Quarter of Premier League supporters are Shakespeare fans – where does your club rank?

IT might be Bard to believe but a quarter of Premier League footie supporters are William Shakespeare fans, a poll has revealed.

And it is the top-flight club geographically closest to the home of the playwright that has the most admirers.

A surprising 43 per cent of fans of Aston Villa, whose stadium is less than 40 miles from Stratford-upon-Avon, claimed to have read at least one of his plays or sonnets since leaving school.