The Football Fans Census

RIVALRY UNCOVERED!
THE RESULTS OF THE LARGEST EVER SURVEY INTO CLUB RIVALRIES
The Football Fans Census (FFC) Survey contains fascinating insights into the most passionate part of our game - the nature of club rivalries. The survey was conducted online at www.footballfanscensus.com in December 2003 and contains the views of over 2,800 football fans Headline statistics include: o o Less than half (44) of the 92 league clubs were involved in a two-way rivalry (i.e. both sides agree about being each others main rival) A table of clubs that have the most rivals is topped by Manchester United (the only club to be considered the main rival by 5 other clubs) followed by Burnley, Leeds, Chelsea and Sheffield Wednesday Gillingham, Macclesfield, Stockport, Torquay and York had the least number of other fans seeing them as their rivals 45% of fans see history / tradition as the reason why their main rivals are so for 35% its because theyre the closest club geographically 22% of fans say their current main rival is not the same as their traditional rival. This is particularly prevalent at the top of the Premiership where Liverpool and Arsenal have dumped their traditional rivals Everton and Spurs respectively for Manchester Utd. Chelsea have done the same - replacing Spurs and Fulham with Arsenal Fans think the Celtic / Rangers is the fiercest rivalry in the UK and that Everton / Liverpool is the most amicable Although 37% of fans feel that rivalry plays a significant part in leading to football violence, 71% feel on the whole the positives of rivalry outweigh the negatives 71% would support the opposition if their main rivals were playing in Europe but 59% of fans would miss their rivals if they werent there

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The Football Fans Census

CONTENTS The Rivals Who Are They? Requited Rivalry Teams with the Most Rivals Teams with the Least Rivals What Are The Roots Of Rivalry? Changing Rivalry Rivalry Strength of Feeling Rivalry Good or Bad? Unrequited Rivalry Rivalry The Nicknames Teams with the Most Rivals Full List The Rivals Who Are They? (1st, 2nd & 3rd Rivals) PAGE 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 7 9 10

The Football Fans Census

THE RIVALS WHO ARE THEY? Team Supported
Arsenal Aston Villa Barnsley Birmingham Blackburn Blackpool Bolton Bournemouth Bradford Brentford Brighton Bristol City Bristol Rovers Burnley Bury Cambridge U Cardiff City Carlisle Charlton Chelsea Cheltenham Chesterfield Colchester Coventry Crewe Crystal Palace Darlington Derby County Doncaster Everton Fulham Gillingham Grimsby Town Hartlepool Huddersfield Hull Ipswich Town Kidderminster Leeds Leicester City Leyton Orient Lincoln City Liverpool Luton Town Macclesfield Man City

Who they consider to be their main rivals

Man Utd Birmingham City Sheff Wed Aston Villa Burnley Preston Man Utd Reading Leeds QPR Crystal Palace Bristol Rovers Bristol City Blackburn Bolton Peterborough Swansea Middlesbrough Millwall Arsenal Gloucester City Mansfield Wycombe Aston Villa Stoke City Brighton Hartlepool Nottm Forest Rotherham Liverpool Chelsea Millwall Scunthorpe Darlington Bradford City Leeds Norwich Cheltenham Man Utd Nottm Forest Southend Scunthorpe Man Utd Watford Altrincham Man Utd

Team Supported
Man Utd Mansfield Middlesbrough Millwall Newcastle Northampton Norwich City Nottm Forest Notts County Oldham Oxford Utd Peterborough Plymouth Port Vale Portsmouth Preston QPR Reading Rochdale Rotherham Rushden & D's Scunthorpe Sheff Utd Sheff Wed Shrewsbury Southampton Southend Stockport Stoke City Sunderland Swansea Swindon Torquay Tottenham Tranmere Walsall Watford West Brom West Ham Wigan Wimbledon Wolves Wrexham Wycombe Yeovil York

Who they consider to be their main rivals

Liverpool Chesterfield Newcastle West Ham Sunderland Peterborough Ipswich Derby Nottm Forest Man City Swindon Town Cambridge Utd Exeter City Stoke City Southampton Blackpool Chelsea Swindon Town Bury Sheff Wed Northampton Hull City Sheff Wed Sheff Utd Telford Utd Portsmouth Colchester Burnley Port Vale Newcastle Cardiff City Oxford Utd Exeter City Arsenal Bolton Wolves Luton Wolves Millwall Bolton AFC Wimbledon West Brom Chester City Colchester Weymouth Hull City

The Football Fans Census

REQUITED RIVALRY Surprisingly, perhaps, less than half (44) of the 92 league clubs were involved in a two-way rivalry (i.e. both sides agree about being each others main rival
Aston Villa & Birmingham City Blackburn & Burnley Blackpool & Preston Brighton & Crystal Palace Bristol City & Bristol Rovers Cambridge Utd & Peterborough Cardiff City & Swansea Chesterfield & Mansfield Colchester & Wycombe Darlington & Hartlepool Derby County & Nottm Forest Exeter City & Plymouth Ipswich Town & Norwich Liverpool & Man Utd Luton Town & Watford Millwall & West Ham Newcastle & Sunderland Oxford Utd & Swindon Town Port Vale & Stoke City Portsmouth & Southampton Sheff Utd & Sheff Wed West Brom & Wolves Wimbledon & AFC Wimbledon

TEAMS WITH THE MOST RIVALS Clubs that consider them to be their main rivals Arsenal, Bolton, Leeds, Liverpool & Man City Blackburn, Halifax & Stockport Bradford & Hull QPR & Fulham Barnsley, Rotherham & Sheff Utd Bury, Tranmere & Wigan Sheff Wed Charlton, Gillingham & West Ham Walsall & West Brom Bristol Rovers Clubs that consider them to be their second main rivals Everton & Newcastle Preston, Rochdale & Blackpool Huddersfield, Sheff Wed & Sheff Utd Spurs, Leeds & AFC Wimbledon Hartlepool & Chesterfield Blackburn Barnsley, Ipswich & Rotherham Crystal Palace Norwich City Cardiff, Plymouth, Swansea & Swindon

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Man Utd Burnley Leeds Chelsea Sheff Wed Bolton Sheff Utd Millwall Wolves Bristol City

TEAMS WITH THE LEAST RIVALS The following ten clubs had the least number of other fans seeing them as their rivals: Gillingham Macclesfield Stockport Torquay York Bournemouth Coventry Leyton Orient Walsall Yeovil

40% of fans dont have a second team and 43% wouldnt follow another club if their own one ceased to exist Liverpool, Arsenal and Man Utd are the most popular second teams Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea would be the most popular choices if a fans own club didnt exist

WHAT ARE THE ROOTS OF RIVALRY? 45% of fans see history / tradition as the reason why their main rivals are so for 35% its because theyre the closest club geographically Only 7% feel the rivalry is mainly based on competitive closeness/ league position
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The Football Fans Census

CHANGING RIVALRY Rivalry is not always set in stone, indeed, rivalry has changed at 18 clubs 22% of fans say their current main rival is not the same as their traditional rival this is mainly due to one of the following two reasons: o the traditional rival no longer being in the same division o that they are seen to occupy a different strata within the same division (i.e. not competing for the same prize) See the table below for clubs that exhibit this trend: Team Arsenal Aston Villa Bournemouth Brentford Chelsea Huddersfield Leicester City Leyton Orient Liverpool Peterborough Rochdale Rushden & D's Scunthorpe Shrewsbury Walsall West Brom Wycombe York RIVALRY STRENGTH OF FEELING Fans think the Celtic / Rangers is the fiercest rivalry in the UK and the Everton / Liverpool is the most amicable 83% of respondents feel intensely or very intensely about their main rivals Over three-quarters of fans would rather thrash their rivals than beat them with a last minute winner Three-quarters of fans would support the opposition if their main rivals were playing in Europe only 9% would support their main rival Over two-thirds of fans would be angry to some degree if a player / manager form their team would go their rivals. Only 15% would be angry to some degree if the move was in the other direction However, 59% of fans would miss their rivals if they werent there Current Rival Man Utd Birmingham City Reading QPR Arsenal Bradford City Nottm Forest Southend Man Utd Cambridge Utd Bury Northampton Hull City Telford Utd Wolves Wolves Colchester Hull City Traditional Rival Tottenham West Brom Southampton Fulham Tottenham / Fulham Leeds Derby West Ham Utd Everton Northampton Burnley Kettering Town Grimsby Wrexham Shrewsbury Town Aston Villa Slough Town Scarborough

RIVALRY GOOD OR BAD? 37% of fans feel that rivalry plays a significant part in leading to football violence, just over half feel it plays a small part However, 71% feel on the whole the positives of football rivalry outweigh the negatives only 4% think it is the other way round
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The Football Fans Census

UNREQUITED RIVALRY Rivalry isnt always a two-way street. You might regard a particular club as your main rival but they might think their main rival is someone else. Fans supporting this team Grimsby Town Lincoln City Brentford Fulham QPR Scunthorpe York Huddersfield Rochdale Chelsea Tottenham Bury Tranmere Wigan Oldham Bradford Hull Everton Arsenal Bolton Leeds Charlton Gillingham Leicester City Notts County Barnsley Rotherham Rushden & D's Bournemouth Leyton Orient Reading Walsall Coventry Stockport Halifax Kidderminster Southend Middlesbrough Northampton Torquay Doncaster Crewe Alex see this club as their main rival Scunthorpe QPR Chelsea Hull City Bradford City Bury Arsenal Bolton Man City Leeds Liverpool Man Utd Millwall Nottm Forest Sheff Wed Northampton Reading Southend Swindon Town Wolves Aston Villa Burnley Cheltenham Colchester Newcastle Peterborough Exeter Rotherham Stoke City Man Utd Liverpool West Ham Utd Derby Sheff Utd Peterborough Swindon Town Colchester Oxford Utd West Brom Birmingham Blackburn Gloucester City Wycombe Sunderland Cambridge Utd Plymouth Sheff Wed Port Vale but they see their main rival as this team Hull City Chelsea Arsenal Leeds Bolton

Man Utd

I.e. Crewe Alex regards their main rival as Stoke City, however, Stoke City regard Port Vale as their own main rival 6

The Football Fans Census

RIVALRY THE NICKNAMES Banter is a key aspect of football culture. The survey asked fans to tell us what they call each other and although many of these are unprintable, here is a selection of the most creative and amusing contributions! (NB These DO NOT reflect the views of the FFC) Club Arsenal France Woolwich Aston Villa Seals The Vile Aston Village Birmingham City BLose Smallheath Bluenoses Blackburn Rovers Dingles Jackburn Plastics Blackpool Donkey Lashers Bolton Wanderers Noblot Notlob Bradford City Sadford The chickens/the cocks Brighton Seaweed Tescos Bristol City The Wurzels The EightyTwoers, 1982 Ltd Bristol Rovers The Gasheads Squatters Burnley Dingles The Gene Puddle Bury Bucketshakers Cardiff City Dwarfs Chesterfield Cheaterfield Colchester The Ewes Play on words on their nickname the Us Play on words on their name with an accusatory reference to cheating in their promotion year Mansfield Southend
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Nickname

Reason given for nickname Reference to their French manager and players Where club was originally from Reference to Villa supporters in the old Trinity Road standing, clapping and stamping their feet on the wooden floor acting like seals Play on words on the name Play on words on the name Play on words on the fact they wear blue Where club was originally from Accusation they are left out in the cold when it comes to success After the family in soap opera Emmerdale Farm After former owner Jack Walker As in credit card, the accusation that they bought the premiership title with Walkers money, therefore, also being manufactured and man made like plastic Reference to walking donkeys on Blackpool beach Anagram of Bolton Bolton backward Play on words on the name Pun on their nickname the Bantams Pun on their seaside location and nickname the seagulls Reference to their blue and white striped kit resembling Tesco carrier bags After TV character Wurzel Gummidge who spoke with a Bristol accent Reference to going out of business in 1982 and then reappearing as Bristol City 1982 Club used to play by Eastville gasworks and City fans claim the smell used to drift across the ground A dig at the club not having owned their own ground After the family in soap opera Emmerdale Farm Pun on term gene pool Pun on their nickname shakers and their fundraising with buckets Sarcastic reference to their claims to be a sleeping giant

Given by which fans?

Spurs

Birmingham

Aston Villa

Bolton Preston

Preston Wigan Blackburn Huddersfield

Crystal Palace

Bristol Rovers Cardiff City

Bristol City

Blackburn Rochdale Swansea

The Football Fans Census

Crystal Palace Crippled Alice Derby County The Sheep Everton Bitters Bluenoses Hartlepool Monkey Hangers Ipswich Town Binmen/Binners Liverpool Bindippers Mickey Mousers Luton Town Lootown Man City Massives Liars Man Utd Man Ure The Rags Millwall Spanners Newcastle Utd Skunks/Barcodes The Cartoon Army Norwich City Budgies Oxford Utd Poxford Port Vale The Fail Portsmouth Skates Rushden & Diamonds Annies Sheff Utd Piggies/ bacon slices The Blunts Sheff Wed Pigs Wendys Stoke City Clayheads Sjoke City Reference to the Potteries area in which Stoke exists Play on words on their Icelandic ownership After an incident where one of their fans threw a spanner onto the pitch - also a derogatory term Reference to their black and white stripped kit Play on words on their nickname the Toon Army Pun on their nickname the Canaries Play on words on their name Play on words on their name Folklore of sailors fondness for this fish when away from home on long voyages Reference to TV presenter Anne Diamond and folklore that they complain of not having money like the orphaned child of the musical Reference to their red and white striped kit Pun on their nickname the blades Reference to their blue and white striped kit resembling a butchers apron and reference to the folklore that their ground was built on the site of an old piggery Play on words on their name Charlton Play on words on their name Folklore that in the 50s, they didnt have any shirts so had to borrow them from City. Also is an acronym for red arrogant gits Sarcastic comment on the size of the Clubs fan base Disputing their claim that the majority of Mancunians support City rather than Utd Man Utd Play on words on their name A derogatory term Rhyming slang for scousers and claiming the Liverpool treble does not compare to Man Utds Man Utd Play on words on the name Pun on their nickname the rams Taunting about the success of their main rivals Liverpool Accusation they are left out in the cold when it comes to success Reference to folklore that the town hanged a monkey they thought was a spy Inspired by an Episode of TV series Lovejoy where a bin man pulled an Ipswich Town hat/ scarf out of a bin and wore it Brighton Nottm Forest Liverpool Darlington Carlisle Norwich City

Watford

Liverpool Arsenal Man City

Sunderland Ipswich Swindon Stoke City Southampton Cheltenham Northampton Sheff Wed

Sheff Utd

Crewe Port Vale

The Football Fans Census

Sunderland Mackems Swindon Town Moonrakers Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hospice West Brom Bennies Sandwell Town Tescos West Ham Hamsters Wet Sham Wimbledon Franchise FC Wolves Dingles After the family in soap opera Emmerdale Farm Reference to the club moving from its traditional home to Milton Keynes Play on words on their nickname the hammers Play on words on their name Millwall AFC Wimbledon West Brom Reference to the character Benny in the TV series Crossroads Reference to the area the club is from Reference to their blue and white striped kit resembling Tesco carrier bags Wolves Play on words of folklore that Sunderland workers would traditionally make the (make em) goods for Newcastle people who would take em Reference to folk tale that the people of Swindon tried to rake the reflection of the moon out of a pond to stop it drowning Play on words on their name and the amount of injured players their treatment room has to deal with Newcastle

Oxford Utd Arsenal

TEAMS WITH THE MOST RIVALS FULL LIST Teams were ranked by a weighted average of the number of fans registering them as their main, second or third rivals, with the team with the most rivals at the top of the listing.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11= 11= 13= 13= 15 16= 16= 16= 16= 16= 16= 22= 22=

Man Utd Burnley Leeds Chelsea Sheff Wed Bolton Sheff Utd Millwall Wolves Bristol City Crystal Palace Scunthorpe Cardiff City Swindon Town Nottm Forest Aston Villa Hull City Liverpool QPR Reading West Brom Stoke City Tottenham

24= 24= 26 27= 27= 27= 27= 27= 27= 33= 33= 33= 33= 33= 38= 38= 40= 40= 40= 40= 40= 40= 40=

Brighton West Ham Utd Man City Arsenal Birmingham Ci Colchester Northampton Peterborough Preston Blackburn Derby Leicester Newcastle Rochdale Rushden & D Sunderland Fulham Ipswich Mansfield Oxford United Port Vale Portsmouth Southampton

40= 40= 49 50 51= 51= 51= 51= 51= 56 57= 57= 57= 57= 57= 57= 57= 57= 57= 57= 57= 57= 57=

Chesterfield Middlesbrough Hartlepool Luton Blackpool Bristol Rovers Everton Southend Wycombe Watford Barnsley Bradford City Bury Cambridge Utd Cheltenham Darlington Doncaster Grimsby Huddersfield Norwich Plymouth Swansea Wimbledon

70 71 72 73= 73= 73= 73= 73= 73= 73= 73= 73= 73= 83= 83= 83= 83= 83= 88= 88= 88= 88= 88=

Carlisle Rotherham Oldham Boston Brentford Charlton Crewe Kidderminster Lincoln City Notts County Tranmere Wigan Wrexham Bournemouth Coventry Leyton Orient Walsall Yeovil Gillingham Macclesfield Stockport Torquay York

The Football Fans Census

THE RIVALS WHO ARE THEY? (1ST, 2ND & 3RD RIVALS)

Team supported AFC Wimbledon Arsenal Aston Villa Barnsley Birmingham Blackburn Blackpool Bolton Bournemouth Bradford Brentford Brighton Bristol City Bristol Rovers Burnley Bury Cambridge U Cardiff City Carlisle Charlton Chelsea Cheltenham Chesterfield Colchester Coventry Crewe Crystal Palace Darlington Derby County Doncaster Everton Fulham Gillingham Grimsby Town Halifax Town Hartlepool Huddersfield Hull Ipswich Town Kidderminster Leeds Leicester City Leyton Orient Lincoln City Liverpool Luton Town Macclesfield Man City

First Rivals Wimbledon Man Utd Birmingham City Sheff Wed Aston Villa Burnley Preston Man Utd Reading Leeds QPR Crystal Palace Bristol Rovers Bristol City Blackburn Bolton Peterborough Swansea Middlesbrough Millwall Arsenal Gloucester City Mansfield Wycombe Aston Villa Stoke City Brighton Hartlepool Nottm Forest Rotherham Liverpool Chelsea Millwall Scunthorpe Burnley Darlington Bradford City Leeds Norwich Cheltenham Man Utd Nottm Forest Southend Scunthorpe Man Utd Watford Altrincham Man Utd

Second Rivals Chelsea Tottenham West Brom Sheff Utd West Brom Bolton Burnley Blackburn Southampton Huddersfield Fulham Portsmouth Cardiff City Cardiff City Preston Rochdale Northampton Bristol City Chesterfield / Hartlepool Crystal Palace Tottenham Kidderminster Sheff Wed Ipswich Leicester Port Vale Millwall Carlisle Leicester Scunthorpe Man Utd QPR Swindon Town Hull City Rochdale Sheff Wed Leeds Scunthorpe Sheff Utd Shrewsbury Town Chelsea Derby West Ham Utd Boston Everton QPR Rochdale Liverpool

Third Rivals Crystal Palace Chelsea Wolves Leeds Wolves Man Utd Tranmere Man City / Wolves Brighton Burnley Brighton Reading Swindon Town Swindon Town Blackpool Oldham / Sheff Utd / Man Utd / Burnley Colchester Stoke City / Newport County West Ham Utd Man Utd Rushden & D Sheff Utd Southend Birmingham City Chester City Charlton Chester City Leeds Barnsley / Chester City Tranmere Brentford Fulham Sheff Wed Huddersfield Carlisle / Rushden & D / Sunderland Barnsley Grimsby Bolton Rushden & D Liverpool Coventry Brighton Hull City Arsenal Plymouth Lincoln City Bolton

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The Football Fans Census

Team supported Man Utd Mansfield Middlesbrough Millwall Newcastle Northampton Norwich City Nottm Forest Notts County Oldham Oxford Utd Peterborough Plymouth Port Vale Portsmouth Preston QPR Reading Rochdale Rotherham Rushden & D's Scunthorpe Sheff Utd Sheff Wed Shrewsbury Southampton Southend Stockport Stoke City Sunderland Swansea Swindon Torquay Tottenham Tranmere Walsall Watford West Brom West Ham Wigan Wimbledon Wolves Wrexham Wycombe Yeovil York First Rivals Liverpool Chesterfield Newcastle West Ham Utd Sunderland Peterborough Ipswich Derby Nottm Forest Man City Swindon Town Cambridge Utd Exeter City Stoke City Southampton Blackpool Chelsea Swindon Town Bury Sheff Wed Northampton Hull City Sheff Wed Sheff Utd Telford Utd Portsmouth Colchester Burnley Port Vale Newcastle Cardiff City Oxford Utd Exeter City Arsenal Bolton Wolves Luton Wolves Millwall Bolton AFC Wimbledon West Brom Chester City Colchester Weymouth Hull City Second Rivals Man City Notts County Sunderland Crystal Palace Man Utd Rushden & D Wolves Leicester Mansfield Wigan Reading Northampton Bristol City Crewe Brighton Burnley Fulham Oxford Utd Burnley Sheff Utd Kettering Town Grimsby Leeds Leeds Wrexham Tottenham Canvey Island Man City Cardiff City Middlesbrough Bristol City Bristol City Plymouth Chelsea Everton West Brom QPR Aston Villa Tottenham Preston Crystal Palace Birmingham City Shrewsbury Town Reading Hereford Utd Scarborough Third Rivals Arsenal Doncaster Leeds Charlton Middlesbrough Luton Sheff Utd Sheff Utd Derby Man Utd Wycombe Rushden & D Burnley Walsall Millwall Blackburn Brentford West Ham Utd Oldham Doncaster Peterborough Lincoln City Barnsley / Nottm Forest Barnsley Chester City Bournemouth Leyton Orient Stoke City Wolves Leeds Bristol Rovers Reading Yeovil West Ham Utd Chester City Stoke City Crystal Palace / Tottenham Birmingham City Chelsea Oldham Kingstonian / Watford / Luton / Chelsea Aston Villa Cardiff City Slough Town Bath City Doncaster

HAVE YOUR SAY ON FOOTBALL The Football Fans Census runs regular surveys on the issues that are important to fans and sends the results to key decision makers in the game. If you would like to take part just register here http://www.footballfanscensus.com/register.html...it only takes a minute.
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