[Football] Former league clubs you would like to see back in the league.

[North of Robertsbridge]

Bury, having grown up there before moving to East Sussex

A warning lesson of what can happen to a great club if fans let profiteers take over

 

[Gwylan]

Maidstone for sure. Merthyr or Aberdare would be great - drunk in some tidy pubs there

 

[jackalbion]

I’m incredibly biased as I watch them both quite a lot with mates who support them, but Torquay and Southport. Also got mates who support Scunthorpe, York, Southend and Oldham so wouldn’t mind seeing them come back.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Margate ? If ever they were in the league I've learnt something new.

My have dreamt that, to be fair.

 

[Happy Exile]

Reading the list of clubs reminds me of collecting football programmes as a kid, scanning long lists posted to me after I'd responded to a classified ad in Shoot or something. I remember defunct clubs I'd never heard of like Aberdare seeming very exotic.

 

[Brovion]

Bradford Park Avenue.

Me too. Been to see them play a few times at Horsfall, and back in the day I wrote a few articles for their fanzine. (I also wrote one about them for a Brighton fanzine, 'Keep The Faith')

Technically they were just 'Bradford' and that's how they appeared on the old teleprinter on Grandstand - usually followed by a '0'. The 'Park Avenue' bit was written in brackets to differentiate them from the Manningham lot, especially in later years when City became the dominant team. The reformed club though are officially called Bradford (Park Avenue).

Sadly after flirting with promotion to the National League they dropped out of National League (North) and are now in danger of getting relegated again out of the Northern Premier League Premier Division.

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

I thought I knew my football history as I was well aware of New Brighton FC, however I wasn’t aware of New Brighton Tower, I’ve just had a read.

I saw Glossop once vs FC United of Manchester (who on formation considered the name of ex league side, Manchester Central)
They made their presence felt for an evening match and the chant of “you’ve got no history” was quite fitting

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Yeah, it’s an interesting story. I read up on it when we moved to the Wirral. Seems New Brighton Tower and New Brighton did not exist at the same time, which makes sense as Wallasey could barely support one FL club, let alone two. Tranmere have support from all over the Wirral, including Wallasey, but I wonder which club the people of Birkenhead would have supported had New Brighton survived given that it lies in between the two. As it is they support Tranmere or one of those other two over the river.

 

[Brovion]

Yeah, it’s an interesting story. I read up on it when we moved to the Wirral. Seems New Brighton Tower and New Brighton did not exist at the same time, which makes sense as Wallasey could barely support one FL club, let alone two. Tranmere have support from all over the Wirral, including Wallasey, but I wonder which club the people of Birkenhead would have supported had New Brighton survived given that it lies in between the two. As it is they support Tranmere or one of those other two over the river.

New Brighton Tower FC were quite short-lived (a bit like the tower itself). I think they were only in existence for five years. Interestingly their ground (which was a multi-purpose affair a bit like Withdean) was the largest sports stadium in the north of England.

EDIT: Just looked it up. It was five years, between 1896 and 1901. They were a league side for three of those (the last three). The ground is now a housing estate.

 

[The Grockle]

I'd quite like to see Yeovil back in the league. They sit in a bit of a footballing desert when they dropped out it left no league teams in the area for many miles.

 

[The Lemming Stomper]

Southend United...My home town club for my first 18 years

 

[zefarelly]

For convenient away days, Steyning and Worthing would be good, be nice to See Shoreham climb as well. Maybe build a stadium off Shoreham beach, down by the harbour, and a bridge . . . improve it no end

 

[Badger]

York City. I was at university there when they got relegated out of the league.

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

I suppose for the sake of our rivalry, i'd take Crystal Palace back in the league, not the flimsy post 2010 clone version currently stinking out the PL.

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

For convenient away days, Steyning and Worthing would be good, be nice to See Shoreham climb as well. Maybe build a stadium off Shoreham beach, down by the harbour, and a bridge . . . improve it no end

You may wait to give the question another read

 

[HalfaSeatOn]

Chester. League cup semi finalists in their former guise in the 70s and would take great pleasure in knocking their near neighbours down a peg or two in a Netflix episode.

 

[Sid and the Sharknados]

Would make a few people in my family quite happy if Darlington managed to get back up there.

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

Would make a few people in my family quite happy if Darlington managed to get back up there.

Is Blackwell Meadows worth a visit ? I haven’t been to Darlington since Feethams 1979/80 and 80/81.

 

[zefarelly]

You may wait to give the question another read

It didn't stipulate which league

Anyway, @Harry Wilson's tackle has let me into his 'f*** the rules, anything goes' club now so nerr!

 

[jackanada]

Oldham Athletic. Just because of a very nice and somewhat troubled chap I know who supports them for no discernible reason.

 

[Sid and the Sharknados]

Is Blackwell Meadows worth a visit ? I haven’t been to Darlington since Feethams 1979/80 and 80/81.

Not unless you've any particular investment in it no. It's probably more substantial than whatever Blackwell Meadows rugby club would be able to justify on their own but it does still have the feel of a rugby ground with football goals stuck up at either end.
There's the rugby pavilion or whatever you call it along one side, a standing end behind one goal where the younger lot stand, a fairly shallow seated stand along the other side and then the other end (the away end) is completely open because there's some sort of sewer/water main/electric main underneath it that makes it far too much fuss for the rugby club to do anything with it.
There's some sort of chat going on about building a proper football ground somewhere nearer the town centre but I feel like that's been ongoing for a while and will be for some time.
I have pub recommendations if anybody finds themselves this way and fancies a decent pint but doesn't want to go in the Green Dragon or the Wetherspoons on Skinnergate