Accrington Stanley are an English professional football club from the town of Accrington in Lancashire, best known as a small, proudly underdog team with a surprisingly famous name and cult reputation.

Who are Accrington Stanley?

  • Accrington Stanley are a football club based in Accrington, a former industrial town in Lancashire, England.
  • They currently play in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system.
  • The present club was formed in 1968, two years after the previous Accrington Stanley went out of business.

The name often confuses people because there have actually been multiple clubs from Accrington over time, including an original Accrington FC that was a founder member of the Football League in the 1880s.

Why the “who are they?” joke?

The phrase “Accrington Stanley, who are they?” comes from a now-iconic British TV advert for milk in the late 1980s/early 1990s.

In the advert:

  • One boy tells another that Liverpool star Ian Rush says if he doesn’t drink milk, he will “only be good enough to play for Accrington Stanley” when he grows up.
  • The other boy replies: “Accrington Stanley? Who are they??!” and gets the deadpan answer: “Exactly.”

That one line made the club’s name famous far beyond its size, turning them into a kind of cult reference in British football culture and TV nostalgia.

“Accrington Stanley? … Who are they??!” became a catchphrase for years in the UK.

A (very) short history

  • The “old” Accrington Stanley was founded in 1891 and played in the Football League from 1921 until financial trouble forced them to resign in 1962; the club was liquidated in 1966.
  • In 1968, local supporters reformed the club under the same name, starting again in the lower regional leagues and playing at the Crown Ground (also known as the Wham Stadium for sponsorship).
  • The reformed club climbed the non-league pyramid and, in 2006, won the Conference (now National League) to return to the Football League, entering League Two.

This rise from collapse to the professional leagues again has made them one of English football’s classic “little club that refused to die” stories.

Where are they now and what’s the latest?

  • Accrington Stanley are established in League Two, continuing to punch above their weight given the size of their town and stadium.
  • The club remains heavily community-focused, hosting local events and initiatives at their ground and in facilities like the 1968 Lounge, used for community workshops and gatherings.

They still get a lot of media and forum mentions because of their name, the milk advert catchphrase, and their underdog status in a football world dominated by big-money clubs.

Why do forums still talk about them?

When you see “accrington stanley who are they” in a forum or trending post, it’s usually:

  • A direct quote or homage to the milk advert catchphrase.
  • A tongue‑in‑cheek way to talk about smaller or “unfashionable” clubs in contrast to giants like Liverpool or Manchester United.
  • A nostalgic reference by older fans who grew up with the advert and still enjoy the line.

So the joke is that everyone now knows their name precisely because of the line “who are they?”—which has, ironically, made Accrington Stanley far more famous than most clubs of their size.

TL;DR:
Accrington Stanley are a small but historic football club from Accrington, Lancashire, re-formed in 1968 and now playing in League Two; their cult fame comes from a classic milk advert with the line “Accrington Stanley? Who are they??!” that still gets quoted in forums and conversations today.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.