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Suffolk is a far more remarkable place than it gets credit for. In Felixstowe we have an incredible ancient history and today one of the largest ports in Europe. In Ipswich we have UEFA Cup Winners, a historic waterfront (and the highest concentration of insurance firms outside London 💁‍♂️). In Martlesham you have the invention of fibre optics and VOIP. In Framlingham you have that castle and some chap with a guitar. And a little further up the A14, you have... another national treasure... A place unmatched in its field... a global centre with unrivalled talent, facilities, passion and prestige... We are, of course, talking about Newmarket — the centre of world horse racing. But while the gallops and racecourses dominate the headlines, operating under the radar are the other Jockeys... Newmarket Town Football Club 🏇 See, whilst on race day everyone's attention was on the horses and the nobility and the glamour, behind the scenes another sport was taking root. Spreading out from the big industrial cities and into the market towns and rural communities... football began to be played. Football offered something that cut across class lines — in a place like Newmarket, where much of the economy revolved around the horse racing season and its wealthy patrons, the local football pitch became the preserve of grooms, stablehands, and working families as much as the local shopkeepers and clerks. And so it came to be that in 1877 (making them one of the county's oldest clubs) Newmarket Town FC was founded. The nickname “The Jockeys” was inevitable, but the football club quickly established its own identity in the regional game. Playing at Cricket Field Road since 1885, they have been part of the Eastern Counties football scene for well over a century. They’ve competed in Suffolk and Cambridgeshire leagues, lifted local cups, and built a reputation as a competitive non-league side. While the crowds may not match those at the Guineas, the club has been just as much a part of the town’s sporting calendar. Newmarket’s identity as a sporting town began in the early 17th century. James I first visited in 1605 and quickly fell in love with the open heath, seeing it as perfect for hunting and racing. He established a royal palace here, ensuring the town became a regular stop for the Stuart court. James was a busy man. Initially King of Scotland he was invited down to London to become King of England too after the death of the childless Elizabeth I. This he did - and in so doing changed the nation's history. He was the first King of both nations - he created the Union Flag (Union Jack...), he had a new bible written to try and unite the realm (King James Bible - still in use today) and sent off settlers to the Americas (Jamestown...). Oh, and some feller called Guy Fawkes tried to blow him up. So he had a lot going on. He needed a safe space. Some me time. A 17th century mancave. Somewhere to unwind and let down his perfectly rolled hair - Newmarket was to be the place. Look again at the badge of the football club. See the Royal Lion? That's why. James' grandson, Charles II, was even more influential. A keen rider, he rebuilt and expanded the palace, laid out formal racecourses, and personally took part in races - winning several. Under his reign in the mid-1600s, Newmarket was transformed into the recognised headquarters of English racing. The presence of the monarchy also drew aristocrats, trainers, and breeders from across the country, embedding racing deep into the town’s culture. It was a boom town built on bridles and thoroughbreds. Centuries later, Time Team excavated parts of the old palace site. They uncovered the remains of the royal complex, revealing its scale and confirming just how important Newmarket was to the Stuart kings. Key to its success was of course the surrounding plains and flatlands of the Suffolk countryside- which provided excellent pasture and room to run. That badge - it features the crown and crossed arrows of St Edmund - the county symbol of Suffolk. So there have it. Newmarket Football Club. From royal palaces to football pitches, from thoroughbreds to a through pass, the Jockeys are still chasing glory.

Probably the most widely known back story of any football club - Ask any fan why Arsenal are called the Gunners and you’ll get the same answer: the club was born in the shadow of one of Britain’s greatest military-industrial powerhouses – the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich. The Royal Arsenal, originally “the Warren”, was founded on the south bank of the Thames in the late 17th century as a gun wharf and proofing ground. By the Victorian era it was a vast, cutting-edge complex employing tens of thousands, churning out rifles, heavy artillery, shells, explosives, and naval guns. It was also an innovation lab: breech-loading and rifled artillery, Armstrong guns, guncotton and cordite propellants, advanced fuzes, mass-production lines for munitions – all of it tested and perfected here before being shipped to battlefields across the Empire. At its First World War peak, it covered 1,285 acres and employed over 80,000 people. Among that workforce in 1886 was a Scottish mechanical engineer, David Danskin. He and a group of fellow football enthusiasts from the Dial Square workshop – named for the sundial over its entrance – each chipped in sixpence to form a works team. They called themselves Dial Square FC and won their first match 6–0 against Eastern Wanderers. Within weeks they renamed themselves Royal Arsenal, after their parent factory. That year the team adopted their now famous red and white colours. There is a long standing story that several players from Nottingham Forest joined the club, and when they asked their old side for spare kit, Forest obliged. Thus Royal Arsenal adopted the red shirts and white trim they still wear today. However, in an article in the Coventry Evening Standard in 1931 it is reported instead that a team official was sent out to purchase a new kit from a local trader - he found one in Woolwich who provided them with their first red kits. In those early years they moved grounds frequently – from Plumstead Common to the Sportsman Ground on Plumstead Marshes, then to Manor Field. The Manor Ground’s pitch was poor and its southern touchline was bordered by the Southern Outfall Sewer, from whose embankment freeloaders could watch matches. Still, Arsenal were on the rise. By 1890 they’d moved to the Invicta Ground, become the first club in London to turn professional, and changed their name to Woolwich Arsenal. They were elected to the Football League in 1893 – the first club from the south of England to join – and in 1904 reached the First Division. But Plumstead was out on a limb and attendances never matched those of northern rivals. By 1910 Woolwich Arsenal were broke and relegated. Salvation came in the form of Fulham chairman and property developer Sir Henry Norris, who bought the club. His plan to merge Arsenal and Fulham failed, so he decided to move Woolwich Arsenal north of the Thames to tap into the bigger gates of inner London. The move was as good as sealed when, in 1913, Suffragettes burned down the Manor Ground’s main stand as part of their campaign of arson against male-dominated institutions – Norris himself being a prominent local politician. That summer, the club relocated to Highbury in Islington, leasing the recreation ground of St John’s College of Divinity. They dropped “Woolwich” from the name, becoming simply “The Arsenal” – soon shortened further to “Arsenal” – and opened their new ground in September 1913. Highbury was redeveloped to the designs of stadium architect Archibald Leitch, and later rebuilt in the 1930s into the marble-halled Art Deco masterpiece that defined Arsenal’s image for decades. By 1919 they were back in the First Division, promoted controversially at Tottenham’s expense – a slight that still fuels the North London derby. The badge has always drawn from their roots in Woolwich. Early crests featured three cannons viewed from above, barrels pointing north. Later designs simplified to a single, side-facing cannon, wheeled and riveted like those produced at the Royal Arsenal. It’s an unmistakable symbol of the club’s origins in Britain’s foremost munitions works – the same place that armed the fleet, fortified the empire, and pioneered weapons technology for over 200 years. The cannon’s meaning deepens when you recall what the Royal Arsenal represented: engineering excellence, industrial power, and mass-production skill. The site’s innovations – rifled barrels, smokeless powders, precision-machined shell casings, armour-piercing rounds – were the football equivalent of tactical revolutions, each giving the British military an edge. That same combination of tradition, technology and firepower is what Arsenal have always wanted to project on the pitch. From a works team on Plumstead Common to Herbert Chapman’s WM formation, to Arsène Wenger’s Invincibles and the Emirates Stadium era, Arsenal have always carried that cannon. It’s there on the blazer badge Charlie Nicholas once called “class”. It’s stitched in gold above marble halls Jimmy Greaves grudgingly admired. It’s a constant in a club that’s moved across a city, changed its name, survived fires, bankruptcies and relocations, but never forgotten that it was born in a place where power was forged in steel, brass and cordite. That’s why Arsenal are the Gunners. Not just because of what they’ve won, but because of where they came from – and the badge tells you the whole story. #GetTheBadgeIn

Aberdeen. The Granite City. Home to grey stone that sparkles in the sun, 45 parks and gardens, one of the oldest universities in the English-speaking world – and a football club whose badge tells the story of a city and a golden era. Before the clean, minimalist “A” you see today – an ‘A’ doubling as the frame of a goal –(very clever - designed by a local artist in 1972). Before this Aberdeen FC’s shirts carried the old city coat of arms. Red shield, three silver towers: Aberdeen Castle on Castle Hill, the city gate on Port Hill, and a chapel on St Catherine’s Hill. Two of those buildings – and the hill itself – are long gone, but the towers still speak to a medieval city on three hills. And their colours, red and white, came from the city arms and still define the Dons. The new badge arrived in the 1960s/70s, stripping away heraldry for a crisp, modern mark. The stylised “A” sits above a ball, the uprights of the letter forming a goal frame – clean, confident, instantly recognisable. Why the Dons? The nickname’s origins are debated. One theory shortens “Aberdonians”; another nods to the River Don to the north of the city; yet another claims it came from an early team with teaching professionals – “Dons” in academic slang. There’s even the chant theory: “C’mon the Donians!” Whatever its source, it’s stuck, and now it’s inseparable from the club’s identity. Aberdeen FC’s history is full of strong chapters, but one year is written in gold: 1983. Under a young Alex Ferguson, the Dons did what Scottish clubs simply weren’t supposed to do – conquer Europe. They battled past Bayern Munich in the Cup Winners’ Cup and, on 11 May in Gothenburg, beat Real Madrid 2–1 after extra time. Eric Black and John Hewitt got the goals; Ferguson got his springboard to greatness; Aberdeen got immortality. That wasn’t the end. Days later they lifted the Scottish Cup against Rangers, and in December they added the UEFA Super Cup, beating Hamburg 2–0 at Pittodrie. Three major trophies in one calendar year. For a club outside Glasgow, it was almost unthinkable. Pittodrie itself has made history. It’s credited with inventing the dugout, and in 1978 it became one of the UK’s first all-seater stadiums. On cold North Sea afternoons, it’s hosted the best of Scottish football – and, occasionally, the best in Europe. The club’s fortunes are tied to a remarkable city. Aberdeen’s granite, quarried at Rubislaw, built parts of the Houses of Parliament and Waterloo Bridge. Its harbour was once Scotland’s top fishing port. In WWII the city was bombed as a key shipbuilding and supply hub. Then, in the 1970s, the offshore oil boom roared into Aberdeen, turning the Granite City into Europe’s energy capital. Engineers from Texas with funny accents and a habit of flashing the cash arrived and shook up the more modestly minded locals. The harbour filled with towering rigs, supply ships, and the whine of helicopter rotors from one of the world’s busiest heliports, ferrying crews to the North Sea. Oil wealth poured into the city, reshaping its skyline, filling certain streets with expensive wine bars and fuelling an era of prosperity unlike anything in its history. Aberdeen's other economic powerhouse has long been its University, founded in 1495, has long been the city’s academic anchor. The city’s motto, Bon Accord, harks back to Robert the Bruce’s 14th-century siege password – “Good Agreement” – still seen everywhere from street signs to shopping malls. And for all the industry, Aberdeen blooms: Duthie Park’s riverside lawns, Hazlehead’s woodland, Seaton’s cathedral-edge greenery. The floral displays have won “Britain in Bloom” and “Scotland in Bloom” titles again and again. From granite towers on medieval hills to a minimalist ‘A’ on a modern shirt, Aberdeen’s badge reflects a club and a city that have rebuilt, redefined, and risen to great heights. In 1983 they conquered Europe; and today they continue, very quietly, achieve remarkable things on the pitch, in their garden city and on and under the waves.

From coal dust to coat of arms glory – Washington FC’s story is one rooted in grit, graft, and a rather famous family name.   Founded by miners at the local F-Pit colliery in the early 20th century, the club’s original red shirts were enshrined “in perpetuity” in its founding rules. The game was a release from the relentless work of the coalfields — and Washington had no shortage of them. By the 20th century, the area was dotted with no fewer than 27 collieries, their winding gear and spoil heaps dominating the skyline until the industry’s decline and the last pit’s closure in the 1960s.   Washington’s modern identity was shaped in the 1960s too — but in a very different way — when it was designated as one of Britain’s “New Towns”, bringing in modern housing estates, green spaces, and industry to replace the pits. The most famous industrial arrival came in 1986 with the vast Nissan factory, now one of the UK’s largest car plants and a major employer, exporting vehicles worldwide from the banks of the Wear.   The club’s badge is a direct link to Washington’s most famous export of all — its name. It carries the two red bars and three red stars of the Washington family coat of arms, first borne by William de Wessyngton after the Norman Conquest and taken across the Atlantic by his descendants. Today Old Hall stands in the town as the seat of the Washington family and attracts the occasional patriotic US tourist.   George Washington’s family flew the coat of arms at their Virginia estate of Mount Vernon; today it appears on the flag of Washington D.C., and even on the NFL’s Washington Commanders jerseys (feel there is scope for a training camp tie up here - or at least a social media video series to entice Americans into following the true Washington team...)   From its earliest days as Washington Colliery Mechanics, the club has had its moments — FA Cup qualifying runs in the 1970s, Wearside League success, and a surge into the Northern League First Division in 2015 after a storming run of seven straight wins. Alongside that footballing fight, there’s been more than a share of hardship: fires, financial crises, ground moves, and a survival battle in 2017 that saw the club merge with Washington AFC to preserve senior football in the town.   Today, Washington FC plays back in its home town, carrying a badge that speaks of medieval heraldry, transatlantic ties, and working-class pride. It’s a symbol that’s travelled from a County Durham pithead to the capital of the United States — but its beating heart is still right here on the Wear.

While Ipswich this evening are away to the Ravens of Bromley, Cole Skuse's Bury Town play host to Royston's Crows. So let's do this Hertfordshire team the honour and dig a bit deeper and #GetTheBadgeIn! The name goes way back. The hooded crow on the badge is, technically, the Corvus cornix  (sounds like you should kill it to destroy the last piece of Voldemort...). It is in fact a breed of crow with a grey body, black wings and head. It was once a common visitor to Hertfordshire, so much so that it became known locally as the Royston Crow. During the English Civil War, Cromwell’s Roundheads clashed with local Cavalier sympathisers in the town and, after a brawl, sneered at the locals as “crows”. The name stuck. Even the town’s 150-year-old newspaper is still called The Royston Crow . The badge pairs that bird with a black-and-white chequered background – a direct lift from Royston’s coat of arms. That pattern comes from the Stuart dynasty and marks the town’s connection to King James I, who first stayed here in 1603 and later built a royal hunting lodge by demolishing two inns on the High Street. He liked the place so much he banned anyone else from taking game within 16 miles. The chequerboard is a nod to that regal past; the crow, a nod to the people. Royston itself grew where two ancient routes meet – the prehistoric Icknield Way and Roman-built Ermine Street – marked by a medieval stone cross. The “Roisea Stone” is still there today in the town centre, thought to be the base of that cross. The town straddled the Hertfordshire–Cambridgeshire border until 1896 and sits today right on the Greenwich Meridian. As for the club, they can trace their roots back to 1875, making them Hertfordshire’s third oldest behind Hitchin and Bishop’s Stortford. Their first honour came in 1911/12 with the Creake Charity Shield. The modern era has seen steady climbs: Herts County Premier champions in the 70s, South Midlands Division One winners in 1978, Isthmian League stints in the 80s, and a renaissance under Paul Attfield and later Steve Castle, who guided them through the South Midlands and into the Southern League. By 2017, they’d won promotion to Step 3 – the highest level in their history – bagging 120 league goals along the way. They play at Garden Walk, where the badge – crow poised in front of the Stuart chequerboard – greets you at the gate. From royal hunting parties to Civil War name-calling, from ancient trackways to Southern Premier football, Royston’s story is written in black, white, and crow. 🐦‍⬛ This year they celebrate 150 years since their formation!

Some football clubs dream of lifting a world title. West Auckland Town, a team of miners from County Durham, have done it. Twice – before most people had even heard of a “World Cup”. The man behind it? Sir Thomas Lipton – Glaswegian-born son of Irish immigrants, a self-made millionaire through his Lipton tea empire, and an irrepressible sports enthusiast. Lipton was a serial promoter of grand events: he famously challenged for the America’s Cup five times, and in 1909 decided football needed its own international tournament. Italy, Germany, and Switzerland sent teams. The English FA refused, so Lipton found his own representative – West Auckland, an amateur colliery side from the Northern League. Why them? Theories abound: a contact in the Northern League, or a muddled “W.A.” meant for Woolwich Arsenal. Whatever the reason, the miners sold furniture and belongings to fund the trip to Turin. They beat Stuttgart 2–0 in the semi-final, Winterthur of Switzerland 2–0 in the final, and came home with the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy – without conceding a goal. Two years later they returned. After dispatching FC Zürich 2–0, they thrashed Juventus – yes, that  Juventus – 6–1 in the final. Twice winners meant they kept the trophy for good. It’s a story forged in coal dust and grit. At the turn of the 20th century, West Auckland Colliery employed over 600 men, and football was woven into the community’s fabric. The players who humbled Europe’s elite went back down the pit on Monday morning. The romance had its costs. The club ended the 1911 tour in debt, pawning the trophy to the landlady of their meeting place for £40. It stayed in her family until 1960, when villagers raised £100 to buy it back. In 1994, it was stolen from the West Auckland Working Men’s Club and never recovered; today, a replica, gifted by the Lipton name’s owners, sits proudly in its place. Their badge? A roundel in black and yellow (common colours for coal-mining teams – see Donetsk in Ukraine or Borussia Dortmund). It features a man taking a throw-in. Who? A miner? A player? Both? Whoever it is, they stand as a reminder of the club’s heritage. If anyone from the club is reading – can you tell us exactly who’s on there? Either side of the badge stand two stars – one for each Lipton Trophy. From one of England’s largest village greens to the turf of Turin, West Auckland Town’s name is etched in football history. Twice world champions before the world was ready for one – not bad. Not bad at all. #GetTheBadgeIn

So let’s #GetTheBadgeIn for Yeovil Town FC and see what lies behind this famous team. So, lets get straight to it. Why The Glovers and why are there gloves in the badge? It all comes from Yeovil’s biggest trade for over 200 years – leather glove-making. Recorded as far back as 1349, when local “glovers” were listed alongside skinners and tanners, the industry grew after Somerset’s woollen cloth trade declined in the late Middle Ages. By the 18th century, glove-making had become Yeovil’s main employer, with giants like Hawkins, Bartletts, and Denner & Stiby exporting around the world. At its height in the 19th and early 20th centuries, thousands worked in dozens of factories, producing a large share of Britain’s gloves. Though the industry has vanished today – Prittards, the last factory, closed in 2023 – the football club still proudly carries the trade’s name and symbol on its crest. Founded in 1895 (merging later with Petters United), Yeovil spent decades at Huish, a ground made infamous by its extraordinary slope – an 8-foot sideline-to-sideline drop that became part of the club’s giant-killing aura. That reputation peaked in the 1949 FA Cup when Yeovil dumped First Division Sunderland out 2–1 in front of 17,000 before heading to Maine Road to face Manchester United. In 1990 they moved to Huish Park, but the slope is still talked about in football folklore. Today, Yeovil are back on the rise – having won the 2023–24 National League South title, they’re returning to the National League (Step 1 of non-league) and aiming to climb again after their 2013 high point of reaching the Championship. One of their most famous modern links is Marcus Stewart. A deadly finisher, Stewart was Premier League Golden Boot runner-up in 2000–01 with Ipswich Town, scoring 19 goals – more than Henry, Shearer, or Owen that season. He returned to Yeovil as Head of Player Development in 2022, but later revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease (MND). Since then, he and his family have become tireless fundraisers and advocates for MND charities, earning admiration far beyond Somerset. The town itself has deep roots – listed in the Domesday Book as Givele, it was granted a charter by King John in 1205, endured the Black Death, and survived devastating fires in 1499, 1620, and 1643. Its location made it a busy market hub, later connected by competing railway companies in the 19th century. In the 20th century, Yeovil’s fortunes turned skyward. Westland Helicopters (now Leonardo) became the town’s largest employer, producing both military and civilian aircraft. Honeywell Aerospace manufactures oxygen systems here, and the nearby Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton is one of Britain’s busiest military airfields. This aerospace cluster remains central to the town’s economy and identity. From medieval markets and glove factories to an infamous sloping pitch and modern aircraft hangars, Yeovil has always adapted while keeping its heritage alive. And in footballing terms, Yeovil are moving back in the right direction. The gloves are off.

Nestled on the shores of one of the most famous lakes in the world, Como 1907 pulled off something special last year – a return to Serie A for the first time in 21 years. It’s been a long road back for the Lariani (People who live in Como). It is a club that’s been to the top, plunged into bankruptcy twice, and now finds itself reborn under one of the wealthiest owners in all of football. The story starts in 1907, when a group of locals met at the Taroni Bar on Via Cinque Giornate, a narrow street in the old town of Como, to form Como Foot-Ball Club. Royal blue was chosen as the colour, and early games were friendlies against teams from Milan and across the Swiss border. By 1913, Como were in the top tier – the old Prima Categoria – and since then they have become a familiar name in Italian football. The Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium, their home since 1928, is one of the most scenic stadiums you'll find. One side it backs directly onto Lake Como itself and on the other it has the mountains. It is named after a local rower and WWI hero, it sits right by Lake Como, framed by mountains. It was commissioned by Mussuloni himself in the 1920s to showcase the best of the new style of the new style of "Rationalist Architecture" and the main stand is indeed striking. Over the years Como have had some great times: unbeaten promotion to Serie B in 1930–31, the club’s three spells in Serie A, and now the return to the top flight of summer of 2024. But it hasn’t always been sunsets and smooth sailing. The 2000s were brutal. Consecutive relegations led to bankruptcy in 2004. The club was thrown out of professional football and had to restart in Serie D. By 2007 they’d clawed back to the pro ranks, only to hit the wall again in 2016 with a second bankruptcy. In 2017, Como was re-founded yet again, starting from Serie D for a second time. The turning point came in 2019, when Indonesian billionaires Robert Budi Hartono and Michael Bambang Hartono – owners of a vast conglomerate based on cigarettes and banking – bought the club. Ranked among the 30 richest families in the world, they have brought financial stability and ambitio. In 2022 Cesc Fàbregas joined as a player, before moving into a co-owner and head coach role alongside Thierry Henry as a shareholder. Their badge tells its own story. Como’s crest has always nodded to the city’s identity – most often through the red-and-silver cross of Como’s coat of arms. Sometimes it’s been central, as in the late 1940s when it was sewn directly onto the shirt. In other eras, the badge has carried the lake itself in the form of stylised blue waves. Since 2019, after a fan vote, the design has been stripped back and represents a combination of the two: a shield with the club name, a wave motif, and the cross beneath. The red of the city’s arms however is gone – now it’s monochrome blue or white. This is perhapd a shame. The silver cross on red dates back centuries, marking Como’s medieval civic identity. Como was a walled Roman city, refounded by Julius Caesar himself who ordered large areas drained and a Roman grid system laid down. Its fortunes have swung with the tides of Italian history. After the Romans the Lombards - a bunch of Germans who snuck into the North of Italy as the Roman Empire collapsed and made themselves at home (probably started with putting their beach towels down early...) Como became a wealthy medieval commune with its own laws and territories stretching into modern-day Switzerland. Its location – at the end of the lake, on the Road of Queen Theudelind – made it a trade hub between Italy and the north. That Road is and was a route through the Alps that many in central and Northern Europe would take when heading off on pilgrimage to Rome or elsewhere in Italy. Como became the perfect, and a very beautiful looking, roadside rest stop. Prosperity however brought jealousy. Milan and Como fought a war between 1118 and 1127, ending with Milan razing the city to the ground. Como bounced back with the help of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, rebuilding its walls and castle. Over the centuries it fell under Milanese Visconti and Sforza rule, the Spanish, the Austrians, Napoleon, and finally the Kingdom of Italy in 1859. Lake Como has been the backdrop to it all. Today it draws tourists from across the globe – George Clooney owns a 25 bed villa on the waters edge – but it’s still a working lake too, with fishing boats, ferries, and now the occasional roar from Serie A crowds. So for Como 1907, that badge sums them up nicely. The waves are a direct link to the city’s geography, history, and livelihood. The cross beneath them connects every modern player to centuries of Comaschi who’ve flown that flag, whether on medieval banners in a scrap with Milan or on football shirts - in a scrap with Milan. Much like their lake, the future sparkles for this club. Back in the big leagues, with the richest owners in Italy, a coaching team of Champions League winners, and one of the most spectacular home grounds in the game. You ain't heard the last of them yet.

In 2015, East Manchester got itself another football club. Not the billionaire-backed, world-famous kind. Not a heritage brand traded on the stock market. This was punk football — grassroots, rebellious, and stubbornly independent. FC United of Manchester, born in 2005 from the frustration of Manchester United supporters who’d simply had enough. The Glazer takeover of Old Trafford that year was the spark, but the disillusionment had been building for years. Changing kick-off times dictated by television contracts, soaring ticket prices, soulless all-seater stadiums full of spectators rather than supporters, heavy-handed stewarding — and a creeping sense that matchday was now a sanitised product, not a living, breathing community ritual. For some fans, the Glazer deal was the last straw. In May 2005, when efforts to block the takeover failed — unlike the successful repulsion of Rupert Murdoch’s bid in 1998 — a “last resort” idea from that earlier campaign was revived. If they couldn’t save United from what they saw as the corporate carve-up, they would create a new club in its image: member-owned, democratic, not-for-profit, and embedded in Greater Manchester’s community. “Our Club, Our Rules.” From day one, FC United was set up as a Community Benefit Society. Every member — whether they paid £25 a year or £5 as a junior — had one share, one vote. No one could own more influence than anyone else. Ticket prices were to be kept affordable. Youth participation, on and off the pitch, would be encouraged. The club would be accessible to all, discriminating against none. Shirt sponsorship? Not allowed. Outright commercialism? To be avoided wherever possible. Their first game in the North West Counties Football League Division Two — the 10th tier of English football — was a 5–2 away win at Leek CSOB in August 2005. It set the tone. FC stormed through three consecutive promotions in their first three seasons. By 2010–11, they were pulling off FA Cup giant-killings, the most famous being a 3–2 win over Rochdale to reach the second round proper. For the first nine seasons, they shared Bury FC’s Gigg Lane. The ambition, though, was always to come home to east Manchester, where Manchester United themselves had been born in Newton Heath more than a century before. In 2010, plans were announced for a 5,000-capacity ground on the Ten Acres Lane sports ground site in Newton Heath, right next to the old Jacksons Brickworks. But by 2011, Manchester City Council had withdrawn its support, and the project collapsed. A new site was quickly found in Moston. Broadhurst Park — capacity 4,400 — opened in May 2015 at a cost of £6.5 million, part-funded by a £2 million Community Share Scheme and a patchwork of grants. The ground even incorporated the old Dane Bank Terrace from Northwich Victoria. Four covered stands wrap the pitch: the St Mary’s Road End, the North Stand, the Lightbowne Road End, and the Main Stand with its seating, bar, catering, offices, medical suite, classroom, and changing rooms. The ground is shared with local junior club Moston Juniors FC, reinforcing FC’s community-first ethos. On the pitch, FC United have bobbed between the Northern Premier League Premier Division and National League North (tier 6), with promotions and relegations keeping them competitive but firmly rooted in non-league’s upper tiers. Off it, they remain one of the biggest fan-owned clubs in the country — around 2,300 members — and are renowned for their matchday atmosphere. Their first season in 2005–06 saw an average home gate of over 3,000, the second-highest in non-league football. Attendances settled at around 2,000 before soaring again after the move to Broadhurst Park, peaking at 3,394 in 2015–16. The badge tells its own story. Red, white, black, and yellow — the colours of Manchester — and free from commercial clutter. It borrows from Manchester’s coat of arms: the merchant ship representing the city’s industrial might and global trade connections; the shield from the heraldic crest of Robert de Gresle, the first lord of the manor of Manchester in the 12th century, whose statue still watches over Albert Square from the Town Hall. The ship speaks to the Manchester Ship Canal, opened in 1894, which turned the landlocked Cottonopolis into a major port. The shield’s three bendlets enhanced gules are a rare heraldic flourish, giving the badge a unique geometry that sets it apart in the footballing landscape. FC United’s colours are, unsurprisingly, red, white, and black — the same as Manchester United. The home kit is plain red shirt, white shorts, black socks; the away strip changes periodically but is usually white; a third kit has sometimes been blue with the club’s clenched-fist “Our Club, Our Rules” motif on the chest. And unlike most clubs, there’s no shirt sponsor — a constitutional safeguard to keep the shirts clean and the game uncluttered by advertising. Philosophy runs deeper than aesthetics. Members vote on kit designs, ticket prices, and major club decisions. The club prioritises affordable football and genuine supporter culture over chasing the biggest gate receipts possible. It runs on volunteer work, from matchday stewards to youth coaches, and invests back into north Manchester through community projects and education programmes. Critics at the start wondered why these disillusioned United fans didn’t just go and support other cash-strapped local clubs. But for the founders, that wouldn’t have been theirs. It wouldn’t have been United. And it wouldn’t have been right to take over another club after watching their own be taken over. FC United was about keeping the protest alive, keeping the songs alive, and keeping the community of supporters together — still singing United songs, still playing in red, but on their own terms. Today, they’re in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, still at Broadhurst Park, still singing, still owned by the fans. The professional game may have sped further into the arms of billionaires and broadcasters, but FC United remains a living reminder that there’s another way to run a football club — one that puts supporters first, doesn’t sell its identity, and carries a badge that means exactly what it says. #GetTheBadgeIn

One of the most successful English teams of all time. A team that dominated the Premier League for nearly twenty years. One of the most well known global brands and badges anywhere in the world… United, Manchester United. So let’s get to know their roots and #GetTheBadgeIn. Before they were United, they were Newton Heath LYR—founded in 1878 by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot just under three miles from Manchester city centre. Pre-Industrial Revolution, Newton Heath was mostly low-grade farmland, but it was swallowed by engineering, textiles, and coal mining. Two of its most famous firms were Avro, the aircraft manufacturer, and Heenan & Froude, the steel engineers behind Blackpool Tower. But its biggest export? Manchester United Football Club. The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway was one of England’s largest railway companies, running the busiest network in the country until 1922. One of its most striking legacies is still visible today—a spectacular glazed tile map of its routes at Manchester Victoria station, built into the war memorial. The club’s first home at North Road stood opposite the works, and they wore the company’s green and gold colours. The ground had a capacity of 12,000, no changing rooms (teams got ready in the Three Crowns pub), and a pitch often described as a swamp in winter, with the added charm of being regularly shrouded in steam from passing trains. Newton Heath LYR’s earliest games in 1880 were against other railway sides, their first recorded match a 7–2 win over Blackburn Olympic reserves in 1883. Football’s shift to professionalism in 1885 saw Newton Heath sign paid players, but chasing competitiveness inflated wages and ticket prices, and finances spiralled. Hopes of joining the Football League in 1887 failed, and they instead became founder members of the Combination, then the Football Alliance, before finally joining the First Division in 1892. In 1891, the club built two stands at North Road—without a penny from the railway company. The decision soured relations and in 1892, they severed ties with the L&YR entirely, becoming simply Newton Heath. The Diocese of Manchester, who owned the ground, disliked the club charging admission fees and hiked the rent, leading to repeated eviction attempts. By 1893, they relocated to Bank Street in Clayton, wedged between a railway line and a chemical works—described by the press as “a dismal, evil-smelling neighbourhood”—but it became home nonetheless, with new stands and terraces packed with thousands. The club’s original badge featured a train in honour of its origins, but by 1891 it had evolved into a simpler coat of arms. Financial troubles lingered until 1902, when local brewery owner John Henry Davies rescued the club after an encounter involving then-captain Harry Stafford’s lost dog. With new investment came a new name—Manchester United—and a badge inspired by Manchester’s civic crest, complete with a merchant ship symbolising the city’s role in global trade during the Industrial Revolution. The three yellow stripes represented the Irwell, Irk, and Medlock rivers that fuelled its growth. The Industrial Revolution transformed Manchester into Cottonopolis. The 1894 Manchester Ship Canal turned a landlocked city into a major port. Like East Anglia, Manchester’s textile trade was seeded by 14th-century Flemish migrants, but the Industrial Revolution, slave-produced cotton, and vast infrastructure projects like the canal turbocharged industry in the North-West. Manchester’s turbulent and progressive history gives their badge—and especially the devil—an edge. The city helped inspire Marxist thought, with Engels and Marx meeting in Chetham’s Library, played a key role in the Suffragette movement, the birth of the Labour Party, endured the Peterloo Massacre, and survived Hitler’s bombing raids. Mancunians are made of tough stuff. By the 1970s, the once-busy Manchester and Salford docks were in decline, losing traffic to east coast container ports like Felixstowe. The area decayed, but as Salford Quays it’s been reborn—now home to the Lowry, the Imperial War Museum North, and the BBC. Ipswich’s docklands could take notes from this 21st-century makeover. Tragedy struck United on 6 February 1958, when the Munich air disaster claimed 23 lives, including eight players and three staff. Returning from a European Cup match, their plane crashed on its third takeoff attempt in Munich. This devastating event became a cornerstone of the club’s identity, uniting fans and the city in grief and determination. The addition of the Red Devil to the badge in 1973—borrowed from Salford Rugby’s Les Diables Rouges —was embraced by Sir Matt Busby to project strength and resilience. Today it remains central to the club’s image, embodied by mascot Fred the Red. Some fans still lament the loss of the words “Football Club” in 1998, but United’s brand is so strong it hardly needs them. My only worry is the creeping trend toward minimalist crests—they might one day reduce it to just the devil, in the vein of Lincoln’s imp or their own stripped-back third kits. United might not dominate as they did under Ferguson, and their noisy light-blue neighbours are the ones spending big now. But history suggests the Red Devils will rise again—after all, they’ve done it before, from swampy North Road and the smoky skies of Newton Heath to the world stage.Devils will rise again.

This account normally focuses on badges and kits – mostly because of their symbolism and what they can tell us about the history and nature of a town or city. But occasionally, bricks and mortar catch our attention too – for exactly the same reason. In steps some North Wales mining town called Wrexham. You may have heard of them. I think there’s a TV show or something. All the influx of Hollywood dollars has, happily, allowed for a transformation in the club’s fortunes – but also in the built infrastructure of the town and the club. Most notably, the club is now on course to turn the once-condemned Kop stand (which stood derelict and a visible blight on the landmark since 2007) into something remarkable. The plans are pretty darn cool – developed by the same firm that built the new Tottenham Stadium (widely applauded as the best in the country). So, let’s #GetTheGroundIn for the new Kop stand. But before we go there – why the Kop? There’s also a Kop at Anfield – the home of Liverpool. So what on earth does it mean? A "Kop" or "Spion Kop" is a term for a single-tier stand, typically behind the goal, known for its steep slope and large capacity. The name originates from the Battle of Spion Kop in the Second Boer War, where a hill in South Africa with a similar steepness was the site of fierce fighting. Many terraces in British football stadiums were named "Kop" in memory of the battle and the soldiers who fought there. At first glance, the new stand looks like a sleek modern shape – something you’d see at the Tate. Full of clean lines, sharp angles – all very smart. But look a little closer and you’ll spot something far more grounded – far more Wrexham. The deep red brick is Ruabon brick, long used in homes, schools, and chapels across North Wales. It came from the town of Ruabon, only a ten-minute drive from Wrexham. The Ruabon Brick and Terracotta Company, established in the 1890s, was a key producer of Ruabon bricks at its factory near the town. Henry Dennis founded the Hafod Brickworks in 1878 to capitalise on the Etruria Marl (top-notch quality) clay found in the area, which was used to make the bricks. So popular were these bricks that the area earned the nickname "Terracottapolis". There could be little more North Wales than this. That connection to place runs deeper still. The angles and shapes of the brickwork have been carefully modelled on the coal seams and slate layers that criss-cross the land beneath Wrexham. It’s a nod – unspoken, but clear enough – to the generations who grafted underground, powering the country from deep beneath the ground. The lattice-style brickwork means you can see in and out – a gentle reminder that the club isn’t shutting itself away. It’s still a part of the town, and it wants the town to feel part of it. Down at ground level, there’ll be a plaza – open, public, and home to a miner’s wheel. It’s there to honour the 266 men and boys who lost their lives in the Gresford Colliery Disaster of 1934. A stark number, even now. The wheel doesn’t just mark a tragedy; it anchors the club to a wider story, one written in soot and sweat. The bodies of those lost still remain, locked in their underground tombs, and even today, many in the town have grandparents or great-grandparents who lost their lives in this terrible industrial disaster. The wheel will reflect the beating heart and spirit of the town (it also appears on their kits). Of course, this is still about football. The new stand isn’t just beautiful or symbolic – it’s practical too. It’s being built to meet UEFA Category 4 standards, which means the club could one day host international matches. Which is fitting, as it will restore the ground to its historic role as an international venue – it hosted Wales v Scotland in 1877. There is also the small matter of the dragons. The nickname for the team. The creature on the Welsh flag. Two will stand proudly on the corner of the Kop – taken straight from the badge. All in all, it’s more than a stand. It’s a story in stone and steel. About who Wrexham is. And where it’s going.

So, Peterborough have today announced their new rebrand. The team behind it have given a fairly good account of themselves on a YouTube video that I'll stick in the comments. Despite their careful groundwork it appears to have divided opinion with some saying it is underwhelming or too similar to Chelsea's badge. Personally I think if you see it with the words POSH beneath it then it starts to make more sense and it grows on you. Slowly. But - this would appear therefore to be the perfect time to #GetTheBadgeIn for Peterborough's existing crest before this minimalist version takes over and potentially buries some of the symbolism that the current one has linking it to the town. So, let's see what we can discover about The Posh: Peterborough United came into being in 1934 at a meeting in the Angel Hotel, filling the void left by the defunct Peterborough & Fletton United. That club had grown out of earlier sides like Peterborough City and Fletton United, who played just south of the River Nene at the London Road ground, in a part of the city best known for its brickmaking. It’s no surprise, then, that early nicknames like The Brickies and The Clay Dobblers stuck. The now-iconic name The Posh emerged from a 1921 appeal by player-manager Pat Tirrel for “posh players for a posh new team”. Initially said tounge in cheek, it was soon taken on with pride. When Peterborough United kicked off in green shirts (donated by local shop Trollopes) and beat Gainsborough Trinity 4–1, the nickname began to take root. By 1937, the club switched to its now familiar blue and white, after fans complained green was unlucky. The board’s response? “Pay for blue shirts and we will wear blue shirts.” So they did and crowd funded a new kit. And The Posh were here to stay. Peterborough itself has ancient foundations—quite literally. Once a Roman route stop, it grew into a significant Anglo-Saxon religious centre. King Penda of Mercia chose it as the site for Medeshamstede Monastery in 654 AD. Rededicated to St Peter, the area eventually became known as St Peter’s Borough—hence the city’s name. It weathered Viking raids, flourished under Norman rule, and developed a patchwork of medieval walls and gates, though never fully enclosed. Street names like Cowgate and Westgate recall those days. Today, most of those defences are gone, but the spirit remains. Adapted from the city’s coat of arms, Peterborough United’s badge displays a pair of crossed keys, a reference to St Peter—holder of the keys to Heaven, as described in Matthew 16:19: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven" It’s a powerful symbol of authority and spiritual responsibility. You’ll find it echoed across English heritage, from local pubs named The Cross Keys to private schools (Cranleigh down in Surrey is next to a St Peter's Church and displays the keys in its badge). The gold crown above the shield represents the city’s historic defences. It’s styled after town walls—specifically the kind that once marked Peterborough’s medieval limits. Though much of the stone is long gone, the crown keeps that memory alive. Flanking the badge are two lions, drawn from the heraldry of the Marquess of Exeter—once the Lord Paramount of Peterborough. On the older badge the design mimicked the city coat of arms more precisely and you can see their wings nod to the eagle supporters of the first Earl of Peterborough, and the stars come from his arms too. The lions rest their paws on tree trunks—a nod to the Fitzwilliam family, whose estate shaped much of the local landscape. The club’s motto, “Upon This Rock”, is both spiritual and historical. It refers to Jesus’ words to Peter in Matthew 16:18: “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church" Fitting for a city founded around a monastery dedicated to St Peter, and for a club built on foundations. In the more recent badge, the lions even stand on a rocky outcrop—visual confirmation of both foundation and faith. No badge is complete without the people behind it. Peterborough United’s history features familiar names: Barry Fry, the exuberant manager-turned-director; Jimmy Bullard, who brought flair before finding fame on and off the pitch; and Darren Ferguson—long-serving gaffer and son of Sir Alex—who has steered the club through numerous promotions with understated competence. So there it is. A badge full of faith, history, brick dust, lion paws, and blue shirts bought by the fans. Peterborough United. Upon this rock, they built a club. Let's hope the redesign doesn't forgot that.