Which club is the smallest club that would still be considered a bit club with a global fan base?
I think this is a tricky question
I think this is a tricky question
Who are the smallest "big club"?
- Thread starter Ajr
- Start date
Wrexham AFC
Spurs? Lot of attention around a largely irrelevant club.
Don't really understand what you're looking for here but maybe Tottenham and Atletico Madrid? These clubs are 'smaller' than one would think.
How are we defining a big club? If it's just having a global fanbase, then I'd put forward Inter Miami as my answer. The Wrexham shout from @Scandi Red probably isn't a bad one either.
Liverpool?
1 (Covid) league title in 34 odd years. They’ve recently had their most “successful” period in decades and all it amassed to was 1 (Covid) league title, 1 Championship League and a few cups despite spending close to a billion pounds.
No doubt they are a big club, with a mostly fine and admirable history but when you compare them on the same scale as the likes of Manchester United, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich they are relatively small.
1 (Covid) league title in 34 odd years. They’ve recently had their most “successful” period in decades and all it amassed to was 1 (Covid) league title, 1 Championship League and a few cups despite spending close to a billion pounds.
No doubt they are a big club, with a mostly fine and admirable history but when you compare them on the same scale as the likes of Manchester United, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich they are relatively small.
I'll never understand Europeans' obsessions with the size of a club
"The Lakers are the biggest NBA team/franchise"... like, so?
"The Lakers are the biggest NBA team/franchise"... like, so?
Yeah I bet no one in South American countries cares about this sort of thing. Definitely a European thing
Now that you mention it, in all the years of watching basketball I have never seen a Lakers fans brag about what a big franchise they are. Nor have I ever seen anyone mock OKC for being a small market team
That's because basketball is an individual sport masking as a team sport and fans brag about hall of fame entries and stats. Americans are obsessed with individual stats and menial records like "this is the first time they've scored less than two touchdowns in the first 2Q on a Thursday night in over 2 years".Now that you mention it, in all the years of watching basketball I have never seen a Lakers fans brag about what a big franchise they are. Nor have I ever seen anyone mock OKC for being a small market team
I'd also like to submit Al Ahly as a possible answer. A huge fanbase that rivals some of the biggest clubs in Europe, 11 CAF CL titles to go with a cabinet brimming with other African accolades, and a 75k-seater stadium. But chances are about half the people reading won't have heard of them.
low grade bait you're casting there.....
Maybe Napoli or BVB? Not many successes lately, plenty of disappointments and bottle jobs in the last decades, in purely footballing terms they are quite far from being tier 1 teams, based in a rather second grade cities (I love Naples but there’s no doubt it’s not for everyone). Yet both still keep their legendary status and prestige due to the history, giant followership, fanatic fanbase.
Nope. We do care about it in South America. Every country fights for which club is their biggest club.Yeah I bet no one in South American countries cares about this sort of thing. Definitely a European thing
Aren't your Knicks the biggest NBA franchise? While the Lakers are the most successful?
Or is it Golden State, based on value? I know that the Lakers aren't at the top either in terms of market value or franchise.
Arsenal? No real European success and no league title in 20 years.
They have a major fanbase but wouldn't it almost entirely be concentrated within Egypt? Or do they have a big following beyond the country too? Unfortunately I would say Al Ahly's list of honours is somewhat undermined by the relative lack of quality in domestic competition.
Spurs, Roma, Villa (?) Everton, Lazio (?)
All those clubs have some good history behind them and are usually ever presents in their leagues but never seem to take the next step.
All those clubs have some good history behind them and are usually ever presents in their leagues but never seem to take the next step.
Really? I have seen an awful lot of people mock franchises for being small market franchises even when they are not, the Wolves being an example. Or people use the very common "poverty franchise" expression.Now that you mention it, in all the years of watching basketball I have never seen a Lakers fans brag about what a big franchise they are. Nor have I ever seen anyone mock OKC for being a small market team
I was gonna say Man City, but then I saw the word Global.
Remove the word global then... It's still not Man City because you've said "fan base" ...
Remove the word global then... It's still not Man City because you've said "fan base" ...
Well of course you do. I was being sarcastic.
Their fanbase certainly goes beyond the borders of Egypt. It's largely concentrated in Africa and the Middle East, but I don't see how that stops them being a big club. Likewise with the competition. After all, they can only beat what's infront of them and what's been infront of them has been every competitor in Africa and they've turned them all over a hell of a lot.
I think if we identify them as the biggest club in Africa - which I'd say we have to - then they must necessarily be a big club.
I have never seen it in this context to be fair. I have seen it said about teams in perpetual state of rebuild like the Hornets but I have never seen a team called a poverty franchise simply for being a small market team.
Ajax possibly? Powerhouse in terms of history and footballing culture, the biggest club in their country, but perhaps not taken seriously at the European top table these days.
Still a big club with a massive fanbase, but not the type of club top players will play for past 22-23 years old.
Still a big club with a massive fanbase, but not the type of club top players will play for past 22-23 years old.
Yes, but can a club that dominates football on a whole continent actually be a small big club?
I like the weirdness and futility of this discussion
Roma is a decent shout, I wouldn’t put other teams in the “big club” category though.
That's interesting why would you put Roma in the big club category but not similarly or more successful clubs like Lazio or Villa?
Edit: Even Everton has a better shout with a better domestic record.
Oh sorry, had my sarcasm detector turned off
Over the years there has always been talk of big four, big five, big six. Us, Liverpool and Arsenal have been pretty constant but the others have changed regularly. I'd say those that were once included but would look out of place now are Everton and Villa.
In England I’d probably say Everton or Leeds maybe?
Yeah I'd agree that they are Africa's biggest club and that necessitates them being a big club in terms of global significance. I do think the domestic competition's weakness matters though, in the same way that Celtic and Rangers' remarkable list of domestic achievements is made somewhat less impressive by the fact the Scottish PL as a competition isn't top dog. But I guess ultimately though you're right, this is about smaller big clubs so they will have to have some shortcomings, it'd be hard for me to argue that Al Ahly is not a big club.
It’s obviously very subjective, I was born in early 90s so at least I have witnessed Roma’s championship and multiple league challenges, whereas Villa and Everton haven’t won a thing since the 80s and have been largely irrelevant for over a generation now. And Lazio will always be a small, loathsome club for their fascist fans.
Liverpool
Newcastle. The biggest club in Newcastle. Their biggest rivals is a pit village team.
It's greatYes, but can a club that dominates football on a whole continent actually be a small big club?
I like the weirdness and futility of this discussion
I suppose if you argued that it was a small footballing continent you maybe could. But then Africa is obviously not the smallest footballing continent.
Based on performances in international competitions and the like then we're probably looking for either an Asian or North American club, but only if that club can be said to have a global fanbase.
Between us we might have stumbled onto a really good answer here: Rangers.
They have 152 years of storied history with plenty of fans worldwide and yet (depending on who you ask) they're only 12 years old, and have only been in the top flight for 8 seasons.
Arsenal. No European cups/ Champions leagues
I would give Olympique de Marseille a shout. The first (and only French) CL winner, that stadium, the fans, the history, the aura it still has ... but if you look at how their recent teams have looked and their results.
Manchester City
Great shout. Massive fanbase and eternal history, completely hopeless in the last decades and largely forgotten.
Read the OP, the thread is about big clubs
I see. I couldn't separate any of these clubs and I would consider all of them as big clubs.