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Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Sunderland
Pompey
That's about it
Plymouth should at least be championship I suppose
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
One club that I'm surprised has never been in the the football league is Truro
City in Cornwall massive fan base. Nice city but poor football team.
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Armitage Shanks
One club that I'm surprised has never been in the the football league is Truro
City in Cornwall massive fan base. Nice city but poor football team.
Plymouth would take much of their support as they do from most of Cornwall?
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Wednesday?
Bradford and Ipswich I've always associated with being higher than where they are.
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Trigger
Wednesday?
Bradford and Ipswich I've always associated with being higher than where they are.
Forgot about Wednesday!
Bradford very big city , lots of potential , should be in the championship
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
What is the definition of a big club?
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Quote:
Originally Posted by
LeningradCowboy
What is the definition of a big club?
For me it should be based on fanbase, ground size and success.
We aren't the most successful club but we're a bigger club than the Jacks in my opinion, even with their recent spell in the sun.
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Not always easy to define what makes a big club (history, success, ground size, fanbase, potential fanbase etc) but I would say the following are significantly underperforming teams. All those in League One could comfortably be Premier League teams. Those below them could all be established Championship teams
League One
Sunderland
Bolton
Sheff Wed
Ipswich
Charlton
MK Dons
Plymouth
League Two
Bradford City
Carlisle United
Bristol Rovers
Conference
Chesterfield
Stockport
Notts County
Southend
Conference North
York City
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
These are all traditionally lower league clubs. They may have had better times, but I wouldn't say they're underperforming now.
League Two
Bradford City
Carlisle United
Bristol Rovers
Conference
Chesterfield
Stockport
Notts County
Southend
Conference North
York City
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Quote:
Originally Posted by
NYCBlue
These are all traditionally lower league clubs. They may have had better times, but I wouldn't say they're underperforming now.
League Two
Bradford City
Carlisle United
Bristol Rovers
Conference
Chesterfield
Stockport
Notts County
Southend
Conference North
York City
Yeah, I don't disagree (although Notts County have had a fair amount of success).
I still think they are underperforming though. I often consider big clubs in terms of potential. Bradford is a big city etc, anyone who makes a big success of a Bristol club would have a big club on their hands, Carlisle could serve great swathes of the north etc...
But yeah, not comparable to clubs like Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Swinging the thread on its head, which teams do you believe are over-performing, based on the club's size ? Certainly Brighton and Brentford come into that category and so too do Bournemouth, given their meteoric rise over the last few years. Their current status in the Championship still belies the fact that they are a small club.
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Remember when Leeds were stuck in the third tier? Great days.
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Quote:
Originally Posted by
JamesWales
Not always easy to define what makes a big club (history, success, ground size, fanbase, potential fanbase etc) but I would say the following are significantly underperforming teams. All those in League One could comfortably be Premier League teams. Those below them could all be established Championship teams
League One
Sunderland
Bolton
Sheff Wed
Ipswich
Charlton
MK Dons
Plymouth
League Two
Bradford City
Carlisle United
Bristol Rovers
Conference
Chesterfield
Stockport
Notts County
Southend
Conference North
York City
mk Dons?!
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Rjk
mk Dons?!
I despise the club but it's a fairly big place with a wide catchment area and a big stadium. They could easily have become an English version of a team like Hoffenheim or Leipzig in Germany who reached the top flight without any notable fan base.
Less a big club, more potentially one I suppose
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Moodybluebird
Swinging the thread on its head, which teams do you believe are over-performing, based on the club's size ? Certainly Brighton and Brentford come into that category and so too do Bournemouth, given their meteoric rise over the last few years. Their current status in the Championship still belies the fact that they are a small club.
Brighton are well supported club , no honours
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Quote:
Originally Posted by
lardy
Remember when Leeds were stuck in the third tier? Great days.
It can happen again if we all use positive thinking
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Truro City’s attendances are extremely poor. The club was in such a state that it had to play at. Plainmoor for a while. Most opposing clubs had more fans at Truro than what they had themselves, up until recently.
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SLUDGE FACTORY
Brighton are well supported club , no honours
As a top flight team you would expect them to be well supported but historically it was almost the 80's before they even became an established second tier side.
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Moodybluebird
Swinging the thread on its head, which teams do you believe are over-performing, based on the club's size ? Certainly Brighton and Brentford come into that category and so too do Bournemouth, given their meteoric rise over the last few years. Their current status in the Championship still belies the fact that they are a small club.
Slight twist on this are teams like Burnley or Wrexham. Both fairly small towns but with long-standing football history/heritage, with a long view both over performing given their size in an area of the world with many league clubs and some of the most illustrious in the UK.
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Just adding this to the conversation - I've worked out the average league position of every one of the 92 sides currently in the league. Teams with an average position of 1-20 could claim their home is the Premier League, 21-44 - The Championship, 45-66 - League One, 67-92 - League Two. Note that
Premier League clubs (in average points order):
Liverpool
Arsenal
Everton
Manchester United
Aston Villa
Tottenham Hotspur
Chelsea
Manchester City
Newcastle United
Sunderland
West Bromwich Albion
West Ham United
Championship clubs (in average points order):
Blackburn Rovers
Leeds United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Derby County
Middlesbrough
Sheffield Wednesday
Leicester City
Sheffield United
Bolton Wanderers
Stoke City
Birmingham City
Nottingham Forest
Southampton
Burnley
Ipswich Town
Preston North End
Portsmouth
Fulham
Huddersfield Town
Charlton Athletic
Blackpool
Coventry City
Norwich City
Queens Park Rangers
Cardiff City
Crystal Palace
Bristol City
Luton Town
Barnsley
Hull City
League One clubs:
Millwall
Watford
Oldham Athletic
Swansea City
Wigan Athletic
Brighton & Hove Albion
Plymouth Argyle
Reading
Bradford City
Oxford United
Brentford
Port Vale
Rotherham United
Leyton Orient
Swindon Town
Milton Keynes Dons
Bristol Rovers
AFC Bournemouth
Lincoln City
Fleetwood Town
Walsall
Doncaster Rovers
Tranmere Rovers
Shrewsbury Town
Peterborough United
Burton Albion
Carlisle United
Gillingham
League Two clubs:
Wycombe Wanderers
Accrington Stanley
Cambridge United
Scunthorpe United
Colchester United
Crewe Alexandra
Northampton Town
Mansfield Town
AFC Wimbledon
Newport County
Crawley Town
Exeter City
Rochdale
Stevenage
Hartlepool United
Barrow
Salford City
Cheltenham Town
Forest Green Rovers
Morecambe
Harrogate Town
Sutton United
Based on that, I'd say Sunderland are the biggest club outside the top two divisions, followed by Ipswich, Charlton, Bolton, Sheffield Wednesday and Portsmouth. In the opposite direction, from within the top two divisions, Watford, Brighton and Brentford are the smallest clubs inside the top flight, while Millwall, Swansea, Bournemouth, Reading and Peterborough are overachieving by being in the Championship.
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Armitage Shanks
One club that I'm surprised has never been in the the football league is Truro
City in Cornwall massive fan base. Nice city but poor football team.
Truro ? It's half the size of Ebbw Vale.
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Quote:
Originally Posted by
A Quiet Monkfish
Truro ? It's half the size of Ebbw Vale.
I think he meant more in the sense that they are the highest placed team in the football league pyramid from Cornwall.
I was interested to note that they are owned by Cornish Pirates RFC. No surer way of keeping the football club at a nice low level than owning it yourselves.
They also seem to play in Plymouth also, which seems odd.
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Quote:
Originally Posted by
blue lewj
I think he meant more in the sense that they are the highest placed team in the football league pyramid from Cornwall.
I was interested to note that they are owned by Cornish Pirates RFC. No surer way of keeping the football club at a nice low level than owning it yourselves.
They also seem to play in Plymouth also, which seems odd.
Are you seriously suggesting that the owners purchased the club to keep it at a low level? Truro City have a history of serious financial problems and the stadium sharing plan with Cornish Pirates, their owners, offers them some much-needed financial stability.
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
I think it's all tied up to a long running saga about a new 'Stadium for Cornwall' to be built in Truro as the club there was making a go of rising up the leagues and had some success with that.
The more controversial element is that Cornish Pirates, who are pretty successful, plan to move from Penzance to Truro to share the ground. Amidst all the drama I guess Truro City fell into difficulty and got bought out by the rugby club and temporarily moved to Plymouth. Not sure why they themselves didn't temporarily relocate to Penzance where the rugby club currently play.
Either way, I don't think people in Cornwall have much of an issue supporting Plymouth Argyle which is on the Cornish border anyway. Rugby is also pretty big there.
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Taunton Blue Genie
Are you seriously suggesting that the owners purchased the club to keep it at a low level? Truro City have a history of serious financial problems and the stadium sharing plan with Cornish Pirates, their owners, offers them some much-needed financial stability.
Maybe, football and rugby have never been great bed buddies. See Wasps and Coventry as a typical example.
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Eric the Half a Bee
Just adding this to the conversation - I've worked out the average league position of every one of the 92 sides currently in the league. Teams with an average position of 1-20 could claim their home is the Premier League, 21-44 - The Championship, 45-66 - League One, 67-92 - League Two. Note that
Premier League clubs (in average points order):
Liverpool
Arsenal
Everton
Manchester United
Aston Villa
Tottenham Hotspur
Chelsea
Manchester City
Newcastle United
Sunderland
West Bromwich Albion
West Ham United
Championship clubs (in average points order):
Blackburn Rovers
Leeds United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Derby County
Middlesbrough
Sheffield Wednesday
Leicester City
Sheffield United
Bolton Wanderers
Stoke City
Birmingham City
Nottingham Forest
Southampton
Burnley
Ipswich Town
Preston North End
Portsmouth
Fulham
Huddersfield Town
Charlton Athletic
Blackpool
Coventry City
Norwich City
Queens Park Rangers
Cardiff City
Crystal Palace
Bristol City
Luton Town
Barnsley
Hull City
League One clubs:
Millwall
Watford
Oldham Athletic
Swansea City
Wigan Athletic
Brighton & Hove Albion
Plymouth Argyle
Reading
Bradford City
Oxford United
Brentford
Port Vale
Rotherham United
Leyton Orient
Swindon Town
Milton Keynes Dons
Bristol Rovers
AFC Bournemouth
Lincoln City
Fleetwood Town
Walsall
Doncaster Rovers
Tranmere Rovers
Shrewsbury Town
Peterborough United
Burton Albion
Carlisle United
Gillingham
League Two clubs:
Wycombe Wanderers
Accrington Stanley
Cambridge United
Scunthorpe United
Colchester United
Crewe Alexandra
Northampton Town
Mansfield Town
AFC Wimbledon
Newport County
Crawley Town
Exeter City
Rochdale
Stevenage
Hartlepool United
Barrow
Salford City
Cheltenham Town
Forest Green Rovers
Morecambe
Harrogate Town
Sutton United
Based on that, I'd say Sunderland are the biggest club outside the top two divisions, followed by Ipswich, Charlton, Bolton, Sheffield Wednesday and Portsmouth. In the opposite direction, from within the top two divisions, Watford, Brighton and Brentford are the smallest clubs inside the top flight, while Millwall, Swansea, Bournemouth, Reading and Peterborough are overachieving by being in the Championship.
Those 5 teams do stand out.
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Quote:
Originally Posted by
JamesWales
I think it's all tied up to a long running saga about a new 'Stadium for Cornwall' to be built in Truro as the club there was making a go of rising up the leagues and had some success with that.
The more controversial element is that Cornish Pirates, who are pretty successful, plan to move from Penzance to Truro to share the ground. Amidst all the drama I guess Truro City fell into difficulty and got bought out by the rugby club and temporarily moved to Plymouth. Not sure why they themselves didn't temporarily relocate to Penzance where the rugby club currently play.
Either way, I don't think people in Cornwall have much of an issue supporting Plymouth Argyle which is on the Cornish border anyway. Rugby is also pretty big there.
My daughter's bf is from St Ives. Truro would be his nearest club; Plymouth/Exeter neaest League clubs, no naturally he supports...
Chelsea!
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Quote:
Originally Posted by
blue lewj
Maybe, football and rugby have never been great bed buddies. See Wasps and Coventry as a typical example.
I still don't get how you came to your initial conclusion regarding the Truro scenario.
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Taunton Blue Genie
I still don't get how you came to your initial conclusion regarding the Truro scenario.
Maybe it is with the intention of backing them up the leagues, who knows. I'm not that clued up on Truro City or the story behind it. Why do you think a rugby club buys a football club?
I just don't know of many (any) rugby clubs that own football clubs and question why they own this one. Probably for the shared ground route.
Do you know of any others?
Can you name a rugby club that has had any dealing with a football club that doesn't mean some kind of financial gain for them?
I don't know too much on the subject but the rugby club will have bought the club for some future benefit or perceived benefit to the rugby club. I'm almost certain of that.
Maybe it is me being a bit cynical but say Cardiff RFC bought Cardiff City would you not at least question what their intentions were?
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
I've just taken a look at the Stadium for Cornwall that the rugby club has been aiming to build for some time with Truro City being earmarked as tenants.
October 2018 Pete Masters, the Chairman of Truro City, admitted that "there is a shadow hanging over the club putting money into the new Stadium for Cornwall".
Cornish Pirates then buy the club in May 2019.
If you think them buying the football club is purely to do well by the football club then fair enough. I think it is more to give them more clout to get this stadium across the line and it stops Truro City doing their own thing.
I am a cynic when it comes to rugby and football doing business though but also think I'm realistic in that one does not acquire another unless it makes sense and benefits them in doing so.
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Quote:
Originally Posted by
blue lewj
Maybe it is with the intention of backing them up the leagues, who knows. I'm not that clued up on Truro City or the story behind it. Why do you think a rugby club buys a football club?
I just don't know of many (any) rugby clubs that own football clubs and question why they own this one. Probably for the shared ground route.
Do you know of any others?
Can you name a rugby club that has had any dealing with a football club that doesn't mean some kind of financial gain for them?
I don't know too much on the subject but the rugby club will have bought the club for some future benefit or perceived benefit to the rugby club. I'm almost certain of that.
Maybe it is me being a bit cynical but say Cardiff RFC bought Cardiff City would you not at least question what their intentions were?
I think you drew a negative conclusion without bothering to find out any facts.
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Quote:
Originally Posted by
blue lewj
I've just taken a look at the Stadium for Cornwall that the rugby club has been aiming to build for some time with Truro City being earmarked as tenants.
October 2018 Pete Masters, the Chairman of Truro City, admitted that "there is a shadow hanging over the club putting money into the new Stadium for Cornwall".
Cornish Pirates then buy the club in May 2019.
If you think them buying the football club is purely to do well by the football club then fair enough. I think it is more to give them more clout to get this stadium across the line and it stops Truro City doing their own thing.
I am a cynic when it comes to rugby and football doing business though but also think I'm realistic in that one does not acquire another unless it makes sense and benefits them in doing so.
You would think that such a partnership came with a thought out business plan .
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Quote:
Originally Posted by
life on mars
You would think that such a partnership came with a thought out business plan .
It did. Cornwall Council developed the business plan to assist both teams. Still, there's no point spoiling a prejudice with facts.
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Quote:
Originally Posted by
bobh
My daughter's bf is from St Ives. Truro would be his nearest club; Plymouth/Exeter neaest League clubs, no naturally he supports...
Chelsea!
From one father to another, I wish your daughter all the best in getting out of this obviously toxic relationship
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Quote:
Originally Posted by
JamesWales
From one father to another, I wish your daughter all the best in getting out of this obviously toxic relationship
Fat chance, though Cardiff is now his "second team".
My other daughter married a Manu fan!
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Quote:
Originally Posted by
bobh
Fat chance, though Cardiff is now his "second team".
My other daughter married a Manu fan!
From pontypridd?
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SLUDGE FACTORY
From pontypridd?
From Blackwood.
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Armitage Shanks
One club that I'm surprised has never been in the the football league is Truro
City in Cornwall massive fan base. Nice city but poor football team.
Large city yes, but it is well out of the way. Difficult to attract anything but local players.
Plymouth, Exeter, Torquay, Yeovil do find it difficult to prosper.
Forest Green is a small 'estate' just outside Nailsworth, but it has grown largely due to the ability to attract playing staff from a much wider and more accessible catchment area.
I cannot think of any successful / big clubs that are a considerable distance away from large populated areas.
Perhaps the likes of Norwich is a counter example.
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Eric the Half a Bee
Just adding this to the conversation - I've worked out the average league position of every one of the 92 sides currently in the league. Teams with an average position of 1-20 could claim their home is the Premier League, 21-44 - The Championship, 45-66 - League One, 67-92 - League Two. Note that
Premier League clubs (in average points order):
Liverpool
Arsenal
Everton
Manchester United
Aston Villa
Tottenham Hotspur
Chelsea
Manchester City
Newcastle United
Sunderland
West Bromwich Albion
West Ham United
Championship clubs (in average points order):
Blackburn Rovers
Leeds United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Derby County
Middlesbrough
Sheffield Wednesday
Leicester City
Sheffield United
Bolton Wanderers
Stoke City
Birmingham City
Nottingham Forest
Southampton
Burnley
Ipswich Town
Preston North End
Portsmouth
Fulham
Huddersfield Town
Charlton Athletic
Blackpool
Coventry City
Norwich City
Queens Park Rangers
Cardiff City
Crystal Palace
Bristol City
Luton Town
Barnsley
Hull City
League One clubs:
Millwall
Watford
Oldham Athletic
Swansea City
Wigan Athletic
Brighton & Hove Albion
Plymouth Argyle
Reading
Bradford City
Oxford United
Brentford
Port Vale
Rotherham United
Leyton Orient
Swindon Town
Milton Keynes Dons
Bristol Rovers
AFC Bournemouth
Lincoln City
Fleetwood Town
Walsall
Doncaster Rovers
Tranmere Rovers
Shrewsbury Town
Peterborough United
Burton Albion
Carlisle United
Gillingham
League Two clubs:
Wycombe Wanderers
Accrington Stanley
Cambridge United
Scunthorpe United
Colchester United
Crewe Alexandra
Northampton Town
Mansfield Town
AFC Wimbledon
Newport County
Crawley Town
Exeter City
Rochdale
Stevenage
Hartlepool United
Barrow
Salford City
Cheltenham Town
Forest Green Rovers
Morecambe
Harrogate Town
Sutton United
Based on that, I'd say Sunderland are the biggest club outside the top two divisions, followed by Ipswich, Charlton, Bolton, Sheffield Wednesday and Portsmouth. In the opposite direction, from within the top two divisions, Watford, Brighton and Brentford are the smallest clubs inside the top flight, while Millwall, Swansea, Bournemouth, Reading and Peterborough are overachieving by being in the Championship.
Is your analysis based on league position since the start of the Premier League?
If so I would argue that Swansea Town would be above us in the ranking.
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Re: Not many big clubs left outside the top two flights now
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Kind of Blue
Slight twist on this are teams like Burnley or Wrexham. Both fairly small towns but with long-standing football history/heritage, with a long view both over performing given their size in an area of the world with many league clubs and some of the most illustrious in the UK.
Both towns known for their interbreeding