2021–22 Midland Football League

The 2021–22 Midland Football League season was the eighth in the history of the Midland Football League, a football competition in England. The Midland League operates two divisions in the English football league system, the Premier Division at Step 5, and Division One at Step 6, and these two divisions are covered by this article.

The allocations for Steps 5 and 6 for this season were announced by The Football Association on 18 May 2021,[1] and were subject to appeal.

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.[2][3][4]

Premier Division

Football league season
Midland Football League
Premier Division
Season2021–22
ChampionsHanley Town (1st title)
PromotedHanley Town
Boldmere St Michaels
RelegatedHaughmond
Matches played342
Goals scored1,122 (3.28 per match)
Biggest home winLichfield City 9–0 Uttoxeter Town (13 November 2021)
Biggest away winWolverhampton Casuals 1–7 Lye Town (30 October 2021)
Bewdley Town 0–6 Stourport Swifts (27 December 2021)
Wolverhampton Casuals 1–7 Hanley Town (18 January 2022)
Highest scoringBewdley Town 3–8 Shifnal Town (9 November 2021)

The Premier Division featured 11 clubs which competed in the previous season, along with eight new clubs.

Congleton Town's initial transfer to this division from the North West Counties League was reversed on appeal.[5]

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Hanley Town 36 25 8 3 82 26 +56 83 Promoted to the Northern Premier League
2 Boldmere St Michaels 36 22 8 6 71 35 +36 74 Qualified for the inter-step play-off, then promoted to the Northern Premier League[a]
3 Lichfield City 36 20 8 8 82 42 +40 68
4 Worcester City 36 20 5 11 70 37 +33 65
5 AFC Wulfrunians 36 17 9 10 57 48 +9 60
6 Walsall Wood 36 15 12 9 69 43 +26 57
7 Shifnal Town 36 16 8 12 69 45 +24 56
8 Lye Town 36 16 7 13 58 38 +20 55
9 Romulus 36 16 6 14 59 57 +2 54
10 Stone Old Alleynians 36 14 10 12 59 63 −4 52
11 Tividale 36 14 9 13 50 55 −5 51
12 Whitchurch Alport 36 15 3 18 64 73 −9 48
13 Stourport Swifts 36 11 13 12 58 57 +1 46
14 Racing Club Warwick 36 12 6 18 51 61 −10 42
15 Highgate United 36 6 12 18 44 65 −21 30
16 Uttoxeter Town 36 7 9 20 38 76 −38 30
17 Wolverhampton Casuals 36 9 4 23 46 101 −55 30[b]
18 Bewdley Town 36 6 8 22 42 110 −68 26 Reprieved from relegation[c]
19 Haughmond 36 6 5 25 53 90 −37 23 Relegated 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[8]
Notes:
  1. ^ Contested an inter-step play-off match as one of bottom six runners-up from Step 5 with the most points per game (PPG) at the end of the 2021–22 season against one of the seven third-from-bottom clubs with the fewest PPG from the eight divisions at Step 4. The winner rose to Step 4 for the 2022–23 season, while the loser dropped to Step 5.[6]
  2. ^ Wolverhampton Casuals were deducted 1 point for fielding an ineligible player.
  3. ^ Reprieved as one of twelve clubs with the most PPG out of 16 that were second-from-bottom at Step 5.[7]

Inter-step play-off

Chalfont St Peter v Boldmere St Michaels
30 April 2022 Chalfont St Peter0–4 Boldmere St Michaels Chalfont St Peter
15:00 BST Daley 29'
Byrne 33', 70'
McSkeane 63'		 Stadium: Mill Meadow
Attendance: 313

Results table

Home \ Away WUL BEW BSM HAN HAU HIG LIC LYE RCW ROM SHI SOA STO TIV UTT WAL WHI WVC WOR
AFC Wulfrunians — 0–0 1–1 3–1 3–0 2–0 2–1 2–1 3–3 0–2 2–0 2–0 2–1 2–2 0–0 1–2 2–0 5–2 3–1
Bewdley Town 0–5 — 0–3 2–1 5–5 1–0 2–5 0–2 0–0 1–1 3–8 1–2 0–6 1–2 2–1 1–1 1–4 3–0 0–3
Boldmere St Michaels 1–0 6–1 — 1–2 3–1 1–1 3–2 2–2 2–1 1–1 2–0 3–0 2–1 3–1 3–0 1–0 4–0 3–1 0–2
Hanley Town 1–1 6–0 2–1 — 4–2 3–0 2–2 1–1 4–0 2–0 3–1 2–1 4–0 0–0 1–0 1–1 2–0 6–1 1–0
Haughmond 4–1 0–1 0–2 1–5 — 1–1 0–3 2–1 1–1 4–1 0–1 0–3 1–3 1–2 1–0 2–4 3–4 3–0 0–1
Highgate United 1–1 2–2 2–4 2–2 2–1 — 0–0 2–3 2–0 5–3 2–1 3–4 3–1 0–1 0–0 1–1 0–2 2–2 1–2
Lichfield City 3–0 3–0 1–1 0–1 3–2 4–0 — 2–0 4–1 3–0 1–2 3–2 1–4 4–0 9–0 4–2 1–4 3–0 2–0
Lye Town 1–0 3–1 2–0 0–1 5–1 2–0 0–0 — 2–1 3–0 0–0 1–3 1–1 0–1 0–2 2–0 3–1 3–0 2–0
Racing Club Warwick 4–0 0–4 2–4 1–2 3–2 2–1 4–0 1–0 — 0–1 2–3 3–3 0–1 1–0 6–3 0–3 1–5 3–0 0–1
Romulus 0–2 6–1 0–3 2–2 1–1 2–1 1–4 3–1 2–0 — 2–1 5–1 0–0 1–0 6–0 1–1 3–1 3–0 0–2
Shifnal Town 7–0 5–0 1–2 1–0 4–2 0–0 1–1 2–1 0–2 2–3 — 0–2 1–0 3–0 4–0 2–1 3–1 6–1 2–0
Stone Old Alleynians 0–2 1–1 0–0 0–1 2–1 1–0 1–2 3–2 1–0 1–2 2–2 — 3–3 4–1 2–1 3–3 3–2 1–1 1–0
Stourport Swifts 2–1 3–3 1–1 0–3 4–1 0–3 0–1 1–0 0–0 2–1 2–2 1–1 — 4–2 1–3 0–0 2–0 5–0 1–1
Tividale 1–3 4–0 2–1 0–0 1–0 2–2 2–3 2–2 0–2 2–0 1–0 1–0 1–1 — 3–0 0–2 3–3 5–1 0–0
Uttoxeter Town 0–1 3–0 0–2 0–1 3–3 3–2 1–1 0–0 2–0 1–2 1–1 2–2 2–2 2–2 — 0–3 3–0 1–2 0–1
Walsall Wood 1–1 6–1 3–0 1–2 4–3 6–0 0–0 0–1 2–2 2–0 0–0 1–2 2–2 2–0 2–1 — 1–2 4–0 1–1
Whitchurch Alport 2–0 3–1 1–1 0–5 2–1 3–2 1–4 2–1 1–2 0–2 2–0 3–3 2–1 2–3 4–0 1–2 — 3–1 1–2
Wolverhampton Casuals 0–1 4–3 1–2 1–7 1–3 1–0 1–1 1–7 0–2 2–1 2–2 4–0 5–1 4–1 2–3 2–1 3–2 — 0–1
Worcester City 3–3 6–0 0–2 0–1 6–0 1–1 2–1 0–3 2–1 5–1 2–1 4–1 4–1 1–2 5–0 3–4 4–0 4–0 —
Source: Midland League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Stadia and locations

Club Location Stadium Capacity
AFC Wulfrunians Wolverhampton Castlecroft Stadium 2,000
Bewdley Town Bewdley Ribbesford Meadows 1,000
Boldmere St. Michaels Boldmere Trevor Brown Memorial Ground 2,000
Hanley Town Hanley Potteries Park
Haughmond Shrewsbury Shrewsbury Sports Village 1,000
Highgate United Shirley The Coppice 2,000
Lichfield City Lichfield City Ground 1,000
Lye Town Lye The Sports Ground 1,000
Racing Club Warwick Warwick Townsend Meadow 1,280
Romulus Birmingham (Castle Vale) Castle Vale Stadium 2,000
Shifnal Town Shifnal Phoenix Park
Stone Old Alleynians Stone Yarnfield Lane
Stourport Swifts Stourport-on-Severn Walshes Meadow 2,000
Tividale Tividale The Beeches 2,000
Uttoxeter Town Uttoxeter Oldfields
Walsall Wood Walsall Wood Oak Park 1,000
Whitchurch Alport Whitchurch Yockings Park
Wolverhampton Casuals Featherstone Brinsford Lane
Worcester City Worcester Claines Lane 1,000

Division One

Football league season
Midland Football League
Division One
Season2021–22
ChampionsAtherstone Town
PromotedAtherstone Town
Darlaston Town (1874)
RelegatedDudley Sports
Matches played342
Goals scored1,196 (3.5 per match)

Division One featured eight clubs which competed in the previous season, along with eleven new clubs, from the West Midlands (Regional) League:

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Atherstone Town 36 30 5 1 93 26 +67 95 Promoted to the Premier Division
2 Darlaston Town (1874) 36 23 9 4 98 27 +71 78 Qualified for the play-offs, then promoted to the Premier Division
3 Stapenhill 36 24 6 6 97 43 +54 78 Qualified for the play-offs
4 Ashby Ivanhoe 36 23 5 8 99 58 +41 74
5 Dudley Town 36 22 6 8 76 38 +38 72
6 OJM Black Country Rangers 36 18 10 8 90 58 +32 58[a]
7 Bilston Town 36 17 4 15 75 67 +8 55
8 Nuneaton Griff 36 16 5 15 51 64 −13 53
9 Wolverhampton Sporting 36 18 3 15 63 58 +5 51[b]
10 Heath Hayes 36 15 6 15 58 55 +3 51
11 Wednesfield 36 12 9 15 44 53 −9 45
12 Paget Rangers 36 12 5 19 49 71 −22 41
13 Khalsa Football Federation 36 11 5 20 48 83 −35 35[c]
14 AFC Bridgnorth 36 9 8 19 39 84 −45 35
15 Cradley Town 36 10 4 22 41 82 −41 34
16 Chelmsley Town 36 8 9 19 42 57 −15 33
17 Coventry Copsewood 36 9 5 22 57 83 −26 32 Reprieved from relegation[d]
18 Shawbury United 36 7 4 25 44 80 −36 25
19 Dudley Sports 36 2 4 30 32 109 −77 10 Relegated to the West Midlands (Regional) 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[8]
Notes:
  1. ^ Black Country Rangers were deducted 3 points for fielding an ineligible player and an additional 3 points for failing to fulfil a fixture on 30 April 2022.
  2. ^ Wolverhampton Sporting were deducted 6 points for failing to fulfil a fixture on 4 October 2021 and for fielding an ineligible player. They were awarded a home win after Black Country failed to raise a team.
  3. ^ Khalsa Football Federation were deducted 3 points for failing to fulfil a fixture on 5 November.
  4. ^ All third-from-bottom clubs at Step 6 were reprieved from relegation. Fifteen second-from-bottom sides were also reprieved on a PPG basis.[9]

Play-offs

Semifinals Final
      
2 Darlaston Town (1874) 4
5 Dudley Town 0
2 Darlaston Town (1874) 2
3 Stapenhill 1
3 Stapenhill 4
4 Ashby Ivanhoe 2

Results table

Home \ Away BRI ASH ATH BIL BCR CHE CVC CRA DAR DLS DLT HEA KFF NUN PAG SHA STA WED WSC
AFC Bridgnorth — 2–2 2–2 2–2 0–5 0–2 1–5 5–0 2–2 0–2 0–3 1–2 2–1 0–1 1–0 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–4
Ashby Ivanhoe 4–0 — 1–1 4–3 2–4 2–1 2–1 3–2 0–2 1–0 3–1 4–3 8–1 7–0 4–1 2–0 1–2 3–0 3–1
Atherstone Town 3–0 1–1 — 3–1 4–1 4–1 2–0 3–0 1–1 2–1 0–0 4–0 2–0 4–1 4–1 6–2 3–1 4–0 1–0
Bilston Town 0–1 1–2 1–5 — 4–2 0–0 4–3 2–3 1–0 6–0 3–0 1–3 3–0 0–1 2–0 3–2 1–3 1–4 1–2
OJM Black Country Rangers 4–1 5–2 2–3 3–3 — 0–1 1–1 5–1 4–4 4–1 1–0 3–0 2–0 4–1 3–1 3–0 2–2 2–3 3–1
Chelmsley Town 0–1 2–2 0–3 0–1 3–2 — 5–2 3–1 1–2 1–1 0–1 1–1 0–1 5–0 2–2 1–3 1–3 0–1 2–3
Coventry Copsewood 2–0 1–7 1–3 1–2 2–3 1–0 — 2–3 0–3 4–1 2–2 1–2 2–3 0–2 2–1 2–4 0–6 3–0 2–2
Cradley Town 0–1 2–3 1–3 1–2 1–3 0–0 2–3 — 0–0 2–1 2–0 1–4 1–3 0–4 3–2 1–0 1–5 0–0 2–3
Darlaston Town (1874) 7–1 0–1 0–2 6–1 1–1 4–0 3–1 5–1 — 7–0 0–0 3–0 7–0 5–0 4–0 2–1 4–0 1–0 5–0
Dudley Sports 0–2 1–6 1–2 1–4 2–2 1–1 1–2 1–1 0–5 — 2–5 0–2 0–3 2–3 1–3 3–1 0–5 0–1 0–4
Dudley Town 8–0 4–0 0–1 1–3 2–2 3–0 3–2 4–0 2–0 6–1 — 0–3 2–1 2–1 3–1 2–1 0–2 2–1 2–0
Heath Hayes 1–2 4–3 0–1 0–5 2–3 0–1 0–0 4–1 1–1 2–0 0–1 — 4–1 0–1 0–2 5–1 2–4 1–1 3–0
Khalsa Football Federation 2–1 1–4 1–3 0–4 2–2 1–1 1–3 1–0 0–2 3–2 1–2 0–0 — 2–1 1–2 3–1 3–7 1–1 1–3
Nuneaton Griff 2–2 3–1 0–1 4–2 3–0 3–1 1–1 0–1 1–2 3–1 0–6 1–1 3–2 — 1–2 2–1 0–2 1–1 0–2
Paget Rangers 1–4 1–4 0–2 3–0 1–4 3–2 2–1 2–1 1–1 3–1 2–2 1–0 2–2 1–2 — 2–1 1–5 2–2 0–1
Shawbury United 4–0 1–1 2–3 1–1 2–2 1–2 2–1 1–2 0–2 2–0 1–2 1–2 2–0 0–2 1–3 — 0–0 1–3 0–1
Stapenhill 1–1 4–2 3–0 1–2 1–1 1–0 4–2 2–0 2–2 5–1 1–3 1–2 0–3 2–0 2–0 7–1 — 4–1 3–1
Wednesfield 2–0 1–2 0–4 0–2 1–2 2–1 3–0 1–2 0–1 3–2 1–1 3–2 0–2 0–0 1–0 5–1 0–2 — 1–1
Wolverhampton Sporting 6–1 1–2 0–3 5–3 +/-[a] 1–1 2–1 1–2 2–4 3–1 0–1 1–2 4–1 1–3 1–0 4–0 1–3 1–0 —
Source: Midland League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.
Notes:
  1. ^ Wolverhampton Sporting v OJM Black Country Rangers (30 April 2022) was declared a home walkover after OJM Black Country failed to raise a team.

Stadia and locations

Club Location Stadium Capacity
AFC Bridgnorth Bridgnorth Crown Meadow
Ashby Ivanhoe Ashby-de-la-Zouch Lower Packington Road
Atherstone Town Atherstone Sheepy Road 3,000
Bilston Town Bilston Queen Street
Black Country Rangers Lye The Sports Ground[a]
Chelmsley Town Coleshill Pack Meadow
Coventry Copsewood Coventry Allard Way 2,000
Cradley Town Cradley Beeches View
Darlaston Town (1874) Walsall Bentley Sports Pavilion
Dudley Sports Brierley Hill Hillcrest Avenue
Dudley Town Willenhall Aspray 24 Arena[b]
Heath Hayes Heath Hayes Coppice Colliery Ground
Nuneaton Griff Nuneaton Pingles Stadium 6,000
Paget Rangers Sutton Coldfield Coles Lane 2,000
Shawbury United Ludlow Ludlow Football Stadium 1,000
Smethwick Khalsa Football Federation Tividale The Beeches[c]
Stapenhill Stapenhill Edge Hill 1,000
Wednesfield Wednesfield Cottage Ground
Wolverhampton Sporting Great Wyrley Pride Park
  1. ^ Groundshare with Lye Town
  2. ^ Groundshare with Sporting Khalsa
  3. ^ Groundshare with Tividale

Division Two

Football league season
Midland Football League
Division Two
Season2021–22
ChampionsCadbury Athletic
PromotedCoton Green

Division Two featured 12 clubs which competed in the division last season, along with 3 new clubs:

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Cadbury Athletic 28 19 9 0 82 17 +65 66
2 Coton Green 28 17 6 5 61 34 +27 57 Promoted to Division One
3 Knowle 28 17 5 6 70 30 +40 56
4 Fairfield Villa 28 15 6 7 54 40 +14 51
5 Kenilworth Sporting 28 13 9 6 52 32 +20 48
6 Inkberrow 28 14 2 12 62 45 +17 44
7 Alcester Town 28 11 11 6 63 49 +14 44
8 Redditch Borough 28 9 5 14 44 43 +1 32
9 Earlswood Town 28 8 6 14 40 60 −20 30
10 Coventry Alvis 28 8 6 14 35 70 −35 30
11 Hampton 28 7 6 15 34 61 −27 27
12 Barnt Green Spartak 28 5 10 13 33 50 −17 25
13 Boldmere Sports & Social Falcon 28 6 6 16 39 50 −11 24
14 Lane Head 28 5 8 15 37 70 −33 23
15 Bolehall Swifts 28 5 7 16 19 74 −55 22
Source: FA Full-Time

Division Three

Football league season
Midland Football League
Division Three
Season2021–22
ChampionsAFC Coventry Rangers
PromotedAFC Coventry Rangers
Sutton United

Division Three featured 11 clubs which competed in the division last season, along with 5 new club:

  • AFC Coventry Rangers
  • AFC Birmingham, transferred from the West Midlands (Regional) League Division Two
  • Balsall and Berkswell, joined from the Coventry Alliance
  • DSC United
  • Bartley Reds

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 AFC Coventry Rangers 28 23 2 3 140 29 +111 71 Promoted to Division Two
2 Sutton United 28 20 1 7 104 49 +55 61
3 Coventrians 28 18 4 6 89 45 +44 58
4 AFC Solihull 28 19 1 8 91 51 +40 58
5 Central Ajax 28 18 2 8 84 47 +37 53[a]
6 AFC Birmingham 28 16 4 8 65 39 +26 52
7 Upton Town 28 15 5 8 82 56 +26 50 Resigned from the league
8 Balsall and Berkswell 28 15 4 9 61 46 +15 49
9 Enville Athletic 28 13 1 14 54 54 0 40
10 DSC United 28 8 4 16 62 68 −6 28
11 Leamington Hibs 28 7 6 15 42 65 −23 27
12 Castle Vale Town 28 6 3 19 40 99 −59 20[b]
13 Birmingham Tigers 28 5 3 20 41 98 −57 18
14 Continental Star 28 2 3 23 29 105 −76 8[c]
15 Bartley Reds 28 2 1 25 17 150 −133 7 Resigned from the league
16 WLV Sport 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.
Notes:
  1. ^ Central Ajax 3 points deducted.
  2. ^ Castle Vale Town 1 point deducted.
  3. ^ Continental Star 1 point deducted.

References

  1. ^ "National League System club allocations – Steps 5–6, Season 2021–22" (PDF). The FA. May 2021 – via The Non-League Paper.
  2. ^ "Coronavirus: All football below National League to end". BBC Sport. 26 March 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  3. ^ "FA provides update on NLS Steps 3-6". The Football Association. 24 February 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  4. ^ "EXPLAINED: The 2021-22 Non-League restructure". The Non-League Paper. 12 April 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Congleton Town Win Appeal". nwcfl.com. North West Counties Football League. 24 June 2021.
  6. ^ Miller, Pete. "Non League 21/22 Promotion and Relegation: Step 5 Promotion". Google Docs.
  7. ^ The FA: "12 clubs across Step 5 to be reprieved. Reprieves are based on those with the highest PPG, starting with 2nd from bottom Clubs first, then bottom. As it stands, this would be 12 of the 16 2nd from bottom Clubs."
  8. ^ a b "The FA Handbook 2020/2021 Part 29 Standardised Rules Section 12.2". The FA.
  9. ^ Miller, Pete. "Non League 21/22 Promotion and Relegation: Step 6 Relegation". Google Docs.

External links

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