Premier League Grounds

 

Championship Grounds

 

League One Grounds

 

League Two Grounds

Better the devil you know

 As my blog has developed I have linked and signed up to many websites connected to the teams I have been following over the years so I have decided to stick with some teams that I know but living in Exeter I have decided to drop Plymouth Argyle and keep Torquay United on the back burner.

My choices for the new season which is just around the corner are now :-

0-Arsenal (I cannot ignore my main team but they are no longer my premier league selection).

1-Brentford (I have thoroughly enjoyed watching my Championship side finally achieve promotion).

2-Bournemouth (My new championship team are in with a chance and Jack Wilshere plays for them).

3-Cheltenham (I saw the kit and the red shirts with white sleeves convinced me to follow them this year).

4-Exeter (My local papers always give me information about this lot. They are my nearest league club).

5-Weymouth (I was fully prepared to drop them but internet coverage of transfers brought me back).

6-Bath (This was another team I considered dropping but the town itself is a lovely place to visit).

7-Tiverton (I have been so close to watching live many times but I remain firmly an internet watcher).

8-Willand (I rejected this team years ago because of poor internet coverage but this year I shall search).

9-Exmouth (I have become a fan of this lot since attending live matches with a friendly atmosphere).

10-Bovey Tracey (Nice ground not too far away and I hope to watch more matches this season).

11-Liverton (Five minutes down the road and the girls team just achieved promotion this year).

The teams from 12 to 16 are not officially part of this blog but you will hear about them from time to time. Roll on the new season and playing football in the summer sun.

The Last BLOT

 I think a lot but my review of the league names got me thinking big time.

The Essex Senior League is the last league with a county name in it still competing at level 9 in the pyramid. This step 5 league have always been a bit out there, rather like the Hellenic League when it comes to running things their own way.

The Football Association stated a few years ago that they wanted level 11, step 7 to be the point at which County Leagues competed in the National hierarchy and they renamed the Kent League to be the Southern Counties East League and they renamed the Sussex League to be the Southern Combination League so the last remaining "Blot on the landscape" is the Essex Senior League.

Rather than give the Essex League a second division the F.A. chose to give the Eastern Counties League a second subsidiary division which now acts as the feeder to the Essex League. So, I thought, what names could I come up with for a revamped Essex Senior League?

The Essex Olympian League is already sitting in the correct place for a county league so they would take over as the County League once we have renamed the Essex Senior League but what name can we come up with?

The Eastern Counties League Premier South is the obvious choice. Do we need to persuade the committee that runs the Essex Senior League or can the F.A. just run roughshod over the will of the league itself? The Sussex League thought long and hard before agreeing to become the Southern Combination on the basis that the same initials as the Sussex County could be used.

Essex is east of London so could become the East of London League but London is a bit specific. There is already a Thames Valley league but another option for the ESL is to become the Thames Estuary League.

Going back to roman times I think the Iceni came from somewhere out east so The Iceni League is an option but I doubt that it would be that popular.

Given the main thoroughfare of the area the league could be renamed The A12 league but then it would stand out like a sore thumb, just as it does now.

One of my favourite footballers was Ray Parlour who never got the credit he was due when he played. The superstars took all the credit while he did most of the work. The Romford Pele could be a lynchpin in the renaming and we could call it the Romford Pele League.

Taking the Sussex idea of keeping the same initials for the league we need to find some words to fit the E and the S while we can leave the L as it is. How about the Eastern Southhalf League, or the Express Shithot League? The Easy Supporters League? The European Super League?

O.K. I just hit a nerve for some people. Other people can come up with a suitable name but I know the F.A. want to change the name and it is only a matter of time as it was for the restructure to 1-2-4-8-16.

Essex is a proud county and when cricket first started printing the name on sports shirts I was pleased to wear the name Essex across my chest as a young man. Now I am a little ashamed that my old home county is the last to move into the modern era and remove the county name from level 9.

How long can the Essex Senior League go on at this level?

My Codes for the Top 10 Levels of the English Pyramid

 

So the Football Association have arrived at their perfect pyramid with 1-2-4-8-16 divisions.

There are 17 divisions at step 6 so I have to presume that the F.A. are looking to increase that to 32.

15 more divisions will be appearing over the next few years so that should include something like an East Midlands League and perhaps a West Midlands (Regional) League. Many teams at the top of their County Leagues must be included so perhaps some County Leagues will be absorbed and renamed.

Another way to go would be to include Scottish and Welsh leagues in the English system but I think that is outside the current thinking which has probably already stopped.

My Provisional Picks for next season

 The fantastic news is that my Championship team just got promoted via the playoffs. When they sober up again after the party they can set about building the squad to take on the Premier League.

Under my original rules I can only have one team from each level of the pyramid. I have been an Arsenal supporter since I was a child so I will be watching them but as the Kroenkes have turned my club into a laughing stock I think I will drop them from this blog.

My new premier league team is Brentford. They have rebuilt the passion I used to have for the wonderful game. Rico Henry is the best defender. Ivan Toney is the best striker. Sergi Canos is the spiky one who will either make or break a game. Christian Norgaard is the holding midfielder without which strikers can get at the defence. The defence is solid in the Championship but I fear that they will have to step up a notch in the Premier League.

I am looking forward to watching and comparing a good Championship side compete in the Premier League. I expect survival but there will be disappointments too.

They have left a gap for me in the Championship so I am going to fill that with AFC Bournemouth who must stay down in the Championship so that Arsenal can be top of the Premier League at the start of every season.

I felt awkward having Torquay in my selection a while back and the same happened with Plymouth in my selection last season. Exeter fans are supposed to hate both those teams. My new selection for League One is the promoted team Cheltenham Town.

League Two can keep Exeter City and they probably will.

I return to my old home town in the National League as Southend United were ejected from the Football League at the end of the current season. It will be interesting to watch Phil Brown being Phil Brown and at National League level he will be a loud voice.

The non league finals rekindled my interest in some Essex names from the past and this season I will be following Concord Rangers who must be missing the Cowley brothers by now. That covers the National League South.

In the Southern League Premier Division South Tiverton Town retain their place and I hope to go watch them at some point this season.

In the Southern League Division One South I am dropping Barnstaple Town in favour of Plymouth Parkway who have just come up from the South West Peninsula League.

Exmouth Town are my Western League pick and I have become a fan as a result of the few matches I was able to watch before COVID took fans out of the stadiums.

Bovey Tracey have a pleasant little ground in the park with a few holes in the fencing if I cannot afford the entry fee or I just want to watch part of the match. They will remain as my level 10 team.

Liverton United remain my Devon League pick at Level 11. It is a two minute drive for me to the ground and the beer is drinkable.

These picks may change but that is my current plan.

Switch of league allocation

 

Ipswich Wanderers Switch Divisions

The FA has agreed to the League’s request on behalf of Ipswich Wanderers that they be moved from the First Division North to the First Division South for season 2021/22.