An English Football Primer: A Guide To English Football Leagues
by Kirsten Schlewitz on Jul 17, 2010 8:43 PM BST
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Villa fans-did you know that the Football League was founded by Aston Villa director William McGregor? If you're a regular at Villa Park, you might've seen his statue. He's responsible for creating the football system still used in England today. Although the Premier League has split from the Football League, the basic system of promotion and relegation remains the same.
(Note: clubs claim the division title by earning the most points in their tier, and they are relegated by earning the least. 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss. If clubs are equal on points, standings are then determined first on goal difference, then on goals scored. If somehow everything stays equal, a playoff occurs).
Premier League:
Only one division in this league-it split from the Football League in 1992. Top flight of English football. Comprised of twenty teams who compete to win the Premier League title. No promotion from this league (nowhere to go) but the bottom three teams are relegated to the Championship. Top four teams play in the Champions League. The next three teams, typically, play in the Europa League, although a team that wins the FA Cup can also earn entry into Europa. All teams in the Premier League participate in the League Cup and the FA Cup, although how seriously they take these competitions varies.
Current: Title Holders: Chelsea FA Cup Holders: Chelsea League Cup: Manchester United Relegated clubs: Portsmouth, Burnley and Hull City
Special Note: Aston Villa made it to the semi-finals of the FA Cup last season, and played Manchester United in the final of the League Cup at Wembley.
The Football League
Championship: Second tier of English football. Comprised of twenty-four teams competing to win the Football League Championship. The winner automatically moves into the Premier League, as does the league runner-up. The third club that wins promotion to the Premier League does so through a playoff battle in which the 3rd-6th place teams play a two-legged semi-final. The winner of each moves to the final at Wembley Stadium, and the winner of that match moves up to the Premier League. Bottom three teams are relegated to League One. No European play in this league (although if Portsmouth had won the FA Cup, they could have been in Europa and the Championship). All teams in the Championship participate in the League Cup and the FA Cup.
Current: Title Holders: Newcastle Promoted: Newcastle, West Brom, and Blackpool Relegated: Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth Argyle, and Petersborough United
League One: Third tier of English football. Comprised of twenty-four teams trying to win the League One title. The winner automatically moves into the Championship, as does the League One runner-up. The third club that earns promotion to the Championship does it through a playoff battle in which the 3rd-6th place teams play a two-legged semi-final. The winner of each moves to the final at Wembley Stadium, and the winner of that match moves up to the Championship. Bottom four teams are relegated to League Two. Teams in League One participate in the League Trophy, the League Cup and the FA Cup.
Current: Title Holders: Norwich City League Trophy: Southampton Promoted: Norwich City, Leeds United, and Millwall Relegated: Stockport County, Wycombe Wanderers, Southend United, and Gillingham.
Special Fact: Your esteemed author and editor is a newly-devout Exeter City FC supporter. Relegation battles are both fun and terrifying. I recommend finding a League One or Championship team.
League Two: Fourth tier of English football. Comprised of twenty-four teams trying to win the League Two title. The top three clubs automatically move up to League One. The fourth team that earns promotion to League One does so through a playoff battle in which the 4th-7th place teams play a two-legged semi-final. The winner of each moves to the final at Wembley Stadium, and the winner of that match moves up to League One. Bottom two teams are relegated to non-league football. Teams in League Two participate in the League Trophy, the League Cup and the FA Cup.
Current: Title Holders: Notts County Promoted: Notts County, AFC Bournemouth, Rochdale and Dagenham and Redbridge Relegated: Darlington, Grimsby
Non-League Football
Non-league football is another post in itself. Non-league simply refers to the fact that the clubs are not playing in the Premier League or the Football League, although nearly all of them play within league competitions. Some of these clubs are fully professional, but most are semi-professional, which, in case you can't figure it out, means that the players can't survive on football alone, unless perhaps they are English aristocrats.
The National League System (NLS) is composed of the seven levels of English football that are directly below league football, ie the fifth-eleventh tiers of the system. The highest of these tiers is called the Conference National, whose top two clubs get promoted into the Football League via League Two. This year, that was Stevenage Borough and Oxford United. Teams in the Conference National participate in the Conference League Cup, the FA Trophy, and the FA Cup.
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I recommend finding a League One or Championship team.
Agreed. Come on you Irons!
SB Nation clearly needs a Scunthorpe United blog
For a couple of pretty random reasons, I decided a couple of years ago to start following Norwich City
This past season was a good deal more enjoyable to read about than the previous one!
"And Julio Franco is batting right-handed!" -- Wayne Hagin, A's radio play-by-play, mid-80s
Luton Town
I have a soft spot for them.
No mention of the Carling Cup?
I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
Carling Cup=League Cup
Although I am a bit peeved that the gloriousness that is the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy wasn’t mentioned.
SB Nation clearly needs a Scunthorpe United blog
=League Trophy
I hate sponsorship names.
by Kirsten Schlewitz on Jul 18, 2010 7:36 AM BST up reply actions
Per the hatred of sponsorship names, the FA Trophy!
jtb yl1 thunder up tino
by Allen J. Kha on Jul 18, 2010 7:23 PM BST up reply actions
Well done, very concise wrapup
The lower leagues are great fun. Interesting grounds, some fun derbies and usually interesting races for promotion and playoffs. Sadly a lot of these clubs are plagued by debt and at times dangerously flirting with oblivion. It certainly can add edge to games but it is a disheartening thing for the fans fo those clubs.
"I say he does have to shoot me now! So shoot me now!" --- Daffy Duck
by George Templeton on Jul 17, 2010 9:31 PM BST reply actions
I have a rather dumb question
Its about the Premiere league kits. How come a club has its main colors, its one home kit it is known for, but then their alternate jerseys are completely different colors? For instance Manchester United is the Red Devils, yet they had a blue kit? seems a bit odd. Man City has a baby blue kit then a red and black one?
Born purple and gold. Live purple and gold. Die purple and gold.
At the risk of sounding like a cynic, it's so they can sell new ones every season and make as much money as possible.
You can only change kits so many times when you’re working with two or three colors.
by Aaron Campeau on Jul 18, 2010 8:51 AM BST up reply actions
So its basically a money thing?
Purely the main reason
Born purple and gold. Live purple and gold. Die purple and gold.
by RA37thriller on Jul 19, 2010 6:21 AM BST up reply actions
Is that how it always used to be though?
Like in the old days, Did Arsenal always have a yellow kit to go with their reds?
Born purple and gold. Live purple and gold. Die purple and gold.
by RA37thriller on Jul 19, 2010 6:39 AM BST up reply actions
Not necessarily yellow.
Their away last year was dark blue, for example. They’ve had white, light blue and green in the past. This site is a good source.
by Aaron Campeau on Jul 19, 2010 6:55 AM BST up reply actions
It's completely money
There’s no reason Man United pulls out a kit with a chevron on it if it weren’t about the money
jtb yl1 thunder up tino
by Allen J. Kha on Jul 19, 2010 2:08 PM BST up reply actions
Oxford United?
"I say he does have to shoot me now! So shoot me now!" --- Daffy Duck
by George Templeton on Jul 19, 2010 4:17 AM BST up reply actions
I was very glad to see them win the playoffs
Hope they can move back up the divisions, it sounds like they had a great fanbase in the 80s when they were in the first division.
"I say he does have to shoot me now! So shoot me now!" --- Daffy Duck
by George Templeton on Jul 19, 2010 8:56 PM BST up reply actions
Can a player in the 2nd tier football league be signed by a premiere league team during the season?
Born purple and gold. Live purple and gold. Die purple and gold.
They can be transferred during either the beginning of season transfer window or the January transfer window
but a Premier League team cannot sign players whose rights are controlled by another club.
by Aaron Campeau on Jul 19, 2010 9:13 AM BST up reply actions
Except in emergency signings
Which usually only happen for goalkeepers. Has happened with Martin Fulop a few times. Also, in other leagues there’s something called a “Joker” window which allows one player to move one month early
jtb yl1 thunder up tino
by Allen J. Kha on Jul 19, 2010 2:09 PM BST up reply actions
Okay so compltely off topic
but what is with the greasy spot on the front of the kit right below the neck line that some of our Villa players rock. Are they worried about chafing?
It's Vicks Vapo-rub (or similar)
You know, that menthol stuff you rub on your vhest when you have a cold. Players put it on their shirts to keep their airways open.
by Eyeball Kid on Jul 19, 2010 5:49 PM BST up reply actions 1 recs
I feel so much better going into my first true EPL season with Kirsten and Aaron at the helm
I’m going to learn everything I need!
Thanx for the excllent article....
I’m a relatively new fan and I found your article really informative and well written. I just purchased Sentanta Sports and I am really looking forward to the new season as an Aston Villa fan. I’m Canadian but my wife is from the West Midlands. I understand that John Taylor from Duran Duran and Ozzy Osborne are big Villa fans.
Kirsten, Aaron, a question
how do the League/FA Cups/Trophy work? Are they what we Americans would see as something like the Preseason NIT in college basketball, or do they continue during the regular season?
The FA Cup begins in August and the final is played towards the very end of the season.
Premier League teams enter the FA Cup in the third round. The League Cup also begins in August and ends in February.
Of the two, the FA Cup is undeniably more prestigious and as far as I can discern winning the competition is seen as the next best thing to winning the Premier League. The League Cup is not taken nearly as seriously; it hasn’t been around for nearly as long as the FA Cup (which is the oldest competition in the world, predating the football league by about 15 years,) non-league sides don’t compete (the FA Cup will sometimes see teams like Man United traveling to face non-league sides in the third round and the occasional lower-division team knocking a big club out of the tournament) and in general it is treated with disdain by a lot of the biggest clubs. Even the clubs that take it seriously don’t tend to start their strongest sides; in the final last season both Villa and Manchester United had some notable absences from their starting XI. With that being said though, wining the League Cup ensures automatic entry into European play, so it’s a big deal to teams that aren’t likely to automatically qualify.
There is also the Charity Shield, which is contested the week before the season at Wembley between the winner of the Premier League and the winner of the FA Cup (or, in the case where a team has won the double, as with Chelsea last season, second place in the Premier League.) A trophy is awarded but in reality it is a glorified friendly.
by Aaron Campeau on Jul 20, 2010 5:37 PM BST up reply actions
So do the bigger clubs have very large reserve pools of players that they can send to various competitions, like an early-round cup game?
Would this be the equivalent (of again, to draw on American sports), the United States men’s national hoops team sending a bunch of guys to the World Championships this year who are really reserves and won’t participate in the Olympics in 2012?
by seattlebruin on Jul 23, 2010 12:49 AM BST up reply actions
Yes
If a club doesn’t really care about the competition, they’ll often feature a blend between starting players and reserve team players.
Note that a first-team squad (soccer terminology for the team) usually carries somewhere around 20-25 players, so a blend of the non-starters and young reserve team talent feature in less important cup competitions (i.e. the Carling Cup). Often these cups are moments that young players need to capitalize on. Think of Durant (sorry about that), maybe.
jtb yl1
by Allen J. Kha on Jul 23, 2010 5:59 AM BST up reply actions
To piggyback...
The biggest thing with these cubs are they are the playoff-type competition Americans sort of yearn for. The league determines the true champion (a true round-robin format), and the cups are supplements.
Normally domestic leagues only have one cup, and this decides the “champion of the country”. Alongside the champion of the league— who is arguably “the champion of the country”— these two teams represent their country in continental competition (Champions League and the Europa League, formerly known as the Euro Cup). Obviously the bigger league have more slots in the continental competitions, but I think that’s the basic premise.
I think the reason England has two knockout cups rather than the typical two (like in Spain, where there is only the Copa del Rey) is because of the split distinction between the incorporated Premier League, the FA, and the Football League. Essentially each wants to run its own show, and since each party has tradition or prestige on its side, the system has developed to the one we see today. One club represents the Premier League, one the FA, and one the Football League (since the Premier League was part of the Football League before the split near-20 years ago).
jtb yl1
by Allen J. Kha on Jul 20, 2010 5:47 PM BST up reply actions
So basically these players dont have a very long off season?
When do these clubs have time to tour the U.S though and play against the meaningless MLS teams?
Born purple and gold. Live purple and gold. Die purple and gold.
They play a lot of reserves.
Not an EPL team, but I just watched Celtic play the Sounders and they started maybe four or five of their regular starting XI and none of those players saw any action after the half.
by Aaron Campeau on Jul 20, 2010 9:10 PM BST up reply actions
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