Division 1 North Line-Up 2013/14
The 2012/13 season may have only just come to an end, but the FA’s reorganising committee is busy drawing up their plans for non-league divisions next season.
As always, there will be a fair number of teams moving, and many non-league fans have contributed their own ideas as to how the divisions may look this season.
Assuming the mantle this season is Blackdouglas on the Non-League Matters Forum. Using his predicted allocations, we take a look at some of the new faces we might be seeing next season.
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.
Barton Rovers: Our long-time rivals before the north/south split in the Isthmian League, it looks like we will be making a long-awaited return to the picturesque Barton-le-Clay. Rovers finished a solid 14th in last season’s Southern League Central Division. It is at this point that the webmaster must admit that he hasn’t got a clue what Rovers have been up to since we last met them in our Southern League days. However, this potential new addition to the fixtures calendar is sure to have the Beer Hunter’s mouth watering!
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.
Royston Town: The Crows seem to have been stuck in the same boat is Barton, joining us from the Central Division of the Southern League. Despite notching up 82 points last season, Royston could only finish 7th in their division. Amongst their players this season was Martin Standen, who managed to get himself sent-off three times in four games for Ware this season, including one for headbutting Matt Waldron. Kaan Fehmi and Ross Collins have both seen Division 1 North action recently for a series of Hertfordshire-based clubs, though the Royston squad seemed to be pillaged by Nicky Ironton towards the end of the season as he salvaged Ware’s horrific start.
St Ives Town: The runners-up from the United Counties League join us as a result of Holbeach United’s decision that they didn’t quite fancy step 4 football this time around. In addition to that, Spalding United would have pipped St Ives to second, had they not been penalized three points for fielding an ineligible player. Leading the St Ives front line last season was Junior McDougald… at least for the first two games, until he decided he’d had enough of playing (or St Ives stopped updating their website, either could be the case). St Ives’ other main forward Stuart Cobb has a familiar sounding name, but his playing history doesn’t quite come to mind right now. Still, 90 points from 40 games last season was still impressive, and St Ives will no doubt be well away from the troublesome spots next season.
The Full list is as follows:
AFC Sudbury
Aveley
Barkingside
Barton Rovers
Brentwood Town
Burnham Ramblers
Cheshunt
Dereham Town
Harlow Town
Heybridge Swifts
Maldon & Tiptree
Needham Market
Potters Bar Town
Redbridge
Romford
Royston Town
Soham Town Rangers
St Ives Town
Tilbury
Waltham Abbey
Waltham Forest
Ware
Witham Town
Wroxham
So there you have it – a low down of the teams we could be facing next season. If nothing else, it has proven that the webmaster seems to know very little outside our little corner of the Isthmian League.
As ever, concrete news of any league allocations will be posted right here on walthamforest-fc.co.uk
