Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2007 June 7

= June 7 =

Football club names
Most football clubs are named after a city. Some have another word after that. For example, United, City, Rovers, Wanderers, Athletic, Albion. Do these words have any special meaning and how does which word they use affect the club? --Kaypoh 06:10, 7 June 2007 (UTC)


 * I'm not aware that most of these terms have any specific meaning other than disambiguation amongst clubs located in the same city. In the case of Manchester United, for example, our article suggests that the name was chosen from several suggestions presented at a meeting, with no specific meaning.


 * For what it's worth, Albion is perhaps the most ancient name for the British Isles, used by Pliny to refer to what we would now call Great Britain. Carom 06:38, 7 June 2007 (UTC)


 * Wednesday is the day they used to play on.Wanderers had no fixed place to play.Athletic meant well, that they were athletes,in praise of their skillshotclaws 10:49, 7 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Wednesday is the day they used to play on.Wanderers had no fixed place to play.Athletic meant well, that they were athletes,in praise of their skillshotclaws 10:49, 7 June 2007 (UTC)


 * "United" sometimes means two clubs did unite, but usually doesn't (see this and the correction). "City" is disproportionately favoured by clubs in smaller cities (Exeter, Chester, York, not to mention Elgin, Brechin, Kilkenny, Bangor, or Armagh) perhaps to prove they're not just a "Town" (see City status in the United Kingdom and Cities in Ireland). The year of foundation in the name gives a touch of tradition, as Schalke 04, Munich 1860, or, ahem, Limerick 37.  Then there's the Globish foreign branding of Go Ahead Eagles, The Strongest and BSC Young Boys; I think Milton Keynes Dons should rename themselves MK Schnell Va Va Voom.  jnestorius(talk) 21:43, 7 June 2007 (UTC)


 * Many have historic, local meanings dating back to the origins of the club. A few from "the top of my head":
 * Greenock Morton, formerly known as just Morton, may have been named after local entrepreneur James Morton (the Provost of Greenock at the time) - but not necessarily (see here)
 * Leyton Orient F.C.'s suffix is usually attributed to a former player being employed by the old Orient Shipping Line
 * Gainsborough Trinity F.C. were founded by the vicar of the town's Holy Trinity Church
 * There are lots of theories about Plymouth Argyle!
 * Kidderminster Harriers F.C. were an offshoot of a rugby and athletics club
 * Bedlington Terriers F.C. were named after the Bedlington Terrier dog breed, which was named after the town of Bedlington itself
 * Sometimes, works teams or sponsor names appear. While the likes of Vauxhall Motors F.C. are obvious, a particularly interesting sponsor-related suffix was found at a now defunct club local to me.  See here for the full story.  The club started life as STAMCO F.C. - the initials of Sussex Turnery And Moulding Company, the firm for which its members worked.  When they were promoted to the Southern Football League, they had to change the name to reflect their location, so they took the name of their town (St Leonards), part of the STAMCO name (Stam) and part of the name of their main sponsor, Hastings-based double glazing company Croft Glass (Croft), and became St Leonards Stamcroft.  Unfortunately the club went out of business in 2004.


 * The comment from jnestorius about Towns and Cities reminds me that Swansea Town F.C. changed their name to Swansea City F.C. when Swansea was granted city status. Hassocks5489 12:36, 8 June 2007 (UTC)


 * It'd worth noting that Airbus UK F.C. has had six different names in the 60 years of its existence, as the ownership of the aircraft factory which it represents has changed. And then there's Newton Heath (Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway) F.C which found itself a shorter name when it ceased to be a works team... -- Arwel (talk) 07:21, 9 June 2007 (UTC)

Scotland has a rich diversity of club names, in addition to those mentioned above: Rockpock e  t  20:10, 9 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Inverness Caledonian Thistle formed on the merger by Caledonian F.C. and Inverness Thistle F.C.. The thistle of course is the national flower of Scotland and found in the Highlands around Inverness. See also Partick Thistle F.C., Dalkeith Thistle F.C., Buckie Thistle F.C. etc.
 * Hamilton Academical F.C. were formed by the Rector and pupils of the local school, Hamilton Academy.
 * Heart of Midlothian F.C. is named after a novel, The Heart of Midlothian by Sir Walter Scott.
 * Queen of the South F.C. is based in Dumfries. In 1857, a local poet David Dunbar stood for general election. In one of his addresses he called Dumfries "Queen of the South" and it became synonymous with the town.
 * Civil Service Strollers F.C. is an unusual name, presumably adopted to describe the ease with which they win their matches "at a stroll".
 * My particular favorite, named after Robert Roy MacGregor obviously enough, Kirkintilloch Rob Roy F.C..


 * See Football club names. Sʟυмgυм • т • c  21:56, 9 June 2007 (UTC)

Is there a doctor (left) in House?
What's the story with all three House assistants quitting? Did the actors ask for too much money? Did the writers think the show was going stale? Has the series jumped the shark? What's the prognosis? Clarityfiend 07:53, 7 June 2007 (UTC)
 * It was a season-ending cliffhanger, I'm sure all will be resolved in the first episode of next season. :)  Corvus cornix 17:13, 7 June 2007 (UTC)


 * It is a cliffhanger as well as a studio tool. The actors are now in the position that they don't have job security, so they won't ask for too much of a raise for the following season.  I much prefer how Lost keeps the actors in line.  They are happy to kill anyone off at any time. --Kainaw (talk) 12:27, 8 June 2007 (UTC)


 * Aah, a second opinion. (But beware, a malpractice lawsuit may be in the offing if you're wrong...) Clarityfiend 16:54, 8 June 2007 (UTC)