Will they be the first former Premier League team to fall to non league?
If Oldham are relegated from League 2
- Thread starter Ramshock
- Start date
You could arguably include Wimbledon, although it's a bit different.
Good shout but debatable if its the same club
Notts County were in the first division in 1991-92, the year before the rebrand to the Premier League. They were relegated from the football league in 2019.
Yeah I saw that but not a PL team.
There's a few others like Oxford and Luton that have gone from Div 1 to non league.
Wonder what the biggest drop is, not including teams like AFC Wimbledon that took on the history of a folded club.
Portsmouth and maybe Luton must be up there?
There's got to be some club from the first division era, possibly even pre-war, that dropped from the first tier to something mad like the 9th or 10th
Yeah. Oxford were also non-league for a few years and they used to be in the old first division. Same with Luton.
Coventry and Swindon, both Premier league teams in the past, have both been relegated to League 2, think that's the biggest fall since Premier League Started.
Blackburn are the only former Premier League winners to be relegated, until Arsenal in 2022.
Blackburn are the only former Premier League winners to be relegated, until Arsenal in 2022.
Luton had a few points deductions for financial stuff fecked them. 3 relegations in a row.
Done a bit of research because I found that interesting. Glossop North End, Darwen and Bradford Park Avenue might be worth looking at that. It's complicated though.
Glossop had one First Division season in 1889/90 then played in Div 2 up until the start of WW1. After that they re-emerged in the Lancashire Combination League for 1 season (now defunct), before jumping to the Manchester League where they played from 19-20 until the mid fifties.The Manchester Premier League is currently tier 11 but I have no idea what it was then as there was likely some restructuring since that time. Currently in the Northern Premier League Division 1 West - Level 8.
Darwen (2 top flight seasons) have also played in the Lancashire Combination league as well as the Lancashire League. Don't know what level they were at the time. The club was actually wound up in 2009, then a new club was founded, AFC Darwen. I don't know if they count or not? AFC Darwen played at level 11 when launched and are now in the North West Counties Division 1 North (Level 10).
Bradford PA (3 seasons in the old first division) are another club that foled at one point. They bit the dust in 1974 and came back in '77, playing as low as Sunday League in who knows what level. Again, I don't know if that counts. Like Darwen they have also played North West Counties football in the past and are currently at level 6 in the National League North.
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My home town club. It would be sad to see them drop out of the league after going to watch them in the inaugural Premier League when I was a kid.
I think that'd be the difficult thing tracking this. Phoenix clubs that aren't the club but still sort of are can throw it off by reforming way down the pyramid.
Be interesting to see if there's a club that hasn't folded but has just slowly dropped down the leagues.
The name sounds familiar but didn’t even know they were in the Premier League - Googled it though and you are correct. It’s a shame, maybe we could loan them a couple of players to help them out.
Expect to be ridiculed but imagine this as a project for Jesse - he’d be on Utd wages but playing at a level where he’d be miles better than everyone. He could be an absolute hero in this Oldham place forever.
Expect to be ridiculed but imagine this as a project for Jesse - he’d be on Utd wages but playing at a level where he’d be miles better than everyone. He could be an absolute hero in this Oldham place forever.
Why on earth would any premier league footballer want to spend a season pissing about in league 2?
There's no debate about it at all - they categorically aren't the same club. They're just seen as the spiritual continuation of them.
But, factually, they aren't the same club. 100% fact. Wimbledon carried on playing until 2004, before moving to Milton Keynes - the first six months still as Wimbledon before changing their name to MK Dons. Whereas AFC Wimbledon were formed by fans, and started playing games in non-league, in 2002. So for the first two years of AFC's existence in non league, Wimbledon FC were still playing league matches. So AFC Wimbledon simply cannot be in any way an actual continuation of them.
What they claim to be, and are seen by many to be, is the spiritual continuation of them. Only people who don't know the history or the time line wrongly remember them as actually being the same club.
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Just before the PL started I remember the 2 United v Oldham semi finals fondly. Went to both although I couldn't see a thing at the first game. 11 year old me wasn't tall enough to see over people right at the back of Kippax at Maine Road. Had a seat for the replay so saw that one alright. Denis Irwin playing for them in those days of course, and Earl Barrett too who would go on to get 3 England caps.
Also remember the likes of Gunnar Halle, Any Ritchie, Rick Holden and Ian Marshall from that era in general.
Recently started travelling through Oldham on the tram on the way to work near Rochdale. It's weird because where the tram goes is kind of quiet even though it appears to look like the middle of a town centre. They cut off traffic to let the tram go down there but there's not many people walking about even though there's quite a few shops including a big Sainsbury's.
Also remember the likes of Gunnar Halle, Any Ritchie, Rick Holden and Ian Marshall from that era in general.
Recently started travelling through Oldham on the tram on the way to work near Rochdale. It's weird because where the tram goes is kind of quiet even though it appears to look like the middle of a town centre. They cut off traffic to let the tram go down there but there's not many people walking about even though there's quite a few shops including a big Sainsbury's.
Unlike every other town in a hilly part of the North, Oldham’s centre is at the top of a hill. All the others are in river valleys. This has always made access difficult; the railway went round the bottom of the hill, resulting in the stations being a long way from the centre.
When the railway line was converted to Metrolink it was decided to reroute it a lot nearer to the centre, trams being able to cope with steeper gradients than trains. Its new route is still quite a way (and a climb!) from the busy part of town though. As much as a place as economically depressed as Oldham can be said to be busy
I reckon the majority of Sainsbury’s custom arrives off the by-pass by car.
Mods: sorry if OT. What the Caf needs is a Transport Forum
It's a very interesting stat in the OP. I hadn't realised that.
Luton, Oxford and Notts County dropping into non league, and Portsmouth dropping quickly down to league Two, feel bigger and more 'shocking' to me. Oldham dropping down wouldn't have seemed too amazing, but I hadn't realised it would make them the first former PL side to drop out the league.
Luton, Oxford and Notts County dropping into non league, and Portsmouth dropping quickly down to league Two, feel bigger and more 'shocking' to me. Oldham dropping down wouldn't have seemed too amazing, but I hadn't realised it would make them the first former PL side to drop out the league.
Sunderlands double relegation was a shocker
Quite a slide since the Andy Ritchie days. Some high scoring games with United when I was a lad.
Stockport County have had a similar one, close to getting promoted to the Premier League at one stage to drop down to the Northern League in around 8-9 years. Greater Manchester looked really strong at one point with Wigan, Stockport, Oldham and Bolton.
Stockport County have had a similar one, close to getting promoted to the Premier League at one stage to drop down to the Northern League in around 8-9 years. Greater Manchester looked really strong at one point with Wigan, Stockport, Oldham and Bolton.
Sorry to divert the topic, but seeing some of the clubs listed makes me wonder which one has the most potential for a resurgence.
A club like Sunderland has seen consecutive relegations over the years, yet they have a large fanbase and they could be seen as a interesting project for some rich billionaire somewhere.
A club like Sunderland has seen consecutive relegations over the years, yet they have a large fanbase and they could be seen as a interesting project for some rich billionaire somewhere.
They were taken over by Kyril Louis-Dreyfus earlier this year.
He's the son of the former owner of Marseille when they were successful. The Louis-Dreyfus' have a successful family history, and, for fans of great sitcoms, Julia Louis-Dreyfus of Seinfeld fame is related to them.
The support for clubs in the north east is very strong in general, I am surprised Newcastle haven't attracted heavier investment than they have, Sunderland seem like a great choice too. Sheffield Wednesday are another sleeping giant that would be a good shout. Fun fact: Sheffield is bigger in area and population than the city of Manchester and is the birthplace of modern football, I would love to see a major investment in the world's oldest football club (Sheffield FC) however I don't see it happening any time soon.
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Newcastle were nearly bought out by Saudis last season, no?
Yeah I had heard the rumour, not sure what happened there. They seem like a great candidate for serious investment as far as I can see.
Think the takeover was stopped by the FA/Premier League or something like that.
Mine too, went to school opposite their ground so would often see the players going on runs. Also remember Gunna Halle grabbing hold of my mate and threatening to hit him after he threw a snowball at his car!
I’ve always had a bit of a bee in my bonnet about Oldham purely because a lot of my United supporting mates started supporting them when they had that great run under Royle. Would be a real shame to see them out of the league though, hope they can turn it around somehow.
Not really a fun fact as it ignores the Greater Manchester population plus many areas that have Manchester in their address but are not within the City of Manchester council boundary,, which is a small sliver of the real Manchester area.
Greater Manchester in roughly a 10 mile radius compromises of nearly 3 million people, it's the highest concentration of people outside of London. it's more local politics and stages of the industrial that have restricted the boundaries. Salford grew large hence how became a City next to centre of Manchester.
Yeah the city of Manchester is obviously distinct from Greater Manchester.
The city of Sheffield also is part of the Sheffield District in much the same way, this includes Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and some parts of Chesterfield (along with some other smaller areas), they all have Sheffield Post codes and come under the same district.
I was reffering to the actual cities rather than their districts.
Two reads here to sum up the situation
https://my.visme.co/view/ojn0j1oe-the-abdallah-years-a-timeline
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https://my.visme.co/view/ojn0j1oe-the-abdallah-years-a-timeline
Sad to see, the semi finals of the FA Cup in 1990 were a fond childhood memory as others have mentioned. Unbelievable games.
Bradford and Portsmouth as well.
Northampton town went from the fourth tier to the first, then back to the 4th again in just 9 seasons, while Man City are the only reigning champions to be relegated, back in 1938.
Oldham were cursed to have been a minnow in the early Premier League. There were no parachute payments in those days and the management foolishly gave out long term contracts on Premier League wages to some players before they got relegated. When they dropped down to the old first division they were basically financially screwed from that day forward. There were no previous examples of how not to do things in the new league structure. They did have a decent owner for a while but he sold out to some little known agent who seems like a bit of a chancer.
I always thought Jim Radcliffe should've bought his hometown club. He could've of transformed the town through it but I don't think he has much of a connection to the town unlike people like Brian Cox and Brian Clarke who try to give something back.
I always thought Jim Radcliffe should've bought his hometown club. He could've of transformed the town through it but I don't think he has much of a connection to the town unlike people like Brian Cox and Brian Clarke who try to give something back.
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There's a court case over it apparently, my Newcastle fan work colleague reckons.
We haven't heard the last of it unfortunately.
As for Oldham, i'll always remember wildly celebrating that incredible late Hughes stretching toed volley (if that does it justice), in that semi final in the FA Cup.
Such an important goal.
Then battered them 4-1 in the replay.
Such an important goal.
Then battered them 4-1 in the replay.
Not PL of course, but just learned about DWS in Holland which is a fascinating one. Won the top Dutch division as recently as 1964, reached the quarters of the European Cup. Now in the 6th tier of amateur football.