Articles tagged ‘The FA’

This town ain’t big enough for both of us: York City’s long fight for survival

Considering York is one of the oldest cities in England, and that Yorkshire was the birthplace of the game of football as we know it (vis-à-vis the famous ‘Sheffield Rules’), it seems odd that York City FC weren’t founded until 1908. But the Sheffield teams aside, most of Yorkshire’s football clubs as we know them today came together in the first decade of the 20th century. Along with York, Bradford City, Hull City, Leeds City (the first occupants of Elland Road) and Huddersfield Town were all formed within one five-year period.

The reason for this delay in adopting the sport, aside from the usual Yorkshire resistance to modern trends, was most likely that until this time these towns had been dominated by their respective rugby league sides. The game of rugby had spawned from the same roots as ‘Association’ football – the catching, running and kicking sports first played at English public schools. Former students of these schools took the games back to the provinces and so further variations developed in isolated pockets before spreading nationwide. Soccer evolved in the Midlands, Lancashire and London, while most of Yorkshire happened, somewhat ironically, to favour the game started at Rugby School, Warwickshire [...]
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What’s in a Name: the sentimental story of Accrington’s two Stanleys

‘Accrington Stanley… who are they?’

It’s a good a question, even when not delivered in a strained impersonation of a Scouse youth. The League Two team now known as Accrington Stanley are technically not the same club as Accrington FC, one of the founding members of the Football League, nor are they Stanley Villa, from whom their distinctively English name comes from. Only technically, though [...]
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I Predict A Riot: how Preston’s Scotch professors upturned football’s social hierarchy

If Preston North End were a pop band, they would be those boisterous lads from across the South Pennines, the Kaiser Chiefs. Their first album would have gone six-times platinum and spawned four hit singles, then they would have scored one more major hit before drifting into harmless obscurity, their members known for their celebrity status rather than the music they produce. They would continue to fill arenas but even their most die-hard fans would probably admit to longing for bygone days [...]
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