Rochdale fans top suffering league; Man Utd last:
“Long-Suffering Fan Index” names football’s most & least long-suffering
Rochdale fans have followed their club through… thin and thinner, shows study of 220,000 results since 1888 birth of Football League
… But Man Utd fans don’t know what “suffering” means
•
See how your club ranks by consulting the full Long-Suffering Fan Index table for all 92 League clubs, published in the Appendix at the end below
•
“Of course, I didn’t take my wife to see Rochdale as an anniversary present. It was her birthday. Would I have got married in the football season? … Anyway, it was Rochdale reserves.”
Bill Shankly (1913-1981), football legend
•
While fans of Chelsea and Manchester City watch their teams vie for glory again this year, the fans of lowly Rochdale are today named by statisticians the most long-suffering in English football history.
Manchester United fans, meanwhile, may not be enjoying this season as much as most but they are historically the least long-suffering in the English game, reveals the same study – commissioned by the makers of Warren United (www.warrenunited.net), a new animated sitcom, starting April 22nd on ITV4, about a long-suffering fan of a chronically struggling football club.
The show’s producers commissioned the statisticians who run the database at the English National Football Archive (ENFA) to compile a “Long-Suffering Fan Index”. ENFA’s top “stattos” crunched data from 220,000 match results since the first Football League season in 1888-9 to rank the current 92 Football League clubs by their lack of success, weighted by extra factors including the size of their average home crowds.
ENSA’s “Suffering Index” therefore also marks 125 seasons since the Football League’s birth – and 150 since the launch of The FA and the birth of modern football.
“Football is meant to be the ‘glory game’”, says Simon Nye, lead writer of Warren United, whose many past credits include Men Behaving Badly. “But for most fans it’s more about grief, pain and chronic disappointment.” Supporting Brainsford, the fictional team in Warren United, brings its hero Warren more grief than glory. “But that’s what makes him a true fan.”
Rochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, on the doorstep of both Manchester United and City. The fans of Rochdale AFC – who include the comic Tommy Cannon and the singer Lisa Stansfield – may feel themselves long-suffering but they have, in fact, only been suffering since 1907, when the club was founded.
Nonetheless, they still top ENFA’s suffering table with a “Long-Suffering Fan Index” of 66.12, ahead of Hartlepool United in second with 64.72, and Exeter City in third, with 64.08. Manchester United, by comparison, prop up the table with just 21.31.
The Dale, as the club is nicknamed, has spent more seasons in the bottom flight of English football (78 including this season) than any other team. Indeed, during its 36-year unbroken residence in the football’s basement from 1974-2010 fans of other clubs began to refer to League Two as ‘the Rochdale division’.
It also has the lowest average league placing of any in the Football League – 76th. While the fictional Brainsford United has at least bagged one trophy in its time – the lesser-known Cooperative Tarpaulins Cup – Rochdale has not won a football competition since joining the Football League in 1921.
“Rochdale fans have followed their club through… thin and thinner”, says Nye.
Even Bill Shankly, the legendary manager of Liverpool, took a dig at Rochdale when he exclaimed, “Of course, I didn’t take my wife to see Rochdale as an anniversary present. It was her birthday. Would I have got married in the football season?
… Anyway, it was Rochdale reserves.”
The mockers were briefly silenced when the Dale gained promotion to League One four years ago, but sadly for the club’s fans the club’s stay at this heady level was short-lived, lasting just two seasons.
In compiling their index of fan suffering, ENFA’s statisticians factored in data on everything from domestic league and cup honours won (giving different weightings according to the importance of the competition) to average league position, promotion and relegation, and progress each season in the FA Cup.
They also weighted the results according to average home attendances, so that the index was not merely a measure of on-field success or lack of it.
European competitions, however, were not included – some comfort perhaps for Rochdale fans, who still await the day when their club takes the field against the elite of Europe.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the table, Manchester United’s bulging trophy cabinet means that its fans have the smallest suffering score, narrowly ahead of Liverpool . Then come a trio of London clubs: Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham.
Ironically, Rochdale fans are, at least for now, far happier than those of mighty Manchester United. While United toil this season under new manager David Moyes, Dale are looking good for promotion from League Two, if not topping their league.
This provides proof, if needed, that even the longest-suffering football fans can still dream of better days to come, when the wilderness years will finally be over.
Table: The 10 Clubs With The Longest-Suffering Fans
Rank |
Club |
Fan Suffering Index |
1 |
Rochdale AFC |
66.12 |
2 |
Hartlepool United |
64.72 |
3 |
Exeter City |
64.08 |
4 |
Newport County |
65.53 |
5 |
Colchester United (top in League One) |
63.39 |
6 |
Southend United |
63.12 |
7 |
Torquay United |
62.96 |
8 |
Mansfield Town |
62.9 |
9 |
Leyton Orient (top in London) |
62.83 |
10 |
AFC Wimbledon |
62.45 |
Table: 10 LEAST Long-Suffering Fans, With The Lowest Suffering Index
Rank |
Club |
Fan Suffering Index |
1 |
Manchester United |
21.31 |
2 |
Liverpool |
21.97 |
3 |
Arsenal |
30.22 |
4 |
Chelsea |
31.46 |
5 |
Tottenham Hotspur |
32.44 |
6 |
Aston Villa |
37.11 |
7 |
Leeds United |
37.75 |
8 |
Everton |
39.28 |
9 |
Manchester City |
40.57 |
10 |
Newcastle United |
41.27 |
Table: Longest-Suffering Fans In Each Division
Premiership: Stoke City (Suffering Index: 54.72; national rank: 43)
Championship: Bournemouth FC (Suffering Index: 60.26; national rank: 23)
League One: Colchester FC (Suffering Index: 63.39; national rank: 5)
League Two: Rochdale AFC (Suffering Index: 66.12; national rank: 1)
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
• Mick Thorburn: mick@thorburnpr.co.uk: Tel: 0034950 453340
NOTES FOR EDITORS:
Methodology: How The Fan-Suffering Index Was Calculated
In formulating the index, ENSA’s statisticians gave different weightings for victory in the following domestic competitions: Premier League (or past equivalent) (10), Championship (6), League One (4), League Two (2), FA Cup (8), League Cup (6), Johnstone’s Paint Trophy (2), Test match wins (used to decide promotion and relegation in the 1890s) (2), play-off wins (4).
Other factors inputted include: average league position; percentage of games won in all domestic competitions; average home attendance; promotion and relegation; and season-by-season record in the FA Cup.
About Warren United:
The first episode of Warren United kicks off on April 22 at 10pm on ITV4.
Co-written by Simon Nye, the writer of Men Behaving Badly, David Quantick and Dominic Holland, the show features the voices of BATFA award-winner Darren Boyd (as Warren), Morgana Robinson, Nitin Ganatra and Johnny Vegas (as Fat Baz, manager of Brainsford United).
The English National Football Archive is at www.enfa.co.uk
Contact: statsmen@enfa.co.uk
Rochdale Contacts:
Contact Rochdale AFC and Its Supporters Club:
Tel: 0844 826 1907. Email: admin@rochdaleafc.co.uk
Appendix: The Long-Suffering Fan Index In Full, For All 92 League Clubs
See how your club ranks, in each of three different eras:
- Since 1888 – birth of The Football League – to now
- Since 1946 – start of the post-war era – to now
- Since 1882 – the start of the Premiership – to now
TABLE 1: |
TABLE 2: |
TABLE 3: |
||||||||
1888-2013 |
1946-2013 |
1992-2013 |
||||||||
Index |
Index |
Index |
||||||||
1 |
Rochdale |
66.12 |
1 |
Rochdale |
80.38 |
1 |
Exeter City |
78.09 |
||
2 |
Hartlepool United |
64.72 |
2 |
Hartlepool United |
78.65 |
2 |
Dagenham & Redbridge |
76.32 |
||
3 |
Exeter City |
64.08 |
3 |
Bury |
77.71 |
3 |
Swindon Town |
75.42 |
||
4 |
Newport County |
63.53 |
4 |
Newport County |
77.65 |
4 |
Oldham Athletic |
75.00 |
||
5 |
Colchester United |
63.39 |
5 |
Torquay Uniited |
77.49 |
5 |
Mansfield Town |
74.08 |
||
6 |
Southend United |
63.12 |
6 |
Exeter City |
77.08 |
6 |
York City |
72.81 |
||
7 |
Torquay Uniited |
62.96 |
7 |
Mansfield Town |
76.77 |
7 |
Leyton Orient |
71.27 |
||
8 |
Mansfield Town |
62.90 |
8 |
Scunthorpe United |
75.72 |
8 |
Hartlepool United |
70.51 |
||
9 |
Leyton Orient |
62.83 |
9 |
Colchester United |
75.41 |
9 |
Bristol Rovers |
70.35 |
||
10 |
AFC Wimbledon |
62.45 |
10 |
York City |
75.37 |
10 |
Reading |
70.16 |
||
11 |
Port Vale |
62.30 |
11 |
Crewe Alexandra |
75.26 |
11 |
Sheffield Wednesday |
69.44 |
||
12 |
York City |
62.08 |
12 |
Chesterfield |
74.89 |
12 |
Southampton |
69.17 |
||
13 |
Scunthorpe United |
61.92 |
13 |
Bradford City |
74.01 |
13 |
Wolverhampton Wanderers |
68.90 |
||
14 |
Crewe Alexandra |
61.80 |
14 |
Brentford |
73.95 |
14 |
Newport County |
68.11 |
||
15 |
Bristol Rovers |
61.61 |
15 |
Southend United |
73.39 |
15 |
Cheltenham Town |
67.98 |
||
16 |
Walsall |
61.26 |
16 |
Shrewsbury Town |
72.91 |
16 |
Bury |
67.67 |
||
17 |
Morecambe |
60.76 |
17 |
Northampton Town |
72.82 |
17 |
Notts County |
67.29 |
||
18 |
Burton Albion |
60.63 |
18 |
Walsall |
72.57 |
18 |
Carlisle United |
67.26 |
||
19 |
Fleetwood Town |
60.58 |
19 |
Tranmere Rovers |
72.12 |
19 |
Brentford |
67.26 |
||
20 |
Gillingham |
60.54 |
20 |
AFC Wimbledon |
71.82 |
20 |
Nottingham Forest |
67.00 |
||
21 |
Chesterfield |
60.49 |
21 |
Plymouth Argyle |
71.15 |
21 |
Wycombe Wanderers |
67.00 |
||
22 |
Bradford City |
60.41 |
22 |
Leyton Orient |
70.61 |
22 |
Rochdale |
66.61 |
||
23 |
Bournemouth |
60.26 |
23 |
Doncaster Rovers |
70.38 |
23 |
Crawley Town |
66.60 |
||
24 |
Carlisle United |
60.17 |
24 |
Barnsley |
69.50 |
24 |
Chesterfield |
66.29 |
||
25 |
Bury |
60.12 |
25 |
Carlisle United |
69.46 |
25 |
Bradford City |
65.42 |
||
26 |
Northampton Town |
59.86 |
26 |
Port Vale |
69.30 |
26 |
Southend United |
64.92 |
||
27 |
Shrewsbury Town |
59.62 |
27 |
Gillingham |
69.05 |
27 |
Plymouth Argyle |
64.80 |
||
28 |
Notts County |
59.08 |
28 |
Burton Albion |
68.30 |
28 |
Colchester United |
64.27 |
||
29 |
Tranmere Rovers |
59.02 |
29 |
Morecambe |
68.29 |
29 |
Milton Keynes Dons |
63.89 |
||
30 |
Milton Keynes Dons |
58.81 |
30 |
Bristol Rovers |
68.23 |
30 |
Bournemouth |
63.81 |
||
31 |
Barnsley |
58.62 |
31 |
Fleetwood Town |
68.14 |
31 |
Accrington Stanley |
63.54 |
||
32 |
Dagenham & Redbridge |
58.51 |
32 |
Oldham Athletic |
67.85 |
32 |
Oxford Uunited |
62.91 |
||
33 |
Stevenage |
58.42 |
33 |
Bournemouth |
66.83 |
33 |
Morecambe |
62.53 |
||
34 |
Doncaster Rovers |
58.33 |
34 |
Notts County |
65.81 |
34 |
Doncaster Rovers |
62.44 |
||
35 |
Rotherham United |
58.21 |
35 |
Hull City |
65.55 |
35 |
Rotherham United |
62.03 |
||
36 |
Bristol City |
57.24 |
36 |
Charlton Athletic |
64.71 |
36 |
AFC Wimbledon |
61.97 |
||
37 |
Accrington Stanley |
56.97 |
37 |
Swindon Town |
64.55 |
37 |
Peterborough United |
61.92 |
||
38 |
Oldham Athletic |
56.95 |
38 |
Rotherham United |
64.18 |
38 |
Tottenham Hotspur |
61.49 |
||
39 |
Brentford |
56.93 |
39 |
Milton Keynes Dons |
64.07 |
39 |
Brighton & Hove Albion |
61.08 |
||
40 |
Plymouth Argyle |
56.78 |
40 |
Dagenham & Redbridge |
64.01 |
40 |
Yeovil Town |
60.75 |
||
41 |
Blackpool |
56.28 |
41 |
Coventry City |
63.96 |
41 |
Swansea City |
60.44 |
||
42 |
Brighton & Hove Albion |
54.92 |
42 |
Fulham |
63.86 |
42 |
Hull City |
59.96 |
||
43 |
Stoke City |
54.72 |
43 |
Crawley Town |
63.58 |
43 |
Bristol City |
59.96 |
||
44 |
Hull City |
54.42 |
44 |
Preston North End |
63.57 |
44 |
Blackpool |
59.77 |
||
45 |
Cheltenham Town |
54.37 |
45 |
Swansea City |
62.88 |
45 |
Tranmere Rovers |
59.25 |
||
46 |
Wycombe Wanderers |
54.04 |
46 |
Blackpool |
62.79 |
46 |
Preston North End |
59.15 |
||
47 |
Swindon Town |
53.71 |
47 |
Portsmouth |
62.56 |
47 |
Gillingham |
58.84 |
||
48 |
Coventry City |
52.97 |
48 |
Bristol City |
62.35 |
48 |
Crewe Alexandra |
57.92 |
||
49 |
Peterborough United |
52.83 |
49 |
Huddersfield Town |
61.93 |
49 |
Coventry City |
57.50 |
||
50 |
Cardiff City |
52.79 |
50 |
Watford |
61.75 |
50 |
Portsmouth |
56.80 |
||
51 |
Preston North End |
52.73 |
51 |
Stevenage |
61.40 |
51 |
Millwall |
56.12 |
||
52 |
Reading |
52.55 |
52 |
Cardiff City |
60.92 |
52 |
Barnsley |
56.04 |
||
53 |
Burnley |
52.42 |
53 |
Oxford Uunited |
60.74 |
53 |
Port Vale |
55.65 |
||
54 |
Fulham |
52.40 |
54 |
Millwall |
60.36 |
54 |
Burton Albion |
55.19 |
||
55 |
Nottingham Forest |
52.38 |
55 |
Reading |
60.33 |
55 |
Fleetwood Town |
54.89 |
||
56 |
Swansea City |
52.29 |
56 |
Brighton & Hove Albion |
60.26 |
56 |
Huddersfield Town |
54.41 |
||
57 |
Watford |
51.42 |
57 |
Crystal Palace |
59.66 |
57 |
Burnley |
54.38 |
||
58 |
Middlesbrough |
50.97 |
58 |
Stoke City |
59.56 |
58 |
Sheffield United |
54.21 |
||
59 |
Derby County |
50.91 |
59 |
Sheffield United |
58.99 |
59 |
Sunderland |
53.99 |
||
60 |
Birmingham City |
50.86 |
60 |
Sheffield Wednesday |
58.27 |
60 |
West Ham United |
53.59 |
||
61 |
Charlton Athletic |
50.85 |
61 |
Middlesbrough |
57.69 |
61 |
Scunthorpe United |
53.50 |
||
62 |
Sheffield United |
49.99 |
62 |
Accrington Stanley |
57.69 |
62 |
Shrewsbury Town |
51.52 |
||
63 |
Portsmouth |
49.88 |
63 |
Peterborough United |
57.67 |
63 |
Derby County |
51.42 |
||
64 |
Queen’s Park Rangers |
49.81 |
64 |
Wycombe Wanderers |
57.40 |
64 |
Norwich City |
51.10 |
||
65 |
Crystal Palace |
49.13 |
65 |
Birmingham City |
57.14 |
65 |
Cardiff City |
51.02 |
||
66 |
Bolton Wanderers |
48.98 |
66 |
Bolton Wanderers |
56.94 |
66 |
Walsall |
50.50 |
||
67 |
Blackburn Rovers |
48.04 |
67 |
Queen’s Park Rangers |
56.52 |
67 |
Queen’s Park Rangers |
50.40 |
||
68 |
Norwich City |
47.81 |
68 |
Derby County |
55.23 |
68 |
Ipswich Town |
50.31 |
||
69 |
Leicester City |
47.51 |
69 |
Blackburn Rovers |
55.15 |
69 |
Wigan Athletic |
49.58 |
||
70 |
Millwall |
47.41 |
70 |
Leicester City |
54.24 |
70 |
Northampton Town |
48.39 |
||
71 |
Huddersfield Town |
47.32 |
71 |
Burnley |
54.15 |
71 |
Leeds United |
48.29 |
||
72 |
West Bromwich Albion |
46.37 |
72 |
Southampton |
53.29 |
72 |
Crystal Palace |
48.14 |
||
73 |
Crawley Town |
46.05 |
73 |
Norwich City |
52.78 |
73 |
Charlton Athletic |
48.10 |
||
74 |
Oxford Uunited |
45.92 |
74 |
West Bromwich Albion |
52.65 |
74 |
Middlesbrough |
47.64 |
||
75 |
Wolverhampton Wanderers |
45.55 |
75 |
Sunderland |
51.67 |
75 |
Fulham |
46.34 |
||
76 |
Southampton |
45.21 |
76 |
Cheltenham Town |
50.75 |
76 |
Birmingham City |
45.85 |
||
77 |
Sheffield Wednesday |
45.01 |
77 |
West Ham United |
50.61 |
77 |
Stevenage |
45.28 |
||
78 |
Yeovil Town |
45.00 |
78 |
Ipswich Town |
48.70 |
78 |
Blackburn Rovers |
45.22 |
||
79 |
Wigan Athletic |
44.78 |
79 |
Nottingham Forest |
48.35 |
79 |
Leicester City |
45.17 |
||
80 |
Sunderland |
42.69 |
80 |
Leeds United |
48.02 |
80 |
Watford |
44.59 |
||
81 |
Ipswich Town |
42.64 |
81 |
Wolverhampton Wanderers |
46.28 |
81 |
Bolton Wanderers |
44.58 |
||
82 |
West Ham United |
41.93 |
82 |
Newcastle United |
45.37 |
82 |
Everton |
43.24 |
||
83 |
Newcastle United |
41.27 |
83 |
Aston Villa |
45.08 |
83 |
West Bromwich Albion |
43.16 |
||
84 |
Manchester City |
40.57 |
84 |
Everton |
42.85 |
84 |
Aston Villa |
42.13 |
||
85 |
Everton |
39.28 |
85 |
Yeovil Town |
41.84 |
85 |
Torquay Uniited |
41.38 |
||
86 |
Leeds United |
37.75 |
86 |
Wigan Athletic |
40.68 |
86 |
Stoke City |
40.52 |
||
87 |
Aston Villa |
37.11 |
87 |
Manchester City |
40.44 |
87 |
Manchester City |
39.34 |
||
88 |
Tottenham Hotspur |
32.44 |
88 |
Tottenham Hotspur |
36.17 |
88 |
Newcastle United |
37.87 |
||
89 |
Chelsea |
31.46 |
89 |
Chelsea |
33.48 |
89 |
Liverpool |
32.13 |
||
90 |
Arsenal |
30.22 |
90 |
Arsenal |
30.99 |
90 |
Arsenal |
24.97 |
||
91 |
Liverpool |
21.97 |
91 |
Liverpool |
25.83 |
91 |
Chelsea |
23.17 |
||
92 |
Manchester United |
21.31 |
92 |
Manchester United |
21.18 |
92 |
Manchester United |
20.28 |