What if English Football was organised by county like cricket? I have made a map of the highest ranked football team in each historic county at the end of the 23/24 season

4 comments

1. Here is the county ranking and the club that gave them that ranking:

   1st Lancashire (Manchester City, Prem, 1st)

   2nd Middlesex (Arsenal, Prem, 2nd)

   3rd Warwickshire (Aston Villa, Prem, 4th)

   4th Northumberland (Newcastle, Prem, 7th)

   5th Essex (West Ham, Prem, 9th)

   6th Surrey (Crystal Palace, Prem, 10th)

   7th Sussex (Brighton, Prem, 11th)

   8th Hampshire (Bournemouth, Prem, 12th)

   9th Staffordshire (Wolves, Prem, 14th)

   10th Nottinghamshire (Nottingham Forest, Prem, 17th)

   11th Bedfordshire (Luton Town, Prem, 18th)

   12th Yorkshire (Sheffield United, Prem, 20th)

   13th Leicestershire (Leicester City, Championship, 1st)

   14th Suffolk (Ipswich Town, Championship, 2nd)

   15th Norfolk (Norwich, Championship, 6th)

   16th Somerset (Bristol City, Championship, 11th)

   17th Hertfordshire (Watford, Championship, 15th)

   18th County Durham (Sunderland, Championship, 16th)

   19th Devon (Plymouth Argyle, Championship, 21st)

   20th Derbyshire (Derby County, League 1, 2nd)

   21st Huntingdonshire (Peterborough United, League 1, 4th)

   22nd Oxfordshire (Oxford United, League 1, 5th)

   23rd Lincolnshire (Lincoln City, League 1, 7th)

   24th Buckinghamshire (Wycombe Wanderers, League 1, 10th)

   25th Northamptonshire (Northampton Town, League 1, 14th)

   26th Gloucestershire (Bristol Rovers, League 1, 15th)

   27th Kent (Charlton Athletic, League 1, 16th)

   28th Berkshire (Reading, League 1, 17th)

   29th Cambridgeshire (Cambridge United, League 1, 18th)

   30th Shropshire (Shrewsbury, League 1, 19th)

   31st Cumberland (Carlisle, League 1, 24th)

   32nd Cheshire (Stockport County, League 2, 1st)

   33rd Wiltshire (Swindon Town, League 2, 19th)

   34th Worcestershire (Kidderminster Harriers, National League, 22nd)

   35th Herefordshire (Hereford, Nat League North, 11th)

   36th Dorset (Weymouth, National League South, 15th)

   37th Cornwall (Truro City, National League South, 16th)

   38th Westmorland (Kendal, North West Counties Football League, Division 1, 6th)

   39th Rutland (Uppingham, Peterborough and District Premier Division 1, 2nd)

2. That is interesting, but I don’t think Yorkshire constitutes a county any more. Historically yes, but we now have North, West, South and the East Riding.

   How would this change affect your map? I’m from East Riding myself, so I imagine Hull would be the team for that region.

3. The nefarious Yorkshire was defeated in the great Lancastrian plot of 1974 at the cost of Liverpool and Manchester. Given these breakaway states from the Democratic People’s Republic of Lancashire are both host to successful teams, it makes more sense to use an appropriate map.

4. Peterborough is Cambridgeshire, not Huntingdonshire.

   Huntingdonshire is now just a district part of Cambridgeshire.

   It does mean Peterborough are the best team in Cambridgeshire (which pains me to say as a Cambridge fan)