Our series of posts this week has analysed the various impacts geography can have on the fortunes of soccer clubs. To round things off, we thought we would examine a cross section of eight cities, towns and city regions which can be said to be under performing in football terms and which may or may not have the potential to rise to Championship status or above. Back in 2010, we picked out Peterborough United, Swansea and Cardiff Cities, Notts County and Doncaster as having Premier League potential and while the inclusion of the Rovers now embarrasses us, we predicated our…
All posts tagged Plymouth
Geographies of Football: Will Cornwall ever host a Football League Club?
Kicking off a short series of posts which consider the geographies of football in England, we take a look at the football scene in Cornwall, tussling in particular with the question as to whether a Football League team will ever pop up in this corner of the country. Over the years, a select number of Cornish footballers have overcome the inconvenience of their faraway place of birth to go on to play in England’s top-flight. Most recently, Nigel Martyn – a son of St Austell originally spotted by the Bristol Rovers’ tea lady while holidaying in Cornwall – and Matthew…
The PFA Awards: Stuff and Nonsense?
Once upon a time, the PFA Awards were the undisputed measure of a season’s most valuable players. Voted for by the Professionals themselves, the response to their announcement was one of awed hush and consent – how could mere onlookers presume to know better than those involved in the rough and tumble of the actual sport? But the saccharin, sentimental and simply silly award of the 2009 Players’ Player award to Ryan Giggs changed all that. In one fell swoop, footballers were shown to be as susceptible to a bit of old fashioned press lobbying as the rest of us….
Hereford United, Population and Economy
Hereford United fans we chatted to in the aftermath of the club’s 1-1 draw with Plymouth Argyle on Good Friday seemed resigned to their fate. Given the club’s history – one that saw them controversially elevated to the Football League status in preference to Chelmsford City back in 1972 plus a spell of Conference purgatory in the mid-noughties, expectations never get ahead of themselves at Edgar Street. I first saw the Bulls play as a second tier concern – a 5-1 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on New Year’s Day in 1977. They have never approached such heights since,…
Is Plymouth Argyle Still in Turmoil?
In January, we spent a week considering 5 different clubs experiencing financial and / or organisational turmoil. Two of those – Portsmouth and Port Vale – have since entered administration. However, at one of the other clubs we covered, Plymouth Argyle, things appear to be looking up. Or do they? Roger Willis returns for a third bite as he attempts to uncover what state the club’s books are in as it enters yet another key period in its history. Corrections Mea culpa. Before I go any further I need to correct a few minor errors and omissions from my previous…
James: Are the wealthy middle classes really the ones to back a football team...
Lanterne Rouge: Garath McCleary on signing for Reading today:
"It's amazing to be a...
Lloyd: On the Oxford / Reading thing, Lanterne, you write that "there is no c...
Ben: Yes, it does loom a bit, doesn't it? Moxey's comments on the ground re...
