Experiment - The New Rivals

Premise: Fans of 20 Premier League clubs have lost patience with the high prices and lack of competition in the Premier League. They have set up their own 20 clubs in the Blue Square North and South with the ultimate goal of rising above their original teams.

All the teams have been given similar stadiums, average gates of 30000, a reputation of 2000, a bank balance of £1M and a manager from the club's recentish past. Training and youth facilities are set to 10 with a youth academy. There are no players or other staff, the managers will need to fill their squads quickly.

What I want to see is how many, if any, of these clubs can rise up to the Premier League and topple their original clubs, and how long it will take. I'm also interested to see if the clubs can take advantage of their slightly inflated reputations for this level and bank balance to attract the right players before the season starts.

The Teams:

Blue Square North:

Blackburn Olympic - 1883 Stadium (30,000) - Managed by Colin Hendry

Blackburn Olympic are unique amongst the twenty clubs in that they are a resurrection of the 1883 FA Cup winning team, the first team to take the FA Cup to the North. They folded a few years later when players and fans alike drifted away to rival Rovers, who won the FA Cup three times in a row. Hence, they are the only team that already has silverware to its name.

Bolton Christ Church - Greater Manchester Stadium (30,000) - Managed by Colin Todd

Named after Christ Church FC, the original name for Bolton Wanderers.

Evertonians - Merseyside Ground (30,000) - Managed by Howard Kendall

No prizes for guessing who this team has broken away from.

Liverpool City - Merseyside Ground (30,000) - Managed by Graeme Souness

And no prizes for this one either!

Manchester Ardwick - Greater Manchester Stadium (30,000) - Managed by Joe Royle

Before becoming Man City, the clubs name was Ardwicks.

Newton Heath - Greater Manchester Stadium (30,000) - Managed by Paul Ince

A resurrection of the club that preceeded Manchester United and went bust in 1902. Hoping they'll do better 107 years later, they already have grudges against Ardwicks, Man City and FC United to boot.

Middlesbrough Smoggies - North East Stadium (30,000) - Managed by Juninho

The little Brazilian returns to Middlesbrough as the only Player-Manager in this experiment, will it be an advantage or get in the way of managing the club?

Tyne United - North East Stadium (30,000) - Managed by Kevin Keegan

The Messiah returns again but he really will have to walk on water if the club is ever going to reach the Premiership.

Wear Association - NE Stadium (30,000) - Managed by Roy Keane

Roy Keane has returned to Sunderland to prove a point.

Wigan Boro - Greater Manchester Stadium (30,000) - Managed by Paul Jewell

This team was the fourth to go bust in Wigan in a row, replaced by Athletic who eventually reached the Premier League. They're hoping they can climb the divisions much quicker than Wigan Athletic did.

Blue Square South:

AFC Gunners - Wembley (90,000) - Managed by Tony Adams

The London Clubs have an advantage with large capacity stadiums that may never need extending, but will it be enough for the New Gunners to overtake the mighty Arsenal?

Aston Fugitives - Birmingham & Sandwell Fans Stadium (30,000) - Managed by Gordon Cowans

Forced out of Aston and into Birmingham, the Fugitives are looking for revenge.

Chelsea Daggers - Wembley (90,000) - Managed by Dennis Wise

The name and the manager show their intentions: mess Chelsea up badly.

Fulham St. Andrews - Twickenham (82,000) - Managed by Jean Tigana

Fulham originally began as a Sunday School football team and by going back to their roots may be hoping for some divine intervention.

Kingston City - Kingston Stadium (30'000) - Managed by Brian Little

These fans will be missing out on Hull's inaugral season in the top flight and will want to make up for lost time ASAP.

Pompey Blue Army - Portsmouth Arena (30'000) - Managed by Jim Smith

The Blue Army got out before their club collapses and recruited wily old Smith to take them back where they think they belong.

Stoke Ramblers - Vale Park (30'000) - Managed by Peter Hoekstra

The council refused Ramblers permission to build another ground in the city, thinking two was enough, so they have been forced to renovate and share with rivals Port Vale. Without a ground to call their own they are true ramblers.

The Hotspurs - Wembley (90'000) - Managed by Glenn Hoddle

Sharing with Gunners and Daggers, the Hotspurs don't want to caught in the shadow of two giants like their original club.

West Bromwich Strollers - Birmingham & Sandwell Fans Stadium (30'000) - Managed by Ossie Ardiles

Having to play in neighbouring Birmingham irritates the Strollers no end, and they want their revenge on Albion sooner rather than later.

Thames Ironworks - Twickenham (82'000) - Managed by Alan Curbishley

Taking the teams original name and moving to the giant rugby stadium, they are hoping Curbs fairs better at the new club than he did the old one.

I will post an update on January 1st with transfer dealings and progress so far.

Any comments, suggestions and predictions are very welcome!

Thanks for reading.

My Predictions:

The 08/09 season will see a wide variety of performances based on how quickly senior players have been brought in and how well they have gelled (all the clubs have been given a youth squad by the AI), so I envision both promotions and relegations for the 20 clubs. I also think one or two of the original north/south sides will be able to hold the teams off and get promoted.

Long term I think this trend will continue depending upon managers brought in. Some clubs will race away while others may never get out of the north/south (or not come back up from Northern/Isthmian/Southern).

January 1st 2009

I will give a brief overview of each team, paying particular attention to best and worst performers.

Blue Square North(20 matches played)

1st - Boro Smoggies (W14, D3, L3, Pts 45)

Players signed: 12 (5 on loan)

Starting with a player-manager and getting a first XI in has paid off with the Smoggies five points clear after 20 games. Veteran Bruno N'Gotty and Juninho have the highest PA and CA, most of the players brought in have a CA of between 60 and 75. The best of the youth players is DL Michael Howell with a PA of 112. Hired an AssMan but no other staff. Overall, looking pretty good for Boro.

4th - Wigan Boro (W10, D6, L4, Pts36)

Players signed: 6(2)

The four permanent players only arrived after 12 games, meaning the Wigan kids have really played above themselves so far. Paul Jewell working miracles. Again AssMan signed, but no other staff.

5th - Liverpool City (W9, D6, L5, Pts33)

Players signed: 10(5)

A solid start and 6 players with 100+ PA is making the immediate future look very bright indeed. AssMan signed.

6th - Manchester Ards / Playes signed: 11(6) MR, Andy Smith, 16, has a PA of 139.

7th - Evertonians / Players signed: 6(2) Howard Kendall resigned immediately, and former Wigan player Greame Jones took over.

8th - Tyne / Players signed: 6(2)

13th - Bolton CC / Players signed 5(2)

14th - Wear / Players signed 11(8) Only 3 permanent signings seem to have caused inconsistency. John Booth and Aiden Ward, both young DCs, have PAs of 153 and 152.

15th - Newton Heath / Playes signed 2(2) Paul Ince has been sacked, no doubt due to his failure to sign any permanent players. Peter Davenport has replaced him.

22nd - Blackburn Olympic / Players signed 4(2) Colin Hendry was sacked without a win to his name. New manager Simon Clifford added two permanent signings and there has been an inprovement, but are still 7 points behind Droylsden in 21st.

So far the teams that have done best have, in general, managed to mix a good number of permanent signings with quality loan players. Relying on the kids, who do have decent PAs for this level, has been a disaster for Blackburn and Newton.

Blue Square South update next.

Blue Square South

1st - Thames Iron (W16, D3, L1, Pts 51)

Players signed: 7 (2 on loan)

Alan Curbishley has worked wonders so far, with the club 16 points clear of AFC Wimbledon in 2nd. 3 young players have PAs of 117 to 141, giving plenty of hope for the future.

6th - AFC Gunners (W8, D7, L5, Pts 31)

Players signed: 7 (2 on loan)

Have clung on to a decent league position in spite of a few injuries. DR Stuart Sawyer (17) has a PA of 170.

7th - Kingston (W9, D4, L7, Pts 31)

Players signed: 9(2)

Unable to find form although they have a good squad. GK Billy Moore has a PA of 153.

9th - Aston Fugitives / Players signed 8(2)

10th - Stoke Ramblers / Players signed 8(2)

11th - Chelsea Daggers / Players signed 10(3) - Terry Thompson, 17 year old midfielder, has a PA of 170, and four other young players have 100+ PAs.

14th - Hotspurs / Players signed 7(2)

15th - Brom Strollers / Players signed 7(2)

16th - Pompey Blue Army / Players signed 10(3) - Jim Smith has been sacked and replaced with Richard O'Kelly

19th - Fulham St Andys / Players signed 7(2) - Jean Tigana has been sacked and replaced with Tony Parkes. Bernard Choix, 16 year old french midfielder has a PA of 153. Only two points above relegation.

The larger squads and less loan players of the BSS teams don't seem to have had an effect. All of the managers of clubs outside the play off positions seem worried about their jobs at the moment and may suffer for not making the most of reputation and finances at the clubs. Only one team in the relegation zone so far, although they are way out there.

Transfer spending totals 08/09 so far:

Blackburn Olympic: 0k

Bolton CC: 100k

Boro Smoggies: 115k

Evertonians: 14k

Liverpool City: 67k

Manchester Ards: 115k

Newton Heath: 0k

Tyne: 69k

Wear: 24k

Wigan Boro: 78k

AFC Gunners: 76k

Aston: 57k

Brom Strollers: 81k

Chelsea Daggers: 115k

Fulham St Andys: 89k

Hotspurs 61k

Kingston 78k

Pompey 58k

Stoke Ramblers 43k

Thames 52k

You should have set it so that the original prem versions of these clubs loose most of their attendance and reputation.

Aston Fugitives? Forced out of aston and into Birmingham lol, I belive Aston is still a part of Birmingham

But Kepp up the good work

Blue Square North Final Positions

The Good:

1st Wigan Borough (Pld 42, Won 25 Drawn 9 Lost 8, Pts 84)

Pipped Gateshead to the title by 2 points. Were in the playoff positions for the second half of the season and went top for the first time on the final day by beating Boro Smoggies, who top for about 15 games but lost it towards the end.

Finished the season with 19 first team players.

3rd Liverpool City Pts 79 (10 players)

4th Boro Smoggies Pts 77 (9 players) - Juninho retires from playing at end of season

5th Evertonians Pts 76 (14 players)

Liverpool dispatched with a demoralised Boro in the playoff semis, while Evertonians beat final day losers Gateshead to set up a Merseyside Derby playoff final. After 120 mins at 1-1 the Evertonians won on penalties.

The Bad:

21st Newton Heath Pts 42 (4 players)

Lost out by only three points, having only four permanent players cost them big time and out of the active leagues they go.

22nd Blackburn Olympic Pts 26 (7 players)

Well adrift and bottom since Week 4, the former FA Cup winners were totally hopeless. Is it a coincidence that the two resurrected teams were awful?

The Rest:

6th Tyne

7th Wear - reached semi of FA Trophy, no others teams got past quarters of any cup.

10th Man Ards

13th Bolton CC

Blue Square South Final Positions

The Good:

1st Thames Ironworks (Pld 42, Won 25, Drawn 9, Lost 8, Pts 84)

Eleven points clear of Pompey Blue Army in 2nd, Thames benefitted from a decent squad of 16 first team players. Top since week 3, their position was never really in doubt.

2nd Pompey 73pts (16 Players)

3rd Gunners 67pts (16 Players)

4th Hotspurs 66pts (15 Players)

5th Stoke Ramblers 66pts (14 Players)

The southern teams seem much better at getting players in, explaining their dominance of the top five positions. Pompey beat Stoke while two sell-out Wembley crowds saw Hotspurs overturn a 2-1 first leg defeat with a 3-0 win against AFC Gunners. A narrow 1-0 then saw Hotspurs through.

Maximum four teams promoted bodes well for the experiment so far!

The Bad:

The table was very tight with only 15 points seperating Hotspurs and relegation. Brom Strollers and Fulham St Andys both survived on the last day two points clear on 53.

The Rest:

11th Kingston 58pts

13th Aston 58pts

15th Chelsea 56pts

Managerial changes:

Wigan Boro: Paul Jewell>

Liverpool City: Graeme Souness>

Boro Smoggies: Juninho>

Evertonians: Howard Kendall> Graeme Jones

Tyne: Kevin Keegan>

Wear: Roy Keane>

Man Ards: Joe Royle>

Bolton CC: Colin Todd> Simon Clifford

Newton Heath: Paul Ince > Peter Davenport > Mickey Louis

Blackburn Olympic: Colin Hendry> Simon Clifford > Jeff King

Thames Ironworks: Alan Curbishley>

Pompey Blue: Jim Smith> Richard O'Kelly

Hotspurs: Glenn Hoddle

AFC Gunners: Tony Adams

Stoke Ramblers: Peter Hoekstra> Terry Brown

Kingston: Brian Little

Aston Fugitives: Gordon Cowans> Dean White

Chelsea Daggers: Dennis Wise

Fulham Sts: Jean Tigana> Tony Parkes> Colin Omogbehin

Brom Strollers: Ossie Ardiles> Dave Kevan

Aston Fugitives? Forced out of aston and into Birmingham lol, I belive Aston is still a part of Birmingham

But Kepp up the good work

Lol, I meant into the neighbouring district.

Thanks.

You should have set it so that the original prem versions of these clubs loose most of their attendance and reputation.

I thought about that but I wanted to see if these clubs could compete with the other ones as is. If this is successful/if there's interest I might try that in the future though.

newton heath have become the chelsea by sacking manager after manager

Like this idea KUTGW

2009/10 Season Report

Blue Square Premier

Playoffs:

2nd Wigan Boro Pts 82

3rd The Hotspurs Pts 82

Paul Jewell left BSN champions Wigan in November on top of the league and was replaced by Kevin Summerfield. After a mini-slump Wigan held onto 2nd for the last 1/3 of the season, six points behind champions Wrexham. The Hotspurs finished behind Wigan on goal-difference. They lost Glen Hoddle in October and replaced him with Sam Ellis. Most of the season was spent hovering in the top half before a late play-off push. The Hotspurs comfortably beat Stevenage in their semi, but Wigan were surprisingly hammered by Kettering. The final finished 2-2, Hotspurs winning on penalties and getting their second playoff promotion on the bounce.

8th Evertonians Pts 73

12th Thames Iron Pts 66 - Beat Pompey Blue Army 3-0 in the final of the FA Trophy. Alan Curbishley left to return to Charlton, and was replaced by David Wilson who earned the club a second piece of silverware in two seasons.

All four of these teams now have good sized squads and half-a-dozen reserves.

Blue Square North

Champions:

1st Tyne United Pts 87

Kevin Keegan left for Sheffield Wednesday but didn't even survive a season there. New manager Lee Sinott took Tyne top and kept them there for over half the season.

Playoffs:

2nd Bolton CC Pts83

3rd Boro Smoggies Pts81

4th Stoke Ramblers Pts77

5th Wear Pts 72

Boro, Stoke and Wear were all in the playoff positions for most of the season, playing a mini-league between themselves. Bolton had been down in mid table but a late march meant they stole 2nd place on the last day. There were no managerial changes for these four teams, explaining their consistency. Bolton's form deserted them however, going down 3-0 on aggregate to Wear. Stoke, who had been switched up to BSN this year, scraped past Boro Smoggies but were soundly beaten by Wear, meaning the Tyne-Wear derby can continue next season.

The Rest:

6th Liverpool City Pts 72

Overcame disappointment in missing out on the playoffs by beaing Kingston in the Conference League Cup Final. Souness again has cup success but fails in the league on Merseyside.

7th Manchester Ards Pts 71

Came into 7th on the final day to give the new teams the top 7 positions in the league.

Blue Square South

Champions:

1st Brom Strollers Pts 101

Dave Kevan's team really did stroll, going top in November. Helped by getting knocked out of the cups early.

Playoffs:

2nd Pompey Blue Army Pts 97

3rd AFC Gunners Pts 88

4th Fulham St Andys Pts 87

5th Aston Pts 83

Richard O'Kelly resigned in the summer to be replaced by Chris Evans at Pompey. They were second for most of the season and kept up the chase behind Brom Strollers, and were bridesmaids in the FA Trophy. The Gunners lost Tony Adams to Notts Forest but new gaffer Andy Ford pushed the team up into 3rd. Along with Fulham and Aston, they were in the playoff positions for the whole second half of the season. Pompey threw all their hard work away by getting beat 4-0 in Birmingham, 6-3 on aggregate, and were left wondering what might have been. Gunners beat Fulham on the last day of the season to overtake them, and then twice in the playoffs. They had the unfair advantage of playing at home in the final and Aston slumped to a 2-0 defeat. That means two London clubs in the BSP and one in League 2 next year.

The Rest:

6th Chelsea Pts 82

Flatlined in 6th at game 30 and never looked like moving. Not justifying Dennis Wise's now astronomical wages of 10k p/w.

10th Kingston Pts 60

Never really got going and Brian Little was shown the door in February. John Beck initially threatened the playoff places but tailed off towards the end of the season. Defeat in the Conference League Cup Final added to the sense of disappointment, and they were easily the worst performers this term, although their league position did improve.

All the teams now have decent sized squads.

Unibond Premier League

No way of knowing what position Blackburn Olympic and Newton Heath came in until the end of June. Jeff King resigned from Olympic after their relegation and Keith Webb became their 4th manager. He's filled out the squad nicely so if and when they return to BSN, they should be ready. Mickey Lewis took over two days after Newton Heath's relegation, and he too has bumped the squad up to a decent level. Fingers crossed they bounce back at the first attempt.

Newton Heath return to the BSN, but Blackburn Olympic stay down.

2010/11 Season Report

League 2

Hotspurs began the season well, being in 7th place by November and chasing an unlikely third playoff promotion. Unfortunately the players had obviously been watching too much England cricket, and they collapsed in spectacular fashion. Only 3 more league wins were earned all season, including one on the final day when they were already relegated. Rock bottom on 39 points and 12 off safety.

Blue Square Premier

Champions:

1st: Wear 94pts

Some inspired signings including John Terry’s brother Paul helped Wear dominate from Christmas onwards. The only real blot was losing to rivals Tyne in the Conference Cup semis.

Playoffs:

2nd: Evertonians 82pts

4th: Brom Strollers 79pts

After a dodgy start Evertonians rallied in the second half of the season and just pipped Luton for 2nd. BSS champions Brom Strollers were much more consistent, rarely dropping below the playoff places and they eased past Luton in the semis. Everton destroyed Torquay to set up a tasty final and made light work of Brom in a 3-0 win. The only sour note from them was losing to Liverpool City in the Conference Cup. In the FA Cup they were soundly beaten by Middlesbrough in the 3rd Round.

The Rest:

6th: Thames Ironworks 77pts

Narrowly missed out on the playoffs in spite of a late surge, leaving them without silverware for the first season in their history.

9th Wigan Boro 69pts

11th Tyne 66pts

Lost in both the Conference Cup and FA Trophy finals.

13th AFC Gunners 64pts

Blue Square North

Champions:

1st: Boro Smoggies 92 Pts

At the third attempt the Smoggies finally managed promotion, after a real scrap for the top spot, which they never managed to hold onto for more than three games in a row. A relief for Juninho, who would’ve been toast if Boro had failed again.

Playoffs:

2nd: Newton Heath 91pts

3rd: Liverpool City 84pts

4th: Manchester Ards 81pts

5th: Stoke Ramblers 75pts

(6th: Bolton CC 73pts)

Newton Heath made up for their relegation two seasons ago with a stunning return performance. For long periods of the season they were top, but a second to last day defeat at the hands of Boro confined them to the playoffs. Liverpool returned to the playoffs after the disappointment of last season, while Ards and Stoke made their first appearances, the latter at the expense of Bolton on the last day. Stoke stunned Newton Heath 3-0 in the first leg and just hung on to take the tie 4-3 on aggregate. Liverpool produced two comfortable displays against Ards to take them into the final, where goalkeeper Mark Tyler scored the 11th penalty for his side and then saved Stoke’s 11th penalty.

Bolton bizarrely sacked Simon Clifford while still in the playoff places in March, after which the team slumped under new manager Alan Lewer.

Blue Square South

Champions:

1st: Pompey Blue Army 102pts

No mistakes from the Blues this time as they stormed the league, taking top spot in September and staying there throughout. 3 of their 4 defeats came after the title had already been won, and their home record was an almost perfect 20 wins and 1 draw.

Playoffs:

2nd: Chelsea Daggers 84pts

3rd: Fulham St Andy’s 82pts

4th: Kingston 80pts

5th: Aston 69pts

The Daggers recovered quickly from a poor start and were rarely out of the top three. Fulham and Kingston didn’t leave the playoff spots after September, while Aston kept a narrow hold on 5th place for 23 straight games. The Fugitives made a mockery of their inconsistency by beating a stunned Daggers home and away, while Fulham overcame Kingston on away goals after two draws. A capacity crowd at Wembley saw Aston hold out against a barrage from Fulham before Fulham scored on 53 minutes, but Aston hit back straight away against the run of play. Fulham continued to batter Aston but in extra time Aston stole a winner and promotion from three much superior teams above them. For the first time no London teams were promoted from BSS.

Consolation for Chelsea came in the form of the Conference League Cup where they beat Tyne in the final.

No promotion again for Blackburn Olympic – they are the definite disappointment of this experiment.

Jimmyriddle - once they settled on one they've improved dramatically

corbs - Cheers

Nooooo!

Get our BFJ (Big fat Joe [Royle]) away from the Blue scum now!!!