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English Football Team Nicknames

A review of the nicknames employed by English soccer teams reveals a fascinatinginsight into English social history over the last 150 years.

All football teams seem to acquire a nickname, bestowed upon them lovingly by their loyal fans. Although in one very famous case - that of Manchester United - the nickname of The Red Devils was in fact invented by the club itself as a marketing ploy, copyrighted and finally the Red Devil himself was incorporated in the

team's coat of arms.

The origin of the name may appear obvious, or may be lost in the mists of time or even not known today.

In many instances the nickname is derived from the colour of the team s shirts. Obvious examples of these include:

Chelsea - The BluesBurnley - the Clarets

Watford - the HornetsPreston North End - The LilywhitesLiverpool - The RedsNewcastle United - The MagpiesCoventry City - The Sky BluesBlackpool United - the TangerinesWeymouth - The TerrasCambridge United - the YellowsHull City - the Tigers

Other nicknames are far more prosaic in origin, being based upon abbreviations or contractions of the team s real name. Examples of these instances include :

Middlesbrough - BoroRochdale - the DaleGillingham - the GillsWigan Athletic - the LaticsQueens Park Rangers - QPRBlackburn Rovers - The RoversAldershot Town - The ShotsShrewsbury Town - The ShrewsTottenham Hotspur - SpursSwansea City - The SwansWoverhampton Wanderers - Wolves

Location plays an important aspect in a lot of team nicknamesSunderland - The Black Cats (named after the Black cat gun battery which was located on the banks of the River Wear)Bournemouth - The Cherries (the stadium was built on the site of a cherry orchard)Carlisle United - The Cumbrians (Carlisle is in the county of Cumbria)Bristol Rovers - The Gas ( their old site was located next to the gasworks)Torquay United - The Gulls (Torquay is beside the sea)Tamworth - The Lambs ( the team plays at The Lamb Ground, named after a local pub)Grimsby Town - The Mariners (Grimsby is on the coast)Rotherham United - The Millers ( the ground is called Millmoor)Sheffield Wednesday - The Owls ( they play in an area of Sheffield known as Owlerton)Kettering Town - The Poppies ( their stadium was built on a poppy field)

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Blackburn Rovers - The Riversiders (their ground is built on the banks of a river)Bolton Wanderers - The Trotters (in the 19th century the ground was situated next to a piggery)

Other nicknames are taken from local occupations or industries:

Sheffield United - The Blades ( local links with cutlery manufacture)Burton Albion - The Brewers ( Burton is a foremost centre for the brewing industry )Hereford United - The Bulls (from the local cattle industry)Wycombe Wanderers - The Chairboys ( local furniture industry)Northampton Town - The Cobblers (from the regional boot and shoe industry)Yeovil Town - The Glovers (local links to the glove making industry )Luton Town - The Hatters (Luton was for numerous years a centre for the manufacture of hats)Crewe Alexander - The Railwaymen ( Crewe was constructed as a railway town

In conclusion, a short selection of some of the more humorous, bizarre and obtus

e derivations:Charlton Athletic - The Addicks ( A corruption of the ward haddocks after a neighbourhood fish and chip shop)Norwich City - The Canaries ( Norwich was a leading centre for the breeding of

canaries. The team later adopted the green and yellow of the Norwich Canary as their playing strip)Hartlepool United - The Monkey Hangers (During the Napoleonic wars the citizensof Hartlepool allegedly hung a monkey believing it to be a French spy)Bury - The Shakers (The first Chairman of the club, J T Ingham said before a local derby game against Blackburn We will shake them, in fact we are the Shakers )Peterborough United - The Posh (A previous manager of the team is reputed to have said We are looking for posh players for a posh team )

We hope this look though the history behind the nicknames of English soccer teams has been amusing and informative.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currentlyconcerned with <a href="http://2012londonolympicsvolunteers.com/london-olympics-2012-venues.html">London Olympics 2012 venues</a>. Click a link if you are interested in <a href="http://2012londonolympicsvolunteers.com">2012 London OlympicsVolunteers</a>.