The Feminine View

 As you already know Arsenal Ladies beat Tottenham Hotspur Ladies 4-0. My granddaughter was delighted. We now get to take on Manchester City in the Semi Final of the Womens F.A.Cup.

The other results for my Ladies teams are as follows:

Womens Championship : Lewes Ladies 1 Coventry United Women 0

National League Southern Premier Division : Plymouth Ladies 0 Cardiff City Ladies 7

National League Division One South West : Exeter City Ladies 4 Poole Town Ladies 2

South West Regional Womens League Premier Division :

 Marine Academy Plymouth Ladies 11 Torquay United Women 1

South West Regional Womens League Western Division : Plymouth Argyle 2nds 2 Alphington Ladies 4

Devon Womens Football League Premier Division :

 Signal Box Oak Villa Ladies 2 Liverton United Ladies 10

This result puts my local village girls at the top of the league, ahead of Halwill on goal difference.

Devon Womens Football League Division One : Plainmoor Ladies 3 Exeter City Women 2nds 4

That is the first full set of results I have produced for the women. I will do some digging to see if there are any match reports that will enhance my coverage.

Arsenal Ladies

 The ladies of Arsenal beat the Tottenham women 4-0 with a sublime chip from Jordan Nobbs and three goals from Lisa Evans. The match was televised by BBC2 so I was and thousands of others were able to watch the match for free. Tottenham held the Arsenal for 70 minutes before capitulating in the way that Spurs always do.

Saturday 26th September

 From the bottom:

Off the record as the results are outside the remit of this blog

15) Liverton United 2nds 3 Paignton Saints 3rds 1

14) Ilsington Villa 2 Watcombe Wanderers 2nds 3

13) Buckfastleigh Rangers 2nds 0 Ashburton Association 6

12) Newton Abbot 66 3 Buckfastleigh Rangers 1

So two wins and two defeats in the bottom section of my pyramid (the base).

Now for the pyramid itself:

11) Chudleigh Athletic 2 Liverton United 1

10) Ilfracombe Town 8 Bovey Tracey 0

9) Bridgwater Town 1 Exmouth Town 3

8) NO MATCH

7) Swindon Supermarine 1 Tiverton Town 2

6) Match versus Torquay United cancelled due to injury.

5) Weymouth 0 Ebbsfleet United 1 (only a friendly so not too worrying).

4) Mansfield Town 1 Exeter City 2

3) Plymouth Argyle 1 Shrewsbury Town 1

2) Millwall 1 Brentford 1

1) Arsenal take on Liverpool on Monday night.

Short sharp results service. I will try and find You Tube coverage tomorrow.

Wednesday Night

 Four results to tell you about from my selections:

1) Arsenal progressed in the Carabao or EFL Cup by beating Leicester City 2-0 on their own turf.

The Highlights

Leicester hit the post before Nicolas Pepe chased the ball into the penalty area forcing a pinball like own goal off the post and Christian Fuchs.

The winner came from youngster Eddie Nketiah who stayed alert in the box to step over the defender and force the ball home.

7) Tiverton were at home to Bideford in the first qualifying round of the F.A.Cup and won the match 2-0.

9) Exmouth travelled to Street in the Western League Premier Division and came away with a 2-1 win.

10) Bovey Tracey were at home to Cullompton Rangers in the South West Peninsula League. Bovey managed to score two goals but unfortunately Cullompton scored four for the win.

On to Saturday.

Tuesday Night

 Three results from my selections although there was a lot of other football too.

My Brentford Boys finally got the better of West Bromwich Albion.

The key penalties

Bath City continued their string of friendlies by visiting Yeovil Town and losing 3-0.

Barnstaple Town have an interesting looking page on my spreadsheet. Win one Lose one Win one.

Last night they were due a win and in the First Qualifying Round of the F.A.Cup they beat Wiimborne Town 3-2.

Something Else

More tomorrow about the football tonight.

The Watchers Version

 Premier League

Championship

League One

League Two

Southern League Premier South

Jerry Gill

The quantity of football is not lessening yet with the Carabao Cup, F.A.Cup, F.A.Vase and now the F.A.Trophy all starting with many teams in the early rounds. Things will ease up I know unless there is another lockdown for the UK. At the moment though I am happy to be tracking so much.

Men at the weekend

 Level 15

Liverton United Reserves had no fixture this weekend.

Level 14

Ilsington Villa were originally scheduled to take on Dartmouth Reserves but the match was switched to be Bishopsteignton United. The result was something I have not seen for a long time and I had to look it up. H-W. Those who look at a lot of fixtures may recognise it immediately but I checked and it means home win which is usually only the case when the opposition cannot raise a team.

Level 13

Ashburton's match against Paignton Villa Reserves was postponed.

Level 12

Buckfastleigh Rangers took on Plympton Athletic Reserves and won the match 4-1.

Level 11

Last year Liverton United were well beaten at home by Alphington so definite improvement is being shown by the fact that this season the match ended 1-1.

Level 10

Bovey Tracey continue their losing streak and now have a singularly RED spreadsheet. The match away to Crediton United ended in a 3-1 defeat.

Level 9

Exmouth Town march on in the F.A.Vase. The match against Mousehole ended 0-0 but in the penalty shootout my favourite Western League team came out 5-3 winners.

Level 8

Barnstaple started this season with defeat away to AFC Totton. The tweet suggests that the main focus for the team was a night out in Southampton. The 3-0 loss was merely preparation for the evening.

Level 7

Tiverton Town started the season with a convincing 5-0 win over Wimborne Town. The next fixture is Bideford at home in the F.A.Cup First Qualifying Round.

Level 6

A You Tube video suggests that Bath City were training at the weekend for a match with Yeovil Town on Tuesday night.

Level 5

The Weymouth league season starts in October so they are still playing and winning friendly matches. Slough Town away was the latest in a line of victories punctuated with a draw against Exeter City. The win at the weekend was by FOUR goals to TWO.

Level 4

Exeter City followed up the 2-2 draw away to Salford with a 0-2 defeat at home to Port Vale.

Level 3

Plymouth travelled to AFC Wimbledon and played out what I hope was an entertaining 4-4 draw.

Level 2

Brentford followed up the opening day defeat to Birmingham with a convincing 3-0 win over Huddersfield Town.

Level 1

Arsenal took on West Ham on Saturday evening and took the lead with a header from Alexander Lacazette. Antoniou equalised for West Ham before half time. Arsenal then struggled to dominate and needed a goal from substitute Eddie Nketiah to win the match 2-1.

Football is starting to feel normal again but I have enjoyed the summer indulgence.

Women at the weekend

 Level 8

Exeter City Reserves travelled to the University of Exeter Ladies and came away with an 8-1 win.

Level 7

Liverton Ladies played their first ever league match and beat Shaldon Villa 6-2.

Level 6

Last week Plymouth Reserves lost 3-2 at home to AFC St Austell Ladies. This week they travelled to Plympton and managed a 3-2 win to get their season off to a start.

Level 5

Last week the Marine Academy Plymouth visited Torquay and won 5-0. This week the ladies took on RNAS Culdrose and won 4-0 to make it one win and one loss at the start of the season.

Level 4

I think the National League will start in October, same as the men so there is no result of Exeter City Ladies.

Level 3

Plymouth Ladies are in the National League and I have no evidence that the season has started.

Addendum:

The evidence came in late that Plymouth Ladies travelled to Keynsham and lost 5-1.

Level 2

Lewes Ladies lost 3-0 to Durham United last week and there was no fixture scheduled for this week.

Level 1

Arsenal 6 Reading 1 started the season. West Ham 1 Arsenal 9 continued the winning last week. The next match on the fixture list is Tottenham Hotspur in the F.A.Cup.

My women's pyramid reporting has now begun for real.

Liverton 6 Shaldon 2

The ladies started their league campaign with a good home win.

I will endeavour to find out some more information and let you know.

Addendum (I added this after initial post):

The goalscorers were:

Hannah Drummond x 4

Charlotte Dymond x 2

I think the race for the golden boot is between these two because last time out against Callington

Hannah Drummond x 3

Charlotte Dymond x 3

Twelve goals between these two in two games is a good sign and something to build on. Good strikers are hard to find and it seems that we have two of them.

The Midweek Matches

 Levels 3 and 10 on Tuesday.

Levels 2 and 9 on Wednesday.

And a hastily arranged friendly.

Matt Taylor talks us through the friendly

Weymouth 1 Exeter City 1

Plymouth scored the first two goals of the five that were all scored at the same end.

Goalscorers were Pantuche Camara and Kelland Watts.

Orient then came back into the game and timed it perfectly scoring the third goal in injury time.

Leyton Orient 3 Plymouth Argyle 2

Plymouth having beaten QPR in their first match are now out of the Carabao Cup.

Bovey Tracey travelled to Dartmouth for their fourth defeat of the league season. There are signs of improvement as this defeat was by one goal in a score of:

Dartmouth 2 Bovey Tracey 1

Sean Finch gave Bovey Tracey the lead but in a manner similar to Plymouth they allowed the lead to slip and Dartmouth scored the winner in the 87th minute.

Christian Norgaard has adding goalscoring to his talents for this season. Pelenda Joshua Dasilva added the second goal before half time and Brentford did not let the lead slip.

Southampton 0 Brentford 2

Two hundred (and one) fans were at Southern Road to watch Exmouth Town gain their first points of the new season. Jordan Harris scored a hat-trick to help the home team to victory.

Exmouth Town 4 Tavistock 1

Roll on the weekend. We are back into some sort of rhythm with the football.

I forgot the women

 Never forget the women!

The women

For those who dislike reading

 For the watchers who are not so keen on reading:

Fulham 0 Arsenal 3

The fight before the match

Three minutes of highlights

Arteta watches the action

Birmingham 1 Brentford 0

The two minute version

The five minute version

The eight minute version

Plymouth Argyle 1 Blackpool 0

Two minutes of highlights

Blackpool watchalong

Ryan Lowe reaction

Salford City 2 Exeter City 2

The two minute highlights

Seven minute highlights

Matt Taylor reaction

Weymouth 4 Poole Town 0

The highlights

Swindon Supermarine 1 Bath City 2

Jerry Gill reflects

The only highlights I could find

Barnstaple 2 Helston 0

The highlights

Exmouth Town 0 Melksham Town 2

The highlights

IF YOU WATCHED ALL THE ACTION YOU SHOULD NOW REST YOUR EYES.

The season has begun

 1) Premier League

The first match of the season was Fulham v. Arsenal as the kick-off time was 12:30pm. I watched it on the television and saw Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang put in a match winning performance. The opening goal was not a classic but PEA chased down the ball on the left wing and turned the ball into Xhaka who got his usual off target shot in. Willian was in the right place to pick it up and shoot at the keeper. The save was a push into the path of Alexander Lacazette who touched the ball over the line from a metre out.

Willian hit the post with his free kick before delivering a perfect cross from a corner for Gabriel to nod in a goal in his first game for the gunners. Two goals to the good and Arsenal were cruising.

PEA smashed the third goal in from the corner of the penalty box to give my boys the best possible start to the season.

Fulham 0 Arsenal 3

2) Football League Championship

Brentford lost their opening game of the season away to Birmingham. I have just watched the highlights and it seemed to me to be chance after chance after chance for Brentford, a Birmingham corner that found a head and into the net then more Brentford chances so let me check the statistics ...

POSSESSION = Birmingham 37 - Brentford 63%

SHOTS = Birmingham 11 - Brentford 16

SHOTS ON TARGET = Birmingham 3 - Brentford 4

I think there is enough evidence to say that Brentford had most of the game but lacked something, perhaps an Ollie Watkins. My Championship pick will have to be much more clinical in front of goal.

Birmingham 1 Brentford 0

3) Football League One

One of my new teams for this season is Plymouth Argyle. Last week they beat Queens Park Rangers by three goals to two in the Carabao Cup. This week the league campaign started at home to Blackpool. A single goal decided the match.

Plymouth Argyle 1 Blackpool 0

4) Football League Two

Exeter City are now a regular in my blog and last week they lost 2-0 away to Bristol City. Following this they took on Forest Green Rovers in a midweek match for the EFL Trophy. This home match was won 3-2 and was good preparation for the start of the league season. The campaign started away to Salford City. Salford took an early lead but Exeter came back at them with two goals of their own. Salford equalised in the second half to earn both sides a point.

Salford City 2 Exeter City 2

5) National League

Weymouth have just been promoted from the National League South so I would expect this level to be a bit more of a challenge. A midweek friendly saw Weymouth beat Dorchester Town 3-1 away. This weekend the friendly was against Poole Town at home and resulted in a 4-0 win. So far, confidence is high and Weymouth have a 100% record in the friendlies they have played. The league season does not start until October.

Weymouth 4 Poole Town 0

6) National League South

Bath City are another new team to my blog. I still have a lot to learn about this side. Following draws with Salisbury City and Weston-super-Mare my chosen team at this level travelled to Swindon to take on their Supermarine side and came away with a 4-0 win. There is hope for me at this level.

Swindon Supermarine 0 Bath City 4

7) Southern League Premier Division South

Tiverton Town had no match this weekend but have won more than they have lost in their pre-season friendlies. The most recent match was last weekend when they lost 3-0 at home to Bideford but look back a couple of weeks and they beat Bideford 2-1 away. The real action starts next week with a home match in the league against Wimborne Town.

NO MATCH

8) Southern League Division One South

Barnstaple Town have had two bad seasons on the trot escaping relegation twice, first time with a reprieve and second time with COVID cancellation of the season. This year they really need to put together a strong team to establish their place at this level. On Saturday my selection competed in the F.A.Cup preliminary round. This was a home match against Helston Athletic. A good result means that Barnstaple are through to the next round of the cup.

Barnstaple Town 2 Helston Athletic 0

9) Western League Premier Division

A week and a half ago Exmouth Town were beating Keynsham Town 3-1 in the F.A.Cup then midweek this week Exmouth started the league campaign with a 2-0 defeat away to Plymouth Parkway. The F.A.Cup was the focus again this week as Town took on Melksham Town at home. The result is that the F.A.Cup campaign is over for another season.

Exmouth Town 0 Melksham Town 2

10) South West Peninsula League Premier Division East

I fear for Bovey Tracey, my pick at this level, as they lost all their pre-season friendlies. This week they started the league campaign and things seem to be even worse. 

On Wednesday the league campaign started with a negative result at home.

Bovey Tracey 0 Brixham 6

On Saturday the bad news continued with another home defeat.

Bovey Tracey 0 Torpoint Athletic 4

This could prove to be a very long season for Bovey Tracey. They have a lovely little ground and bar though so I am sure I will pop in at some point, maybe when they have found some footballing talent to go with their ground.

11) Devon Football League

It is not just the first team at Bovey Tracey that is finding life difficult. The reserves took on my pick at this level, Liverton United, on Friday night and managed to lose as well.

Bovey Tracey Reserves 2 Liverton United 4

Maybe I should have gone to watch this one but under Boris' you can no you cannot rules I am not sure whether I am allowed to so I shall stay home.

That is the end of my official pyramid report but you know I cannot get enough so on into my pyramid base selections:

12) South Devon League Premier Division

I have chosen Buckfastleigh Rangers at this level and it seems to be a good pick so far.

5th September : Buckfastleigh Rangers 4 Salcombe Town 2

12th September : Buckfastleigh Rangers 3 Ivybridge Town Reserves 1

Two wins out of two in the league is a good start to the season.

13) South Devon League Division One

Ashburton who are just down the road from us have made a reasonable start away from home.

Beesands Rovers 2 Ashburton 2

14) South Devon League Division Two

I definitely have to go and watch my pick at this level. The start to the season has been a flyer.

5th September : Ilsington Villa 9 Torbay Police Reserves 1

12th September : Bishopsteignton United 2 Ilsington Villa 9

I am SO disappointed that my team could not reach double figures.

15) South Devon League Division Three

Some good results in the pre-season friendlies for my Liverton Reserves team, but the league has now started and it was not the best beginning.

Totnes & Dartington 2nds 5 Liverton United 2nds 3

There is room for improvement but it was an away fixture. The home results will be the measure of the team.

THE WOMEN

My results sheet now contains the women's results and you already know about Arsenal beating West Ham United away by 9 goals to 1 so I just have to add the only other result on my sheet.

Durham United Women 3 Lewes Ladies 0

I hope that Lewes can turn that result into motivation for the future.

Enjoy your week. Watch some football (if Boris says Yes!).

A singular result

 Information, as I know from experience can be much harder to find as you head down the pyramid to the lower reaches.

Liverton Ladies played a match against Plympton Ladies and won 5-3. A good result in a pre-season friendly. I can confirm that the two teams played and that the result was 5-3 BUT I have had to assume that Liverton won by reading between the lines and words and picking up on a positive vibe.

When the league starts I always have the league site to double check the scores and I have from time to time discovered differences. I always go with what the league state as that will be the official score used to determine the league table.

Checking the other pre-season friendlies the results have been mixed for the Liverton side but that is a good thing. You can sometimes learn more about players from a defeat than you can when everyone is happy and winning every match. I used to love being the weakest player in a strong team as the others helped me to win almost every week. Winning is easy. It is much harder when you have to work for it.

Oh, and they have just said on television that Boris is badly damaging the reputation of Britain. I think I shall come back tomorrow and focus on the football.

Expanding the Blog

 I have spent the last week documenting the Ladies or Womens Pyramid. I think the time may be right to expand my blog and include the female version of the male game as it is gaining in popularity. The appeal used to be more honest football but money has now come into the women's game so we will see the top clubs start to establish themselves as separate from the rest.

Maybe I should have left my spelling mistake in that last paragraph. I originally typed extablish themselves and that is exactly what they will do by becoming a separate class from the average teams. The process has started just as I have started logging the scores of certain women only matches.

It will be no surprise to my regular readers that I have been following Arsenal Ladies for a while now. The result at the top of my "current" sheet is Arsenal 6 Reading 1. The latest result on their own sheet is West Ham United 1 Arsenal 9. I watched both matches and as an Arsenal fan I cannot help laughing a little when an opposing player is sent off. Gilly Flaherty, an ex Arsenal player and now West Ham captain was despatched from the field for legitimately complaining about an offside goal. I can only assume that the manner of her complaint was unacceptable to the referee.

My local village have just started a women's team and Liverton United will compete in the Devon County League at level 7 of the women's pyramid, so I thought to myself that I should fill in the gaps and follow a team from every level of the women's game just like I do the men. My selections have now become Arsenal from the Super League, Lewes from the Championship as they have the lowest level of mens team as their support and I have just read that they have split from that support.

With the top two levels decided I move on down the chain. I have chosen Plymouth Argyle from the National League Southern half, and Exeter City from the next level which is Division One South West.

These two have been chosen because the mens teams are in my mens selection so it should mean fewer websites to visit when I am after information.

At level five comes the South West Regional League Premier Division and going with the Devon trend I have chosen Torquay Women. Oddly, all the other teams have chosen to be called Ladies but I suppose they need to keep the image going. Keeping things all very simple I have chosen Plymouth Argyle Reserves as my team from the South West Regional League Western Division which sits at level 6 in the pyramid.

Level 7 is the Devon County League Premier Division and I will actually watch the Liverton Ladies when I am available and Boris has not just decided to ban fans from matches for the seventy ninth time in one year. You can watch this week, but you cannot watch next week, and you must get a test if you cannot smell the women as they run onto the field. You then phone for a test and find out that Inverness has some availability so you can pop up there for a quick weekend and a test. I shall now climb down from my hobby horse which is Boris baiting, a fully deserving horse.

I will go no further than level 8 which is Devon County Division One. In this contest I choose the Exeter City Reserves. If this takes off I shall learn a lot more about the women's game and record any changes that I uncover although I think the Football Association must be delighted (well nearly) as they have gone for a One, Two, Four pattern. This is continued limited thinking from the F.A. I am very proud that the South West Regional League have elected to run three divisions at the lower level. MY model given the shape of the country would be a 1, 3, 9, 27 split which would allow greater flexibility much higher up the chain.

I intend to add a Womens Pyramid on the right hand side to join the Mens Pyramid. The header will probably also have to change but I may wait a season as I am not perfectly happy with two reserve teams in my initial selection.

Having announced that women are now part of my football analysis I can now return to my results sheet in the next post.

Arsenal DID play on Saturday

 So by pursuing Twitterdata I found out that Arsenal have had a couple of friendlies since the Community Shield. I guess it is COVID that makes us desperate for information. In past seasons a match without a crowd would not be a friendly as only matches played in front of crowds counted. Now we are desperate to know what is going on it all counts.

On Tuesday 1st September while I was focussed on the F.A.Cup matches Arsenal entertained Queens Park Rangers at the London Colney training ground. We won 4-3 apparently but there was little information about the match.

On Saturday the friendly was played at the Emirates Stadium and we lost 3-2 to Aston Villa. There is a bit more information about this one but the important fact is that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored both of the goals. He is SO important to Arsenal. The second goal came from a penalty but it still has to be placed into the net.

Strange times. I expect to find out about lower league matches after the event but I am normally fully aware of what Arsenal are up to because the media feeds are full of it. Times have changed.

Soccer Aid is now live. Get watching and contributing.

Football STARTS AGAIN

 We have already seen the start of the F.A.Cup with the Extra Preliminary Round taking place this past week. I Love the F.A. tournaments but the bread and butter of the game is/are the league matches (delete is or are according to your taste in subjects and objects). Several leagues started on Saturday but there are many leagues that are holding out until October.

Arsenal and Brentford start their league campaigns next week but Brentford had a Carabao Cup match today in which they took the lead through Ethan Pinnock but allowed it to slip. The 1-1 draw meant that penalties decided the tie in which Wycombe did not disgrace themselves. As is quite common due to the higher standard of player the senior team won the match, Brentford came out as 4-2 winners in the shootout. A good start for my set of selections.

Brentford 1 Wycombe Wanderers 1 (Brentford win 4-2 on penalties)

Plymouth Argyle played their Carabao Cup tie on Saturday. Queens Park Rangers visited Home Park and made the game an entertaining one scoring two goals to Plymouth's three. The goals came from Joe Edwards in the 32nd minute to equalise an early QPR goal, Danny Mayor in the 55th minute which was quickly followed by a QPR equaliser, and Frank Nouble in the 78th minute which proved to be the winner.

Plymouth Argyle 3 Queens Park Rangers 2

Exeter City were also competing in the Carabao Cup and travelled to Bristol City for their tie. Finances are such that Exeter fielded five academy players in the starting lineup and had nine out in total when you look at the substitutes bench. Is that sustainable? The result went the way of Bristol City who won 2-0 at Ashton Gate and I hope this Exeter result is not a sign of things to come. Roll on the next match.

Bristol City 2 Exeter City 0

The National League does not get underway until October with the fixtures coming out at lunchtime on Tuesday, so Weymouth were playing a friendly match at the weekend. The information becomes harder to find the further down the pyramid that you venture but Weymouth seem to have pretty good coverage and you can watch highlights of the match on You Tube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bK0jZR2Lxk

Now you have watched the match I can reveal that the goalscorers were Alefe Santos, Cody Cooke and Calvin Brookes. This is information that I might not have been able to bring you last season but I am now recording more information than ever before in order to provide a service to my fan. I have a good feeling about Weymouth although I know nothing about their new manager, Brian Stock, who will be taking the team through their newly elevated status following back to back promotions. Mark Molesley has moved to Southend so I will keep an eye on whether it is the manager or the players that are making things difficult at Roots Hall.

Weymouth 3 Havant & Waterlooville 1

Bath is the team that I have the most to learn about. In midweek they travelled to Salisbury and came away with a 1-1 draw. On Saturday they travelled to Weston-super-Mare on the coast and I used to have the seagulls as part of my selection so I was keen to see what the outcome would be. I have no idea who scored.

Weston-super-Mare 0 Bath City 0

Tiverton have had many pre-season friendlies already so what is one more. Bideford were the visitors in this one and were clearly too much for the Tiverton team that took to the field. I intend to check who was in the side but at the present time I only know the result.

Tiverton Town 0 Bideford 3

Levels 8 and 9 had no matches as far as I can ascertain. I cannot guarantee that as some fixtures only appear online after they have been played but I do not think I have missed anything.

Bovey Tracey played their first match in the South West Peninsula league and lost it. Their fixture list is all red (defeats) on my spreadsheet.

Bovey Tracey 1 Crediton United 2

Liverton opened their league campaign with defeat as well. The visitors were Exwick Villa, a team I used to watch before I moved and I had intended to watch this match as well but real life sometimes takes over and I let it.

Liverton United 0 Exwick Villa 1

That concludes the results from the opening league weekend of the NEW SEASON.

New Pyramid Released

 I have just released my pyramid for the new season.

Obviously with no matches having been played it is in alphabetical order for each league. With the loss of AFC Bournemouth from the Premier League my beloved Arsenal are back in first place before the season starts. We can only go downhill from here.

Brentford, having had a very good season in 2019-20 start the season at number 25 in the pyramid, and my new pick for league one, Plymouth, begin the season at position 62. Exeter City are at 77 and I have heard whispers that many players have been "allowed to leave" the club. I think this is a euphemism for cutting the wage bill so I am not expecting to see us challenging for honours this season.

Weymouth are my new pick for the National League, but this is merely a continuation of me following them up from the National League South. The void in the National League South is now taken by Bath City and I have a whole lot of learning to do there. I must take the Mrs shopping in Bath but I have to make sure my credit card can take it before I watch a home game with Bath City at the centre. Alphabetically, with Weymouth near the bottom and Bath at the top, another first place to start the season, their pyramid positions are close to start with. Weymouth are at 113 and Bath are at 117.

The Southern League picks are two old favourites, neither of which have been visited although they are now long standing in my pyramid. Once again with Tiverton near the bottom alphabetically and Barnstaple near the top the pyramid positions are not far apart. Tiverton are at 153 with Barnstaple starting the season on 160. I expect Barum (Barnstaple) to drop like a stone as they should have been relegated for the last two seasons but escaped by the skin of their teeth both times.

In the Western League I am still following Exmouth Town which I perceive as a well run and friendly club. I hope to get to watch Ace High and his team many times this season. I have even started to learn the names of some of the squad. You might get a mention if you perform well this year. The team starts the season at 189.

Bovey Tracey are the new boys to my blog but I did watch them a couple of times last season. The bar was friendly and the grandstand provided a good seating position. This is the smallest grandstand I have been in that still had seats. All the smaller ones (and I have been in a few) had no room for seating. Bovey start the season at number 201. We are now into the 200s.

The last of my pyramid picks is my local village, Liverton United, who start the season at number 229. There has been a revival at the club as there is now a reserve team as well as the first team and a ladies team has started up at the club to boot. I watched two early friendlies but then the government banned spectators from all football matches in the way that the Tories do. "We had a problem at one ground so we are damn well going to stop all fans at all football matches!" You know, the subtle approach. Boris decided so the world has to descend to his level of incompetence. I have not rushed back but I do want to go and see some live football at some point.

The remaining teams do not really form part of this blog so I may or may not mention them as each week passes. It depends on whether I have the time to investigate their results or simply write down the numbers. I have chosen (purely on the basis of which teams are nearest) Buckfastleigh Rangers who appear at number 239, Ashburton Association who feature at number 253, Ilsington Villa who are on the way to Haytor and each time I pass the sign I want to divert and check out their playing fields. They are starting the season in position 273. Finally Liverton United 2nd team who start at 286 only eight places above the bottom of my pyramid which ends at 294. In their first season any place on or above 293 will be a good result.

Roll on the new season, I want to see some numbers other than ZERO in the tables. I have got all the web references stored so it is simply a matter of copy and paste from now on.

The F.A.Cup

The Football Association Cup has begun.

Yesterday morning there were 368 clubs in with a chance of winning the cup, most had no realistic chance of winning but you never know. A series of upsets can see a lowly club go a long way but realistically it will be a Premier League Club that wins the cup next spring.

This morning there are only 367 clubs left with that chance of winning. London Colney are OUT having been beaten 3-1 by Woodford Town in the Extra Preliminary Round, which takes place before the Preliminary Round, which takes place before four Qualifying Rounds and only then do we get to the First Round of the cup when the Football League Clubs join in.

I enjoy the F.A. tournaments and sometimes I enjoy the F.A.Trophy and F.A.Vase more because in those competitions a lowly team is guaranteed to win. The Trophy is for levels 5 to 8 and the vase is for levels 9 and 10. This year I found that no level 11 clubs have been included which was not the case in the past. I learned about Level 11 leagues by tracking and tracing the Level 11 clubs that appeared in the F.A.Vase.

The F.A. do seem to want to cut off amateur teams from the professional game which is why they changed the structure of the South West Peninsula League. I thought that it was the best league which allowed teams to develop from the amateur game to the professional game without having the trauma of changing leagues and having to deal with all new contacts and all new clubs.

Tonight sees the bulk of matches in the Extra Preliminary Round take place. I shall be watching with interest as another 183 teams are knocked out of the competition. I used to think that there was no point competing if you cannot win but the money the F.A. offers to competing teams which increases with every round is important to the coffers of the little clubs so a good cup run can keep a team going for another season or several.

Let me pick just a few ties for you to follow. Bear in mind that I have virtually no knowledge of clubs at this level so I usually pick on those with unusual names.

Crook Town v. Yorkshire Amateur : What is an amateur team doing in the professional game? Are they capable of dealing with a town full of crooks?

Wythenshawe Amateurs v. Shelley : Another set of amateurs competing in the professional game and this time they are taking on a bloke with high intelligence who refuses to work and hates the establishment. COME ON SHELLEY!

Maine Road v. Squires Gate : Do we want to keep the traffic moving or ensure that it comes to a halt?

Romulus v. Coventry Sphinx : I had no idea that a mythical creature was taking on the founder of Rome. Can sphinxes play football? How much training has Romulus had?

Blackstones v. Boston Town : Will Boston survive the bombardment of black stones coming their way?

Diss Town v. Framlingham Town : How much dissing can Framlingham take. Will they use foul language in response? Listen carefully.

Park View v. Hashtag United : Do you go for the country walk in the park or stick to twittering about the matches that you choose to watch?

Hullbridge Sports v. Hadley : I picked this match because as a young man I played at both of these places and they hold some good memories. I did have a little too much to drink in one of these places.

Oxhey Jets v. Bishop's Cleeve : I picked this one for the Science v. Religion angle.

Royal Wootton Basset Town v. Chipping Sodbury Town : Because the first sounds posh and the second sounds as if it could not give a shit.

Lordswood v. Hanworth Villa : Two posh clubs

Oakwood v. Cobham : Two clubs from the trees.

Lancing v. Phoenix Sports : The home team will keep stabbing and the away team will keep rising from the dead. What better match could you watch?

Badshot Lea v. Amesbury Town : One team high and wide of the target, the other more carefully taking aim at the goal.

Now we are approaching my area of the country I will pick two of my selections for this season.

Keynsham Town v. Exmouth Town : Exmouth have high hopes that this is the start of a long run.

Wells City v. Bovey Tracey : This is the first experience of the F.A.Cup for Bovey Tracey and I fear that experience at this level is very important.

Roll on tonight. I may not be able to watch live but I will keep an eye on the results. I do normally visit one of the local clubs for the start of the F.A.Cup but this is Coronavirusyear.

Transition

 This season sees the largest change in my team selections that I can remember.

This is mostly because I have moved to South Devon and will be looking at that league rather than the Devon & Exeter League from Level 12 downwards.

My first two choices have remained unchanged although I had hoped to have to make a decision when I supported Brentford in their attempt to be promoted to the top table. Since lockdown was eased I have watched all of the Brentford matches and my wife was so shocked that it was not Arsenal that she bought me a Brentford mug. I am now a member of the squad alongside Benrahma, Mbeumo and Watkins, at least on the side of the mug.

Having worked in an office in Exeter where there were Plymouth and Torquay supporters it seemed important to choose one and only one of those teams in order to participate in discussions and argument. It is not acceptable to follow two local teams ... well why not? I will be following Plymouth Argyle in League One this coming season, mostly because my childhood team, Southend, were relegated. I could have ejected Exeter from my selection but I am more likely to get to St James Park than I am to Roots Hall so I have kept Exeter as my League Two choice.

Torquay could have been my National League team as they were already in position but I want to keep an eye on Weymouth as I have been watching them (not too closely) in their promotion from the National League South. I will now get to recognise how difficult it is to make it in the National League when coming from the half National League. This left a gap at the National League South level and all I did was pick the nearest club to me so I will be following Bath City. I also know that Bath is a lovely place to visit as my cricket club used to go on tour there every year.

Tiverton Town and Barnstaple Town remain unchanged at levels 7 and 8 although Barnstaple have been lucky for the last two seasons when they should have been relegated. They need to put a side together that can earn their place in the Southern League Division One South.

Exmouth Town have been my favourite for a few seasons now. The Western League is their home at the moment although I first watched them as they gained promotion. They have a good squad and it will be good to see how far they can go.

Bovey Tracey are new on the scene but I like their ground and watched a couple of matches there last season. The stand can hold around 50 people and there is plenty of room around the pitch for anyone to wander and find a good vantage point. I hope to watch them in the F.A.Cup this season but I am worried that fans will be banned when the match takes place.

I am already banned from watching Liverton United. They have put a notice up stating that the F.A. will not allow spectators. This means that they miss out on the cost of a pint. I know that the government likes football because it keeps people's minds off the mess that the politicians are making of running the country. Agenda 21 states that the population of the world is growing beyond our ability to feed the people so countries should reduce their populations where possible. The Tories have clearly started this process and will not put any money into helping the people that need it, hoping that they will die.

My research then had to kick in as I got to know which teams are in the South Devon League and which divisions they are in. Who should I choose? .....

I went with Buckfastleigh Rangers in the Premier Division.

I have gone with Ashburton in Division One.

Ilsington Villa are my choice for Division Two.

Division Three was quite easy as that is where the Liverton United Reserves play.

I also note that Liverton United have started a Ladies Team that currently play on Sundays.

Good luck to the ladies and I hope to get to watch you in action before COVID kills us all.

Ancient History

 For some reason I started looking back at the start of this blog and found several things that interest me. How are my selections from that year doing today? What about some other clubs?

I started this blog back in 2013 with a selection set of Arsenal (no change there although there was a chance this year), Yeovil who were in the Championship at the time, Brentford were in League One, Exeter are now an established stalwart of League Two. Those were the Premier and Football League selections.

I had forgotten that my Football Conference selection (now National League) was Tamworth. I had hoped to visit my cousin and get a match or two watching the lambs but they dropped down into the North division which is not part of "MY" pyramid. I keep watching to see if they will come back but it has not happened yet.

My long standing Conference South team was Weston-super-Mare but I dropped them when they were relegated to the Southern League. 

I began my Southern League selections with Bideford in the Premier and Tiverton in the South & West. There have been many changes since that season and Tiverton are now in the Premier League South (it helps having two Premier Leagues in the Southern League).

My Western League selections were Buckland Athletic in the Premier Division. I did get to watch them once when they played in the F.A.Cup extra preliminary round, the one before the preliminary round which is the one before the first qualifying round. Who decided on these designations? I understand that the public have to understand that Round 1 includes the Football League teams but maybe we should educate the public that there are many teams outside of that bubble. I chose Barnstaple Town who were in the Western League Division One at the time. I now understand why they are struggling in the Southern League Division One South. They need to make their current division their own. Strengthen the squad where it is needed. I know that money is always a problem. The main reason I do not visit more football grounds is that I want to ensure we have food on the table next month.

When I discovered the South West Peninsula League at Level 10 and realised that the Western League Division One was also Level 10 I broke my pyramid into two halves. The top half ended with the Western League and the bottom half began with the South West Peninsula League. For my memories I will state that my selections were Elmore Eagles in the Premier Division of the South West Peninsula League and I went very early to watch them play. I got talking to one of the officials at the ground and found that they were paying £25 a man plus expenses. That gave me some financial grounding in what is expected at Level 10 in the South West.

At South West Peninsula League Division One East I chose Exwick Villa and once paid £9 to get three of us into the ground. The other two bought the beers and it worked out approximately even. The football seemed to be of a poor standard but I went back the following week and got in free because it was the second team playing. The football was much better. That is one of the fascinating aspects of football. You can watch an exciting match at a lower level and a very poor match at a higher level. I was disappointed that Fulham won the Championship playoff by stopping Brentford from playing their great style. That is football though, and I was happy when second best Arsenal beat Liverpool and Manchester City. In 9 out of 10 matches Liverpool and Manchester City would have won but we held on and got the victory. Sad to say but we learned from Mourinho and that loss against Spurs.

The Devon & Exeter League saw me select Tiverton Town 2nds (Premier), Elmore Eagles 2nds (One), Exwick Villa 2nds (Two), those were the easy ones but then I had to choose Tedburn St Mary (Three), Lord's XI (Four), Countess Wear Dynamoes (Five), Exwick Village (Six), Tedburn St Mary 2nds (Seven) and Elmore Eagles 3rds (Eight). I very nearly got to watch the Elmore third team as they were playing at the ground over the road from the pub where we were lunching but my wife wanted to get home and family comes first.

I found mention of the Kent County League and Sussex County League at Level 9. The Football Association asked them to rename themselves in the cause of standardisation. The F.A. want the County Level to be Level 11 so the Kent County became the Southern Counties East League and the Sussex County became the Southern Combination. I also noticed the Kent Invicta League which has now become the Southern Counties East League Division One. The only constant in football is change. I watched a pre season friendly at a local ground last night and there was a drinks break at 22 minutes so I guess we have moved as a nation more towards America by having four quarters in our national game.

Finally, VAR. Is it there purely to disallow good goals if the forward is leaning too far forward when they make a dash for the ball? Olympiakos were very unlucky against Wolves last night. We will start seeing coaches saying "Lean back when you dash forward" soon. I thought the rule for VAR was supposed to be a "Clear and Obvious error". If it is a matter of millimetres LET THE GOAL STAND.

That is enough rant for this morning. It looks like a lovely day. The pre season has started for the lower levels of football and I am intending on going to a double header on Saturday. This is immediately after the English Football League season ended on Wembley on August 4th. I normally have an off season but not this year. Too heavily focussed on Brentford's promotion push I only noticed that my local team had their first game of the season on Saturday 1st August, a fact that I first noticed on 5th August.

Blogging is very therapeutic. I recommend it even if nobody reads it. I have enjoyed looking back at my thoughts from seven years ago.

Selections for the new season 2020-2021

So we found out in my last post that the number one and number two slots have been decided:

1) Premier League = ARSENAL

2) Football League Championship = BRENTFORD

The rest of the list will see some changes because of promotions and relegations. Southend United dropped into League Two so I need a new pick in league one. Are there any obvious choices? Firstly the three coming down from the Championship are Charlton Athletic, Wigan Athletic and Hull City. I have a friend and his family who are Charlton supporters so I might get some info there. Wigan Athletic have a rich history including the year when they won the F.A.Cup and got relegated. An interesting choice of priority as far as I am concerned. I went to university in Hull so there is some appeal there as well.

I quite like Portsmouth as it is the gateway to the Isle of Wight but the last two times I went via Southampton on the Red Funnel. Definitely not Gillingham due to crowd trouble in the 1970s when I was a Southend United supporter. Bristol Rovers are just up the road (M5) and the city is big enough to support a top flight club if they can find the right owners. Lincoln City were in with a shout until Danny Cowley went to Huddersfield. Accrington Stanley because of the milk advertisement. AFC Wimbledon because of the crazy gang.

The teams promoted from league two are Swindon Town (not that far away) but it is "the other side" of Bristol. Crewe Alexandra with the famous station junction. Northampton Town who thumped Exeter City in the playoff final. My selection, though, as they are just down the road from me, is Plymouth Argyle.

3) Football League One = PLYMOUTH ARGYLE

League Two now has my old favourite Southend United as well as my home town club Exeter City. Forest Green Rovers with the vegan ethic could have got a look in and still might if they leave this division. Salford City from the television program (where is Gareth Seddon and is his cheese shop still going?). Barrow and Harrogate coming up from the National League are both too far north for me.

I will stick with my home town club as it is the nearest and if I ever want to part with £20 to watch paint dry I will be there.

4) Football League Two = EXETER CITY

That concludes the football league but not the professional game as the national league is increasingly professional these days.

The National League offers me the greatest choice of teams so I need not mention those teams that are not going to get a look-in like Stevenage who came down from League Two. Yeovil Town would probably give me the best chance of promotion from this level. Torquay United are possible as the road links have now improved greatly and my last trip to the ground was easy. Eastleigh are still there but my one season following them was not easy as they have a poor online presence.

These would all be good choices but I am going for the weakest choice. Weymouth have just achieved promotion from the National League South and I am going to follow them in their newly elevated status.

5) National League = WEYMOUTH

That promotion has left a gap in the National League South which I need to fill. This is the level that I often find most difficult as many teams are a long way away so the obvious choice would be one that is nearer than most of the others. Consequently, and for no other reason than the geographical one I am going to choose to learn about Bath City.

6) National League South = BATH CITY

That ends the National leagues and my regional league at this point is the Southern League South. In the Premier Division I could choose the very best Cornish team Truro City, the Somerset Cider team of Taunton Town, the most isolated football team, Salisbury City, my old pick Weston-super-Mare, and many others but I am going to stick with my long standing selection, Tiverton Town. Who knows, this season I may actually get to Ladysmead to see them play. I just need to work out the parking.

7) Southern League Premier Division South = TIVERTON TOWN

The next choice is obvious and I am going to stick with possibly the luckiest team in the pyramid. Last season they were reprieved from relegation and this season they only avoided relegation because of the COVID crisis. Barnstaple Town cannot do as badly as they have done for the last two seasons. It is a lovely trip up on the Tarka Line if I want to go and watch them so we shall see if I make it this season.

8) Southern League Division One South = BARNSTAPLE TOWN

The team I have probably supported most partly because the town car park is a 5 minute walk from the ground is Exmouth Town. They also have a striker with the brilliant name of Ace High. I fully intend to get to watch this team in the F.A.Cup and probably in the Western League as well. Visiting this ground has provided the best value for money over the past three seasons.

9) Western League Premier Division = EXMOUTH TOWN

Now we come to changes as a result of my move a year ago. I now live just over a stone's throw from Bovey Tracey and they are competing in the South West Peninsula League so my allegiance has at long last changed from Elmore Eagles who were there at the start of this whole process.

10) South West Peninsula League Premier Division East = BOVEY TRACEY

I actually live in the village of Liverton and there is big news on the football front. Last season the team ran as a single side and I watched some very lacking in ability players take to the field. This season I have found out that there are two mens team and a ladies team as well. I should be able to head to the ground and find something going on most of the time. The online presence is still poor as I have to use both Facebook and Twitter to find out what is going on and sometimes there is just no information but a two minute drive is ideal if Arsenal are on television just before or just after.

11) Devon League = LIVERTON UNITED

That concludes the pyramid selections but I know that one of you likes the lower picks as well. That might not prove to be the case now that I have switched from the Devon and Exeter League to the South Devon League. Fewer divisions and fewer results to research.

12) South Devon League Premier Division = BUCKFASTLEIGH RANGERS

13) South Devon League Division One = ASHBURTON

14) South Devon League Division Two = ILSINGTON VILLA

15) South Devon League Division Three = LIVERTON UNITED RESERVES

There may be some more changes to my blog in the future but at least my selections are set for the new season 2020-21. Unless .....

Brentford v. Fulham

So I settled down last night to watch the Championship playoff final. My team Brentford were up against the favourites (due to money spent) Fulham. Thomas Frank was taking on Scott Parker who has been the butt of many jokes by my mates. We are Arsenal fans and he was with Spurs so it is no real surprise but what can I reasonably say? ... He has always struck me as rigid, never straying far from the straight line. Maybe that is what Fulham needed.

On the night Fulham flooded the midfield and prevented Brentford from playing. They did such a good job that I did not recognise the Brentford that I have been watching since lockdown. Lockdown gave me a great chance to watch my Championship pick and I got to know the players to such an extent that I am probably now a fan of the club.

I was thinking hard about what I would do if Brentford got promoted. I had nearly decided to drop my own club Arsenal from the blog and put Brentford into slot number one at least for one season while Mikel Arteta rebuilds the Arsenal side from the poor state that the Kroenkes have allowed it to get into. Following the result I can now keep my Premier League side and my Championship side as they have been this season and look forward to following Brentford next season although some of the players may feel the need to move on to better their careers.

The Fulham left back eventually broke the deadlock and scored twice to put Fulham in the winning position that they held on to despite the consolation goal that Brentford scored at the end.

There are more selection problems as we head down my selections but at least ONE and TWO are now decided for next season.

League Allocations (part two)

Yesterday I thought I could blog as I went along because I expected very few changes to the leagues. There were more changes than I had expected although I knew that things would not simply stay the same. Today I discovered some leagues that did remain unchanged and I am very proud of them for showing strength and stability. Well done to .....

The South West Peninsula League

There were changes to this league for the 2019/20 season and the non promotion and relegation will give the league a sense of stability before changes at the end of the 2020/21 season.

The Western League

I found when I moved to Devon that things move more slowly down here. When I was working an urgent problem was given about three weeks as opposed to the one hour that you get in London. This league needs more changes but it will remain unchanged this summer.

The United Counties League

This is the league that I probably know the least about. I recognise some of the names from driving through the area but I cannot remember ever stopping in the east midlands. Peterborough, Leicester, Northampton and Boston kind of define the region but unless someone with enthusiasm for this league gets in touch I am likely to remain ignorant.

The Northern League

I learned a little about this league from a Sunderland supporter who knew of the Wearside League. My family originated in Darlington so we did visit there when I was a young child and I seem to remember Barnard Castle as a good day. Do they have a football team yet? I know that the Northern League were the last to get involved with the football pyramid which is why they win the F.A.Vase every year. It is a shame now that they have agreed to promotion that there is a blip this season when no team will join the Northern Premier League. A strong and stable league without doubt.

The Southern Combination League

I have only checked the Premier Division and Division One but neither of these have changed so I must award this league the "Strong and Stable" award. I may find that division two at level eleven has some changes but I am only working on levels one to ten at the moment. Level 11 will take twice as long to work through as all of the leagues from Level One to Level Ten. That is for another day.

The West Midlands Regional League

Only the Premier Division of this league sits within the top 10 levels and there are no changes so the league qualifies in this list as "strong and stable at the top". I will examine the other divisions at a later date,

Six leagues have no changes in line with the F.A. directive that the season be declared void so there would be no promotion or relegation. I have not seen any promotion or relegation although this might be a good opportunity to get teams that have over performed into gaps that have appeared in the leagues. I also know that if you make an exception for one team you are bound to upset other teams and for the sake of peace it may be better to stick to the rule.

I said that I would start today with the Midland League but I will leave that one till last as the only bit of potential controversy applies to that league.

I could stir up some controversy when we look at the Wessex League but that would be my bias towards football being the best game in the world. Solent University FC will not be competing in the Wessex League Premier Division next season because Solent University themselves have issued a statement saying that they have "other sporting ambitions". I presume that football is no longer important to them when they can put out a quidditch team. Bad call Solent University. Their place will be taken by Blackfield & Langley who voluntarily resigned from the Southern League Premier Division South.

Wessex League Division One is being reduced to 19 teams as Pewsey Vale have resigned to play at a lower level. They will be competing in the Wiltshire League Premier Division next season.

The Spartan South Midlands League has no changes in the Premier Division. Division one sees the addition of Hackney Wick from the Eastern Counties League South Division. The division will be reduced to 18 teams with the loss of both FC Broxbourne Borough and Wodson Park. Neither club will be putting a team out in any of the leagues as far as I can work out.

In the Southern Counties East League there will be no changes in Division One. The Premier Division has lost Greenwich Borough who resigned in January but they will increase to 21 teams with the addition of Tower Hamlets from the Essex Senior League and Balham from the Combined Counties League.

The Northern Counties East League has no change to the Premier Division and the only change in Division One is the addition of Emley who return from the North West Counties North Division.

The North West Counties League itself also has no changes in the Premier Division. In the North Division Emley moving to the Northern Counties East League has left a place for Bury AFC so we have found the ejected league club at last. I trust that they will continue to play at Gigg Lane but they will have to rebuild the club from way down here.

In the South Division of the North West Counties League FC Oswestry Town have folded so we will see no more from them but we should all keep an eye on the new club coming in, FC Isle of Man. We do not know how they will perform but I guess if Guernsey and Jersey are anything to go by they will be competitive.

The East Midlands Counties League is strengthening up to 20 teams with the addition of Ollerton Town from the Northern Counties East League Division One. This league may be involved in the situation I mentioned earlier which is to do with the Midland League.

The Midland League Division One have lost NFK Burbage and are reduced to 19 teams because of this. The news about NFK Burbage is that they will not be competing next season.

The Midland League Premier Division is also reducing to 19 teams with the loss of South Normanton Athletic. The South Normanton website suggests that they will be in the East Midlands Counties League but they are not mentioned in that list so I shall be listening with interest to hear what happens. Do South Normanton have a choice? Have they been stitched up by the F,A,? Do the authorities want teams to be excluded from their league of choice for no good reason? We may learn the truth as time goes on.

I shall now settle down to watch Cardiff v. Fulham.

League Allocations (part one)

I love it when the Non League Newspaper publishes the allocations for the various leagues in the pyramid. This year it should have been very boring as there are supposed to be no changes with the leagues being declared void for the 2019-2020 season.

So everything is as it was is it not? Well no, there are always disputes and legal challenges and clubs who do not want to be where they are placed. As I understand it there are also promises from the F.A. to unhappy clubs that "it will be for one season only" so I expected to see some changes and what have I found for you? .....

Blackfield & Langley took voluntary demotion from the Southern League Premier Division South to the Wessex League. I guess that either all their best players left or the funding from sponsors dried up. That was the highest level drop that I could find. I still do not know where Bury are going to be playing next season but I may find out in the next few minutes.

Balham have disappeared from the Combined Counties League Premier Division. They appear to be in the Southern Counties East League so the transfer for this Croydon based club means that they will spend much more time travelling east and far less time travelling west.

Felixstowe & Walton United Reserves have gone from the Eastern Counties League Division One North. With reserve teams it is not always possible to work out what happened as sometimes they change leagues and sometimes they simply stop operating. I cannot find them anywhere else.
...additional (I have found this team in the Essex & Suffolk Border League Premier Division).

Tower Hamlets have disappeared from the Essex Senior League and they have reappeared in the Southern Counties East League Premier Division alongside Balham.

Brightlingsea Regent Reserves have resigned from the Eastern Counties League Southern Division and I have no information about whether they will be playing next season. If I find them I will try and add an addendum here.

Hackney Wick have also resigned from the Eastern Counties League Southern Division and will be playing in the Spartan South Midlands League Division One in what appears to be a straight swap with Brimsdown.

The Hellenic League which has always seemed to me to be a law unto itself (but maybe just very poorly covered on social media) has lost Brackley Town Saints from the Premier Division, Didcot Town Development and Marlow United from Division One East and New College Swindon from Division One West.

The Saints are the reserve team of Brackley Town and they are now listed as an "Archive" on the website for Brackley Town so I guess they are no more.

The Didcot Town website only mentions one team so I am guessing that the Development team are no more and will not appear next season.

Marlow United have applied for membership of the Thames Valley League and I expect to see them playing there next season. The reason cited was financial difficulties.

The suggestion I found on one website is that New College Swindon FC have folded.

I forgot how much time I spend each summer trying to find out what happens to every team on my spreadsheet. There are thousands of them now.

I will continue this post tomorrow when I carry on with the Midland League.

Television Rules

The reason, I am told, that the Premier League and the English Football League Championship are being played out is that the television companies were going to ask for their money back if they were not able to televise the missing matches. Well, as money talks, those two leagues are now being played to a conclusion with the promise of the play-off matches in the Championship.

All other leagues, where the money comes from gate receipts, have been ended incomplete. There are losses to be made by playing matches where no money is coming in. Any club on a tight budget will have trouble surviving and many will need a loan to see them through the summer to the hope of gate receipts in the autumn. Even then, it will take time to recover and some will struggle.

The first to declare and go into administration are Wigan Athletic. The situation seems to be that the club was sold to a Hong Kong consortium who sold the club on for a profit. The new owner Au Yeung is not interested in funding the club so why did he buy it? Presumably Wigan, and many other football clubs are a good bet if you are asset stripping. Turn the assets into money and run back to Hong Kong where the Chinese government will arrest you and lock you in a prison for the rest of your life if you do not repeat everything that they tell you to say.

Now that football is no longer a sport but a professional business deals of this sort are going to become more common. The EFL approved the deal so what checks were done? Apparently all they do is check that there is enough money in the bank account to complete the deal. No questions are asked about plans for the future and no commitments are garnered from the new owners. It seems that you can buy any EFL club if you have money, the root of all evil.

The Arsenal football club were bought by Stan Kroenke who seemed to want to take money out, not put it in, and that seems to be the case to this day. Mikel Arteta will have to make a team out of the youngsters coming through the system as little or no money will be provided to purchase ready made footballers in the relevant positions. Arsenal had a setback to the recent run of form last night, only drawing with third placed Leicester City.

Eddie Nketiah was sent off for a tackle that glanced a knee and Jamie Vardy was not sent off for kicking Shkodran Mustafi in the head. Obviously a footballer's knees are far more valuable that a footballer's head. I understand that the media and its pundits set the pattern for how the game is run but it was harsh on the young lad who was only showing enthusiasm.

Brentford are on a good run and it is continuing as they came back from being a goal down to Charlton Athletic running out eventual 2-1 winners. They are within two points of West Bromwich Albion although I am watching WBA against Derby County and the Albion are winning 1-0 as I write this. Come on Derby!

My level 3 and 4 selections are now both at level 4 so I will need a new pick in League One. I will also have to drop ... Southend ... I have been away long enough to forget them. I could probably name the team from 40 years ago but not any more.

The only other necessary potential change is in the National League where Weymouth are involved in the Play-offs but only one of the teams involved will be promoted so there may be nothing to do there along with all the other levels where the leagues were declared null and void.

We HAVE now heard about the Non League Play-offs. I will reiterate the point that we should stop calling the National League and below "Non League" because they are all leagues, simply lower leagues and the phrase "Non League" has similar connotations to other words designed to put down people of other cultures or groups.

It all starts on Friday Night (17th July):

Boreham Wood are at home to FC Halifax Town in Eliminator 1.

It continues on Saturday (18th July):

Yeovil Town are at home to Barnet in Eliminator 2. Points per game got Barnet into the playoffs.

Sunday (19th July) sees the National League North and South get involved.

Altrincham take on Chester in Eliminator 1
Brackley Town take on Gateshead in Eliminator 2

Slough Town take on Dartford in Eliminator 1
Bath City take on Dorking Wanderers in Eliminator 2

Saturday 25th July sees all the semi-finals take place.

National League:
Harrogate v. Winner of Eliminator 1
Notts County v. Winner of Eliminator 2

National North:
York City v. Winner of Eliminator 1
Boston United v. Winner of Eliminator 2

National South:
Havant & Waterlooville v. Winners of Eliminator 1
Weymouth v. Winners of Eliminator 2 (Bath City or Dorking Wanderers, I shall keep my eyes on)


The North and South Finals take place on Saturday 1st August alongside the F.A.Cup Final.

The National League Final takes place on Sunday 2nd August.

From 3rd August we will get a chance to focus on the European competitions.

From Winning to Losing

Football IS about the highs and lows as one week you win and the next week you lose. The nature of sport is that for every winner there has to be a loser and in some sports it is many losers to the one winner so acceptance of defeat is an important part of continuing to compete.

Last night I supported my League Two selection, Exeter City, as they took on Northampton Town in the Play Off Final. Exeter finished fifth and Northampton finished seventh so there was a superficial advantage but in the semi-finals Northampton had beaten Cheltenham who finished fourth so they were full of confidence and it became quickly apparent that Exeter were without anything like that.

We were warned by the commentary team that Red and White is a losing colour scheme in the Play Off Finals and Exeter quickly capitulated and showed nothing in terms of effort or inspiration. The whole match was dominated by a competent Northampton side that won everything in the air. Maybe Exeter should recruit people with height if they are to compete in future.

For a short while Exeter played the ball on the ground and started to dominate play but the frustration of a poor performance was played out in an uncontrolled tackle by Dean Moxey on an unfortunate player in black. The red card was deserved because the diving in was from behind and he connected. With 10 men an already poor performance became worse. Exeter showed no signs of fight and readily allowed two late goals to end up 4-0 down.

FALSE CROWD NOISE

After that I decided to look at the AMAZON offering for the last half hour of the match between Crystal Palace and Burnley. I was also playing a computer game and found myself looking up more than I usually do because the crowd noise made the match sound really exciting. Don't get me wrong as it was a determined Crystal Palace that were battering the Burnley goal at the end of the match and one slightly different deflection might have given the Palace an equaliser but the AMAZON crowd noise was louder than other providers and maybe a way to go in future.

NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAY OFFS

Now that the National League has agreed that play-offs can take place and all bar one of the teams has agreed to participate I want to know when the matches will take place. Checking the official website all the play-off dates are in April and May which have now gone. Come on whoever is making decisions on behalf of the league. Publish the dates so we can start looking forward to some real football at a good standard but with friendlier fans than you get at League Clubs.

F.A.CUP SEMI FINALS

So there are no surprises in the final four. The F.A.Cup has picked its traditional sides for the four slots and we have two mouthwatering matches at Wembley.

Chelsea will take on Manchester United, and Arsenal will take on Manchester City.

The matches are scheduled for the weekend of July 18th/19th but I have not yet seen the decision as to which match will take place on which date.

MY BLOG

With all of the lower leagues cancelled in terms of promotion and relegation it looks like I will be picking the same teams for next season. There is no need to change. As we approach the top of the pyramid, however, there may be a couple of selections that I do have to make.

Weymouth are in the playoffs in National League South and whilst the odds are against it if they do gain promotion I will have to choose between them and Torquay for my National League selection. I will always check the internet coverage as it changes season to season. Bath City might be a good choice as it is a lovely city to visit and I could impress the wife with the beauty of the place.
.
Another possible choice at National League level is Yeovil Town but Torquay United offered me a friendly welcome when I went to drink at their bar and there was a good win that day so they told me I should return soon which I have not done since then. The parking there did not make me feel comfortable so I wish it was better organised.

League Two will force me to make a decision. Do I keep Exeter City who are staying at Level 4 or choose Southend United who are dropping down from Level 3? I intend not to decide until the season is over but we shall see.

League One could be a problem. Let me look at the options ..... Plymouth Argyle? They are popping up from League Two. Bristol Rovers? They are an established club in League one. Sunderland? A club that have a great history and really need to rise back up to the level that the support demands. Lincoln City? Managed by Danny Cowley who I have had an eye on since his Braintree days.

The Championship should be Brentford who I have grown to love over the last few seasons but who only became my pick because Wojciech Cszsesny (easier to say than to spell, I have to check every time) played there for a short time. Neal Maupay has gone on to Brighton but the team have played very well without him and Olly Watkins has slotted well into the scoring role.

Brentford DO have a chance of promotion, though, so if they get to the Premier League I will be dropping them (keeping a side eye open) as I can never drop Arsenal (well not until we get relegated under the lack of funding of the Kroenkes). Who might take over if Brentford ARE promoted. The choices would be ..... almost certainly Cardiff City, for the same reason as Bath City, as it is a great place to visit with plenty to see and a good social life.

I have plans for next season and I hope I can keep my real life under control as it is far easier to blog when things are going well. Until my next post, keep supporting your local teams.

Return from COVID

Some Bloggers can write whether or not there is something going on but I need the football itself to spur my enthusiasm. I have been "doing other things" during lockdown including a lot of reading, some jigsaw puzzles and reintroducing myself to computer gaming.

Last night I watched Brentford against West Bromwich Albion and felt that the quality was high enough to be a Premier League match. As both clubs have aspirations to play at that level I am not overly surprised but as a tense match at the top of the Championship I thought it might have been more of an attritional contest.

The winning goal was scored by Ollie Watkins who had to kick the ball about two inches to get it across the line as his team had done the hard work getting the ball to the centre of the goalmouth. He has taken the mantle of Neil Maupay who moved on to Brighton and upset Arsenal fans by injuring Bernd Leno then scoring the winning goal in the last few seconds of the match.

Being an Arsenal fan I accepted the defeat to Manchester City although David Luiz was a liability and his contract should not be renewed (too late as I hear it has already been renewed). Mustafi is another liability. He allowed Maupay to beat him in the last minute of the Brighton match. Mustafi has scored some good goals and made some good blocks but there is always a mistake in him.

So the City and Brighton matches did not stir the enthusiasm that I needed (winning always helps) and it had to wait until Thursday night against Southampton where we put in a creditable performance, not dominating, but enough to wake me up again. Following Thursday up with Friday where my Championship pick Brentford beat the league leaders after beating Fulham in the previous match has refreshed my eagerness for the game.

The matches being played behind closed doors has definitely resulted in matches that are not as highly charged as matches earlier this season but those of us that have watched the game of football all our lives just want something to watch. I could say the same about Speedway but that sport seems to be dying on its feet in this country.

This weekend we return to the F.A.Cup which sparked a lot of my enthusiasm for the Football Pyramid. Where did all these teams come from and how many matches did they have to play before the "FIRST" round of the F.A.Cup? The answer in some cases is MANY.

Today we can watch Norwich against Manchester United.

Tomorrow we can start with Sheffield United against Arsenal.
We can continue with the match between Leicester City and Chelsea.
We can conclude the F.A.Cup games with Newcastle United against Manchester City.

Football is back, though changed, and normal life is close to resuming but a big part of my life I now realise was going from week to week with expectations that maybe just maybe this was OUR year.

I have more chances now that I am following more teams. If Arsenal lose (which is happening much more often than it used to before the Krankees took over) then I have Brentford and if they lose I have Southend who always lose so it is on to Exeter and then Torquay United. Now if the top five lose (and it has happened) I can rely on Weymouth to restore the pride, then Tiverton and Barnstaple although they are another team that always loses. At level nine, step five, I have Exmouth and I have been to see them live several times now always enjoying the experience. Elmore (who started the whole thing) are now back at level 10 and I have moved to a village called Liverton who have a team at Level 11 in the newly formed Devon League.

I wonder if next season will be more normal.

The Top Six Levels

We will start with the National League lower level.

From York to Bradford: The National League North

There are many teams here but York are at the top and Bradford Park Avenue are at the bottom. The playoff places are filled by Spennymoor in the north, Brackley in the south, Kings Lynn Town and Boston United in the east and Altrincham and Chester in the west. Sadly we will not see the playoffs take place this year and I gather there is unlikely to be any promotion or relegation now. Strange times.


Oxford and Tonbridge Angels: The National League South

Wealdstone sit at the top and will be the unlucky recipients of a lack or promotion. The lucky recipients of a lack of relegation will be Hungerford Town. The lack of playoff matches apply to Havant & Waterlooville, Weymouth, Bath City, Slough Town, Dartford and Dorking Wanderers. I have followed Concord Rangers for a long time and noted their progress under Danny Cowley. Braintree Town overperformed when he took over there and they had great success for a part time club.


From Wrexham to Dover: The National League

Barrow sit at the top and wait to be robbed of their place in the Football League although the Bury situation may mean that they are promoted anyway. There is talk that the Football League matches will be played to completion and then we will see the promotions and relegations that make the whole process worthwhile. If Barrow then gain promotion with no Football League club coming down to replace them then there will be adjustments down or a deal to be done with Bury Football Club.


The Crewe are in Stevenage: Football League Two

The automatic promotion places are occupied by Crewe Alexandra, Swindon Town and Plymouth Argyle. The playoff places contain Exeter City, Cheltenham Town, Colchester United and Northampton Town. With Bury being thrown out of the league the only team in relegation danger is Stevenage. Salford City are safely in the middle of the table at the end of their first season in the Football League.


Bury are sent to Coventry: Football League One

Bury are shown at the bottom of the table as an expelled club. The relegation zone contains Tranmere Rovers and Southend United (it must be the Friday night curse) and Bolton Wanderers. Coventry City and Rotherham United are in the automatic promotion slots and the playoff places are occupied by Oxford United, Portsmouth, Fleetwood Town and Peterborough United. Sunderland sit just outside the playoffs so will probably have to remain at this level for another season.


Guess who Leeds?: Football Championship

Leeds United and West Bromwich Albion are sat in the automatic promotion places and are followed by playoff contenders Fulham and Brentford with Nottingham Forest and Preston North End. The relegation chasers are Charlton Athletic, Luton Town and Barnsley. In the middle of the table are a whole raft of teams that have Premier League experience. The money needed at Premier League level is now such that any team gaining promotion needs to learn fast and stay up once they reach that level.


The Money Tree: Premier League

Liverpool have won the league by a mile .... unless this season is declared null and void which would be massively entertaining for fans of all the other clubs but a nightmare for the Liverpool fans. The relegated clubs would be Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Norwich City if things remain as they stand. Tottenham and Arsenal sit just outside the European places so they would be the losers if nothing moves and Sheffield United with Wolverhampton Wanderers would be the beneficiaries. Leicester City have now earned their place as one of the top clubs in the country.

Missing Matches

So what are we missing today?

Saturday 18th April:

1) Arsenal v. Leicester

2) Brentford v. Preston North End

3) Southend United v. Portsmouth

4) Exeter City v. Carlisle United

5) Torquay United v. Dover Athletic

6) Weymouth v. Tonbridge Angels

7) Gosport Borough v. Tiverton Town

8) Barnstaple Town v. Cirencester Town

9) Exmouth Town v. Odd Town

10) Torrington v. Elmore Eagles

11) Liverton United fixtures were only released a week or two before and kept changing so I will never know what should have been going on this weekend.

The local leagues were listed in a similar manner to Liverton United. We will never know.

There will be no results as COVID-19 has taken over. It's a bit like the Nazis only smaller.

Strange Times

We are living in strange times.

Today my lunch was one giant crumpet with lashings of low cholesterol margarine and a glass of pink grapefruit juice followed by part of an easter egg with a cup of tea.

I am also now using Brave without knowledge of the risks rather than Google Chrome that has been slowing everything down by loading advertisements and I hear tracking my progress around the web.

Football goes on as normal, however, and whilst I could have said that for every other year that I have been alive this year things have changed. Football in all its guises has STOPPED.

Nobody KNOWS what is going to happen as whatever happens I can see challenges in the courts taking place by those who will lose the most money as a result of the decisions taken. Football is no longer a sport, it is a business and the money men will fight tooth and nail and probably even murder their own grandmothers for £5.

It has given me a chance to catch up on my league tables and I always look at those tables at this time of year to see which clubs are likely to rise and which ones are destined to fall. This season MIGHT be the season where nothing changes. It is one of many options and it would be unfair to many teams, most notably Jersey who need to be promoted and earn more money to cover the costs of transporting their opponents to the channel islands.

This post, however, is intended to cover the professional game from level 8 (Step 4) all the way to the top. I have decided to come up with a nickname for each of the leagues, a task which started when I looked at The Isthmian League South Central.


The Laundry League: Isthmian League South Central

Ware at the top and Staines at the bottom. Ware are six points clear at the top and probably deserve promotion while at the bottom Staines could have finished above FC Romania. In the middle of the table sit the boys from South Park "Oh no, they killed Kenny" and the four teams in the playoff places are Hanwell Town, Uxbridge, Chertsey Town and Westfield (one of two in the professional Leagues, the third is called Westfields (plural)).


The Southern Towns League: Southern League Division One South

Thatcham Town are in the lead on goal difference over Frome Town with Barnstaple Town at the bottom just below Basingstoke Town. Melksham Town, Cirencester Town, Cinderford Town and Highworth Town all play in this league so I expect Winchester City to buck their ideas up and move to a better level cognisant with their name (although I expect THEM to spell that word cognizant).


The Class League: Northern Premier League North West Division

From Workington AFC at the top to Pickering Town at the bottom. The leaders are working and the losers are Picking or Pickering to make a living. Those two places seem settled looking at the table and the playoff places hold Ramsbottom United, Marine, Pontefract Collieries and Marske United. Clitheroe are currently sixth and I am sure many men have started typing their name without completing it. Kendal Town is a place I have long wanted to watch a match as it is in the Lake District.


The Northern Towns League: Northern Premier League South East Division

Leek Town at the top (I tried to work a toilet joke in there) and Wisbech Town at the bottom (more waterworks ideas). I tried to Chasetown some toilet jokes but that ended in a dead Glossop North End. Newcastle Town and Worksop Town got me thinking differently and when I found Ilkeston Town and Sutton Coldfield Town I changed my plan. Alongside Stamford in the playoff places are Cleethorpes Town, Belper Town and Carlton Town.


The ABCD League: Southern League Division One South

I found at least two teams each starting with these early letters of the alphabet so the league has earned its names as a result of containing Aylesbury United (in the playoff places) and AFC Dunstable. The Bs are Berkhamsted, Biggleswade, Barton Rovers, Bedworth United and Bedford Town. We have Corby Town and Coleshill Town starting with a C and finally Daventry Town and Didcot Town starting with a D. The other teams have no chance of being top of the table at the start of next season.


The Phoenix League: Isthmian League South East Division

Looking at the teams and listening to the television I believe I was triggered by the wildlife program talking about various birds while I was looking directly at Whitehawk, another bird. Phoenix Sports have very little to do with Albus Dumbledore as far as I know but I have personally watched birdlife in Hastings, Guernsey, Whitstable and Ramsgate. I do hope the pigeons stay and continue stealing chips once the Corona Virus has disappeared. Not funny when it happens to you it is funny to watch others lose their food.


The Essex Man League: Isthmian League North Division

This would have been a league I could have watched if I had not left Essex long ago. In my young years I heard about Basildon United, Grays Athletic and Canvey Island fielding East London boys, hard as nails and with no fear. Great Wakering Rovers played on the pitch next to the one I played on and Maldon & Tiptree was where my church took us on the Sunday School outing. This league has expanded north and now includes Cambridge City and Dereham Town. Romford are the true East End of London side.



Level 7 (Step 3) now has four leagues, up from the previous three.

The Worthing League: Isthmian League Premier Division

My choice of name because they are top of the league and deserve promotion but nothing is certain and they could be the second biggest losers of Covid-19 after Jersey Bulls. I just checked up on their chairman George Dowell who invested his own money into the club when he lost his mobility and ended up in a wheelchair but I see that he stepped down a couple of years ago. He is still the owner, however, so I support the club in their legal appeal against the 2019-20 season being called null and void. The club may never again have the chance of promotion to the National League. Life is uncertain.


The South Shields League: Northern Premier League Premier Division

The long standing problem of the Northern League being too strong for Level 9 (Step 5) seems to be resolving itself so we need teams that earn promotion straight through this league to move on and prove that money will come rolling in if the Northern League clubs take the risk of being promoted into the Football Pyramid system. South Shields are well clear of the other clubs so deserve a chance at the higher level. Stopping the promotion of teams like this will have retrograde knock-on effects.


The Kings Diamonds League: Southern League Premier Central Division

Probably the hardest league to name I just picked two clubs in the middle and joined parts of their names together. Kings Langley and AFC Rushden & Diamonds are responsible for the name. Peterborough Sports are ahead on goal difference from Tamworth. Royston Town, Bromsgrove Sporting and Rushall Olympic are the other teams in the playoff places.
Alvechurch and Redditch United are the two teams that would benefit from a lack of change this summer.


The Tiverton and Taunton League: Southern League Premier Division South

With Truro City at the top and Chesham United in second, Hayes & Yeading United in third and Swindon Supermarine in fourth my attention was drawn to the bottom of the playoff places with Tiverton Town just inside and Taunton Town just outside. Knowing that Tiverton v. Taunton is a regular pre-season match the name seemed to fit and I have used it. Salisbury is the team I always wanted to take over as there is no competition for miles around but I think I have learned that local competition is important. The big city teams often play best against other teams from the same city.


I think that will do for now and I hope that I do continue before long travelling both up the National League to the Football League and down to the many many leagues that form Level 9 (Step 5). Keep reading and let me know if you have any comments or even arguments.