a third Santa Fe Province-based club in the top flight, Colón, from the city of Santa Fe, 130 km. north of Rosario).
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Sprawling Buenos Aires has a metropolitan area population of around 12.9 million {2002 estimate}.
Rosario has a metropolitan area population of around 1.2 million {2001 census}), and is 270 kilometers (160 miles) NW of Buenos Aires.
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The Buenos Aires section, on the far right of the map page, has a large map of Greater Buenos Aires that includes the city of La Plata, which is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province and is 59 km. (36 mi.) SE of the city of Buenos Aires. The Autonomous City of Buenos Aires is a separate entity in both legal and political terms, and is not part of Buenos Aires Province. [It's status is similar to that of Washington, DC (aka the District of Columbia), in the United States.] The Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, or Distrito Federal, is shown on the main map and the inset maps in a dark purple color.
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15 of the current 20 first division clubs in the Argentine Primera División are located in the area comprising Greater Buenos Aires and neighboring La Plata. The breakdown is… 6 clubs from the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (the current champions Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Huracán, River Plate, San Lorenzo, and Vélez Sarsfield); 1 club from the suburbs west of the City of Buenos Aires (Tigre); 6 clubs from the suburbs east of the City of Buenos Aires (Arsenal di Sarandi, Banfield, Independiente, Lanús, the just-promoted Quilmes, and Racing Club); and 2 clubs from La Plata (Estudianties and Gimnasia La Plata).
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The city of La Plata has a population of around 690,000 {2001 census}. As mentioned, La Plata is home to 2 first division Argentine clubs…Estudiantes de La Plata, who are reigning Copa Libertadores champions and 4-time Argentine champions; and perennially relegation-threatened Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata. The Argentina World Cup roster features two La Plata-born players, Juan Sebastián Verón (who captains Estudiantes) and Martín Palermo, the 36-year old Boca Juniors striker who had a 10 year exile from the national team before being recalled by Argentina coach Diego Maradona, in South American World Cup qualifiers in 2009. Palermo famously scored the 93rd minute winning goal versus Peru in October 2009, which kept Argentina from being eliminated from World Cup qualification.
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8 players on the Argentina squad were born and/or grew up in Greater Buenos Aires, or Gran Buenos Aires…

Two players came from the western suburbs (Zona Oeste), striker Carlos Tévez and defensive midfielder Jonás Gutiérrez. Both these players play in England professionally, Tévez with Manchester City, and Gutiérrez with Newcastle United.

Four players on the squad came from the City of Buenos Aires. 3 were born and raised there: subs Mariano Andújar (goalkeeper for Catania of Italy) and Clemente Rodríguez (defender for Estudiantes), and projected starter Nicholás Otamendi, the young central defender who was instrumental in Vélez Sarsfield winning the 2009 Clausura title, and who was sold yesterday [Monday, June 7] to AC Milan.

The other City of Buenos Aires-raised player on the national squad is Real Madrid goal machine Gonzalo Higuaín, who was born in Brest, France (where his father played professionally), but moved with his family back to Argentina when he was 10 months old.

There are two players on the squad who were born in the southern suburbs of Greater Buenos Aires (Zona Sur), in the Quilmes partido: forwards Sergio Agüero (of Atlético Madrid), and Diego Milito (of Internazionale). Milito scored both goals in Inter’s UEFA Champions League victory over Bayern Munich in late May. Both these players are expected to see action in South Africa [note: who knows what the starting lineup will look like, because Diego Maradona's selections have defied conventional wisdom, if not basic logic, to say the least].
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There are 10 players on the 23-man World Cup roster who were born and/or grew up in Greater Buenos Aires/La Plata. There is one more player from Buenos Aires Province, defender Ariel Garcé, who plays for Colón and is from Tandil, which is in south central Buenos Aires Province 360 kilometers (220 miles) SSW of the city of Buenos Aires. [There is one top flight club from southern Buenos Aires Province, the just-promoted Olimpo, from Bahía Blanca, which is 569 km. (353 miles) south of Buenos Aires.]
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The Rosario inset map section is in the grey rectangle at the top of the map page, and includes an outline map of it’s province, Santa Fe. Five players were born in Santa Fe Province, three in Rosario, including the planet’s best football player, Lionel Messi. Messi moved with his family to Barcelona, Spain, when he was 13 years old. Lionel Messi suffered from a rare hormonal problem that could only be alleviated by very expensive injections of a growth hormone… at a price (of around $900 per month) that his original club, Newell’s Old Boys, balked at paying. So when FC Barcelona offered to pay for the injections, the Messi family moved to Barcelona, and Lionel Messi became part of the FC Barcelona set-up, where he remains to this day. Messi has never returned to visit his first club, Newell’s Old Boys, and the Newell’s top brass claim they intended on continuing to pay for Messi’s injections (but receipts prove otherwise).
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The other two Rosario-born players on the squad are Maxi Rodríguez and Ángel Di María. Rodríguez is an attacking midfielder who now plays for Liverpool, and who scored a spectacular winning goal from a left-footed-volley in the 98th minute of Argentina’s 2006 World Cup second round match versus Mexico. Ángel Di María is a talented young playmaker who is expected to start in midfield, and plays for Portuguese giants Benfica.
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The other two players who come from Santa Fe Province are both slated to start for Argentina in South Africa: captain and defensive midfielder Javier Mascherano (also of Liverpool), and Internazionale defender Walter Samuel.
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In total, 6 of the 23 Argentine provinces, plus the Distrito Federal, (or City of Buenos Aires) produced players on the 2010 World Cup squad. Besides the 11 players from the Buenos Aires City-and-Province, and the 5 players from Santa Fe Province, there are 4 more provinces that produced players on the squad…Córdoba Province, Entre Rios Province, Mendoza Province, and Misiones Province. To give you an idea of how little of a part these provinces play in the Argentine football scene, there is only one current first division club from these four provinces, and that is Godoy Cruz of Mendoza (who actually fared surprisingly well last campaign, finishing in third).
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Córdoba Province produced 4 players, while one player each came from the provinces of Entre Rios (Marseille defender Gabriel Heinze), Mendoza (Colón goalkeeper Diego Pozo), and Misiones (AZ Alkmaar goalkeeper Sergio Romero, who is slated to start in South Africa).
Córdoba and Enter Rios provinces, along with Santa Fe Province, form the economic region known the Center Region.
Mendoza Province is in an arid region in the far west of Argentina at the foothills of the Andes Mountains and is closer to Santiago, Chile than Buenos Aires.
Misiones Province is a jungle-filled panhandle surrounded by Paraguay and Brazil, and is the site of the world’s largest waterfall by volume, at Iguazu Falls.
Córdoba Province features the aforementioned city of Córdoba (1.5 million population {2008 estimate}), and just north of that is the salt lake known as Mar Chiquita, where two squad players came from (Bolatti and Burdisso). The four Córdoba Province-born players all play professionally in Europe…Bayern Munich defender Martín Demichelis (a projected starter), and three who play in Italy: AS Roma defender Nicholás Burdisso, Palermo midfield wizard Javier Pastore, and Fiorentina midfielder Mario Bolatti. The last two, Pastore and Bolatti, both made their mark leading the medium-sized club Huracán to the brink of the 2009 Apertura title (they lost it to Vélez Sarsfield on the final day).

Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, Argentina national football team.
Thanks to Fans Edge.com, for the photos of the Argentina jerseys.
Thanks to Zimbio.com, for several of the player photos.
Thanks to Demis of the Netherlands, for the Argentina and Rosario base maps, Demis Web Map Server.
Thanks to Sam Kelly, at Hasta El Gol Siempre site, for fact-checking and proof-reading, and for information on players.

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June 4, 2010

2010 FIFA World Cup: England, 23-man roster.

Filed under: England National Team,FIFA World Cup, 2010 — admin @ 5:05 pm

The 23-man roster of the England squad, for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, is shown on the map and accompanying chart. Birthplaces/hometowns of the players are listed; as well as most of each players’ youth clubs; all of each players’ pro clubs (including the Level the club was in when the player played for them); each players’ current pro club, and that club’s logo; and each players’ international appearances (aka caps), and international goals scored.
Photos of the entire 23-man squad are shown at the lower left. International appearances (aka caps) and international goals are listed in the chart section and are up to date as of 27th June, 2010.
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From The Guardian.co.uk, on Wednesday, 2 June, by Mike Adamson, “Fabio Capello has picked England’s oldest World Cup squad ever”.
[Note: after Rio Ferdinand's injury and departure from the English squad, and Michael Dawson's emergency addition, this is still the oldest-ever England squad, by a hair...2010 England squad average age is now 28.478 years old, while the 1954 England squad's average age was 28.409 years old (Dawson is 5 years younger than Ferdinand)].
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After England’s 4-1 loss to Germany and their exit from the 2010 World Cup…From Irish Times.com, Tuesday, June 29, 2010, by Tom Humphries, ‘Fewer chances for young talent in a culture of fear‘
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Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org. England national football team.
Thanks to UK SoccerShop.com, for the photos of the England home and away jerseys.
Thanks to MapsOf.net, for the England base map.

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June 1, 2010

2010 FIFA World Cup: United States- 23-man roster.

Filed under: FIFA World Cup, 2010,USA-national soccer team — admin @ 4:30 pm

2010 FIFA World Cup, schedule...2010 FIFA World Cup - Matches
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This starts my series of 2010 FIFA World Cup maps.
The aim on this map is to show, on the map itself, the location of where each player grew up (as opposed to where the player was born...although I also list that on the chart section at the left of the main map).
To the left of the map is the final 23-man roster of the USA national soccer team. Each player's birth place and birth date are listed. If the player grew up, and/or attended high school in a different location, that information is listed next.
After that is a list of clubs that each player has played for, starting with the youth clubs (the larger ones, anyway) that each player was involved with. Then all pro clubs the player played for are listed chronologically left to right, with loan out periods noted by an asterisk (*). Then in larger type, the current pro club of each player is listed, along with the club logo. Finally, each player's international appearances (aka caps), and international goals are listed.
At the lower left are photos of projected starters and key subs, in the gear of their current professioinal club.
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The IMG Soccer Academy in Bradenton, Florida is US Soccer's full-time residency program for the United State's U-16 and U-17 men's national teams, and has produced 7 players who are members of the 2010 USA World Cup squad. Those players are Oguchi Oneywu, Jonathan Spector, Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, Michael Bradley, Jonathan Bornstein and Jozy Altidore.
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Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, USA men's national soccer team

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May 27, 2010

2010 FIFA World Cup: map, with the 32 teams’ home jerseys, and the 32 teams’ World Cup titles and appearances list.

Filed under: FIFA World Cup, 2010 — admin @ 2:15 pm

From World Cup Blog.org: ‘The Final Pre-World Cup Rankings’.
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Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, National team appearances in the FIFA World Cup.
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Thanks to World Soccer Shop.com, for some of the jersey photos. Thanks to EuroSport at www.soccer.com, for some of the jersey photos. Thanks to World Cup Blog.org, for some of the jersey photos. Thanks to http://shop.bigsoccer.com, for some of the jersey photos. Thanks to My Football Kits.co.uk, for the photo of the Germany jersey. Thanks to Jersey99.com, for the photo of the Nigeria jersey. Thanks to UK Soccershop.com, for the photo of the Netherlands jersey.

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May 22, 2010

England, Non-League Football: the 50 highest drawing clubs in the 2009-10 season (all clubs averaging over 500 per game).

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin @ 3:36 pm

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On the map, club crests are sized to reflect each club’s average attendance from home league matches in the 2009-10 season. At the far left on the map page is the list of all the clubs in English Non-League football that drew over 500 per game. The club’s level is then listed, with any promotion or relegation this season noted; then the average attendance this season, then the percent increase or decrease versus the club’s 2008-09 average attendance.
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Below is a list I put together from data I found on Mike Avery’s Non-League Football Page. The list here shows the highest numerical increase in average attendance for Non-League clubs [the list on www.mikeavery.co.uk lists all clubs, League and Non-League, combined].
Note: in the column named ’2009-10 Level with Promotions/Relegations’, an up or down arrow preceding the Level number denotes league movement for that club after the 2008-09 season; and an up arrow after the Level number denotes a promotion for that club after the 2009-10 season.
It is worth noting that only one club on this list did not have any league movement in the past two seasons, York City. Also, unlike most situations where a club is relegated and then sees an attendance drop the following season, Luton Town and Mansfield Town saw attendance increases. Mansfield’s higher average attendance was pushed up by their pay-what-you-want promotion in February {see this}, which drew 7,261 to Field Mill in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.

The cut-off on this map was 500 per game home attendance in league matches, and this meant there ended up being 50 clubs on this map. The map I made in October, 2009 had a cut-off at 600, but I lowered the bar by 100 because I couldn’t resist cramming a few more clubs into this end-of-season attendance map. The extra clubs happened to include 3 clubs from South London, so to the map page I added the Greater London map you see at the top of this post. Bromley and Welling United are both in the Conference South, which is a 6th Level league. Sutton United are a 7th Level club, and play in the Isthmian League Premier Division.

Other clubs which made it onto this map, and not onto my 3 other previous Non-League attendance maps are…Eastleigh (of the Conference-South), who are from Hampshire, just north of Southampton; Dorchester Town (also of the Conference South), who are from Dorset; and Hayes and Yeading United, who are from Hayes, Hillingdon, West London, about 3 km. (2 miles) north of Heathrow Airport. Hayes and Yeading won promotion to the Conference (aka Blue Square Premier League) in 2008-09, and drew 334 per game. This season in the Conference the club drew 664 per game, an 84% increase. Hayes and Yeading survived the drop by 3 points, finishing in 17th place.
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Hayes & Yeading were the Conference club which had the highest percentage increase in average attendance (+84%)…

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English Football Attendances, Average Attendances 2009-10 by % Change (www.mikeavery.co.uk)
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The Conference club with the highest numerical increase in average attendance was Oxford United, whose turnstile count went up 1,125 per game, to 6,004 per game. Oxford won the Conference play-off, and will play in League Two in 2010-11, thus returning to the League after a 4 season absence. Leading scorer for Oxford was James Constable, who scored 28 league goals (Conference top scorers, here {ESPN Soccernet}), and scored 3 times in 3 matches in the club’s successful playoff campaign.

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The 6th Level club with the highest average attendance percentage increase and the highest numerical increase was the Welsh club Newport County AFC, who won automatic promotion to the Conference by winning the Conference South, and drew over 900 more per game than in 2008-09. The Exiles drew 1,840 per game, a 116% increase from 08/09, to their not-exactly fan-friendly, running track-scarred municipal stadium, the Newport Stadium. Newport County is a club with a pretty long League history (61 seasons, including two seasons in the 2nd Level), and are finally having a resurgence. They will make their debut in the Conference, as they were relegated multiple levels when they were relegated out of the old Fourth Division in 1988.

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The 7th Level club with the highest percent increase was Aveley FC, an Isthmian League Premier Division club located in Aveley, Essex, near the Dartford Crossing. Aveley did not make this map (and in fact, their ground only has a 1,100-capacity). The Millers drew 212 per game, a 47% increase from the 144 per game they drew in 08/09, when they won promotion the Isthmian League-D1 North. Aveley page at en.wikipedia.org .
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The 7th Level club with the highest numerical increase in average attendance was Boston United, of Lincolshire. Boston United won promotion this season to the Conference North, drawing 224 more per game than in 08/09. Boston United drew 1,343 per game this season, and it looks like the Pilgrims are finally starting to recover from the the financial mess/grounds problem that resulted in a protracted time in administration and which plunged them from League Two (the 4th Level) to the Unibond Premier League (in the 8th Level) in the space of 2 years. York Street, home of Boston United, below…

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The 8th Level club with the highest numerical increase in average attendance was the phoenix-club FC Halifax Town, of Halifax, West Yorkshire. The Shaymen saw their gates go up 286 per game to 1,452 per game, which is a figure that dwarfs other clubs at this level. Sure enough Halifax won promotion and are on the path back to regaining the position of their predecessor club, Halifax Town AFC, who had League and Conference history, but were forced to dissolve due to tax debts in 2008. The photo below shows the Shay, FC Halifax’s home. The stadium is owned by the Calderdale Metopolitan Council. Calderdale is a metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, and is made up of 6 former local government districts within the towns of (from east to west) Brighouse, Elland, Halifax, Sowerby Bridge, Hebden Bridge, and Todmorden. Todmorden is right up against the Pennine Chain, and this is pretty much where Yorkshire ends. At the other, western, side of the Pennine Chain (which is a low-rising mountain chain which is often called the backbone of England), is Lancashire.

Seen below is the new East Stand, from a satellite photo taken while that stand was still under construction [the view is towards the south]. The East Stand was opened in March, 2010. You can pretty much see how ambitious FC Halifax Town are, by the size of the stand. The stadium now has a capacity of just over 10,000, and that is a Football League-sized ground for sure.

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The 8th Level club with the second-highest numerical increase at the turnstiles was Bury Town, of Bury St. Edmunds, in Suffolk. Bury Town saw their gates increase 172 per game, from 273 to 445 per game, as they won the Southern Football League Division One Midlands. Bury Town’s Ram Meadow @ Extreme Groundhopping site.
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The 8th Level club with the third-highest numerical increase in average attendance was Lowestoft Town, of Lowestoft, Suffolk. The Trawler Boys won the Isthmian League Division One North by 15 points and drew 733 per game to their Crown Meadow ground, a 30% increase and 170 more per game higher than in 2008-09. And in 2007-08, Lowestoft Town were drawing just 310 per game, so the club’s fan base has more than doubled in two years.

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Thanks to Bing.com/maps, Hayes & Yeading United FC, Church Road ground (Bird’s Eye view). Thanks to Stephen Harris at Panoramio.com, Stephen Harris @ panoramio.com.

Thanks to Sam Mason at Flickr.com,Oxford United FC – Kassam Stadium. Thanks to Jim 2000 at Panoramio.com, Photos by jim 2000 @ panoramio.com. Thanks to Oxford United FC- OxKits, www.oxkits.co.uk. Thanks to Oxford United official site/ Gallery, www.oufc.co.uk. Thanks to The Amber Terrace at Flickr.com, The Amber Terrace’s photostream @ flickr.com.

Thanks to the Pride of Anglia – Ipswich Town Football Club, Pride of Anglia (Ipswich Town).

Thanks to Extreme Groundhopping, Exreme Groundhopping – Crown Meadow, Lowestoft Town FC.

Thanks to Mike Avery for his excellent site.

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May 17, 2010

League Two, 2009-10 season. The 3 promoted clubs and the 4 play-off clubs.

Filed under: 2009-10 English Football,Eng-4th Level/League Two,Engl. Promotion Candidates,Football Stadia — admin @ 5:06 pm

League Two Play-Off fixtures and results, England – League Two (Soccerway.com).

Notts County FC, empowered by the support shown by their re-awakened fan base, took the title. Lee Hughes scored 33 goals for the Magpies, and the club overcame a mid-season lull to finish strong and on top. Notts County had their highest average attendance in 16 years. The club drew 7,353 per game this season, a 65 percent increase from 08/09, when they drew 4,446 per game and finished in 19th place. This is a club that had finished in 21st place twice, 19th place twice and in 13th place in the last 5 seasons. Their new, mysterious foreign ownership had promised to invest heavily at the start of this season, and several top calibre players (for the fouth division, anyway), including goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, joined the squad (with celebrity executive Sven-Göran Erikson on board as well). But the Qatar-based owners pulled out in February, and Notts County were almost wound up. Sven is gone now too, and the club’s financial worries are still not over, but the bottom line is this…all the early season hype and media glare got the fans back into Meadow Lane, and now that the club has won promotion, the crowds should continue to swell. But the thing is, Notts County has never come close to filling their 19,500-seat ground on a regular basis.

The last, single, season Notts County were in the the top flight was in the last season of the old First Division (in 1991-92, under manager Neil Warnock). That season the Magpies drew 11,133 per game and were relegated. It was during that season, in January 1992, that the club made plans to rebuild three sides of Meadow Lane to make it the near-20,000 seat stadium it is today. But relegation and poor play in the following seasons saw average gates diminish as re-building and expansion continued. The average gate had dwindled to the 8,000-range for the next two seasons in the second tier, and by 1994-95, in the same season that the final re-building phase was completed, Notts County were relegated to the third tier (into the old Division Two). With their big new ground the Magpies then went through a 14 season period where they drew above 6,000 just once, drawing 6,154 per game in 2002-03.

Notts County’s second-most-recent top flight spell had been three seasons in the First Division in the 1980s, with the club drawing 11,613; 10,265; and 9,463 per game from 1981 to 1984. So why did a club, which had never pulled in more than 11,000 per game in the modern era, build a stadium that has an almost 20,000 capacity? My guess is jealousy of their (very) nearby rivals, Nottingham Forest. The two clubs have grounds the closest together of any clubs in England, separated by only 275 meters (300 yards) [you can see that in the photo on the far right in the Notts County section on the map]. When Nottingham Forest were in their heyday, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and winning trophies as recently as the 1989 and 1990 League Cup (and making a 1991 FA Cup finals appearance), it must have irritated the board at Notts County to see Nottingham Forest so big and (relatively) successful.
So when Notts County got that taste of the promised land (ie, first division football), in 1991-92, they re-built Meadow Lane too big for their fan base, believing they could increase their support as they consolidated their position in the top flight. The exact opposite happened. They were relegated that season and have never had an average attendance of higher than 10,000 per game since. I’m not saying Notts County are akin to a club like Darlington FC, in building an empty white elephant of a stadium that will never be filled on a regular basis, but over a decade of playing to 25% capacity or less cannot have been good for Notts County or their supporters.
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Second place and automatic promotion goes to AFC Bournemouth. The Cherries also saw an increase at the turnstiles, though more modest…Bournemouth drew 5,720 per game (up 16% from 08.09). Brett Pitman scored 28 goals for Bournemouth this season. Two years on from their finanancial meltown and administration, Bournemouth are a club on the rise. It could be argued that this is a club that definitely belongs in the third tier and perhaps ever the second tier, if one were to go by city population, because Bournemouth is in the top 30 largest cities in England, List of towns and cities in England by population [en.wikipedia.org].
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Third place and automatic promotion goes to the longest-running non-promoted club in the League, Rochdale AFC. 36 seasons in the fourth division, and finally a promotion. Well done to irrepressible manager Keith Hill, their goal-scoring tandem of Chris O’Grady (22 goals) and Chris Dagnall (20 goals), and the league’s stand-out defender, the young and promising Rochdale-born Craig Dawson, who has eschewed signing with a bigger club for next season, opting instead to continue contributing to the success of his hometown club.
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The League Two 2009-120 Play-Off features one down-on-their-luck-but-finding-revitalization club, Rotherham United; and three small clubs that five years ago were not even in the League…Morecambe, Aldershot Town, and Dagenham & Redbridge.
In the first legs… Rotherham snatched a late goal at Aldershot, when former Rochdale striker Adam LeFondre stole a back pass and netted. Second leg is Wednesday, 19th May in at The don Valley Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
Meanwhile, in East London, Dagenham demolished Morecambe 6-0, with a double-brace from Joshua Scott and a brace from Paul Benson (who had scored 18 goals this season). Second leg is up in Lancashire at Morecambe’s Christie Patk on Thursday, 20th May.
League Two fixtures, here, (news.bbc.co.uk).
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Morecambe will say goodbye to Christie Road, as they are set to move into their new stadium in August. From FC Business.co.uk, “Morecambe’s new 12 million-pound stadium to be called ‘Globe Arena’ [16 Feb., 2010]. www.morecambestadium.co.uk, Globe Arena, Morecambe FC. There is a new Morecambe logo as well, New Morecambe crest- what do you think? (www.thevisitor.co.uk)
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Thanks to BBC/Nottingham, Aerial photographs of Nottingham. Thanks to Bing.com/maps, Meadow Lane [Birds-Eye view]. Thanks to Jazza5 and Berndt Jatzwauk at en.wikipedia.org, Meadow Lane.

Thanks to SoccerVoice.com, Soccer Voice.com/Ground Guide, League 2. Thanks to AFC Bournemouth-Mad.co.uk, Dean Court.

Thanks to Shanandphil at Flickr.com, shanandphil’s photostream @ flickr.com; Rochdale FC [exterior]. Thanks to mikeserieys at Flickr.com, Rochdale Promotion 17/4/2010 (Set)/ My favorite picture of the day [part of mikeserieys' photostream @ flickr.com].

Thanks to campdavemorecambe at Flickr.com, Christie Park, Morecambe FC; campdavemorecambe’s photostream @ flickr.com. Thanks to The Groundhog.co.uk, Rotherham (DVS) [Don Valley Stadium]. Thanks to TeamTalk.com, Rotherham United.

Thanks to Aldershot FA.com, Alderhot Divisional Football Association. Thanks to FourFoutTwo.com/blogs, [scroll 2/3 down page] ‘The Recreation Ground: They don’t make ‘em like this anymore’ [part of 03/09/08 entry on Andy Mitten's blog].

Thanks to Gouldy99 at Flickr.com, Gouldy99′s photostream @ flickr.com. Thanks to Stadiums.Football.co.uk, League 2 Stadiums. Thanks to Away Grounds.com, Away ground- UK Football Ground Guide.
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Thanks to E-F-S site, for attendance figures, Attendance Figures, European Football Statisrics.co.uk.
Thanks to Aerofilms Football Grounds- Then and Now, from Ian Allen Publishing, Aerofilms Football Grounds from the Air: Then and Now (Paperback) [BookDepository.com].

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May 12, 2010

League One, 2009-10 season. The 2 promoted clubs and the 4 play-off clubs.

Filed under: 2009-10 English Football,Eng-3rd Level/League One,Engl. Promotion Candidates,Football Stadia — admin @ 7:22 am

It was a nail biting final match day last Saturday in League One. Charlton, then Millwall had the edge up to finish in the crucial second spot, and automatic promotion. Then 10-man Leeds scored twice on Bristol Rovers in the space of 5 minutes, with goals from Jonathan Howson in the 59th minute, and from Jermaine Beckford in the 63rd minute. Leeds United returns to the League Championship along with table-topper Norwich City.
Both promoted clubs had pretty good results at the turnstiles (for big clubs being stuck in the third division, that is), with Leeds drawing 24,818 per game (up 3% from 08/09), and Norwich averaging 24,617 per game (up 1% from 08/09).
The four playoff clubs all were in the top 8 of average attendance in League One. The just-relegated Charlton Athletic saw a sharp drop in attendance, to 17,407 per game (-17% from 08/09). Huddersfield Town has continued with it’s cut-rate season tickets promotion, and drew 14,381 per game (+8% from 08/09). Millwall overcame the disappointment of losing in the Play-Off final to Scunthorpe United in 2008-09. This season Millwall had decent gates, as the Lions remained competitive and exciting all season, drawing 10,835 per game (+21% from 08/09). Swindon Town also saw an increase, though more modest, as the Robins went from being a relegation-threatened side (in 2008-09) to a promotion challenger. Swindon drew 8,389 per game (+12%).

Other high-drawing clubs in League One in 2009-10 that did not win promotion, or make the playoff, were Southampton, who drew 20,982 per game (an 18% increase from 08/09), and MK Dons, who drew 10,290 per game (a 2% decrease from 08/09).
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The four clubs battling for the third promotion spot are Millwall, Charlton Athletic, Swindon Town, and Huddersfield Town. Play-Off fixtures here, League 1 Play-Offs Confirmed (Football League site).
Friday, 14 May, at The County Ground in Wiltshire, it’s Swindon Town v. Charlton Athletic; with the return leg on Monday, 17 May, at The Valley in Charlton, Greewnwich, South East London.
Saturday, 15 May, at the Galpharm Stadium in West Yorkshire, it’s Huddersfield Town v. Millwall; with the return leg on Tuesday, 18 May at the New Den in Bermondsey, Lewisham, South East London.
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Thanks to Mike Avery’s Non-League Football site, Football League One Attendance Grids and Charts 2009-2010.
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Thanks to The Pinkun’, a Norwich-based weekly newspaper and website, The Pink’un newspaper. Thanks to Mskau at Panoramio.com, Carrow Road “Come on you Yellows”. Thanks to Away Grounds.com, League One Grounds, at www.awaygrounds.com.

Thanks to Raddersndakman at en.wikipedia.org, Elland Road [2007]. Thanks to Gunnar Larsson at en.wikipedia.org, Elland Road, Leeds [exterior]. Thanks to Leeds United.com, leedsunited.com / Stadium tours. Thanks to susstudio_x at Flickr.com, Elland Road exterior, part 1.

Thanks to daejin at Flickr.com, The New Den [aerial shot]. Thanks to Les Bailey at Flickr.com, Millwall Stand.

Thanks to Bing.com/maps, The Valley, Charlton, London: Bird’s Eye view. Thanks to shields_t at Flickr.com, The Valley [exterior]. Thanks to John Mills at www.yourlocalweb.co.uk, Pictures of New Charlton and the surrounding area.

Thanks to Matthew Ashton at The Guardian, “Huddersfield’s community stadium dream sours in ownership wrangle [6 May, 2009]“. Thanks to Sky Sports.com, Huddersfield Town.

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