1.
Adams Park
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Adams Park is an association football stadium in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. Built in 1990, it is the ground of Wycombe Wanderers F. C. Between 2003 and 2006, the stadium was known as the Causeway Stadium under a naming rights deal, Wycombe Wanderers had sought to leave their home ground at Loakes Park since the 1960s as the site had been earmarked for the site of development of the adjacent Wycombe General Hospital. The club were able to sell the land to the health authority, the ground has a picturesque, rural setting, sitting as it does in a valley at the end of the Sands Industrial Estate, surrounded by green hills on three sides. Whereas Wycombes previous Loakes Park ground was close to the town centre. The stadium was opened in time for the 1990–91 season, and had a capacity of 6,000 with 1,267 seats in the Main Stand, the ground was named Adams Park in honour of benefactor and former captain Frank Adams. The initial licensed capacity of Adams Park was 6,000, shortly after entering the Football League for the first time in 1993, these upgrades were completed, taking the capacity to around 9,500. In the summer of 1996 the 4, 990-seater Woodlands Stand was built on the hill behind the erstwhile Woodlands Terrace, the Hillbottom Road End, where the visiting fans are accommodated, was seated, reducing its capacity from 2,131 standing spaces to 1,049 seats. In the summer of 2001 the Hillbottom Road End was extended by an extra 977 seats to take the capacity to 2,026 and this was done mainly to be able to accommodate more away fans in one place when the need arose. However, the capacity was kept at 10,000 by reducing the capacity of the standing areas at the Valley End. In July 2005, the crowd was recorded as a full-to-capacity 10,000 for the first time. These stipulate that stadia must have a capacity of at least 12,000 by 2007/08, on 8 October 2014, it was announced that Wasps would leave Adams Park by December 2014, thus ending their 12-year ground-share with Wycombe Wanderers. They purchased and moved to the larger Ricoh Arena in Coventry, in 2003 the stadium was renamed as the Causeway Stadium. For £100,000 over three years local technology company Causeway bought the rights to the ground. This caused some anger amongst fans as the ground was named Adams Park in honour of benefactor, Adams had bought the former ground Loakes Park for the club, whose sale financed the move to the stadium named after him. The Causeway Technologies sponsorship expired at the end of the 2005–06 season, Wycombe District Council outlined long-term plans for the regeneration of the Abbey Barn area of the town. These included a possible 20,000 capacity stadium near the site of the since closed Wycombe Heights dry ski slope. Plans are drawn up for a new route to the ground through land owned by the wealthy Dashwood family to the north and west of Adams Park
2.
Gareth Ainsworth
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Gareth Ainsworth is an English professional footballer who is player-manager at EFL League Two club Wycombe Wanderers. A former youth player at Blackburn Rovers, the midfielder, who is known for his crossing ability and he moved on to Cambridge United, who in turn loaned him back to Northwich Victoria. He returned to Preston North End in 1993, and established himself in the first team during his spell at the club. After being named as the Port Vale F. C, Player of the Year in 1998, he was sold on to Premier League Wimbledon for £2 million in October 1998. He was dogged by injuries at the club, and following loan spells with Preston North End and Walsall and he signed with Queens Park Rangers in June 2003, after went on to spend seven years with the club. During his time at QPR he helped the club to win out of the Second Division in 2003–04. He joined Wycombe Wanderers in February 2010, following a loan period. He was named in the PFA League Two Team of the Year in 2010–11 and he was appointed as the clubs manager in November 2012, after a short period as caretaker-manager. He retired from regular playing appearances to concentrate on his management duties in April 2013 and he dropped into the Football Conference with Northwich Victoria, scoring his first goal in the 3–1 home victory over Cheltenham Town on 26 October 1991. His form attracted the attention of Third Division club Preston North End and, in January 1992, released at the end of the 1991–92 season, Ainsworth joined First Division Cambridge United under the management of John Beck. Ainsworth had a spell on loan with former club Northwich Victoria, Beck was sacked by Cambridge in October 1992 but was swiftly appointed manager at Preston North End, and in December returned to the Abbey Ground to sign Ainsworth. Ainsworths second spell with Preston lasted three years, Preston reached the Third Division play-off final in 1994, and Ainsworth played in the Wembley final, but could not prevent Wycombe Wanderers winning the game 4–2. Preston reached the play-offs again the year, but exited at the semi-final stage with a 2–0 aggregate defeat to Bury. Beck left Preston following the disappointments at the play-offs, and was appointed manager at Third Division rivals Lincoln City, in October 1995 he signed Ainsworth for a third time, this time for a fee of £25,000. In 1996–97, Ainsworth scored 22 goals to him the divisions second-highest goalscorer after Wigan Athletics Graeme Jones. For this achievement he was named on the PFAs Third Division Team of the Year, a popular player at Sincil Bank, Ainsworth was twice Player of the Season and was voted fourth in the clubs top 100 legends after a poll conducted in May 2007. In September 1997 he signed for John Rudges First Division Port Vale for a club record £500,000 fee and he became the clubs Player of the Year for his performances in the 1997–98 season. He was though criticized for a tackle on Sheffield Uniteds Dane Whitehouse in November that resulted in the players early retirement due to a serious leg injury sustained from the challenge
3.
Kit (association football)
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In association football, kit is the standard equipment and attire worn by players. The sports Laws of the Game specify the minimum kit which a player must use, footballers generally wear identifying numbers on the backs of their shirts. Professional clubs also usually display players surnames or nicknames on their shirts, Football kit has evolved significantly since the early days of the sport when players typically wore thick cotton shirts, knickerbockers and heavy rigid leather boots. The Laws of the Game set out the equipment which must be worn by all players in Law 4. Five separate items are specified, shirt, shorts, socks, footwear, goalkeepers are allowed to wear tracksuit bottoms instead of shorts. While most players wear studded football boots, the Laws do not specify that these are required, shirts must have sleeves, and goalkeepers must wear shirts which are easily distinguishable from all other players and the match officials. Thermal undershorts may be worn, but must be the colour as the shorts themselves. Shin pads must be covered entirely by the stockings, be made of rubber, plastic or a similar material, and provide a reasonable degree of protection. The only other restriction on equipment defined in the Laws of the Game is the requirement that a player must not use equipment or wear anything that is dangerous to himself or another player. In the event of a match between teams who would wear identical or similar colours the away team must change to a different colour. The England national team plays in red shirts even when it is not required. Many professional clubs also have a kit, ostensibly to be used if both their first-choice and away colours are deemed too similar to those of an opponent. Most professional clubs have retained the basic colour scheme for several decades. Teams representing countries in international competition generally wear national colours in common with other sporting teams of the same nation, shirts are normally made of a polyester mesh, which does not trap the sweat and body heat in the same way as a shirt made of a natural fibre. Depending on local rules, there may be restrictions on how large these logos may be or on what logos may be displayed, competitions such as the Premier League may also require players to wear patches on their sleeves depicting the logo of the competition. The captain of team is usually required to wear an elasticated armband around the left sleeve to identify him as the captain to the referee. Most current players wear specialist football boots, which can be either of leather or a synthetic material. Modern boots are cut slightly below the ankles, as opposed to the high-ankled boots used in former times, studs may be either moulded directly to the sole or be detachable, normally by means of a screw thread
4.
Away colours
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Away colours are a choice of coloured clothing used in team sports. They are required to be worn by one team during a game between teams that would wear the same colours as each other, or similar colours. This change prevents confusion for officials, players, and spectators, in most sports it is the visiting team that must change – second-choice kits are commonly known as away kits or change kits in British English, and road uniforms in American English. Some sports leagues mandate that teams must always wear an alternative kit. In some sports, conventionally the home team has changed its kit, in most cases, a team wears its away kit only when its primary kit would clash with the colours of the home team. However, sometimes teams wear away colours by choice, occasionally even in a home game, at some clubs, the away kit has become more popular than the home version. Replica home and away kits are available for fans to buy. Some teams also have produced third-choice kits, or even old-fashioned throwback uniforms, in American sports, road teams usually wear a change uniform regardless of a potential colour clash. Further, almost all road uniforms are white in American football, in the National Basketball Association, home uniforms are white or yellow, and visiting teams wear a darker colour. In the United States, color vs. color games are a rarity, most teams choose to wear their color jerseys at home, with the road team changing to white in most cases. White road uniforms gained prominence with the rise of television in the 1950s, a white vs. color game was easier to follow in black-and-white. According to Phil Hecken, until the mid 1950′s, not only was color versus color common in the NFL, even long after the advent of color television, the use of white jerseys has remained in almost every game. The NFLs current rules require that a home jerseys must be either white or official team color throughout the season. If a team insists on wearing its home uniforms on the road, the road team might instead wear a third jersey, such as the Seattle Seahawks Wolf Grey alternate. According to the Gridiron Uniform Database, the Cleveland Browns wore white for home game of the 1955 season. The only times they wore brown was for games at Philadelphia and the New York Giants, in 1964 the Baltimore Colts, Browns, Vikings and Rams wore white regularly for their home games according to Tim Brulias research. The St. Louis Cardinals wore white for several of their home games, until 1964 Dallas had worn blue at home, but it was not an official rule that teams should wear their colored jerseys at home. The use of white jerseys was instigated by general manager Tex Schramm, the Cowboys still wear white at home today
5.
Third jersey
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Alternate jerseys are also a means for professional sports organizations to generate revenue, by sales to fans. Of North American sports leagues, the NFL generates $1.2 billion annually in jersey sales, another use of the alternate uniform is for identifying with causes, like the Central Coast Mariners wear an alternate pink kit on pink ribbon day. Extra alternate uniforms or fourth/fifth kits are not commonly used, but are required when teams other uniforms cause color clashes. In cases where teams have more than three kits in the same season, the extra kits were usually recycled from previous seasons. Third-choice jerseys or uniforms are used in all four North American major professional sports leagues, Third kits are commonplace in professional European association football and in some professional European rugby union clubs. Alternate guernseys or jerseys are common in Australias two biggest domestic leagues, the Australian Football League and National Rugby League, for home and away jerseys in North America, historical convention has often dictated the colors used by teams in a given league. Teams generally have one jersey which is primarily in a team color, white at home is the convention in baseball, basketball, minor league professional hockey, and college hockey. White while away is the convention in football, major professional hockey. Association football does not have a white at home or a white while away convention, the NBA and NHL both enforce the color/white rule strictly, any NHL team seeking to wear white at home must get express permission from the league office to do so. In American sports, throwback jerseys are generally used for special team games. In American football a third jersey may be a uniform based on designs the team used in the past. In association football, meanwhile, it is commonly a radically different design. Initially, the NFL rule stated that a team may wear their third only once a year. There are currently no rules on wearing alternate pants, teams are also permitted to wear alternate jerseys as often as desired in playoff games, the only team to do so was the 2008 San Diego Chargers. Some teams will use one of their third jersey allotments against a particular division opponent each year. The New York Giants were known to wear their red jerseys at home against the Dallas Cowboys until the red jerseys were retired in 2009. The Washington Redskins wear their uniform on home games to commemorate their annual homecoming game once a year since 2012. When wearing their jerseys, especially if the team is wearing a throwback uniform
6.
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
7.
High Wycombe
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High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is 29 miles west north west of Charing Cross in London and it is also 17 miles south of the county town of Aylesbury,27 miles southeast of Oxford,23 miles north east of Reading and 9 miles north of Maidenhead. According to the ONS official estimates for 2015, High Wycombe has a population of 124,475, High Wycombe Urban Area, the conurbation of which the town is the largest component, has a population of 133,204. High Wycombe is mostly an area in the Wycombe district. Wycombe is a combination of industrial and market town, with a emphasis on furniture production. There has been a market held in the High Street since at least the Middle Ages, Wycombe appears in the Domesday Book and was noted for having six mills. The town once featured a Roman villa which was excavated three times, most recently in 1954, mosaics and a bathhouse were unearthed at the site on what is now the Rye parkland. High Wycombe was the home of 19th century Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, the existence of a settlement at High Wycombe was first documented as Wicumun in 970. The parish church was consecrated by Wulfstan, the visiting Bishop of Worcester, the town received market borough status in 1222, and built its first moot hall in 1226, with a market hall being built later in 1476. High Wycombe remained a town through Medieval and Tudor times, manufacturing lace. It was also a point on the way from Oxford to London. The paper industry was notable in 17th and 18th century High Wycombe, the Wyes waters were rich in chalk, and therefore ideal for bleaching pulp. The paper industry was soon overtaken by the cloth industry, Wycombes most famous industry, furniture took hold in the 19th century, with furniture factories setting up all over the town. Many terraced workers houses were built to the east and west of town to accommodate those working in the furniture factories, in 1875, it was estimated that there were 4,700 chairs made per day in High Wycombe. Wycombe Museum includes many examples of locally made chairs and information on the local furniture, the towns population grew from 13,000 residents in 1881 to 29,000 in 1928. By the 1920s, many of the areas of Wycombe had decayed into slums. However, some such as St. Marys Street contained beautiful old buildings with fine examples of 18th and 19th century architecture. From 1940 to 1968 High Wycombe was the seat of the RAF Bomber Command
8.
Buckinghamshire
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Development in this region is restricted by the Metropolitan Green Belt. Other large settlements include the county town of Aylesbury, Marlow in the south near the Thames and Princes Risborough in the west near Oxford. Some areas without rail links to London, such as around the old county town of Buckingham. The largest town is Milton Keynes in the northeast, which with the area is administered as a unitary authority separately to the rest of Buckinghamshire. The remainder of the county is administered by Buckinghamshire County Council as a non-metropolitan county, in national elections, Buckinghamshire is considered a reliable supporter of the Conservative Party. A large part of the Chiltern Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, runs through the south of the county and attracts many walkers, in this area older buildings are often made from local flint and red brick. Chequers, an estate owned by the government, is the country retreat of the incumbent Prime Minister. To the north of the county lies rolling countryside in the Vale of Aylesbury, the Thames forms part of the county’s southwestern boundary. Notable service amenities in the county are Pinewood Film Studios, Dorney rowing lake, many national companies have offices in Milton Keynes. Heavy industry and quarrying is limited, with agriculture predominating after service industries, the name Buckinghamshire is Anglo-Saxon in origin and means The district of Buccas home. Buccas home refers to Buckingham in the north of the county, the county has been so named since about the 12th century, however, the county has existed since it was a subdivision of the kingdom of Mercia. Historically, the biggest change to the county came in the 19th century, Buckinghamshire is a popular home for London commuters, leading to greater local affluence, however, some pockets of relative deprivation remain. As a result, most county institutions are now based in the south of the county or Milton Keynes, the county can be split into two sections geographically. The county includes parts of two of the four longest rivers in England, the River Thames forms the southern boundary with Berkshire, which has crept over the border at Eton and Slough so that the river is no longer the sole boundary between the two counties. The River Great Ouse rises just outside the county in Northamptonshire and flows east through Buckingham, Milton Keynes, the main branch of the Grand Union Canal passes through the county as do its arms to Slough, Aylesbury, Wendover and Buckingham. The canal has been incorporated into the landscaping of Milton Keynes, the southern part of the county is dominated by the Chiltern Hills. The two highest points in Buckinghamshire are Haddington Hill in Wendover Woods at 267 metres above sea level, quarrying has taken place for chalk, clay for brickmaking and gravel and sand in the river valleys. Flint, also extracted from quarries, was used to build older local buildings
9.
Football in England
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Today Englands top domestic league, the Premier League, is one of the most popular and richest sports leagues in the world, with six of the ten richest football clubs in the world. The England national football team is one of only 8 teams to win the World Cup, a total of five English club teams have won the UEFA Champions League. Football was played in England as far back as medieval times, kicking ball games are described in England from 1280. An account of an exclusively kicking game from Nottinghamshire in the fifteenth century bears similarity to association football. By the 16th centuries references to organised teams and goals had appeared, there is evidence for refereed, team football games being played in English schools since at least 1581. The eighteenth-century Gymnastic Society of London is, arguably, the worlds first football club, the Cambridge rules, first drawn up at Cambridge University in 1848, were particularly influential in the development of subsequent codes, including association football. The Cambridge Rules were written at Trinity College, Cambridge, at a meeting attended by representatives from Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Winchester, during the 1850s, many clubs unconnected to schools or universities were formed throughout the English-speaking world, to play various forms of football. In 1862, John Charles Thring of Uppingham School also devised a set of rules. These ongoing efforts contributed to the formation of The Football Association in 1863, the Sheffield FA played by its own rules until the 1870s with the FA absorbing some of its rules until there was little difference between the games. A match between Sheffield and Hallam F. C. on 29 December 1862 was one of the first matches to be recorded in a newspaper, on 8 March 1873, the England national teams 4–2 win over Scotland at the Oval was the first ever victory in international football. The late nineteenth century was dominated by the split between the amateur and professional teams, which was roughly aligned along a North-South divide. Northern clubs were keen to adopt professionalism as workers could not afford to play on an amateur basis, preston North End were inaugural winners in 1888–89, and were also the first club to complete the double of both winning the league and the FA Cup. Aston Villa repeated the feat in 1896–97 and it remained at 40 until the league was suspended after the 1914–15 season with the outbreak of World War I. Other clubs to win titles in this period include Sheffield United, Manchester United. During the war, competitive football was suspended, however, an unofficial Wartime Football league was played from 1915–16 to 1918–19, although the FA Cup was suspended until after the war. The next season the league was expanded with the Third Division divided into North and South sections. In the 1923–24 season the Third Division North was expanded to 22 clubs, Bolton Wanderers defeated West Ham United to win this landmark game. Bolton Wanderers would win the FA Cup on three occasions during the 1920s, by the turn of the 1930s, the national side regularly played against other national teams from outside the British Isles
10.
Blue (university sport)
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A blue is an award earned by athletes at a university and some schools for competition at the highest level. The awarding of blues began at Oxford and Cambridge universities in England and it is awarded at British, Australian and New Zealand universities. There is no record of any university colours being worn during the game, at the first Boat Race in 1829, the Oxford crew was dominated by students of Christ Church, whose college colours were dark blue. They wore white shirts with blue stripes, while Cambridge wore white with a pink or scarlet sash. At the second race, in 1836, a blue ribbon was attached to the front of the Cambridge boat. A Full Blue is the highest honour that may be bestowed on a Cambridge athlete, in the 1860s the three senior sports — rowing, cricket and athletics — were awarding Blues, and the presidents of each formed an informal Blues Committee to oversee such awards. By 1880 a number of clubs involved in Varsity matches had successfully requested the right to award Half Blues. The criteria for awarding blues are different for men and women, Awards are made at the discretion of the mens and womens Blues Committees. The Mens Blues Committee is formed from one representative of each of the Full Blue sports, each committee meets to discuss issues relating to Cambridge sport. In some sports with Full Blue status, the varsity match second team is awarded Second Team Colours, the awarding of a Full Blue often requires a person to fulfill a number of requirements in the same academic year, particularly in sports with Discretionary Full Blue status. The individuals case must be presented to the Blues Committee in person and must be backed up by substantial evidence, the award is unlikely to be made unless the person is of world-class or at least international standard. Each sport has specific criteria for award, the general categorisation of mens and womens sports is laid out below. The winner of a Blue or Half Blue is entitled to wear a blues blazer, Full Blue blazers are completely coloured Cambridge Blue. Half Blue blazers have a number of different designs, depending on the wearers sport, there is a variety of other Blue and Half Blue paraphernalia, including scarves, ties, pullovers, bow ties, caps and squares. Such items are worn with pride, as of May 2011, the colour recognised officially by the University as Cambridge Blue actually has a slight green tint. In 2008 in Cambridge an alumna launched Oxbridge Blues Jewellery specifically for womens Blues and these are the only blues item to have been licensed by the University of Cambridge. Men holding Blues, Half Blues or Second Team Colours in a Full Blue sport are eligible to join the Hawks Club, women holding any of these awards are eligible to join The Ospreys, which was founded in 1985. At the University of Oxford, the committees for awarding Blues and Half-Blues work on much the same principles as the Cambridge committees
11.
Gary Waddock
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Gary Patrick Waddock is a former professional and international footballer who is the manager of National League club Aldershot Town. He formerly managed Queens Park Rangers, Aldershot, Wycombe Wanderers and Oxford United and he grew up in Alperton, a suburb of Wembley, and attended Alperton High School. During his playing career, Waddock appeared professionally for six different clubs and earned 21 international caps, Waddock was controversially omitted from the 1990 FIFA World Cup squad by Jack Charlton. He debuted for Queens Park Rangers in 1979 and went on to play 203 times and scored eight goals in the eight years. He left QPR for Charleroi in Belgium for three years between 1987 and 1989, making 40 appearances and scoring one goal, before returning to London with Millwall, in two years with Millwall, Waddock appeared 58 times and scored twice for the Lions. By 1991 he was back at QPR although he failed to make the first team, following on from his spell at Swindon, Waddock moved to Bristol Rovers in 1992, scoring one goal in 71 matches over the next three years. His swan song took place with Luton Town, in four years he made 153 appearances and scored his final three professional goals. During his time as manager, Ian Holloway took Waddock onto the staff at Loftus Road at the QPR academy. Waddock found himself the new manager at QPR following Holloways suspension on 6 February 2006. Waddock, along with Alan McDonald as his assistant, managed to keep the club in the Championship and he was appointed full-time manager on 28 June 2006 after Holloway was put on gardening leave and eventually left for Plymouth Argyle. On 20 September 2006, after a set of results had left QPR bottom of the table. He did, however, stay at the club as assistant manager and he was confirmed as the new manager of Conference side Aldershot Town on 19 May 2007. Waddock won his first trophy on 3 April 2008, when Aldershot Town beat Rushden & Diamonds 4–3 on penalties in the Conference League Cup. The Shots finished top of the Conference National with a record 101 points, the Shots ended the season on an 18-match undefeated run. In recognition of achievement, Waddock was named Conference manager of the year. Waddock was appointed manager of the League One side on 13 October 2009 as successor to the sacked Peter Taylor, despite a turn in form, and a large turnover of players towards the end of the season, Waddock was unable to prevent Wycombe Wanderers relegation to League Two. Waddock again added to his squad in the summer by signing Nikki Bull, Andy Sandell and Dave Winfield, at the start of 2011, he captured Scott Donnelly on a season long loan, who he previously managed at both Queens Park Rangers and Aldershot Town. Wycombe finished the 2010–11 season by being promoted back to League One after beating Southend United 3–1 at Adams Park in their game of the season
12.
AFC Wimbledon
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AFC Wimbledon is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Thames, Greater London, England. After the 2016 League Two play-offs, the club was promoted to League One of the English Football League and they play at Kingsmeadow, in Kingston upon Thames, a ground which is shared with Isthmian League club, Kingstonian. Wimbledon F. C. physically moved in 2003 and then changed the name of the club to Milton Keynes Dons in 2004. In its short history, the club has been successful, being promoted six times in 13 seasons. They also hold the distinction of being the first club formed in the 21st century to make it into the Football League, on 13 June 2002, a new manager, kit, crest and stadium were unveiled to fans and the media at the packed out Wimbledon Community Centre. The event attracted 230 hopeful players, from whom the clubs squad for their season was eventually chosen. The first ever game, a friendly against Sutton United on 10 July 2002. In 2003–04, AFC Wimbledon won their first 21 league games before a 2–2 draw against Sandhurst Town on 10 January 2004, assistant manager Nick English took charge with immediate effect. In spite of everything, the team went on to finish as champions of the Combined Counties League with a record for the season of 42 wins. AFC Wimbledon also won the leagues Premier Challenge Cup after beating North Greenford United 4–1 in the Final on 30 April 2004, Dave Anderson was appointed as new manager on 11 May 2004. The Dons secured another double by defeating Walton & Hersham 2–1 in the Final of the Surrey Senior Cup on 3 May 2005. Over the course of the season, AFC Wimbledon set a new record for the longest run of league games at any level of senior football in the United Kingdom. The team remained unbeaten for 78 league matches between 22 February 2003 and 4 December 2004, the 2005–06 season proved far more competitive than previous seasons – as after winning their first few games, AFC Wimbledon found themselves struggling to remain in the play-off places. After fluctuating form they eventually reached the play-offs after a 1–0 win against Andersons former club, however, a 2–1 defeat at Fisher Athletic on 2 May 2006 prevented the club from achieving three back-to-back promotions. The Dons once again reached the final of the Surrey Senior Cup, however, however, this punishment was eventually reduced to a three-point deduction and a £400 fine on appeal after the FA finally acknowledged that the club had made a simple administrative error. The Darlington affair also resulted in expulsion from the Surrey Senior Cup, although AFC Wimbledon did enough to qualify for the play-offs, they once again missed out on promotion, this time as a result of losing 1–0 to Bromley in the play-off semi-final on 1 May 2007. Manager Dave Anderson subsequently left the club by mutual consent on 2 May 2007, Terry Brown was appointed as the new AFC Wimbledon manager on 15 May 2007. The Dons made steady progress throughout the season, qualifying for the play-offs after finishing third in the League, AFC Wimbledon beat AFC Hornchurch 3–1 in the play-off semi-final on 29 April 2008 and went on to triumph 2–1 over Staines Town in the play-off final on 3 May 2008
13.
History of Wycombe Wanderers F.C.
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The history of Wycombe Wanderers F. C. covers the full history of the club from its formation to the last completed season. The exact details of the formation of Wycombe Wanderers F. C. has largely been lost to history, four histories have been published, Ted Rolphs in 1957, Steve Daglishs in 1984, John Goldsworthys in 1990 and Steve Peart and Dave Finchs in 1996. These are the sources, in addition to the local newspaper the Bucks Free Press which detail the formation of the club. Ted Rolphs notes of a conversation with John Randell, Wycombe Wanderers first ever goalkeeper, only published in 1996, John Randell explains that a group of young lads from Wheelers Field, an area to the north of High Wycombe, started a team to play matches in 1884. This team was called North Town Wanderers, in 1887, a meeting was called by Jim Ray, backed by Datchet Webb at the Steam Engine Public House in Station Road, High Wycombe. The first item on the agenda was the name of the club, the name North Town Wanderers was proposed by Noel Curtis but John Randell proposed the name Wycombe Wanderers, on the grounds that some of the players lived in other parts of the town. After a heated discussion the name Wycombe Wanderers was agreed, the meeting also resulted in the appointments of Brewers Drayman Billy Dimmock as Chairman, Datchet Webb as Captain, George Cook as treasurer and Jim Ray as Secretary. It is highly likely the club was named Wanderers after the famous Wanderers F. C. winners of the first F. A. Cup in 1872, who visited the town on 15 December 1877 and defeated High Wycombe 9–0 en route to their fifth and final F. A. The varsity colours of Oxford and Cambridge blue were chosen, although the club had no direct connection with the Universities. The meeting also saw the club apply and gain status and began its inaugural season playing friendly matches. The clubs first ever game was a draw against the Wycombe Nose Club on 24 September 1887. In 1889–1890 the club decided to enter, in great secrecy. The reserves were entered as Wycombe Wanderers whilst the first team adopted the name Wild West and they beat High Wycombe 2–0 in the final in a second replay, after the first two matches ended one-each. Jim Ray and Edward Crook scored the goals to secure the first much coveted trophy for the club, the early years saw the club change its headquarters, using a number of public houses close to the Rye. In addition to the Steam Engine, they included the Masons Arms, the Rye was, and still is today, a long stretch of public land to the east of the town centre. In 1891 the club secured the use of the Cricket Ground for a Junior Cup tie and this enabled the club to charge spectators and keep out the rowdy element which afflicted all football at the time. The following season saw the use the cricket ground on a regular basis
14.
FA Cup
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The FA Cup, known officially as The Football Association Challenge Cup, is an annual knockout association football competition in mens domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest association football competition in the world and it is organised by and named after The Football Association. For sponsorship reasons, from 2015 through to 2018 it is known as The Emirates FA Cup. A concurrent womens tournament is held, the FA Womens Cup. A record 763 clubs competed in 2011–12, the tournament consists of 12 randomly drawn rounds followed by the semi-finals and the final. The last entrants are the Premier League and Championship clubs, into the draw for the Third Round Proper, in the modern era, only one non-league team has ever reached the quarter finals, and teams below Level 2 have never reached the final. As a result, as well as who wins, significant focus is given to those minnows who progress furthest, especially if they achieve an unlikely giant-killing victory. Winners receive the FA Cup trophy, of which there have two designs and five actual cups, the latest is a 2014 replica of the second design. Winners also qualify for European football and a place in the FA Community Shield match, in 1863, the newly founded Football Association published the Laws of the Game of Association Football, unifying the various different rules in use before then. On 20 July 1871, in the offices of The Sportsman newspaper, the inaugural FA Cup tournament kicked off in November 1871. After thirteen games in all, Wanderers were crowned the winners in the final, Wanderers retained the trophy the following year. The modern cup was beginning to be established by the 1888–89 season, following the 1914–15 edition, the competition was suspended due to the First World War, and did not resume until 1919–20. The 1922–23 competition saw the first final to be played in the newly opened Wembley Stadium, due to the outbreak of World War II, the competition was not played between the 1938–39 and 1945–46 editions. Having previously featured replays, the modern day practice of ensuring the semi-final and final matches finish on the day, was introduced from 2000 onwards. Redevelopment of Wembley saw the final played outside of England for the first time, the final returned to Wembley in 2007, followed by the semi-finals from 2008. The competition is open to any club down to Level 10 of the English football league system which meets the eligibility criteria, all clubs in the top four levels are automatically eligible. Clubs in the six levels are also eligible provided they have played in either the FA Cup. Newly formed clubs, such as F. C. United of Manchester in 2005–06 and also 2006–07, all clubs entering the competition must also have a suitable stadium
15.
FA Amateur Cup
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The FA Amateur Cup was an English football competition for amateur clubs. It commenced in 1893 and ended in 1974 when The Football Association abolished official amateur status, following the legalisation of professionalism within football, professional teams quickly came to dominate the sports main national knock-out tournament, the FA Cup. The Football Association declined the offer, but a year later decided to organise just such a competition. The entrants included 12 clubs representing the old boys of leading schools, and Old Carthusians. The old boy teams competed in the Amateur Cup until 1902, when disputes with the FA led to the formation of the Arthur Dunn Cup, the 1973-74 competition was the last, as the FA abolished the distinction between professional and amateur clubs. The strongest amateur teams instead entered the FA Trophy, which had set up five years earlier to cater for those teams outside The Football League which were professional rather than amateur. A new competition, the FA Vase, was set up to cater for the amateur clubs. The first tournament attracted 81 entrants, with three qualifying rounds used to reduce the number down to 32 for the first round proper. This remained the format until 1907, when the number of entrants to the first round was doubled to 64. The competition continued under this format until it was discontinued in 1974, matches in the Amateur Cup were played at the home ground of one of the two teams, as decided when the matches are drawn. Occasionally games were moved to other grounds, in the event of a draw, the replay was played at the ground of the team who originally played away from home. The second replay, and any further replays, were played at neutral grounds. The final was held at grounds in the early years of the competition. A few years after the Second World War the final moved to Wembley Stadium, in the 1950s attendances for the final reached 100,000, comparable to the FA Cup final itself. Amateur Cup winners who later turned professional and gained entry to The Football League include Middlesbrough, West Hartlepool, Wimbledon, Wycombe Wanderers, thirty-six different clubs won the cup. In A Class of Their Own, A History of English Amateur Football
16.
Loakes Park
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Loakes Park was the home of Wycombe Wanderers Football Club from 1895 to 1990. It was located next to Wycombe General Hospital in the centre of High Wycombe, the ground was donated to the club by Frank Adams, a former Wanderers player who had bought the freehold on the ground from Lord Carrington in 1945. The clubs present ground, Adams Park, was named in honour of Frank Adams, the most famous feature of the ground was the 11-foot slope of the pitch, downhill from the main seated stand. The record attendance was 15,850 for an FA Amateur Cup Fourth Round tie on Saturday 25 February 1950 and it remains to this day the highest attendance for a Wycombe Wanderers home fixture. Arguably the most memorable match to be played at Loakes Park was in the FA Cup Third Round on Saturday 4 January 1975, at the time, Middlesbrough were near the top of the old Football League First Division, and Wycombe held them to a 0-0 draw. The game was watched by 12,000 people, during the final season at Loakes Park, 1989-90, Wycombe Wanderers were still playing in the GM Vauxhall Conference. Three years later won promotion to the Football League. The site of Loakes Park was redeveloped, partly as extra car parking for the nearby hospital, when the club moved to its new Adams Park ground, the original gates from Loakes Park were transferred to the new stadium. Loakes Park became the home of Wycombe Wanderers when their previous ground, Spring Meadow, was sold, an approach was made to Lord Carrington, owner of the estate which included Loakes Park, for permission to play football there. Permission was granted, with the first match taking place on Saturday 7 September 1895 against Park Grove. This was completed in time for the 1990/91 season, and was named Adams Park in honour of Frank Adams, who had purchased the freehold of Loakes Park and donated to the club in 1945
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Southern Football League
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Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English football league system. The structure of the Southern League has changed several times since its formation in 1894, the Premier Division is at step 3 of the National League System, and is a feeder division, mainly to the National League South but also to the National League North. Feeding the Premier Division are two divisions, Division One South & West and Division One Central, which are at step 4 of the NLS. These divisions are in turn fed by various regional leagues, professional football developed more slowly in Southern England than in Northern England. Additionally, a league, the Southern Alliance was founded in 1892, with seven clubs from the region. Nonetheless, another attempt was made to form the Southern League, a competition for both professional and amateur clubs was founded in 1894 under the initiative of Millwall Athletic. Initially only one division was envisaged, but such was the enthusiasm, the sixteen founder members were, 2nd Scots Guards withdrew before the first season started and were replaced by Southampton St Marys. Woolwich Arsenal attempted to add their reserve side to the second division, the Southern League soon became the dominant competition below The Football League in Southern and Central England. By the turn of the century a few of the Southern League sides began to rival the Football League in the FA Cup, Two Southern League clubs, Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur reached the final of the FA Cup around the turn of the century. Tottenham Hotspur are the club from below the 2nd level of English football to have won the FA Cup. The champions of the two leagues during this period met in the annual Charity Shield, in 1907, it accepted Bradford Park Avenue, a northern club, as a member, reflecting its senior position at the time. In 1920, virtually the top division of the Southern League was absorbed by the Football League to become that leagues new Third Division. A year later the Third Division was expanded and regionalised, the Third Division clubs from the previous season became the Third Division South, with the addition of the Third Division North. Of the original members, six – Gillingham, Luton Town, Millwall, Reading. For the next six decades, the Football League and Southern League would exchange a number of clubs as a result of the older leagues re-election process. From 1920 onward, the Southern Leagues status as a league was firmly established. In turn, the APL would eventually succeed in becoming a feeder to the Football League, the league lost more of its top clubs in 2004 when the Conference added two regional divisions below the existing National League, the Conference South and Conference North. The first sponsor of the Southern League was Beazer Homes who sponsored the league from 1987–96, the sponsors after Beazer Homes to the present day are, Dr Martens, British Gas, Zamaretto, Evo-Stik, Calor Gas, and Evo-Stik
18.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
19.
Isthmian League
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The Isthmian League is a regional mens football league covering London, East and South East England featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. It is sponsored by Ryman, and therefore known as the Ryman League. It was founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area and it now consists of 72 teams in three divisions, the Premier Division above its two feeder divisions, Division One North and Division One South. Together with the Southern League and the Northern Premier League, it forms the seventh and eighth levels of the English football league system and it has various regional feeder leagues and the league as a whole is a feeder league mainly to the National League South. Before the Isthmian League was formed, there were no leagues in which amateur clubs could compete, therefore, a meeting took place between representatives of Casuals, Civil Service, Clapton, Ealing Association, Ilford and London Caledonians to discuss the creation of a strong amateur league. All the clubs supported the idea and the Isthmian League was born on 8 March 1905, membership to the league was through invitation only. The league was strongly dedicated to amateurism, the champions did not even receive a trophy or medals, teams less able to compete financially thus gravitated to it rather than the Southern League, while those with ambition and money would move in the opposite direction. By 1922 the league had fourteen clubs and over the five decades, only a few new members were admitted. Most new Isthmian League members joined from the Athenian League, which was dedicated to amateurism. The league began to admit professionalism in the 1970s, a second division of sixteen clubs was formed in 1973 and a third division followed in 1977. The reward of promotion into the Conference means that, since 1985, the Athenian League disbanded in 1984 when the Isthmian League Second Division split into North and South Divisions. These were restructured again to Second and Third Divisions in 1991, in 2002, the league was restructured again, with the First and Second Divisions merging to become Division One North and Division One South, and the Third Division being renamed as Division Two. In 2004, The Football Association pushed through a restructuring of the non-league National League System. The Isthmian League was reduced back down to three divisions, and its boundaries were changed to remove the overlap with the Southern League, in 2006, further reorganisation saw a reversion to two regional Division Ones and the disbandment of Division Two. This current plan calls for clubs based on the edges of the Isthmian Leagues territory to transfer to, One team, Clapton, had been ever-present in the Isthmian League since its foundation, but they moved to the Essex Senior League for the 2006–07 season. Dulwich Hamlet, who joined the league in 1907, are currently its longest serving member, for the 1973–74 season, the Second Division was added. For the 1977–78 season, the Premier Division was added, for the 1984–85 season, the Second Division was reorganised into North and South regions. For the 1991–92 season, the regional Second Divisions were merged, at the end of the 1994–95 season, Enfield were denied promotion to the Conference
20.
Hayes F.C.
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Hayes Football Club was an English association football club based in Hayes, Greater London. The club started out as Botwell Mission in 1909, adopting the name Hayes F. C. in 1929, the team nickname, The Missioners, was a salute to the history of the team. The club played in the Conference South for their last few seasons in existence and their home stadium was Church Road which seated 500 with a total capacity of 6,500. The team was recognised by their red and white striped shirt, wordsworth had been unable to emulate the success of his predecessor, the highly regarded Terry Brown, who left to take a vacancy at Aldershot Town in 2002. Hayes merged with Yeading F. C. on 18 May 2007 to form the new club Hayes & Yeading United, Hayes were formed in 1909 by Eileen Shackle, who wished to create a club to encourage boys to participate in sport as well as encourage their religious convictions. Their original name, Botwell Mission, derived from the fact that changed at the small mission church. The club was runner-up in the FA Amateur Cup to Wycombe Wanderers in 1931, approximately 32,000 watched Hayes succumb to a late goal at Highbury. After winning the Isthmian League in 1996, Hayes had a stint in the Conference National. They reached their highest league-finish in 1999, ending the season just seven points away from promotion to the Football League, Hayes reached the FA Cup second-round on four occasions, in the FA Trophy they reached the quarter-finals twice. The club claimed some respectable cup triumphs, among the most noteworthy being those against Fulham, Bristol Rovers, in 1999 they missed out on a lucrative third-round tie with Chelsea after defeat in extra time to Hull City. An FA Cup tie against Reading in 1972 brought Missioners player Robin Friday to the attention of a wider public, Friday was voted Reading and Cardiff Citys Cult Hero on the BBCs Football Focus
21.
Highbury Stadium
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Arsenal Stadium was a football stadium in Highbury, North London, which was the home ground of Arsenal Football Club between 6 September 1913 and 7 May 2006. It was mainly known as the Highbury Stadium due to its location and was given the nickname of the Home of Football by the club. It was originally built in 1913 on the site of a local recreation ground and was significantly redeveloped twice. The first reconstruction came in the 1930s from which the Art Deco East and West Stands date, the stadium also hosted international matches – both for England and in the 1948 Summer Olympics – and FA Cup semi-finals, as well as boxing, baseball and cricket matches. Its presence also led to the local London Underground station being renamed to Arsenal in 1932, making it the only station on the Underground network to be named after a football club. The lease negotiation also agreed that no matches were to be played on days and that no intoxicating liquor would be sold at the stadium, however. The stadium was built over the summer of that year. It featured a single stand on the side and the other three sides had banked terracing. It opened whilst not fully complete, with Arsenals first match of the 1913–14 season, leicesters Tommy Benfield scored the first goal at the new ground while George Jobey was the first Arsenal player to do so. Highbury hosted its first England match in 1920, the Australian rugby league team suffered the first loss of their 1921–22 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain at Highbury to an English side 4 points to 5 before approximately 12,000 spectators. Arsenal bought the site outright in 1925, for £64,000. No significant portion of Leitchs original stadium remains today following a series of bold redevelopments during the 1930s, the idea was to create a ground for London that could capture the grandeur of Villa Park, home of Birmingham club Aston Villa. On 5 November the same year the local Tube station was renamed from Gillespie Road to Arsenal, Leitchs main stand was demolished to make way for a new East Stand, matching the West, in 1936. The West Stand cost £45,000 while the East Stand went far over budget and ended up costing £130,000, the North Bank terrace was given a roof and the southern terrace had a clock fitted to its front, giving it the name the Clock End. During the 1948 Summer Olympics, the hosted the football preliminaries. For the next 50 years, the stadium changed little, although during the Second World War the North Bank terrace was bombed and had to be rebuilt, the roof was not restored until 1956. Floodlights were fitted in 1951, with the first floodlit match being a friendly against Hapoel Tel Aviv on 19 September of that year, the floodlights that adorn Dalymount Park, once stood at the Arsenal stadium. They were shipped to Dublin in 1962, the inaugural floodlit match saw Arsenal beat Bohemians 3–8
22.
Arsenal F.C.
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Arsenal Football Club is a professional football club based in Highbury, London, that plays in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The club has won 13 League titles,12 FA Cups, Arsenal was the first club from the South of England to join The Football League, in 1893. They entered the First Division in 1904, and have accumulated the second most points. Relegated only once, in 1913, they continue the longest streak in the top division, in the 1930s, Arsenal won five League Championships and two FA Cups, and another FA Cup and two Championships after the war. In 1970–71, they won their first League and FA Cup Double, between 1989 and 2005, they won five League titles and five FA Cups, including two more Doubles. They completed the 20th century with the highest average league position, Herbert Chapman won Arsenals first national trophies, but died prematurely. He helped introduce the WM formation, floodlights, and shirt numbers, Arsène Wenger has been the longest-serving manager and has won the most trophies. His teams set several English records, the longest win streak, the longest unbeaten run, in 1886, Woolwich munitions workers founded the club as Dial Square. In 1913, the crossed the city to Arsenal Stadium in Highbury. They became Tottenham Hotspurs nearest club, commencing the North London derby, in 2006, they moved down the road to the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal earned €435. 5m in 2014–15, with the Emirates Stadium generating the highest revenue in world football, based on social media activity from 2014–15, Arsenals fanbase is the fifth largest in the world. In 2016, Forbes estimated the club was the second most valuable in England, on 1 December 1886, munitions workers in Woolwich, now South East London, formed Arsenal as Dial Square, with David Danskin as their first captain. Named after the heart of the Royal Arsenal complex, they took the name of the complex a month later. Royal Arsenal F. C. s first home was Plumstead Common, though spent most of their time in South East London playing on the other side of Plumstead. Royal Arsenal won Arsenals first trophies in 1890 and 1891, Royal Arsenal renamed themselves for a second time upon becoming a limited liability company in 1893. They registered their new name, Woolwich Arsenal, with The Football League when the club ascended later that year, Woolwich Arsenal was the first southern member of The Football League, starting out in the Second Division and winning promotion to the First Division in 1904. Falling attendances, due to financial difficulties among the munitions workers, businessmen Henry Norris and William Hall took the club over, and sought to move them elsewhere. In 1913, soon after relegation back to the Second Division, Woolwich Arsenal moved to the new Arsenal Stadium in Highbury and this saw their third change of name, the following year, they reduced Woolwich Arsenal to simply The Arsenal
23.
Gillingham F.C.
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Gillingham Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent, England. The only Kent-based club in the Football League, the Gills play their matches at the Priestfield Stadium. The team compete in League One, the tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1893 and joined the Football League in 1920 and they were voted out of the league in favour of Ipswich Town at the end of the 1937–38 season, but returned to it 12 years later after it was expanded from 88 to 92 clubs. Twice in the late 1980s they came close to winning promotion to the tier of English football. The local success of a football side, Chatham Excelsior F. C. encouraged a group of businessmen to meet with a view to creating a football club which could compete in larger competitions. New Brompton F. C. was formed at the meeting, the founders also purchased the plot of land which later became Priestfield Stadium. The new club played its first match on 2 September 1893, New Brompton were among the founder members of the Southern League upon its creation in 1894, and were placed in Division Two. They were named Champions in the first season going on to defeat Swindon Town in a test match to win promotion, in the seasons that followed, the club struggled in Division One, finishing bottom in the 1907–08 season, avoiding relegation only due to expansion of the league. In 1938 the team finished bottom of the Third Division and were required to apply for re-election for the time since joining the league. This bid for re-election failed, with Gillingham returning to the Southern League, Gillingham quickly established themselves as one of the stronger sides in the league, winning a local double of the Kent League and Kent Senior Cup in the 1945–46 season. In the 1946–47 season the team won both the Southern League Cup and the Southern League championship, during which they recorded a club record 12–1 victory over Gloucester City, the Gills also won the league title in 1948–49. The team spent eight seasons in Division Three before the restructuring of the system for the 1958–59 season saw them placed in the newly created Fourth Division. They remained in this division until 1964, when manager Freddie Cox led them to promotion, the team finished the season level on 60 points with Carlisle United, but with a fractionally better goal average, which was the tightest league title finish in Football League history. After relegation back to the Fourth Division in 1970–71, the Gills were soon promoted back to the Third Division in the 1973–74 season. During this period the club produced future stars Steve Bruce and Tony Cascarino, in 1987, the Gills hit the headlines when, on consecutive Saturdays, they beat Southend United 8–1 and Chesterfield 10–0, the latter a club record for a Football League match. Just a few later, however, manager Keith Peacock was controversially sacked. The ensuing spell in the division brought little success
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World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
25.
Wembley Stadium (1923)
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The Original Wembley Stadium was a football stadium located in Wembley Park, London. It stood on the now occupied by its successor, the new Wembley Stadium. The great Brazilian footballer Pelé once said of the stadium, Wembley is the cathedral of football and it is the capital of football and it is the heart of football in recognition of its status as the worlds best-known football stadium. It also hosted music events, including the 1985 Live Aid charity concert. The twin towers were an icon for England and Wembley, debris from the Original Wembley Stadium was used to make the award-winning Northala Fields in Northolt, Ealing. The stadiums first turf was cut by King George V, much of Humphrey Reptons original Wembley Park landscape was transformed in 1922–23 during preparations for the British Empire Exhibition of 1924–25. First known as the British Empire Exhibition Stadium or simply Empire Stadium, the stadium cost £750,000, and was constructed on the site of an earlier folly called Watkins Tower. The architects were Sir John Simpson and Maxwell Ayrton and the Head Engineer Sir Owen Williams, the stadium had gone into liquidation, after it was pronounced financially unviable. Elvin offered to buy the stadium for £127,000, using a £12,000 downpayment and they then immediately bought it back from Elvin, leaving him with a healthy profit. Instead of cash he received shares, which gave him the largest stake in Wembley Stadium, the electric scoreboard and the all-encircling roof, made from aluminium and translucent glass, were added in 1963. The stadiums distinctive Twin Towers became its trademark and nickname, also well known were the 39 steps needed to be climbed to reach the Royal box and collect a trophy. Wembley was the first pitch to be referred to as Hallowed Turf, in 1934, the Empire Pool was built nearby. The Wembley Stadium Collection is held by the National Football Museum, the stadium closed in October 2000, and demolition commenced in December 2002, completing in 2003 for redevelopment. The top of one of the towers was erected as a memorial in the park on the north side of Overton Close in the Saint Raphaels Estate. Wembley is best known for hosting football matches, having hosted the FA Cup Final annually as well as numerous England International fixtures, the Empire Stadium was built in exactly 300 days at the cost of £750,000. Described as the worlds greatest sporting arena, it was ready only 4 days before the White Horse Final in 1923, the FA had not considered admission by ticket, grossly underestimating the number of fans who arrived at the 104 gates on match day. However, after the game, every event, apart from the 1982 replay, was ticketed, the first event held at the stadium was the FA Cup Final on 28 April 1923 between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United. This is known as the White Horse Final, the crowds overflowed onto the pitch as there was no room on the terraces
26.
Bishop Auckland F.C.
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Bishop Auckland Football Club is a football club based in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, England. They are one of the most successful sides, having won the FA Amateur Cup ten times. Nicknamed The Bishops or The Two Blues, they are rivals with West Auckland Town, the club are currently members of the Northern League Division One and play at Heritage Park. The founding students chose Cambridge and Oxford Blue as the colours to reflect the origins of the new team. A later dispute caused a breakaway team called Auckland Town in 1886, in 1889 Auckland Town were one of the 10 founding members of the Worlds second-oldest football league – the Northern League. The inaugural season was uneventful with the team finishing 8th with the leagues first winners being St. Augustines. Between the years of 1891 and 1893 the team never participated in league football, the team name was changed in 1893 to Bishop Auckland and it was under this name that the football club rejoined the Northern League. The following two seasons under the new name were again uneventful as the finished third bottom on both occasions. During the 1895–96 season Bishop Auckland won their first silverware on a national scale – the Amateur Cup – defeating Royal Artillery Portsmouth 8–0 in the final. Over the following few seasons the team improved their league position. It was also during 1899 that Bishop Auckland picked up their second Durham County Challenge Cup, after the war, Bishop Auckland picked up where they left off finishing as league runners-up to South Bank in 1919–20, winning the following season and runners-up again the following two seasons. During this time the Amateur Cup was added twice more with wins over Swindon Victoria, the next honour was won nearly a decade later when the league championship was added in 1931 along the Durham County Challenge Cup. In 1935 the Amateur Cup final was reached again with Wimbledon being defeated 2–1 in a replay after the tie finished goalless after extra time. The Bishops had perhaps their best-ever season in 1938–39 when they completed a treble, future Liverpool player and manager Bob Paisley played at right-back in the team which won the Northern League title, the Durham County Challenge Cup and the FA Amateur Cup. The Amateur Cup final was played in Durham at Roker Park where the Bishops defeated Wellington 3–0 after extra time, following WWII, Bishop Auckland reached the Amateur Cup final for the eleventh time but went down 3–2 against Barnet. The following season, 1946–47, another Northern League title was added with Crook Colliery Welfare runners-up, the team were runners-up the following two seasons, to Ferryhill Athletic and Evenwood Town respectively. The 1950s were to be Bishop Aucklands best with the Northern League title won in the first three seasons with Billingham Synthonia being the runners-up on each occasion. Bishop and Willington both reached the final of the Amateur Cup in 1950, Willington producing a shock to triumph 4–0 over their more glamorous neighbours, the following season the Amateur Cup final was reached again
27.
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
28.
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
29.
Norwich City F.C.
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Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club currently plays in the Championship, the tier of English football. They were first promoted to the top flight in 1972, Norwich have won the League Cup twice, in 1962 and 1985. The club has never won the top flight, but finished third in 1993, the club was founded in 1902. The fans song On the Ball, City is regarded as being the oldest football song in the world which is still in use, the club plays in characteristic yellow and green kits and are nicknamed The Canaries after the history of breeding the birds in the area. They joined the Norfolk & Suffolk League for the 1902–03 season, but following a FA Commission, the club was ousted from the amateur game in 1905, deemed a professional organisation. Later that year Norwich were elected to play in the Southern League and with increasing crowds, they were forced to leave Newmarket Road in 1908, moving to The Nest, a disused chalk pit. During the First World War, with football suspended and facing spiralling debts, the club was officially reformed on 15 February 1919 – a key figure in the events was Charles Frederick Watling, future Lord Mayor of Norwich and the father of future club chairman, Geoffrey Watling. When, in May 1920, the Football League formed a third Division and their first league fixture, against Plymouth Argyle, on 28 August 1920, ended in a 1–1 draw. The club went on to endure a mediocre decade, finishing no higher than eighth, the inaugural match, held on 31 August 1935, against West Ham United, ended in a 4–3 victory to the home team and set a new record attendance of 29,779. The biggest highlight of the four seasons was the visit of King George VI to Carrow Road on 29 October 1938. However, the club was relegated to the Third Division at the end of the season, the league was suspended the following season as a result of the outbreak of the Second World War and did not resume until the 1946–47 season. City finished this and the season in 21st place, the poor results forcing the club to apply for re-election to the league. The 1958–59 season saw Norwich reach the semi-final of the FA Cup as a Third Division side, in the 1959–60 season, Norwich were promoted to the Second Division after finishing second to Southampton, and achieved a fourth-place finish in the 1960–61 season. In 1962 Ron Ashman guided Norwich to their first trophy, defeating Rochdale 4–0 on aggregate in a final to win the League Cup. They made their first appearance at Wembley Stadium in 1973, losing the League Cup final 1–0 to Tottenham Hotspur. Relegation to the Second Division in 1974 came after Saunders had departed and been succeeded by John Bond, a highly successful first season saw promotion back to the First Division and another visit to Wembley, again in the League Cup final, this time losing 1–0 to Aston Villa. Bond departed to Manchester City in the autumn of 1980 and the club were relegated six months later, Norwich had also been the beneficiaries of one of English footballs first million-pound transfers when they sold striker Justin Fashanu to Nottingham Forest in August 1981
30.
Hendon F.C.
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Hendon Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in West Hendon in the London Borough of Brent. The club is competing in the Ryman Isthmian Football League Premier Division. After three seasons ground-sharing at Harrow Borough F. C. ’s Earlsmead Stadium in South Harrow, Hendon began season 2016-17 at a new stadium, Silver Jubilee Park in West Hendon. Prior to the founding of the present club, there was a club with the same name which appeared in the FA Cup between 1877 and 1887. One of the clubs players, Charles Plumpton Wilson made two appearances for England in 1884. At the start of the 1909–10 season the club were renamed Hampstead Town and they also won Division Two at the first attempt, earning promotion to the First Division, which they won in 1911–12. The club then joined the London League and Middlesex League, before being elected to the Athenian League in 1914, however, the 1914–15 season was postponed due to World War I. In 1926 the club was renamed Hampstead, before becoming Golders Green in 1933, in 1946 the club adopted its current name. In 1952–53 the club won its first Athenian League title, in 1954–55 they reached the final of the FA Amateur Cup, losing 2–0 to Bishop Auckland. They went on to win the Athenian League title again in 1955–56, a third Athenian League title was achieved in 1960–61. In 1963 the club switched to the Isthmian League, and have remained in the division since. In 1964–65 the club won the Isthmian League and Amateur Cup double and they reached the final of the Cup again the following season, but lost 3–1 to Wealdstone. After winning their third Amateur Cup with a 2–0 win against Enfield in 1971–72, the following season they reached the third round of the FA Cup, where they drew Newcastle United. After holding Newcastle to a 1–1 draw at St James Park, in 1975–76 the club defeated a Football League club for the first time, beating Reading 1–0 in the first round, before losing to Swindon Town in the second round. At the end of the 2005–06 season the finished in the relegation zone. In 2008–09 the club left its Claremont Road ground, initially groundsharing at nearby non-League clubs, over the summer of 2010, the club was bought out by the Hendon FC Supporters Trust, an Industrial and Provident Society. Until 26 September 2009, Hendon played in the suburb of Cricklewood, within the London Borough of Barnet, at a ground known by the local road name. The ground was opened on 18 September 1926 before an FA Cup tie with Berkhamsted
31.
Griffin Park
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Griffin Park is a football ground in Brentford, situated in the London Borough of Hounslow, west London. It has been the ground of Championship side Brentford since it was built in 1904. The ground is situated in a residential area and is known for being the only English league football ground to have a pub on each corner. The ground gets its name from the griffin, featured in the logo of Fullers Brewery, between forming in 1889 and prior to 1904, Brentford played at five grounds around Ealing – Clifden Road, Benns Field, Shotters Field, Cross Road and Boston Park Cricket Ground. After a gypsy camp was removed from the site, work began on building the ground in January 1904, the orchard was cut down by local volunteers, who were allowed to keep the wood. The ground was built with a 20,000 capacity in mind, with a provision for an increase to 30. An 800-capacity stand from Boston Park was rebuilt alongside the Braemar Road side of the ground, beneath and behind the stand were three dressing rooms, a number of offices and a recreation room. The ground was named Griffin Park after a pub, The Griffin. After a number of games, Griffin Park was opened on 1 September 1904. Season tickets for the 1904–05 season sold out, the first competitive match to be played at Griffin Park was a Western League fixture versus Plymouth Argyle on 1 September 1904. The Braemar Road grandstand had been completed by the time of the fixture, but as the rooms were not ready. The borough surveyor also declared the grandstand unsafe and banned its use until improvements had been made, Argyle scored the first competitive goal at the ground through Fred Buck, but four minutes from the final whistle, Tommy Shanks converted a James Swarbrick cross to secure a 1–1 draw. The attendance was estimated at between 4,000 and 5,000, the first truly first team fixture to be played at the ground was a Southern League First Division match on 3 September 1904, which yielded a 0–0 draw between Brentford and West Ham United. The Bees would have to wait until 22 October 1904 for their first victory at the ground, the first Football League match to be played at the ground was on the opening day of the 1920–21 season, a 3–0 Third Division defeat to Exeter City. Unlike the old grandstand, the new stand ran the length of the pitch, after the season, it was announced that Griffin Park would be completely redeveloped over the following decade. Concrete terracing was installed at the Ealing Road end of the ground in 1930. A new stand was constructed at the Brook Road end of the ground in the 1933 off-season, a further extension to the terracing and a roof was added prior to Brentfords debut First Division season in 1935–36, taking the New Road stands capacity to 20,000. Little development occurred at Griffin Park between the mid-1930s, and the mid-1980s, the frontage of the Braemar Road stand was rebuilt in 1963, adding club offices and a club room
32.
Brentford
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It has formed part of Greater London since 1965. Brentford has a shopping and dining venue grid of streets at its centre. The name is recorded as Breguntford in 705 in an Anglo-Saxon charter, the name of the river is Celtic and means holy one and the -ford suffix is Old English. The ford was most likely located where the road crossed the river. New Brentford is recorded as Newe Braynford in 1521 and was known as Westbraynford. Old Brentford is recorded as Old Braynford in 1476 and was known as Estbraynford. The settlement pre-dates the Roman occupation of Britain, and thus pre-dates the founding of London itself, many pre-Roman artifacts have been excavated in and around the area in Brentford known as Old England. Bronze Age pottery and burnt flints have been found in sites in Brentford. The quality and quantity of the artefacts suggests that Brentford was a point for pre-Romanic tribes. The Celtic knot pattern on this item has been copied for use on modern jewellery, Brentford is the first point which was easily fordable by foot on the tidal portion of the River Thames. Partly for this reason it has suggested that Julius Cæsar crossed the Thames here during his invasion of Britain in 54 BC. In his own account, he writes that he crossed the river 80 miles from the sea and he further states that the river bank was protected by sharp stakes. During the building of Brentford Dock many such oak stakes were discovered, dredging the river uncovered so many more that they had to be removed, for they were a hazard to navigation. Although his descriptions are compelling, there is as yet, no proof that this was indeed the spot where he. It must also be kept in mind that Julius Cæsars own accounts suffered in some part, there are, however, two other historically accredited battles of Brentford in 1016 and 1642. A local town fair, called the Brentford Festival, has held in Brentford every September since 1900. The building of Brentford Dock was started in 1855 and it was opened in 1859. The dock yard is now a Marina and housing estate, a notable family from Brentford was the 18th/19th century architectural father and son partnership, the Hardwicks
33.
Middlesbrough F.C.
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Middlesbrough Football Club is a professional association football club based in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since 1995 and they played at the Linthorpe Road ground from 1882 to 1903 and at Ayresome Park for 92 years, from 1903 to 1995. They were one of the members of the Premier League in 1992. The clubs main rivals are Sunderland and Newcastle United, there is also a rivalry with fellow Yorkshire club Leeds United. The clubs highest league finish to date was third in the 1913–14 season, the club came close to folding in 1986 after experiencing severe financial difficulties before it was saved by a consortium led by then board member and later chairman Steve Gibson. Middlesbrough were deducted three points for failing to fulfil a fixture against Blackburn Rovers in the 1996–97 Premier League season and they were promoted the following season and spent 11 seasons in the top division before being relegated again in 2009. Middlesbrough won the League Cup in 2004, the clubs first and they reached the 2006 UEFA Cup Final, but were beaten by Spanish side Sevilla. After seven years in the Championship, Middlesbrough secured promotion to the Premier League in 2016 after finishing in second place, the clubs traditional kit is red with white detailing. The various crests throughout the history, the most recent of which was adopted in 2007. They won the FA Amateur Cup in 1895 and again in 1898, the club turned professional in 1889, but reverted to amateur status in 1892. They turned professional permanently in 1899, after three seasons, they won promotion to the First Division, where they would remain for the next 22 years. In 1903, the moved to Ayresome Park, their home for the next 92 years. In 1905, the club sanctioned the transfer of Alf Common for £1,000, over the next few years, their form fluctuated greatly, rising to sixth in 1907–08 before dropping to 17th two seasons later. The club rose to their highest league finish to date, third, World War I soon intervened and football was suspended. Before league football resumed, Middlesbrough won the Northern Victory League and they remained in the First Division for the next few seasons, but were relegated in 1923–24 after finishing bottom, ten points adrift of their nearest rivals. Three seasons later, they won the Division Two title, during that season, debutant George Camsell, who had signed from Third Division North side Durham City the previous season, finished with a record 59 league goals, which included nine hat-tricks. He would continue as top scorer for each of the ten seasons. Their tenure back in the top flight lasted one season
34.
Ayresome Park
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Middlesbrough had previously played at Linthorpe Road West cricket ground, but election to the Football League meant that an improved stadium was required. Ayresome Park was built at Paradise Field, adjacent to the old Paradise Ground of Middlesbrough Ironopolis, the highest attendance at the ground was set on 27 December 1949, when Middlesbrough played their North East rivals Newcastle United. Ayresome Park was also one of the venues for the 1966 FIFA World Cup, three games were played at the ground, involving the Soviet Union, North Korea, Italy and Chile. North Korea famously beat Italy 1–0 at the ground, to out of the World Cup one of the most powerful footballing nations. However, the attendances at Ayresome Park were among the lowest in the entire tournament, however, they were soon back at Ayresome Park after a takeover deal saved the club. Despite this crisis, a £1.2 million sports centre was opened at the stadium on 3 March 1986 after a delay caused by fire. It was also a fine first season in management for the new manager Bryan Robson. John Hendrie, a key player for Boro during the first half of the 1990s, the select XIs other goals were scored by Beardsley and Bernie Slaven, Paul Wilkinson scoring the Boros only goal. Boro collected the First Division Championship Trophy following the game, Ayresome Park was retained as a training ground for a year until a new facility was opened, and it was finally demolished in early 1997. The site of the stadium is now a housing estate, to commemorate the ground, the gates of Ayresome Park have been erected outside the main entrance to the clubs new ground, the Riverside Stadium. Ayresome Park Remembered Website World Stadia Article
35.
FA Trophy
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The competition was instigated in 1969 to cater for those non-league clubs that paid their players and were therefore not eligible to enter the FA Amateur Cup. This covers the National League, the Southern League, Isthmian League, the final of the competition was held at the original Wembley Stadium from the tournaments instigation until the stadium closed in 2000. The final has been played at the new Wembley Stadium since its opening in 2007, the record for the most FA Trophy wins is shared by Woking and two defunct clubs, Scarborough and Telford United, with three victories each. The Trophy is currently held by FC Halifax Town who beat Grimsby Town F. C. in the 2016 final, the competition was created by the Football Association in 1969 to afford semi-professional teams an opportunity to compete for the chance to play at Wembley Stadium. The first winners of the competition were Macclesfield Town of the Northern Premier League, Northern Premier League clubs dominated the first decade of the competition, with Telford United the only Southern League team to break the northern clubs hold on the competition. In the early years of its existence the competition struggled to achieve the level of prestige as the long-established Amateur Cup. In 1974 the FA abolished the distinction between official professional and amateur status and discontinued the Amateur Cup, and the Trophy soon had 300 entrants and this figure was gradually reduced until by 1991 only around 120 clubs took part. Telford Uniteds win in 1989 made them the team to win the Trophy three times. Between 1990 and 2000 three more teams claimed multiple wins, as of 2001 the competition was sponsored by Umbro, in the 2007-08 season it was sponsored by Carlsberg. The competition is a tournament with pairings drawn at random. If a match is drawn, there is a replay, usually at the ground of the team played away from home for the first game. Drawn replays are now settled with extra time and penalty shootouts, originally the competition included as many qualifying rounds as were required to reduce the number of teams to 32. In 1999 the format was amended to match that of the FA Cup, with six rounds prior to the semi-final stage, albeit without qualifying rounds. Teams from the Football Conference received byes through the early rounds, as of 2008–09 the competition featured four qualifying rounds and four rounds proper before the semi-finals. The FA pays prize money to all teams win at least one match in the Trophy competition. In the 2014-15 season the prize for the 64 preliminary round winners was £2,500, the final was traditionally held at the original Wembley Stadium, but was moved to Villa Park during Wembleys redevelopment, and a final was also played at West Ham Uniteds Boleyn Ground. In 2007 the final moved to the new Wembley Stadium, Scarborough, Telford United, and Woking share the record for the most victories in the final. In 1985 Wealdstone became the first team to win the Non-League Double of FA Trophy, since then Colchester United in 1992 and Wycombe Wanderers in 1993 have equalled Wealdstones achievement
36.
Altrincham F.C.
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Altrincham Football Club is a semi-professional football club in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England. They are currently members of the National League North and play at Moss Lane, the club were established by a Sunday school around 1891 as Rigby Memorial Club. They soon merged with local team, Grapplers, to form Broadheath Football Club. Their first match in the league on 16 September 1893 saw them lose 7–0 to Hulme, after playing at various grounds in Broadheath, Timperley and Altrincham, the club moved to Pollitts Field in 1903, at which point they changed their name to Altrincham. They won the Cheshire Amateur Cup in their first season under the new name and they won the Manchester League again in 1906–07, and moved to their Moss Lane ground in 1910. In 1911 the club joined Division Two of the Lancashire Combination and they finished as runners-up in their first season in the division, only missing out on the title on goal average and earning promotion to Division One. They remained in Division One until World War I, in 1934–35 they reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, losing 1–0 at Gainsborough Trinity. After missing out the 1945–46 season, they rejoined the Cheshire County League in 1946, achieving little success until the 1960s, when Altrincham director Noel White hired Freddie Pye as manager. A key turning point in the history of the club is often cited as the signing of Jackie Swindells in 1965, helping Altrincham to the first of back-to-back Cheshire County League titles, scoring over 120 goals in the league in both seasons. After finishing as runners-up in 1967–68, they were members of the Northern Premier League in 1968. The following season went one better in the FA Trophy, reaching the Wembley final. In 1978–79 they finished as runners-up in the Northern Premier League, although they finished as the top non-League club in the ballot, they received only 13 votes to the 37 received by Halifax Town, the lowest-placed Football League club. The leagues inaugural season saw Altrincham crowned champions, the next two seasons saw the club finish in mid-table, together with another FA Trophy final appearance in 1981–82, this time losing 1–0 to Enfield. This was followed by four consecutive top-five finishes between 1984 and 1987 and a second FA Trophy win in 1985, beating Runcorn 1–0 in the final. The 1985–86 season saw them one of the biggest FA Cup giant-killings of all time when they defeated top division Birmingham City 2–1 at Birminghams St Andrews. The club then returned to mid-table with occasional successful seasons, finishing third in 1990–91, after finishing bottom of the Conference in 1996–97 the club were relegated to the Premier Division of the Northern Premier League. An eighth-place finish in 1997–98 saw them return to the Conference two seasons later as Premier Division champions, however, they lasted only a single season in the Conference as they finished second-from-bottom and were relegated back to the Northern Premier League. A twelfth-place finish in 2003–04 saw them qualify for the newly formed Conference North and they finished fifth in the new division in its first season, qualifying for the promotion play-offs
37.
Yeovil Town F.C.
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Yeovil Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Yeovil, Somerset, England. They play in League Two, the tier of English football. The club won the League Two championship in 2004–05, and promotion to the Championship through the play-offs in 2013, founded in 1895, Yeovil took 108 years to enter the Football League when they were promoted from the Football Conference as champions in 2003. This success was repeated in 2005 when they reached the round and were drawn away against Charlton Athletic, then in the Premier League. Yeovils home ground is Huish Park, built in 1990 on the site of an old camp and named after their former home, Huish, itself known for its pitch. The clubs nickname The Glovers is a reference to the history of glove-making in the town of Yeovil, Yeovil Football Club was founded in 1890, and shared its ground with the local rugby club for many years. Five years later the club was renamed Yeovil Casuals and started playing games at the Pen Mill Athletic Ground. In 1907 the name Yeovil Town was adopted, which on amalgamation with Petters United became Yeovil, the name reverted to Yeovil Town before the 1946–47 season. The club came to attention as giant-killers during the 1948–49 FA Cup, in which they defeated Sunderland 2–1 in the fourth round. They were defeated 8–0 in the round by Manchester United. Between 1955 and 1973 they were champions of the Southern Football League three times, and runners-up twice, during this period, Yeovil Town applied for election to the Football League on a number of occasions, coming within a few votes of being elected in 1976. In 1979 the Glovers were founder members of the new national non-league division, in 1985, they were relegated to the Isthmian League. Yeovil won that championship in 1988 and returned to the Conference, there was success in the Bob Lord Challenge Trophy in 1990 and three years later Yeovil finished fourth in the Conference, their best finish ever. In January 1995, former Weymouth and Spurs player Graham Roberts was appointed manager, Yeovil secured promotion back into the Conference in 1997 after winning the Isthmian League with a record number of points –101. Colin Lippiatt became manager for the 1998–99 season and brought Terry Skiverton to the club as a player and their team included many top players, some of whom went on to play Premier League football. Notable players include Gavin Williams who moved to West Ham United, Lee Johnson, Chris Weale, Darren Way, Yeovils first game in the Football League was a 3–1 away win over Rochdale. The Glovers finished their first season in position, and reached the third round of the FA Cup before losing 2–0 at home to Liverpool. The following season Yeovil finished as champions of League Two with 83 points, partway through the season the club was sold by Jon Goddard-Watts to David Webb, who took over the role of chief executive from chairman John Fry
38.
Metropolitan Police F.C.
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Metropolitan Police Football Club is the football club of the Metropolitan Police Service. While originally consisting of serving officers, this rule was removed when the Commissioner refused to sanction time off for the team. The team has not had a serving officer playing for it since 2011, and they are currently based just outside London in East Molesey, Surrey and play in the Isthmian League Premier Division. The club was formed in 1919 and played friendlies until they joined the Spartan League in 1928, the club switched to the Metropolitan League in 1960, and joined the Southern League in 1971. They joined the Isthmian Leagues newly formed Division Two in 1977 and were promoted at the first attempt, in 1982 they came close to promotion, missing out by just two points, but in 1985 were relegated back to Division Two. In 1988 they were promoted again, but 1991 saw them drop to Division Two once more. In 2004 the league was reorganised again and the Met played in Division One for two years, but in 2006 the regionalised divisions returned. In 2010, the Metropolitan Police won their first senior trophy and they finished the 2010–11 season as champions of the Isthmian League Division One South, winning the league by one goal difference over Bognor Regis Town. Metropolitan Police play their games at the Metropolitan Police Sports Club, Ember Lane, East Molesey, Surrey. The clubs home at Imber Court is a police sports facility which the Force acquired in 1919. Significant ground improvements, including a new stand, have taken place since the 1980s, note, Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality, note, Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality, players that have played/managed in the football league or any foreign equivalent to this level. Players that hold a club record. C
39.
Martin O'Neill
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Martin Hugh Michael ONeill OBE is a professional football manager, from Northern Ireland, who is manager of the Republic of Ireland national team. Starting his career in Northern Ireland, ONeill moved to England where he spent most of his career with Nottingham Forest, with whom he won the European Cup twice. He was capped 64 times for the Northern Ireland national football team, ONeill has managed Grantham Town, Wycombe Wanderers, Norwich City, Leicester City, Celtic, Aston Villa and Sunderland. He guided Leicester City to the Football League Cup final three times, winning twice, as Celtic manager between 2000 and 2005, he led that club to three Scottish Premier League titles and the 2003 UEFA Cup Final in Seville. After joining Aston Villa he achieved three consecutive 6th-place finishes in the English Premier League and guided them to the 2010 Football League Cup Final, ONeill was born in Kilrea, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland in 1952. He was the child of nine siblings, and has four brothers. ONeills father was a member of local GAA club Pádraig Pearses Kilrea. His brothers Gerry and Leo played for the club as well as being on the Derry senior team won the 1958 Ulster Championship. He played for both Kilrea and Derry at underage level as well and he also played Gaelic football while boarding at St. Columbs College, Derry, and later at St. Malachys College, Belfast. While at St. Malachys, he first came to attention as a football player with local side Rosario. This breached the Gaelic Athletic Association prohibition on Gaelic footballers playing foreign sports, when St. Malachys reached the 1970 MacRory Cup final, the Antrim GAA County Board refused to allow the game to go ahead at Belfasts Casement Park. The colleges involved switched the venue to County Tyrone to enable him to play, before playing for Distillery in the Irish League, ONeill played for the South Belfast side Rosario. Now he also has a room dedicated to him in Rosario Football Clubs local Youth Club. While at Distillery, he won the Irish Cup in 1971 and his second goal was particularly impressive, a mazy run in which he dribbled past three opponents before scoring with a powerful shot. As a result of winning the cup, Distillery qualified for Europe the following season, ONeill scored against Barcelona in the European Cup Winners Cup in a 3–1 home defeat in September 1971. During this period he was spotted by a scout for Nottingham Forest and he signed for Nottingham Forest in October 1971, leaving Distillery for a transfer fee of £15,000 and quitting his studies in law at the Queens University of Belfast. ONeill went on to play an role in Forests golden era. He scored on his debut for the club, a 4–1 win over West Bromwich Albion on 13 November 1971
40.
Kidderminster Harriers F.C.
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Kidderminster Harriers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The club participates in the National League North, the tier of English football. Formed in 1886, Kidderminster have played at Aggborough Stadium since they were formed and they are the only club from Worcestershire ever to have played in the Football League, competing from 2000 to 2005. Kidderminster Harriers were formed in 1886 from a successful athletics. In July 1880 the Athletics club amalgamated with the local Clarence rugby club to become Kidderminster Harriers, matches were played at White Wickets on the Franche Road in Kidderminster. 1885-6 was the last season played as a club and the Harriers switched to Association rules for the next season. Playing games at Chester Road Harriers first game was 18 September 1886, away to Wilden, the town saw a rival team start up as Kidderminster Olympic in 1887, rapidly becoming one of the best sides in the area. In 1887–88 the club started playing its matches at Aggborough, both Olympic and Harriers were founder members of the Birmingham and District League in 1889, Olympic won the league in 1890, with Harriers runners-up. Both sides regularly attracted crowds of 2–4,000, with the local derbies seeing over 7,000 attending, in 1890 the two clubs amalgamated as Kidderminster FC on a full professional basis, the new club being admitted to the Midland League which had been formed in 1889. The club became the first from the town to enter the FA Cup and after winning 4 qualifying round games and they lost 3–1 away to Darwen but protested the result because of the poor state of the pitch. Their protest was upheld and the tie was replayed a week later, again at Darwen, however the club found things difficult financially as a fully professional club, resigned from the league and were wound up in March 1891. The club reverted to amateur status in the Birmingham and District League the following season as Kidderminster Harriers, the club again reached the 1st Round of the F. A Cup in 1906–07, losing to Oldham Athletic away 5–0. In 1910 the then current England international full-back Jesse Pennington signed for Harriers after a dispute with his then club West Bromwich Albion and he played one game before the dispute was resolved and he returned to Albion. The twenties were hard going for the club as poor form on the pitch, Harriers did manage a League runners-up place in 1924–25. The then Wolves captain George Getgood, also in dispute at the time. The 1927–28 season saw another accusation of bribery, this time against secretary Pat Davis by Cradley Heath, during an investigation Davis admitted he had offered Burton Town players a ten shillings bonus if they managed to beat Worcester City in the last match of the season. The match was drawn so the bonus was never paid, the case made the national newspapers and Pat Davis was temporarily suspended from all duties. In 1935–36 a new scoring record for the club was set, Harriers did not win the West Midlands League until 1938, finishing the season undefeated
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Colchester United F.C.
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Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in League Two, the tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its early years playing in the Southern Football League until they were elected to the Football League in 1950. Colchester United were relegated to the Football Conference in 1990 following a decline in the late 1980s and they achieved promotion to the Second Division in 1998 following a 1–0 win against Torquay United in the play-off final. The club were promoted in 2006, achieving second place in League One. The club returned to League One in 2008 following relegation from the Championship, Colchester United play their home games at Colchester Community Stadium in Colchester. They relocated to the stadium in 2008 when they moved away from Layer Road, until 1937, Colchester Town were Colchesters main club and were the original tenants of Layer Road. Colchester Town joined the Eastern Counties League in 1935, but their performances in the league convinced supporters that the club should turn professional. With club officials against the idea of turning professional, a new club was formed in March 1937, Colchester United. United joined the Southern Football League as crowds for Town matches dwindled, in December 1937, Colchester United formed a reserve team, signing many of Towns players. As a result of this and Town struggling with £300 debts, the club won the Southern League Cup in their first season of existence, and were Southern League champions during in 1939 prior to the Second World War. They finally fell to Blackpool in the fifth round and this set them in good stead for potential election to the Football League. Colchester United were elected to the Football League in 1950 on the back of their second Southern League Cup win and ending the 1949–50 season second to Merthyr Tydfil on goal average alone. With the draw having been made prior to the replay against Rochdale, the Us knew they would face a home tie with First Division Leeds United, and duly trounced Dale 5–0. In the match with Leeds, the Us raced to an unprecedented 3–0 lead in front of a 16,000 Layer Road crowd, Leeds did grab two goals back but Colchester held on for a famous 3–2 victory. The club faced Everton in the quarter-finals but succumbed to a 5–0 defeat in front of 53,028 at Goodison Park. Financial difficulties and a number of changes at board level in the mid-1980s caused a slide towards the end of the Fourth Division table. Despite a brief turn around in form under former Rangers manager Jock Wallace, despite their relegation, the Us remained a full-time club while playing in the Football Conference, as they sold their Layer Road ground to the Colchester Borough Council to clear the clubs debts
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English Football League
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The English Football League is a league competition featuring professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in world football and it was the top-level football league in England from its foundation in the 19th century until 1992, when the top 22 clubs split away to form the Premier League. The league has 72 clubs evenly divided into three divisions, which are known as the Championship, League One and League Two, with 24 clubs in each division, the Football League has been associated with a title sponsor between 1983 and 2016. As this sponsor changed over the years the league too has been known by various names, the English Football League is also the name of the governing body of the league competition, and this body also organises two knock-out cup competitions, the EFL Cup and the EFL Trophy. The operations centre of the Football League is in Preston, while its commercial office is in London, the commercial office was formerly based in Lytham St Annes, after its original spell in Preston. The Football League consists of 70 professional association football clubs in England and 2 in Wales and it runs the oldest professional football league competition in the world. It also organises two knockout cup competitions, the Football League Cup and Football League Trophy, the Football League was founded in 1888 by then Aston Villa director William McGregor, originally with 12 member clubs. Steady growth and the addition of more divisions meant that by 1950 the League had 92 clubs, the Football League therefore no longer includes the top 20 clubs who belong to this group, although promotion and relegation between the Football League and the Premier League continues. In total,136 teams have played in the Football League up to 2013, the Football Leagues 72 member clubs are grouped into three divisions, the Football League Championship, Football League One, and Football League Two. Each division has 24 clubs, and in any season a club plays each of the others in the same division twice, once at their home stadium. This makes for a total of 46 games played each season, clubs gain three points for a win, one for a draw, and none for a defeat. At the end of the season, clubs at the top of their division may win promotion to the higher division. At the top end of the competition, three Championship clubs win promotion from the Football League to the Premier League, with the bottom three Premier League clubs taking their places, reserve teams of Football League clubs usually play in the Central League or the Football Combination. Since the 2004–05 season, penalties have existed for clubs entering financial administration during the season and it is also required that a club exiting administration agree a Creditors Voluntary Agreement, and pay in full any other footballing creditors. Failure to do either of these result in a second. The other main situation in which is a club may lose points is by fielding an improperly registered or otherwise ineligible player. If a club is found to have done this, then any points earned from any match that player participated in will be deducted, the EFL organises two knock-out cup competitions, the EFL Cup and the EFL Trophy. The EFL Cup was established in 1960 and is open to all EFL and Premier League clubs, the EFL Trophy is for clubs belonging to EFL League One and EFL League Two
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Runcorn F.C. Halton
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Runcorn F. C. Halton was an English football club that played in Runcorn, Widnes and Prescot at various points during its existence. The club was founded in 1918 as Highfield and Camden Tanneries Recreation Club and they became members of the Lancashire Combination in the same year, winning a cup. As Runcorn F. C. they were members of the Cheshire County League in 1919. They won the league and Cheshire League Cup double in 1937, Runcorn were founder members of the Northern Premier League in 1968 and won the Cheshire Senior Cup in 1973. This re-election system was replaced by automatic promotion from 1987 onwards, in 1986, for the first time ever, Runcorn reached the final of the FA Trophy, but lost 1–0 to Altrincham. That season the team had beaten Boston 4–1 to reach the round of the FA Cup. In 1993–94, their stadium nearly fell apart, a perimeter wall collapsed during a cup game against Hull City, the roof blew off one stand, and the main stand was destroyed by a fire. This crippled the club, which was relegated in 1996 for the first time ever. In 2000, they sold the Canal Street ground where they had played since 1918, and moved to the 11, 000-seat Halton Stadium in Widnes, the club renamed itself Runcorn FC Halton to reflect its new location. In 2004, they finished in 13th place in the Northern Premier League and their spell at this level lasted just one season before they were relegated back to the NPL. This made for an end to the season, with Runcorn finishing bottom and frequently suffering defeats by five or more goals. After a second relegation, the clubs future was in doubt. By this time, disgruntled supporters had already formed the breakaway club Runcorn Linnets F. C. which was granted membership of the North West Counties League Division Two for the 2006–07 season, players that have played/managed in the Football League or any foreign equivalent to this level. Players that hold a record or have captained the club. Alan Cocks John Fielding Ian Woan Runcorn at the Football Club History Database Runcorn Halton at the Football Club History Database
