Clocking up the miles for a game of football

THIS season, Athletic will travel a distance greater than the entire length of the Great Wall of China.

Over the course of the campaign, the poor loaded-up executive coach will also trump the transatlantic journey from London to New York City — and back — as is transports players and coaching staff to and from npower League One grounds.

And as for the Trans-Siberian railway, which takes passengers across two continents as it trundles a third of the way across the globe?

That’s nothing, when you’ve got a series of trips to places like Plymouth, Bournemouth and Southampton coming up.

Still, it still isn’t quite as bad as last term. Athletic lost Norwich, Leeds, Millwall, Wycombe, Gillingham, Stockport and Southend at the end of the season and gained Peterborough, Plymouth, Sheffield Wednesday, Notts County, Bournemouth, Rochdale and Dagenham and Redbridge.

According to ‘Google Maps’, the round-trip distance travelled by Athletic for away games will reduce from 7,980 miles to 7,754 in 2010-11.

Other epic journeys —

Great Wall of China: 5,500 miles.

London to New York City: 3,471 miles.

Trans-Siberian railway (Moscow to Vladivostock): 6,152 miles.