“Spurs completed seventeenth this season, but claimed a spot within the Champions League. They aren’t the lowest-ranked Uefa qualifier, although, as I recall Millwall enjoying in Europe within the early 2000s. Which different English second-tier groups have performed in Uefa European competitions?” asks Richard Amos.
We checked out this again within the 2011-12 season as Birmingham entered the Europa League by advantage of profitable that yr’s League Cup. They exited within the group stage, behind Membership Brugge and Portugal’s Braga (the latter overwhelmed finalists the earlier yr), regardless of reaching the magical 10 factors whole.
That adopted within the custom set by West Ham’s 1980 FA Cup winners – Trevor Brooking’s uncommon header and all – and their journey to the quarter-final of the 1980-81 Cup Winners’ Cup. There they met a legendary Dinamo Tbilisi staff, who went on to win the competitors, the one Georgian membership to win a European trophy (although they performed within the outdated Soviet Union) and a staff that had demolished Liverpool within the 1979-80 European Cup. West Ham misplaced 4-2 on mixture, together with a 4-1 dwelling loss that has time-honoured Hammers gasping on the reminiscence.
On to the twenty first century, the place Ipswich certified for the 2002-03 Uefa Cup regardless of being relegated from the Premiership (because it was identified) in 2001-02. They certified for Europe by Uefa’s Honest Play League after all the English groups above them within the Honest Play League certified for different European competitions. George Burley had taken Ipswich into the Uefa Cup within the earlier season however he was sacked in October 2002 because the Championship promotion marketing campaign went downhill rapidly, to get replaced by Joe Royle. Considered one of Royle’s first assignments was a second-round assembly with Slovan Liberec, which they misplaced on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Millwall’s sole portion of continental soccer got here after they misplaced the 2004 FA Cup remaining to Manchester United, who had certified for the Champions League. Dennis Smart’s Lions solely acquired so far as a 4-2 first-round knockout loss to Ferencvaros.
The 2013 winners of the FA Cup, Wigan Athletic, had been unable to stop relegation, and so, Roberto Martínez having departed to Everton, Owen Coyle and, quickly sufficient, Uwe Rösler presided over a Europa League group stage by which the Latics completed backside behind Belgium’s Zulte Waregem, Maribor and the Russian staff Rubin Kazan.
To delve but additional into the murky depths of Data favorite the Intertoto Cup, Crystal Palace, relegated after a marketing campaign that included the co-management of Tomas Brolin and Attilio Lombardo, discovered themselves enjoying Samsunspor of Turkey over two legs and dropping 2-0 each dwelling and away, throughout Terry Venables’ ill-starred return to Selhurst Park in 1998.
Crestfallen
“Newcastle’s third equipment incorporates a completely different membership badge from the house and away kits, which suggests once they put on it the goalkeeper has a distinct badge on their shirt. Are there every other cases of this?” asks Andy Foreman-Lonn.
Liverpool are coming to the top of their equipment sponsorship with Nike, a deal which runs till 31 July 2025. In one thing of a advertising and marketing fake pas, the membership should play their first pre-season video games in final season’s Nike equipment, but it surely additionally means their new signings have needed to be unveiled in Nike gear. No person is aware of for positive the brand new Adidas designs for subsequent yr – they’ll’t be launched till 1 August – however unconfirmed leaked photographs recommend that three completely different badges will adorn the three new Adidas kits: a easy white Liver chicken on the pink dwelling equipment underneath LFC (much like the Nike equipment), a white chicken encased in a pink shielded crest on the away equipment and a white chicken on a extra elaborate crest on the ocean inexperienced third equipment, a nod to each the third kits and crests within the Nineteen Nineties. The brand new goalkeeper kits solely carry the badges which are discovered on the brand new dwelling shirts (if the leaks are to be believed), which implies that when Liverpool play of their away or third equipment subsequent season, Alisson Becker will likely be carrying a distinct badge to Virgil van Dijk and co.
“My membership [West Ham] had a equipment in 2016-17 to have fun the membership’s authentic origins as ‘Thames Ironworks FC’,” emails Jack Hart. “The badge, quite than being our conventional crossed hammers, was a Union flag with TIWFC embossed. The goalkeeper equipment used with it had the brand new badge that we adopted that yr for our transfer to Stratford. Moreover, I do know we barely used the equipment; I consider the intention was to make use of it throughout our cup video games, however I believe the FA had/has a rule concerning no kits having flags on them.”
“Little question this received’t be the earliest instance you get equipped with however Barnsley’s third equipment from the 23-24 season featured a distinct badge to each the house and away equipment and all of the keeper shirts,” replies John Pearson. “They continued the pattern with the 24-25 third equipment which featured a distinct model of the badge used on the 23-24 equipment.”
Take the break day
“It’s exceedingly uncommon for European golf equipment to play aggressive soccer in mid-June, as they’re now on the Membership World Cup,” notes George Jones. “I’d think about up till the Covid-affected 2019-20 season (which went into July), there have been dates on the calendar on which European membership soccer had by no means been performed. Can anybody provide you with one?”
“Even in case you solely have a look at the ‘high 5’ nations and the Champions League, till the early 2000s, nationwide cup finals in Spain, Italy, Germany, and France had been fairly often held in mid-to-late June, aside from years the place the nationwide staff was enjoying within the World Cup or European Championship that summer time,” writes Ben. “And till 2024, the primary knockout spherical of the Champions League qualifying, for groups from the 4 lowest-ranked leagues, was held on the very finish of June. So no, it’s not uncommon in any respect!
“Regarding the query, there isn’t a date like that – each day of June in addition to the beginning of July has featured matches in a type of 4 nationwide cups, and each different day of July has featured matches within the Uefa qualifying rounds.”
GD chasms between league-table neighbours (2)
“Re: your query concerning a bigger goal-difference disparity between two groups subsequent to one another within the remaining standings (final week’s Data), your record excluded Coronary heart of Midlothian in 1957-58,” George Forsyth appropriately factors out. “Hearts had been runaway champions, with 62 factors, out of a attainable whole 68, scored 132 targets and let in 29, for a purpose distinction of 103. Second-placed Rangers, had a purpose distinction of a mere +40, leading to a chasm of 63 targets.”
“On the finish of 1997-98 season, Doncaster Rovers had been relegated from the Soccer League after simply 4 wins from their 46 video games,” replies Mike Slattery. “Their purpose distinction of -83 was 55 worse than that of Brighton instantly above them, on -28. The most important hole was set 99 years earlier, within the days earlier than purpose distinction was even a factor. Throughout the 1898-99 season, which might be their remaining one within the Soccer League, Darwen conceded 141 targets in 34 video games, with a purpose distinction of -119. Each of those stay league data to at the present time. That purpose distinction was a full 65 worse than that of Loughborough, one place above them, who ended on -54.”
Data archive
Who was the primary English participant to play professionally overseas? This was a query requested by an unnamed reader again in March 2003.
The person you’re in search of, in line with the sensible statistical website rsssf.com is Herbert Kilpin, who performed for FC Torinese in 1891, then for Mediolanum Milano from 1898 to 1900 and Milan from 1900-07. However Kilpin’s defining second got here in a Tuscan wine store in 1899 when along with two mates he based the Milan Cricket and Soccer Membership, now often called the one and solely [AC] Milan.
Are you able to assist?
Paddy French asks: “Has a staff received the Champions League with out beating any reigning champions? And if not, which groups have overwhelmed the fewest champions to win it? And which groups have overwhelmed essentially the most champions in profitable the Champions League/European Cup?”
“After seeing that Jobe Bellingham had scored for Borussia Dortmund of their Membership World Cup recreation in opposition to Mamelodi Sundowns, it occurred to me that his first aggressive purpose for his new membership has come an terrible very long time earlier than the beginning of his first home marketing campaign with the staff,” emails Alexander Craig. “Has there been an extended hole earlier than?”
“Japan’s file defeat was a 15-2 dwelling loss to the Philippines in 1917 and its file win was a 15-0 dwelling victory in opposition to the Philippines in 1967,” writes Des H-B. “Are there every other nationwide groups whose greatest win and most crushing loss come in opposition to the identical opposition? And have any taken place nearer collectively than the 50 years that span 1917-1967?”
“This previous season Finnish striker Joel ‘Hazard’ Pohjanpalo was the highest goalscorer for the 2 groups he represented: Venezia in Serie A and Palermo in Serie B,” notes Ville Leino. “Has this feat been achieved by every other gamers?”
