“The reborn and now renamed Bury FC will play at Gigg Lane next season, around 221 weeks since Bury’s last competitive game at the ground, against Port Vale in May 2019,” writes David Triggs. “Will this be the longest gap between a team playing two home games at the same stadium?”
Four years is a helluva long time in football, but it’s nowhere near the longest gap between home games at the same stadium. Let’s start with a famous groundshare from the 1980s: “Charlton Athletic moved from The Valley after a 2-0 win over Stoke on 21 September 1985 – Rob Lee scored the winning goal – and returned after more than seven years’ exile at Selhurst Park and Upton Park,” writes Michael Haughey. “They celebrated their return to The Valley with a 1-0 win over Portsmouth on 5 December 1992.”
