Massive game at Cambridge

Surely there are only 6 London clubs out of 20

Quoted from Yoda

take manchester and liverpool out of the equation there is nobody

None of the current top 5 and only 4 of the current top 12 are southern. Only 1 southern winner in the last 5 seasons.

Quoted from GollyGTFC

28 Premier League seasons....

Northern Champions - 19
Man Utd - 13 titles
Man City - 4 titles
Blackburn - 1 title
Liverpool - 1 title

Midlands Champions - 1
Leicester City - 1 title

Southern (London) Champions - 8
Chelsea - 5 titles
Arsenal - 3 titles

More details...

Top 3 Premier League finishes by English region (28 seasons)...

North West - 44
London - 31
North-East - 4
East Midlands - 2
West Midlands - 1
East of England - 1
Yorkshire & Humber - 1
South-East - 0
South-West - 0

Yeah, but Phil Neville said it.......

Southern teams

Arsenal
Spurs
West ham
Palace
Chelsea
Brighton
Southampton

For me only two big teams on there Arsenal and Spurs.

I am starting to believe the 'can't attract players to this area' is a red herring. The vast majority of lower league players rarely stay at a club for more than 3 years so tend to rent anyway. Rental properties around here are as cheap as anywhere in the country. Those who have earnt a few quid usually buy in the area they are from.

Quoted from Yoda

Southern teams

Arsenal
Spurs
West ham
Palace
Chelsea
Brighton
Southampton

For me only two big teams on there Arsenal and Spurs.

Are you arguing against yourself?

Quoted from Yoda

take manchester and liverpool out of the equation there is nobody

Genius, what did the Romans ever do for us?

Quoted from smokey111

I am starting to believe the 'can't attract players to this area' is a red herring. The vast majority of lower league players rarely stay at a club for more than 3 years so tend to rent anyway. Rental properties around here are as cheap as anywhere in the country. Those who have earnt a few quid usually buy in the area they are from.

I’m not so sure. I think by and large at this level players prefer to stay in a relatively local area wherever possible. Contract lengths are short and it can be quite disruptive to have to move every year or two, particularly older players with school age kids.

Proximity to major cities is going to increase the pool of players who already live within commutable distance, making them easier to sign. There probably aren’t many clubs in the EFL further away from a major city (I’m not counting Hull, obviously) than us so it is a bit of a disadvantage in that sense.

All that said, you are right that the cost of living is much, much cheaper - if you’re a League Two player earning £50k a year then better to be paying £800 a month rent in  North East Lincs than double that down south.

It’s also a nicer place to live than it’s reputation suggests, something probably not helped by the fact that the drive to the ground from the A180 doesn’t give the best first impression. We do need to do a better job of selling the area I suspect, as it’s not just the players themselves that are making the decision.

Quoted from Poojah

I’m not so sure. I think by and large at this level players prefer to stay in a relatively local area wherever possible. Contract lengths are short and it can be quite disruptive to have to move every year or two, particularly older players with school age kids.

Proximity to major cities is going to increase the pool of players who already live within commutable distance, making them easier to sign. There probably aren’t many clubs in the EFL further away from a major city (I’m not counting Hull, obviously) than us so it is a bit of a disadvantage in that sense.

All that said, you are right that the cost of living is much, much cheaper - if you’re a League Two player earning £50k a year then better to be paying £800 a month rent in  North East Lincs than double that down south.

It’s also a nicer place to live than it’s reputation suggests, something probably not helped by the fact that the drive to the ground from the A180 doesn’t give the best first impression. We do need to do a better job of selling the area I suspect, as it’s not just the players themselves that are making the decision.

I do agree with your point regarding proximity to major cities, many players do tend to move around within a 100 mile radius at our level.

I think the disruption to the schooling of children is unlikely to be an issue in the vast majority of cases. Footballers appear to settle down and have kids later, so by the time their children are in education they are in the early to mid thirties (spot ball for us if you throw in a track record of recent injuries!!!).