Eastern Counties League

The Eastern Counties League has a more interesting pyramid structure although I do not pretend to know what is going on in Cambridgeshire. I have never seen an organisation like that.

 

9	Eastern Counties League
	Premier Division
10	Eastern Counties League
	Division One
11	Anglian Combination	Cambridgeshire County League		Suffolk & Ipswich League	Essex & Suffolk Border League
	Premier Division	Premier Division		Senior Division	Premier Division
12	Anglian Combination	Cambridgeshire County League	Cambridgeshire County League	Suffolk & Ipswich League	Essex & Suffolk Border League
	Division One	Senior A Division	Senior B Division	Division One	Division One
13	Anglian Combination	Cambridgeshire County League	Cambridgeshire County League	Suffolk & Ipswich League	Essex & Suffolk Border League
	Division Two	Division One A	Division One B	Division Two	Division Two
14	Anglian Combination	Cambridgeshire County League	Cambridgeshire County League	Suffolk & Ipswich League	Essex & Suffolk Border League
	Division Three	Division Two A	Division Two B	Division Three	Division Three
15	Anglian Combination	Cambridgeshire County League	Cambridgeshire County League	Suffolk & Ipswich League
	Division Four	Division Three A	Division Three B	Division Four
16	Anglian Combination	Cambridgeshire County League	Cambridgeshire County League	Suffolk & Ipswich League
	Division Five	Division Four A	Division Four B	Division Five
		Cambridgeshire County League	Cambridgeshire County League
17	Anglian Combination	Division Five A	Division Five C	Suffolk & Ipswich League
	Division Six	Cambridgeshire County League	Cambridgeshire County League	Division Six
		Division Five B	Division Five D

Combined Counties League

The Combined Counties League is slightly more interesting and I am sure there must be other leagues feeding into this system. Please contact me if you know what they are called.

 

9	Combined Counties
	Premier Division
10	Combined Counties League
	Division One
11	Reading Football League	Middlesex County League		Surrey Elite Intermediate League
	Senior Division	Premier Division
12	Reading Football League	Middlesex County League	Middlesex County League
	Premier Division	Division One (Central & East)	Division One (West)
13	Reading Football League
	Division One
14	Reading Football League
	Division Two
15	Reading Football League
	Division Three
16	Reading Football League
	Division Four

United Counties League

The United Counties League pyramid seems to have a very neat structure.

What I have found is as follows:

 

9	United Counties League
	Premier Division
10	United Counties League
	Division One
11	Bedfordshire County League	Northamptonshire Combination	Peterborough & District League
	Premier Division	Premier Division	Premier Division
12	Bedfordshire County League	Northamptonshire Combination	Peterborough & District League
	Division One	Division One	Division One
13	Bedfordshire County League	Northamptonshire Combination	Peterborough & District League
	Division Two	Division Two	Division Two
14	Bedfordshire County League	Northamptonshire Combination	Peterborough & District League
	Division Three	Division Three	Division Three
15	Bedfordshire County League	Northamptonshire Combination	Peterborough & District League
	Division Four	Division Four	Division Four
16	Bedfordshire County League	Northampton Town League	Peterborough & District League
	Division Five		Division Five

The Non-League Paper

Today I discovered "The Non-League Paper" which should give me a lot more information about this blog's subject matter. I notice on the back page that the Thurrock relegation has gone to a final appeal and has not yet been decided although we are almost at the eve of the new season.

I have a lot less sympathy for teams that break rules, whether wittingly or unwittingly, as I expect them to take the rap while honest teams should benefit from that honesty. Teams that are told by the F.A. to join another league I will support although I think for the good of the future of the game there must be some compulsion as the leagues relationships are transformed.

I also see from the front page that the Blue Square League is now the Skrill League. My immediate reaction is that the S is short for Sea. The krill are, as ever, fodder for the bigger fish.

It is clear that sponsorship is a major part of funding for the sport at this level.

Essex Senior League

If you know of any other feeder leagues for the Essex Senior League please let me know.

This is the structure as far as I am aware:

9	Essex Senior League
10	MISSING
	LEVEL
11	Essex Olympian League
	Premier Division
12	Essex Olympian League
	Division One
13	Essex Olympian League
	Division Two
14	Essex Olympian League
	Division Three

Digging Deeper

I have followed up my early research by digging deeper where it comes to Football Leagues in the UK. Now I know that there is one League at Level 24. It is the Mid-Sussex League Division 11.

I must go and have a look at a match sometime as I am sure they are better than some leagues at Level 17 in other areas. I intend to publish my findings as they are although I know that much of the time the relationship between leagues changes season by season.

The Essex Senior League has the simplest pyramid below it so I will start there.

Rye United and Crowborough

Rye United and Crowborough have both won their appeals against joining the Southern Counties East league. In one sense I am pleased for them but I now think automatic promotion has been put back at least three years.

Kent to Southern Counties East

The name change is one of the many necessary changes and it is taking place this summer.

The Kent League has changed its name to the Southern Counties East League. This will allow teams from Sussex and Essex as well as East London to join without having the word "Kent" attached. I know as I was born in Essex that the word Kent did not and will not go down well if you live just outside that county.

Two teams from the Sussex League have been told to join this newly named league for the upcoming season and they are appealing against that decision but I fear that if the appeals are upheld then the F.A. will not be able to restructure the country as it wants to. Time will tell.

If we look back at the changes that have occurred over the years then we will see winners and losers with each and every change but I think overall the changes have been for the benefit of football as a whole.

Formalised Structure

The table below was an attempt to formalise the F.A.Pyramid structure, but we all know that there is still a great deal of flexibility in the system, and clubs should be thinking now about where they want to be if and when the structure is rigidly formalised.

Applications to join particular leagues are still the way that business is done and there are no guarantees below the formally agreed level 8 relegations. As I have shown there are level 9 champions that do not get promoted. The F.A. are on the case and will eventually succeed in getting 12 level 9 leagues and that will enable formal promotion and relegation between the 12 level 9 leagues and the 6 level 8 leagues.

I have read so much this summer about teams choosing to step down a level in a move to cut costs and there is a danger that clubs may overstretch themselves when they are promoted. I also worry about clubs that have been ordered to change leagues by the F.A.. The most important thing for all football sides is that the players enjoy playing in the league that they compete in. The best matches and the most entertaining ones occur when there is a mood of enjoyment on the playing surface.

My perception is that the greatest level of change has to be in the region covered by the Isthmian League. The area covered has already expanded north into the Eastern part of the country and I think it will need to expand south covering the sussex league which is why I have placed that league in the Isthmian section although still many sides move onwards into the Southern League.

Having attempted to determine exactly what will happen and seen my words disappear into the ether I will stop there as I am sure that some major political battles will have to occur before a final solution is found.