1.
England
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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
2.
Scotland
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Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It shares a border with England to the south, and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east. In addition to the mainland, the country is made up of more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles, the Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the Early Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, James VI, King of Scots, became King of England and King of Ireland, Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain. The union also created a new Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. Within Scotland, the monarchy of the United Kingdom has continued to use a variety of styles, titles, the legal system within Scotland has also remained separate from those of England and Wales and Northern Ireland, Scotland constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in both public and private law. Glasgow, Scotlands largest city, was one of the worlds leading industrial cities. Other major urban areas are Aberdeen and Dundee, Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third-largest city in Scotland, the title of Europes oil capital, following a referendum in 1997, a Scottish Parliament was re-established, in the form of a devolved unicameral legislature comprising 129 members, having authority over many areas of domestic policy. Scotland is represented in the UK Parliament by 59 MPs and in the European Parliament by 6 MEPs, Scotland is also a member nation of the British–Irish Council, and the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly. Scotland comes from Scoti, the Latin name for the Gaels, the Late Latin word Scotia was initially used to refer to Ireland. By the 11th century at the latest, Scotia was being used to refer to Scotland north of the River Forth, alongside Albania or Albany, the use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages. Repeated glaciations, which covered the land mass of modern Scotland. It is believed the first post-glacial groups of hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 12,800 years ago, the groups of settlers began building the first known permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first villages around 6,000 years ago. The well-preserved village of Skara Brae on the mainland of Orkney dates from this period and it contains the remains of an early Bronze Age ruler laid out on white quartz pebbles and birch bark. It was also discovered for the first time that early Bronze Age people placed flowers in their graves, in the winter of 1850, a severe storm hit Scotland, causing widespread damage and over 200 deaths. In the Bay of Skaill, the storm stripped the earth from a large irregular knoll, when the storm cleared, local villagers found the outline of a village, consisting of a number of small houses without roofs. William Watt of Skaill, the laird, began an amateur excavation of the site, but after uncovering four houses
3.
Wales
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Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, and it had a population in 2011 of 3,063,456 and has a total area of 20,779 km2. Wales has over 1,680 miles of coastline and is mountainous, with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon. The country lies within the temperate zone and has a changeable. Welsh national identity emerged among the Celtic Britons after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, Llywelyn ap Gruffudds death in 1282 marked the completion of Edward I of Englands conquest of Wales, though Owain Glyndŵr briefly restored independence to Wales in the early 15th century. The whole of Wales was annexed by England and incorporated within the English legal system under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542, distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism, Welsh national feeling grew over the century, Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and the Welsh Language Society in 1962. Established under the Government of Wales Act 1998, the National Assembly for Wales holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters, two-thirds of the population live in south Wales, mainly in and around Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, and in the nearby valleys. Now that the countrys traditional extractive and heavy industries have gone or are in decline, Wales economy depends on the sector, light and service industries. Wales 2010 gross value added was £45.5 billion, over 560,000 Welsh language speakers live in Wales, and the language is spoken by a majority of the population in parts of the north and west. From the late 19th century onwards, Wales acquired its popular image as the land of song, Rugby union is seen as a symbol of Welsh identity and an expression of national consciousness. The Old English-speaking Anglo-Saxons came to use the term Wælisc when referring to the Celtic Britons in particular, the modern names for some Continental European lands and peoples have a similar etymology. The modern Welsh name for themselves is Cymry, and Cymru is the Welsh name for Wales and these words are descended from the Brythonic word combrogi, meaning fellow-countrymen. The use of the word Cymry as a self-designation derives from the location in the post-Roman Era of the Welsh people in modern Wales as well as in northern England and southern Scotland. It emphasised that the Welsh in modern Wales and in the Hen Ogledd were one people, in particular, the term was not applied to the Cornish or the Breton peoples, who are of similar heritage, culture, and language to the Welsh. The word came into use as a self-description probably before the 7th century and it is attested in a praise poem to Cadwallon ap Cadfan c. 633. Thereafter Cymry prevailed as a reference to the Welsh, until c.1560 the word was spelt Kymry or Cymry, regardless of whether it referred to the people or their homeland. The Latinised forms of names, Cambrian, Cambric and Cambria, survive as lesser-used alternative names for Wales, Welsh
4.
Ireland
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Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles, the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest on Earth. Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland, which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, in 2011, the population of Ireland was about 6.4 million, ranking it the second-most populous island in Europe after Great Britain. Just under 4.6 million live in the Republic of Ireland, the islands geography comprises relatively low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain, with several navigable rivers extending inland. The island has lush vegetation, a product of its mild, thick woodlands covered the island until the Middle Ages. As of 2013, the amount of land that is wooded in Ireland is about 11% of the total, there are twenty-six extant mammal species native to Ireland. The Irish climate is moderate and classified as oceanic. As a result, winters are milder than expected for such a northerly area, however, summers are cooler than those in Continental Europe. Rainfall and cloud cover are abundant, the earliest evidence of human presence in Ireland is dated at 10,500 BC. Gaelic Ireland had emerged by the 1st century CE, the island was Christianised from the 5th century onward. Following the Norman invasion in the 12th century, England claimed sovereignty over Ireland, however, English rule did not extend over the whole island until the 16th–17th century Tudor conquest, which led to colonisation by settlers from Britain. In the 1690s, a system of Protestant English rule was designed to materially disadvantage the Catholic majority and Protestant dissenters, with the Acts of Union in 1801, Ireland became a part of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland saw much civil unrest from the late 1960s until the 1990s and this subsided following a political agreement in 1998. In 1973 the Republic of Ireland joined the European Economic Community while the United Kingdom, Irish culture has had a significant influence on other cultures, especially in the fields of literature. Alongside mainstream Western culture, an indigenous culture exists, as expressed through Gaelic games, Irish music. The culture of the island shares many features with that of Great Britain, including the English language, and sports such as association football, rugby, horse racing. The name Ireland derives from Old Irish Eriu and this in turn derives from Proto-Celtic *Iveriu, which is also the source of Latin Hibernia. Iveriu derives from a root meaning fat, prosperous, during the last glacial period, and up until about 9000 years ago, most of Ireland was covered with ice, most of the time
5.
Blackburn Olympic F.C.
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Blackburn Olympic Football Club was an English football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire in the late 19th century. The club was formed in 1878 and initially took part only in local competitions. In 1880, the club entered the FA Cup for the first time, Olympic, however, proved unable to compete with wealthier and better-supported clubs in the new professional era, and folded in 1889. Most of Olympics home matches took place at the Hole-i-th-Wall stadium, from 1880 onwards, the clubs first-choice colours consisted of light blue shirts and white shorts. Association football was first codified in the 1860s in the south of England and played by teams of former public school pupils. However, the spread to the industrial towns of the north by the following decade. The town of Blackburn in Lancashire had more than an active football clubs by 1877, with Blackburn Rovers, founded in 1875. Blackburn Olympic F. C. was founded in February 1878 when two of clubs, Black Star and James Street, opted to merge. The name was chosen by James Edmondson, the clubs first treasurer, the new clubs first match was a friendly played on 9 February 1878 which resulted in a 2–0 win over local team St. Johns. In April, the club entered its first competition, the Livesey United Cup, marks in the final to win the tournament, and, as the competition was not held again, the club retained the trophy in perpetuity. Olympic won the cup in both 1879 and 1880, after which the competition was discontinued when the Blackburn Association was absorbed into the larger Lancashire County Football Association, as with the Livesey United Cup, the trophy remained in Olympics possession for the remainder of the clubs existence. In the clubs first FA Cup match, the Light Blues were defeated 5–4 by Sheffield, and the following season the team again lost in the first round, away to Darwen. The clubs increasing expenses were met with the help of Sydney Yates, an iron foundry owner. At the end of the 1881–82 season, Olympic defeated Blackburn Rovers to win the East Lancashire Charity Cup, in the 1882–83 FA Cup, Olympic defeated four other Lancashire clubs, Accrington, Lower Darwen, Darwen Ramblers, and Church, to reach the fifth round. At this stage the Light Blues were drawn to play Welsh team Druids, Olympic defeated the Ruabon-based team 4–1 to progress to the semi-final stage, where for the first time they faced opponents from the south of England — Old Carthusians. Olympic, however, won 4–0 in a match played at a venue in Whalley Range, Manchester, to set up a match with another of the great amateur teams, Old Etonians. The Etonians had defeated Olympics close rivals Blackburn Rovers in the final a year earlier, the first time a northern team had reached the final. Before the final, former England player Jack Hunter, who had joined the club in 1882 in the roles of player and coach
6.
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
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The club was established in 1875, becoming a founding member of The Football League in 1888. It is one of three clubs to have been both a founder member of the Football League and the Premier League. In 1890, Rovers moved to Ewood Park, Blackburn Rovers have been English champions three times, and have won six FA Cups and one Football League Cup. Blackburn are the only extant club to have won three consecutive FA Cups, the club has spent the majority of its existence in the top flight of English football. In 1992, Rovers gained promotion to the new Premier League a year after being taken over by local entrepreneur Jack Walker, in 1995, Rovers became Premier League champions. In the 1998–99 season, the club was relegated and it was promoted back to the Premier League two years later, in the 2000–01 season. It has qualified for the UEFA Cup four times, once as League Cup winners, twice as the Premier Leagues sixth-placed team, the 2011–12 season marked the clubs 72nd, non-consecutive, year in the top flight. Rovers are currently one of six clubs to have won the Premier League, along with Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City. The clubs motto is Arte et Labore, By Skill and Hard Work in Latin, the club was founded following a meeting, at the Leger Hotel, Blackburn, on 5 November 1875. The meeting was organised by two men, namely John Lewis and Arthur Constantine. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the possibility of forming a club to play under Association rules. The first match played by Blackburn Rovers took place in Church, on 28 September 1878, Blackburn Rovers became one of 23 clubs to form the Lancashire Football Association. On 1 November 1879 the club played in the F. A, Cup for the first time, beating the Tyne Association Football Club 5–1. Rovers were eventually put out of the competition in the round after suffering a heavy 6–0 defeat by Nottingham Forest. On 25 March 1882 the club won through to the final of the F. A, Blackburn Rovers was the first provincial team to reach the final, but the result was a 1–0 defeat by the Old Etonians. Cup on 29 March 1884 with a 2–1 victory over the Scottish team Queens Park, the same teams played the F. A. Cup final again the season, with Blackburn Rovers again emerging victorious. Rovers repeated this success yet again the season, winning the final replay 2–0 against West Bromwich Albion
7.
Queen's Park F.C.
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Queens Park Football Club is a Scottish football club based in Glasgow. Queens Park is the oldest association football club in Scotland, having founded in 1867. Queens Park is also the only Scottish football club to have played in the FA Cup Final, the clubs home is a Category 4 stadium, the all-seated Hampden Park in South East Glasgow, which is also the home of the Scottish national team. With 10 titles, Queens Park has won the Scottish Cup the third most times of any club, behind Rangers and Celtic, gentlemen from the local YMCA took part in football matches in the local Glasgow area which gave the club its name. During the inaugural meeting, debate raged over the clubs name, proposals included, The Celts, The Northern and Morayshire. Perhaps such choice of names suggest a Highland influence within the new club, after much deliberation, Queens Park was adopted and carried, but only by a majority of one vote. Although Queens was not the first club in Britain, that going to Edinburgh and John Hopes Football Club, formed in 1824. Opposition first came in the form of a now defunct Glaswegian side called Thistle F. C. on 30 November 1872, Scotland faced England at the West of Scotland Cricket Club ground at Hamilton Crescent. For the one and only time all eleven Scots players were from Queens Park and they wore blue jerseys,4,000 spectators watched Scotland play with a 2–2–6 formation and England with a 1–1–8 line-up. Queens Park formed the Scottish Football Association on 13 March 1873, the match against Dumbreck on 25 October was the first match to be played at Hampden Park. It was also the first match which saw Queens Park players wear their black and white hooped jerseys. David Wotherspoon, a Queens Park player and committee member, has credited with the introduction of the black. Most importantly, it was the first Scottish Cup tie and Scottish competitive match for the club, in the final, Queens defeated Clydesdale 2–0 at Hampden. Success in the Scottish Cup followed in the two years with final victories over Renton and Third Lanark. In drawing 2–2 with Clydesdale in the 1875 semi-final, Queens conceded their first ever goals, defeat for the club was first experienced with a 2–1 defeat to Vale of Leven in the 5th round in December 1876. Third Lanark and Rangers eliminated the Spiders before Queens reclaimed the cup in 1880 with a win over Thornliebank, Dumbarton were beaten in the final in successive years. In 1881, Queens had to them twice after Dumbarton successfully appealed that the crowd at Kinning Park had encroached following a 2–1 defeat. Dumbarton got revenge in 1883 but Queens won again in 1884 without even having to play the final after Vale of Leven refused to play on the date stipulated by the SFA, in the early days of Englands FA Cup, Scottish clubs were often invited to compete
8.
FA Cup
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The FA Cup, known officially as The Football Association Challenge Cup, is an annual knockout association football competition in mens domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest association football competition in the world and it is organised by and named after The Football Association. For sponsorship reasons, from 2015 through to 2018 it is known as The Emirates FA Cup. A concurrent womens tournament is held, the FA Womens Cup. A record 763 clubs competed in 2011–12, the tournament consists of 12 randomly drawn rounds followed by the semi-finals and the final. The last entrants are the Premier League and Championship clubs, into the draw for the Third Round Proper, in the modern era, only one non-league team has ever reached the quarter finals, and teams below Level 2 have never reached the final. As a result, as well as who wins, significant focus is given to those minnows who progress furthest, especially if they achieve an unlikely giant-killing victory. Winners receive the FA Cup trophy, of which there have two designs and five actual cups, the latest is a 2014 replica of the second design. Winners also qualify for European football and a place in the FA Community Shield match, in 1863, the newly founded Football Association published the Laws of the Game of Association Football, unifying the various different rules in use before then. On 20 July 1871, in the offices of The Sportsman newspaper, the inaugural FA Cup tournament kicked off in November 1871. After thirteen games in all, Wanderers were crowned the winners in the final, Wanderers retained the trophy the following year. The modern cup was beginning to be established by the 1888–89 season, following the 1914–15 edition, the competition was suspended due to the First World War, and did not resume until 1919–20. The 1922–23 competition saw the first final to be played in the newly opened Wembley Stadium, due to the outbreak of World War II, the competition was not played between the 1938–39 and 1945–46 editions. Having previously featured replays, the modern day practice of ensuring the semi-final and final matches finish on the day, was introduced from 2000 onwards. Redevelopment of Wembley saw the final played outside of England for the first time, the final returned to Wembley in 2007, followed by the semi-finals from 2008. The competition is open to any club down to Level 10 of the English football league system which meets the eligibility criteria, all clubs in the top four levels are automatically eligible. Clubs in the six levels are also eligible provided they have played in either the FA Cup. Newly formed clubs, such as F. C. United of Manchester in 2005–06 and also 2006–07, all clubs entering the competition must also have a suitable stadium
9.
Association football
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Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball. It is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies making it the worlds most popular sport, the game is played on a rectangular field with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to score by getting the ball into the opposing goal, players are not allowed to touch the ball with their hands or arms while it is in play, unless they are goalkeepers. Other players mainly use their feet to strike or pass the ball, the team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is level at the end of the game, the Laws of the Game were originally codified in England by The Football Association in 1863. Association football is governed internationally by the International Federation of Association Football, the first written reference to the inflated ball used in the game was in the mid-14th century, Þe heued fro þe body went, Als it were a foteballe. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the word soccer was split off in 1863, according to Partha Mazumdar, the term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford -er abbreviation of the word association. Within the English-speaking world, association football is now usually called football in the United Kingdom and mainly soccer in Canada and the United States. People in Australia, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand use either or both terms, although national associations in Australia and New Zealand now primarily use football for the formal name. According to FIFA, the Chinese competitive game cuju is the earliest form of football for which there is scientific evidence, cuju players could use any part of the body apart from hands and the intent was kicking a ball through an opening into a net. It was remarkably similar to football, though similarities to rugby occurred. During the Han Dynasty, cuju games were standardised and rules were established, phaininda and episkyros were Greek ball games. An image of an episkyros player depicted in low relief on a vase at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens appears on the UEFA European Championship Cup, athenaeus, writing in 228 AD, referenced the Roman ball game harpastum. Phaininda, episkyros and harpastum were played involving hands and violence and they all appear to have resembled rugby football, wrestling and volleyball more than what is recognizable as modern football. As with pre-codified mob football, the antecedent of all football codes. Non-competitive games included kemari in Japan, chuk-guk in Korea and woggabaliri in Australia, Association football in itself does not have a classical history. Notwithstanding any similarities to other games played around the world FIFA have recognised that no historical connection exists with any game played in antiquity outside Europe. The modern rules of football are based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the widely varying forms of football played in the public schools of England
10.
Grantham Town F.C.
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Grantham Town Football Club is a football club, based in Grantham, Lincolnshire. The club plays in the Northern Premier League Premier Division and they are nicknamed The Gingerbreads and they play their home matches at the South Kesteven Sports Stadium. The club was established in August 1874, granthams first match was a 2–1 friendly win against Third Lincs Volunteer Rifles on 29 October 1874. In 1877–78, the club one of the first to enter the FA Cup. On 7 April 2012 the club became champions of the Northern Premier League Division One South, players that have played/managed in the Football League or any foreign equivalent to this level. Players that hold a club record, terry Bly Edwin Cooke Frank Watson Official website Grantham Town at the Football Club History Database Grantham F. C. at the Football Club History Database
11.
Preston North End F.C.
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Preston North End Football Club is a professional association football club located in the Deepdale area of Preston, Lancashire. They play in the Championship, the tier of the English football league system. Prestons unbeaten League and Cup season earned them the nickname The Invincibles, Prestons most recent major trophy success was their FA Cup victory over Huddersfield Town in 1938. Many notable players have played for the club, including Tom Finney, Bill Shankly, Tommy Docherty, Alan Kelly, Sr. and Graham Alexander. On 21 January 1875, the club leased a field opposite Moor Park on the site of the current Deepdale stadium, Preston North End were famously successful during the early years of professional football in England. In 1887, Preston beat Hyde 26–0 in the First Round of the FA Cup, Preston forward Jimmy Ross scored eight goals in the match, going on to score 19 goals in the competition that season, also still a record. The clubs last major win was their FA Cup triumph in 1938. Prestons most famous player, Sir Tom Finney, played for the club between 1946 and 1960, Finney is considered to be one of the greatest footballers of all time, and was also a local lad, dubbed the Preston Plumber due to his professional training as a plumber. Finney remains the top goalscorer, with 187 goals from 433 appearances. Following Finneys retirement, Preston were relegated to the Second Division in 1961 and have not played in the top division since, the club did reach the FA Cup final in 1964, but lost to West Ham United. Preston were relegated to the Third Division in the 1969–70 season, Alan Ball, Sr. John McGrath oversaw Prestons promotion back to the Third Division a year later, where they remained when John Beck took over in October 1992. The 38-year-old Beck had only recently been sacked by Cambridge United, the club almost made it two promotions in a row to reach the Premier League, but lost to Bolton Wanderers in the 2001 play-off final. Simon Grayson was appointed by the club on 18 February 2013, of Simon Graysons next 10 games, Preston won 3, drew 4 and lost 3. In Simon Graysons first summer in charge, he permanently signed 4 players, Tom Clarke, a centreback, Chris Humphrey, a winger, Kevin Davies, a Centre forward and Alex Nicholson. He also signed Declan Rudd on a long loan from Norwich City. He allowed 3 players to leave during the summer, those being Luke Foster, Chris Robertson, the 2013–14 season started off well, unbeaten in their first 9 league games. They also beat local rivals Blackpool in the League Cup, before being beaten by Lancashire rivals Burnley in the second round. The 9 league game unbeaten run came to an end on 5 October, against Peterborough United, Preston then went on another 9 game unbeaten league run, winning 5 and drawing 4, including a win against Leyton Orient, only their second league defeat of the season
12.
Stoke City F.C.
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Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, that plays in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863 the club changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and they are the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts County, and are one of the founding members of the Football League. Their first, and to date only major trophy, the League Cup was won in 1972, the clubs highest league finish in the top division is 4th, which was achieved in the 1935–36 and 1946–47 seasons. Stoke played in the FA Cup Final in 2011, finishing runners-up to Manchester City and have reached three FA Cup semi-finals, in 1899 then consecutively in 1971 and 1972. Stoke have competed in European football on three occasions, firstly in 1972–73 then in 1974–75 and most recently in 2011–12, the club has won the Football League Trophy twice, in 1992 and in 2000. Stokes home ground is the bet365 Stadium, a 28,116 all-seater stadium, before the stadium was opened in 1997, the club was based at the Victoria Ground, which had been their home ground since 1878. The clubs nickname is The Potters, named after the industry in Stoke-on-Trent and their traditional home kit is a red and white vertically striped shirt, white shorts. Stokes traditional rivals are Midlands clubs West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers whilst their local rivals are Port Vale with whom they contest the Potteries derby, the clubs first documented match was in October 1868, against an EW May XV at the Victoria Cricket Club ground. Henry Almond, the founder, was also captain. During this period they played at the Victoria Cricket Ground, however, in 1878, the club merged with Stoke Victoria Cricket Club, and became Stoke Football Club. They moved from their previous ground, Sweetings Field, to the Athletic Club ground and it was around this time that the club adopted their traditional red-and-white striped kit. In August 1885, the club turned professional, Stoke were one of the twelve founding members of the Football League when it was introduced in 1888. The club struggled in their first two seasons, 1888–89 and 1889–90, finishing bottom on both occasions, in 1890 Stoke failed to be re-elected and joined the Football Alliance, which they won and thus were re-elected to the Football League. Stoke spent the next 15 seasons in the First Division and reached the FA Cup Semi-Final in the 1898–99 season before being relegated in 1907, Stoke went bankrupt and entered non-league football until 1914, when the First World War meant the Football League was suspended for four years. During the wartime period, Stoke entered the Lancashire Primary and Secondary leagues, when football recommenced in August 1919, Stoke re-joined the league. The club became owners of the Victoria Ground in 1919 and this was followed by the construction of the Butler Street stand, which increased the overall capacity of the ground to 50,000. In 1925, Stoke-on-Trent was granted city status and this led the club to change its name to Stoke City F. C, the 1930s saw the debut of clubs most celebrated player, Stanley Matthews. Matthews, who grew up in Hanley, was an apprentice at the club and made his first appearance in March 1932, against Bury, by end of the decade, Matthews had established himself as an England international and as one of the best footballers of his generation
13.
Reading F.C.
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Reading Football Club is a professional association football club based in Reading, Berkshire, England. The team play in the Championship, the tier of English football. The club played at Elm Park for 102 years between 1896 and 1998, in 1998 the club moved to the new Madejski Stadium, which is named after the clubs co-chairman Sir John Madejski. Reading then finished eighth in the 2006–07 Premier League, their first ever season as a top flight club, Reading were formed on 25 December 1871, following a public meeting at the Bridge Street Rooms organised by the future club secretary Joseph Edward Sydenham. The early matches were played at Reading Recreation Ground, and later the club held fixtures at Reading Cricket Ground, Coley Park and Caversham Cricket Ground. The switch to professionalism in 1895 resulted in the need for a ground and, to this end. In 1913, Reading had a tour of Italy, prompting the leading sports newspaper Corriere della Sera to write without doubt. Reading were elected to the Football League Third Division South of the Football League in 1920, Reading lost their place in Division Two in May 1931, and remained in Third Division South until the outbreak of World War II. When League football resumed after the war, Reading quickly came to prominence once again, the sides moment of cup glory came in 1988 when they won the Simod Cup, beating a number of top flight sides en route to their Wembley win over Luton Town. Reading were promoted to the Second Division as champions in 1986 under the management of Ian Branfoot, the appointment of Mark McGhee as player-manager, shortly after the takeover by John Madejski, in 1991 saw Reading move forward. They were crowned champions of the new Division Two in 1994, in 1995, Reading had eased past Tranmere Rovers in the play-off semi-finals and looked to have booked their place in the Premier League only to lose against Bolton Wanderers in the final. Quinn and Goodings contracts were not renewed two years later after Reading had slid into the half of Division One. Their successor, Terry Bullivant, lasted less than one season before being sacked in March 1998, the year 1998 also saw Reading move into the new 24,200 all-seater Madejski Stadium, named after Chairman John Madejski. Tommy Burns had taken over from Terry Bullivant but lasted just 18 months before being replaced by Alan Pardew, the club finished third in 2000–01 qualifying for the play-offs, losing 2–3 in the final against Walsall at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Reading returned to Division One for 2002–03 after finishing runners-up in Division Two, the following season, they finished fourth in Division One and qualified for the play-offs, where they lost in the semi-final to Wolverhampton Wanderers. Alan Pardew moved to West Ham United the following October and was replaced by Steve Coppell, Reading won the 2005–06 Championship with a league record 106 points, scoring 99 goals and losing only twice. Reading were promoted to English footballs top division for the first time in their history, the 2006–07 season saw Reading make their first appearance in the top flight of English football. Reading defied pre-season predictions of relegation to finish the season in place with 55 points
14.
Sheffield F.C.
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Sheffield Football Club is an English football club from Sheffield, South Yorkshire. They play in the Northern Premier League Division One South, at level 8 of the English football league system, founded in 1857, the club is the oldest club now playing association football. Sheffield F. C. initially played games under the Sheffield rules, the club competes in the Rules derby with near neighbours Hallam. On the pitch, the clubs finest hour came in 1904 when they won the FA Amateur Cup and they also finished as runners up of the FA Vase in 1977. In 1855, members of a Sheffield cricket club organised informal kick-abouts without any official rules, – subsequently two members, Nathaniel Creswick and William Prest, formed the Sheffield Football Club. The inaugural meeting of the club took place on 24 October 1857 at Parkfield House in the suburb of Highfield, initially, Sheffield FC games were played among club members themselves and took the format of Married v Singles or Professionals v the Rest. Creswick and Prest were responsible for drawing up the rules of play. They were referred to as the Sheffield Rules, and were the first official set of rules, at the time, before the formation of the Football Association, many different kinds of football were popular in England. For example, each of the public schools played football according to their own individual rules. The Sheffield Rules were later adopted by the Sheffield Football Association when it was formed in 1867, sheffields near neighbour, Hallam, was formed in 1860 and in the same year the two clubs first met each other in a local derby which is still contested today. By 1862 there were 15 clubs in the Sheffield area and they became members of The Football Association on 30 November 1863 but continued to use their own set of rules. On 2 January 1865, the club played its first fixture outside Sheffield against Nottingham, by this time the club had decided only to play teams outside Sheffield in order to seek a bigger challenge. On 31 March 1866, there was a match between a team representing the city of Sheffield and one representing London, at Battersea Park, Rules that differed only slightly from the FA rules were used. The game, played as an aside, was won by London by 2 goals. However the matter of rules remained a problem with Sheffield clubs continuing to play by their own rules, Sheffield clubs finally adopted the FA rules in 1878. They would reach the 4th Round of the competition in 1877–78 and their reluctance to play against local clubs led to the formation of Thursday Wanderers in 1876, a team of players registered to Sheffield who wished to play in the Sheffield Challenge Cup. The Wanderers operated from 1876 to 1879, winning the cup in their final year, after the legalisation of professionalism, the staunchly amateur Sheffield suggested to the FA the creation of a cup exclusively for amateur clubs. The FA Amateur Cup was inaugurated in 1893 and Sheffield themselves won the competition in 1904 and they joined their first league competition in 1889 when entering the Midland League, but left after just one season when they finished bottom of the table
15.
Clapham Rovers F.C.
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Clapham Rovers was from its foundation in 1869 a leading English sports organisation in the two dominant codes of football, association football and rugby union. It was a prominent club in the late 19th century but is now defunct, the club played variously on Clapham Common, Tooting Bec Common and Wandsworth Common and wore a cerise and French-grey kit. The club was formed on 10 August 1869 by a meeting arranged by W. E. Rawlinson, at this very first meeting it was agreed to play under both codes, with Association rules to be played one week, and Rugby the other. This peculiar feature in the constitution of the club obtained for the club the sobriquet of the Hybrid Club, the first match was played on 25 September 1869, against the Wanderers, at that time arguably the strongest Association club. Despite the prowess of their opponents The Rovers won by one goal to nil, at the close of the 1870 season only two matches had been lost, one under each rules, and in both instances the return match was won. Clapham Rovers were one of the fifteen teams to play in the very first edition of the FA Cup, the first ever FA Cup goal was scored by Clapham Rovers Jarvis Kenrick, in a 3–0 victory over Upton Park on 11 November 1871. Rovers greatest achievement was winning the FA Cup in 1879–80 with a 1–0 win over Oxford University at The Kennington Oval, the previous year, Clapham Rovers had also reached the final, but lost 1–0 to Old Etonians. Clapham Rovers were also one of ten members of the Surrey County Football Association. The clubs strength in rugby was borne out by their record, from 1870 to 1881 the club played 151 Rugby games, winning 80, losing 30, and drawing 41. During the 1870s they fielded a team that had four internationals, R. H. Birkett was captain, his brother, L. Birkett, and the Bryden brothers. Additionally Crampton, and Walker were well regarded forwards and Clapham was known to have the strongest combination of the time behind the scrummage. On 26 January 1871,32 members representing twenty-one London and suburban football clubs that followed Rugby School rules assembled at the Pall Mall Restaurant in Regent Street, E. C. Holmes, captain of the Richmond Club assumed the presidency. It was resolved unanimously that the formation of a Rugby Football Society was desirable and thus the Rugby Football Union was formed. A president, a secretary and treasurer, and a committee of thirteen were elected, R. H. Birkett represented The Rovers and was one of the thirteen original committee members. The first international match was played between Scotland and England in 1871 and The Rovers provided R. H. Birkett. In this match he scored Englands first ever try, when the club played one of the strongest and most well established clubs, Richmond, for the first time on 21 October 1871, they won the match by 1 goal and 2 tries. The date of the dissolution is unclear, although the last time they competed in the FA Cup was in the 1885–86 season. Their most successful player, Norman Bailey, was described as a Clapham Rovers player when he made the last of his 19 England appearances on 19 March 1887
16.
Royal Engineers A.F.C.
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The Royal Engineers Association Football Club is an association football team representing the Corps of Royal Engineers, the Sappers, of the British Army. The Engineers were pioneers of the game, where team-mates passed the ball to each other rather than kicking ahead. The club was founded in 1863, under the leadership of Major Francis Marindin. Sir Frederick Wall, who was the secretary of The Football Association 1895–1934, Wall states that the Sappers moved in unison and showed the advantages of combination over the old style of individualism. Contemporary match reports confirm that passing was a feature of the Engineers style. An 1869 report says they worked together and had learned the secret of football success – backing up. In February 1871 against Crystal Palace it is noted that Lieut, mitchell made a fine run down the left, passing the ball to Lieut. Rich, who had run up the centre, and who pinched another By early 1868, there is evidence that opponents sometimes adjusted their playing style to counteract the organisation and passing of the Engineers. This said that, very little dribbling was displayed The Engineers played in the first-ever FA Cup Final, losing 1–0 at Kennington Oval on 16 March 1872 and they also lost the 1874 Final, to Oxford University A. F. C. The Royal Engineers were the first football team to go on a tour, to Nottingham, Derby, walls memoirs state that this tour introduced the combination game to Sheffield and Nottingham. In 1875 the Engineers won the FA Cup, considered their greatest triumph, in the final against Old Etonians, they drew 1–1 with a goal from Renny-Tailyour and went on to win the replay 2–0 with a goal each from Renny-Tailyour and Stafford. The winning side was, Capt. W. Merriman, Lt. G. H, ruck, Lt. P. G. von Donop, Lt. C. K. Stafford, Lt. H. W. Renny-Tailyour, Lt. A. Mein and their last FA Cup Final appearance came in 1878, again losing to the Wanderers. They last participated in 1882–83 FA Cup, losing 6–2 in the round to Old Carthusians F. C. The evidence above contains detailed descriptions of passing that are lacking in reports of the 1872 Glasgow international, the Scotsman concludes that the difference in styles in the first half is the advantage the Queens Park players had through knowing each others play as all came from the same club. Unlike the 1872 Glasgow international, the evidence above shows that the Engineers team playing style benefited their team play by winning games. Similarly, the 5 March 1872 match between Wanderers and Queens park contains no evidence of ball passing, the early accounts all confirm that the Engineers were the first club to play a passing game of cooperation and organisation with both their forwards and their defence. Although they could also play rough – as would be expected for an army team – The Engineers are the first side to be considered to play the football beautifully, all of these developments occurred before and independent of the 1872 match between England and Scotland
17.
Uxbridge F.C.
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Uxbridge Football Club are a football club representing Uxbridge but now based in West Drayton, in the London Borough of Hillingdon England. They were established in 1871 and are one of the oldest clubs in the South of England and they were founder members of the Southern League Division Two in 1894 and have reached the 2nd round of the FA Cup once, in the 1873–74 season. The club is affiliated to the Middlesex County Football Association and is a FA chartered standard club and they are currently members of the Southern Football League Division One Central. Uxbridge Football Club was founded in 1871 and the team started playing friendly games, the club folded in 1874, due to financial difficulty and was reformed five years later in 1879. The next 10 years of the club were successful, with the Heron brothers gaining full international caps for England, in 1886 Uxbridge FC amalgamated with Uxbridge Crescents, and played under this name in the 1886-87 season, but changing back to Uxbridge the following season. The amalgamation also saw the club wear red shirts for the first time, which are still the colours worn today, the club stayed in the Southern league for five seasons, before dropping out for financial reasons to join the Middlesex league. However, they survived a single season in the Middlesex league before folding again with a debt of £130. After two seasons the club was reformed and they joined the West Middlesex league, two later they joined the Great Western Combination League and remained there until The Great War. After the First world War they joined the Athenian League, at the end of the 1919–20 season Uxbridge finished second from bottom and were relegated to the Great Western Combination League. The club returned to the Athenian league 4 seasons later and staying in the Athenian league until the 1936–37 season when they failed to be re-elected after finishing bottom of the league twice, the club then moved to the Spartan League, and finished top of the league. However, they were denied the championship, as it was discovered the club had played an ineligible player, the club then joined the London League the season afterwards and then rejoined the Great Western Combination League during World War II. After the war the club rejoined the London League in the 1945–46 season, the following season the club joined the Corinthian League. In 1948 a ground called Honeycroft was bought in Cleveland Road for £5,800, the ground was named HoneyCraft after a large house that stood on the ground. The 1959–60 season was a successful season with the club being Champions of the Corinthian League. The score, England 8 Uxbridge 0, in 1978 the club bought its current ground in West Drayton and also called the ground Honeycroft. The club spent over £170,000 on ground improvements and a 1–1 draw with Arsenal in 1981 saw the opening of the new floodlights. The 1981–82 season saw the finish third in the Athenian League. The club finished second in Division Two South in 1984–85 and gained promotion to Division One, throughout this period of the late 1960s to late 1980s the club was managed by Ron Clack
18.
Northwich Victoria F.C.
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Northwich Victoria Football Club is an English football club based in Northwich, Cheshire, playing their home games at Wincham Park, Northwich, the home of Witton Albion. The new club was a member of several leagues including the Football League Second Division. They played at the same Drill Field ground for over 125 years, at the time Drill Field was believed to be the oldest ground in the world on which football had been continuously played. The generally accepted year for the original Northwich Victoria Football Clubs founding is 1874 by Charles James Hughes and James Heyworth, however, according to club historian Ken Edwards book A Team for All Seasons, the organisation itself could have been in existence earlier in the 1870s. Northwich played their first challenge matches in the 1874 season and originally accepted both association football and rugby rules. This was shown in 1876 when they contested a match under Rugby rules at Farnworth and Appleton F. C. and then at home under association rules. The first time the club entered a competition was the 1877 Welsh Cup. Its best achievement in the competition was in the 1881–82 and 1888–89 seasons, when they reached the final in 1882, they were the first English club to do so. In 1880, the club entered the competition for the new Cheshire Football Association Challenge Cup. They went on to win the cup for the five seasons, defeating in the finals, Birkenhead, Northwich Novelty, Crewe Alexandra. In 1890, the became a founding member of the second incarnation of The Combination. In their second season in the league they finished as runners-up, a great leap forward was taken in 1892, when Northwich became one of the founding members of the English Second Division, which saw the team turn professional. In the leagues inaugural season, Northwich finished 7th, the highest finish in the clubs history and it was during the latter stages of this season that Northwich acquired the services of Billy Meredith, the Welsh International, who is widely regarded as the first football superstar. It was said by many that Finnerhan made Meredith, another notable result was holding Woolwich Arsenal to a 2–2 draw at the Drill Field. However, as a result of their position at the bottom of the league. Up to the middle of decade, Northwich played in red. However a major change in the clubs livery occurred when they adopted the colours they wear today, green. Lured by the chance of increased revenues, the joined the Manchester League in the 1900–01 season
19.
Notts County F.C.
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Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. With records of games as early as 28 November 1862, Notts County is recognised as the oldest association football team in the world now playing at a professional level. Between 1888–89 and 2013–14 they played a total of 4,756 Football League matches – more than any other English team, the team plays in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. County play their games at Meadow Lane in black and white striped shirts. The club has had spells in the top division of English football, most recently in 1991–92. Notable former managers of Notts County include Jimmy Sirrel, Howard Wilkinson, Neil Warnock, Howard Kendall, the club has had several owners. In the 21st century, a series of problems has seen the club owned by a supporters trust. Notts County are the oldest professional club in the world having been formed in 1862. Notts pre-dated The Football Association and initially played a game of its own devising, at the time of its formation, Notts County, like most sports teams, were considered to be a gentlemen-only club. Notts County are considered to be one of the pioneers of the game and are the oldest of the worlds professional association football clubs. In November 1872, the Notts County full-back Ernest Greenhalgh played for England against Scotland in the international match. In 1888, Notts County, along with 11 other football clubs and they finished their first league season in 11th place, but avoided the dubious honour of the wooden spoon, which went to Midlands rivals Stoke. However, Notts County did achieve their highest ever finish of third in 1890–91. On 25 March 1891, Notts County reached the FA Cup final for the first time, the Magpies were defeated 3–1 by Blackburn Rovers at The Oval, despite having beaten the same side 7–1 in the league only a week earlier. This achievement is also memorable for Notts County becoming the first club outside the top division to win the FA Cup, in 1910 they moved to Meadow Lane. Notts County were relegated in 1926 in what was to be their last season in the English top flight for half a century. The 1925–26 season was the last season that famed giant goalkeeper Albert Iremonger played for the club, in the 1946–47 season, the ground was used temporarily by Nottingham Forest after the River Trent flooded both Meadow Lane and the City Ground. Forest again used Meadow Lane in 1968, after fire destroyed the main stand at the City Ground, the golden age of the club came just after the end of World War II
20.
Old Etonians F.C.
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The Old Etonian Association Football Club is an English football club whose players are alumni of Eton College, in Eton, Berkshire. Founded by Lord Kinnaird, they were the last amateur or true blue club to win the FA Cup on 25 March 1882 when they beat Blackburn Rovers 1–0 at The Oval and they lost 2–1 after extra time to another Blackburn club, Blackburn Olympic, the following year. In all, they reached the six times in nine years between 1875 and 1883, winning twice. They also supplied a number of players for the England team, in modern times, Old Etonians are members of the Amateur Football Alliance and field three teams in the Arthurian League. The 1st XI have won the leagues Premier Division title on two occasions, whitfeld scored in a 2–1 victory. Official website Old Etonians at the Football Club History Database
21.
Nottingham Forest F.C.
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Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottinghamshire, England. The team play in the Championship, the tier of English football. The club, often referred to as Forest, have played matches at the City Ground since 1898. Founded in 1865, Forest were founder members of the Football Alliance in 1889, since then, they have mostly competed in the top two League tiers, bar five seasons in the third tier. Forest won the FA Cup in 1898 and 1959, Forest were founded in 1865 as Nottingham Forest Football and Bandy Club by a group of shinty players shortly after their neighbours Notts County, in 1862. They joined the Football Alliance in 1889, and won the competition in 1892, in their early years Forest were a multi-sports club, as well as their roots in bandy and shinty, the baseball club Forest deployed were British champions in 1899. Forests charitable approach to the sport helped teams like Liverpool, Arsenal, in 1886, Forest donated a set of football kits to help Arsenal establish themselves – the North London team still wear red. Forest also donated shirts to Everton and helped secure a site to play on for Brighton, Forest claimed their first major honour when they won the 1898 FA Cup, beating Derby County 3–1 at Crystal Palace. However, for much of the first half of the 20th century the club spent life in the Second Division and had to seek re-election in 1914 after finishing bottom. In 1949 the club were relegated to the Third Division, but were promoted back two years later as champions having scored a record 110 goals in the 1950–51 season. They therefore became the first team to defeat the Wembley hoodoo, by this time Forest had replaced Notts County as the biggest club in Nottingham and went on to become runners-up in the First Division and FA Cup semi-finalists in 1967. However, after a successful period for the club, Forest were relegated from the First Division in 1972. Clough became the most successful manager in the history of Nottingham Forest, cloughs first game in charge was the third round FA Cup replay against Tottenham Hotspur, a 1–0 victory thanks to a goal by Scottish centre-forward Neil Martin. Nottingham Forest became one of the few teams to win the First Division Championship a year after winning promotion from the Second Division and they also won the European Super Cup and two League Cups. The club reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup in 1983–84 but were knocked out by Anderlecht in controversial but uncertain circumstances. The case was dismissed and Anderlecht was acquitted from all charges Nottingham Forests next major trophies came in 1989 when they won the Football League Cup. Cloughs side retained the League Cup in 1990 when they beat Oldham Athletic 1–0, in Forests team that day was young Irish midfielder Roy Keane, who had joined the club the previous summer. In the summer of 1991, Brian Clough broke Forests transfer record fee by signing the top scorer, Millwall striker Teddy Sheringham
22.
Romford F.C.
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Romford Football Club is an English football club based in Romford, East London. The club are members of Division One North of the Isthmian League. The original Romford was established in 1876 and they reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup in 1880–81, but lost 15–0 at Darwen. There was no football for them to play until they joined the South Essex League in 1896. The original club continued under new management and joined the Southern League while still playing in the South Essex League, but played only a single season before leaving. They changed to Romford Town and joined the Athenian League, but finished bottom in their first season and left at the end of their second, before closing down during World War I. Romford Town had remained members of the South Essex League and returned to action after the war, for the rest of the 1920s the only club under the Romford name was Romford Town Thursday, playing on Thursday afternoons at Brooklands, a ground previously used by Romfords reserve team. In 1929 the club was re-established, taking over the use of the Brooklands stadium, they joined the London League. In 1931 they moved to the Athenian League, which won in 1935–36. Following World War II the club transferred to the Isthmian League, in 1948–49 they reached the final of the FA Amateur Cup, but lost 1–0 to Bromley in front of 100000 spectators in the first final to be held at Wembley. In 1959 they switched to Division One of the Southern League and they were promoted to the Premier Division in their first season after finishing second, and won the Premier Division in 1966–67. The club made several applications to join the Football League, but were never successful in the elections, in 1974–75 they finished second bottom of the Premier Division, and were relegated to Division One. After a season of borrowing grounds to play home matches they resigned from the Southern League and folded in 1978, with the work on a new ground barely started. In 1992 the club was resurrected for a time and joined the Essex Senior League. They won the league in 1995–96, and in the merged with Collier Row to form Collier Row & Romford. The new club took Collier Rows place in Division Two of the Isthmian League, in the summer of 1997 they were renamed Romford. In 2000–01 they finished bottom of Division One and were relegated to Division Two. After finishing bottom the following season they resigned to go back to the Essex Senior League and they returned to the Isthmian League after winning the Senior League in 2008–09
23.
Maidenhead United F.C.
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Maidenhead United Football Club is a semi-professional English football club in Maidenhead, Berkshire. They currently play in the National League South, the tier of English football. The club was founded in 1870 and moved to their current ground at York Road the following year, the Football Association have acknowledged that it is the oldest senior football ground continuously used by the same club. On 16 February 1871 the club played their first game on the York Road site against Marlow, the club were one of the original 15 entrants for the first-ever FA Cup competition in 1871–72. The following season reached the last four before losing to Oxford University. Maidenhead reached the quarter-finals in the two seasons, but in 1876 withdrew, returning the following season. They also entered the first-ever Berks & Bucks Cup competition in 1878, in 1904 Maidenhead joined the Great Western Suburban League. Maidenhead Norfolkians, meanwhile, were founded in 1884 and were members of the South Bucks & East Berks League before also joining the West Berks League. In 1904 they joined Maidenhead FC in the Great Western Suburban League, Norfolkians played at Kidwells Park which can still be seen to this day, but as a public park – it once staged a Berks & Bucks Cup Final. After the Great War the two clubs amalgamated as Maidenhead Town and adopted the black and white stripes. They had immediate success winning the Great Western League, in 1920 the name United was adopted and two years later they entered the Spartan League. They won the three times in their nineteen-year stay. In 1936 Maidenhead reached the semi-final of the FA Amateur Cup losing 4–1 to Ilford at West Ham in front of 18,000 spectators and it was that season that the ground record attendance of 7,989 was set when Southall came to York Road in the quarter-final. In the 1929–30 season the club’s goal-scoring record for a season was set when Jack Palethorpe scored 65 goals in 39 games and he went on to play for Sheffield Wednesday and scored in the Owls FA Cup win in 1935. Following the end of the Second World War the club entered the Corinthian League and they also made three appearances in the First Round Proper of the FA Cup. In 1963 United joined the Athenian League, but were unable to repeat their Corinthian success and they had a flirtation with promotion to the Premier Division in 1979 and 1980 under Geoff Anthony, and then again in 1985 under Brian Caterer and Colin Lippiatt. It took four seasons to get out of Division Two, which was achieved under the guidance of Martyn Spong in 1991. An Isthmian League record of 13 straight wins at the start of the season was the springboard to success, following the departure of Spong to Enfield, Gary Goodwin, John Clements and then John Watt took on the manager’s job with mediocre results, the club regularly finishing mid-table
24.
Polytechnic F.C.
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Polytechnic Football Club, originally, Hanover United Football Club is a football club from Chiswick, West London, England. It is believed to be the first football club to use United in its name, the club is a full member of the Football Association, the Amateur Football Alliance and the Southern Amateur League, and is a FA charted Standard club. It was named Polytechnic after the name of the current University of Westminster. In 1892, under the name Polytechnic Football Club, the club became members of the Southern Alliance finishing fourth in the leagues only year in existence. The FA Amateur Cup was also entered in 1895, the club played in the Southern Suburban League for a few seasons in the early 1900s before joining the Olympian League for the 1909–10 season. The 1911–12 season then saw the club members of the Spartan League. The club stayed in the top division until the end of the 1928–29 season when, finishing bottom, however, they were subsequently relegated the next season to Division Two East. The club returned to Division One at the end of the 1935–56 season, after the war the club were placed in the Western Division. The league the season was then returned to a top division with two division underneath and the club was placed in Division One Western after finishing sixth the year before. The 1951–52 season saw the finish as runners-up in Division One Western. However again they could only last one season in the top division and, the club achieved promotion to Division Two in the 1955–56 as champions of Division Three, and followed up three seasons later to the top division in the league the Senior Division One. The period of time in the top division was short lived, the club would then spend the next 30 seasons in the lower two senior divisions before it achieved promotion again to the top division of the league at the end of the 1995–96 season. After nine seasons the club was relegated back to Division Two, the club remained in the top division until the end of the 2011–12 season, when they were relegated back to Senior Division Two, however gained promotion the same season. Polytechnic play their games at University of Westminster Sports Ground, Hartington Road, Chiswick. It played its matches at the Limes, Barnes, London. The Civil Service, along with the Football Association, celebrated their 150th anniversary, as a result, HRH Prince William invited Civil Service to play a Glemnet Southern Amateur Football League Senior Division 1 home game at Buckingham Palace. The first team put in a performance against a stubborn Civil Service FC. Bojan Jelovac scored the opener in the first half and Sandy Smith the second in the second half, Civil Service FC pulled one back 5 minutes later to create a tense last 20 minutes, but Polytechnic FC eventually won the game 2-1 to take the 3 points
25.
Brentwood Town F.C.
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Brentwood Town Football Club is a football club based in Brentwood, Essex, England. They are currently members of the Isthmian League Division One North and they were later replaced as the towns main club by amateur club Brentwood & Warley. Brentwood & Warley joined Division One East of the Spartan League in 1928, League reorganisation at the end of the 1928–29 season saw them placed in the Premier Division, where they remained until leaving the league at the end of the 1933–34 season. They rejoined the league in 1948, and were runners-up in 1948–49, in 1951 they were founder members of the Delphian League and were its inaugural champions. The club went on to win the league again in 1958–59, in 1963 they joined Division Two of the Athenian League in 1963 after the Delphian League was disbanded. In 1965 the club turned professional and became Brentwood Town, Playing at the Hive on Ongar Road, the renamed club left the amateur Athenian League to join the Metropolitan League. After two third-place finishes and a League Cup win in 1966–67, the club moved up to Division One of the Southern League in 1967, in 1968–69 they won Division One, and were promoted to the Premier Division. In the same season the club reached the second round of the FA Cup. The following season the club reached the round of the cup. They beat Football League club Reading 1–0 in the first round, the third round saw them drawn at home against Northampton Town, with a record crowd of over 4,000 seeing the club lose 1–0. In the league the club topped the table in September. However, at the end of the season the directors decided to merge the club with Chelmsford City. The clubs ground was sold for housing, after Brentwood Town were dissolved, Manor Athletic changed their name to Brentwood Athletic. Manor Athletic had been established in 1954, and joined the Essex Olympian League in 1967, in 1974 the club was renamed again, becoming simply Brentwood, and joined the Essex Senior League. In 2004 the club adopted its current name, after winning the Essex Senior League for the second time in 2006–07, and also winning the League Cup, the club was promoted to Division One North of the Isthmian League. In 2008–09 they finished third and qualified for the promotion play-offs, in 2010–11 the club finished fifth and qualified for the play-offs again. After defeating Needham Market 3–1 in the semi-finals, they lost 3–2 to Wingate & Finchley in the final, however, the following season saw them finish in the relegation zone, resulting in relegation back to Division One North. Manor Athletic played at King Georges Playing Fields until moving to Larkins Playing Field in 1957, in 1992 they were required to leave the ground in order to maintain senior status, and groundshared at East Thurrock Uniteds Rookery Hill
26.
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
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Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, England. The team competes in the Championship, the tier of the English football league system. Formed as an offshoot of The Wednesday Cricket Club in 1867, in 1868 they won the Cromwell Cup, only the second tournament of its kind, and in 1877 they won the inaugural Sheffield Challenge Cup, the oldest county cup in England. They were founding members and inaugural champions of the Football Alliance in 1889, in 1992 they became founder members of the Premier League. The club has spent most of its history in English footballs top flight. The Owls, as they are nicknamed, have won four league titles, Wednesday have also competed in UEFA cup competitions on four occasions, reaching the quarter-finals of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1963. Since 1899 the club has played its matches at Hillsborough stadium. Although no contemporary evidence has found to support the claim. Nevertheless, an 1842 article in Bells Life magazine states the club was founded as far back as 1816, the club was so named because it was on Wednesdays that the founding members had their day off work. They were initially based at the New Ground in Darnall, and often went by the name of Darnall Wednesday, in 1855 they were one of six clubs that helped build Bramall Lane, and held a wicket there for many years. The proposal proved very popular, with over 60 members signing up for the new team on the first night and they played their first match against The Mechanics on 19 October the same year, winning by three goals and four rouges to nil. On 1 February 1868, Wednesday played their first competitive match as they entered the Cromwell Cup. A week after their semi-final, they went on to win the cup, beating the Garrick club in the final after extra time, a key figure during the formative years of the football club was Charles Clegg, who joined the Wednesday in 1867. His relationship with the club lasted for the rest of his life and he also became president and chairman of the Football Association, and was known as the Napoleon of Football. In 1876 Wednesday acquired Scot James Lang, although he was not employed by the club, he was given a job by a member of the Sheffield Wednesday board that had no formal duties. He is now acknowledged as the first professional player in England. With Lang in their team the club became one of the strongest in the region. In 1880 the club entered the FA Cup for the first time, but although they had had Lang on their books a decade earlier, the club officially remained staunchly amateur, and this stance almost cost the club its very existence
27.
Old Carthusians F.C.
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Old Carthusians Football Club is an association football club whose players are former pupils of Charterhouse School in Godalming, Surrey, England. The club was established in 1876 and won the FA Cup in 1881, the club currently plays in the Arthurian League and won league and Arthur Dunn Cup doubles in 2006,2008,2009,2011,2013 and 2014. The club was formed from the pupils of Charterhouse School in Godalming, Surrey. Reports in the press of games taking place at the school had appeared since March 1853 and it was one of several clubs formed from the old boys of public schools in England during the 19th century. Other clubs formed in similar circumstances include Old Etonians and Old Westminsters, other former members of the school had previously founded Stoke-on-Trent F. C. in 1867, which would go on to be known as Stoke City. Old Carthusians entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1879–80, at the time of the founding of the Football League in 1888, Old Carthusians was the most southern team to be interested in joining the Northern dominated league, but were never added to the league. Old Carthusians became one of four clubs to win the FA Cup in the first eleven years it was awarded when they won the trophy in 1881. In comparison, while the Carthusians were made up of educated men, the professions of the players among the Olympic side included a dentist, the Athletic News promoted the game as patricians versus plebeians. Prior to the first final, where they defeated Casuals 2–1, an Old Carthusian spokesman said, Penalties are an unpleasant indication that our conduct and honesty are not all it should be. In 1894 they were invited to join the newly formed Southern League along with a number of team including fellow old boys club Old Westminsters, the old boys teams refused to join the new league and tried to convince the 2nd Scots Guards to leave the league as well. As of 2012, the continues to enter the Arthur Dunn Cup. This was a replay of the very first title in 1903, during 2008, the club took part in a tournament featuring several former winners of the FA Cup including Corinthian-Casuals, Royal Engineers and Old Etonians. Along with Wimbledon, and Royal Engineers the Old Carthusians are one of three teams to have ever won both the FA Cup and the FA Amateur Cup. In 2011 the Old Carthusians reached the final of the AFA Senior Cup, however, having been two goals up at half time, they went on to lose the game to the Old Salesians 3–2. Old Carthusians went on to win another two Arthurian League title and Arthur Dunn Cup doubles, the Treble-Double had only been achieved by one team before - Lancing Old Boys in the 1980s. Nine Old Carthusians were capped for England
28.
Birmingham City F.C.
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Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, the team compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. As Small Heath, they played in the Football Alliance before becoming founder members, the most successful period in their history was in the 1950s and early 1960s. They won the competition for the second time in 2011. St Andrews has been their ground since 1906. They have a long-standing and fierce rivalry with Aston Villa, their nearest neighbours, the clubs nickname is Blues, due to the colour of their kit, and their fans are known as Bluenoses. Birmingham City were founded as Small Heath Alliance in 1875, the club turned professional in 1885, and three years later became the first football club to become a limited company with a board of directors, under the name of Small Heath F. C. Ltd. From the 1889–90 season they played in the Football Alliance, which ran alongside the Football League, in 1892, Small Heath, along with the other Alliance teams, were invited to join the newly formed Football League Second Division. The club adopted the name Birmingham Football Club in 1905, and moved into their new home, St Andrews Ground, matters on the field failed to live up to their surroundings. Birmingham were relegated in 1908, obliged to apply for two years later, and remained in the Second Division until after the First World War. Frank Womacks captaincy and the creativity of Scottish international playmaker Johnny Crosbie contributed much to Birmingham winning their second Division Two title in 1920–21, Womack went on to make 515 appearances, a club record for an outfielder, over a twenty-year career. 1920 also saw the debut of the 19-year-old Joe Bradford, who went on to score a club record 267 goals in 445 games, and won 12 caps for England. In 1931, manager Leslie Knighton led the club to their first FA Cup Final and they were finally relegated in 1939, the last full season before the Football League was abandoned for the duration of the Second World War. The name Birmingham City F. C. was adopted in 1943, under Harry Storer, appointed manager in 1945, the club won the Football League South wartime league and reached the semifinal of the first post-war FA Cup. Two years later won their third Second Division title, conceding only 24 goals in the 42-game season. Storers successor Bob Brocklebank, though unable to stave off relegation in 1950, when Arthur Turner took over as manager in November 1954, he made them play closer to their potential, and a 5–1 win on the last day of the 1954–55 season confirmed them as champions. In their first season back in the First Division, Birmingham achieved their highest league finish of sixth place. They also reached the FA Cup final, losing 3–1 to Manchester City in the game notable for Citys goalkeeper Bert Trautmann playing the last 20 minutes with a bone in his neck
29.
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
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Bolton Wanderers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Bolton, Greater Manchester. The club currently competes in League One, the tier of the English football league system. The club was formed as Christ Church Football Club in 1874, founder members of the Football League in 1888, Bolton have spent the highest number of seasons of any club in the top flight without winning the title. The closest they have come to the title is third in the First Division on three occasions, as of 2015, the club has spent more seasons in the top division than any other club outside the current Premier League. Bolton were a successful cup side in the 1920s, winning the FA Cup three times, the club won the cup a fourth time in 1958. A leaner spell followed, reaching a nadir in 1987 when the club spent a season in the Fourth Division, the club regained top-flight status in 1995 after a 15-year absence. In a period of success, the club qualified for the UEFA Cup twice, reaching the last 32 in 2005–06. The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895, on 9 March 1946, The Burnden Park disaster occurred, which was a human crush in which 33 Bolton fans lost their lives. In 1997 it moved out of town to the Reebok Stadium, the stadium was renamed the Macron Stadium in July 2014, to reflect the clubs new deal with Italian sportswear company Macron. The club was founded by the Reverend Joseph Farrall Wright, Perpetual curate of Christ Church Bolton and Thomas Ogden, the schoolmaster at the adjacent church school in 1874 as Christ Church F. C. It was initially run from the church of the name on Deane Road. The club left the following a dispute with the vicar. The name was chosen as the club initially had a lot of difficulty finding a permanent ground to play on, Bolton were one of the 12 founder members of the Football League, which formed in 1888. At the time Lancashire was one of the strongest footballing regions in the country, having remained in the Football League since its formation, Bolton have spent more time in the top flight than out of it. In 1894 Bolton reached the final of the FA Cup for the first time, a decade later they were runners-up a second time, losing 1–0 to local rivals Manchester City at Crystal Palace on 23 April 1904. In this period Bolton equalled their record finish of third twice, in 1920–21 and 1924–25, on 28 April 1923, Bolton won their first major trophy in their third final, beating West Ham United 2–0 in the first ever Wembley FA Cup final. The match, famously known as The White Horse Final was played in front of over 127,000 supporters, boltons centre-forward, David Jack scored the first ever goal at Wembley Stadium. Driven by long-term players Joe Smith in attack, Ted Vizard and Billy Butler on the wings, in 1928 the club faced financial difficulties and so was forced to sell David Jack to Arsenal to raise funds
30.
Accrington F.C.
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Accrington Football Club was an English football club from Accrington, Lancashire, who were one of the founder members of The Football League. Accrington F. C. was formed following a meeting at a public house in 1876. The Owd Reds played at Accrington Cricket Clubs ground in Thorneyholme Road, the club was part of the revolt against the Football Association in 1884 over professionalism, after being expelled from the FA the previous year for paying a player. They were one of the twelve teams forming the Football League on 17 April 1888. Accringtons best season was in 1889–90, when it finished sixth in the table, however, in the 1892–93 season the team finished fifteenth and was relegated after losing a test match 1–0 against Sheffield United at Trent Bridge. Accrington then resigned from the rather than play in the Second Division. After its first season in the Lancashire League, Accrington unsuccessfully applied for re-election to the Football League, shortly afterwards, Accrington F. C. suffered financial problems, which eventually led to its demise. The club continued outside the league until 1896, when it finally folded following a 12–0 defeat on 14 January against Darwen in the Lancashire Senior Cup. Accrington did not have a Football League team again until in 1921–22 the Lancashire Combination leagues Accrington Stanley, became a member as part of a major expansion of the league
31.
Wednesbury Old Athletic F.C.
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Wednesbury Old Athletic was an English association football club based in Wednesbury, West Midlands. There were three clubs that had this name, the first began life as the Wednesbury Literary & Athletic Institute in October 1874, adopting the more familiar title of Wednesbury Old Athletic Club the following year. WOAC became a member of the Birmingham & District Football Association in December 1875 and won the inaugural Birmingham Cup competition. This success was repeated two years later, and in 1880, having joined the Staffordshire Football Association, the Old Athletic won the Staffs Cup, beating Aston Villa 2–1 in the Final. The club played in the FA Cup of 1881–82 and reached the quarter finals, but they lost 13–0 to Villa in the Cup on 30 October 1886 and would later be knocked out of the competition by Blackburn Rovers. Wednesbury Old Athletic played in the Birmingham & District League from 1890 to 1891, after narrowly missing out on the Midland League championship in 1892 the clubs fortunes declined. Wednesbury was unable to support a club and the Old Athletic disbanded in July 1893. The second club was formed from the ashes of the first, unable to obtain the use of a regular home ground, the club withdraw from the Walsall Junior League half way through the season and subsequently folded. The third club began life as Wednesbury Excelsior in around 1891 and it existed in local football, playing cup ties and friendlies, before joining the West Midlands Amateur League in 1896. Finishing as runners-up at the first attempt, the joined the Walsall & District League in 1897. WOAC spent 10 seasons in league, winning the title in 1900 &1905. The club dropped back down to the Birmingham Combination, but after collecting just a point from 12 fixtures the Old Athletic withdrew from the competition. The original club played at the Wells Field, through which Rooth Street now runs. It later played at the Athletic Ground, on the side of Wood Green Cemetery. Its best known home ground is listed as the Oval on St Pauls Road, Wood Green. It was also nearby Bescot Junction and Wood Green railway station and this is close to the site of present-day Wood Green High School, where a playing field known affectionately as Elwells existed until recently. The name Elwell refers to Edward Elwell, who owned a forge in Wednesbury that was previously situated at Wood Green. The later club played at different grounds, including The Press Ground in Wood Green, The Oval, The Central Grounds on Lloyd Street
32.
Marlow F.C.
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Marlow Football Club is an English football club based in Marlow, Buckinghamshire. The club are members of the Southern Football League and play at the Alfred Davis Memorial Ground. They are the football club in England to have applied for entry into the FA Cup every season since its inception in 1871. Their current manager is former Reading Town boss Mark Bartley who took over following the relegation from the Southern Football League in 2012. He was assisted by Marcus Richardson and is now assisted by Neville Roach, the club was formed at a meeting at the Compleat Angler Hotel on 22 November 1870. Cuthbert Ottaway, the first captain of England, played for The Blues at the beginning of its history, in 1871–72 the club competed in the first-ever FA Cup, losing 2–0 to Maidenhead. In 1881–82 they reached the semi-finals, losing 5–0 to Old Etonians, instead, they joined the Spartan League in 1908, but resigned midway through their third season in the league. In 1919 the club left its Crown Meadow ground to move to Star Meadow, resulting in them leaving the Great Western Suburban League, in 1928 they moved to a new ground, which was named after their long-serving secretary, Alfred Davis. They rejoined the Spartan League in 1928, winning Division Two West in 1929–30, in 1965 they joined Division Two of the Athenian League, and were promoted to Division One after finishing third in 1970–71. When the league disbanded in 1984 they joined Division Two North of the Isthmian League and they were transferred to Division Two South the following season, and in 1986–87 they finished second and were promoted to Division One. The following season they won Division One and were promoted to the Premier Division, in 1991–92 the club reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time since 1892, but lost 6–0 to West Bromwich Albion. The following season Marlow reached the round of the FA Cup. They were drawn at home to Tottenham, but the match was switched to White Hart Lane, Two seasons later they reached the third round again, defeating Oxford United in the first round, before losing 2–0 at Swindon Town in the third. They remained in the Premier Division until being relegated at the end of the 1994–95 season, Two seasons later they were relegated again. In 2004 they were transferred to Division One West of the Southern League, the 2011–12 season saw the club finish bottom of Division One Central of the Southern League and the club was relegated to the Premier Division of the Hellenic Football League. The club managed to promotion a season later back to the Southern League, under manager Mark Bartley. After two seasons in the Southern League Division One Central, Marlow were shuffled over to the Southern League Division One South & West ahead of the 2015–16 season. Marlow play their games at the Alfred Davis Memorial Ground, Oak Tree Road, Marlow, Buckinghamshire
33.
Clitheroe F.C.
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Clitheroe Football Club are an English football club based in Clitheroe, Lancashire, playing in the Northern Premier League Division One North. They were established in 1877 as Clitheroe Central, after joining the Lancashire Combination in 1903, they removed Central from their name. The club was formed as Clitheroe Central in 1877 at the Swan Hotel in Castle Street by local businessmen, after playing in local leagues, and winning their first major trophy, the club joined the Lancashire Combination in 1903 and dropped Central from their name. During this period, Clitheroe played their games at the Upbrooks ground, located behind houses on Salthill Road, in 1925 the club moved a few hundred yards to its present home of Shawbridge. Except for breaks during the First and Second World Wars Clitheroe played in the Lancashire Combination until the end of the 1981–82 season and they won the Lancashire Combination Cup in the 1934–35 season and the League Championship in the 1979–80 season. For the 1982–83 season the Lancashire Combination amalgamated with the Cheshire County League to become the North West Counties League, Clitheroe became one of the founder members, however the state of the ground meant they started in the third division. In the 1995–96 season when under the joint managership of Dennis Underwood, some 7,500 people watched the game against Brigg Town and although Clitheroe won against them earlier in the season in the FA Cup the club was beaten 3–0 in the Vase Final. A public appeal to help with the visit to Wembley saw £7,400 donated by townspeople, the last decade of the 20th century saw most of the ten years spent getting the ground up to scratch with £130,000 being spent in the process. The sale of two players, Jon Penman and Carlo Nash, helped considerably with the expenditure on the ground. The club saw success on the pitch after the Wembley visit until manager Steve Parry led them to the Floodlight Trophy by beating Kidsgrove Athletic 2–1 in the 1998–99 final. Dave Burgess took over the management of the first team in 2000–01 after several years running the second string. In their first season finished as league runners-up and FA Vase semi-finalists. Work commitments led to Burgess standing down in 2001–02, Sculpher took over and again finished as league runners-up before losing 2–1 to Mossley in the League Cup final at Burys Gigg Lane ground. With the title came the reward of promotion to the Northern Premier League for the 2004-05 season, in November 2004 Lee Sculpher resigned as manager and short spells in charge by Paul Byron, Tommy Lawson and Mark Smitheringale followed before Chris Stammers was appointed manager in September 2006. After the 10–1 loss to Kettering Town in the FA Trophy and his assistant Ash Berry took temporary charge of team affairs before the club appointed Neil Reynolds and Kendals veteran player Peter Smith as the new management team in December. Smith took over managerial duties at the end of the 2008-09 season, going on to lead the club to 8th and 6th place finishes. The end of the 2010-11 season saw Pete Smith replaced as manager by Carl Garner, the vacant position of Chair was taken over by Garners long-standing deputy Anne Barker, who remains in the role. Early success for Garner in 2011-12 was followed by a tailing off in form and he resigned with ten games to go, Dave Burgess and Lee Sculpher returning on a temporary basis to see the season out
34.
Eagley F.C.
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Eagley Football Club is a football club based in the village of Eagley, near Bolton in Greater Manchester. They are currently members of the West Lancashire League Premier Division, the club are affiliated to the Lancashire Football Association. The clubs colours are yellow shirts and dark blue shorts, the original Eagley FC was formed in 1874. It was one of the first clubs in Lancashire playing under association football rules and that season Eagley was the winner of the Turton Football Club Challenge Cup, the first football cup played for in Lancashire, and entered the FA Cup for the first time. In 1879–80, Eagley was one of the competitors in the first Lancashire Cup competition, with the rise of professional football, the original Eagley FC was disbanded. Many years later it was revived as Eagley Mills FC, which played in the Manchester League, the club declined in the 1970s until 1980 when a group of local enthusiasts stepped in to try to revive Eagley to some of its former glories. In 1981, the appointed the ex-Walker Institute player Paul Thompson as manager with Peter Conroy as his assistant. This led to a period of success in the Combination plus a Lancashire Junior Shield Final appearance, losing 3–2 to Latham & Burscough. A new phase of the history was entered into on joining the West Lancashire League for the 1988–89 season. After two seasons settling into the league, the club appointed Terry Finney as team manager, soon after, the club had success, being promoted to the Premier Division as champions. Finneys success continued over the eight seasons with the club making appearances in the West Lancashire Presidents and Richardsons Cup finals, along with four Hospital Cup finals. However, during this period the club suffered a blow when the clubhouse was completely destroyed by fire in August 1992. The Football and Cricket Clubs joined together to build a new clubhouse which is used today. From December 2013, the club was managed by former Wales, West Lancashire League Premier DivisionRunners-up 2003–04 West Lancashire League Division Two Champions 1990–91 FA CupFourth Round 1882–83 Official website
35.
Aston Villa F.C.
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Aston Villa Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aston, Birmingham, that plays in the Championship, the second level of English football. Founded in 1874, they have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, Aston Villa were one of the founder members of the Football League in 1888. They were also one of the members of the Premier League in 1992. Aston Villa are one of only five English clubs to be crowned champions of Europe and they have also won the First Division Championship seven times, the FA Cup seven times, the Football League Cup five times, and the UEFA Super Cup once. They have a local rivalry with Birmingham City and the Second City derby between the sides has been played since 1879. The clubs traditional kit colours are claret shirts with sky blue sleeves, white shorts and their traditional badge is of a rampant lion, which was introduced by the clubs Scottish chairman William McGregor in honour of the Royal Standard of Scotland. The club is owned by Recon Group Limited, a company chaired by Chinese businessman Tony Xia. Aston Villa Football Club were formed in March 1874, by members of the Villa Cross Wesleyan Chapel in Handsworth which is now part of Birmingham, the four founders of Aston Villa were Jack Hughes, Frederick Matthews, Walter Price and William Scattergood. Aston Villas first match was against the local Aston Brook St Marys Rugby team, as a condition of the match, the Villa side had to agree to play the first half under Rugby rules and the second half under Association rules. The club won their first FA Cup in 1887 with captain Archie Hunter becoming one of the games first household names. Aston Villa were one of the teams that competed in the inaugural Football League in 1888 with one of the clubs directors. Aston Villa emerged as the most successful English club of the Victorian era, winning no fewer than five League titles, in 1897, the year Villa won The Double, they moved into their present home, the Aston Lower Grounds. Supporters coined the name Villa Park, no official declaration listed the ground as Villa Park. This was largely the result of a defensive record, they conceded 110 goals in 42 games,7 of them coming from Arsenals Ted Drake in an infamous 1–7 defeat at Villa Park. Like all English clubs, Villa lost seven seasons to the Second World War, the team was rebuilt under the guidance of former player Alex Massie for the remainder of the 1940s. The team struggled in the league though and were relegated two seasons later, due in part to complacency. However, under the stewardship of manager Joe Mercer Villa returned to the top-flight in 1960 as Second Division Champions, the following season Aston Villa became the first team to win the Football League Cup. Mercers forced retirement from the club in 1964 signalled a period of deep turmoil, the most successful club in England was struggling to keep pace with changes in the modern game, with Villa being relegated for the third time, under manager Dick Taylor in 1967
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