1.
Freetown
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Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leones major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and political centre, the city proper had a population of 1,050,301 at the 2015 census. The citys economy revolves largely around its harbor, which occupies a part of the estuary of the Sierra Leone River in one of the worlds largest natural deep water harbors, the population of Freetown is ethnically, culturally, and religiously diverse. The city is home to a significant population of all of Sierra Leones ethnic groups. As in virtually all parts of Sierra Leone, the Krio language is Freetowns primary language of communication and is by far the most widely spoken language in the city. The city of Freetown was founded as a land for freed African American and West Indian slaves, Freetown is the oldest capital to be founded by African Americans, having been founded thirty years before Monrovia, Liberia. The city of Freetown is locally governed by an elected city council municipality, known as the Freetown City Council. Members of the Freetown City Council and the Mayor are elected every four years, the current mayor of Freetown is Franklyn Bode Gibson, of the APC, who was elected mayor with 68. 25% of the votes, in the 2012 Freetown municipal mayoral election. The City of Freetown is divided into three regions, the East End, Central, and the West End. The East End is both the most populous, and the most densely populous of the three regions within Freetown, the East End is home to the countrys harbor. Central Freetown is home to the State House, the House of Parliament, the Supreme Court, the National Stadium, the Bank of Sierra Leone, the West of Freetown is the least populous of the three regions within Freetown. The West End is home to the countrys Lumley Beach, Fourah Bay College, and these blacks were African Americans, Afro-Caribbeans, Africans, Southeast Asians, and blacks born in Britain. They established the Province of Freedom and the settlement of Granville Town on land purchased from local Koya Temne subchief King Tom, the British understood the purchase was to mean that their new settlers had the land for ever. King Toms successor, King Jimmy, burnt the settlement to the ground in 1789 and these 1787 settlers did not formally establish Freetown, even though the bicentennial of Freetown was celebrated in 1987. But formally, Freetown was founded in 1792, in 1791, Thomas Peters, an African American who had served in the Black Pioneers, went to England to report the grievances of the black population in Nova Scotia. Some of these African Americans were ex-slaves who had escaped to the British forces who had given their freedom. Land grants and assistance in starting the settlements had been intermittent, during his visit, Peters met with the directors of the Sierra Leone Company and learned of proposals for a new settlement at Sierra Leone
2.
Sierra Leone
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Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north-east, Liberia to the south-east, Sierra Leone has a tropical climate, with a diverse environment ranging from savannah to rainforests. Sierra Leone has an area of 71,740 km2. Sierra Leone is divided into four regions, the Northern Province, Eastern Province, Southern Province and the Western Area. Freetown is the capital, largest city and its economic and political centre, Bo is the second largest city. The other major cities are Kenema, Makeni and Koidu Town, Sierra Leone is a constitutional republic with a directly elected president and a unicameral legislature. Sir Milton Margai built his government based on democratic principles. Throughout his time in power, Sir Milton Margai was very popular across Sierra Leone, the main opposition APC, led by its leader Siaka Stevens, narowly defeated the ruling SLPP under the leadership of Albert Margai in the 1964 general elections. Stevens ruled for eighteen years in a government, in which his critics. Soldiers and politicians convicted of plotting a coup to topple Stevens were executed, under president Stevens, the APC was made the only legal political party in Sierra Leone, and all other political parties were banned, including the main opposition. Stevens handpicked successor, retired major general Joseph Saidu Momoh, lacked the political dominance of Stevens, Momoh reestablished the country as a multi party democracy in 1991. The current constitution of Sierra Leone was adopted in 1991 during the presidency of Joseph Saidu Momoh, the rebels started the civil war in 1991 in the eastern part of the country during Momohs presidency. Momoh was very unpopular, and Public anger against the Momoh government increasingly grew due to corruption, poor economy. In 1992 a group of officers in the army led by a 25-year-old captain, Valentine Strasser. In 1996 during the war, another military coup of soldiers within Strassers inner circle, led by a 32 year old Brigadier General Julius Maada Bio, toppled Strasser. Since independent to present, Sierra Leones politics has been dominated by two political parties, the Sierra Leone Peoples Party and the All Peoples congress. From 1991 to 2002, the Sierra Leone civil war was fought and this proxy war left more than 50,000 people dead, much of the countrys infrastructure destroyed, and over two million people displaced as refugees in neighbouring countries. In January 2002, then Sierra Leones president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, fulfilled his promise by ending the civil war, with help by the British Government, ECOWAS
3.
Midfielder
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A midfielder is an association football position. Midfielders are generally positioned on the field between their teams defenders and forwards, some midfielders play a disciplined defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are otherwise known as defensive midfielders. Others blur the boundaries, being mobile and efficient in passing, they are commonly referred to as deep-lying midfielders, play-makers, box-to-box. The number of midfielders on a team and their assigned roles depends on the teams formation, most managers assign at least one midfielder to disrupt the opposing teams attacks, while others may be tasked with creating goals, or have equal responsibilities between attack and defence. Midfielders are the players who typically travel the greatest distance during a match, central or centre midfielders are players whose role is divided roughly equally between attack and defence. When the opposing team has the ball, a midfielder may drop back to protect the goal or move forward. The 4–3–3 and 4–5–1 formations each use three central midfielders, the 4−4−2 formation may use two central midfielders, and in the 4–2–3–1 formation one of the two deeper midfielders may be a central midfielder. The term box-to-box midfielder refers to central midfielders who have abilities and are skilled at both defending and attacking. These players can track back to their own box to make tackles and block shots. A good box-to-box midfielder needs good passing, vision, control, stamina, tackling and marking in defence, left and right midfielders have a role balanced between attack and defence, similar to that of central midfielders, but they are positioned closer to the touchlines of the pitch. They may be asked to cross the ball into the penalty area to make scoring chances for their teammates. Common modern formations that include left and right midfielders are the 4−4−2, the 4−4−1−1, the 4–2–3–1, a notable example of a right midfielder is David Beckham. Defensive midfielders are players who focus on protecting their teams goal. These players may defend a zone in front of their teams defence, defensive midfielders may also move to the full-back or centre-back positions if those players move forward to join in an attack. Sergio Busquets described his attitude, The coach knows that I am an obedient player who likes to help out and if I have to run to the wing to cover someones position, great. A good defensive midfielder needs good positional awareness, anticipation of play, marking, tackling, interceptions, passing and great stamina. A holding or deep-lying midfielder stays close to their teams defence, a player in this role will try to protect their goal by disrupting the opponents attacking moves and stopping long shots on the goal. The holding midfielder may also have responsibilities when their team has the ball and this player will make mostly short and simple passes to more attacking members of their team but may try some more difficult passes depending on the teams strategy
4.
Nuneaton Town F.C.
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Nuneaton Town Football Club is an English football club based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. The club participates in the National League North, the tier of English football. In 1889 Nuneaton St. Nicholas were the first team to senior football within Nuneaton. Five years later, they changed their name to Nuneaton Town, however, two days later Nuneaton Borough F. C. were founded. In 2008 the club was liquidated, and due to a FA ruling were reformed as Nuneaton Town – suffering a two division demotion, the club is still known as The Boro by its supporters. The club currently play their fixtures at Liberty Way, Nuneaton. The clubs home colours are blue & white, local rivals include Tamworth, Leamington, Bedworth United and Coventry City. The club origins date from 1889 when young men from Nuneaton St. Nicolas Parish Church formed a team to represent the town. Originally playing only friendly games, from 1892 Nuneaton St. Nicolas entered Charity Cup competitions, in September 1894 the Nicks’ changed their name to Nuneaton Town Association F. C. This was despite Nuneaton Town being financially sound, following the disbandment of the Boro by its shareholders, a new group of local gentlemen decided to reform the football club. The new name Nuneaton Borough reflected the royal charter status that the town had been granted, Southern League Cup, Winners 1995–96, Runners Up 1962–63, Southern League Championship Match, Winners 199. Runners Up 1996, Home, At Manor Park 22,114, in May 2007, the curtain came down on Manor Park as they drew the last game 1–1 against Vauxhall Motors. Striker Gez Murphy took the honour of being the last Nuneaton Borough scorer at the ground, in the 2007–08 season, ill-health meant that the clubs owner, Ted Stocker, decided to sell his shares. March 2008 saw local businessman Ian Neale planned to take ownership of the club for a trial period, however, he took 100% ownership of the club in April. In May 2008, Mr Neale found some irregularities in the finances of the club, on 2 June 2008 Nuneaton Borough went into liquidation. Following the clubs liquidation, the reformed, this time as Nuneaton Town. The new club was forced to revert to its name of Nuneaton Town. Falling foul of regulations regarding football finance, the new club was demoted two divisions from Conference North to Southern League Division One, nevertheless, successive promotions saw the club quickly regain its former league status
5.
Watford F.C.
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Watford Football Club is a professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire, England, that plays in the Premier League, the highest level in the English football league system. Founded in 1881 as Watford Rovers, the club entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, after finishing the 1914–15 season as Southern League champions under the management of Harry Kent, Watford joined the Football League in 1920. The club played at grounds in its early history, before moving to a permanent location at Vicarage Road in 1922. Watford spent most of the half century in the lower divisions of The Football League, changing colours. England manager Graham Taylors tenure at the club saw Watford scale new heights, between Taylors appointment in 1977 and departure in 1987, Watford rose from the Fourth Division to the First Division. The team finished second in the First Division in the 1982–83 season, competed in the UEFA Cup in 1983–84, the club experienced a further one season stint in the top division of English football during the 2006–07 season, under Aidy Boothroyds management. After eight years, Watford are again competing in the Premier League 2015–16 season, Watford is currently owned by the Pozzo family, which also owns Udinese Calcio in Italy and previously Granada CF in Spain. Watford Rovers was formed in 1881 by Henry Groverand, who went on to play for the club as a full-back, Rovers, originally composed entirely of amateur players, held home games at several locations in the town of Watford. The team first competed in the FA Cup in the 1886–87 season, the team became the football section of West Hertfordshire Sports Club in 1890, and consequently moved to a ground on Cassio Road. Renamed as West Hertfordshire in 1893, Rovers joined the Southern Football League in 1896, West Hertfordshire merged with local rivals Watford St. Marys in 1898, the merged team was named Watford Football Club. Following relegation to the Southern League Second Division in 1903, Watford appointed its first manager – former England international and he led Watford to promotion, and kept the team in the division until his departure in 1910. Despite financial constraints, Watford won the Southern League title in the 1914–15 season under his successor, there was a re-election system in place which meant the bottom two teams in each of the two divisions had to apply for re-election to the league. Watford finished outside the top six positions in every season between 1922 and 1934. The Football League was suspended in 1939 due to the Second World War, Football resumed in 1946, with Watford still in the Third Division South. Ron Burgess replaced McBain during that season, and in the following campaign Burgess presided over Watfords first Football League promotion and this team included Fourth Division top scorer Cliff Holton, who scored a club record 42 league goals in the season. Holton was sold to Northampton the following year after another 34 goals, eighteen-year-old Northern Irish goalkeeper Pat Jennings also featured under McGarry, and made his international debut despite being a Third Division player. Furphys rebuilding came to fruition in 1969 with the signing of Barry Endean, Watford secured the Third Division title in April, at home to Plymouth Argyle. A year later Watford reached the FA Cup semi-final for the first time, defeating First Division teams Stoke City, hampered by a lack of funds, however, Furphy eventually joined Blackburn Rovers, to be succeeded by George Kirby
6.
Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.
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Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club /ˈbraɪtən ən ˈhoʊv/ is a professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, often referred to simply as Brighton. The team is nicknamed the Seagulls or Albion, the team has historically played in blue and white stripes, though this changed to all white briefly in the 1970s and again to plain blue during the clubs most successful spell in the 1980s. Crystal Palace are considered the main rivals, although the grounds are 40 miles apart. Founded in 1901, Brighton played their early football in the Southern League before being elected to the Football League in 1920. The club enjoyed greatest prominence between 1979 and 1983 when they played in the First Division and reached the 1983 FA Cup Final and they were relegated from the top division in the same season. Mismanagement brought Brighton close to relegation from the Football League to the Conference which they narrowly avoided in 1997 and 1998. Brighton & Hove Albion F. C. were founded in 1901 and 19 years later, in 1920, Mike Bamber was the chairman of Brighton from October 1972 until 1983. He famously brought Brian Clough to the club in 1973 and later appointed former England player Alan Mullery as manager, the 1982/83 season saw a wildly inconsistent start for the club, with victories over Arsenal and Manchester United mixed in with heavy defeats. Manager Mike Bailey eventually lost his job at the start of December 1982, jimmy Melia took over as manager, but was unable to turn the situation around and Brighton were relegated in 1983, having finished in bottom place. Despite their relegation, that season Brighton reached their first FA Cup final, Brightons goals were scored by Gordon Smith and Gary Stevens. However, Smiths kick was saved by the Manchester United goalkeeper. In the replay, Manchester United won 4–0, a lifelong fan named Dick Knight took control of the club in 1997 having led the fan pressure to oust the previous board following their sale of the clubs Goldstone Ground to property developers. If Brighton won or drew, they would be safe, Brighton defender Kerry Mayo scored an own goal in the first half and it looked as though their 77-year league career was over. But a late goal from Robbie Reinelt saved the day, Brighton retained their status on goal difference. The sale of the Goldstone ground went through in 1997, leading to Brighton having to play some 70 miles away at Gillinghams Priestfield stadium for two seasons, micky Adams was appointed Brightons manager in 1999. For the start of the 1999–2000 season the Seagulls secured a lease to play games at Withdean Stadium. In February 2000 Brighton signed a little known forward on loan from Bristol Rovers called Bobby Zamora, Zamora made an instant impact, scoring in his debut, the 1–1 home draw with Plymouth. 2000–01 was Brightons first successful season for 13 years and they were crowned champions of Division Three and promoted to Division Two, where they made an excellent start and looked good bets for a second successive promotion
7.
Blackpool F.C.
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Blackpool Football Club is a professional association football club based in the seaside town of Blackpool, Lancashire, England. For the 2016–17 season, they are competing in League Two, founded in 1887, Blackpools home ground has been Bloomfield Road since 1901. Their main nickname is the Seasiders, but they are called the Pool and the Tangerines, the latter in reference to the colour of their home kit. Blackpools least successful period was in the 1980s, particularly when, in the 1982–83 season, they finished 21st in English League footballs lowest tier, the clubs motto is Progress, as featured on the club crest. Blackpool have a rivalry with Preston North End, and matches between the two clubs are known as the West Lancashire derby. They have not met in a match since February 2010. Football had developed in Blackpool by 1877 when Victoria F. C. were founded as a club with a ground in Caunce Street. This team disbanded a few years later but some of its members are understood to have merged with old boys from St Johns School to form a new club called Blackpool St Johns. The new club managed to win two pieces of silverware in its first season in existence, 1887–88, the Fylde Cup, at the conclusion of the following 1888–89 season, Blackpool became founder members of the Lancashire League. In their first season in the competition, the club finished out of the 13 member clubs. They finished as runners-up over the three seasons, before winning the championship themselves on their fourth attempt. Blackpools home at that point in time was Raikes Hall, which was part of an entertainment complex that included a theatre. This meant that the average attendances were around the 2000 mark. Their application was successful, and for the debut season, 1896–97. Blackpools first-ever Football League game took place on 5 September 1896, at Lincoln City, for the 1897–98 campaign, the club played their home games at the Athletic Grounds. They remained there for the first seven games of 1898–99. After finishing third-bottom, the club were not re-elected at the end of the 1898–99 season and they finished third, and after the Football Leagues annual meeting, on 25 May 1900, were permitted back into Division Two. It was during this season out of the League that Blackpool amalgamated with local rivals South Shore, during the 10 seasons that followed, Blackpool could finish no higher than 12th place
8.
Gabala FK
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Gabala FK is an Azerbaijani association football club based in Qabala. They play in the Azerbaijan Premier League, the top division in Azerbaijani football, Gabala plays its matches at the Gabala City Stadium. The club was founded under the name of Goy Gol on 3 July 1995, on 1 September 2005, Goy Gol was registered in Gabala by the Ministry of Justice, before the AFFA registered the team as professional on 5 September of the same year. In the summer of 2006, the team moved from Goygol to Qabala, on 10 May 2010, former Arsenal defender Tony Adams was appointed as new manager after signing £1 million per year deal with the club. In his first season in charge Gabala finished at 7th place in Azerbaijan Premier League, in November 2011, Adams resigned from being Gabalas coach due to family problems. Despite the appointment of managers like Fatih Kavlak and Ramiz Mammadov, on 29 May 2013, Yuri Semin was appointed as new manager after signing £1 million per year deal with the club. In same year, the qualified for European cups for first time in their history. In the 2015-16 season of Europa League they became the 3rd club from Azerbaijan to qualify for the stage after Qarabag. They eliminated Dinamo Tbilisi, Čukarički, Apollon Limassol and surprisingly Panathinaikos and they came 4th in their tough group of Borussia Dortmund, PAOK and FC Krasnodar. They managed to get two points both from 0-0 draws against PAOK and it also includes 2005 which signifies the clubs formation year. Gabalas traditional kit is composed of red shirts, black shorts, the clubs first kit manufacturer was Erreà, until a two-year deal was agreed with Joma in 2013. On August 2012, Gabala signed one-year deal with the American multinational beverage corporation and manufacturer Pepsi, in September 2015, Gabala signed one-year deal with QafqaZ Hotels and Resorts. The club play their matches at the Gabala City Stadium. As of 2007, predominantly due to UEFA requirements, the proposed a extensive renovation of the stadium. AFL Architects were appointed to design a new 15,000 capacity stadium, accommodation within the stadium will include hotel and conferencing facilities, as well as retail and corporate hospitality space, and a dramatic viewing deck at the top of the entrance tower. It is expected that the stadium was scheduled to open in 2014, Gabala has a large fanbase in relation to its comparative lack of success on the pitch. Azerbaijani teams are limited to nine players without Azerbaijani citizenship, the squad list includes only the principal nationality of each player, several non-European players on the squad have dual citizenship with an EU country. As of 31 January 2017 Note, Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality
9.
Forest Green Rovers F.C.
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Forest Green Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. Affiliated to the Gloucestershire County FA, they are members of the National League. The club was established in 1889 by Reverend E. J. H, peach, representing the Forest Green area of Nailsworth. The name Rovers was adopted in 1893, and the year the club were founder members of the Mid-Gloucestershire League. Their first home match on 6 October was a 1–1 draw with Brimscombe. As Nailsworth had become a district in 1894, there was an effort to ensure the town was represented by a football team. However, the club withdrew from the league during the 1896–97 season, the club was re-established in 1898 under the Forest Green Rovers name, and absorbed Nailsworth Thursday shortly afterwards. They joined both Division One of the Mid-Gloucestershire League and also the Dursley & District League for the 1899–1900 season, the Mid-Gloucestershire League folded in 1901, with Forest Green left playing in the Dursley & District League. In 1902–03 they joined the new Stroud & District League, also continuing in the Dursley & District League, as a result, a play-off match was held to decide the championship, with over 1,000 spectators watching Forest Green win 2–1 in extra time. In 1906–07 they finished bottom of the Stroud & District League with zero points and they withdrew from the Dursley & District League in 1908. They entered a team into the Dursley & District League in 1912–13, after World War I the club rejoined the league and the 1919–20 season saw them finish joint top of the table with Chalford and Stonehouse. The league subsequently held a draw to decide the championship, with Forest Green drawn against Stonehouse in a semi-final, however, Stonehouse beat Forest green 3–2 in the semi-final match. In 1920 the club entered a team into the North Gloucestershire League. They repeated the league championship the following season. They were founder members of the Gloucestershire Northern Senior League in 1922, Forest Green finished as runners-up in 1924–25 and 1925–26, before rejoining the Gloucestershire Northern Senior League in 1926. They went on to finish as runners-up in 1926–27 before leaving the league again to play in the new Stroud Premier League. After finishing fourth in the league, the returned to the Northern Senior League at the end of the season. The club withdrew from the Stroud Premier League in 1930, the league for a time in 1934
10.
Coventry City F.C.
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Coventry City Football Club is a professional football club in Coventry, West Midlands, England, which plays in League One, the third tier of English football. Coventry City formed as Singers F. C. in 1883 and they won their only major trophy in 1987 when they beat Tottenham Hotspur 3–2 to win the FA Cup. They are one of five clubs to have ever won the FA Cup and FA Youth Cup in the same season. They returned to Wembley in April 2017, beating Oxford United 2-1 to win the English Football League Trophy. Following eleven seasons in the second-tier Football League Championship, Coventry were relegated to Football League One in 2012, Coventry have qualified for European competitions twice. In the 1970–71 season, they competed in the European Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, despite beating Bayern Munich 2–1 in their home leg, they had lost 1–6 in the first leg in Munich to go out of the competition. They were unable to compete in the 1987–88 UEFA Cup Winners Cup due to the ban on English clubs at that time, from 1899 to 2005, Coventry City played at Highfield Road. A return to the Ricoh Arena was announced on 21 August 2014 by the club after a one-year absence,1883 – The club is founded by employees of Singer, the cycle firm, with William Stanley one of the leading lights. 1898 – The clubs name is changed from Singers F. C. to Coventry City,1899 – The club move to Highfield Road following stints at Dowells Field and Stoke Road. 1901 – The club suffer their worst ever defeat with an 11–2 loss against Worcester-based Berwick Rangers in the round of the FA Cup. 1919 – The club are voted into the Football League, where they have remained ever since,1928 – In February, and with Coventry struggling near the foot of Division Three South, the clubs worst ever attendance is recorded. Only 2,059 turn up for the match against Crystal Palace,1932 – Centre-forward Clarrie Bourton heads the Football League scoring lists with 49 goals. The following season he scored 40 goals,1934 – City record their biggest ever victory a 9–0 league drubbing of Bristol City. 1936 – Coventry City win the Third Division South championship after a final day 2–1 victory over Torquay United. 1958 – Goalkeeper Alf Wood becomes the oldest player to start a game for the club and he played against Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup aged 43 years and 207 days. 1961 – Former Fulham player and PFA chairman Jimmy Hill is appointed following an embarrassing FA Cup defeat at home to non-league Kings Lynn. 1964 – Jimmy Hill guides Coventry to promotion from Division Three as champions after a final day 1–0 victory over Colchester United,1967 – Coventry City promoted as Second Division champions to the top flight for the first time in their history. This made manager and BBC Sport presenter Jimmy Hill a legend at the club, Coventrys record attendance was also set in this year – officially recorded as 51,455, against Wolverhampton Wanderers, the team that finished a close second to Coventry at the top of the table
11.
St Albans City F.C.
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St Albans City Football Club is a football club based in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. It was founded in 1908 and plays its matches at Clarence Park. The club is in the National League South, citys most famous match was on 22 November 1922 in a fourth round qualifying FA Cup match. Having been held by Dulwich Hamlet to a 1–1 draw at Clarence Park on 18 November, citys New Zealand-born goalkeeper W. Tennant did not appear, his place taken by Alf Fearn who was usually a half-back with the reserves. Dulwich put eight goals past him, the goal coming in near darkness at the end of extra time. What put the game in the books was that City scored seven times. His feat remains the highest tally by a player on the side of an FA Cup tie. Founded in April 1908, the period in the history of St Albans City Football Club came during the 1920s. In February 2002, with the club having made one visit to the High Court in London. Since that time the Saints have existed very successfully within their financial means although the rise into the Nationwide Conference has been far from smooth, midway through the following campaign City were rooted to the foot of the table and facing an immediate return to the Isthmian League. Football had been played at the Saints Clarence Park home for 14 years prior to the formation of the present day club. The original St Albans, which played home matches at three other venues within the old Roman stronghold, met its demise in 1904 having come into existence back in 1881. After a four-year lapse a senior club bearing the name of the city again in 1908 and during its formative years competed in the Herts County. A move to the Athenian League heralded the start of the Saints halcyon days as that championship was won twice in three years paving the way for election to the Isthmian League. St Albans City won the Isthmian at the first attempt and followed it with two further successes before the decade was out, City remained in the Isthmian League until 2003 but never again did the title return to Clarence Park. When an extra Division was added in 1973 St Albans, along with Corinthian Casuals, had the honour of being the first club to be relegated within the Isthmian League. When a second relegation followed 12 years later the club turned to its former player John Mitchell, whose semi-final goals took Fulham to the 1975 FA Cup final, Mitchell duly obliged with two promotions in three years. In 1998 the diseased tree was felled, along with the Saints five championship successes in eight years during the 1920s the club also enjoyed its greatest days in the Amateur Cup
12.
Sierra Leone national football team
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Sierra Leones first match was at home on 10 August 1949 against another British colony, Nigeria, and was lost 2–0. In 1954 they played another British colony and British administered U. N trust territory, Gold Coast and Trans-Volta Togoland, on 22 April 1961 they again hosted Nigeria and lost 4–2. On 12 November 1966 they hosted Liberia in their first match against a colony and earned their first draw. A week later, they lost 2–0 in Liberia, on 13 January 1971 Sierra Leone played their first match against a non-African team, West Germanys B-team. The match in Sierra Leone was won 1–0 by the Germans, Sierra Leones first match outside of Africa was also their first against an Asian nation, China. They lost 4–1 in China on 5 April 1974, in August 2014, the Sierra Leone FA cancelled all football matches in an effort to stop the spread of the 2014 Ebola virus epidemic in Sierra Leone, a week after the Liberian FA did the same. The Sierra Leonean national team isnt allowed to play home games, in 2016 Sierra Leone entered the Grecian Shield at Exeter university on Sunday 13 March. Caps and goals updated as of 3 September 2016 after the game against Côte dIvoire. The following players have selected in the past 12 months
13.
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
14.
National League North
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The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, taking its place immediately below the top division National League. Along with the National League South, it is at Step 2 of the National League System and it consists of teams located in Northern England, Norfolk, the English Midlands and North Wales. From the start of the 2015–16 season, the league has been known as the National League North, as part of a sponsorship deal with Vanarama, the National League North is now known as the Vanarama National League North. The Conference North was introduced in 2004 as part of a restructuring of English non-League football. The champions are promoted to the National League. A second promotion place goes to the winners of play-offs involving the teams finishing in second to fifth place, the three bottom clubs are relegated to Step 3 leagues. Teams from this division, as well as from the National League South, for sponsorship reasons, the division was known as the Nationwide North from its formation in 2004 until 2007, when it was renamed the Blue Square North. In 2010 it was renamed the Blue Square Bet North, when Blue Square sponsorship ended in 2013, it was renamed the Skrill North until the 2014–15 season, when it was renamed the Vanarama North. A further name change followed in 2015, when the division was renamed the Vanarama National League North
15.
Human trafficking
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Human trafficking is the trade of humans, most commonly for the purpose of forced labor, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extraction of organs or tissues, including for surrogacy, Human trafficking can occur within a country or trans-nationally. Human trafficking is a crime against the person because of the violation of the rights of movement through coercion. Human trafficking is the trade in people, and does not necessarily involve the movement of the person from one place to another, according to the International Labour Organization, forced labor alone generates an estimated $150 billion in profits per annum as of 2014. Estimated that 21 million victims are trapped in modern-day slavery, of these,14.2 million were exploited for labor,4.5 million were sexually exploited, and 2.2 million were exploited in state-imposed forced labor. Human trafficking is thought to be one of the activities of trans-national criminal organizations. Human trafficking is condemned as a violation of rights by international conventions. In addition, human trafficking is subject to a directive in the European Union, the protocol is one of three which supplement the CTOC. The Trafficking Protocol is the first global, legally binding instrument on trafficking in over half a century, one of its purposes is to facilitate international cooperation in investigating and prosecuting such trafficking. Another is to protect and assist human traffickings victims with full respect for their rights as established in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in 2014, the International Labour Organization estimated $150 billion in annual profit is generated from forced labor alone. The average cost of a trafficking victim today is USD $90,000 which. The average slave in 1800 America was the equivalent to USD $40,000, though illegal, there may be no deception or coercion involved. After entry into the country and arrival at their ultimate destination, Human trafficking, on the other hand, is a crime against a person because of the violation of the victims rights through coercion and exploitation. Unlike most cases of smuggling, victims of human trafficking are not permitted to leave upon arrival at their destination. While smuggling requires travel, trafficking does not, trafficked people are held against their will through acts of coercion, and forced to work for or provide services to the trafficker or others. The work or services may include anything from bonded or forced labor to commercial sexual exploitation, the arrangement may be structured as a work contract, but with no or low payment, or on terms which are highly exploitative. Sometimes the arrangement is structured as debt bondage, with the not being permitted or able to pay off the debt. Bonded labor, or debt bondage, is probably the least known form of labor trafficking today, generally, the value of their work is greater than the original sum of money borrowed
16.
Deportation
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Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term expulsion is often used as a synonym for deportation, through expulsion is often used in the context of international law. Definitions of deportation apply equally to nationals and foreigners, transportation is by way of punishment of one convicted of an offense against the laws of the country. Extradition is the surrender to another country of one accused of an offense against its laws, there to be tried, deportations widely occurred in ancient history. Deportation was practiced as a policy toward rebellious people in Achaemenid Empire, one notable example was the deportaion of the Mards in Charax, near Rhages by Phraates I. The 10,000 Roman prisonors of war after the Battle of Carrhae appear to have been deported to Alexandria Margiana near the border in 53 BC. It is hypothesized that some of them founded the Chinese city of Li-Jien after becoming soldiers for the Hsiung-nu, Deportation was widely used by the Sasanians, especially during the wars with the Romans and the Byzantines. During Shapur Is reign, the Romans who were defeated at the Battle of Edessa were deported to Persis, other destinations were Parthia, Khuzestan, and Asorestan. There were cities which were founded and were populated by Romans prisoners of war, including Shadh-Shapur in Meshan, Bishapur in Persis, Wuzurg-Shapur, agricultural land were also given to the deportees. These deportations initiated the sread Christianity in the Sassanian empire, in Rēw-Ardashīr, Persis, there was a church for the Romans and another one for Carmanians. After the Arab incursion into Persia during Shapur IIs reign, he scattered the defeated Arab tribes by deporting them to other regions, some where deported to Bahrain and Kirman, possibly to both populate these unattractive regions and bringing the tribes under control. The author of the text Liber Calipharum has praised the king Yazdegerd I for his treatment of the deportees, major deportations occurred during the Anastasian War. Major deportations occurred during the campaigns of Khosrau I from the Roman cities of Sura, Beroea, Antioch, Apamea, Callinicum, the city was founded near Ctesiphon especially for them, and Khosrow reportedly did everything in his power to make the residents want to stay. The number of the deportees is recorded to be 292,000 in another source, in 1954, the executive branch of the U. S. government implemented Operation Wetback, a program created in response to public hysteria about immigration and immigrants from Mexico. Operation Wetback led to the deportation of nearly 1.3 million Mexicans from the United States, already in natural law of the 18th century, philosophers agreed that expulsion of a nation from the territory that it historically inhabits is not allowable. Deportation often requires a process that must be validated by a court or senior government official. It should not be confused with administrative removal, which is the process of a country denying entry to an individual at a port of entry and expelling them. Deportation can also happen within a state, when an individual or a group of people is forcibly resettled to a different part of the country, if ethnic groups are affected by this, it may also be referred to as population transfer
17.
Poro
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The Poro, or Purrah or Purroh, is a mens secret society in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and the Ivory Coast, introduced by the Mande people. It is sometimes referred to as a society and only males are admitted to its ranks. The female counterpart of the Poro society is the Sande society, the Poro society was part of the culture introduced by Mande people, migrants to the region as early as 1000 AD. Two affiliated and secret associations exist in Sierra Leone, the Yassi, the first is nominally reserved for females, but members of the Poro are admitted to certain ceremonies. All the female members of the Yassi must be members of the Bundu. In Liberia, the equivalent of the Poro is the Sande society. Of the three, the Poro is by far the most important, the entire native population is governed by its code of laws. It primarily represents a type of society to which even infants are temporarily admitted. The ceremony for them consists of carrying them into the Poro bush, there are also religious and civil aspects of the Poro. Under the former, boys join it at puberty in a rite of passage, under its civil aspects, the society serves as a kind of native governing body, making laws, deciding on war and peace, etc. In Culture and customs of Liberia by Ayodeji Olukoju, the place of the Poro society in Liberian life is examined, Liberian religious culture is characterised by a predisposition towards secrecy and an ingrained belief in the intervention of mysterious forces in human affairs. Both elite and non-elite Liberians usually attribute events to the activities of secret powers, beliefs include the conviction that there are deep and hidden things about an individual that only diviners, priests, and other qualified persons can unravel. This presupposes that whatever exists or happens in the realm has foundations in the spirit world. One of the functions of secret societies like the Poro. Poro elders will determine cases of alleged witchcraft in the community, the Poro society has its own special rituals and language, tattooing and symbols. Details are scarce, due to an oath of secrecy, the Poro society usually meets in the dry season, between the months of October and May. The rendezvous is in the bush, at an enclosure, separated into apartments by mats and roofed only by the overhanging trees, there are three grades, the first for chiefs and big guys, the second for fetish-priests and the third for the crowd. The ceremonies of the Poro are presided over by the Poro devil, a man in fetish dress, the wearing of wooden masks in Poro society masquerades is a representation of the spirit world of benign and malevolent spirits
18.
Secret society
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A secret society is a club or an organization whose activities, events, and inner functioning are concealed from non-members. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence, the term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence agencies or guerrilla insurgencies, that hide their activities and memberships but maintain a public presence. Anthropologically and historically, secret societies are deeply interlinked with the concept of the Männerbund, a purported family tree of secret societies has been proposed, although it may not be comprehensive. Alan Axelrod, author of the International Encyclopedia of Secret Societies and Fraternal Orders, defines a secret society as an organization that, shows a strong inclination to favor its own. David V. Barrett, author of Secret Societies, From the Ancient and Arcane to the Modern and Clandestine, uses slightly different terms to define what does and does not qualify as a secret society. Barrett goes on to say that a characteristic common to most of them is the practice of rituals which non-members are not permitted to observe. Because some secret societies have political aims, they are illegal in several countries, poland, for example, has included a ban on secret political parties and political organizations in its constitution. Many student societies established on university campuses in the United States have been considered secret societies, perhaps one of the most famous secret collegiate societies is Skull and Bones at Yale University. One of the best known British secret societies is the Cambridge Apostles, founded as an essay, in France, Vandermonde is the secret society of the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers. Notable examples in Canada include Episkopon at the University of Torontos Trinity College, Secret societies are disallowed in a few colleges. The goals of the society remain unknown, but it is believed that they are involved in cryptography, the International Encyclopedia of Secret Societies and Fraternal Orders. Secret Societies in America, The North American Review, Vol.164, conspiracy Theories and Secret Societies For Dummies. Geheimgesellschaften, Kulturhistorische Sozialstudien, Secret Societies, Comparative Studies in Culture, Society, the Mythology of the Secret Societies. Pledged, The Secret Life of Sororities, New York, Hamilton Printing & Publishing Company. Secret Places, Hidden Sanctuaries, Uncovering Mysterious Sights, Symbols, a comprehensive, though dated, review of the subject. Useful histories of Secret Societies in Australia and of Rise and Fall of English Freemasonry on non-commercial site <www. fraternalsecrets. org>
19.
Guinea
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Guinea /ˈɡɪni/, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a country on the West coast of Africa. Guinea has a population of 10.5 million and an area of 245,860 square kilometres, the president is directly elected by the people and is head of state and head of government. The unicameral Guinean National Assembly is the body of the country. The judicial branch is led by the Guinea Supreme Court, the highest, the country is named after the Guinea region. Guinea is a name for the region of Africa that lies along the Gulf of Guinea. It stretches north through the tropical regions and ends at the Sahel. Guinea is a predominantly Islamic country, with Muslims representing 85 percent of the population, Guineas people belong to twenty-four ethnic groups. French, the language of Guinea, is the main language of communication in schools, in government administration, and the media. Guineas economy is dependent on agriculture and mineral production. It is the second largest producer of bauxite, and has rich deposits of diamonds. The country was at the core of the 2014 Ebola outbreak, human rights in Guinea remain a controversial issue. In 2011 the United States government claimed that torture by security forces, the land that is now Guinea belonged to a series of African empires until France colonized it in the 1890s, and made it part of French West Africa. Guinea declared its independence from France on 2 October 1958, from independence until the presidential election of 2010, Guinea was governed by a number of autocratic rulers. What is now Guinea was on the fringes of the major West African empires, the Ghana Empire is believed to be the earliest of these which grew on trade but contracted and ultimately fell due to the hostile influence of the Almoravids. It was in period that Islam first arrived in the region. The Mali Empire was ruled by Mansa, the most famous being Kankou Moussa, shortly after his reign the Mali Empire began to decline and was ultimately supplanted by its vassal states in the 15th century. The most successful of these was the Songhai Empire, which expanded its power from about 1460 and it continued to prosper until a civil war over succession followed the death of Askia Daoud in 1582. The weakened empire fell to invaders from Morocco at the Battle of Tondibi just three years later, the Moroccans proved unable to rule the kingdom effectively, however, and it split into many small kingdoms
20.
Right of asylum
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This right was already recognized by the Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Hebrews, from whom it was adopted into Western tradition. René Descartes fled to the Netherlands, Voltaire to England, and Thomas Hobbes to France, the Egyptians, Greeks, and Hebrews recognized a religious right of asylum, protecting criminals from legal action to some extent. This principle was adopted by the established Christian church, and various rules were developed that detailed how to qualify for protection. The Council of Orleans decided in 511, in the presence of Clovis I and this protection was extended to murderers, thieves and adulterers alike. In England, King Æthelberht of Kent proclaimed the first Anglo-Saxon laws on sanctuary in about 600 CE, however Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniae says that the legendary pre-Saxon king Dunvallo Molmutius enacted sanctuary laws among the Molmutine Laws as recorded by Gildas. The laws of king Ethelred used the term grith, some of these items survive at various churches. Elsewhere, sanctuary held in an area around the church or abbey, sometimes extending in radius to as much as a mile, stone sanctuary crosses marked the boundaries of the area, some crosses still exist as well. Thus it could become a race between the felon and the law officers to the nearest sanctuary boundary. Serving of justice upon the fleet of foot could prove a difficult proposition, Church sanctuaries were regulated by common law. An asylum seeker had to confess his sins, surrender his weapons and those who did return faced execution under the law and/or excommunication from the Church. If the suspect chose to confess their guilt and abjure, they did so in a public ceremony and they would surrender their possessions to the church, and any landed property to the crown. The coroner, an official, would then choose a port city from which the fugitive should leave England. The fugitive would set out barefooted and bareheaded, carrying a wooden cross-staff as a symbol of protection under the church, theoretically they would stay to the main highway, reach the port and take the first ship out of England. In practice, however, the fugitive could get a distance away, abandon the cross-staff and take off. Knowing the grim options, some fugitives rejected both choices and opted for an escape from the asylum before the forty days were up, others simply made no choice and did nothing. Since it was illegal for the friends to break into an asylum. Henry VIII changed the rules of asylum, reducing to a short list the types of crimes which were allowed to claim asylum, the medieval system of asylum was finally abolished entirely by James I in 1623. Upon realizing this situation they would rush to sanctuary at the nearest church until it was safe to come out, a prime example is Queen Elizabeth Woodville, consort of Edward IV of England
21.
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
22.
Bet365 Stadium
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The bet365 Stadium is an all-seater football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England and the home of Premier League club Stoke City. The stadium was called the Britannia Stadium but was renamed on 1 June 2016 when the club entered into a new stadium-naming rights agreement with its parent company. It has space for 27,902 spectators with expansions plans announced by the club, the stadium was built in 1997 at a cost of £14.7 million as a replacement for the Victoria Ground. The highest attendance recorded at the stadium was 28,218 for the fixture against Everton in their FA Cup 3rd Round tie in 2002. Former player Sir Stanley Matthews ashes were buried beneath the circle of the pitch following his death in February 2000. In European competitions it is known as the Stoke Stadium due to UEFA regulations on sponsorship, the all-seater stadium cost nearly £15 million to build and brought the club up to standards with the Taylor Report of January 1990 to end 119 years at the Victoria Ground. Relocation had been considered by 1994 and by early 1996 the decision to build a new stadium had been confirmed, by early 1997, the skeletal steel superstructure was in place and the stadium began to take shape. Another £3 million was given as a grant by the Football Trust, the stadium was officially opened made by club legend Sir Stanley Matthews, then aged 82. After he died in February 2000, his ashes were buried beneath the centre circle. The first season at the new ground was a bad one as Stoke were relegated from Division One, four seasons of third tier football followed with Gunnar Gíslason taking control of the club in November 1999. The name of the ground was changed to the bet365 Stadium in June 2016, in total, the stadium cost £14. 7million and took around ten months to construct on the former site of Stafford No.2 Colliery, which had been closed in 1969. Building work began in late autumn 1996 and was completed in August 1997, the all-seater stadium can hold 28,384 supporters in four cantilever stands. The main West stand consists of two tiers of seating which house 7,357 spectators, plus all of the stadiums corporate, the L-shaped Boothen and East stands hold 6,006 and 8,789 people respectively. The South Stand, which is used by home and away supporters can hold 4,996 people but is unlikely to reach capacity due to spectator segregation. The clubs dressing rooms, offices, boardroom, ticket office, in 2006, work took place on the A50 to allow direct access to the stadium from the eastbound direction, involving building a bridge across the road. It is close to the Sideway junction with the A500, at the start of the 2010–11 season, the stadium was accessible via a new underpass under Stanley Matthews Way, to reduce traffic problems with exiting the area back onto the A50. In the middle of 2009, surveyors were asked to investigate the feasibility of filling in one, filling in a corner of the ground would cost approximately £3 million, increasing capacity by around 3,000 seats and taking the total capacity to over 30,000. In November 2009, chairman Peter Coates said that a decision on expansion would be made at the end of the season and was dependent on the clubs Premier League survival
23.
Gavin Mahon
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Gavin Andrew Mahon is an English footballer who most recently played for Conference National side Tamworth, where he played as a midfielder. Mahon started his career as a trainee at Wolverhampton Wanderers, although did not make any appearances for the club. In July 1996, he joined Hereford United on a free transfer, Mahon signed for Brentford in November 1998, for a fee that rose to £130,000. He helped the club earn promotion from Division Three during the 1998–99 campaign and he joined Watford for £150,000 in March 2002, and would later captain the club to promotion into the Premier League. Mahon then signed for another Championship side in the form of Queens Park Rangers ahead of the 2008–09 season, following a successful loan spell the previous season. Injuries hampered the latter stages of his QPR career, and he was loaned out to Crystal Palace in March 2011. Mahon signed for Notts County on a transfer in August 2011. He was loaned to Stevenage in February 2013, for the remainder of the 2012–13 campaign, Mahon began his career with Wolverhampton Wanderers, progressing through the youth ranks with the club and playing regularly for the youth team. Mahon was released by Wolves at the end of the 1995–96 campaign, in July 1996, he signed for Hereford United of Division Three on a free transfer, making his first professional appearance in the clubs 1–0 victory over Doncaster Rovers on 24 August 1996. Mahon scored the first goal of his career during the same season, Mahon remained at Hereford for the 1997–98 season, playing in all 42 league matches as Hereford finished the season in sixth place. He opened the season with the Herefordshire side, amidst rumours of a return to the Football League. During his time at Hereford, Mahon made 83 appearances in all competitions, in November 1998, Mahon signed for Division Three side Brentford, having impressed manager Ray Lewington during the previous season. He joined Brentford for a fee of £50,000. Mahon made his Brentford debut in the clubs 2–1 defeat to Leyton Orient at Brisbane Road on 21 November 1998 and he opened his goalscoring account for Brentford in the clubs first match of 1999, scoring the third goal in a 3–1 win over Barnet at Griffin Park. His first season with the club proved to be a one, with Brentford earning promotion to Division Two as champions. Mahon made 32 appearances during the campaign, contributing four goals. Mahon was almost ever-present during the 2000–01 season, making 51 appearances in league and cup competitions and he scored once that season, restoring parity in an away game against Bristol City in December 2000, a match that Brentford went on to win 2–1. He was also named in the starting line-up for the first competitive final of his career, the campaign also witnessed the first red card of Mahons career, receiving the dismissal in the 83rd minute in a 1–0 home defeat to Swindon Town towards the latter stages of the season
24.
West Ham United F.C.
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West Ham United Football Club is a professional football club based in Stratford, East London, England. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football, in 2016 the club re-located to the London Stadium. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United and they moved to the Boleyn Ground in 1904, which remained their home ground for more than a century. The team initially competed in the Southern League and Western League before joining the Football League in 1919 and they were promoted to the top flight in 1923, when they also losing finalists in the first FA Cup Final held at Wembley. In 1940, the won the inaugural Football League War Cup. West Ham have been winners of the FA Cup three times, in 1964,1975, and 1980, and have also been runners-up twice, in 1923, and 2006. The club have reached two major European finals, winning the European Cup Winners Cup in 1965 and finishing runners up in the competition in 1976. West Ham also won the Intertoto Cup in 1999 and they are one of eight clubs never to have fallen below the second tier of English football, spending 59 of 91 league seasons in the top flight, up to and including the 2016–17 season. The clubs highest league position to date came in 1985–86 when they achieved third place in the then First Division, three West Ham players were members of the 1966 World Cup final-winning England team, captain Bobby Moore and goalscorers Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters. The club, Thames Ironworks were the first ever winners of the West Ham Charity Cup in 1895 contested by clubs in the West Ham locality and they turned professional in 1898 upon entering the Southern League Second Division, and were promoted to the First Division at the first attempt. The following year they came second from bottom, but had established themselves as a fully fledged competitive team and they comfortably fended off the challenge of local rivals Fulham in a relegation play-off, 5–1 in late April 1900 and retained their First Division status. In 1899, they acquired their now-traditional home kit combination of claret shirts and sky blue sleeves in a wager involving Aston Villa players, because of the original works team roots and links, they are still known as the Irons or the Hammers amongst fans and the media. West Ham Utd joined the Western League for the 1901 season while continuing to play in the Southern Division 1. In 1907, West Ham were crowned the Western League Division 1B Champions, the reborn club continued to play their games at the Memorial Grounds in Plaistow but moved to a pitch in the Upton Park area in the guise of the Boleyn Ground stadium in 1904. The Cup Final match itself ended 2–0 to Bolton, the team enjoyed mixed success in Division 1 but retained their status for ten years and reached the FA Cup semi-final in 1933. In 1932, the club was relegated to Division Two and long term custodian Syd King was sacked after serving the club in the role of manager for 32 years, following relegation, King had mental health problems. He appeared drunk at a meeting and soon after committed suicide. The club spent most of the next 30 years in division, first under Paynter
25.
Derby County F.C.
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Derby County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. Their home matches are played at Pride Park Stadium, where the club moved in 1997. Derby County F. C. was founded in 1884, by William Morley, as an offshoot of Derbyshire County Cricket Club, it has spent all, additionally, the club was a strong force in the interwar years and won the 1945–46 FA Cup. Derby County F. C. was formed in 1884 as an offshoot of Derbyshire County Cricket Club in an attempt to give players and supporters a winter interest as well as secure the cricket club extra revenue. The original intention was to name the club Derbyshire County F. C. The opening day of the first ever season was 8 September 1888. They absorbed another Derby club, Derby Midland F. C. who had members of the Midland League, in 1891. Steve Bloomer, generally considered to be Derby Countys best-ever player, in 1895 the club moved to a new stadium, the Baseball Ground, which became their home for the next 102 years and adopted their traditional colours of black and white. Although Derby were inconsistent in the league, they did finish runners-up to Aston Villa in 1896 as well as achieving a number of third-place finishes. They were a force in the FA Cup, appearing in three finals in six years around the turn of the 20th century, though lost all three, in 1898,1899 and 1903. In 1914 they were relegated again, but instantly won the Second Division to get promoted, after two seasons, they were relegated yet again in 1921. Derby were one of clubs to close down after the outbreak of World War II but restarted in the early 1940s, in part due to the persistence of Jack Nicholas. In 1967, Brian Clough and Peter Taylor took over and led them to their greatest glory, though Derby did not retain their title the following season, they did reach the semi-finals of the European Cup, where they lost to Juventus. Cloughs frequent outspoken comments against footballs establishment eventually led to him falling out with the board of directors at the club, and Clough and Taylor left in October 1973. Such was their impact on the club that,37 years later, though they challenged well in their first season, Derby were soon hit hard by rising debts, falling attendances and dismal performances. However, Derby did manage to avoid going out of business, after relegation to the Third Division in May 1984, the club appointed Arthur Cox as manager. A lack of any investment from Maxwell quickly led to a decline. At this time, local newspaper businessman Lionel Pickering became the majority shareholder of the club, in 1992, Derby County paid £2
26.
Vicarage Road
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Vicarage Road, a stadium in Watford, Hertfordshire, England, is the home of the football club Watford of the Premier League. It has been the home of Watford since 1922, when the club moved from Cassio Road, the ground was officially opened by Col. Charles Healey of Benskins Brewery for the visit of Millwall on 30 August 1922. After purchasing the freehold of the stadium from Benskins in January 2002, Watfords financial situation forced them to sell, on September 1,2011, it hosted England under-21’s 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 8 match against Azerbaijan under-21’s. The hosts thrashed the visitors 6 –0 with braces from Craig Dawson and Henri Lansbury and single goals from Jordan Henderson, the Vicarage Road Stand was built following the conclusion of the 1992–93 season. Previously an open terrace, the stand was built to comply with the Taylor Report. It cost £2.3 million to build and had a capacity of 5,800 people, construction was largely funded by the £1. 2m sale of Bruce Dyer in 1994. Originally a mere earth bank when the club moved to the ground, in 1978, an electronic scoreboard was put up, which became an iconic symbol of Watfords eighties heyday. Its final game as a terrace was a 1–0 loss to Oxford United on 8 May 1993 and it opened to the public once more on 18 September 1993, with Watford defeating Notts County 3–1. Previously the home stand, it now houses the away support, a partition was subsequently added, meaning that both home and away support could be put in the stand. Half of the stand is given to fans, and the other half is used as the family area for home fans. It also houses wheelchair supporters of both teams, since August 2012, the stand has been home to the Hornets Shop The Rookery Stand was built over the course of the 1994–95 season. Another former terrace, the all-seater Rookery stand has a capacity of 6,960, larger than the Vicarage Road stand, it has facilities on two levels and also holds most of the clubs administrative areas. When Watford moved from Cassio Road, this end of the featured a roof over a cinder bank. The Supporters Club eventually raised funds to enable the Rookery End to feature concrete terracing under cover, the new stand, replacing the 1959 model was used by Watford supporters for the first time on 22 April 1995, for the visit of Bristol City. As part of redevelopment work in conjunction with the Watford Health Campus,164 units of housing, known locally as The Wrap, were built on. The Rookery is the home end and it lends its name to the Watford fans podcast, From The Rookery End. The stand was known as the Rover South for Saracens matches, the Graham Taylor Stand was renamed for the 2014–15 season, taking its name from the clubs most successful manager Graham Taylor. It was previously named after former FIFA president Sir Stanley Rous, the official renaming ceremony took place on 29 November 2014
27.
EFL Championship
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The English Football League Championship is the highest division of the English Football League and second-highest overall in the English football league system, after the Premier League. Each year, the top finishing teams in the Championship are promoted to the Premier League, the Football League Championship, which was introduced for the 2004–05 season, was previously known as the Football League First Division, and before that was known as Division Two. The winners of the Championship receive the Football League Championship trophy, the Championship is the wealthiest non-top flight football division in the world and the seventh richest division in Europe. With an average attendance for the 2015-16 season of 17,578. Bundesliga as the secondary league in the world. In the 2015–16 season, Burnley were the champions, Middlesbrough were the runners up. At present, Ipswich Town hold the longest tenure in the Championship, the total figures were aided somewhat by the presence of 24 clubs, compared to 20 clubs in both Serie A and Ligue 1, and 18 in the Bundesliga. A major factor to the success comes from television revenue. On 30 September 2009, Coca-Cola announced they would end their deal with The Football League at the end of the 2009–10 season. On 18 July 2013, UK bookmaker Sky Bet announced that signed a 5-year agreement to sponsor the league. Three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw, the teams are ranked in the league table by points gained, then goal difference, then goals scored and then their head-to-head record for that season. At the end of the season, the top two teams and the winner of the Championship play-offs are promoted to the Premier League and the three teams are relegated to Football League One. The Football League Championship play-offs is a competition for the teams finishing the season in third to sixth place with the winner being promoted to the Premier League. In the play-offs, the team plays against the sixth-placed team. The winners of each semi-final then compete in a match with the prize being promotion to the Premier League. From 2009 to 2012, Sky Sports had the rights to broadcast 65 live matches, the BBC had the rights to show 10 first choice live games for the regular season as well as the rights to show a highlight show. The deal is on a contract and is worth £264m that will mostly be paid by Sky. The deal included 75 live league games, all the matches,15 League Cup ties
28.
Premier League
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The Premier League is an English professional league for mens association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football League, Welsh clubs that compete in the English football league system can also qualify. The Premier League is a corporation in which the 20 member clubs act as shareholders, seasons run from August to May. Teams play 38 matches each, totalling 380 matches in the season, most games are played on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, others during weekday evenings. It is colloquially known as the Premiership and outside the UK it is referred to as the English Premier League. The deal was worth £1 billion a year domestically as of 2013–14, with BSkyB, the league generates €2.2 billion per year in domestic and international television rights. In 2014/15, teams were apportioned revenues of £1.6 billion, the Premier League is the most-watched sports league in the world, broadcast in 212 territories to 643 million homes and a potential TV audience of 4.7 billion people. In the 2014–15 season, the average Premier League match attendance exceeded 36,000, most stadium occupancies are near capacity. The Premier League ranks third in the UEFA coefficients of leagues based on performances in European competitions over the past five seasons. While 47 clubs have competed since the inception of the Premier League in 1992, only six have won the title, Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, Blackburn Rovers, the current champions are Leicester City, who won the title in 2015–16. Despite significant European success in the 1970s and early 1980s, the late 80s marked a low point for English football, the 1988 negotiations were the first signs of a breakaway league, ten clubs threatened to leave and form a super league, but were eventually persuaded to stay. As stadiums improved and match attendance and revenues rose, the top teams again considered leaving the Football League in order to capitalise on the influx of money into the sport. At the close of the 1991 season, a proposal was tabled for the establishment of a new league that would bring money into the game overall. The Founder Members Agreement, signed on 17 July 1991 by the games top-flight clubs, the argument given at the time was that the extra income would allow English clubs to compete with teams across Europe. The managing director of London Weekend Television, Greg Dyke, met with the representatives of the big five clubs in England in 1990. The meeting was to pave the way for an away from The Football League. The FA did not enjoy a relationship with the Football League at the time
29.
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
30.
Loan (sports)
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In sports, a loan involves a particular player being to temporarily play for a club other than the one he is currently contracted to. Loan deals may last from a few weeks to all season-long, players may be loaned out to other clubs for several reasons. Most commonly, young prospects will be loaned to a club in a league in order to gain valuable first team experience. In this instance, the parent club may continue to pay the wages in full or in part. Some clubs put a formal arrangement in place with a club for this purpose, such as Manchester United and Royal Antwerp, Arsenal and Beveren, or Chelsea. In other leagues such as Italys Serie A, some clubs have a reputation as a farm club and regularly take players, especially younger players. A club may take a player on loan if they are short on transfer funds but can still pay wages, the parent club might demand a fee and/or that the loaning club pays some or all of the players wages during the loan period. A club might seek to out a squad player to make a saving on his wages. A loan may be made to get around a transfer window, such a loan might include an agreed fee for a permanent transfer when the next transfer window opens. Some players are loaned because they are unhappy or in dispute with their current club, examples of this situation include Henri Camara with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Craig Bellamy with Newcastle United, and Darren Bent with Aston Villa. In the Premier League, players on loan are not permitted to play against the team holds their registration. Loanees are, however, allowed to play against their owning clubs in cup competitions, in the Scottish Professional Football League, clubs are permitted to take players on as unpaid trialists even for competitive fixtures. Sometimes for the first two weeks of a trial period players names are obfuscated, match reports use the convention A Trialist to refer to players in lieu of using their real names
31.
Leyton Orient F.C.
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Leyton Orient Football Club /ˌleɪtən ˈɔəriənt/ is a professional football club in Leyton, London, England. They play in League Two, the tier of the English football league system. The clubs home colours are all red, Leyton Orient have spent one season in the top flight of English football, in 1962–63. In 1978, they reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup for the time in their history. Between October 1993 and September 1995, Orient did not win an away game in the league. Leyton Orients home ground Brisbane Road is officially known as the Matchroom Stadium after former club chairman Barry Hearns sports promotion company, in 2014, Hearn sold the club to Italian businessman Francesco Becchetti. Leyton Orient finished seventh, one away from the playoff positions. In the 2013–14 season, Orient lost the League One Play-Off final at Wembley to Rotherham United, the team has had several name changes since, first as Eagle Cricket Club in 1886 then as Orient Football Club in 1888. Indeed, the nickname the Savage Cuts came from a particularly gruesome incident during training in the 19th Century when the goalkeeper suffered a laceration to the arm. A cry was heard across the pitch, the goalkeeper is cut, its a deep and savage cut. The other players believing this to be a lampoon, mockingly repeated, we have savage cuts, the Os are the second-oldest league club in London behind Fulham and are the 24th oldest club currently playing in the Football League. Following Fulhams promotion to the Premier League they became the oldest London club playing in the Football League and they played in the Second Division of the Southern Federations League in 1904, joined the Football League in 1905. By this time such as part-time outside right, Herbert Kingaby could earn £2 4s per week – payment being somewhat sporadic. The twelve History books written on the club by its historian Neilson N. C, the name Leyton Orient was adopted following the conclusion of the Second World War. The club had moved to Leyton in 1937, though there was another team called Leyton F. C. A further rename back to simply Orient took place in 1966 after the Borough of Leyton was absorbed into the London Borough of Waltham Forest, the 1914–15 season was the last football season before the League was suspended due to the outbreak of the First World War. Forty one members of the Clapton Orient team and staff joined up into the 17th Battalion Middlesex Regiment, the highest of any team in the country. At the final game of the season – Clapton Orient vs Leicester Fosse,20,000 people came out to support the team, a farewell parade was also hosted, but not before the Os had won 2–0
32.
Brisbane Road
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Brisbane Road, currently referred to as the Matchroom Stadium for sponsorship purposes, and originally known as Osborne Road, is a football stadium in Brisbane Road, Leyton, east London, England. It has been the ground of Leyton Orient since 1937, before which it was the home of amateur football team Leyton F. C. who moved to the Hare. The highest attendance at the ground was 34,345 for the visit of West Ham United in the 1964 FA Cup and it has hosted a number of England U-16 and England women’s team matches. It hosted the 2007–08 FA Womens Premier League Cup final and it is also home of the Tottenham Hotspur Reserves. In 2012 Brisbane Road hosted the final of the inaugural NextGen series, Brisbane Road has seen several developments in its history, but due to the second world war the first major improvement was the levelling of a grass bank and crash barrier installation in 1949. The terracing behind the goals was improved again in 1952,1959 and 1960, in 1956 a small seated stand was dismantled and replaced with a stand from the decrepit Mitcham Stadium, which held 2,600 fans. In 1962, with Leyton Orient gaining promotion to the First Division, in 1978 the West Stand was converted into all-seating. In 1996 the terracing at the end of the ground was demolished. The South Stand was eventually built in 1999, and was renamed The Tommy Johnston Stand on 5 September 2008, the eventual bids from both West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur to move into the stadium, with capacity nearer 60,000, effectively ended Orients interest. Brisbane Road is in close proximity to both the Olympic Park and also Hackney Marshes. On 6 May 2012, Brisbane Road hosted a Super League game between London Broncos and Bradford Bulls due to works on the Broncos home stadium Twickenham Stoop, capacity,2,918 The West Stand is the new main stand at Brisbane Road and currently seats home supporters only. It has a capacity of 2,918, with 23 disabled supporters, the letters L O F C are marked into the seats in black. It is also home to the offices, and the club shop. There is also a row of seating above the main seating which overhangs the rest of the stand. This stand also has seating in its centre, known as the Gallery. The players changing rooms are located underneath this stand and players emerge from the tunnel here. The dugouts are located at the front of this stand after being moved from the opposite East Stand for the start of the 2006–07 season. Capacity,3,636 The East Stand, previously the main stand, is the oldest stand at Brisbane Road and is used by home and away supporters
33.
Wigan Athletic F.C.
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Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team compete in the Championship, the tier of English football. Founded in 1932, the club have played at the DW Stadium since 1999 and their colours are blue and white, recently most often striped, although all-blue shirts have been common throughout history. The team were elected to The Football League in 1978, the club also made their European debut during the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League. Wigan Athletic was formed in 1932, following the winding up of Wigan Borough the previous year, Wigan Athletic was the fifth attempt to create a stable football club in the town following the demise of Wigan County, Wigan United, Wigan Town and Wigan Borough. Springfield Park, the home of Wigan Borough, was purchased by the club for £2,850. Despite their initial application being turned down, Wigan Athletic were elected into the Cheshire County League following the resignation of Manchester Central, the club had also made the first of many attempts to be admitted into the Football League, but failed to receive a single vote. On 27 August 1932, Wigan Athletic played their first ever game against Port Vale Reserves. The team played in red and white shirts with black shorts, Wigan Athletic won their first honours in the 1933–34 season, finishing as champions of the Cheshire League. In the 1935–36 season, the club won their third consecutive Cheshire League title, after the Second World War, Wigan Athletic adopted their more familiar blue and white strip. The club struggled to assemble a side, and finished bottom of the league in 1946–47 season. Despite their pre-war success, the failed to gain re-election and were replaced by Winsford United. The club joined the Lancashire Combination, winning the league in their first season, in 1950, Wigan Athletic came close to election to The Football League, narrowly losing out to Scunthorpe United and Shrewsbury Town. In the next round of the cup, Wigan Athletic were drawn against First Division side Newcastle United, Wigan Athletic held their top flight opponents to a 2–2 draw at St James Park, but went on to lose the replay 3–2. In 1961, the club moved back to the Cheshire League, in the 1964–65 season, Wigan Athletic won their first Cheshire League title since returning to the league, with top goalscorer Harry Lyon scoring 66 times. He remains the clubs greatest goalscorer of all time, Wigan Athletic won four cup titles in the 1966–67 season and were also Cheshire County League runners-up. In 1968, Wigan Athletic were founder members of the Northern Premier League, winning the league title in 1970–71, leading goalscorer with 42 goals, including 7 hat-tricks, was Geoff Davies who scored 28 goals in the following 1971–72 season. As a non-league club, the played at Wembley Stadium for the first time in the 1973 FA Trophy Final
34.
Sheffield United F.C.
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Sheffield United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the tier of English football. The football club was formed in 1889 as an offshoot of Sheffield United Cricket Club, the club have played their home games at Bramall Lane since their formation in 1889. Bramall Lane is currently an all-seater ground with a capacity of 32,609, Sheffield United won the original First Division in 1898 and the FA Cup in 1899,1902,1915 and 1925. They were beaten finalists in the FA Cup in 1901 and 1936 and they reached the semi-finals of the League Cup in 2003 and 2015. For most of the history they have played in red. Their closest rivals are Sheffield Wednesday, with whom they contest the Steel City Derby, Sheffield United formed on 22 March 1889 at the Adelphi Hotel, Sheffield by the President of the Cricket Club Sir Charles Clegg. The Wednesday had moved from Bramall Lane to their own ground at Olive Grove, Sir Charles Clegg was incidentally also the president of The Wednesday. Their darkest days came between 1975 and 1981 and they did fall back into the Third Division in 1988, but new manager Dave Bassett masterminded a quick revival which launched the Blades towards one of the most successful eras in their history. Successive promotions in the aftermath of the 1988 relegation saw them return to the First Division in 1990 after a 14-year exile and they survived at this level for four seasons and reached an FA Cup semi-final in the 1992–93 season before being relegated in 1994. Three years later, however, Warnock delivered a Premier League return as the Blades finished runners-up in the rebranded Football League Championship, Neil Warnock resigned as manager after the Blades went down. The Blades did reach the Championship playoff final in 2009 under Kevin Blackwell, in the 2011–12 season, the club finished third in League One, narrowly missing out on automatic promotion to rivals Sheffield Wednesday, and entered the playoffs. With victory over Stevenage in the semi-final, United missed out on a return to the Championship after suffering a penalty shootout defeat to Huddersfield Town. In 2014, the Blades gained the nickname of giant-killers, having reached the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley, losing 5–3 to Hull City. In 2014–15, they reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and semi-finals of the Football League Cup, the club was formed by members of the Sheffield United Cricket Club, itself formed in 1854 and the first English sports club to use United in its name. Sheffield Uniteds predominant nickname is The Blades, a reference to Sheffields status as the producer of cutlery in the United Kingdom. Because of this, the nickname would also be used in reference to rivals Sheffield Wednesday, another nickname used was The Cutlers. In 1907, Wednesday came to be referred to as The Owls, in reference to their new ground in Owlerton, within Sheffield fans of the club are also sometimes referred to as Unitedites
35.
Tony Adams
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Tony Alexander Adams, MBE is an English football manager and former player for Arsenal and England, for both of which teams he served as captain. He is currently head of development at Chongqing Lifan. Adams spent his playing career of 22 years as a centre-back at Arsenal. He is considered one of the greatest Arsenal players of all time by the clubs own fans and was included in the Football League 100 Legends, a statue honouring Adams was unveiled at Emirates stadium on 9 December 2011, along with statues of Thierry Henry and Herbert Chapman. He won 66 caps for England between 1987 and 2000 and played at four major tournaments, when his playing career finished Adams went into football management, spending periods in charge of Wycombe Wanderers, Portsmouth and Azerbaijan side Gabala. Born in Romford, Adams grew up in Dagenham and was a pupil at Hunters Hall Primary School from 1971 to 1978, Adams signed for Arsenal as a schoolboy in 1980. He made his first team debut on 5 November 1983 against Sunderland in the First Division, Adams became a regular player in the 1986–87 season, winning his first major trophy that season when playing in the Football League Cup Final win over Liverpool at Wembley. On 1 January 1988, he became Arsenal captain at the age of 21, in 1992–93 Adams gained the distinction of being the captain of the first English side to win the League Cup and FA Cup double, lifting the European Cup Winners Cup the following year. Despite this success, a battle with alcoholism, which started in the mid-1980s, on 6 May 1990, Adams crashed his Ford Sierra into a wall in Rayleigh and when breathalysed his blood alcohol level was found to be more than four times the legal drink-drive limit. His recovery and rehabilitation were helped in no small part by the arrival of Arsène Wenger as Arsenal manager in October 1996, Wenger reformed the clubs dietary practices and the players lifestyles. Wenger stuck by Adams following his confessions about his problem. He played 674 matches for Arsenal and was the most successful captain in the clubs history, just before his retirement as a player, Adams had applied to become manager of Brentford after the resignation of Steve Coppell, but his application was rejected. The game finished 1–1 with Lee Dixon, in his appearance for the Gunners. In March 2003, just seven months after his retirement and with Arsenal BBC Sport named Adams as the former Arsenal player that the club would most benefit from returning, a statue of Adams was placed outside Emirates Stadium in celebration of the clubs 125th anniversary on 9 December 2011. Manager Herbert Chapman and Arsenals all-time top goal scorer Thierry Henry, Adams made his debut for England against Spain in 1987, and played in Euro 88, scoring one of Englands two goals. He was the first player to represent England who had been born after the 1966 World Cup win, after a highly promising start to his international career, Adams suffered a series of setbacks during the early 1990s. He was surprisingly left out of the 1990 FIFA World Cup squad by manager Bobby Robson, England reached the semi-finals of Euro 96, before losing on penalties to Germany. When England manager Glenn Hoddle took the Captains armband from Adams, speaking at a fans forum in 2008 Adams remarked I have some resentment over the way Glenn Hoddle gave the captaincy to Alan Shearer instead of me but I can let that go
36.
Dave Hockaday
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David Hockaday is an English former professional footballer who is currently Head of Male Football at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College. He has previously worked as a manager at Leeds United, Forest Green Rovers, Kidderminster Harriers, a former professional footballer, Hockaday played for Blackpool, Hull City, Shrewsbury Town, Stoke City and Swindon Town. After his playing career ended he helped establish an academy at Cirencester, as well as spending time as first team coach at Watford. He also spent four years as manager of Conference Premier side Forest Green Rovers, in June 2014, Hockaday became the new Head Coach of Leeds United. On 28 August 2014, his contract was terminated by the owner of Leeds, during February 2015, Hockaday also had a short spell as caretaker manager of Coventry City. In October 2015, it was announced Hockaday would take over as coach at National League side Kidderminster Harriers. Hockaday was born in Sedgefield, County Durham and he started his career as a youth player with Billingham Synthonia. In June 1975, aged 17, he joined Blackpool, then playing in the Second Division and he made his first start for the Tangerines on 25 September 1976, in a 1–0 home loss to Chelsea. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 loss at Colchester United on 30 September 1978, also on 30 September, this time in 1981, Hockaday was amongst the scorers in Blackpools 7–1 rout of Halifax Town at Bloomfield Road. In his final season in Lancashire, he made 40 league appearances and scored eight goals, in his eight seasons at Blackpool he made over 190 first-team appearances, scoring 27 goals. In June 1983, he moved on a transfer to fellow Fourth Division side Swindon Town. In 1988–89 Swindon reached the Second Division play-offs but failed in their attempt to gain promotion to the top flight, in 1989–90 Swindon won the Second Division play-off final but Sunderland were promoted instead after the Swindon board admitted a series of financial irregularities. Swindon were initially demoted to the Third Division and replaced by Tranmere Rovers, the divisions losing play-off finalists, in September 1990, Hockaday moved to Hull City for a fee of £50,000 having made 308 appearances for Swindon, with 11 goals. At Hull City he was part of the side suffered relegation from the Second Division at the end of the 1990–91 season. He played 15 times for Hull the following season and spent the end of the 1992–93 campaign on loan at Stoke City where he played seven times helping the Potters win the Second Division title, after a third season at Hull he moved on to Shrewsbury Town. He was a member of the Shrewsbury team who won the Third Division title at the end of his first season, before he dropped out of league football, moving to Cirencester Town in 1995. In 1996 he established one of the first football academies in the country at Cirencester, the Cirencester Football Academy was created in conjunction with the local Sixth Form College. The Academy team soon built up a reputation by winning the National College Championship
37.
Southport F.C.
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Southport Football Club are a professional association football club based in Blowick, Southport, Merseyside. The club participates in the National League, the tier of English football. From 1921 to 1978 they were a Football League club and they play their home matches at Haig Avenue, which has a capacity of 6,008. They are known by their nickname the Sandgrounders and it was on Thursday 12 November 1881 that Southport played its first association football match. Although association football was played in the private schools in the late 1870s the original Southport Football Club began as a rugby team. Southport Football Club arranged rugby fixtures for 1881–82, after some heavy defeats, the last recorded being on 15 October 1881, the club switched to association football. On 12 November, six of that lined up when Southport played Bootle second in their first match under Association Rules. Ralph Rylance did more than anyone to establish association football in the town and he came to Southport from Blackburn having played for the Blackburn Law team, a noted eleven in those days. Performances soon improved with him playing, and Tranmere Rovers were beaten twice whilst the Tradesman of Southport, on 7 October 1882, Southport entertained Liverpool Ramblers in their first ever F. A. or English Challenge Cup tie as the competition was called for years. The game was watched by 300 spectators and resulted in a 1–1 draw, in the 1884–85 season the club merged with the Southport Athletic Society and the team moved to the Sports Ground, Sussex Road. As football grew in popularity other clubs sprang up in the town, Southport Wanderers, High Park, Churchtown and Southport Old Boys were amongst the most prominent however Southport Football Club was considered to be the towns premier side. After 5 years existence Southports first football club folded, at least six former Southport players and many of their supporters transferred their affiliations to Southport Wanderers. Southport Wanderers moved to a new ground in Scarisbrick New Road for the 1886–87 season, on 28 September 1886, at a General Meeting held in the Mathers Saleroom, it was unanimously resolved that in future the club be called Southport Football Club. In the summer of 1888, the year the Football League was founded, with the increasing in popularity. The idea met with favour and the meeting called to form such a club took place on 12 June at Scarletts Rooms. At a second meeting, held at the Railway Hotel a week later, at the start of the 1905–06 season Central moved to its present home, Haig Avenue, which was then known as Ash Lane. In 1911, the club became members of the Central League. In 1918, the club was renamed as Southport Vulcan – having been bought by the Vulcan Motor Company – becoming the first club to take a sponsors name
38.
Tony Mowbray
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Anthony Mark Tony Mowbray is an English former professional football player and the head coach of Blackburn Rovers. Mowbray played for Middlesbrough, Celtic and Ipswich Town as a defender and he moved on to West Bromwich Albion in 2006, where he won the Football League Championship in 2008, but then suffered relegation from the Premier League the following year. Mowbray was then appointed as manager of Celtic, but was dismissed after nine months, Mowbray subsequently took the managers role at another of his former clubs, Middlesbrough. On 21 October 2013 after a start to the 2013-14 season. After playing his first match for the club in 1982, Mowbray became captain of Middlesbrough in 1986 when he was just 22 years old, in 2007, Mowbray was placed at number 7 in a chronological list of Middlesbrough legends compiled by local newspaper the Evening Gazette. In 1991 after 348 appearances for Boro, Mowbray moved to Scottish club Celtic for £1 million, during his playing career with Celtic, Mowbrays wife Bernadette, a native of Renfrewshire, died of breast cancer. The episode is recalled in Mowbrays book, Kissed by an Angel and it is often asserted that the huddle which Celtic players still perform before each match was arranged as a tribute to Bernadette. However, it was suggested by Mowbray on a pre-season tour of Germany to bring the squad together at a time of uncertainty. He later moved on to Ipswich Town, where he played for five years and he scored an equalising goal in the 2000 Division One playoff final victory against Barnsley. Ipswich won the match 4–2 and secured promotion to the FA Premier League and this match was both Mowbrays Wembley debut and the last of his playing career. Once his playing career finished he moved into coaching, starting as a first team coach at Ipswich Town and he had a brief spell as caretaker manager of Ipswich, following the sacking of George Burley and prior to the appointment of Joe Royle. In May 2004, Mowbray was appointed manager of Hibernian, replacing Bobby Williamson and he gained much acclaim for the job he did, winning the Scottish Football Writers Association manager of the year award in his first season. Hibs progressed to the stages of every domestic cup competition in his tenure. Hibs lost heavily to Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in the first round of the 2005–06 UEFA Cup, during mid-2006, Mowbray was interviewed for the vacant managerial position at Ipswich Town, but he rejected their approach. In September 2006 he signed a 12-month rolling deal with Hibs that was due to take effect from July 2007, just one month later however, Mowbray moved to West Bromwich Albion. West Bromwich Albion appointed Mowbray as their manager on 13 October 2006, Mowbray faced the task of returning the Baggies to the Premier League after relegation the previous season. Despite two famous victories over old rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers in the finals, Albion lost 1–0 to Derby County in the Wembley final. As a result, during the season, Mowbray set about restructuring his squad, moving out several of Robsons players for multimillion-pound fees
39.
National League South
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The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, taking its place immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North it is at the level of the National League System. It was introduced in 2004 as part of a restructuring of the National League System. The champion team each year is promoted to the National League. A second promotion place goes to the winners of play-offs of the finishing in second place to fifth place. The three bottom clubs are relegated to Step 3 leagues, from the start of the 2015–16 season, the league is known as the National League South. The current champions are Sutton United, who finished 6 points ahead of second place, the current member club for the 2016–17 season are as follows, The stadiums of all teams in the league for the 2016–17 season are listed below in capacity order, ** Not promoted. In 2004–05 only three places were available to the Conference National. The third place was decided in a Playoff at Stokes Britannia Stadium, which Eastbourne lost 2–1 to the Conference North Playoff winners, Altrincham
