10 Folded Clubs I wish I’d had the chance to see

As much as football clubs bring us joy, they are also businesses and sadly not every football club is as stable as they should be. The consequences for some clubs can be deadly with administrations and points deductions, but for some clubs it has been fatal with the club going out of business and ceasing to exist. Here are 10 clubs that did go under that I would have loved to see:

10) Darwen FC

Darwen FC were a football club based in Lancashire, England. If you have seen the Netflix series “The English Game” you would know who I’m talking about! This little club was one of the few founders of the professional game in England. The club spent 8 seasons in the Football League and also once reached an FA Cup Semi-Final!! The club was formed in 1870 and in 2009 were struck with financial difficulties in which the club failed to recover which ultimately killed the club… But almost immediately after this, AFC Darwen were formed and managed to keep the same ground that the previous Darwen played their home games at. To this day, AFC Darwen compete in the North West Counties League and is also still on my hit list to visit!

9) Rushden & Diamonds

Rushden & Diamonds were a football club based in Northamptonshire, England. In 1992, Rushden Town and Irthlingborough Diamonds agreed on a club share and Rushden & Diamonds FC was born!! And the club moved into to Irthlingborough Diamond’s home ground Nene Park! The club climbed the non-league pyramid and eventually made it all the way to the Football League!! 5 years later, they fell back into the Conference never to return to the Football League sadly for them… 5 years on from that, and financial difficulty ended the club as we knew it… But they weren’t down for long!! AFC Rushden & Diamonds were born and to this day play 3 leagues below the Football League. Could they get there one day? Unfortunately the club couldn’t move in to Nene Park and that ground was ultimately demolished years later… I wish I had got to that ground… The club plays it’s home games at Hayden Road in Rushden.

8) Los Angeles Aztecs

Los Angeles Aztecs were a football club based in Los Angeles, California, USA. This club only lasted 8 years and had played at 6 different home grounds. They played in the NASL League and won it twice in those 8 years. They will mostly be remembered for signing the likes of George Best and Johan Cruyff and also once co-owned by Elton John, that would have looked great in the museum of their home grounds had they had one! The club went under after 8 years after the owners at the time pulled the plug due to low attendances. LA Galaxy and Los Angeles FC are the 2 clubs of Los Angeles to this day, Aztecs were never reformed sadly.

7) New York Cosmos

New York Cosmos were a football club based in New York City, USA. The club was born in 1970 and played their trade in the NASL for 14 years before the club went extinct. This club will be remembered mostly for signing Pele. Pele played for the club for 2 years before retiring. Many fans stopped watching the club after Pele’s departure and this was the beginning of the end for the club. Financial ruin saw the club go under in 1985… But they were reborn in 2010!! The new Cosmos play in the NISA League. Could they join the New York Red Bulls and New York City FC in the MLS one day?

6) Chester City

Chester City were a football club based in Cheshire, England. The club was formed in 1885 and were mostly a make stay in the English Football League for their existence. Unfortunately in 2010, after years of money troubles, the club died… But they weren’t dead for long!! Chester FC was formed almost immediately after the loss of City and currently play their trade in the National League North. The club also managed to keep their Deva Stadium home ground. The club has recently been in the National League, could they return to the Football League one day?

5) Hereford United

Hereford United were a football club based in Herefordshire, England. They were a Football League club for 31 years and most fans will remember for them for that famous Ronnie Radford goal that knocked Newcastle United out in 1972!! The club fell out of the Football League in 2012 and into financial ruin 2 years later that they would not recover from… The fans acted quickly and formed a new club: Hereford FC which today plays in the National League North. The club also managed to keep their home ground: Edgar Street.

4) Belfast Celtic

Belfast Celtic were a football club based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. This club folded well before my time but if they hadn’t folded, one can only imagine how successful they could have been and whether they would have had a fierce rivalry with Glasgow Celtic! Unfortunately crowd violence due to political and religious reasons saw a very unsafe atmosphere at the club which saw them walk away from the league back in 1949, a terrible shame of what could have been…

3) FC Dnipro

FC Dnipro were a football club based in Dnipro, Ukraine. The club was formed in 1918 and competed in the highest league in the Soviet Union enjoying plenty of success. The club then joined the Ukrainian pyramid and reached the top division after the end of the Soviet Union. In 2015, the club made it all the way to the Europa League Final, but couldn’t bring the title home. In 2019, the club was struggling financially and as a result died…

2) Wimbledon FC

Wimbledon FC were a football club based in South West London. The club was formed in 1889 and climbed all the way to the top tier and caused a huge upset in 1988 winning the FA Cup against Liverpool. They sure did put the crazy back in crazy gang!! They spent 8 years in the Premier League before being relegated. The club had to groundshare with Crystal Palace for a number of years after the club’s home ground was not fit for purpose in the higher leagues. They couldn’t find a home ground and ended up moving to Milton Keynes and in the end changed their name to MK Dons who today play in League 1. The fans didn’t want to move with them and formed AFC Wimbledon who today also play in League 1 and share a bitter rivalry with MK Dons!!

1. Bury FC

Bury FC is a football club based in Greater Manchester. Bury technically haven’t folded but sadly it is looking likely after being removed from the Football League due to money troubles. The club was born in 1885 and have been a make stay in the Football League. I have seen this club once at Field Mill back in December 2018 when Mansfield beat them 2-1 but unfortunately I have not been lucky enough to see them in action at Gigg Lane. After the club were forced out of the Football League, a new club Bury AFC was formed and now play in the North West Counties league. Can they achieve the same as Wimbledon and make it all the way back to where they were?