There is a lot to see for those interested in football in London. Just to clarify for readers of this article from outside the UK, football means the ‘beautiful game’, which is commonly referred to as football around the world.
London has a proud tradition of famous football teams with a lot of competition between them to be the best club. There are generally four or five London teams in the Premier League and there are many commentators who believe that this is one of the biggest obstacles for any of them to win the league. A ‘local derby’ between two London football teams could produce an electric atmosphere and turn around the current form that they are so well contested.
Tickets to the Premier League are sometimes hard to come by, but a little perseverance often pays off. There are a number of ticket agencies that can get you tickets for a fee.
In the last decade, both Arsenal and Chelsea have twice won the illustrious Premier League title and reached the final of the European Cup.
Here are some details on the 10 best football clubs in London and to avoid any accusations of partisanship, they are listed in alphabetical order: –
Arsenal
The Arsenal Gunners have played in the top division of English football in consecutive seasons since the 1919-20 season. They have been champions 13 times and achieved a unique record for modern times in the 2003-04 season when they went the entire season undefeated.
Arsenal have won the coveted ‘double’ (league and cup champions in the same season) three times, in 1971, 1998 and 2002
In recent years they have moved to a new venue, the Emirates Stadium, with a capacity for 60,000 people. The Arsenal Museum is well worth a visit and is open every day.
Brentford
The Bees, Brentford Football Club currently play in Football League I. They were founded in 1889 and play their home games at Griffin Park, their home stadium since 1904. Brentford’s most successful spell occurred during the 1930s, when they managed to consecutively the first six places in the First Division.
Since the war, they have spent most of their time in the third and fourth levels of English football. Brentford has been a four-time FA Cup quarter-finalist and a two-time runner-up for the Football League Trophy.
Charlton athletic
The Addicks, Charlton Athletic have seen better days. There were happy days in the thirties and forties. In recent years they have struggled after being relegated from the Premier League in 2005 and then from the Championship in 2008.
They play The Valley, south of the River Thames in Greenwich. The club was founded in 1905.
Historically, Charlton’s most successful period was the 1930s, when the club’s best league results were recorded, including league runners-up in 1937, and after World War II, when the club reached the final of the FA Cup twice, winning in 1947.
Chelsea
The Pensioners or the Blues, Chelsea Football Club was founded in 1905 and plays in the Premier League. Chelsea have been champions three times (1955, 2005, 2006) and have won the FA Cup five times, the League Cup four times and the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup twice. They reached the UEFA Champions League final in 2008
Chelsea play at Stamford Bridge in West London and their field capacity is 42,000. The Chelsea Museum is open most days and is worth a visit for those interested in museums and football history. .
crystal Palace
The Eagles, Crystal Palace Football Club was formed in 1905. The team plays its home games in Selhurst Park, where it has been based since 1924. The club currently competes at the second level, The Championship.
Crystal Palace’s most recent period of success began in 1988-89, when the club finished third in the Second Division and promoted to the First Division. He reached the 1990 FA Cup final only to lose the replay against Manchester United and finish third in the First Division in 1990-91.
Since then Palace have been relegated to and promoted to the FA Premier League on several occasions, their most recent relegation from the top flight was in the 2004-05 season. All this despite the fact that the club was almost bankrupt in July 2000.
Fulham
The Cottagers, Fulham Football Club was founded in 1879, they celebrated their 125th anniversary in 2004 and are at the highest level in English football, the Premier League. Fulham is the oldest professional football team in London.
In 2009, Fulham had its best result in the Premier League, finishing seventh in the European standings.
The club has produced many great British footballers, including Johnny Haynes, George Cohen, Bobby Robson, Rodney Marsh and Alan Mullery and Jim Langley. They play at historic Craven Cottage, their home since 1896, on the banks of the River Thames in Fulham.
Queens park rangers
The Hoops or simply QPR, Queens Park Rangers Football Club based in Shepherd’s Bush, West London. They currently play in the Football League Championship, and their honors include winning the League Cup in 1967 and being runners-up in the former First Division in 1975-76 and the FA Cup in 1982.
The Queens Park Rangers Football Club was founded in 1882 and its traditional colors are blue and white. Due to its proximity to other West London clubs, QPR has long-standing rivalries with several other clubs in the area, the most notable of which are Chelsea, Brentford and Fulham with whom they dispute what are known as West London derbies. London.
In 2007, QPR was taken over by Italian mogul Flavio Briatore and is among the 10 richest sports clubs in the world. Other major shareholders are Lakshmi Mittal and F1 supreme Bernie Ecclestone. So check out this space!
Tottenham Hotspurs
The famous ‘Spurs’ team from 1961 is still considered by many football enthusiasts to be one of the best football teams in the history of English football. They achieved the ‘double’ that had not been achieved at the time since it was won by Aston Villa in 1897.
This has given recent Spurs teams a lot to fulfill. But the Spurs have a long tradition of playing good football, so there are plenty of exciting games at White Hart Lane, especially with their close north London rivals Arsenal.
In 1963, Spurs became the first British club to win a major European trophy: the Recopa de Europa. In the 1970s, they won the Football League Cup twice and were the first UEFA Cup winners in 1972. In the 1980s, Spurs won various trophies: FA Cup twice, FA Community Shield and the 1983-84 UEFA Cup. In the 1990s they won the FA Cup and the Football League Cup and in 2008 they beat Chelsea in the final of the Football League Cup. This victory means that Tottenham have won a trophy in each of the last six decades, an achievement alone. equaled by Manchester United.
Spurs have planned a new stadium to be completed in 2012 and it is expected to be one of the best stadiums in the UK.
Watford
The Hornets, Watford Football Club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. They play in the Championship. The club was founded in 1881 and played on various grounds before moving to a permanent location on Vicarage Road in 1922, where they remain to this day. Since 1997, they have shared the stadium with Saracens Rugby Club. Watford has a longstanding rivalry with Luton Town.
The club is best known for two terms under former England manager Graham Taylor. The first lasted from 1977 to 1987, when the club was promoted to the former First Division from the Fourth Division. Once in the top division of English football, Watford finished second in the league in 1983, reached the FA Cup final in 1984 and competed in the UEFA Cup in the 1984-85 season.
The second period lasted from 1997 to 2001, when Taylor led the club from the renamed Second Division to the Premier League in successive seasons. Taylor is currently a non-executive director of the club and honorary life president along with Sir Elton John, who owned the club during these two eras and has continued a long association with the club.
West Ham United
The Hammers, West Ham United Football Club have played at Upton Park (Boleyn Ground) in East London since 1904, having formed in 1895.
They participated in the first FA Cup final that was held at Wembley in 1923 against Bolton Wanderers. The club has won the FA Cup three times: in 1964, 1975 and 1980. It has also been runner-up twice, in 1923 and 2006.
In 1965 he won the Recopa de Europa and in 1999 he won the InterToto Cup.
Its players are considered a major factor behind England’s 1966 World Cup triumph, as England’s captain at the time was West Ham’s Bobby Moore, and scorers Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters were West Ham players.
West Ham currently competes in the Premier League, their best result in the Premier League being their fifth in 1998-99.