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Completely unrelated thought - are Arsenal the only club in England to not have a placename in their name?

I know they were originally Woolwich Arsenal, but they dropped the Woolwich when they moved from there.

And, of course, the big problem is, they always try to walk it in.

Yes, the club name bears the shame of having moved across town for money. The MK Dons of the 20th century.

Port Vale is the only other one without a place name but they never moved, I don't know where the name comes from.

ahhhh... i never thought that Port Vale wouldn't be an actual place - the internet seems to think there was a Port Vale Wharf though: https://www.thepotteries.org/walks/longport/15.htm https://portvalenostalgia.co.uk/history/

Crystal Palace is also a bit weird - named after a building that was moved, then burnt down, which also gave its name to an ill defined area of London that straddles three boroughs, which is not where the club plays any more…

Most areas of London are ill-defined, I think it's fair to say.

Crystal Palace is a made up place but the club is authentic to that place, if that makes sense?

It’s more that both the club and the area are independently named after the site of the stadium where the club used to play. The club would still be called Crystal Palace even if the name had died out for the area of town.

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