2021–22 Spartan South Midlands Football League
The 2021–22 season was the 25th in the history of the Spartan South Midlands Football League, a football competition in England. The league operates three divisions, two of which are in covered in this article: the Premier Division at Step 5, and Division One at Step 6 of the English football league system.
The league constitution for this season was based on allocations for Steps 5 and 6 that were announced by The Football Association on 18 May 2021, and were subject to appeal.[1][2]
After the abandonment of the 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England, numerous promotions were decided on a points per game basis over the previous two seasons.[3][4][5]
Premier Division
[edit]Season | 2021–22 |
---|---|
Champions | New Salamis |
Promoted | Hadley New Salamis |
Relegated | Holmer Green |
Matches played | 380 |
Goals scored | 1,291 (3.4 per match) |
← 2020–21 2022–23 → |
The Premier Division featured 13 clubs which competed in the division last season, along with seven new clubs.
- Transferred from the Hellenic League:
- PLus:
- Hadley, transferred from the Essex Senior League
- Milton Keynes Irish, promoted from Division One
- New Salamis, promoted from Division One
Cockfosters, initially allocated to this division from the Essex Senior League, successfully appealed and the transfer was rescinded.[6]
League table
[edit]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | New Salamis | 38 | 30 | 4 | 4 | 123 | 36 | +87 | 94 | Promoted to the Isthmian League |
2 | Risborough Rangers | 38 | 29 | 6 | 3 | 101 | 23 | +78 | 93 | Retented at Step 5[a] |
3 | Hadley | 38 | 25 | 8 | 5 | 78 | 33 | +45 | 83 | Promoted to the Southern League |
4 | Leighton Town | 38 | 20 | 11 | 7 | 78 | 42 | +36 | 71 | |
5 | Harpenden Town | 38 | 20 | 8 | 10 | 69 | 45 | +24 | 68 | |
6 | Flackwell Heath | 38 | 21 | 5 | 12 | 66 | 42 | +24 | 68 | Transferred to the Combined Counties League |
7 | Ardley United | 38 | 17 | 9 | 12 | 67 | 45 | +22 | 60 | |
8 | Leverstock Green | 38 | 17 | 5 | 16 | 63 | 57 | +6 | 56 | |
9 | Dunstable Town | 38 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 50 | 60 | −10 | 50 | |
10 | Arlesey Town | 38 | 13 | 8 | 17 | 58 | 77 | −19 | 47 | |
11 | Harefield United | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 70 | 67 | +3 | 46 | Transferred to the Combined Counties League |
12 | Milton Keynes Irish | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 55 | 59 | −4 | 46 | Transferred to the United Counties League |
13 | Tring Athletic | 38 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 51 | 61 | −10 | 43 | |
14 | Aylesbury Vale Dynamos | 38 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 57 | 85 | −28 | 43 | |
15 | Oxhey Jets | 38 | 12 | 6 | 20 | 60 | 101 | −41 | 42 | Transferred to the Combined Counties League |
16 | Broadfields United | 38 | 12 | 1 | 25 | 55 | 81 | −26 | 37 | |
17 | Baldock Town | 38 | 9 | 8 | 21 | 51 | 73 | −22 | 35 | |
18 | Crawley Green | 38 | 8 | 6 | 24 | 57 | 92 | −35 | 30 | |
19 | London Colney | 38 | 9 | 3 | 26 | 38 | 99 | −61 | 30 | Reprieved from relegation[b] |
20 | Holmer Green | 38 | 7 | 8 | 23 | 44 | 113 | −69 | 29 | Relegated to Division One |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) number of matches won; 5) head-to-head results[9]
Notes:
Division One
[edit]Season | 2021–22 |
---|---|
Champions | Stotfold |
Promoted | Shefford Town & Campton Stotfold |
Relegated | Irchester United |
Matches played | 380 |
Goals scored | 1,548 (4.07 per match) |
← 2020–21 2022–23 → |
Division One featured nine clubs which competed in the division last season, along with eleven new clubs.
- Transferred from the United Counties League:
- Transferred from the Hellenic League:
- Kidlington reserves
- Long Crendon
- Penn & Tylers Green
- Plus:
- Letchworth Garden City Eagles, promoted from the Hertfordshire Senior County League
- Thame United reserves
League table
[edit]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Stotfold | 38 | 31 | 3 | 4 | 126 | 31 | +95 | 96 | Promoted to the Premier Division |
2 | Ampthill Town | 38 | 25 | 8 | 5 | 93 | 52 | +41 | 83 | Qualified for the play-offs |
3 | Winslow United | 38 | 25 | 5 | 8 | 104 | 40 | +64 | 80 | |
4 | Shefford Town & Campton | 38 | 26 | 2 | 10 | 115 | 57 | +58 | 80 | Qualified for the play-offs, then promoted to the Premier Division |
5 | Wellingborough Whitworth | 38 | 24 | 4 | 10 | 114 | 63 | +51 | 76 | Qualified for the play-offs |
6 | Northampton Sileby Rangers | 38 | 23 | 4 | 11 | 110 | 66 | +44 | 73 | |
7 | Bedford | 38 | 19 | 7 | 12 | 90 | 72 | +18 | 63[a] | |
8 | Long Crendon | 38 | 18 | 5 | 15 | 99 | 75 | +24 | 59 | Transferred to the Hellenic League |
9 | Buckingham Athletic | 38 | 18 | 4 | 16 | 78 | 57 | +21 | 58 | |
10 | Penn & Tylers Green | 38 | 15 | 9 | 14 | 85 | 74 | +11 | 54 | Transferred to the Combined Counties League |
11 | Rushden & Higham United | 38 | 15 | 7 | 16 | 61 | 82 | −21 | 52 | |
12 | Letchworth Garden City Eagles | 38 | 14 | 7 | 17 | 62 | 67 | −5 | 49 | |
13 | Amersham Town | 38 | 13 | 5 | 20 | 63 | 83 | −20 | 44 | |
14 | Thame United reserves | 38 | 12 | 6 | 20 | 54 | 85 | −31 | 42 | |
15 | Langford | 38 | 12 | 1 | 25 | 49 | 83 | −34 | 37 | |
16 | London Tigers | 38 | 11 | 4 | 23 | 50 | 97 | −47 | 37 | |
17 | Raunds Town | 38 | 10 | 6 | 22 | 52 | 99 | −47 | 36 | |
18 | Kidlington reserves | 38 | 9 | 5 | 24 | 53 | 122 | −69 | 32 | Transferred to the Hellenic League |
19 | Burton Park Wanderers | 38 | 5 | 6 | 27 | 51 | 128 | −77 | 21 | Reprieved from relegation[b] |
20 | Irchester United | 38 | 4 | 4 | 30 | 39 | 115 | −76 | 16 | Relegated to the Northamptonshire Combination League |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) number of matches won; 5) head-to-head results[9]
Notes:
Play-offs
[edit]Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
2 | Ampthill Town | 2 | |||||||
5 | Wellingborough Whitworth | 3 | |||||||
2 | Wellingborough Whitworth | 1 | |||||||
3 | Shefford Town & Campton | 4 | |||||||
3 | Winslow United | 0 | |||||||
4 | Shefford Town & Campton | 2 |
Division Two
[edit]Season | 2021–22 |
---|---|
Champions | Old Bradwell United |
Matches played | 210 |
Goals scored | 821 (3.91 per match) |
← 2020–21 2022–23 → |
Division Two featured 13 clubs which competed in the division last season, along with three new club:
- Milton Keynes College Football Academy
- Eynesbury United, joined from the Cambridgeshire County League
- Risborough Rangers development, transferred from the Hellenic League Division Two North
League table
[edit]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Old Bradwell United | 28 | 21 | 3 | 4 | 102 | 19 | +83 | 66 | |
2 | Aston Clinton | 28 | 22 | 0 | 6 | 72 | 34 | +38 | 66 | |
3 | Pitstone & Ivinghoe | 28 | 18 | 6 | 4 | 97 | 47 | +50 | 60 | |
4 | Bovingdon | 28 | 18 | 5 | 5 | 63 | 24 | +39 | 59 | |
5 | Milton Keynes College Football Academy | 28 | 17 | 4 | 7 | 72 | 44 | +28 | 55 | |
6 | Eynesbury United | 28 | 17 | 3 | 8 | 66 | 36 | +30 | 54 | |
7 | Totternhoe | 28 | 15 | 3 | 10 | 47 | 50 | −3 | 48 | |
8 | New Bradwell St Peter | 28 | 11 | 4 | 13 | 42 | 49 | −7 | 37 | |
9 | Sarratt | 28 | 9 | 3 | 16 | 43 | 66 | −23 | 30 | |
10 | Codicote | 28 | 9 | 2 | 17 | 45 | 64 | −19 | 29 | |
11 | Risborough Rangers development | 28 | 8 | 1 | 19 | 35 | 57 | −22 | 25 | |
12 | Berkhamsted Raiders | 28 | 6 | 6 | 16 | 37 | 74 | −37 | 24 | |
13 | Buckingham United | 28 | 7 | 1 | 20 | 44 | 105 | −61 | 22 | |
14 | The 61 | 28 | 5 | 2 | 21 | 26 | 78 | −52 | 17 | |
15 | Tring Corinthians | 28 | 3 | 5 | 20 | 30 | 74 | −44 | 14 | |
16 | Berkhamsted Comrades | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Club folded, record expunged |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Step 5 rankings
[edit]The 10 runners-up with the most points per game (PPG) at Step 5 were automatically promoted after the 2021–22 season. The remaining six played one-off inter-step play-off matches with the six third-from-bottom clubs with the fewest PPG from the eight divisions at Step 4. The winner of each match was promoted to Step 4 for the 2022–23 season, while each loser was relegated to Step 5.[11]
The final points-per-game ranking of the second-placed teams was as follows:
Pos | Team, division | Pld | Pts | PPG | Promotion or qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
10 | Exmouth Town, Western League Premier | 36 | 77 | 2.139 | Promotion to Step 4 |
11 | Newhaven, Southern Combination League Premier | 38 | 80 | 2.105 | Qualification for the inter-step play-offs |
12 | Eccleshill United, Northern Counties East League Premier | 38 | 79 | 2.079 | |
13 | Saffron Walden Town, Essex Senior League | 40 | 83 | 2.075 | |
14 | Boldmere St Michaels, Midland League Premier | 36 | 74 | 2.056 | |
15 | Skelmersdale United, North West Counties League Premier | 40 | 79 | 1.975 | |
16 | Consett, Northern League One | 38 | 75 | 1.974 |
The 12 best second-from-bottom clubs on a PPG basis out of 16 that were at Step 5 were reprieved from relegation. The four worst teams were relegated.[8]
The final points-per-game ranking of the second-from-bottom-placed teams was also as follows:
Pos | Team, division | Pld | Pts | PPG | Qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
12 | Lordswood, Southern Counties East League Premier | 38 | 24 | 0.632 | Retention at Step 5 |
13 | St Margaretsbury, Essex Senior League | 40 | 25 | 0.625 | Relegation to Step 6 |
14 | Northampton ON Chenecks, United Counties League Premier South | 38 | 20 | 0.526 | |
15 | Calne Town, Hellenic League Premier | 38 | 19 | 0.500 | |
16 | Athersley Recreation, Northern Counties East League Premier | 38 | 10 | 0.263 |
References
[edit]- ^ "We have provided an update on NLS allocations at Steps 3-6 for the 2021-22 season". The Football Association. 18 May 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- ^ "Provisional constitution for 2021-22 season". 23 May 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- ^ "Coronavirus: All football below National League to end". BBC Sport. 26 March 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- ^ "FA provides update on NLS Steps 3-6". The Football Association. 24 February 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- ^ "EXPLAINED: The 2021-22 Non-League restructure". The Non-League Paper. 12 April 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- ^ "Revised Premier Division Constitution As Cockfosters Win Appeal". Essex Senior Football League. 27 June 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- ^ "FA deny Risborough Rangers promotion over stadium facilities". Bucks Free Press. 25 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
- ^ a b "Promotion / Relegation – 2021/22 Season". Southern Counties East Football League. November 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
- ^ a b "The FA Handbook 2020/2021 Part 29 Standardised Rules Section 12.2". The FA.
- ^ Miller, Pete. "Non League 21/22 Promotion and Relegation: Step 6 Relegation". Google Docs.
- ^ a b c Miller, Pete. "Non League 21/22 Promotion and Relegation: Step 5 Promotion". Google Docs.