Havelse

Why Havelse

Here is the argument for Havelse: Germany, Germany 3. Liga, and a ground called Eilenriedestadion. A second team should give you something your first one cannot, and this is a different country's whole weather system.

• The calendar you inherit

  Germany 3. Liga is cold-weather football: mud in February, breath visible under the lights, and a fixture list that rewards anyone who sticks it out. Germany does not do easy neutrals.

• Old enough to matter

  1912 is the founding date, old enough that the club has survived a war, a rebuild and at least one financial scare, young enough that the good years are still in living memory.

• Something to defend

  The cabinet is not empty: Oberliga Nord (III) and Oberliga Niedersachsen-West. Small enough to recite from memory, big enough to argue about in a pub.

• Close to the pitch

  Eilenriedestadion holds about 5,001. You can hear the defenders shouting at each other, which is the single best argument for lower-capacity football.