ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, WALES AND NORTHERN IRELAND
Many people will argue what clubs are so called 'bigger' than other but what makes a 'big club'?
History, Level of Support, Trophies won, Level of success in European competition, Transfer fees paid or in 2021 some people may suggest number of followers on social media or youtube?
Here we take a look at some of the 'big clubs' currently not playing in the top divisions in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
ENGLAND
BLACKBURN ROVERS
Founded - 1875
Ground and Capacity - Ewood Park, 31, 367.
Record Transfer Fee Paid - £8m for Andrew Cole (2001) and £8m for Jordan Rhodes (2012)
Record Transfer Fee Received - £18m for Roque Santa Cruz (2009)
Seasons since playing in the top flight - 10
Major Honours
Premier League - 1995
Division One - 1912 and 1914
FA Cup - 1884, 1885, 1886, 1890 1891 and 1928
League Cup - 2002
Best Performance in Europe - Group B of UEFA Champions League (95/96) and last 32 of UEFA Cup in 06/07.
Rovers were one of the biggest names in British football in the late 1800s winning the FA Cup five times. They have also finished as Champions on three occasions the last being in 1995 thanks to Jack Walker's investment in the club. They also won the 2002 League Cup beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 at The Millennium Stadium.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Founded - 1865
Ground and Capacity - City Ground, 30,446.
Record Transfer Fee Paid - £13.2m for Joao Carvalho (2018)
Record Transfer Fee Received - £15m for Britt Assombalonga (2017) or £14m* for Matty Cash (2020)
* This fee could potentially rise to £16m with add-on's.
Seasons since playing in the top flight - 22
Major Honours
Division One - 1978
FA Cup - 1898 and 1959
League Cup - 1978, 1979, 1989 and 1990
European Cup - 1979 and 1980
It's been over two decades since Nottingham Forest played in the top division in England. They dropped down to the third tier between 2005 to 2008 and have since a top placed finish in the Championship of third place in 2010 when they lost to Blackpool in the play-off semi-final.
DERBY COUNTY
Founded - 1884
Ground and Capacity - Pride Park, 33,597
Record Transfer Fee Paid - £10m for Kyrstian Bielik (2019)
Record Transfer Fee Received - £11.3m for Tom Ince (2017)
Seasons since playing in the top flight - 13
Major Honours
Division One - 1972 and 1975
FA Cup - 1946
Best Performance in Europe - 1972/73 European Cup Semi-Final
The Rams finished as high at 9th and 8th in the Premier League in 1998 and 1999 - their last season in the Premier League was in 07/08 when they got only one win and have the unenviable record of currently being the worst team in Premier League history.
SUNDERLAND AFC
Founded - 1879
Ground and Capacity - Stadium of Light, 49,000
Record Transfer Fee Paid - £13.8m for Didier N'Dong (2016)
Record Transfer Fee Received - £30m for Jordan Pickford (2017)
Seasons since playing in the top flight - 4
Major Honours
Division One - 1892, 1893, 1895, 1902, 1913 and 1936
FA Cup - 1937 and 1973.
Best Performance in Europe - Cup Winner's Cup 2nd Round 1973/74.
To rank Sunderland as a big club alongside Nottingham Forest and Derby County caused a little bit of stir on social media when discussing this article but the fact they have won the top division six times and the FA Cup twice along with their huge support puts them firmly in this category I think. Their eighth place finish in League Two last season was their lowest ever position since joining the football league!
IPSWICH TOWN
Founded - 1878
Ground and Capacity - Portman Road, 30,311
Record Transfer Fee Paid - £4.75m for Matteo Sereni (2001)
Record Transfer Fee Received - £12m for Connor Wickham (2011)
Seasons since playing in the top flight - 19
Major Honours
Division One - 1962. (Runners Up 1981 and 1982)
FA Cup - 1978.
Best Performance in Europe - UEFA Cup Winners 1981
It's been nearly two decades since Portman Road last hosted a top flight match - the last time being Saturday 27th April 2002 when Manchester United won 0-1 in front of 28,433 people. They have now dropped down into League One alongside Sunderland and last season finished 11th. This season they are currently 10th and have a chance of a getting a play-off place being four points behind the play-off zone. Paul Lambert is the current manager.
DONCASTER ROVERS BELLES
Founded - 1969
Ground and Capacity - Oxford Street, 2,000
Seasons since playing in the top flight - 7
Major Honours
FA Women's Premier League National Division - 1992 and 1994.
FA Women's Cup -1983, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1992 and 1994
One of the most famous names in Women's football having been at the forefront of the development of the game and winners of the first National division in 1992 and 1994 as well as being runner's up on seven occasions. They were one of the founding members of the Women's Super League but in 2014 were controversially replaced in the top division by Manchester City with the Belles being placed in the newly formed FA WSL 2.
The Belles currently play in the FA Women's National League Division One Midlands which is level 4 on the Women's Football Pyramid.
HOUNOURABLE MENTIONS
BLACKPOOL who were FA Cup winners in 1953 and played in the Premier League in 2010/11 and are currently plying their trade in League One.
BOLTON WANDERERS who were FA Cup winners in 1923, 1926, 1929 and 1958 as well as spending 13 seasons in the Premier League are now playing in League Two.
NOTTS COUNTY who were one of the founding members of the football league and won the FA Cup in 1894 and last played in the top division in 1992/93. They are currently playing in The National League at level 5 of the pyramid.
PRESTON NORTH END who were football league champions in 1889 and 1890. They were the first club to win the double as they lifted the FA Cup in 1889 as well. They won the Cup again in 1938 and have been league runner's up six times - the latest being 1958. The Lillywhites have also been Cup runner's up five times in 1888, 1922, 1937, 1954 and 1964. They last played in the top tier in 1960/61 which was the famous year when Spurs last won the title. Since then they have played in the fourth tier of English football and nearly made it back to the top tier in 2001 and 2005 losing the play-off final to Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United.
SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY who are four time league champions and three time FA Cup winners as well as League Cup winners in 1991. Their last season in the top tier was 1999/00 when Danny Wilson and Peter Shreeeves were in charge. Their top scorer was Belgium International Gilles De Bilde who netting 10 Premier League goals in 38 appearances.
If you are going further down the pyramid with a nod to history - OLD CARTHUSIANS and OLD ETONIANS currently ply their trade in the Arthurian League Premier Division. OC won the FA Cup in 1881 and are the only team to also win the FA Amateur Cup which they lifted in 1894 and 1897. OE won the FA Cup twice in 1879 and 1882 and were runner's up on four occasions in 1875, 1876, 1881 and 1883.
A new WANDERERS FC were formed in 2009 - the historic club were dissolved in 1889 but won the FA Cup five times in 1872, 1873, 1876, 1877 and 1878. They currently play in the Surrey South Eastern Combination Junior Division One alongside clubs such as Selhurst, Peckham Town Reserves and Tolworth United.
SCOTLAND
HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN
Founded - 1874
Ground and Capacity - Tynecastle, 19,852
Record Transfer Fee Paid - £850,000 for Mirsad Beslija (2006)
Record Transfer Fee Received - £9,000,000 for Craig Gordon (2007)
Seasons since playing in the top flight - 1
Major Honours
Scottish Champions - 1895, 1897, 1958 and 1960
Scottish FA Cup - 1891, 1896, 1901, 1906, 1956, 1998, 2006 and 2012
Scottish League Cup - 1955, 1959, 1960 and 1963
Best Performance in Europe - UEFA Cup Quarter Final 1988/89
Based on history and league performance The Jam Tarts are one of the biggest clubs (outside of Rangers and Celtic) in Scotland. Since 1990 they have finished runners' up twice and in third place eight times regularly playing in European Competition. After football ended early in the 2019/20 season they were relegated to the second tier on a PPG basis for the 2020/21 - they are looking good this season being top of the table and look set to return to the Premiership for the 2021/22 campaign. They recently lost the delayed 2019/20 FA Cup final running Celtic very close losing on penalty kicks after a 3-3 draw at Hampden Park.
HOUNOURABLE MENTIONS
DUNDEE FOOTBALL CLUB who were Scottish Champions in 1962 and got to the European Cup Semi-Final in the 62/63 season. The Dark Blues have also won the FA Cup once and the League Cup three times.
QUEENS PARK who are the oldest club in Scotland and the only Scottish club ever to play in the English FA Cup Final which they did on two occasions in 1884 and 1885. The Spiders have won the Scottish FA Cup ten times all of which came prior to 1900. The club changed it's Amateur Status in 2019 when 91% of the QPFC members elected to go professional which allows the club to sign players to long term deals and collect possible transfer fees. They were top of League Two when football was put on hold recently below the top two tiers due to the covid pandemic.
VALE OF LEVEN won the Scottish Cup three times in row in 1877, 1878 and 1879 but were dissolved in 1929 were re-formed in 1939 and currently play in the West of Scotland Conference C which is the seventh tier of the game in Scotland.
TIHRD LANARK won the Scottish title in 1904 and the Cup in 1889 and 1905. They were runners up in the Scottish League Cup in 1960. The original club were dissolved in 1967. A new Amateur club were formed and currently play in the Central Scottish Amateur Football League Spark of Genius Division 1A. Parts of the original club's historic Cathkin Park Stadium, where the last game was played in April 1967, are still there with terraces still visible and being looked after and restored by many amazing volunteers.
NORTHERN IRELAND
LISBURN DISTILLERY
Founded - 1880 (as Distillery)
Ground and Capacity - New Grosvenor Stadium, 7,000
Seasons since playing in the top flight - 8
Major Honours
Champions - 1896, 1899, 1901, 1903, 1906 (Shared) and 1963
Irish Cup - 1884, 1885, 1886, 1889, 1894, 1896, 1903, 1905, 1910, 1925, 1956 and 1971
Irish League Cup - 2011
Best Performance in Europe - European Cup First Round 1963/64
Distillery originated in West Belfast in 1880 playing at Grosvenor Park until 1971 when they ground shared until moving to New Grosvenor Park in 1980 which is located in Ballyskeagh which is between Belfast and Lisburn. They were relegated from the top tier at the end of the 2012/13 season and currently play in the NIFL Intermediate Premier which is the third tier of football in Northern Ireland.
HOUNOURABLE MENTIONS
The original BELFAST CELTIC won the Championship 14 times and the Irish Cup 8 times between their formation in 1891 and to their exit from the league in 1949. The famous name has recently been resurrected (although their is not direct link to the old club) when SPORTS & LEISURE SWIFTS FC changed their name from the start of the 2019/20 season. The club currently play in the Ballymena & Provincial League Intermediate Division which current stands at step four on the Northern Irish football pyramid. Their Glen Road Heights ground is close to Celtic Park the home of the original club which is now a shopping centre.
WALES
CPD Y RHYL 1879
Founded - 2020
Ground and Capacity - Belle Vue, 3,000
Seasons since playing in the top flight - 4
Major Honours (Rhyl FC)
Champions - 2004 and 2009
Welsh Cup - 1952, 1953, 2004 and 2006
Welsh League Cup - 2003 and 2004
Best Performance in Europe - UEFA Cup 2Q Round (05/06) / Champions League 2Q Round (09/10)
RHYL FOOTBALL CLUB were one of the biggest clubs in the League of Wales and Welsh Premier now Cymru Premier but unfortunately due to financial problems the historic club founded in 1878 were would wound up in April 2020. The club had dropped down into Tier Two from 2017. Thankfully a new club CPD Y Rhyl 1879 has been formed securing the use of the Belle Vue ground with an option to buy the ground in the future.
BANGOR CITY
Founded - 1876
Ground and Capacity - Nantporth Stadium, 3,000
Seasons since playing in the top flight - 3
Major Honours
Champions - 1994, 1994 and 2011
Welsh Cup - 1889, 1896, 1962, 1998, 2000, 2008, 2009 and 2010
Best Performance in Europe - 1962/63 European Cup Winner's Cup 1st Round v Napoli
The Citizens have a rich history in both non-league football in England and the Welsh game along with European competition. From 2016 under the ownership of Vaughan Sports Management the club suffered from major financial problems - Despite finishing in second place in 2017/18 they were relegated to second tier as the club failed to obtain the necessary licence required. They finished in 4th place in the Cymru Alliance and were 5th in the new Cymru North last season.
In April 2019 the Supporter's Association of the club voted overwhelmingly to create a breakaway club CPD BANGOR 1876 who currently play at step four of the Welsh League pyramid.
The original club was taken over by Italian musician and producer Domenico Serafino in September 2019 whose son Francesco was playing for the club. Pedro Pasculli was named the new manager who was part of the Argentinian World Cup 1986 squad. He left the club in the summer of 2020 and has been replaced with Hugo Colace, another Argentinian, who is most well known in the UK for his spell with Barnsley between 2008 to 2011.
HOUNOURABLE MENTION
LLANELLI TOWN AFC were reformed in 2013 after the original club were dissolved. They were champions in 2008 (runners up in 2006, 2009 and 2010) and Welsh Cup winners in 2011. They currently play in the Cymru South.
CARDIFF CITY and SWANSEA CITY who currently play in the English Championship - Newport County (L2), Wrexham (National League) and Merthyr Town (Southern League Premier South) make up the other Welsh clubs playing in the English system.
COMING SOON - EUROPE AND THE REST OF THE WORLD
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