After a day of Drama, the Wembley Dream is over for Congleton Town as they exit the Isuzu Vase at the Semi-Final Stage courtesy of holders, Newport Pagnell Town at The Cleric Stadium today.

It was Congleton who started the much brighter today as early pressure produced a couple of early chances for the evergreen Tom Pope and Jon Beaumont. Newport Pagnell carried direct threats themselves with Mo Ahmed and Jake Watson clearly revelling in the occasion. It was a tight game befitting of the spectacle but it was slightly against the run of play when Richard Duffy who appeared out of nowhere with a great touch to put the ball into the back of the net and cause a massive cheer that would likely have been heard across Cheshire to put the Bears ahead.

Newport Pagnell remained a threat and continued to press with Ben Ford testing Dave Parton in the Congleton goal and a couple of minutes before half time, the pressure continued as the ball was Crossed in to Jake Watkinson, who’s open header went over the bar, much to his frustration as he kicked the post with his expensive looking boots. His frustration was soon appeased as shortly after as Ben Ford found some space on the flank and crossed the ball into the box, Watkinson didn’t waste that opportunity as his well connected effort flew past Parton to level the scores at 1-1, which was the way it remained for the short time to the break.

The second half continued at the same frantic pace that the first had finished, just three minutes into the half, Peter Williams shot just over the bar and Pope had a half chance shortly after. Just after the hour Mark Newport were awarded a nothing free kick down the right hand side, the ball was played to Ben Shepherd who promptly swung the ball into the box, a Watkinson header was only parried by the keeper’ the Congleton defender in the mix failed to clear and Mo Ahmed charged in and scuffed the ball into the net to the delight of the away bench.

A number of substitutions took place as both teams started to remodel the sides for what was a shoe-in to be a mad finish and so it proved as both teams pressed for goals rather than shut up shop. The Swans lead only lasted for 5 minutes before a concerted Congleton attack saw the ball fall to Ethan Hartshorn, who’s spectacular volley gave Martin Conway in the visitors goal no chance and sent the crowd again into rapture. There was an air of inevitability at this point as both clubs quickly decided to sure things up at the back and despite a late half chance for Tom Pope, the final whistle went and the drama switch was turned to ten.

Congleton missed their first three penalties but Newport scored their first, missing the next two. The final 4 penalties were all converted giving Newport Pagnell the slenderest of victories in the most dramatic of fashion. This was the Swans sixth Penalty shootout win in their last two FA Vase campaigns but this arguably one of their most dramatic and it is they, rather than Congleton who will be heading to Wembley on non-League Finals day in May but The Bears can hold their head up high after a superb campaign.

Non-League finals day 2019 is approaching and on May 19 2019, the Counties Podcast Crew, like thousands of other Non-League Football fans will be heading down to Wembley to watch the Buildbase FA Vase and Buildbase FA Trophy finals.

As we have done for a number of years now, we will be covering both games with our crew giving their experienced eye on the match as well as a few discussions around the competitions in general.
On the Sunday the Buildbase FA Vase Final will be the first game and kicks off at 1215pm between Chertsey Town and Cray Valley Paper Mills, followed by the Buildbase FA Trophy final between AFC Fylde and Leyton Orient. From an NWCFL perspective, we had interest in this ourselves until the Semi-final this season with Northwich Victoria having drawn the first leg of their semi-final in Cheshire 1-1, a 0-0 stalemate in front of around 2,000 fans meant a Wembley date with Cray Valley Paper Mills on Sunday May 19 would be decided by spot kicks. Chertsey’s Jake Baxter, Lubo Guentchev, Dave Taylor, Andy Crossley and Sam Murphy all scored while Chertsey keeper Nick Jupp saved from Ryan Winder as the Curfews went through 5-3 to become the first Surrey club to make the final since Epsom & Ewell in 1975.

Cray Valley Paper Mills secured their place with a 2-1 aggregate victory over Canterbury City, the home leg seeing a goal from Ryan Flack giving them a slim advantage into the Second Leg. That leg then being a 1-1draw the following week which saw Cray Valley make Wembley in their Centenary season.

The Buildbase FA Trophy Final has two big names poised and ready to do battle, as AFC Flylde take on Leyton Orient at 415pm on the day. We say big names, well Leyton Orient seem in a good place to return to the EFL this season having had a couple of seasons out after relegation in 2017 having been a Football League Club for the previous 112 years. They have had a great season in the Vanarama National League and as we type this out are top of the table by a point from Salford City with a game in hand and six overall to play.

AFC Fylde are no strangers to NWCFL fans of course, we know them better under their former guise of Kirkham and Wesham FC although their stay with the Counties was brief, dramatic and fruitful, we did actually have them for a season under their new (well, it was then) name. They arrived in the NWCFL Division Two in 2007-08 and basically blitzed everything, they won the Division Two Knockout trophy beating Bootle 1-0 in the final, gained promotion to the NWCFL Premier Division and of course won the FA Vase in their first season in the competition. They beat Lowestoft Town 2-1 in the final at Wembley in front of just on 20,000 fans and came back from a goal behind to do it! The following season they coasted (no pun intended) through the Premier Division and went into the Northern Premier League Division One.

The rest, as they say is history, the club currently find themselves fifth in the National League and still in with a shout of outright promotion, although the play-offs look likely and of course in the National Leagues showpiece competition.  Tickets for the day are £25 and there are a range of concessions available too. The price covers both games – bargain! It is a great day out for all non-league fans, there is also a neutral section in the crowd and in the last few years this has seen fans of all manor of clubs come to support the occasion.

Join Martin Fallon, Gary Langley and your Counties podcast favorites either in the stands or via the Counties Podcast Wembley Special episode. We will also be banging out the Social media stuff too!

Sin bin or naughty boy step, either way – it’s coming As the end of the 2018/19 season approaches, already clubs up and down the country are looking at preparation and logistics for next season. Budgets need to be set, grounds need an MOT, players need sourcing and so on. Clubs aren’t the only people getting ready though, as Leagues are starting to get their preparations ready to pave the way for an easy summer of transition.

Now normally that would involve admin for new teams, getting all clubs up to speed with the processes required and ensuring that all houses are in order from a club, refereeing and FA perspectives are met. Next season though will see a big change that is already getting people talking – Sin-Bins! Now let’s be honest, it has been touted for a while and discussed at all levels. Even the Premier League have talked about them for more than a decade but from next season all Step five and Step Six clubs will be taking part in the wider implementation trials of Sin Bins.

The trials have taken place at Step Seven over the course of this season and the feedback from the officials and clubs at that level to The FA has apparently been positive, hence the raising of the system into the semi-pro ranks.

The “temporary dismissal” criteria is varied, at a recent referees meeting this card (image attached) was given to officials to explain the reasons for being able to send someone the sin-bin. The sin-bin in reality will likely be the players technical area, so it’s unlikely that we will see sales of smoking shelters increase rapidly around England, however that is to be ratified shortly.  The dismissal time is being touted as 9 minutes, which could be key in a high stakes game. The player can’t be substituted during the sin-bin time either so that potential loophole has been closed early on.

Thirty One leagues from across the country at Step 7 and below of the National League System – including male, female, adult, youth, Saturday and Sunday leagues – took part and resulted in the following:

•  25 leagues showed an overall reduction in dissent
•  38% reduction in dissent across all leagues
•  72% of players wanted to continue with the scheme
•  77% of managers and/or coaches wanted to continue with the scheme
•  84% of referees wanted to continue with the scheme

The key points of sin-bins are to act as deterrents and when you look at the stats above, it does seem to have a positive effect on a number of aspects of the game. Whether it will work higher up, time will tell, but unlike VAR this is something that could in theory be implemented across the game at all levels.

I touch on VAR there, that’s a whole different debate in itself, but when you look at changes to the game, even going back generations from Goalkeepers not being able to pick the ball up from a back-pass, multiple substitutions and active/inactive for offside, all of which could be brought in across the board. I can’t see VAR being brought into Stone Dominoes in a couple of seasons time? Game Rule and technology changes are ok, but where there is a clear split over how far it can go,
an idea should really be potted.

Sin-bins will certainly continue to provoke debate, but in the long term this is something that will likely catch on. Let’s see  what happens but either way, next season is shaping up to be a different ball game. We’ll be here to find out I guess.  We will debate this on the Podcast shortly.

We are nigh on three quarter’s of the way through the season now and the runners and riders are becoming clear across the three NWCFL divisions. As we hit this key marker, we take a look at the three clubs leading the way at the moment and what their respective run-ins are like.
City of Liverpool still lead the way in the Premier Division and at the time of writing are eight points clear of a resurgent Bootle and twelve clear of Congleton, whom after a great start seem to be dropping back a bit.
The Purps’ at one point were fourteen clear of the pack, however with multiple cup appearances and a heavy fixture load, that lead has been pegged back a wee bit. Recent league defeats in succession to Silsden at home and away at Runcorn Town haven’t helped, but with the top spot comes a certain amount of pressure and the Purps seem perfectly capable to deal with it.
With ten games remaining, four of those are at home which includes games against Ashton Athletic on 23/2, Barnoldswick 16/3, Hanley 23/3 and Padiham 20/04. They away fixtures though look particularly tough with Charnock Richard and Remyca on successive weekends in early March. April looks just as tough with games at Whitchurch Alport, Irlam and what could be a title decider “away” at Bootle! To be fair, Bootle are leading the charge after a disappointing start and that game would easily be a decider for Bootle to win it. At Counties Podcast we have discussed a late runner, there always seems go be one teammate the end that goes on a run but we just cannot see it at the moment.
Looking at Division One North, there are two clear front-runners in the form of Longridge Town who have 69 points from 28 games and Avro who have 60 points from 25 games. The best of the rest are Lower Breck (55 pts from 28) and AFC Liverpool (53 pts from 27) and any late challenge is likely to come from the Liverpool based clubs.
Longridge have been solid all season, a +71 goal difference tells a tale in itself, they have had some great scoring games, an 8-1 win at home to Daisy Hill in January springs to mind, as does a 7-2 win over Ashton Town in October and of course they thumped Holker on their own pitch 11-2. They know where the goal is and looking at their run-in they face Carlisle City and Avro in successive games at the end of this month with a game against AFC Liverpool a week later. They then have games against Lower Breck and Garstang to follow in April so the stage is set for a dramatic finale.
Avro, like Longridge Town have been consistent all season. They have had plenty of good solid wins netting seven in the process but they have just been one step behind Longridge by way of an odd defeat here and there and a few draws. Their run-in is arguably a bit easier than their fellow title challengers, trips to Garstang and Longridge seem to be the toughest asks for them and that in our reckoning will likely take the title run -in down to the last fortnight.
Exciting stuff, and an interesting footnote at Step 5, the bottom two sides will be relegated to Step 6, if there are any spaces available in Step 5 after this then the remaining Step 6 runner-up will be promoted. 28 promotion places in total mean s that the nine best runners up with the best points-per-game averages across the 19 step 6 divisions will be promoted. Longridge stands at 2.500 and Avro’s is 2.375 meaning that from Division One North there is a strong possibility of seeing two sides promoted if current form stays the same.
Division One South is a complete melting pot of promotion candidates. In our opinion anyone from Rylands in top on 60 points from 27 games to 5th place Abbey Hulton on 53 points from 28 games could be classed as title contenders and a good argument can be made for the next 3-4 clubs to be outsiders but still in with a shout.
It will be interesting to see how D1 South pans out, it really is too close to call as all of the clubs challenging largely face each other in the run-in. Vauxhall Motors have been solid of late and Mick McGraa’s team seem to have found their feet at just the right time, topping the form table with some eye catching results. Rylands have six of their nine remaining league games at home so they are also likely to finish really strong as they have been solid at Gorsey Lane.
As a result of the division being so tight, the benefits Avro and Longridge Town have with the potential additional promotion place is unlikely to apply as the points per game average of the leading clubs put them out of the leading nine bracket by affair distance.
It’s all go in all of the divisions, even though a couple look set for a couple horse race, they’re all there to be won and with the temperatures starting to mellow the stage is set for a big finish.
As for the potential relegation situations, we will look at that in another article.

This weekend sees the start of the Buildbase FA Vase competition for the 2018/19 season and as always on Counties Podcast, we will be following it from start to finish, ending up at Wembley on Non-League Finals day on Sunday May 19th.

As is a tradition these days on Counties Podcast, Martin Fallon’s infamous Vase Randomiser has picked out clubs for each presenter to follow the progress of through the competition of, and this year we are giving you lot a side!  We will go though the fates of our various clubs in our Non-League Finals day Podcast which is always one of our most popular downloaded episodes.

Ok, so who have we all got…….

Martin Fallon – BARTON TOWN Vs AFC Liverpool

Gary Langley – Wincanton Town Vs RADSTOCK TOWN

Mark Ashmore – Spelthorne Sports Vs NORTHAMPTON ON CHENECKS

The Listeners – Enfield Borough Vs HALSTEAD TOWN

Interesting selections and of course Mr Fallon had to get a side that is facing NWCFL opposition so it’s divided loyalties for him this weekend.  We will be out and about at our own clubs various games this weekend and Mr Langley is heading off to watch Red Martin’s Lower Breck side take on Rob McKay’s West Didsbury & Chorlton in a historic tie at the Anfield ASCC.

A quick look at the clubs we have drawn sees a familiar name for Mr F, Barton Town play in the Northern Counties East League and have come up against a few of our NWCFL sides of late, they are based in Lincolnshire and play at Marsh Lane.

Mr Langley has been given Radstock Town, they play out of Radstock in Somerset and compete in the Western League Division One.

Mr Ashmore drew a doozy! Northampton on Chenecks are a new one on us to be honest although a google search shows that the are a club of good repute and high standing in the Northamptonshire area.  They ply their trade in the United Counties League Premier Division and have been going since 1946.

For your good selves, you have drawn Halstead Town who have been going since 1879 and hail from Essex.  They play in the Eastern Senior League and have a reasonable record in the competition.

Let battle commence!

With the exception of some league admin, last weekends Non-League Finals day brought the 2017-18 Non-League season to a close.  What a season it was, you can argue that it was one that it is one that will live long in the memory but whether that is for the footballing success and the stories that it produced or for the biblical rains that almost washed out five months of the campaign, that is up for debate.

Rewind just on ten months, to the 2017 League AGM in Blackpool.  Atherton Collieries & Ashton Town had left the league through different exit doors for new adventures and the league welcomed Abbey Hulton United, promoted in from Step 7 whilst Burscough and Northwich Victoria joined the League from the Evo-Stik League.

The stage was set for the 2017-18 season and Counties Podcast had made some signings itself, with Martin Stewart and Lucy Weir having joined permanently after joining on loan from society a couple of months previous!

The season started well, early front-runners in the Premier Division were Runcorn Town who stormed ahead with Charnock Richard not far behind them whilst Burscough and Northwich Victoria struggled to find their feet early on.  Barnton were propping the table up early doors with Squires Gate also getting off to a poor start.  In Division One, Silsden set the early pace with Alsager Town and Remyca also prominent early on. Abbey Hulton were holding their own, they were not sweeping all before them but they were doing well in a number of games and playing good football.

Podcasts were going out regularly and with Mr Langley leading the way with controversial selections in our Banker and Shock game he was soon to have his wings clipped when rules changes were brought in to keep his head a normal size! Other early events that took place in the season was Non-League day, it was unusual this year as a number of clubs openly stated that they were not doing anything for it, indeed our poll done in September showed that 75% of voters were not doing anything for it.  We also reached 1000 twitter followers – Which was nice!

Steve Wilkes arrived at Northwich Victoria and Andy Clarkson arrived at Squires Gate and both clubs form started to improve.  The Vase commenced and clubs like Ashton Athletic, Charnock Rochard and 1874 Northwich excelled in that early doors,

We interviewed Rob McKay to see how things were going at West Didsbury & Chorlton, Dave Worthington of AFC Blackpool joined us alongside League Chairman, Paul Lawler back on episode 127 as the season continued apace.  Wayne Brotherton at Alsager joined us later on in episode 129 to talk to us about the Bullets progress as they were doing well at the time.  In mid-October we also ran a poll about the future of programmes, a full four months before the EFL released their plans to possibly allow clubs to withdraw publishing them, we had been discussing it long before it became a mainstream debate though of course!  In the poll 63% of voters said they always buy one, 24% did not, 11% went on price and 2% said they would rather have an e-Programme.  We wonder if that would be the same now??

At this point we were also looking at PPG, an acronym that would be looked at for long periods of the season as the possibility of a second promotion spot from the Premier Division was being mooted.  The Two Runcorn Clubs, Hanley, Bootle and Charnock Richard were all in the mix at ten games in, but where were Widnes?

Around about the second week of November was when the weather started to really hit the season, a number of Division One fixtures were starting to get hit on a regular basis.  We caught up with Jay Foulds from Ashton Athletic as they were in the midst of a number of cup runs at the time. Andy Clarkson of Squires Gate and Mick McGraa of Cammell Laird 1907 also joined us to talk football and provoked debates as both predicted great improvements for their respective sides, they weren’t wrong either to be fair!

The weather really started to bite at this point, games were being cancelled in both divisions on a regular basis, indeed it reached dramatic levels with a few washouts in the space of six weeks.  Widnes were starting to climb the table though with their 3G pitch standing an almost solitary stand against the weather.  This was arguably their golden ticket, along with new Managers at the helm, they were really starting to shift.

The Podcast was also still functioning despite little or no football to talk about, discussions about football were intertwined about Bonzai Trees and the way toast should be cut.  The Counties Podcast Quiz of the season was held at Christmas when Podcast Icons, Zach Pierce and Joseph Gibbons returned for our Christmas Special and it was Mr Gibbons who won on the day courtesy of some slightly Colls Biased hosting according to those who lost!

In the New Year games were still sparse to say the least, but clubs were starting to show their hand over applying to join the NWCFL following the announcement of the award to the NWCFL of running a second Step Six Division from 2018-19.  From the Cheshire League, Daten, Rylands, Pilkington, Wythenshawe Town, Ashton Town and Linotype Cheadle Nomads were announced by the Cheshire League at that point as applicants.

Michael Ellison joined us for a chat on episode 135 to discuss Runcorn Linnets improvement as they were just edging Runcorn Town at the top of the table with Widnes starting to creep up on the pack.  With the weather dominating proceedings every week there were not too many podcasts being recorded, there was just very little to talk about, however Martin Fallon and Gary Langley did keep a small but regular series of podcasts going out discussing the issues of the day like two old men sitting on a bus moaning about the price of fish.

As the end of February approached, Runcorn Linnets were leading the way with Runcorn Town and Widnes right behind them in the Premier Division.  The First Division saw Silsden ten points clear with Litherland Remyca, Prestwich Heys and Whitchurch Alport on the chase whilst near the bottom of the divisions, Barton’s fate looked sealed early doors, this despite playing good football, AFC Darwen also looked in trouble whilst a mini group just above them of Maine Road, Burscough, AFC Liverpool and Irlam were regularly exchanging positions above the relegation line.  In Division One, St Helens Town, Daisy Hill, Bacup and a number of other clubs were swapping places on a regular basis as the battle for the Wooden Spoon was in full flow.

Podcast pace started to pick up come March as game started taking place, Ste Bignall of Linnets Updates fame joined us for a few episodes, we caught up with Martin Wild of Whitchurch Alport whilst Mark Ashmore also joined us to talk Squires Gate.  Mark will be joining us next season as part of our new crew!

1874 Northwich bowed out of the FA Vase at the Semi-Final stage losing out to eventual winners of the competition, Thatcham Town whilst City of Liverpool matched their late surge up the table with progress off it, announcing their intention to Develop a site in the Fazakerley area of the City.

Games were still being cancelled on a regular basis, indeed even as late as April we still had a washout week.  The League tables were taking shape as Runcorn Linnets were almost over the finishing line but Widnes still with a small chance to pip them.  In Division One it was becoming a three horse race with Silsden, Remyca and Prestwich Heys all vying for the two automatic promotion places.

As May commenced, issues were starting to get sorted out, Runcorn Linnets got over the finishing line with Widnes joining them in the second automatic promotion spot from the Premier Division, a feat achieved taking 70 points from the last 75 available in an incredible run.  A third spot had been mooted after a couple of leaks but such is the competitive nature of the league, a third promotion spot via the PPG system was never really an option in the end, clubs like Runcorn Town, City of Liverpool and others will go again next season in what is likely to be another tough campaign but with one promotion spot returning before Super Play-Offs arrive in 19-20.

In Division One, Silsden fought off a late challenge from Litherland Remyca to take the Division One title with Remyca going up in second having been run to the wire by Prestwich Heys.  Lairds, Whitchurch, Sandbach and Heys fought out the play-offs with Whitchurch Alport going up via that system.

It wouldn’t be a year on the podcast without Mr Langley upsetting a club, this season it was Alport when he suggested that the play-offs would represent under-achievement for them which upset their Chairman.  That was the team-talk settled and they promptly won the play-offs and word is that Mr Langley has got himself another trophy from that taskers place to go with his Banker or Shock Trophy he bought in October claiming a key role!

Interviews followed with Mark Buckley, Runcorn Linnets Chairman and Danny Forrest, Silsden Manager as we continue to bring you interviews with the big names around the league.

In the cups, Prestwich Heys put their league disappointment behind them by taking the LWC Drinks Division One Trophy whilst on a busy night at Fleetwood, Widnes added The Macron Cup to their Runners Up Trophy with a narrow win over Burscough in a great final and advert for the league.

Of course we always go for the big finale, we have been big supporters of the FA Vase Competition and Martin Fallon, Zach Pierce and Martin Stewart recorded the Counties Podcast season ending episode last weekend and we will continue to follow sides in the competition from start to finish next season.

So there you have it, the end of another great season, was it the best ever, probably not but with a New Look Regional Division One next season and a tough looking Premier Division, next season looks like it has bags of potential and with a number of new faces expected, an element of the unknown.

We will be here next season with Panel Version 3.0 with Mark Ashmore joining the podcast as well as one or two other new faces. We will continue to bring you podcasts over the summer and as the new campaign starts, a number of high profile interviews, stories and debates.  We will hopefully have no quizzes for Gary to cheat at and maybe a sweep to see which one of the 60 clubs Gary upsets next season.

We are good to go again, but first a whole two weeks off for summer!

See you next season!

Friday 25th May 2018 will go down as a pivotal moment in the North West Counties League, with seventeen clubs admitted into the league ahead of the 2018/19 season. We look at the reasons for this and take a look at the new clubs who will be joining the league this summer.

Background

The restructure of the Non League Pyramid by the Football Association ahead of next season has seen the introduction of two new divisions at Step 6. One of these is in the North West with the NWCFL chosen by the FA to run this new league after a tender process.

The restructure also reduced the number of clubs per division across the lower part of the Non League Pyramid to 20 clubs, and meant that there were more than the usual spots open to progressive looking clubs at Step 7.

The NWCFL undertook a vigorous campaign of vetting prospective clubs, clocking up thousands of miles by carrying out preliminary ground grading and offering advice to a large number of clubs. These clubs were then graded, and faced a waiting game until today when they found out they had been promoted into the league or not.

At lunchtime on the Friday, it was announced by the FA that the league will have a full complement of 60 clubs with 20 in each division. This is made possible by an unprecedented fifteen new clubs joining the league, some of them for the first time and some who are returning, with two clubs moved across from the West Midlands Regional League.

We will take a look at these new clubs to give you an indication of some of them, and will endeavor to get every one of them on the podcast over the summer to discuss their club and their plans moving forward before the new season starts.

Ashton Town

Ashton rejoin the NWCFL after one season in the Cheshire League following their relegation at the end of the 2016/17 season.

They are situated midway between St Helens Town and Daisy Hill, and were one of the founding members of the NWCFL in 1982. They have spent all but two seasons since then in our league, playing almost 1200 games in total.

They finished 6th in the Cheshire League Premier Division last season, picking up 13 wins from their 28 games and scoring 66 goals. It will be good to welcome them back, particularly Chairman Mark Hayes who has been on the podcast several times and is always a great guest.

Avro

Avro were formed in 1936 by employees of the aviation company of the same name, playing home games in Chadderton. They have been in the Manchester League since 1989, and have several First Division Championships as well as the Premier Division Championship in 2009/10.

Last season they won the Premier Division for the second time, winning 25 of their 28 games, and scoring a whopping 105 goals in the league!

Although Avro are new to the league, their ground is not as it is the former home of Oldham Boro. The Whitebank Stadium has undergone a massive redevelopment over the last few years, with impressive stands and a 3G pitch, with Avro moving in there at the start of this season.

Cleator Moor Celtic

Cleator Moor have the distinction of being the most remote ground in our league, with the ground been 43 miles from Carlisle City and 40 miles from Holker Old Boys on the West Cumbrian coast! The club were formed in 1909 and reached the First Round of the FA Cup in 1950 where they lost to Tranmere Rovers 5–0.

The club have played in the Wearside League since 2004, so travelling to games will prove no problem to them! They have finished inside the top four in the league in each of the last five seasons, and this season finished in third place, winning 25 of their 38 games and scoring 104 league goals.

Ellesmere Rangers

Ellesmere Rangers are one of two clubs who have transferred across to us from the West Midlands Regional League, and are situated around seven miles away from FC Oswestry Town. They were formed in 1969 and played in several local leagues, before moving to the Shropshire County League in the mid 1980’s.

Since then they have won several leagues, getting as high as the Midland Alliance which is the equivalent to our Premier Division, before being relegated in 2013 to their current league. In the five years since they have finished in the top seven three times, and this season they finished in 6th place. They won 22 of their 38 league games and scored 106 goals in the league.

This is the first time that they have played in the NWCFL, but they did play FC Oswestry Town in the Quarter Finals of this year’s Shropshire Cup, with Oswestry winning 4-1.

Garstang

Garstang have been around since the late 1800’s, playing in the Preston and District League for many years until moving to the West Lancashire League in 1994. They quickly became one of the leading teams in the league, winning several trophies before securing the Premier Division Championship in 2007/08.

They have remained one of the leading sides in the league ever since, and they come into the NWCFL on the back of winning their second Premier Division Championship this season. They won 22 of their 30 games in the league, scoring 96 goals and won the title by two points from reigning Champions Blackpool Wren Rovers.

Linotype Cheadle Heath Nomads

Linotype Cheadle Heath Nomads were formed in 2004 as an amalgamation of two Mid-Cheshire League clubs, Linotype and Cheadle Heath Nomads. They play in Cheadle, with their home ground of The Heath about a mile away from Cheadle Town’s ground.

They were a largely mid-table team before winning the Premier Division title in 2014/15, and have finished in the top five every year since. This season they are currently in fifth place with 13 wins from 27 games, and they have scored 27 goals. They actually finish their season today when they travel to Eagle Sports, and a win could see them finish fourth depending on Billinge FC’s result.

Longridge Town

Longridge Town were formed in 1996 when the two main clubs in the town, Longridge United and Longridge St. Wilfred’s amalgamated. They played in the Preston and District League, rising through the leagues before joining the West Lancashire League in 2007/08.

They have continued their rise and last season finished in their highest ever league position of third place in the West Lancashire League Premier Division. They won 17 of their 30 league games, scored 66 goals and finished 16 points behind Champions Garstang.

Lower Breck

Lower Breck are one of the youngest teams that are joining us having been formed as recently as 2010. In their first two seasons they were a youth team, before joining the Liverpool County Premier League’s 2nd Division in 2012.

Since they then have progressed through the league, and their meteoric rise continued this season with an unbelievably successful season. Not only did they win the Liverpool County Premier League Premier Division Championship, where they went undefeated by winning 22 of their 24 games, but they also won the three other cups they entered!

Rylands

Rylands are another Cheshire League side who are based in North Warrington. They were founded in 1911 and played in the Warrington Premier Division for many years before joining the Mid-Cheshire League in 1968. They have played in this league every since, and have won what is now the Premier Division Championship twice in the 1980’s.

This season they have struggled and have been in real danger of relegation which would have seen them denied promotion to the NWCFL. However four wins in their last seven league games have seen them finish in 11th place, winning 10 of their 28 games and scoring 50 league goals.

Shelley

Shelley are another old club who were formed in 1903 and who have played for many years in the Huddersfield & District. They moved up to the West Yorkshire League in 2011, winning promotion in each of their first two seasons, and have played in the Premier Division since.

They have neither been challenging for promotion or in any danger of relegation over the last five seasons, and they finished in tenth place this season. They won 11 of their 30 league games and scored 52 league goals.

St Martins

St Martins is another club formed in the 19th century, playing their first match in 1897 in the Oswestry & District League. They have played in many local leagues, including one in Wales before the Second World War, before joining the Shropshire County League in 1990. They have since been promoted from there into the West Midlands Regional League.

Over the last eight seasons in the West Midlands Regional League, they have finished in the top eight of their league six times and won one promotion. This season they finished fourth, winning 20 of their 32 games and scoring 87 goals. Remarkably they lost the other 12, and never drew a game all season!

This season also saw them make their debut in the FA Vase where they lost to Ashby Ivanhoe 3-1 at the first stage.

Steeton

Steeton are yet another new member who are over 100 years old, having been first formed in 1905. They have played for much of that time playing locally in the Keighley & District League and Craven & District League, before stepping up to the West Riding League in the late 1980’s.

They have progressed through from the bottom division in the league, with their highest finish being runners up in 2012/13. This season they finished third in the league, winning 14 games and scoring 60 goals.

Stone Dominoes

Stone Dominoes are another club who are returning to the NWCFL after leaving at the end of the 2012/13 season. They have played over 500 games in the league, and won the First Division Championship in 2009/10. The Stoke-on-Trent based side were formed in 1987, and have previously reached the last 16 of the FA Vase.

After leaving the NWCFL, the club – who has 22 teams playing under it – did not have a First Team until 2015/16 when they joined the Staffordshire Senior League and they were promoted to the Premier Division at the end of last season. This season Stone finished in 11th place having won 10 of their 30 games, scoring 55 goals in the league.

Stone Old Alleynians

Stone Old Alleynians actually share a ground with Stone Dominoes, and older supporters in the league will probably agree with us that it is a ground well worth visiting throughout next season. They were formed in 1962 with a team of former pupils, teachers and current pupils, of Alleyne’s Grammar School in Stone.

They played in the Mid-Staffordshire and Staffordshire Senior League before moving to the West Midlands Regional League Division Two in 2007/08. Since they they have been promoted twice to the Premier Division, which is the equivalent level as our First Division.

Alleynians are therefore the second club to be laterally moved to us, and for the last three seasons they have finished mid-table. This season they finished in 13th place, winning 14 of 38 games played and scoring 92 goals.

Vauxhall Motors

Vauxhall have spent ten seasons in the NWCFL in the past, winning the Second Division (now First Division) in 1988/89 and 1995/96, with their last season in the league coming in 1999/00 when they won the First Division (now Premier Division). Since then they progressed right up to the Conference North, but surprisingly resigned in 2013/14 and have spent the last four seasons in the West Cheshire League.

The Ellesmere Port based team finished 2nd in the West Cheshire League First Division this season, picking up 17 wins from their 30 games and finishing on 58 points, 13 points behind Champions South Liverpool. Visits to Rivacre Park are always one of the highlights of the season, with the ground up to Conference North standard and always a great surface to play football on.

Wythenshawe Amateurs

Formed in 1946 by a window cleaner who gathered together a group of kids kicking a ball about in the street, Wythenshawe Amateurs have a proud claim that they have never been relegated in their 72 year history. They played in several local leagues until joining the Manchester League in the 1972/73 season and won promotion to the Premier Division in their first season.

Since then they have won the Premier Division three times and been runners up ten times, including this season when they were runners up to Avro. They won 20 of their 28 games and scored 84 goals. They have also won the Gilgryst Cup a record seven times, including winning it this season.

Wythenshawe Town

Strangely, Wythenshawe Town were formed in the same year as their cross town rivals Amateurs, and have followed a very similar path. That it until very recently though, when Town switched over to the Cheshire League in 2014, and they have progressed through to the top division of that by winning successive Championships.

This season, focus has been very much on getting ready for the NWCFL, and they are in seventh place in the league table. They had 11 wins from 28 games and scored 45 goals. Since the Cheshire League finishes today, they will slip to finish in eighth place should Congleton Vale win their game today!

We are getting our team ready in this transfer window for what promises to be a great season of drama, development and excitement in the North West Counties Football League.

Counties Podcast is about to start its fifth season of covering the NWCFL and next season it will be bigger than ever. We are re-jigging our panel and are looking for a couple of enthusiastic new panel members who can join us for an hour or so at a time to discuss the weekly issues.

Our podcast gets over 1000+ downloads a week and leads the way at Steps 5 and 6 coverage, if you are interested in joining us we can give you a platform for your views on the NWCFL action, some good banter – and whether you like it or not, a bit of a profile.

Join the party, get involved with Counties Podcast and join us for what will be a great season.  We can get you up to speed over the summer (what there is of it!) before pre-season starts.

For information or an informal chat email info@countiespodcast.com or Direct Message us on Twitter @countiespodcast @misterfallon or @garylangley

This coming summer sees a big shake up of Non-League football, the first major restructure since 2004. Non-League football is a pyramid, with the National League at Step 1, National League North and South and Step 2, with each subsequent Step getting narrower in area until you reach Step 7, which is pretty much County level of football.

An FA review over the last couple of years has identified two key things. The first is a need for two new leagues at Step 3 and Step 4, which will roughly be based around the Midlands. These new leagues are to iron out geographical anomalies and to cut down on travelling costs and time for fans, players and officials of clubs. The FA have decided to appoint the Southern League and the Ryman League to manage these leagues.

The second is to reduce the number of teams in Step 3 down to 22 clubs per division, and to reduce the number of teams in Step 4 to Step 6 to 20 teams per division. This is to reduce the number of games played at our level across a season, where it is not uncommon for a team to play 50 games in a season, far more than Football League teams play.

All this means is that the 276 clubs currently playing in Steps 1 to 4 will increase by 20 to 296 when the two new divisions kick-off in August 2018. To achieve its aim, only the bottom clubs in the current Step 3 divisions will be relegated at the end of season 2017-2018. In addition, only the clubs finishing last in the six divisions currently operating at Step 4 will be relegated next season. This does mean that 26 are required from Step 5.

So to get the allocated number of teams at Step 4, the FA have ruled that Champion clubs in each of the 14 Step 5 league will be promoted. Previously you had to apply for promotion and then meet ground grading requirements, criteria that have been relaxed for this season. You win your league, you go up.

That leaves 12 teams required from the 14 Step 5 leagues, and this is where the fun starts! The 12 best runners up across Step 5 will also be promoted this season. To decide who is “the best”, the FA are going to use a Points Per Game average, so that teams in all leagues have an equal opportunity to achieve that elusive promotion.

Here at Podcast Towers we love a stat or two. Therefore we thought we would produce a table that looks at the current best three teams in each division based on points per games. We thought we would do it this way as at this stage of the season, teams may not necessarily be in the top three at present due to having games in hand on other teams.

November 2017

Here are the standings at the start of November 2017. The teams in red are the current teams who would be promoted if the season finished on that day. Those in second spot with the lowest PPG across Step 5 were Bedfont Sports of the Combined Counties League and Haywards Heath Town of the Couthern Combination, and they would both miss out as the FA are only promoting the 12 best second placed teams.

It is also interesting to note that also missing out would be teams such as Hanley Town and Deeping Rovers  who are third in the PPG averages in their league. This is because a maximum of two teams per Step 5 league will be promoted, so those with a lower PPG in a different Step 5 league would be promoted ahead of them!

This is just a snapshot as things stand at present. We will revisit this again more regularly towards the end of the season so that we can see where things are panning out.

February 2018

Here are the standings at the start of February 2018. Again the teams in red are the current teams who would be promoted if the season finished on that day

It is interesting that in the three months that we did this last, things have changed quite a bit. The Southern Combination would still have missed out with their second place best PPG team now on 2.04. But the Combined Counties League had improved theirs to 2.14 which is in the best 12, with the Southern Counties East League now being the other to miss out.

Looking closer to home, Charnock Richard were still the second best team in the NWCFL on a PPG basis, but their average was now at 2.16 compared to 2.5 at the start of November. This still means that the NWCFL would promote two teams, but the league is less comfortable than it was of doing this!

March 2018

Here are the standings at the start of March 2018. Again the teams in red are the current teams who would be promoted if the season finished on that day.

Things have changed dramatically over the last month. As things stand on a PPG basis, the NWCFL has slipped to 13th out of the 14 Step 5 Leagues, meaning that the league would only promote one team at the end of this current season to Step 4. This has a big knock on effect though in our league, as under the current FA rules, that would mean that the NWCFL Premier Division would have to relegate FIVE teams at the end of this season in order to get to the required 20 clubs next season!

It is worth noting that there is little separating the NWCFL though from the Southern Counties East League, with both the second best PPG teams seemingly on 2.04 in the above table. However Whitstable Town have 49 points from 24 games giving an average of 2.041667 whereas Charnock Richard (and indeed Runcorn Town) have 57 points from 28 games, giving an average of 2.035714. Its the smallest of margins at present!

The other Step 5 league that would miss out on two promoted at present is still the Southern Combination, whose second placed team is on 2.0 PPG average at the moment.

We will review matters at the start of April once again, at which point we will update this post on a weekly basis until the end of the season.