Which Football Teams Have Met In Fixtures At The Most Different Home Grounds? | The Knowledge

“Port Vale person played Everton astatine Priory Road, Anfield, Goodison Park and now nan Hill Dickinson Stadium,” notes Kevin Doran. “Is location an illustration of immoderate different squad having played different squad astatine 4 aliases much location grounds?”

Philip Davis starts america disconnected pinch a apt imaginable host: “Brighton & Hove Albion person had 4 location grounds since 1902. After nan Goldstone Ground (1902-97), nan Seagulls ground-shared astatine Gillingham’s Priestfield location successful 1997-98 and 1998-99 (both seasons spent successful nan 4th tier). After 12 years astatine nan Withdean Stadium (1999-2011), they moved to nan purpose-built Amex Stadium.

“Five clubs played Brighton successful what was past Division Three astatine Priestfield and person besides played astatine nan Goldstone, Withdean and Amex: Hull City, Cardiff, Swansea, Doncaster and Brentford. Brighton besides hosted Millwall successful nan 1998-99 Football League Trophy astatine Gillingham, and astatine their different 3 location grounds.”

Ken Foster takes america from Brighton to Bristol. “Grimsby Town, York City and Portsmouth person played distant fixtures astatine Bristol Rovers astatine 4 different grounds,” he notes. Rovers played astatine nan Eastville Stadium from 1887 to 1996, past spent a decade astatine Bath City’s Twerton Park earlier moving backmost to Bristol astatine nan Memorial Ground – a full of 3 venues.”

Allow Ken to elaborate: “Rovers played 5 games astatine Bristol City’s Ashton Gate successful nan 1980-81 play aft nan Eastville guidelines fire, and those 3 teams were among nan visitors. The different 2 matches were against Oldham Athletic and Newcastle United but they ne'er played Rovers astatine Twerton Park.” It was a dismal play for some Bristol clubs, arsenic some were relegated from Division Two. Only nan Grimsby crippled was a convention match; nan visits of York and Pompey were League Cup contests.”

Tottenham person called Northumberland Park, White Hart Lane, Wembley and nan Tottenham Hotspur Stadium location complete their 143-year history – and we person dug up examples of Southampton and Arsenal having visited them astatine these 4 venues.

Liverpool Women person played astatine a number of different location grounds complete nan years and Everton person travelled for derbies astatine The Halton Stadium, Prenton Park, Anfield and The Totally Wicked Stadium. They whitethorn moreover person faced each different pinch Liverpool nan location squad astatine West Lancashire College earlier 2012.

The Merseyside derby successful nan WSL took spot astatine Anfield successful May. Photograph: Jan Kruger/The FA/Getty Images

Can immoderate teams do amended than 4 distant grounds? It’s complicated. Wimbledon FC played astatine 3 different location venues arsenic a Football League nine – nan aged Plough Lane, Selhurst Park and Milton Keynes’ National Hockey Stadium successful 2003-04. After being renamed MK Dons nan pursuing season, nan nine relinquished its declare to Wimbledon’s histories and trophies successful 2006.

AFC Wimbledon, who were promoted to nan EFL successful 2011, declare to beryllium nan original club’s “spiritual successors” and person played their matches astatine Kingsmeadow and nan caller Plough Lane stadium, which opened successful 2020. So if we judge – arsenic nan mean travelling instrumentality mightiness do – that Wimbledon FC and AFC are fundamentally nan aforesaid club, we tin find 9 teams who person played them astatine each 5 different venues.

Bradford City, Gillingham, Rotherham, Sunderland and Walsall have played convention games astatine each 5 grounds. Four different teams person completed nan group acknowledgment to a Cup tie: Coventry (League Cup necktie astatine nan caller Plough Lane successful August 2023), Crewe (FA Cup replay astatine Selhurst Park successful Jan 1997), Ipswich (Zenith Data Systems Cup necktie astatine nan aged Plough Lane successful 1990) and Wigan (League Cup necktie astatine Selhurst Park successful Sept 2000).

Another 8 teams – Blackpool, Bolton, Charlton, Grimsby, Notts County, Portsmouth, Swindon and Tranmere – person played either incarnation of Wimbledon astatine 4 different distant grounds. Blackpool made nan trim by playing AFC Wimbledon astatine Loftus Road successful nan 2020-21 season; nan squad played 4 games astatine QPR’s crushed earlier moving into nan caller Plough Lane, each down closed doors.

Can you find amended examples of teams gathering astatine galore different location grounds? If so, get successful touch.

The offside goalie

“We each emotion it erstwhile a goalie comes up for a last-minute group piece,” stated Simon Buckton. “But has a goalkeeper ever been flagged for offside – aliases amended still, had a extremity disallowed for offside?”

Thanks to nan many, galore readers who sewage successful touch to punctual america of a celebrated example. Duncan Jones was first to reply, truthful complete to him: “Peter Schmeichel scored this absolute beauty successful an FA Cup replay against Wimbledon successful 1997, that was tragically disallowed. He was only disconnected by 3 aliases 4 feet for crying retired large – and successful existent 90s style, Andy Cole was besides offside for bully measure.”

Peter Schmeichel of Manchester United during nan lucifer against Wimbledon successful 1997 erstwhile he had an overhead footwear chalked disconnected for offside. Photograph: Ben Radford/Allsport

A agelong measurement to go

“Truro City, who statesman their first play successful nan National League connected Saturday, are going to person immoderate very agelong trips,” wrote Mel Slattery. “The region from their stadium to Gateshead’s is 457 miles, according to Google Maps. Have 2 clubs successful England ever met who are based further apart? Competitively aliases otherwise.”

Andy Clark chimes successful pinch a resounding “Yes! My section team, Whitley Bay, successful truth travelled to Truro for an FA Vase last-16 necktie successful 2008. According to Google, this is six miles further, and each nan players progressive were part-time. Whitley Bay won 3-0, mislaid to Lowestoft Town successful nan adjacent round, earlier winning nan Vase for nan adjacent 3 seasons. Unlike astir of their later opponents successful those years, Whitley person not been promoted since.”

Chris Roe cannot find a fixture successful nan Football League pinch a greater straight-line region betwixt nan 2 teams’ location grounds. Fourteen pairs of teams person faced disconnected pinch much than 300 miles betwixt them arsenic nan crow flies, pinch Newcastle United and Plymouth Argyle being nan furthest apart. Here is Chris’s array of each 14 games – pinch Argyle featuring 8 times:

Longest-distance Football League fixtures. Photograph: Chris Roe

Knowledge archive

“As an Arsenal fan, I’ve noticed that whenever we triumph nan Community Shield, we inevitably spell connected not to triumph nan league,” asked Matt Tread measurement backmost successful 2005. “Is location a curse?”

Going backmost to nan commencement of nan Charity Shield successful 1908, only 14 teams had gone connected nan triumph nan convention aft winning nan season’s curtain-raiser. At nan clip of nan question, nary broadside had won nan Charity Shield and gone connected to triumph nan convention since Manchester United trounced Newcastle 4-0 successful 1996.

Arsenal person won nan convention 13 times, but only 3 of those were preceded by a Charity Shield victory: successful 1930, 1933 and successful 1934. The Gunners opened nan play pinch Charity Shield victories successful 1998, 1999 and 2002 – only for United to triumph nan title connected each occasion.

2025 update: With Liverpool taking connected Crystal Palace astatine Wembley this Sunday, what has changed successful nan past 20 years? Well, 5 retired of nan six winners betwixt 2005 and 2010 went connected to triumph nan title – Manchester United (three times) and Chelsea (twice) but since then, only Manchester City successful 2018-19 person done nan Shield/title double. As for Arsenal, they’ve won 5 Community Shields since 2005 … and nary convention titles.

Can you help?

“Within 16 minutes of nan play starting, Salford debutant Kadeem Harris had scored astatine some ends successful against Crewe. Has anyone scored a quicker ain goal-proper extremity combo either a) to commencement a season, b) connected their debut aliases c) successful immoderate match?” asks Richard Wilson.

“I precocious came crossed 1 of nan much bizarre footballing tales: that of Michael Reddy, a erstwhile Sunderland prospect,” originates Mark Moran. “Multiple sources (fan sites, nan Northern Echo, and moreover Transfermarkt) declare he near Grimsby successful 2007 for FC Malamuk successful Greenland, past moved to Port Stanley Albion aft gathering a Falkland Islander astatine a food festival. Surely there’s much story than truth to this?”

“I person conscionable heard CMAT’s opus Vincent Kompany because I americium cool, young and relevant,” writes nan cool, young and applicable Will Unwin. “I was wondering if immoderate different player’s sanction is nan title of a song, beyond simply being referred to?”

• Mail us pinch your questions and answers