RPT-FEATURE-Soccer-Survivors Accrington anticipate better times

(Repeats feature first moved at 0002 GMT)

By Mike Collett

LONDON, Nov 12 (Reuters) - For vastly different reasons, Accrington Stanley and Bobby Charlton are two of the most iconic names in English soccer.

Charlton is revered for his gentlemanly play and for collecting every major honour during a glittering career that included winning the World Cup with England in 1966 and the European Cup with Manchester United two years later.

Accrington Stanley, on the other hand, are famous for winning very little in more than 100 years of stunning under-achievement, for having an unusually romantic name, going out of existence in 1962 before reforming in 1968 and a famous 1980s television advert for milk which poked fun at their failure.

The advert later become a global internet sensation and helped to spread their fame so that they now have fan clubs in Australia, the United States and Scandinavia.

Charlton is among many who admit a soft spot for Stanley of England's League Two (fourth division), saying such clubs are vital to the game and sharing in the fans' delight when the club last week escaped being wound up for a second time.

"If you love football then Accrington Stanley are very important -- never mind their results -- because they, and many other smaller clubs like them, are the lifeblood of our game," Charlton told Reuters.

"But Accrington is a bit more special. The name has a romantic attachment to it," added Charlton, who was at Wembley for the unveiling of a bust of England's World Cup-winning coach Alf Ramsey.