Crewe

Coordinates: 53°05′56″N 2°26′24″W / 53.099°N 2.44°W / 53.099; -2.44

Crewe /kruː/ is a railway town and civil parish within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The area has a population of roughly 84,000. Crewe is perhaps best known as a large railway junction and home to Crewe Works, for many years a major railway engineering facility for manufacturing and overhauling locomotives, but now much reduced in size. From 1946 until 2002 it was also the home of Rolls-Royce motor car production. The Pyms Lane factory on the west of the town now produces Bentley motor cars exclusively. Crewe is 158 miles north of London, 243 miles south of Glasgow and 35 miles south of Manchester

History

Although the name Creu first appears in the Domesday Book, the modern urban settlement of Crewe was not formally planned out until 1843 by Joseph Locke to consolidate the "railway colony" that had grown up since around 1840–41 in the area near to the railway junction station opened in 1837, even though it was called Crewe by many, from the start. Crewe was thus named after the railway station, rather than the other way round.

Crewe Alexandra F.C.

Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional football club in Crewe, Cheshire, England. Nicknamed The Railwaymen because of the town's links with the rail industry, they play at Gresty Road and are currently in Football League One, the third tier of the English football league system.

The club was formed in 1877 and named after Princess Alexandra. They were founding members of the Football League Second Division in 1892, but only lasted four years in the League. Since re-entering the competition in 1921, they have mostly remained in the lower divisions. Crewe's only major honour is the Football League Trophy which they won in 2013. They have also won several minor trophies, including the Cheshire Premier Cup and the Cheshire Senior Cup.

In recent decades, the club has been associated with manager Dario Gradi whose 24-year tenure between 1983 and 2007 made him the longest-serving manager in English football; he had a further two-year spell in the role from 2009 to 2011. Gradi is known for focusing on youth development and promoting attractive, technical football. Notable players brought through the Crewe youth system include former internationals Rob Jones, Neil Lennon, Danny Murphy, Seth Johnson and Dean Ashton. Other notable players to have made their name at Crewe in that time include Geoff Thomas, David Platt and Robbie Savage.

Port Vale F.C.

Port Vale Football Club is a football club in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.

Port Vale is one of the few English league clubs not to be named after a geographical location, their name being a reference to the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal. They were founder members of the Second Division in 1892 and of the Fourth Division in 1958. After playing at the Athletic Ground in Cobridge and The Old Recreation Ground in Hanley, the club returned to Burslem when Vale Park was opened in 1950. Outside the ground is a statue to Roy Sproson who played 842 competitive games for the club.

The club greatest success was in the 1950s when they were FA Cup semi-finalists in 1954 and won two divisional titles with Freddie Steele's "Iron Curtain" defence and then Norman Low's more attacking style. John Rudge was manager from 1983 to 1999; under his leadership the club reached eighth in the second tier in the 1996–97 season. Since his reign the club have declined, slipping into the fourth tier whilst entering administration in 2003 and 2012. The decline was arrested when Paul Wildes and Norman Smurthwaite bought the club out of Administration in 2012 and manager Micky Adams achieved automatic promotion from League Two in the 2012–13 season.

Football League Two

Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League 2 for sponsorship reasons) is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system.

Football League Two was introduced for the 2004–05 season. It was previously known as the Football League Third Division. Before the advent of the Premier League, the fourth-highest division was known as the Football League Fourth Division.

At present (2014–15 season), Accrington Stanley hold the longest tenure in League Two, last being outside the division in the 2005–06 season when they were promoted from the Conference Premier.

Structure

There are 24 clubs in Football League Two. Each club plays each of the other clubs twice (once at home, once away) and is awarded three points for a win, one for a draw and no points for a loss. From these points a league table is constructed.

At the end of each season the top three teams, together with the winner of the play-offs between the teams which finished in fourth–seventh position, are promoted to Football League One and are replaced by the four teams that finished bottom of that division.

Sky Betting & Gaming

Sky Betting & Gaming is a British-based gambling company, owned by CVC Capital Partners and Sky plc, with headquarters in Leeds, West Yorkshire and offices in Sheffield, London, Guernsey and Rome. Sky Betting & Gaming consists of four core brands: Sky Bet, Sky Vegas, Sky Poker and Sky Bingo. Also under its umbrella is leading online betting odds comparison site Oddschecker. Sky Betting & Gaming also operates popular, free-to-enter football prediction game Soccer Saturday Super 6 and Sky Sports Fantasy Football.

On 4 December 2014, it was announced that Sky would sell a majority stake in the company to CVC Capital Partners, valued at £800 million. The sale was completed on 19 March 2015, with Sky retaining a 20% stake in the company and agreeing a long-term licence of the Sky brand.

Sky Bet

Sky Bet is the sports betting division of Sky Betting & Gaming, with the majority of its operations run from Leeds. The company allows betting via its website, telephone, mobile apps and interactive television through Sky. In August 2011 Sky Bet launched its Apple iPhone and iPad app and all markets are also available via Android devices. It remains one of the few sports betting companies in the UK not to operate traditional high street shops. The company was formerly known for the slogan 'It matters more when there's money on it'. In October 2011, a major new Sky Bet advertising campaign introduced the slogan ‘Nothing’s certain, that’s why it’s exciting’ and the concept of ‘What if?’, used by Sky Bet to advertise topical, sports betting special markets.