2021–22 Spartan South Midlands Football League

The 2021–22 Spartan South Midlands Football League 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
Spartan South Midlands
Football League
Premier Division
Season2021–22
ChampionsNew Salamis
PromotedNew Salamis
Hadley
RelegatedHolmer Green

At the end of the previous season, eight teams left the Premier Division:

The remaining 13 teams, together with the following, formed the Premier Division for 2021–22:

Cockfosters, initially allocated to this division from the Essex Senior League, successfully appealed and the transfer was rescinded.[6]

Premier Division table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 New Salamis (C, P) 38 30 4 4 123 36 +87 94 Promotion to the Isthmian League
2 Risborough Rangers 38 29 6 3 101 23 +78 93 Retention at Step 5[lower-alpha 1]
3 Hadley (P) 38 25 8 5 78 33 +45 83 Promotion 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 Transfer 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 Transfer to the Combined Counties League
12 Milton Keynes Irish 38 12 10 16 55 59 −4 46 Transfer 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 Transfer 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 Reprieve from relegation[lower-alpha 2]
20 Holmer Green (R) 38 7 8 23 44 113 −69 29 Relegation to Division One
Source: The FA Full-Time
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) number of matches won; 5) head-to-head results[9]
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. Risborough Rangers failed to meet ground grading standards and were not promoted. Their appeal was unsuccessful.[7]
  2. Reprieved as one of 12 clubs with the most PPG out of 16 that were second-from-bottom at Step 5.[8]

Division One
Spartan South Midlands
Football League
Division One
Season2021–22
ChampionsStotfold
PromotedStotfold
Shefford Town & Campton
RelegatedIrchester United

At the end of the previous season, eight teams left Division One:

The remaining nine teams, together with the following, formed Division One for 2021–22:

Division One table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Stotfold (C, P) 38 31 3 4 126 31 +95 96 Promotion to the Premier Division
2 Ampthill Town 38 25 8 5 93 52 +41 83 Qualification for the play-offs
3 Winslow United 38 25 5 8 104 40 +64 80
4 Shefford Town & Campton (O, P) 38 26 2 10 115 57 +58 80
5 Wellingborough Whitworth 38 24 4 10 114 63 +51 76
6 Northampton Sileby Rangers 38 23 4 11 110 66 +44 73
7 Bedford 38 19 7 12 90 72 +18 63[lower-alpha 1]
8 Long Crendon 38 18 5 15 99 75 +24 59 Transfer 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 Transfer 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 Development 38 9 5 24 53 122 −69 32 Transfer to the Hellenic League
19 Burton Park Wanderers 38 5 6 27 51 128 −77 21 Reprieve from relegation[lower-alpha 2]
20 Irchester United (R) 38 4 4 30 39 115 −76 16 Relegation to the Northamptonshire Combination League
Source: The FA Full-Time
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) number of matches won; 5) head-to-head results[9]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. Bedford deducted 1 point for fielding an ineligible player.
  2. All third-from-bottom clubs at Step 6 were reprieved from relegation. The top 15 second-from-bottom sides were also reprieved on a PPG basis.[10]

Division Two
Spartan South Midlands
Football League
Division Two
Season2021–22
ChampionsOld Bradwell United

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

Division Two table

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
Source: FA Full-Time
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Step 5 rankings

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
Source: [11]

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
Source: [11]

References
  1. "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.
  2. "Provisional constitution for 2021-22 season". 23 May 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  3. "Coronavirus: All football below National League to end". BBC Sport. 26 March 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  4. "FA provides update on NLS Steps 3-6". The Football Association. 24 February 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  5. "EXPLAINED: The 2021-22 Non-League restructure". The Non-League Paper. 12 April 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  6. "Revised Premier Division Constitution As Cockfosters Win Appeal". Essex Senior Football League. 27 June 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  7. "FA deny Risborough Rangers promotion over stadium facilities". Bucks Free Press. 25 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  8. "Promotion / Relegation – 2021/22 Season". Southern Counties East Football League. November 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  9. "The FA Handbook 2020/2021 Part 29 Standardised Rules Section 12.2". The FA.
  10. Miller, Pete. "Non League 21/22 Promotion and Relegation: Step 6 Relegation". Google Docs.
  11. Miller, Pete. "Non League 21/22 Promotion and Relegation: Step 5 Promotion". Google Docs.
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