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Note: to see my latest map-&-post of the English 3rd division, click on the following, Eng-3rd Level/League One.
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This map begins my 2009-2010 English Football category. I started with League One, which is the 3rd Level in England, because a viewer posted a comment in which he asked me for the map (he’s a Norwich City supporter). Plus I am fascinated by League One…the way-station between the upper leagues and the lower leagues, and the league that these days usually features the biggest disparity in clubs’ average attendances [but not this season, thanks to Newcastle' United's relegation to the 2nd Level].
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I have kept the same framework for this map as last season {you can see my League One 08/09 map, w/ attendances from 07/08, here}. But with this map, I have added information on… A). each club’s past two seasons (ie, where they finished in the table); B). each club’s highest-ever finish; C). each club’s Major Titles (if any) / or significant Titles [well, I wanted to list FA Trophy Titles- three clubs here (Colchester United, Wycombe Wanderers, and Yeovil Town) have won it- and I didn't want to call the cup competition of Non-League Football a major Title]; and D. the total seasons each club has spent in the 1st Level (if appilcable).
One interesting aspect of the 2009-2010 League One season is that all 7 of the newly arrived clubs are from the south of England…the three clubs relegated from the 2nd Level (the League Championship): Charlton Athletic, Norwich City, and Southampton; and the four clubs promoted from the 4th Level (League Two): Brentford, Exeter City, Gillingham, and Wycombe Wanderers.
As has been the case for the last decade, again League One will feature some pretty big clubs that have spent significant time in the top flight, but have currently fallen on hard times. In addition to Leeds United beginning their third season in the third tier, there are 3 more clubs which traditionally draw more than 20,000 per game…the aforementioned three clubs that were relegated from the League Championship. Incidently, while on the subject of the higher-drawing clubs here, Huddersfield Town had a 37 percent increase in their average attendance last year primarily because they slashed season ticket prices. Another West Yorkshire club, the League Two side Bradford, has had success with this policy for the last two seasons, and Huddersfield followed suit. Maybe other lower division clubs will take notice.
Here are the oddsmakers’ picks for the best promotion candidates in League One this season {click here (Statto.com)}. Not surprisingly, Leeds United tops the list. Other clubs highly rated for promotion are Norwich City, Charlton Athletic, last season’s 3rd-place finisher MK Dons, Huddersfield Town, Brighton & Hove Albion, and last season’s Playoff finalist Millwall.
I have included this link to the web version of the weekly Norwich newspaper called the Pink’Un {click here}. Here is their away grounds [ie, League One 09/10] guide {click here}.
Here is the Historical Football Kits site’s page on the kits in League One for the 2009-2010 season {click here}.
Thanks to the Footy-Mad sites, for their indispensible League History lists for all the football clubs {click here (set at Footy-Mad / League One main page)}. Thanks to E-F-S site, for attendance figures {click here}. Thanks to Huddersfield Town FC official site {click here}. Thanks to the contributors to the pages at Wikipedia {click here}.
