I dont know if anybody else has seen such information, but a friend told me that a survey had been done to find the countries biggest 'sleeping giant' football club. It took into consideration biggest average attendance, years since last won a trophy, positions in league etc. It eventually got down to three teams, Leeds, Wednesday and us. The winner (if thats what you want to call it!!) was the blades, apparently.
Sleeping giant
- Thread starter muttsnuts
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Was it this on footysphere? http://footysphere.tumblr.com/post/857841932/sleeping-giants-english-football
Who are the Sleeping Giants of English Football?
Comments by Joe Cole about Liverpool being the biggest club in England have prompted an article on the Newcastle United Supporters Trust website asking the question What is a big club?
Some geezer from Coventry University called Simon Chadwick was interviewed by Radio 5 and offered some criteria that could be used to determine exactly which clubs are big. One notion he mentioned was that of a sleeping giant and offered the examples of Cardiff City, Leeds United and Southampton. Is he right can any of these three clubs be considered sleeping giants and are there others?
So who are the sleeping giants of English football? First up we have to define what a sleeping giant is. For starters the term suggests the club is currently out of sorts and is not reaching heights it once did. They’re no longer playing at the pinnacle of English football, in the top flight, instead floundering in the Championship or lower.
Next up the club must have an illustrious history and this has got to mean it has something in the trophy cabinet. We’re not talking about a few divisional trophies or minor cups here. For a club to be considered a sleeping giant I would say it’s got to have some major domestic honours and the only two really worth winning are the league title and the FA Cup. Indeed a sleeping giant must have won both these honours at some point in their history.
So for the first part of our analysis we will only look at clubs that are currently outside the Premiership and who have won both the English top flight title and the FA Cup. Here they are ranked by the number of trophies won ..
•Nottingham Forest - 9
•Sheffield Wednesday - 8
•Leeds United - 7
•Sheffield United - 5
•Huddersfield Town - 4
•Portsmouth - 4
•Preston North End - 4
•Burnley - 3
•Derby County - 3
•Ipswich Town - 3
So on the basis of past glories are these ten clubs the sleeping giants of English football. They’ve all won the league title and the FA Cup. Well we can add an extra level of definition to find just who are the true sleeping giants of the game in England. We’ve already determined that a club must have some major honours under it’s belt but what about crowds and attendances. Ask anyone what constitutes a big club and they’ll always mention those that get the highest crowds.
So it’s fair to have a think about pulling power when considering which clubs are sleeping giants. Only twenty-eight English clubs have ever attracted crowds over fifty thousand. Of the ten clubs above only six have ever attracted crowds in excess of fifty thousand ..
•Sheffield Wednesday
•Leeds United
•Sheffield United
•Huddersfield Town
•Portsmouth
•Burnley
What about consistency when it comes to attracting large numbers through the turnstiles? Which of the six clubs above are amongst the top twenty supported clubs when ranked on historical average attendance? We are left with ..
•Sheffield Wednesday
•Leeds United
•Sheffield United
So then these three Yorkshire clubs by the definitions we have used are the sleeping giants of the English game. All are outside the Premiership, all feature amongst the twenty most succesful clubs in English football and all three are historically amongst the top twenty supported clubs in the land.
Now why don’t we have a look to see just how long it is since each of these three clubs has won anything. So when ranked by years since winning either the league title or the FA cup we are left with ..
•Sheffield United - FA Cup in 1925
•Sheffield Wednesday - FA Cup in 1935
•Leeds United - League title in 1992
There we have it then the Blades are positively catatonic going eighty-five years since winning anything of note. The Owls are comatose with seventy-five years since bagging one of the big two trophies though they did win the League Cup in 1991. Whilst Leeds have been snoozing for quite some time now. Just how much longer will they all remain in slumber?
Who do you think are the sleeping giants of English football?
Who are the Sleeping Giants of English Football?
Comments by Joe Cole about Liverpool being the biggest club in England have prompted an article on the Newcastle United Supporters Trust website asking the question What is a big club?
Some geezer from Coventry University called Simon Chadwick was interviewed by Radio 5 and offered some criteria that could be used to determine exactly which clubs are big. One notion he mentioned was that of a sleeping giant and offered the examples of Cardiff City, Leeds United and Southampton. Is he right can any of these three clubs be considered sleeping giants and are there others?
So who are the sleeping giants of English football? First up we have to define what a sleeping giant is. For starters the term suggests the club is currently out of sorts and is not reaching heights it once did. They’re no longer playing at the pinnacle of English football, in the top flight, instead floundering in the Championship or lower.
Next up the club must have an illustrious history and this has got to mean it has something in the trophy cabinet. We’re not talking about a few divisional trophies or minor cups here. For a club to be considered a sleeping giant I would say it’s got to have some major domestic honours and the only two really worth winning are the league title and the FA Cup. Indeed a sleeping giant must have won both these honours at some point in their history.
So for the first part of our analysis we will only look at clubs that are currently outside the Premiership and who have won both the English top flight title and the FA Cup. Here they are ranked by the number of trophies won ..
•Nottingham Forest - 9
•Sheffield Wednesday - 8
•Leeds United - 7
•Sheffield United - 5
•Huddersfield Town - 4
•Portsmouth - 4
•Preston North End - 4
•Burnley - 3
•Derby County - 3
•Ipswich Town - 3
So on the basis of past glories are these ten clubs the sleeping giants of English football. They’ve all won the league title and the FA Cup. Well we can add an extra level of definition to find just who are the true sleeping giants of the game in England. We’ve already determined that a club must have some major honours under it’s belt but what about crowds and attendances. Ask anyone what constitutes a big club and they’ll always mention those that get the highest crowds.
So it’s fair to have a think about pulling power when considering which clubs are sleeping giants. Only twenty-eight English clubs have ever attracted crowds over fifty thousand. Of the ten clubs above only six have ever attracted crowds in excess of fifty thousand ..
•Sheffield Wednesday
•Leeds United
•Sheffield United
•Huddersfield Town
•Portsmouth
•Burnley
What about consistency when it comes to attracting large numbers through the turnstiles? Which of the six clubs above are amongst the top twenty supported clubs when ranked on historical average attendance? We are left with ..
•Sheffield Wednesday
•Leeds United
•Sheffield United
So then these three Yorkshire clubs by the definitions we have used are the sleeping giants of the English game. All are outside the Premiership, all feature amongst the twenty most succesful clubs in English football and all three are historically amongst the top twenty supported clubs in the land.
Now why don’t we have a look to see just how long it is since each of these three clubs has won anything. So when ranked by years since winning either the league title or the FA cup we are left with ..
•Sheffield United - FA Cup in 1925
•Sheffield Wednesday - FA Cup in 1935
•Leeds United - League title in 1992
There we have it then the Blades are positively catatonic going eighty-five years since winning anything of note. The Owls are comatose with seventy-five years since bagging one of the big two trophies though they did win the League Cup in 1991. Whilst Leeds have been snoozing for quite some time now. Just how much longer will they all remain in slumber?
Who do you think are the sleeping giants of English football?
- Thread starter
- #4
Yes, that is the info he told me, thanks.
Ballinpigpubs13
Save Carlos
Me and sf were both at the cup final in 1925.
- Thread starter
- #6
Sorry you didnt find it of any interest!!!!
JohnDenver
¡No Pasarán!
Don't show that to lenners. There'll be an indident. 
Pinchy
Blade, not Bladey.
Giants stand tall and proud. They don't allow their followers to meekly tug their forelocks and say 'we're not worthy to do what the other giants do'.
JohnDenver
¡No Pasarán!
Although being a giant would be handy for reaching those lofted hoofs we're so fond of.
BladeFisher
Well-Known Member
- Banned
- #10
Looks like Yorkshire footy is shite then? At least Leeds had money poured into them (and snitched/frittered away).
Mind out of those three only one club is not liked and its ..... the Blades. The Vale/Rovers/County/Park Avenue of Sheffield. The team that wins Buggar all.
Revolution
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Mind out of those three only one club is not liked and its ..... the Blades.
Leeds are much more widely disliked. Indeed, I reckon that they are the side most disliked by fans of other teams outside the "Big 4", or more accurately "Big 3 and Liverpool". For example, fans of every other Yorkshire team despise Leeds, whereas my feeling has always been that, say, Huddersfield and Bradford fans are pretty indifferent about us.
Leeds are much more widely disliked. Indeed, I reckon that they are the side most disliked by fans of other teams outside the "Big 4", or more accurately "Big 3 and Liverpool". For example, fans of every other Yorkshire team despise Leeds, whereas my feeling has always been that, say, Huddersfield and Bradford fans are pretty indifferent about us.
I'd say our neighbours along with Leeds, Barnsley and Hull aren't too keen on us.
We didn't used to get along with Huddersfield if the walks back to the station in the 80s were anything to go by and there was even fun in places like Bradford and Halifax.
Rotherham and perhaps Donny till recently didn't seem to mind us.
Everyone hates Leeds and if the arrogance and delusions of grandeur of the pigs is exposed to a wider audience then they will surely be Yorkshire's second most hated team if they aren't already. They certainly seem more hated than us in South Yorkshire.
We didn't used to get along with Huddersfield if the walks back to the station in the 80s were anything to go by and there was even fun in places like Bradford and Halifax.
Rotherham and perhaps Donny till recently didn't seem to mind us.
Everyone hates Leeds and if the arrogance and delusions of grandeur of the pigs is exposed to a wider audience then they will surely be Yorkshire's second most hated team if they aren't already. They certainly seem more hated than us in South Yorkshire.
- Thread starter
- #14
God some people just love to argue dont they. I bet if my cat is black yours is darker
- Thread starter
- #16
I nearly smudged mi lippy when i read that, me? trouble? why do you say such things.
ourbob
Member
Mutts.
See you in the ground 2moz coz phils comin to sort me floor out
See you in the ground 2moz coz phils comin to sort me floor out
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