1.
FA Community Shield
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The Football Association Community Shield is English footballs annual match contested between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium. If the Premier League champions also won the FA Cup then the league runners-up provide the opposition, generally ranked below the FA Cup and League Cup in terms of importance, the fixture is a recognised football super cup. Organised by the Football Association, proceeds from the game are distributed to community-based initiatives and charities around the country, the fixture was first played in the 1908–09 season, replacing the Sheriff of London Charity Shield. The current holders are Manchester United who defeated Leicester City in the 2016 match, the Community Shield evolved from the Sheriff of London Charity Shield that had been introduced in 1898 as a professionals versus amateurs cup. The Football Association Charity Shield, as it was known at the time, was designed to replace the Sheriff of London Charity Shield after the amateur clubs fell out with the FA. The new format was to have the Football League First Division champions play the Southern League champions, the match was drawn 1–1, so the game was replayed when Manchester United won 4–0. This is the only Charity Shield game to go to a replay, both games were played at Stamford Bridge. In 1930 the Football League winner v. FA Cup winner returned, and with a few exceptions, the game had been moved to the start of the season from 1959 onwards. The question of two teams should contest the Shield should one team win both the FA Cup and League continued to linger. In 1971, Arsenal became the team to win the Double since the Shields foundation. Leicester City were invited as Division Two champions to play FA Cup runners-up Liverpool instead and went on to win the trophy, despite finishing the season eleventh, City also contested the 1973 Charity Shield but lost 1-0 to Second Division champions Burnley. In 1974 the then FA secretary, Ted Croker, created the current format with the match being played at Wembley Stadium, and being contested by the reigning League and FA Cup holders. Four drawn games in the 1980s and early 1990s resulted in each holding the trophy for 6 months. With the formation of a new top league, the FA Premier League, as a result, the competition was renamed the Community Shield. Arsenal were the first winners of the renamed Community Shield with a 1–0 victory over Liverpool, the auction was held at The Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, where the England team celebrated the 1966 victory. The Bobby Moore Fund became the FAs new charity partner in July 2016, an official honour in the English game, the Community Shield is regarded to be the first competitive game of the new English football season. However, it has been considered by some to be a minor trophy, the game has been described by some media sources, including Mark Lawrenson, as a glorified friendly. On the other hand, many media, clubs and players continue to recognise the importance of the match as the first official game and trophy of the domestic season
2.
Huddersfield Town A.F.C.
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F. C. Halifax Town is a semi-professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. The club participates in the National League North, the tier of English football. They replaced Halifax Town A. F. C. which went into administration in the 2007–08 season, huge tax debts buried Halifax Town A. F. C. after almost 100 years as a football club. New figures put to a creditors meeting in May 2008 showed the cash-strapped Shaymen owed over £800,000 to Her Majestys Revenue. The Revenue refused any deal and that finished the club – already over £2 million in the red. It was originally thought the club owed the taxman around £500,000, but the news that it owed £814,000 meant that even if all the other creditors had accepted the 2. 5p-in-the-pound offer originally on the table it would not have been enough. Halifax appealed against the decision to them from the Football Conference. Though the appeal was rejected on 11 June, the hope was that Halifax could play in the NPL Premier Division. This did not materialise, and eventually Halifax Town were accepted to play in the Northern Premier League Division One North in the new season under the new name FC Halifax Town. The clubs first game under the new name FC Halifax Town was a friendly away against Tamworth on 19 July 2008, there was to be no fairytale ending however, and the game ended in a 2–0 defeat. The clubs first ever victory was against Alsager Town on 26 July 2008 by a 2–0 scoreline, colin Hunter scored the new clubs first ever goal after six minutes. Their first competitive Northern League Division One North match was at The Shay against Bamber Bridge on 16 August 2008, the club got off to a poor start, despite recording their first competitive victory in the next match. However, a 7–1 home win against Salford City in late September seemed to turn the tide for Town and they went on an 8-game unbeaten run,7 of those being victories, and shot to the top of the league table. The run eventually came to an end against Rossendale United, who ended up doing the double over Halifax. Despite the loss, Halifax remained top and more results, including 5–1 and 4–1 victories against Garforth Town and Wakefield respectively. After the Wakefield match however, Halifax won just 2 of their final 14 league games and this poor run led to the sacking of manager Jim Vince, and senior player Nigel Jemson stepped up to the managers position for the remainder of the season. They could only manage 2 draws and so a poor ending to the season cost them dearly, with new manager Neil Aspin taking the helm near the start of close season, Halifax Town got off to a much better start. Promising results in friendlies were consolidated after beating Colwyn Bay 3–0 on their own turf in the first league match of the season
3.
Liverpool F.C.
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Liverpool Football Club is a professional association football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football, the club has won 5 European Cups,3 UEFA Cups,3 UEFA Super Cups,18 League titles,7 FA Cups, a record 8 League Cups, and 15 FA Community Shields. The club was founded in 1892 and joined the Football League the following year, the club has played at Anfield since its formation. The club holds many long-standing rivalries, most notably the North West Derby against Manchester United, the clubs supporters have been involved in two major tragedies. The second was the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, where 96 Liverpool supporters died in a crush against perimeter fencing, the team changed from red shirts and white shorts to an all-red home strip in 1964 which has been used ever since. The clubs anthem is Youll Never Walk Alone, Liverpool F. C. was founded following a dispute between the Everton committee and John Houlding, club president and owner of the land at Anfield. After eight years at the stadium, Everton relocated to Goodison Park in 1892, the team won the Lancashire League in its début season, and joined the Football League Second Division at the start of the 1893–94 season. After finishing in first place the club was promoted to the First Division, Liverpool reached its first FA Cup Final in 1914, losing 1–0 to Burnley. Liverpool suffered its second Cup Final defeat in 1950, playing against Arsenal, the club was relegated to the Second Division in the 1953–54 season. Soon after Liverpool lost 2–1 to non-league Worcester City in the 1958–59 FA Cup, the club was promoted back into the First Division in 1962 and won it in 1964, for the first time in 17 years. In 1965, the club won its first FA Cup, in 1966, the club won the First Division but lost to Borussia Dortmund in the European Cup Winners Cup final. Liverpool won both the League and the UEFA Cup during the 1972–73 season, and the FA Cup again a year later, Shankly retired soon afterwards and was replaced by his assistant, Bob Paisley. In 1976, Paisleys second season as manager, the club won another League, the following season, the club retained the League title and won the European Cup for the first time, but it lost in the 1977 FA Cup Final. Liverpool retained the European Cup in 1978 and regained the First Division title in 1979, Paisley retired in 1983 and was replaced by his assistant, Joe Fagan. Liverpool won the League, League Cup and European Cup in Fagans first season, Liverpool reached the European Cup final again in 1985, against Juventus at the Heysel Stadium. Before kick-off, Liverpool fans breached a fence separated the two groups of supporters, and charged the Juventus fans. The resulting weight of people caused a wall to collapse, killing 39 fans. The incident became known as the Heysel Stadium disaster, the match was played in spite of protests by both managers, and Liverpool lost 1–0 to Juventus
4.
Old Trafford
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Old Trafford is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. It is about 0.5 miles from Old Trafford Cricket Ground, future expansion is likely to involve the addition of a second tier to the South Stand, which would raise the capacity to around 95,000. The stadiums record attendance was recorded in 1939, when 76,962 spectators watched the FA Cup semi-final between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Grimsby Town and it also hosted football matches at the 2012 Summer Olympics, including womens international football for the first time in its history. Before 1902, Manchester United were known as Newton Heath, during time they first played their football matches at North Road. However, both grounds were blighted by wretched conditions, the pitches ranging from gravel to marsh, while Bank Street suffered from clouds of fumes from its neighbouring factories. Including the purchase of the land, the construction of the stadium was originally to have cost £60,000 all told. The subsidy would have come to the sum of £10,000, however, despite guarantees for the loan coming from the club itself and two local breweries, both chaired by club chairman John Henry Davies, the Cheshire Lines Committee turned the proposal down. The CLC had planned to build a new station adjacent to the new stadium, the station – Trafford Park – was eventually built, but further down the line than originally planned. The CLC later constructed a modest station with one timber-built platform immediately adjacent to the stadium and it was initially named United Football Ground, but was renamed Old Trafford Football Ground in early 1936. It was served on match days only by a service of steam trains from Manchester Central railway station. It is currently known as Manchester United Football Ground, construction was carried out by Messrs Brameld and Smith of Manchester and development was completed in late 1909. The stadium hosted its game on 19 February 1910, with United playing host to Liverpool. However, the side were unable to provide their fans with a win to mark the occasion. A journalist at the game reported the stadium as the most handsomest, the most spacious, as a football ground it is unrivalled in the world, it is an honour to Manchester and the home of a team who can do wonders when they are so disposed. Before the construction of Wembley Stadium in 1923, the FA Cup Final was hosted by a number of different grounds around England including Old Trafford. The first of these was the 1911 FA Cup Final replay between Bradford City and Newcastle United, after the tie at Crystal Palace finished as a no-score draw after extra time. Bradford won 1–0, the goal scored by Jimmy Speirs, in a match watched by 58,000 people, the grounds second FA Cup Final was the 1915 final between Sheffield United and Chelsea. Sheffield United won the match 3–0 in front of nearly 50,000 spectators, most of whom were in the military, leading to the final being nicknamed the Khaki Cup Final
5.
Manchester
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Manchester is a major city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 514,414 as of 2013. It lies within the United Kingdoms second-most populous urban area, with a population of 2.55 million, Manchester is fringed by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east and an arc of towns with which it forms a continuous conurbation. The local authority is Manchester City Council and it was historically a part of Lancashire, although areas of Cheshire south of the River Mersey were incorporated during the 20th century. Throughout the Middle Ages Manchester remained a township but began to expand at an astonishing rate around the turn of the 19th century. Manchesters unplanned urbanisation was brought on by a boom in textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution, Manchester achieved city status in 1853. The Manchester Ship Canal opened in 1894, creating the Port of Manchester and its fortunes declined after the Second World War, owing to deindustrialisation. The city centre was devastated in a bombing in 1996, but it led to extensive investment, in 2014, the Globalization and World Cities Research Network ranked Manchester as a beta world city, the highest-ranked British city apart from London. Manchester is the third-most visited city in the UK and it is notable for its architecture, culture, musical exports, media links, scientific and engineering output, social impact, sports clubs and transport connections. Manchester Liverpool Road railway station was the worlds first inter-city passenger railway station and in the city scientists first split the atom, the name Manchester originates from the Latin name Mamucium or its variant Mancunium and the citizens are still referred to as Mancunians. These are generally thought to represent a Latinisation of an original Brittonic name, both meanings are preserved in languages derived from Common Brittonic, mam meaning breast in Irish and mother in Welsh. The suffix -chester is a survival of Old English ceaster and their territory extended across the fertile lowland of what is now Salford and Stretford. Central Manchester has been settled since this time. A stabilised fragment of foundations of the version of the Roman fort is visible in Castlefield. After the Roman withdrawal and Saxon conquest, the focus of settlement shifted to the confluence of the Irwell, much of the wider area was laid waste in the subsequent Harrying of the North. Thomas de la Warre, lord of the manor, founded and constructed a church for the parish in 1421. The church is now Manchester Cathedral, the premises of the college house Chethams School of Music. The library, which opened in 1653 and is open to the public today, is the oldest free public reference library in the United Kingdom. Manchester is mentioned as having a market in 1282, around the 14th century, Manchester received an influx of Flemish weavers, sometimes credited as the foundation of the regions textile industry
6.
Manchester United F.C.
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Manchester United Football Club is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. Nicknamed the Red Devils, the club was founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to its current stadium, Old Trafford, in 1910. Manchester United have won a record 20 League Titles, a joint-record 12 FA Cups,5 League Cups, the club has also won three European Cups, one UEFA Cup Winners Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, one Intercontinental Cup and one FIFA Club World Cup. In 1998–99, the became the first in the history of English football to achieve the treble of the Premier League, the FA Cup. The 1958 Munich air disaster claimed the lives of eight players, in 1968, under the management of Matt Busby, Manchester United became the first English football club to win the European Cup. Alex Ferguson won 38 trophies, including 13 Premier League titles,5 FA Cups and 2 UEFA Champions Leagues, José Mourinho is the clubs current manager, having been appointed on 27 May 2016. As of June 2015, it is the worlds most valuable football brand and it is one of the most widely supported football teams in the world. In August 2012, Manchester United made a public offering on the New York Stock Exchange. The club holds several rivalries, most notably with Liverpool, Manchester City and Leeds United, Manchester United was formed in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR Football Club by the Carriage and Wagon department of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath. By 1888, the club had become a member of The Combination. Following the leagues dissolution after only one season, Newton Heath joined the newly formed Football Alliance and this resulted in the club starting the 1892–93 season in the First Division, by which time it had become independent of the railway company and dropped the LYR from its name. After two seasons, the club was relegated to the Second Division, in January 1902, with debts of £2,670 – equivalent to £260,000 in 2017 – the club was served with a winding-up order. The following season began with victory in the first ever Charity Shield, Manchester United won the First Division for the second time in 1911, but at the end of the following season, Mangnall left the club to join Manchester City. In 1922, three years after the resumption of football following the First World War, the club was relegated to the Second Division, relegated again in 1931, Manchester United became a yo-yo club, achieving its all-time lowest position of 20th place in the Second Division in 1934. Gibson, who, in December 1931, invested £2,000, in the 1938–39 season, the last year of football before the Second World War, the club finished 14th in the First Division. Busby led the team to second-place league finishes in 1947,1948 and 1949, in 1952, the club won the First Division, its first league title for 41 years. With an average age of 22, the title winning side of 1956 were labelled the Busby Babes by the media. In 1957, Manchester United became the first English team to compete in the European Cup, despite objections from The Football League, who had denied Chelsea the same opportunity the previous season
7.
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
8.
Football League First Division
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The Football League First Division is a former division of the Football League. Between 1888 and 1992 it was the division in the English football league system. Following the creation of the FA Premier League it was a second-level division, in 2004 it was rebranded as the Football League Championship. The Football League was founded in 1888 by Aston Villa director William McGregor and it originally consisted of a single division of 12 clubs, known as The Football League. When the League admitted additional members from the rival Football Alliance in 1892, for the next 100 years, the First Division was the top professional league in English football. Then, in 1992 the 22 clubs making up the First Division elected to resign from the Football League, the Football League was consequently re-organised, with the Second, Third and Fourth Divisions now renamed the First, Second and Third respectively. Thus, the First Division, while still the top level of the Football League, the First Division was renamed as the Football League Championship prior to the start of the 2004–05 season, as part of a league-wide rebrand. Liverpool were the most frequent winners of the First Division when it was the top flight of English football, winning it a total of 18 times. After the creation of the Premier League, the new Division One title was won more than once by one club, Sunderland. The First Division initially consisted of 12 founder clubs, since then it has undergone a series of expansions as football became more popular, as of the 1975–76 season players had to make 14 appearances for their club during the season in order to qualify for a winners medal. See List of English football champions, see List of winners of English Football League Championship and predecessors
9.
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
10.
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
11.
Herbert Chapman
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Herbert Chapman was an English association football player and manager. Though he had a playing career, he went on to become one of the most successful and influential managers in early 20th-century English football. As a player, Chapman played for a variety of clubs and his record was generally unremarkable as a player, he made fewer than 40 League appearances over the course of a decade and did not win any major honours. Instead, he found success as a manager, first at Northampton Town between 1908 and 1912, whom he led to a Southern League title. This attracted the attention of clubs and he moved to Leeds City. After the war ended, City were implicated in an illegal payments scandal and were eventually disbanded, Chapman was initially banned from football but successfully appealed. He took over at Huddersfield Town, winning an FA Cup, in 1925, Arsenal successfully tempted Chapman to join them, and he led the club to its first FA Cup success and two First Division titles. Not only credited with turning round the fortunes of both Huddersfield Town and Arsenal, he is regarded as one of the games first modernisers, Chapman was born in Kiveton Park, near Rotherham. Chapman was one of children and born into a keen sporting family. The most successful of these was his brother, Harry. His older brother Tom played for Grimsby Town, while another brother, Matthew and he first played as a youth for his local side, Kiveton Park Colliery, before leaving home in 1895. He moved to Ashton-under-Lyne and played as an amateur for Ashton North End, before moving on to Stalybridge Rovers, Chapman played at inside right, and although he lacked the skill of his brother Harry, he compensated for it with his strength and robustness. In 1898, he joined his brother Tom at Second Division Grimsby Town, though now playing in the professional Football League, Chapman was still an amateur at this stage and obtained a job with a firm of local solicitors to earn his way. By this time Chapman had been dropped from the team, having been moved to centre forward. He moved on to see out the season with Sheppey United, Chapman finished as Uniteds top scorer but was injured at the end of this season, and still unable to find a job. Disheartened, he returned to his town and turned out for Worksop Town of the Midland League in 1900–01, while resuming his studies. He played for Northampton for the whole 1901–02 season, finishing as top scorer with 14 goals in 22 games for the club. He played 22 matches and scored twice for United, but struggled to keep his place in a full of internationals
12.
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
13.
Elisha Scott
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Elisha Scott was an Irish football goalkeeper who most notably played for Liverpool from 1912 to 1934. Liverpool only got the chance to sign Scott when Everton decided that the 19-year-old Elisha was too young, Scott was reported as signed by Crewe Alexandra in August 1913, presumably under some sort of loan arrangement. He succeeded Thomas Charles Allison as deputy for the first choice keeper, Arthur Box, Scott finally made his Liverpool debut on New Years Day 1913 at St James Park. The team drew 0–0 with Newcastle, during the early days of his career Scott was understudy to Ken Campbell and only appeared occasionally. The First World War interrupted Scotts career for four years, however, after its conclusion he returned to Liverpool and was determined to make the number 1 jersey his own. Scott finally got a chance of a run in the Liverpool goal at the end of the season, Scotts goalkeeping position was set in stone when Campbell was allowed to leave in the April 1920. Scott established himself as Liverpools number 1 and he was a major part of the back-to-back Championship winning teams of 1922 and 1923, missing just 3 games of the first title and none in the second. Numerous stories about Scott exist in Liverpool folklore, one such story relates to a 1924 game, after Scott had just made a phenomenal save at Ewood Park against Blackburn. A man appeared from the crowd went over to Scott and kissed him, Scott was part of one of the legendary rivalries of the day along with Evertons Dixie Dean. The two of them were the topic of discussion when derby day was approaching – Everton declared that Dean would score whilst Liverpool disagreed. A famous story, possibly apocryphal, associated with the two men was that of how they once encountered each other in Belfast city centre the day before an Ireland versus England game. Towards the end of the decade, Scott lost his position to another Liverpool goalkeeper, Arthur Riley. Scott played the last of his 467 appearances at Chelsea on 21 February 1934, Chelsea defeated Liverpool 2–0 in Scotts final appearance at Chelsea. Upon Liverpools final home match of the season Scott headed to the box to give his adoring fans a farewell speech. Scott played his game for the Belfast club in 1936 at the age of 42. In his time as manager of the Celtics Scott won 10 Irish League titles,6 Irish Cups,3 City Cups,8 Gold Cups and 5 County Antrim Shields. Sectarian crowd trouble, such as an incident in which Celtic player Jimmy Jones had his leg broken at a match on Boxing Day 1948 against Linfield, the club felt that the police could not protect their players and supporters from further violence in future games. Northern Ireland Footballing Greats Liverpool F. C
14.
Donald McKinlay
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Donald McKinlay was a Scottish footballer who played as a left back. Born in Newton Mearns, McKinlay played local football with Newton Swifts, Rutherglen Woodburn and he captained the club from 1922 to 1928, and made 434 appearances for the club, including 393 in the league. He finished his career with Prescot Cables, and later became a publican in Liverpool and he also made two appearances for the Scottish national team in 1922
15.
Tom Bromilow
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Thomas Tom George Bromilow was an English international left half footballer who played for Liverpool between 1919 and 1930. He was virtually ever-present during the back-to-back League title triumphs of the early 1920s, born in West Derby, Liverpool, England, Bromilow was signed by Liverpool after the 24-year-old turned up at Anfield one afternoon in 1919 asking for a trial. He had only recently been demobilised from the army, George Patterson, the then Liverpool assistant manager, agreed to give him a trial and was impressed by his skill and Bromilow was signed. Bromilow soon became a member of the side that was to win back-to-back League titles in 1921–22. A fine tackler and distributor of the ball, Bromilow was regarded as the brains of the team and he continued to be an influential first team regular until the latter part of the decade, serving the club with distinction and leading by example as team captain. He was capped for England on five occasions between 1921 and 1925, after retiring from playing, Bromilow took up a career in coaching and went to coach in Amsterdam during the summer of 1930. In October 1932 he was appointed Burnley manager, the first manager of the club to have been a professional player. He later went on to manage Crystal Palace, Newport County, in 2006 he was included in the 100 Players That Shook The Kop poll, as voted by fans on the Liverpool FC official site. Bromilow died suddenly on a train in March 1959 while scouting for Leicester City, as a player Liverpool F. C Wartime manager
16.
Bill Lacey (footballer)
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Bill Lacey, also referred to as Billy Lacey or William Lacey was an Irish footballer who played for, among others, Shelbourne, Liverpool, Everton and Linfield. Lacey was an international and also played for both Ireland teams – the IFA XI and the FAI XI. An extremely versatile and talented player, Lacey played in all positions during his career. He was also the first player to be capped at international level while playing for both Everton and Liverpool. In 1927 at the age of 37, he became the oldest player to make his debut for an FAI XI, after retiring as a player, Lacey became a coach, most notably with the FAI XI and Bohemians. In August 2010, a plaque was unveiled for Bill in his hometown of Enniscorthy coming 14 months after the 50th annisversary of his death in 1969, the plaque was unveiled at his birthplace on the Ross Road, Enniscorthy, County Wexford. Lacey first played football with Shelbourne in 1906 and in 1908, together with Val Harris and Joseph Ledwidge. Lacey scored in the 1–1 draw against Bohemians at Dalymount Park, after a successful career in the English League, Lacey returned to Shelbourne for a second spell in May 1925 and, together with Harris, helped them win the League of Ireland title in 1926. During his second spell with Shelbourne, he played three times for the League of Ireland XI. Lacey followed Val Harris to Everton in February 1909 and made his debut, leading the forward line. During his time at Everton he also played as a half-back, while at the Blues he made 37 English League appearances and scored 11 goals. He also played a further 3 games in the FA Cup, Lacey helped Everton finish League runners-up twice and reach the semi-final stage of the 1910 FA Cup. Apart from Harris, his mates at Everton also included another Irish international. In February 1912 Lacey joined Liverpool and he arrived, along with Tom Gracie, as part of swap that saw Harold Uren join Everton. Lacey made his Liverpool debut, as a left-winger, on 2 March 1912 in a First Division match against Middlesbrough, the game finished as a 1–1 draw. He scored his first goal for the club on 16 March in a 2–1 home defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, Lacey would eventually make 230 league appearances and scored 18 league goals for Liverpool. He also made a further 28 appearances and scored another 11 goals in the FA Cup, in 1914, playing as an inside forward, he scored 5 goals in 7 games as he helped Liverpool reach their first ever FA Cup final. However Liverpool lost the match 1–0 to Burnley, during the First World War, Lacey returned to Ireland and played as a guest in the Belfast and District League, first for the now defunct team, Belfast United, and then for Linfield
17.
Harry Chambers
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Henry Harry Chambers was an England international footballer who played in the Football League for Liverpool and West Bromwich Albion. Born in Willington Quay, Northumberland, England, Harry was an international at age eleven when he attended Willington Board School. After school he played for North Shields Athletic, Kings Park, Belfast Distillery and Glentoran before he was signed, from North Shields, unfortunately, he signed just before the suspension of league football due to the outbreak of the First World War. He enlisted in Irish infantry regiment The Connaught Rangers, with whom he served until invalided out of the army in 1917, after scoring on his debut he went on to establish himself as the undisputed goal king of Anfield in the immediate post-war years. In total he scored 151 goals in 338 appearances for Liverpool including a memorable hat-trick in a 5-1 win over Everton at Anfield in October 1922. Harry was allowed to leave and in April 1928, aged 32, before he retired from the professional game he went on to be player-manager for Oakengates Town, at the same time as running a local public house called The Stafford Arms, and represent Hereford. He was buried at Wombridge Parish Church near Oakengates, England 8 caps,5 goals Player profile at LFChistory. net
18.
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
19.
Fred Hopkin
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Frederick Fred Hopkin was a football player for Darlington, Manchester United and Liverpool. An outside left, Hopkin was born in Dewsbury, West Riding of Yorkshire, after a spell as a wartime guest with Tottenham Hotspur, Hopkin joined Manchester United in 1919. He made his away to Derby County on 30 August 1919. He was less prolific in his season, with just three goals in 33 appearances. Hopkins contract with Manchester United resulted in the club being fined £350, at the end of the 1920–21 season, Hopkin was signed by Liverpool manager David Ashworth for £2,800 in May 1921. He made his debut on 27 August 1921 at Roker Park, Hopkin had to wait until 3 March 1923 for his debut goal, when he scored in the 49th minute of Liverpools 3–0 home win against Bolton Wanderers. The goal will always be remembered in Anfield folklore as it was followed by a fire in the Kemlyn Road stand, less than a year after joining Liverpool, Hopkin was celebrating a league title as the team finished with 57 points, six more than second-placed Tottenham Hotspur. Hopkin remained a starter for the club and quickly put together 360 appearances for Liverpool. In fact, he was an ever-present during the first title-winning season, Hopkin was allowed to leave Liverpool in 1931, and he rejoined Darlington for a second spell, this after playing 360 times for the Reds, scoring just 12 goals
20.
David Ashworth
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David Ashworth was an English football referee and manager. He became the first manager of Oldham Athletic in 1906, spending eight years there before moving on to manage Stockport County in 1914. In 1920 he was appointed manager of Liverpool and in his first season in charge he guided them to their second season in 4th place. The following season, 1921/22, Ashworth lead Liverpool to their third League Championship, Oldham ended the season relegated, while Liverpool only won one of their last seven games, but still won the Championship by six points. Ashworth remained at Oldham for just over a year moving to Manchester City. He next tried his hand in management with a spell with Walsall between 1926 and 1927. net
21.
1908 FA Charity Shield
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The 1908 FA Charity Shield was the first Charity Shield, a football match contested by the winners of the previous seasons Football League and Southern League competitions. The new match was arranged to take place at Chelsea F. C. s home ground. Following the conclusion of the leagues, 1907–08 Football League winners Manchester United were scheduled to play against 1907–08 Southern League champions Queens Park Rangers. The first match was played on a damp pitch in poor weather. Following the match it was thought that the two sides would share the honours, but instead at the suggestion of Arthur Kinnaird, 11th Lord Kinnaird and it was once again played at Stamford Bridge and the two teams fielded most of the same players with only a few exceptions. On this occasion the weather was far improved and the attendance by spectators was far higher with 50,000 fans attending, Manchester United won the game by four goals, and between the two matches more than £1000 was raised for charity. The Charity Shield was originally designed to be a game between professionals and amateurs and it had evolved from the Sheriff of London Charity Shield, a similar earlier competition which also pitted an amateur club versus a professional one. In response the FA told all their clubs to refuse to compete in the match and not allow the organisation to use their facilities for it either. This was as a result of the formation of the Amateur Football Association the previous year, an informal discussion between the organisers and the FA took place on 10 February, but they couldnt come to an agreement. In protest the organisers of the Sheriff of London Charity Shield wrote a letter to Arthur Balfour, the leader of the Conservative Party. Balfour wrote back publicly to say that he was unhappy about the situation and it was subsequently announced in mid April that the match had been cancelled for the year. It was proposed to play at the game at Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea F. C. on 2 May, a week prior to the scheduled match, Queens Park Rangers were named the winners of the Southern League, qualifying them for the game. Around the same time, Manchester United won the Football League and this meant that Manchester United were due to play Queens Park Rangers for the first FA Charity Shield. Both clubs agreed to part in the match without charging any expenses. The rain prior to the match had made the pitch quite boggy, Manchester United were initially surprised by the abilities of the Queens Park Rangers players, in particular the two full backs. They had the majority of the play and in the eleventh minute Alfred Gittins. He dribbled it towards goal and scored past Moger, after the goal, the United team improved but Skilton nearly scored twice more for Rangers. Just before half time, United had a chance when Billy Meredith played a ball on for Jimmy Turnbull, Charlie Roberts took the ball for United immediately afterwards and took it into the area, but was fouled with a penalty awarded
