Smallest and biggest clubs to ever play in the Conference Premier.

[rudebwoyben]

K's are historically a mid to lower end Isthmian club. Not saying Sutton are historically any bigger (although in the last decade we've been far bigger), but K's were punching above their weight between 1998-2001, and despite their on field success' in that period didn't have a top 10 average attendance in the league according to http://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn/nav/attnengnonleague.htm

Yes, I'll never get those 25 seconds back

You're right in your assessment of K's status but the fact is there have been several clubs who have played at Conference Level whose historical status has been much lower such as Histon, Fisher Athletic, Trowbridge, Canvey Island, Farsley Celtic, Lewes, Leigh RMI etc.
I'm not sure about Runcorn as they were a very successful Conference club for a long time, although their crowds were always small but Redditch is a good shout.

 

[eightiesrobin]

Redditch United and Runcorn Linnets also contenders for smallest.

Runcorn were a proper team in the 80s, winning the Conference (well, Alliance Premier league) title in 82-83.

 

[rudebwoyben]

Runcorn were a proper team in the 80s, winning the Conference (well, Alliance Premier league) title in 82-83.

Bloody sewage street Canal Street-siders sabotaged us enough times in the 80s as well.
They had some top players at the time though, including Mark Carter who did very well for us after we got promoted to the Football League in 1991.

 

[eightiesrobin]

Bloody sewage street Canal Street-siders sabotaged us enough times in the 80s as well.
They had some top players at the time though, including Mark Carter who did very well for us after we got promoted to the Football League in 1991.

We swapped managers with Runcorn in the summer of 1986.

I'm sure we were supposed to sign Mark Carter the year you got promoted (don't want to talk about that).

 

[rudebwoyben]

We swapped managers with Runcorn in the summer of 1986.

I'm sure we were supposed to sign Mark Carter the year you got promoted (don't want to talk about that).

I'm sure you don't! You had a very capable team that season. Thanks for Paul Showler anyway!

 

[Monkey Tennis]

Biggest for me is Bristol Rovers. Closley followed by Luton/Grimsby.

While of course we are small I think we are outside the bottom 10 smallest clubs for me

I would say Histon, Leigh RMI and Lewes are all good shouts

Here is the all time table.

http://www.statto.com/football/stats/england/national-league/all-time-table

What about Redbridge Forest?

Of those on the list, Witton Albion is the smallest club I've visited - like a pub, but instead of a bowling green out back, there's a football ground.
If Fylde get promoted, then they are the smallest ever by all definitions other than they've got a 6,000-seater stadium on the way. They were Kirkham & Wesham until a few years ago, playing in the West Lancs league to literally no-one. A few of my mates used to play against them and it was barely better than Sunday League level. Last season (and currently, I imagine), the ground was made up of a few shipping containers and a perimeter wall. Awful club.

 

[Josh Butler]

Histon took no fans to Wrexham once on a Saturday didn't they?

 

[The Paranoid Pineapple]

K's are historically a mid to lower end Isthmian club. Not saying Sutton are historically any bigger (although in the last decade we've been far bigger), but K's were punching above their weight between 1998-2001, and despite their on field success' in that period didn't have a top 10 average attendance in the league according to http://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn/nav/attnengnonleague.htm

Yes, I'll never get those 25 seconds back

Would take issue with "mid to lower end" but not going to argue the toss over that because it's a silly post anyway. Not being a Conference mainstay is something which is applicable to a lot of teams who have featured in the league (including Sutton). It doesn't mean that all those clubs are on a par with Farsley bloody Celtic.

For someone who apparently doesn't consider Ks a rival club, you sure do like taking digs. Kinda cute really.

 

[GTFCfish]

Histon took no fans to Wrexham once on a Saturday didn't they?

Is there an echo in here?

 

[JaredSUFC]

Would take issue with "mid to lower end" but not going to argue the toss over that because it's a silly post anyway. Not being a Conference mainstay is something which is applicable to a lot of teams who have featured in the league (including Sutton). It doesn't mean that all those clubs are on a par with Farsley bloody Celtic.

For someone who apparently doesn't consider Ks a rival club, you sure do like taking digs. Kinda cute really.

For someone who wasn't going to 'bite' that's a massive chomp. Kinda cute really

 

[The Paranoid Pineapple]

I guess this is the part where I say "Yes, I'll never get those 25 seconds back"...

 

[JaredSUFC]

I guess this is the part where I say "Yes, I'll never get those 25 seconds back"...

Ha! Indeedamento.

 

[JE93]

We might not have been the biggest club in terms of attendance. But we surely brought the biggest ground to the party. 25,000 seats in the conference that has to make us BDP's

 

[slaphead]

Histon smallest for me.

Biggest is always subjective, but Shrewsbury have to be in with a shout.

 

[EnglishRed]

Histon smallest for me.

Biggest is always subjective, but Shrewsbury have to be in with a shout.

That's a funny joke. Well done.

 

[Murphy]

Fairly sure Leek and Bromsgrove also had spells in the Conference in the 90s at some stage, they must be pretty small in terms of club size? Neither club pulling up any trees at the moment either.

Bromsgrove are particularly small I imagine.

 

[Chris FGR]

Didn't Leek have to fit a stupid amount of games into the last couple of weeks of the season one year?

 

[Railway Blue]

Didn't Leek have to fit a stupid amount of games into the last couple of weeks of the season one year?

No that was Guernsey.

 

[Paddy]

Farsely Celtic, Droylesden, Kingstonian and Fisher Athletic have to be up there as the smallest clubs ever to grace the conference

Knew you'd be the first to mention us! We were certainly one of the smallest but our attendances & 3 year record was better then a lot of teams... certainly better then Fisher & Leigh! Plus we won 2 FA Trophy's & was runners up in the Conference League Cup twice!

 

[Football Purist]

Histon smallest for me.

Biggest is always subjective, but Shrewsbury have to be in with a shout.

Er,no.
Luton,Gas and Carlisle are all clearly bigger.

 

[Football Purist]

I nominate Trowbridge Town for the smallest club award, although it makes for grim reading knowing we were only averaging 800-900 when winning the Conference in the 1984-85 season.

Edit: Thought I was the first person to mention Trowbridge, note to self, already read a thread thoroughly before posting.

To be fair though,the Conf wasn't as 'big' back in the mid eighties.
Different level now with much more interest/more big name clubs,etc.

 

[Destruction]

Fleetwood for smallest.

 

[Pliny Harris]

Love discussions like this. Farsley Celtic and Dresden have to be contenders. Farsley get fewer than 150 in now, as do Droylsden, now fighting it out three leagues below where they met in 2007/08. Of course we were humiliated by both at the time. My heart bleeds for Dresden really, given how even a few great fixtures in the FA Cup failed to boost their crowds in the longer run, and their wallets as they plummeted down the leagues, still managed by nepotistic egomaniac Dave Pace to my knowledge. Hard to be a red club in the shadow of the Emptihad Stadium. Then Farsley as a name represents a very vague suburb of Leeds, pretty much a few estates on the end of New Pudsey, basically like Shortwood is a bus stop in Forest Green, but they still have a club going. For a home game that was at the time a D-Day for the club's future, the old Farsley Celtic couldn't nudge past a 500 crowd. Credit to both of them for ending up in a national league however briefly, and living the dream.

Leigh are definitely in that category too. They've reformed as Leigh Genesis, a park team. A weird and sad former franchise club, I guess. For what it's worth, there's still a fell running club called Horwich RMI after their original name and location.

Trowbridge way before my time but judging by having an even smaller stature than the reformed Fisher now, they must be contenders. I'm quite fond of Fisher given that they're an old Victorian philanthropists' concern and possibly the most central club to London.

Wouldn't mind seeing where AFC Flyde (Kirkham & Wesham) were not too long ago either. At least they had 200 fans even when we played them in the Glue League North. The Vision of the North. It looks like North Furby are knocking on the door again too, and they'd probably be even more pitiful. Given Eastwood Town weren't allowed to compete in the playoffs a few years ago due to ground size, it's a double standard that North Furby and their garden shed might be let in. Still though, 200 fans...

In the near future Whitehawk must have the potential of being the worst offenders. If their money man got bored I'm sure they'll go bump shortly after being outnumbered by travelling Flyde fans in a bottom of the league clash.

 

[BigDaveCUFC]

York were at the time 'the arsenal of the conference' so surely they must have a shout

 

[GTFCfish]

York were at the time 'the arsenal of the conference' so surely they must have a shout

I thought Forest Green were known as 'the Arsenal of the Conference'?
Well something similar sounding anyway.......

 

[Son of Cod]

Er,no.
Luton,Gas and Carlisle are all clearly bigger.

And the rest. Shrewsbury are probably about the 8th or 9th.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Obviously depends on what you consider to be biggest. Is it attendances, previous honours, highest level they've played at or what? Tranmere finished 4th in the Championship in 92/93. Oxford, Luton and Bristol Rovers all played in it that season too. Rovers were relegated. Tranmere also finished 5th in it the following 2 seasons. Also 3 FA Cup quarter finals since 99. Oxford and Luton have both won the League Cup in the 80s. It has to be one of those 3 for me.

Bristol Rovers and Grimsby all get/got decent crowds down here but haven't had the success of those mentioned above.

For me.

1) Tranmere
2) Luton
3) Oxford
4) Grimsby
5) Rovers (Not Forest Green)

Smallest - Eastleigh

 

[Son of Cod]

Obviously depends on what you consider to be biggest. Is it attendances, previous honours, highest level they've played at or what? Tranmere finished 4th in the Championship in 92/93. Oxford, Luton and Bristol Rovers all played in it that season too. Rovers were relegated. Tranmere also finished 5th in it the following 2 seasons. Also 3 FA Cup quarter finals since 99. Oxford and Luton have both won the League Cup in the 80s. It has to be one of those 3 for me.

Bristol Rovers and Grimsby all get/got decent crowds down here but haven't had the success of those mentioned above.

For me.

1) Tranmere
2) Luton
3) Oxford
4) Grimsby
5) Rovers (Not Forest Green)

Smallest - Eastleigh

We were in the second tier in 92/93 as well. We went up there with Tranmere in 90/91 and spent 11 of the next 12 seasons there, which I believe was the same amount of time they spent there. I'm not saying we're the biggest or anything as I do think those league cups and their bigger fanbases more than shade it for Luton and Oxford. Just setting the record straight on our league records in the 90s/early 00s.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Ooops yeah I did mean to include you in my post. The only reason I put Tranmere first is since I started following football they've spent all of it in League One, Until last season and now this. I do agree Luton could easily be #1 and probably should be but I'd still have Tranmere above Oxford.

 

[chipmunx]

Smallest club... has nobody mentioned Frickley Athletic yet?
7 years in the conference and most people in Yorkshire don't even know where it is....
average crowd - one man, a dog and a slag bank
(for uneducated southerners a slag bank isn't a pick up joint for loose women)