Have We Lost Our Title

[DomdomPie]

Sheffield FC currently have plans to build a 4,000 seat stadium - which surely shows some ambition - although so much of the literature around it is more about making it a tourist attraction as the "home of football" with a heritage centre museum. If it brings in money though, there's no reason they couldn't eventually become a professional team - at which point we'll have to think of some other very specific way that we can claim to be the oldest something or other!

[SwalePie]

If we have technically lost it due to not being successive seasons in the football league then Crystal Palace or even Florest (as they like to claim they are the oldest league club now) can't either as they weren't part of the first 12 teams that started the very first league campaign.

It would surely go to one of the 9 below having to omit us, Accrington and stoke I believe due to going out of the league or changing clubs for the ordinal 12.

Preston North End
Aston Villa
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Blackburn Rovers
Bolton Wanderers
West Bromwich Albion
Accrington
Everton
Burnley
Derby County
Notts County
Stoke

We can discount Accrington. They were a different club from Accrington Stanley and folded quite soon after the Football League started.

Also, as a side note, as far as I know last season was the first time ever that the Football League had contained neither Notts or Forest.

[Mark_Ross]

Were we 'professional' when we were formed or did that not happen until we became a founder member of the FL? Have Sheffield FC ever been 'professional'? If they did become 'professional' wouldn't we still be the oldest 'professional' football club due to being 'professional' before anyone else? It's all starting to get a bit complicated!

Doubt very much that Notts were "professional" in 1862, though it depends on how you define it.
In which case surely (the claim to be oldest) comes down to which very old club (founder league member) turned professional first?

Anyway I prefer Oldest League Club. We know what it means! My club pennant:
NOTTS COUNTY
<badge>
THE OLDEST
LEAGUE CLUB
IN THE WORLD

[caj85]

Doubt very much that Notts were "professional" in 1862, though it depends on how you define it.
In which case surely (the claim to be oldest) comes down to which very old club (founder league member) turned professional first?

Anyway I prefer Oldest League Club. We know what it means! My club pennant:
NOTTS COUNTY
<badge>
THE OLDEST
LEAGUE CLUB
IN THE WORLD

My understanding is that the league was created to accommodate professional football clubs and give them a guaranteed amount of fixtures.

[SwalePie]

World's Oldest Professional Football Club is a much, much better title and actually makes sense. In addition it is a very special and unique marketing message. It tells people that we're the OG, The Grandaddy of Them All, the Original and Best, Numero Uno etc.

'World's Oldest Football League Club' is basically meaningless although, despite having said that, I am of course very proud that we have it back