The English Football Pyramid officially extends to Level 11. For the 2024-25 season my choices to follow are: Arsenal & Brentford, Plymouth, Exeter & Wrexham, Salford, Tamworth, Worthing, Tiverton, Exmouth, Buckland, Bovey Tracey, & Elmore. I am also following the women's pyramid which extends to Level 7. My ladies teams are Arsenal, Bristol City, Exeter, Worthing, Torquay, Feniton, Teignmouth & Shaldon Villa.
The first team to withdraw from the pyramid following the allocations is Wem Town but not for the reasons that most of us thought:
From the Whitchurch Herald:
Wem Town withdraw from league after function room demolition
Butler Spors Arena in Wem.
Wem Town have withdrawn from the North West Counties Football League (NWCFL) ahead of the new season.
Club chairman Chris Peel informed the league of the decision – citing the lack of facilities at the Butler Sports Arena which will see the club not make the step up to the newly revamped North West Counties League first division south.
Mr Peel said: The club are being realistic, the club rents the ground from Wem town council for a yearly fee.
"Until four weeks ago there was a bar/function room attached to the facility which was demolished due a structural failure. Therefore, the club are in no position to host teams’ supporters/club officials in the NWCFL".
"The club have no hospitality facilities which ultimately affects the clubs FA ground grading. The club have tried to remedy this, but as tennants, not owners, the club rely on decisions at council level going our way, and also help with funding.
"The reduced income opportunities have affected the club dramatically alongside the much larger running costs in the NWCFL, as opposed to the now defunct West Midlands Regional League.
"Geographically our operation is dependent on where we operate, irrespective of the level, the club, which has been around since the late 1800's cannot be put at risk."
The league accepted the club's resignation but secretary John Deal expressed disappointment at the timing.
Mr Deal said: "Although the management committee respect the club’s decision and would not want to see a club go out of existence the disappointing aspect is that they did not notify the FA prior to the announcement of the allocations for 2021/22.
"This now leaves the First Division South one club short. Whether this can be addressed by the FA we don’t know at this stage, but it seems unlikely."
"I don’t accept that the financial costs are probative as the club would have less mileage to travel and more local derbies.
"However, if they do not have the necessary facilities that would have been a major problem.
"The really disappointing thing is that there are six county feeder league clubs in the South Division area, one of which has been denied the opportunity to backfill the vacancy."
With the welcome return of grassroots football last week, we are delighted to announce a new board that will oversee the development of the FA Women’s National League.
Following a challenging year, the new board has been formed to drive forward women’s football across Tiers 3 and 4 of the Women’s Football Pyramid, taking on responsibilities such as agreeing and implementing the strategic direction of the FA Women’s National League and its competitions, as well as making recommendations in respect of commercial partnerships, league development and policy.
The board will report into the FA Women’s Board and is made up of professionals making waves in their respective industries, with men and woman working in football, as well as in areas including finance and media.
The variety of skills, experience and diversity of thought that each member brings will be invaluable in supporting the League Management Committee, who continue to run the league day-to-day, and together ensure the league’s competitions are progressing and developing.
The board has a valuable and important blend of independent and club representation, alongside some FA representatives including Kelly Simmons, the organisation’s director of the women’s professional game.
We're pleased to confirm the board’s independent chair will be Sandi Dosanjh, who is currently a consulting director at KPMG, as well as a former player of Wolverhampton Wanderers
“Football has always been a happy space for me and the opportunity to chair this board and to drive and accelerate the progression of the women’s game is both humbling and inspiring," said Dosanjh.
“Having played football since I was a young girl, and as a current player in the women’s game, I'm incredibly proud to be able to bring 15 years of corporate governance experience and combine it with my passion for the game to realise and maximise the potential of the FA Women’s National League.”
The board’s immediate role will be to assess how the pandemic has affected the FA Women’s National League and plan for how it will come back even stronger at the start of the 2021-22 season; and to create a new League strategy with clear priorities for the Leagues development over the next three years.
The FA WNL Board members are:
Chairperson: Sandi Dosanjh Independent: Jessica Creighton Independent: To be confirmed in due course Club representative: David Mallin (Huddersfield Town) Club representative: Tim Greenwell (Southampton FC) League representative: Carol West FA representative: Sue Hough FA representative: Kelly Simmons
Fleur Robinson of Burton Albion is also currently a member of the board, but we've been delighted to learn of Fleur’s appointment as chief executive of Wrexham AFC from 1 June. We wish her every success in her new role and as a result of her appointment, a recruitment process for a board club representative will follow in due course.
Brentford will play in the top flight next season after a 74-year absence courtesy of victory over Swansea City
Brentford will play in the Premier League for the first time next season after beating Swansea City 2-0 in the Championship play-off final.
Ivan Toney's penalty put them on the road to the top flight before Emiliano Marcondes' crisp far-post finish.
Thomas Frank's team will play at the highest level for the first time since 1946-47 having eased past a Swansea side who finished with 10 men.
Victory could be worth about £178m to the west London club.
The Bees were beaten in last season's second-tier play-off final by Fulham, who ran out 2-1 winners after extra time.
But the pain of Brentford's last visit to this stadium turned to elation as they finally tasted play-off success at the 10th time of asking, and in doing so will become the 50th club to play in the Premier League.
Swansea's hopes of rejoining the elite disappeared as they failed to produce their best at Wembley, with any hope of a second-half comeback not helped by the contentious dismissal of Jay Fulton for a foul on Mathias Jensen.
Brentford's big day finally comes
Brentford fans have waited a long time for a moment like this.
This was the club's 10th play-off campaign and fifth final, with previous trips to Wembley coming in 1997, 2013 and last season, while there was a Millennium Stadium meeting with Stoke in 2002.
The grand total of play-off promotions before today? Zero. There have been three EFL Trophy final losses, too, so Brentford will feel they were due a victory on the big stage.
Driven on perhaps by the memory of their most recent Wembley reverse, which came only 10 months ago, Frank's side finally found a path to victory.
Ivan Toney's opener was his 11th successful spot-kick this season
Brentford's win was made in the opening quarter, when they went in front courtesy of the first attack of any note.
Sergi Canos slid the ball in behind the Swansea rearguard for Bryan Mbeumo, and goalkeeper Freddie Woodman came racing off his line but made contact with player rather than ball.
Even on this grand stage, Toney appeared totally unflustered as he ambled up and rolled the spot-kick low into the bottom corner of the net to claim goal number 33 of his remarkable season.
Buoyed by their opener - and with Swansea struggling to get going - Brentford swiftly doubled their advantage.
The move started when a long throw into the Brentford box was cleared to Mbeumo, who carried the ball deep into opposition territory before feeding the overlapping Mads Roerslev.
The Dane lifted the ball across goal for Marcondes to rifle a fierce, low drive inside Woodman's near post.
Swansea were reeling. Any hope Steve Cooper's side had of a response may have been wiped out within a minute, as Toney's dipping long-range volley beat Woodman only to hit the underside of the crossbar and bounce away to safety off the line.
Brentford eased their way through to the break, with the one first-half scare for David Raya coming when Andre Ayew met Conor Hourihane's free-kick with a looping header which hit the top of the bar.
Swansea's only genuine chance came early in the second period, when Connor Roberts crossed for Ayew but he could only glance a header wide of the far post.
Brentford threatened again, with Mbeumo lifting wastefully over, before Fulton's unfortunate dismissal all but finished Swansea off.
The midfielder appeared to tread accidentally on Jensen before slipping as his studs got caught, but referee Chris Kavanagh flashed the red card in an instant.
With that Swansea were beaten and it is Brentford who can look forward to facing Manchester City, neighbours United, Liverpool and company next season.
Emiliano Marcondes flashes home just his third goal of the season at the far post
What next for Swansea?
For the second successive season Swansea's hopes of a return to the Premier League have been ended in the play-offs by Brentford.
Cooper's players responded admirably after last year's semi-final loss, but this reverse may be harder to stomach.
Nine months of hard work has come to nothing and there will now be questions about what comes next.
Cooper has only a year to run on his Liberty Stadium deal and there has already been speculation over his future, with managerless Crystal Palace believed to be among his admirers.
Ayew, Swansea's talisman up front and their top scorer for the last two seasons, sees his lucrative contract expire next month.
It would be a shock if he is still around next season, while Woodman, Marc Guehi and Hourihane are all heading back to their parent clubs after loan spells.
Then there are the likes of Roberts and Matt Grimes, who have only a year remaining on their respective deals and may therefore be in the shop window.
On top of all that, there will be no more Premier League parachute payments following Swansea's relegation in 2018.
Once the dust settles on a day when they failed to do themselves justice at Wembley, Swansea could now face a busy summer.
Swansea head coach Steve Cooper:
"We are disappointed. We didn't win the game which is what we came here to do.
"We started the game second best and some defining moments didn't go our way. We gave ourselves a really tough job going 2-0 down.
"We had to change a few things. The players never gave up and gave it a really good go, certainly at the start of the second half.
"I'm not going to sit here and criticise anything because there's nothing I can say to make anybody feel any better at the moment."
On Fulton's red card:
"There's no way Jay would have done that intentionally because he is too sensible a player. The red card came out so quickly.
"We didn't help ourselves today but we didn't get any help from the officials, that's for sure."
Dave Challinor's team had to settle for fourth place and will face Bromley next Sunday for a place in the semis.
The home side finished the season impressively at Victoria Park, with Ryan Johnson, Rhys Oates, Mark Shelton and Gavan Holohan all on target.
The took an early lead through Johnson's back-post header and went 2-0 up the 34th minute when Oates slotted home past Weymouth goalkeeper Gerard Benfield.
After Holohan had seen a third goal ruled out for offside, Shelton put the outcome beyond doubt when he finished off Ryan Donaldson's cross in the 64th minute.
Holohan completed the scoring with a solo effort 11 minutes from time.
It will create a problem for this BLOG but that is something I will deal with in the next few weeks.
Brentford will be playing football in the PREMIER LEAGUE next season.
The win was fully deserved as it was last year when Fulham simply stopped Brentford from playing rather than winning the match. It is no surprise to me that Fulham came straight back down. I think Thomas Frank will have the tactical nous to keep Brentford in the Premier League for a second season. New teams are hard to tie down in the first season and I trust that Brentford will be one of those. Second seasons are harder because the opposition know what to expect and can counter it.
This is the tenth time in the playoffs for Brentford and it is the first promotion. They ARE ready. I have watched the last few seasons with Watkins, Benrahma and Mbeumo and I watched this season with Ivan Toney. Those strikers performed because the team behind them made the chances.
Thomas Frank is on the television now being interviewed and he rightly claims that Brentford have been one of the best teams in the Championship for the last two seasons. The result is now confirmed and the Premier League is the challenge although Brentford must have one of the smallest budgets with which to compete. Access to television money will help and maybe some strengthening can be done but the team I have watched all season will not be easy to beat even by Premier League teams.
I am really looking forward to next season now. I can compare a team I know well as it challenges for the biggest prize in this country.
This blog is going to have to change and I will work out how once the dust has settled.
There is no change in the top seven league positions at half time. Sutton United are drawing 0-0 at Barnet. Torquay United are drawing 0-0 at Altrincham but those are not the matches that matter.
Stockport are 1-0 up at Yeovil which means they are back in third place ahead of Hartlepool who are 2-0 up at home to Weymouth.
Notts County are drawing 0-0 at Bromley which leaves both those teams in the position where they started the day. Chesterfield are drawing 1-1 away at Halifax which leaves them still in the mix.
Wrexham are losing 1-0 at Dagenham & Redbridge but remain in the playoff places because Eastleigh are losing 2-0 at Solihull Moors and now look out of contention.
Anything could happen. Arsenal were in the Europa League last week with five minutes to go until Spurs did something most unSpursish and scored two goals at the end of their match.
Wrexham have now had a man sent off which will not help their cause.
The last day of the National League season has begun with all teams taking to their respective pitches at 12:30pm. Already Hartlepool have stolen third place from Stockport County but nothing is decided until all of the final whistles have been blown.
The next goal to go in is for Maidenhead United who have scored against Boreham Wood but that match has no bearing on the playoff places which is what today is all about.
Sutton United are champions on 85 points and they cannot be overtaken so congratulations to Sutton who will be in the football league next season. There will be one other team joining them but there is a lot of football to be played before we find out who that will be.
Torquay United are assured of second place so they already have a semi-final playoff place against the winner of the 5th v. 6th match.
Hartlepool and Stockport are vying for 3rd place and they will take to the semi-final field against the winner of the 4th v. 7th tie.
The other teams all vying for a place in the playoff places are :-
Notts County who started the day on 70 points.
Wrexham who started the day on 67 points.
Chesterfield who started the day on 66 points.
Eastleigh who started the day on 66 points.
Bromley who started the day on 66 points.
Halifax who started the day on 65 points.
Any one of the nine teams following Sutton could be joining them in the Football League.
I am watching with interest as Chesterfield score against Halifax. Plenty of time left though.
If you are reading this from the top down the next few posts talk about the League Allocations published by the Football Association for the 2021-22 season.
These are provisional allocations and are subject to appeal by teams that are unhappy. What I want to find now is a mapping system that lets me add markers according to post codes or better still 'What Three Words'. Do you know of any? Please let me know.
With the demise of the East Midlands Counties League and the West Midlands (Regional) League Premier Division the South West Peninsula League is the only one that starts at level 10.
I used to love this league as I could watch teams move between amateur status at level 11 and professional status at level 10. One season I could pay £3 per match and the next season if we got relegated I could watch for free. Those days are gone!
The F.A. wants to keep professional teams well away from amateur team. You are either amateur and free to play your football or you are professional and can be forced to pay whatever the F.A. demands of you. They wrecked this league when they decided to separate the professionals here and introduce four amateur leagues in the Devon North East, Devon North West, Saint Piran East and Saint Piran West.
Who is Saint Piran? Quick check on google. He is the patron saint of Tin Miners hence the association with Cornwall.
Anyway, ENOUGH! My anger at the F.A. does not take into account that they have to tidy up the league structure if we want people to understand it. I have taken ten years and still found that there are problems wherever you look. Somebody has to take decisions and piss somebody off somewhere along the line.
In the EAST DIVISION two teams left for the Western League:-
Ilfracombe Town
Millbrook
In the WEST DIVISION three teams left for the Western League:-
Helston Athletic
Mousehole
Saltash United
Two teams from the Devon League South West replace the EAST DIVISION departures:-
Okehampton Argyle
Ottery St Mary
Only one team comes into the WEST DIVISION from the St Piran West league:-
Penryn Athletic
The West Division is being reduced to 18 teams but we hope that increases in future years.
Lymington Town have been promoted to the Southern League Division One South to replace Moneyfields who have made the journey in the opposite direction.
Tadley Calleva have left for the Combined Counties Premier North.
Fleet Town have left for the Combined Counties Premier South.
Three teams have been promoted from Division One to the Premier Division:-
Alton
Hythe & Dibden
United Services Portsmouth
Coming into Division One from the Combined Counties League are:-
Ash United
Fleet Spurs
Two teams have been promoted to Division One from the Hampshire Senior League:-
Bush Hill
Infinity
Both divisions have been increased in size, the Premier Division to 21 teams and Division One to 20 teams.
Bugbrooke St Michaels have left for the Premier South.
Long Buckby have left for the Premier South.
Four teams have left for the Eastern Counties League Division One North:-
Blackstones
Bourne Town
Huntingdon Town
Whittlesey Athletic
Six teams have left for the South Midlands League Division One:-
One team has come into the division from the Midlands League Division One:-
Kirby Muxloe
Twelve teams have come into this division from the obliterated East Midlands Counties League, one of my favourite leagues but which is now sadly no more:-
BIG changes for the United Counties League. I trust that the new clubs come to identify with this league which was always one that I could find very little about on the internet. Hopefully things will change from now on.
One team is promoted to the United Counties League Premier South:-
Leicester Road
One team transfers to the United Counties League Division One:-
Kirby Muxloe
One team transfers to the Hellenic League Division One:-
Studley
Three teams transfer to the North West Counties League Division One South:-
Brocton
Rocester
Stafford Town
There is one team that has gone missing so presumed defunct:-
Cadbury Athletic
All the teams joining this division are from the West Midlands (Regional) League which did promote to the Midlands League Premier so there is little change there:-
AFC Bridgnorth
Bilston Town Community
OJM Black Country
Cradley Town
Darlaston Town 1874
Dudley Sports
Dudley Town
Shawbury United
Smethwick Rangers
Wednesfield
Wolverhampton Sporting Community (possibly the longest team name around)
The winner from this league is Sporting Khalsa who are promoted to the Northern Premier League Midlands Division. This is where future winners of this division will go.
The other departures from this division are joining the United Counties League.
Joining the United Counties League Premier Division North are:-
Gresley
Heather St Johns
Long Eaton United
Newark (whether Flowserve or not)
Selston
Joining the United Counties League Premier Division South are:-
Coventry Sphinx
Coventry United
Three clubs are joining this division from the North West Counties League Premier Division:-
Congleton Town
Hanley Town
Whitchurch Alport
One team is joining from the North West Counties League South Division:-
Stone Old Alleynians
Two teams have been promoted from the Midlands League Division One:-
Lichfield City
Uttoxeter Town
Three teams have been promoted from the pulverised West Midlands (Regional) League:-
Bewdley Town
Shifnal Town
Wolverhampton Casuals
This is a big change in the Midlands which has been a minefield for leagues over the years.
This league has clearly been set up to act as a feeder to the Essex Senior League and should be called the Essex Senior League Division One but the F.A. do not want county names to be associated with the leagues until level 11. They are stuck with the ESSEX SENIOR LEAGUE at the moment but they have renamed the SUSSEX LEAGUE to the Southern Combination and no doubt in time the politics of the situation will result in the renaming of the sore thumb ESSEX SENIOR LEAGUE.
Clubs leaving the Eastern Counties League Division One South are:-
Athletic Newham (Lopes Tavares) for the Essex Senior League (what did I say?)
Little Oakley for the Essex Senior League (emphasising the fact)
White Ensign for the Essex Senior League (no more proof needed)
There was a team that have disappeared from the lists so I presume they are defunct:-
Fire United Christian
The new teams to this division are:-
AFC Sudbury Reserves from the Eastern Counties League North
Cornard United from the Eastern Counties League North
Haverhill Borough from the Eastern Counties League North
Park View from the South Midlands League Division One
Buckhurst Hill have been promoted from the Essex Olympian League.
This division has been increased to 19 teams. I presume they could not find a 20th.
Hashtag United who are moving up to the Isthmian League North.
Cockfosters who are heading into the South Midlands League.
Hadley who are also heading into the South Midlands League.
The new participants in this division are as follows:-
FC Clacton from the Eastern Counties League Premier
Stanway Rovers from the Eastern Counties League Premier
Athletic Newham (Lopes Tavares) from the Eastern Counties League South
Little Oakley from the Eastern Counties League South
White Ensign from the Eastern Counties League South
The Essex Senior League has always seemed to me to want to stand on its own but they are part of the pyramid system and must learn to adapt to the needs of the F.A.
The three teams mentioned in the last post moved from Division One to the Premier South Division:-
Farnham
Jersey Bulls
Walton & Hersham
Three teams have been moved to the Southern Counties East League Division One:-
Chessington & Hook United
Tooting Bec
Westside
Three teams have been moved to the Southern Combination League Division One:-
Dorking Wanderers Reserves
Epsom & Ewell
Godalming Town
Three teams have been moved to the Wessex League Division One:-
Ash United
Fleet Spurs
The teams coming into this division are from the Hellenic League Division One East and the Spartan South Midlands League Division One as well as three teams promoted from level 11.
From the Hellenic League:-
AFC Aldermaston
Chalvey Sports
Langley
Woodley United
From the Spartan South Midlands League:-
Enfield Borough
Hillingdon Borough
London Lions
Rayners Lane
It seems to me that any team promoted from this division to one of the premier divisions will have their travelling costs cut which is not the way it is supposed to work but I suppose the F.A. see the restructure as a work in progress rather than the finished article. Next season is Step Six.
The promoted teams are as follows:-
Hilltop from the Middlesex County League
London Samurai United from the Middlesex County League
Berks County from the Thames Valley League
Many new connections will be made in this league I am sure but what I am not sure about is the connection between two Premier Leagues and one subsidiary division.
The other half of the teams from the Combined Counties Premier League should find themselves here unless the F.A. have moved them out which has happened to a handful of clubs.
From the Combined Counties Premier League:-
Badshot Lea (I love that name)
Banstead Athletic
Camberley Town
Cobham
Colliers Wood United
Frimley Green
Guildford City
Knaphill
Molesey
Raynes Park Vale
Redhill
Sheerwater
Three teams have been moved into this division from the Southern Counties East League:-
AFC Croydon Athletic
Balham
Beckenham Town
One team has come in from the Southern Combination:-
Horley Town
One team has come in from the Wessex League
Fleet Town
Three teams have been promoted from the Combined Counties League Division One:-
Farnham Town
Jersey Bulls
Walton & Hersham
Hopefully the Jersey Bulls can continue their journey up the pyramid which has been delayed by COVID. Always remember when planning that you never know what is going to hit you hardest.
The Combined Counties leagues has had a new step 5 division added to it so the old Premier Division has disappeared to be replaced by the Premier North and Premier South. This is probably needed as the League covers parts of West London that probably have many different minor leagues that I have yet to investigate.
The teams transferring across from the Combined Counties Premier Division are as follows:-
Abbey Rangers
Ascot United
CB Hounslow United
Egham Town
Hanworth Villa
Southall
Spelthorne Sports
They will now be competing with the following teams from the Hellenic League Premier Division:-
Burnham
Reading City
Virginia Water
Windsor
Also now in this division are shree teams from the Spartan South Midlands Premier Division:-
Edgware Town
North Greenford United
Wembley
And from the Wessex League Premier Division
Tadley Calleva
Three teams have been promoted into this division:-
Holyport from the Hellenic League One East
Wokingham & Emmbrook from the Hellenic League One East
St Panteleimon from the Spartan South Midlands League Division One
I am certain that new friend and enemies will be made this season as the mashup that the F.A. have organised starts to take shape. This league, like all the others, is subject to appeals by individual clubs but if the F.A. are to keep their reputation very few appeals will be allowed and evidence for detriment will have to be very strong.
