The 20 “Most Important” Football Clubs In The World

[Dirk Gently]

http://www.twohundredpercent.net/?p=1219

Discuss!

[Thaumagurist*]

I am pleasantly surprised that none of the big 4 are in it and that it's quite a diverse list. However, I don't understand no.19.

Personally, the most important club to myself is Reading. As you would say about a club that you support being important to yourself.

[blade 1]

However, I don't understand no.19.

Yeah 50,000 fans and chris waddle does not an important club make.

1. Sheffield FC: The oldest football club in the world. They may not have won anything of note since the FA Amateur Cup in 1904, but Sheffield FC are the only club in the world besides Real Madrid to have been awarded the FIFA Order of Merit. Other winners of this award include Nelson Mandela, Henry Kissinger and the Uruguay Football Association.

They play about 5 minutes away from where i used to live in sheffield. Used to go and watch them when united were away and the weather was nice.

The ground is essentially the beer garden for the pub there. Loved watching them.

Although i would argue (obviously) for Sheffield united's inclusion on that list.

First ever premier league goal.
first ever flood lit game hosted at bramall lane.
The original united - i believe
I think the first team to own a forign club or at least a chinese one. Chegdu Blades.
we also now own hungary's most successfull ever club.
The battle of Bramall lane.
Bramall lane is the oldest ground still used in major leagues - first used in the 1860's
The greasy chip butty! Best football chant ever.

[Silver Fox]

first ever flood lit game hosted at bramall lane.

i thought that was Elm Park?

[Thaumagurist*]

However, I don't understand no.19.

Yeah 50,000 fans ... does not an important club make.

So do some other certain clubs.

[blade 1]

i thought that was Elm Park?

I think i remember someone telling me it was at bramall lane..

Did some research and this came up

http://www.chrishobbs.com/firstfloodlitfootball1878.htm

[Thaumagurist*]

i thought that was Elm Park?

I think i remember someone telling me it was at bramall lane..

Did some research and this came up

http://www.chrishobbs.com/firstfloodlitfootball1878.htm

Hmmm, maybe it's actually that the first ever installed floodlights were at Elm Park. Would I be right in thinking that the floodlights at that game at Brammall were temporary?

I've just googled for the relevant Reading game:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/berkshire/h ... 290801.stm

[blade 1]

i thought that was Elm Park?

I think i remember someone telling me it was at bramall lane..

Did some research and this came up

http://www.chrishobbs.com/firstfloodlitfootball1878.htm

Hmmm, maybe it's actually that the first ever installed floodlights were at Elm Park. Would I be right in thinking that the floodlights at that game at Brammall were temporary?

I've just googled for the relevant Reading game:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/berkshire/h ... 290801.stm

Yeah, from that article it looks like it was temporary, they weren't used for at least 10 year after that.

It was a done for publicity for the electricity companies with people turning up just to see the lights. I'd always just remembered being told that bramall lane was the first place they were used. I hadn't realised united wern't playing the game (or indeed even existed at that point.)

[bobbybottler]

However, I don't understand no.19.

Yeah 50,000 fans and chris waddle does not an important club make.

1. Sheffield FC: The oldest football club in the world. They may not have won anything of note since the FA Amateur Cup in 1904, but Sheffield FC are the only club in the world besides Real Madrid to have been awarded the FIFA Order of Merit. Other winners of this award include Nelson Mandela, Henry Kissinger and the Uruguay Football Association.

They play about 5 minutes away from where i used to live in sheffield. Used to go and watch them when united were away and the weather was nice.

The ground is essentially the beer garden for the pub there. Loved watching them.

Although i would argue (obviously) for Sheffield united's inclusion on that list.

First ever premier league goal.
first ever flood lit game hosted at bramall lane.
The original united - i believe
I think the first team to own a forign club or at least a chinese one. Chegdu Blades.
we also now own hungary's most successfull ever club.
The battle of Bramall lane.
Bramall lane is the oldest ground still used in major leagues - first used in the 1860's
The greasy chip butty! Best football chant ever.

Only football ground in the League to have hosted a Test match?

[bobbybottler]

The Wolves entry is a bit gratuitous. The European Cup was born out of the Mitropa Cup, the first regular pan-European club tournament which was well established prior to WW2, but did not involve British clubs. If I didn't know better, I'd assume that this article was written by a British journalist.

The Ajax entry - I'm reading that as "no Dutch has ever won a European Cup prior to Ajax, who were solely responsible, without any input from any other Dutch club whatsoever, for the Holland glory years of the 1970s"

Nice idea for an article, but poorly researched and woefully presented. Fùck off.

[blade 1]

Only football ground in the League to have hosted a Test match?

Good shout

I think bramall lane and the Oval are the only places to have hosted international cricket and football.

Don't know if its the only place to have hosted a test match.

[Deathy]

i thought that was Elm Park?

I think i remember someone telling me it was at bramall lane..

Did some research and this came up

http://www.chrishobbs.com/firstfloodlitfootball1878.htm

Hmmm, maybe it's actually that the first ever installed floodlights were at Elm Park.

Fratton Park I thought.

[Dirk Gently]

Only football ground in the League to have hosted a Test match?

Good shout

I think bramall lane and the Oval are the only places to have hosted international cricket and football.

Don't know if its the only place to have hosted a test match.

Yes - but lots of grounds up north were/are dual use, with two pitches and a double-sided stand inbetween. Headingley's still like that, and Bradford Park Avenue used to be.

[bobbybottler]

Only football ground in the League to have hosted a Test match?

Good shout

I think bramall lane and the Oval are the only places to have hosted international cricket and football.

Don't know if its the only place to have hosted a test match.

Yes - but lots of grounds up north were/are dual use, with two pitches and a double-sided stand inbetween. Headingley's still like that, and Bradford Park Avenue used to be.

Of course - but only BL has hosted a Test and League football.

You have a PM

[weybridgewanderer]

first ever flood lit game hosted at bramall lane.

i thought that was Elm Park?

The first experiments with playing football games with artificial lighting began in October 1878 at Bramall Lane, Sheffield. The lamps were mounted on timber gantries and powered by dynamo machines powered by batteries or steam engines. Over the next few years several floodlit friendly games took place but the technology was very unreliable and sometimes the match had to be abandoned.

Tuesday 6 October 2009 marked the 55th anniversary of Reading FC's inaugural floodlit game, which was televised live on the BBC throughout Europe.

The 1954 broadcast attracted millions of viewers as well as a mammoth 12,789 supporters at the football club's home ground Elm Park.

So what inspired a Third Division team to be one of the first football sides to install floodlights?

In a letter to the BBC's Outside Broadcast producer Alan Chivers, Chairman James Carter wrote that Reading were "installing the most up-to-date system of floodlighting in this country".

Since the early 50s floodlit football had become increasingly popular and profitable.

The BBC paid £175 to broadcast the second half of the game

Reading at the time had debts totalling £29,000. However, the club accepted a quotation of £3,500 from local electrical contractors Herbert & Lascelles who started work during the summer.

Lights were situated along the roof of the stand and the covered terrace as well as on pylons behind the goals and the West end of the Tilehurst Road side that had yet to be covered.

It proved a shrewd move as not only did the floodlights attract First Division teams to play at Elm Park, but the BBC paid the club a handsome £175 to broadcast the second half.

[handbags_harris]

The Wolves entry is a bit gratuitous. The European Cup was born out of the Mitropa Cup, the first regular pan-European club tournament which was well established prior to WW2, but did not involve British clubs. If I didn't know better, I'd assume that this article was written by a British journalist.

The Ajax entry - I'm reading that as "no Dutch has ever won a European Cup prior to Ajax, who were solely responsible, without any input from any other Dutch club whatsoever, for the Holland glory years of the 1970s"

Nice idea for an article, but poorly researched and woefully presented. Fùck off.

Quite - the year preceding Ajax's first of three consecutive, Feyenoord became the first Dutch club to win the European Cup, happily beating Celtic 2-1 in the final held at the San Siro. But of course, Ajax are the only club to matter in Holland apparently

Feyenoord >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Ajax

[frimmers]

aldershot must be included: the largest surviving barrel terrace in the english football league structure.