The Friday List of Little or No Consequence #153

CurioUSly named
14 Defunct American Soccer Teams With Interesting Or Amusing Names

1. Bethlehem Hungarian
2. Bricklayers and Masons FC
3. Chattanooga Express
4. El Paso/Juarez Gamecocks
5. Hawaii Tsunami
6. Holley Carburetor FC
7. Indiana Flooring
8. New Brunswick Hungarian Americans
9. Ohio Xoggz
10. Permian Basin Shooting Stars
11. Philadelphia Ukrainians
12. San Diego Top Guns
13. San Jose Frogs
14. Syracuse Salty Dogs

The Friday List of Little or No Consequence #138

Vowel please, Carol...
The 15 Clubs Of The Premier League And Football League With The Highest Vowel-To-Consonant Ratios In Their Name

1. Torquay United (46.2%)
2. Leeds United (45.5%)
3. Bournemouth (45.5%)
4. Liverpool (44.4%)
5. Peterborough United (44.4%)
6. Morecambe (44.4%)
7. Hartlepool United (43.8%)
8. Arsenal (42.9%)
9. Chelsea (42.9%)
10.Everton (42.9%)
11. Reading (42.9%)
12. Carlisle United (42.9%)
13. Southend United (42.9%)
14. Crewe Alexandra (42.9%)
15. Hereford United (42.9%)

The Friday List of Little or No Consequence #100

The 100 Club
10 Clubs From Around The World Celebrating Their 100th Anniversary in 2009



We hope you enjoy this 100th Friday List. Apologies for the very late launch - this was due to numerous factors, some of which were beyond our control.

The Friday List of Little or No Consequence #74

One-match wonders
16 Premier League Seasons And The Teams That Were Leading The Table After One Match

1. Newcastle United (2007/08)
2. Manchester United (2006/07)
3. Charlton / West Ham (2005/06)
4. Arsenal / Bolton (2004/05)
5. Blackburn (2003/04)
6. Fulham (2002/03)
7. Bolton (2001/02)
8. Charlton (2000/01)
9. Chelsea (1999/2000)
10. Wimbledon (1998/99)
11. Manchester United (1997/98)
12. Nottingham Forest / Man United (1996/97)
13. Newcastle United (1995/96)
14. Liverpool (1994/95)
15. Aston Villa (1993/94)
16. Norwich City (1992/93)

...and our thanks go to Russell Napier for giving us the idea for today's 'Friday List'. If you've got some suggestions of your own, don't forget - we'd love to see them and if at all possible we'll publish them on SPAOTP with our thanks. Just drop us a line to info [at] spaotp [dot] com and we'll do the rest...

A level down in Europe

March is finally here and we're deep into the heart of the domestic season. Many of you will be happily supporting your team as they bumble along in the Premier League, La Liga, the Bundesliga and so on, but we'd bet the shirts on our backs that you've probably forgotten all about the teams that were relegated last Summer.

So whatever happened to those teams that fell through the trapdoor and into the ignominy of second-tier soccer? Some People Are On The Pitch are about to tell you as we check out the forgotten men of Europe's big five leagues.

(Details correct as at February 29 2008)

England: Football League Championship
Relegated from Premier League in 2006/07: Sheffield United (18th), Charlton (19th) and Watford (20th)
Quite often you find that the teams who drop out of the English top flight every May are a member of 'The Yo-Yo Club' - that is to say they regularly go up and down from season to season between the Premier League and Championship. Think West Brom, Birmingham, Sunderland - that kind of thing.

Well last season proved to be the exception. Sheffield United and Watford were happily camped in the Championship for many years and Charlton were mainstays in the Premier League too for quite a while, so here were three names not used to relegation into the Championship as recent seasons go.

As it turns out, Charlton and Watford have made a decent fist of trying to get promotion back at the first attempt with both teams currently occupying positions in the play-off zone. Watford made the best start of anybody in the division, losing just one of their first thirteen games, but a six-week spell from the start of November 2007 that saw them lose five out of nine nearly undid all their good work. Luckily for them, they're currently on a seven-game unbeaten run and if they keep that up, they may well get the automatic promotion place they're currently battling with Bristol City and Stoke for.

Charlton have had similar good form, losing only a couple more games than Watford, but Sheffield United have found it nowhere near as easy as their two relegationees to keep their heads above water. Quite how much of a factor the Carlos Tevez affair has got to do with it, we don't know, but Sheffield United seem to be floundering at the moment down in 17th position.

Though they're unlikely to be relegated again, their main problem at the moment seems to be that they're drawing too many games. That in itself can be no bad thing, as long as their are plenty of wins to keep the points tally ever increasing. Sadly for The Blades that's not the case, but perhaps now that former manager Bryan Robson has parted company with the club, they can now look forward to a brighter future - albeit challenging for a return to the Premier League next year.

SPAOTP Prediction: Watford to be promoted, Charlton to enter the play-offs and Sheffield United to reach mid-table security.

Spain: Segunda División
Relegated from La Liga in 2006/07: Celta Vigo (18th), Real Sociedad (19th) and Gimnastic Tarragona (20th)
Of the three teams relegated last season, the big shock was undoubtedly Real Sociedad. Once a high-profile name in the Spanish top flight, Sociedad found themselves out of the Segunda División for the first time since the 1966/67 season. Former Fulham manager Chris Coleman was drafted in but Sociedad initially struggled in their attempt to bounce straight back, causing Coleman to resign in January 2008.

It's somewhat ironic but Coleman left just as his team were enjoying their best form of the season. True, Real Sociedad only won four of their first fourteen games, but they then lost only one of their next seven directly before Coleman left. Sociedad are currently fourth in the Segunda División table, just one place outside the promotion zone.

For the other two teams that dropped down a level with them, life isn't going quite so well. Celta Vigo are down in eighth but only four points behind Real Sociedad, while Gimnastic Tarragona are in danger of being relegated once again. They currently lie in 19th position, the last of the bottom four teams that will face the drop at the season's end if they remain where they are. The key to their survival may lie in their next three games, two of which are against fellow strugglers Las Palmas and Xerez while a tricky tie against fifth-placed Elche will push them to their limits.

SPAOTP Prediction: Real Sociedad to gain promotion with Celta Vigo just missing out, and Gimnastica to be relegated.

France: Ligue 2
Relegated from Ligue 1 in 2006/07: Troyes (18th), Sedan (19th) and Nantes (20th)
As in Spain, there was a real shock at the end of last season when a team regarded as one of the top clubs in the country were relegated. That team was Nantes, and the surprise was all the greater considering they were French champions as recently as 2001, just before the Lyon supremacy took hold.

Nantes had come close to being relegated at the end of the 2004/05 season but just held on. This time, there was only one outcome, and that was a return to Ligue 2 for the first time in 44 seasons. Hardly surprising given they'd gone through four coaches and numerous team line-ups during this last Ligue 1 campaign.

Their reaction to such catastrophe has been a good one as Nantes currently lie in second place in the table, just ahead of Troyes who also went down to Ligue 2 on the last day of last season. Troyes are no strangers to life outside the top flight, but since 2000 have just about held onto a place among the country's elite. The way things stand, they too could be heading straight back to Ligue 1 which is more than can be said for Sedan who are eighth at the moment and seem to be reverting to form as perpetual promotion candidates who aren't quite good enough.

SPAOTP Prediction: Nantes to finish runners-up, promoted with Troyes in 3rd. Sedan staying put for another season.

Germany: Bundesliga 2
Relegated from Bundesliga in 2006/07: Mainz (16th), Aachen (17th) and Borussia Mönchengladbach (20th)
Borussia Mönchengladbach aren't strangers to the Bundesliga 2, but they're not regulars there either. It's therefore fair to say that a few ripples were sent through German football when they, like Real Sociedad and Nantes failed to hold their seemingly unshakable place in the top division last season. That said, like their Spanish and French counterparts, they look to be making an immediate return for they're currently leading the table by four points.

Mainz were also relegated last season and they find themselves only five points behind Mönchengladbach in third place, while Aachen, the third team to drop out of the Bundesliga, are well off the pace in ninth.

Mönchengladbach are certainly the form team of the moment having only lost three of their 22 games, but what makes their success all the more remarkable is that they have one of the league's top scorers in Canadian Rob Friend.

Friend was drafted to Chicago Fire in 2003 but has since played his club football for Moss and Molde in Norway, and Heerenveen and Heracles Almelo in the Netherlands before joining the German club in 2007. Together with club captain Oliver Neuville, they're firing Mönchengladbach back to the top flight.

Alemannia Aachen, however, are known as regulars in Bundesliga and their form suggests that won't change this season but Mainz's future isn't so easy to predict. Though they recently beat Mönchengladbach 1-0 away from home, they've lost to 2nd-placed Greuther Fürth and also failed to beat lowly Carl Zeiss Jena or mid-table Koblenz and St.Pauli.

SPAOTP Prediction: Borussia Mönchengladbach to win Bundesliga 2, Mainz to be promoted, Aachen to remain mid-table.

Italy: Serie B
Relegated from Serie A in 2006/07: Chievo (18th), Ascoli (19th) and Messina (20th)
Finally to Serie B where Chievo are leading a march to reclaim their place in Serie A where their glorious six-season run came to an end in the summer. Having gained promotion in 2001/02, Chievo surprised many by not just surviving but also qualifying for European competition.

All that seems a distant memory now, but their future's looking bright despite the dirth of players that left before the start of the new season along with manager Luigi Del Neri. Chievo have lost only four of their 27 matches so far this season and are in a strong position although their lead is currently only a single point with three other teams, Bologna, Lecce and Albinoleffe very close behind.

For the other two relegated sides, Messina and Ascoli, promotion back to Serie A looks decidedly unlikely even at this stage of the season. Messina, who have only ever had five years in the top league before now, have leaked eleven goals in their last three matches and will be lucky to stay in the ninth position they currently occupy.

Ascoli are the stereotypical yo-yo club of Italy. Having just spent a couple of seasons in Serie A, they look set for a second season in Serie B but their mid-table position could change for better or worse in the coming weeks. Their current inconsisitency means a final table position is difficult to predict, but they were unbeaten in three at the time of going to press, so we have a sneaking suspicion they may be able to finish in the top half of the table this term.

SPAOTP Prediction: Chievo to gain promotion (though not necessarily as champions), Messina to finish in the bottom-half of the table and Ascoli to finish mid-table or slightly better.

The Friday List of Little or No Consequence #40

We're Football fans too, you know...
40 Sports Stars And The Teams They Support

1. Mike Atherton (Cricket) - Manchester United
2. Boris Becker (Tennis) - Bayern Munich
3. Björn Borg (Tennis) - Hammarby
4. Ian Botham (Cricket) - Scunthorpe
5. Eric Bristow (Darts) - Chelsea
6. Sebastian Coe (Athletics) - Chelsea
7. Steve Cram (Athletics) - Sunderland
8. Lawrence Dallaglio (Rugby Union) - Chelsea
9. Frankie Dettori (Horse Racing) - Juventus
10. Roger Federer (Tennis) - Basel
11. Giancarlo Fisichella (Motor Racing) - Roma
12. Andrew Flintoff (Cricket) - Manchester City
13. Stephen Fleming (Cricket) - Stoke City
14. Carl Fogarty (Superbikes) - Blackburn Rovers
15. Sergio Garcia (Golf) - Real Madrid
16. Simon Geoghan (Rugby Union) - West Ham
17. Darren Gough (Cricket) - Barnsley
18. Steve Harmison (Cricket) - Newcastle United
19. Audley Harrison (Boxing) - Arsenal
20. Ricky Hatton (Boxing) - Manchester City
21. Stephen Hendry (Snooker) - Hearts
22. Evander Holyfield (Boxing) - Houston Dynamo
23. Goran Ivanisevic (Tennis) - West Bromwich Albion (and Hajduk Split)
24. Martin Johnson (Rugby Union) - Leicester City
25. Yevgeny Kafelnikov (Tennis) - Spartak Moscow
26. Amir Khan (Boxing) - Bolton
27. Denise Lewis (Athletics) - Wolves
28. Lennox Lewis (Boxing) - West Ham
29. Colin Montgomerie (Golf) - Rangers (and Leeds United)
30. Andy Murray (Tennis) - Hibernian
31. Rafael Nadal (Tennis) - Real Madrid
32. David Nalbandian (Tennis) - River Plate
33. Jarkko Nieminen (Tennis) - Manchester United
34. Ronnie O'Sullivan (Snooker) - Arsenal
35. Michael Schumacher (Motor Racing) - Cologne
36. Sir Steve Redgrave (Rowing) - Chelsea
37. Greg Rusedski (Tennis) - Arsenal
38. Ian Thorpe (Swimming) - Tottenham
39. Raymond van Barneveld (Darts) - Den Haag
40. Michael Vaughn (Cricket) - Sheffield Wednesday

The Friday List of Little or No Consequence #2

The Name Game
16 Football Clubs With Amusing and Peculiar Names From Around the World

1. Joe Public FC (Trinidad and Tobago)
2. Take Care Tigers (Guam)
3. Full Monty (Anguilla)
4. FC KooTeePee (Finland)
5. Missiles FC (Gabon)
6. Ethiopian Coffee (Ethiopia)
7. Prime Minister's Office FC (Laos)
8. Finance and Revenue (Myanmar)
9. Wongosport (Gabon)
10. School Boys (Lesotho)
11. Mighty Blackpool (Sierra Leone)
12. East End Connections (British Virgin Islands)
13. Eleven Men In Flight (Swaziland)
14. & 15. Shooting Stars (Nigeria & Zimbabwe)
16. Silver Shattas (Guyana)