Brentford’s Griffin Park has a pub on every corner; the world’s busiest airport down the road and a Middlesex postcode. Eat that QPR!
Beneath the international media glare that falls relentlessly on the EPL, lies an equally heated race to join the high pressure madhouse.
Although the likely fate of the three clubs who will be promoted from the Championship is to struggle for survival like Hull City, Burnley, Leicester and QPR, there is no shortage of aspirants.
A glance at the top of the Championship table though reveals two interesting observations. Firstly, the entourage is not exactly composed of traditional English giants who have fallen on hard times or sides for whom top tier is their birthright. Secondly, there is a very strong southern accent to the pack.
The exception to both rules is third place Middlesbrough, more recently in the news for eliminating Manchester City from the FA Cup. Boro hail from the banks of the River Wear, in England’s north east. Boro fans, also known as Smoggies due to the town’s air quality, imagine themselves to be part of a ferocious three way rivalry with Newcastle and Sunderland. Fans of the other two tend to focus their venom on each other, pointing out that Middlesbrough lies in the county of Yorkshire, albeit in its far north.
Nonetheless the Boro are indeed a big hitter in the English game. A study ranking England’s clubs conducted at the end of the 2013 season listed them at 24, well within the range you’d expect to be in the top flight as often than not, or at least kicking the door down. By way of illustration, it is worth noting that there are eight current members of the EPL below them in that list.
Packed around third place Boro, are Bournemouth, Derby County, Ipswich Town, Brentford and Watford.
Derby is in the East Midlands but the other four are resolutely in southern England and far from traditional footballing hotbeds. Derby won league titles in the 1970s under Bran Clough. The period between 1972 and 1975 gave Derby 28 of their 214 points in the system but they have rarely been out of the top two divisions and can be considered to be no surprise.
After Derby and Middlesbrough though, things start to get weird. Were you expecting Sheffield Wednesday, neighbuors United Bolton or Birmingham City? The likely candidates are to be found further adrift. There are some very unlikely knuckles knocking on the Premiership door.
The quiet town of Bournemouth on England’s Dorset coast is most famous for seaside holidays and being a place old people retire in. Only finally in 2007 did births first exceed deaths in the the town. The number of people over 85 is 50% higher than the national average.
AFC Bournemouth have never played in the top flight and only made their debut in the second tier in 1987. They are 73rd in the historical rankings.
Ipswich, like Derby, had a glory spell in the 1970s under future England manager Bobby Robson; after winning the league surprisingly in 1962 as a promoted side. They regularly finished in the top ten in the 1970s and in the year they did not, the Portman Road side won the FA Cup beating Arsenal 1-0 in a memorable final. For most of the rest of their history, they have languished in the second tier. A UEFA Cup win in 1981 though helps them peg at 29th in the rankings.
The second biggest surprise after Bournemouth are Brentford FC. Brentford are an unusual club, in that it they are the only one that plays in the traditional county of Middlesex although are normally counted as a West London club for the benefit of derbies with Chelsea, Fulham and especially QPR. They also play in the shadow of Heathrow airport and are most famous for having a pub on each corner of the ground.
The Bees’ best years came during the 1930s, when they achieved consecutive top six finishes in the First Division. Since the Second World War, they have struggled to even make the second tier. Their arrival in the top flight would re-ignite a wonderful derby with QPR and one can be sure they would fill their entire allocation of seats at nearby Stamford Bridge. They are 57th in the rankings.
Watford play in Hertfordshire, one of England’s posher and most wealthy counties. The town however is till one of the most northwesternly outposts on the London Underground, deep into suburbia and beyond. Look for the pink bit on the top left of the Metropolitan Line. Some count them as a London team but their traditional local rivals are Luton Town.
Perhaps the club is most famous for its association with singer Elton John. The Hornets had their best spell in the 1980s when another future England manager Graham Taylor coached the club but their otherwise humdrum record sees them ranked at 48.
Below those six, the usual suspects await. Wolves, Norwich, Blackburn, Wednesday, Birmingham and Nottingham Forest occupy 7 through 12 and are all sides you would expect to see in the EPL or in the race to return. All but Norwich are in the top 20 of the historical rankings.
The question remains will 2015/16 see some traditional giants return to the top fold or can the bold little guys of Brentford, Middlesex; Watford, Hertfordshire; and Bournemouth, Dorset bring the EPL to some of England’s more unusual footballing outposts.
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