Sunderland
Pompey
That's about it
Plymouth should at least be championship I suppose
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Sunderland
Pompey
That's about it
Plymouth should at least be championship I suppose
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 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.
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.
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.
Wednesday?
Bradford and Ipswich I've always associated with being higher than where they are.
What is the definition of a big club?
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
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
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
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.
Remember when Leeds were stuck in the third tier? Great days.
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.