TalkSports' 30 biggest clubs in the UK

[havrey0123]

United, Chelsea, Liverpool, arsenal, city spurs all have smart business models and people at the club to make sure they maximise every avenue of income.

Kenright basically pays the bills and any money left on transfers. Some of the business deals he has done off the field have been extremely poor. Success helps yes, but look what spurs how much spurs have improved both on and off the field over the last 15 years.

 

[HongKongToffee]

Tha

The top three has always been the case. Three most successful and the three biggest fanbases in England. The rest are disputable and highly subjective. Celtic would match United and the RS when it comes to fanbase, they have won the European Cup, the club has an aura, but being in the SPL they are handicapped. I’d rank them 3rd if they were in the Prem.

Spurs being in London has to be factored in. London has also given Chelsea a leg up. Bigger catchment area of fans and also advantageous from a commercial standpoint. United and the RS have fans throughout the country so they don’t lose out on that, plus their names being international they don’t lose out commercially.

To use a cliche Leeds are a sleeping giant. A rich history, and one that is recent, the only club in a major city which they are named after. They could easily be top 7 if they sorted themselves out.

That's laughable that Celtic could match United RS Arsenal and Chelsea for fan bases.

Celtic play in small stadiums when they visit the USA and Australia while the PL big 3 clubs pack out Baseball NFL and College football stadiums and Rugby and cricket ones in Australia,Celtic have no fan base in the PL biggest bloc of PL supporters which is asia while the RS Arsenal and United fill out stadiums here in Asia in Hong Kong Shanghai Kuala Lumpur Jakarta and Singapore in the last few years.

They are not even the top 30 for shirt sales and their New Balance kit deal is 5 million a year and the reason it's that small as they don't sell enough shirts to justify a bigger kit deal,I've never seen a Celtic shirt in my travels in NYC or Asia.

No one watches scottish football outside scotland so they have no chance of growing a fan base playing in such a weak uninteresting league and flopping in europe annually.

It's an absolute myth that celtic have this huge diaspora of celtic fans worldwide when their social media numbers which is a good barometer for fan bases is pretty small.

Facebook 1.6 million likes.
Instagram 250K
Youtube 64K

 

[Jamiednm]

Some questionable rankings there. West Ham above Aston Villa? No way.

If Everton can get the new stadium, get sold to a richer owner than Moshiri (as I think is his plan once the stadium is built), then we'll easily be back above City and Spurs, as long as they don't both form dynasties over the next 5 years...

 

[Baines' left foot]

The most boring debate in football.

“Where bigger then yous !!!”
“No your not !!!”
“Yes we our !!!”

 

[Saint Domingo]

Well the list is published in 2017, so only recent history counts IMO.

In that case wtf are Liverpool doing at number 2?

 

[Yarrgh]

Maybe we’d be a bigger club if we started winning stuff?

Maybe. I think you might be on to something. Has anyone told the club?

(This reads as very sarcastic. It was meant to be more tongue in cheek and poking fun at the buffoons in charge of things at the club.)

 

[jackyboy]

The most boring debate in football.

Just go and have a beer lads.
“Where bigger then yous !!!”
“No your not !!!”
“Yes we our !!!”

 

[Jeff Jones]

Some clubs are described as big and the rest aren't. There's no in between. But then your big clubs will be different to someone else's.

Everybody makes their own rules about the qualifications, so I think we could simplify it by rating them on recent history in ,say, blocks
of ten years.

We could look at trophies won, which division played in and in which order they finish, percentages of stadium attendance given capacity, ie, level of support, overall historical success where clubs can't be separated in whatever areas it's decided to judge them.

Have I missed anything?

 

[Caolam]

I don't give much credence to anything Sky has to say, really couldn't care less about any list they produce.

 

[Death]

It's all about some social media website for me.

 

[artetas_biggest_fan]

Tha

That's laughable that Celtic could match United RS Arsenal and Chelsea for fan bases.

Celtic play in small stadiums when they visit the USA and Australia while the PL big 3 clubs pack out Baseball NFL and College football stadiums and Rugby and cricket ones in Australia,Celtic have no fan base in the PL biggest bloc of PL supporters which is asia while the RS Arsenal and United fill out stadiums here in Asia in Hong Kong Shanghai Kuala Lumpur Jakarta and Singapore in the last few years.

They are not even the top 30 for shirt sales and their New Balance kit deal is 5 million a year and the reason it's that small as they don't sell enough shirts to justify a bigger kit deal,I've never seen a Celtic shirt in my travels in NYC or Asia.

No one watches scottish football outside scotland so they have no chance of growing a fan base playing in such a weak uninteresting league and flopping in europe annually.

It's an absolute myth that celtic have this huge diaspora of celtic fans worldwide when their social media numbers which is a good barometer for fan bases is pretty small.

Facebook 1.6 million likes.
Instagram 250K
Youtube 64K

I probably should have been clearer, I mentioned fanbases in England (Man U and RS), Celtic are a match for any team in terms of fan base in the UK. If there is a testimonial Celtic are the team to have as the opposition as they will bring thousands of fans. Put Celtic in the PL and they would easily match them worldwide (factor in the Irish diaspora who watch the EPL, and all those Irish pubs around the planet). As I said though Celtic are handicapped being in the Scottish League. They have a world class arena (looked magnificent on tv when Celtic played PSG recently), but being in the league they are in with its financial constraints they don’t have the team to match it. It’s insane they don’t do more to get into the PL, or at least the English league system to work their way up.

 

[Goat]

I probably should have been clearer, I mentioned fanbases in England (Man U and RS), Celtic are a match for any team in terms of fan base in the UK. If there is a testimonial Celtic are the team to have as the opposition as they will bring thousands of fans. Put Celtic in the PL and they would easily match them worldwide (factor in the Irish diaspora who watch the EPL, and all those Irish pubs around the planet). As I said though Celtic are handicapped being in the Scottish League. They have a world class arena (looked magnificent on tv when Celtic played PSG recently), but being in the league they are in with its financial constraints they don’t have the team to match it. It’s insane they don’t do more to get into the PL, or at least the English league system to work their way up.

They cant afford to risk 5 years in the hope that they even make the Premier League within that timeframe.

They would get stuck in The championship for years.

And they also know they would have little chance of getting European football or even winning a pot down here.

 

[StreetEndBlue]

I hear all the time about Celtic's so-called 'massive support'. Well I think social media is a brilliant guide thesedays to what fanbase clubs really have.

With 1.6m followers, on Facebook alone Celtic have slightly more than 50% of the support we have.

Like it or not, Man Utd easily have the biggest support in the in UK. So it's delusional for anyone to say Celtic have equally as many fans as them.

 

[witchdoc187]

Mine would be

1. Everton

Can't decide with the others just trying not to be biased

 

[HongKongToffee]

I probably should have been clearer, I mentioned fanbases in England (Man U and RS), Celtic are a match for any team in terms of fan base in the UK. If there is a testimonial Celtic are the team to have as the opposition as they will bring thousands of fans. Put Celtic in the PL and they would easily match them worldwide (factor in the Irish diaspora who watch the EPL, and all those Irish pubs around the planet). As I said though Celtic are handicapped being in the Scottish League. They have a world class arena (looked magnificent on tv when Celtic played PSG recently), but being in the league they are in with its financial constraints they don’t have the team to match it. It’s insane they don’t do more to get into the PL, or at least the English league system to work their way up.

I lived in NYC for 6 years for work.

I've seen the big clubs in england in the north east of the usa pack out the baseball and nfl stadiums on pre season tours,and celtic touring at the same time playing in not full small mls stadiums,they don't have the pull even in America,and in asia/australia they have no fans whatsoever besides some irish bar owners.

It's an utter myth they would be one of the biggest clubs in the world from an irish diaspora,it's an argument the celtic fc pr machine uses for them to be part of the EPL.

Most irish fans in ireland support the RS and United,and in america those authentic irish over there are not big enough in population to garner any huge support,and the irish americans over who follow the EPL will follow the big 6 as NBC shows those clubs games as the big matches over there on saturday.

As i said before social media numbers are a gauge for world wide support now and celtic's numbers confirm they just do not have a worldwide fanbase,their numbers are far less than the likes of mid tier world wide support teams like Inter milan,Dortmund Benfica Atletico madrid.

They won't be in the EPL ever unless the big teams in the EPL join a european super league (it will happen eventually if those clubs don't get a bigger share of the tv money they think they deserve) and they leave the EPL for good,plus at the way the EPL is now the chairmen won't be in favour of it as about 14 clubs will see it as a threat to the EPL status if the old firm enter,another big reason is the catholic protestant bigotry would be such bad PR for the EPL.