Division 1 North Line-ups confirmed
The FA have today released their confirmed allocations for steps 1-4 of the non-league pyramid.
There will be six new teams in division next year. We covered some of them earlier in the month, but the confirmed ins are as follows:
Barkingside: Our visits to Oakside could be two-fold next season. Almost out of nowhere, Barkingside put a run of form together which pushed them up to second in the Essex Senior League. After years of ESL mediocrity, ‘Side will no doubt be up against it next year in an expanded Division 1 North. Amongst the familiar names in this season’s sucessfull Barkingside square we find Joe Ellul, Brian Suchley and Sean Crossley, alongside some non-league stalwarts in Paul Kavanagh and Richard Oxby.
Burnham Ramblers: The promotion of a team with the “Ramblers” suffix is a sure-fire way to improve any league, and the ESL Champions have earned their place at step 4 by seeing off London Bari and Great Wakering Rovers, amongst others. Having lost just four league games all season, Ramblers lead the title race almost from start to finish. As Leyton Pennant/Waltham Forest we’ve only played Ramblers twice, but have won on both occasions. Interestingly, both matches came in the Preliminary Round of the FA Cup. We won 2-0 in the 2001-2 season, and 3-0 in the 2004-5 season. Nikki Beale and Billy Hunt have apparently already signed-up for the 2013/14 season, adding to a pretty handy squad which ended the year at Leslie Field. A potential dark horse next season? They certainly won’t be getting relegated in a hurry, that’s for sure.
Dereham Town: The geographic footprint of our division seems to be making its way further and further into Norfolk. Joining us as Eastern Counties champions could be Dereham Town. A look at their squad list does not raise any initial alarm bells, though they do have a player who appears to simply go by the name of “Morphew” – reason to be worried if there ever was one. As with most of the teams who have recently joined us from the east of the country, we shall have to treat Dereham as very real challengers to the top third of the table.
Erith & Belvedere: The first of a Kent trio to join us, Erith and Belvedere come into the league as Kent League champions, having lost just two of their 32 league matches. They were also winners of the Kent League cup, beating Corinthian 4-1 in the final. In our history, we’ve only played The Deres three times. We beat them 3-1 twice – once in the Southern League Cup, and once in the Southern League Eastern Division. When they travelled to Wadham Lodge with former Stag Wayne Brown at the helm, they ran out 2-0 victors.
Sittingbourne: Next season will not be the first time we will meet Sittingbourne, but their addition to the division does mean a new ground. After 11 years at Bourne Park, The Brickies will now be based at Woodstock Park, home of Woodstock Sports. The whole story of Sittingbourne’s ground is a fascinating one, and is a constant reminder of how things can go wrong at this level. You can read more about it on Pyramid Passion – though please do bare in mind that the site has not been updated since about 2006. The Official club Twitter account Tweeted “This league goes as far as Norfolk!” when news of the allocations broke, and they have our sympathies – Sittingbourne to Dereham is a shade over 141 miles (one way!). Even in our Southern League days we were not travelling that far! They finished 9th in Division 1 South last season, and in Nick Treadwell, they’re going to have one of the best hairdos in the league.
VCD Athletic: The third of our Kent newcomers were demoted at the end of the 2009-10 season after the FA decided that their ground wasn’t quite up to standard. It has taken three seasons, but VCD are back as Kent League runners-up. While they’re a bit closer to the Dartford Crossing/Tunnel than Sittingbourne, some of the northern-most teams in the division are a good two and a half hours away.
Elsewhere, Chatham Town have again complained about their league allocations. Chairman Jeff Talbot said “We would have a number of options (if asked to play in the north),” said the Chatham chairman. “We would hold a meeting soon after to decide what we would do.
“We could decide not to play in the (Ryman) league and drop a level and play in the Kent League for example.
“We could look to go into administration or just pack it all in altogether. Those are our options. One of them is to play in the north, which isn’t fantastic.”
While their allocation is far from ideal – the fact that we have Erith and Belvedere, Sittingbourne and VCD in the division means Chatham haven’t really got a hope in hell of returning to the South.
The Ones we’ve lost:
Grays Athletic and Thamesmead have both joined the Ryman Premier Division, while Ilford have finally bitten the dust and have been relegated. Elsewhere, Potters Bar Town have joined the Central Division of the Southern League, where they will enjoy trips to Daventry Town and Kettering Town.
The full line-up is as follows:
AFC Sudbury
Aveley
Barkingside
Brentwood Town
Burnham Ramblers
Chatham Town
Cheshunt
Dereham Town
Erith & Belvedere
Harlow Town
Heybridge Swifts
Maldon & Tiptree
Needham Market
Redbridge
Romford
Sittingbourne
Soham Town Rangers
Tilbury
VCD Athletic
Waltham Abbey
Waltham Forest
Ware
Witham Town
Wroxham
