

Bishop's Cleeve F.C.
In one of the most picturesque corners of England lies a village of 14,000 people represented by a football team known as the Mitres, with modest local success but bags – or perhaps hatfuls – of personality. They currently sit in Southern League Division One South and are knocking on the door of the Premier Division above. They narrowly lost in the play-offs last season and finished sixth this season. Another big push next year could get them into the seventh tier of English
8 hours ago5 min read


Aldershot Town FC
For the life of me, I thought I'd already written a post on Aldershot when I completed the National League teams, but I must have just done the research and then never actually got round to writing it. So I owe the club an apology, especially because, of all the clubs in England, this one can boast of representing one of the finest institutions in the land today – the British Army. Before we get to that, Aldershot as a football club is itself quite the tale of battle and come
2 days ago6 min read


Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough. I’ll be honest. I’ve delayed doing this badge because it just looked a bit too straightforward. A lion. It would come from the crest of some local lord – and that would be it. Aha – not quite. Well, sort of. But that’s only one tiny bit of it. This lion tells a tale that stretches from before the Norman invasion right up to the Industrial Revolution and makes it instantly one of my favourite badges – so, without further ado, let’s do Middlesbrough FC the honour
4 days ago7 min read


Santa Rosa Growlers
Nestled between the redwood forests and large vineyards of Northern California’s wine country sits an ice rink named for, and built by, Charles M. Schulz – the creator of a little cartoon known as Snoopy. Snoopy’s Home Ice houses Santa Rosa’s semi-professional Santa Rosa Growlers. Their badge tells a tale of the local area – a part of the state of California that has still retained much of its natural beauty and wildlife. As such, they can help us tell another part of the Cal
6 days ago3 min read


San Francisco City FC
I came across the club via a social media post claiming faux outrage over an "ice cream" inspired away shirt. What I discovered is a community and volunteer-run club that is doing extraordinary things in the very heart of one of the USA's greatest cities. And one I have instantly fallen in love with. They claim to be the oldest community-run club in America and I'm simply going to quote, at length, their mission statement from their website - because it is genuinely inspiring
6 days ago5 min read


West Ham United FC
I went to university in Essex and have been fortunate enough (…) to have spent my formative years surrounded by Hammers fans. So it has been with some delight that I’ve been reminding them of the cost to the taxpayer that their recent relegation has cost us (they have an incredibly generous rental agreement with the local council on the Olympic Stadium, which means that upon relegation their rent goes down by roughly £2.5 million a year! – agreed to by Boris Johnson – so anot
Jun 56 min read


Sassuolu
Sassuolo – or Unione Sportiva Sassuolo Calcio, to be precise – has recently fallen onto my radar because, a) last season they won promotion back to Serie A and, despite the odds, have managed to survive another year (as an Ipswich fan, clubs that can make this jump hold a certain fascination for me), and b) it was also where Muric, Town's former goalkeeper, spent last season on loan and has just today announced he will be joining on a permanent deal. So... who exactly are Sas
Jun 23 min read

