Midland Football Alliance

Midland Football Alliance
Founded 1994
Folded 2014
Country England
Level on pyramid Level 9
Feeder to Southern League Division One Midlands
Northern Premier League Division One South
Relegation to West Midlands (Regional) League
Premier Division
Midland Combination
Premier Division
Domestic cup(s) League Cup
Joe McGorian Cup
Last champions Tividale Town
(2013–14)
Most championships Stourbridge (2)
Website Midland Alliance

The Midland Football Alliance was an English association football league for semi-professional teams. It covered Leicestershire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Worcestershire and also southern parts of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. The league consisted of a single division which sat at Step 5 of the National League System, or the ninth level of the overall English football league system.

The league was formed in 1994, drawing its initial membership from the strongest clubs in the Midland Football Combination and the West Midlands (Regional) League, both of which became feeder leagues to the new competition. Each season, the champion club of each feeder league was eligible for promotion to the Alliance, and Alliance clubs could in turn be relegated to the feeder leagues. Successful teams in the Alliance were eligible for promotion to a Step 4 league, either the Southern League or Northern Premier League depending on geographical considerations. The league merged with the Midland Combination in 2014 to form the new Midland Football League.

History

The Alliance was formed in 1994, taking its initial member clubs from the West Midlands (Regional) League and the Midland Football Combination, which had existed since before the Second World War, having originally been formed as the Birmingham & District League and the Worcestershire Combination respectively.[1][2] Their catchment areas had gradually converged, and by the early 1990s the standard of play and geographical coverage of the two competitions were considered to be similar enough that a new competition was formed to cater for the best clubs previously split across the two leagues.[3]

The league drew ten member clubs from each of the two leagues for its inaugural season. The clubs selected to join from the Midland Combination were Barwell, Boldmere St Michaels, Bolehall Swifts, Pershore Town, Sandwell Borough, Shepshed Dynamo, Shifnal Town, Stapenhill, Stratford Town and West Midlands Police.[3] Those selected from the West Midlands (Regional) League were Brierley Hill Town, Chasetown, Halesowen Harriers, Hinckley Athletic, Knypersley Victoria, Oldbury United, Paget Rangers, Rocester, Rushall Olympic and Willenhall Town.[3] Paget Rangers won the first league championship by a margin of 12 points from Hinckley Athletic in the 1994–95 season, and gained promotion to the Southern League.[4] The Alliance's status as a feeder to the Southern League was cemented when Armitage 90 were relegated in the opposite direction.[4][5][6] Armitage went on to dominate the league in the 1995–96 season but disbanded midway through the season, with the result that their record was expunged from the table.[4]

Midland Alliance action from 2008, as Boldmere St Michaels (white shirts) take on Barwell

For the 1999–2000 season the league increased in size to 22 clubs when two clubs were promoted into the Alliance but none relegated out of it. One of the promoted clubs was Oadby Town of the Leicestershire Senior League, the first time a team from that league had been promoted into the Alliance.[3] Two years later, the league increased in size to 23 clubs as more teams joined than left,[3] but Stapenhill resigned midway through the 2001–02 season, reverting the number of clubs in the competition back to 22.[7] The league expanded to 24 clubs for the 2003–04 season,[8] at the end of which, for the first time, Alliance clubs were promoted to the Northern Premier League, rather than the Southern League, when Rocester and Willenhall Town joined the more northerly of the two leagues.[3] The following season Coalville Town became the first Alliance team to reach the first round proper of the FA Cup, a feat which was repeated in the 2005–06 season by both Chasetown and Leamington.[9][10][11]

With the creation of the National League System by the Football Association the league was officially defined as a Step 5 league.[12] The champions of the Midland Combination, West Midlands (Regional) League and Leicestershire Senior League continued to gain promotion to the Alliance, although in 2008 the new East Midlands Counties Football League was formed at the Step 6 level and it was anticipated that successful teams from the Leicestershire Senior League, which is officially a Step 7 league, would now move up to the new league and that the champions of the new league would in turn move up to the Alliance if they fell within its coverage area.[13]

In 2014 the Alliance merged with the Midland Combination to form the new Midland Football League. The clubs which had been members of the Alliance formed the Premier Division of the new league.

Structure

The Alliance was known under various sponsored names following deals with companies including Baker-Joiner,[14] Polymac Services, Harvey World Travel,[15] Travel Factory,[16] and Aspire.[17] In July 2008, it was announced that 23 teams would compete in the Alliance in the 2008–09 season, however the following week it was announced that Stapenhill had folded, leaving 22 teams in the league.[18] The league was contested on a double round-robin basis, with each team playing each of the other teams in the division once at home and once away.[19] Three points were awarded for a win, one for a draw and zero for a defeat. Goal difference was used to separate teams on the same points.[20]

As the Alliance was a Step 5 league, its member clubs were eligible to take part in the FA Cup and FA Vase as long as their grounds met the required standards.[21] The league also operated two cup competitions of its own, the knock-out League Cup,[22][23] which was staged every season, and the Joe McGorian Cup, which was contested between the previous season's League Cup winners and league champions and which was first contested in 1996.[22][24]

According to official FA regulations, clubs from the Alliance were eligible for promotion to a Step 4 league, provided their grounds met the required standard. Clubs promoted from Step 5 leagues were placed in the most geographically appropriate Step 4 leagues as determined by the FA's Leagues Committee. The number of clubs promoted from the Alliance each season could vary, as regulations stated that the "ten most suitable clubs from the leagues at Step 5" will gain promotion.[12] All clubs gaining promotion from the Alliance were placed in either the Southern League or the Northern Premier League.[3] Teams finishing at the bottom of the Alliance table could be relegated to an appropriate feeder league, depending on the number of teams remaining in the division after other promotion and relegation issues have been resolved.[3]

Attendance

The Beehive, home of Studley, where the average attendance in the 2007–08 season was 79

Attendances at Midland Alliance matches were generally small, with many matches attracting fewer than 100 spectators. In the 2006–07 season the average attendance across the league was 124, but in the 2007–08 season this fell to 87. The best supported team in that season was Atherstone Town, whose average home attendance was 162. The worst supported team was Oldbury United whose matches drew an average of only 39 spectators. The highest attendance for a single match was 411, for the match between Stratford Town and Barwell. Barwell also took part in the match with the lowest attendance, when their game away to Oldbury United drew only 20 spectators.[25]

The largest crowd ever registered for an Alliance match was 1,280, for the match between Racing Club Warwick and local rivals Leamington on 26 December 2005. The smallest crowd recorded was 10, for a match between Wednesfield and Biddulph Victoria on 19 April 2003.[22]

Final member clubs 2013–14

The member clubs of the league for the 2013–14 season were as follows. Clubs which were among the league's founder members are shown in bold.

Club Town Home stadium Joined[26] 2012–13 position
AlvechurchAlvechurch Lye Meadow 2003 11th
AFC WulfruniansWolverhampton Castlecroft Stadium2013 Promoted from the West Midlands (Regional) League Premier Division
Boldmere St. MichaelsBoldmere Trevor Brown Memorial Ground 19949th
Causeway UnitedStourbridge War Memorial Athletic Ground 2002 17th
Coleshill TownColeshill Pack Meadow 2008 15th
Continental StarRushall Dales Lane 2012 16th
Coventry SphinxCoventry Sphinx Drive 2007 14th
DunkirkDunkirk The Ron Steel Sports Ground 201010th
Gornal AthleticLower Gornal The Garden Walk Stadium 2012 3rd
Heath HayesHeath Hayes Coppice Colliery Ground 201018th
Heather St JohnsHeather St Johns Park2011 20th
Highgate UnitedShirley The Coppice 2008 19th
Kirby MuxloeKirby Muxloe Ratby Lane 200912th
Loughborough UniversityLoughborough Loughborough University Stadium 20094th
RocesterRocester Hillsfield 2005 13th
QuornQuorn Sutton Park 2013Transferred from the United Counties League Premier Division
Shepshed DynamoShepshed The Dovecote 2013 Transferred from the United Counties League Premier Division
Stourport SwiftsStourport-on-Severn Walshes Meadow 20125th
Tipton TownTipton Tipton Sports Academy 2005 6th
TividaleTividale The Beeches 2011 8th
Walsall WoodWalsall Wood Oak Park 2013 Promoted from the Midland Combination Premier Division
WestfieldsHereford allpay.park 2003 2nd

Champions and cup-winners

The area covered by the Midland Alliance is coloured mid blue.

The champions and runners-up of the league were as follows:[27]

Season Champions Runners-up
1994–95 Paget RangersHinckley United
1995–96 Shepshed DynamoBlakenall
1996–97 BlakenallHinckley Athletic
1997–98 Bloxwich TownRocester
1998–99 RocesterKings Norton Town
1999–2000 Oadby TownStratford Town
2000–01 Stourport SwiftsRushall Olympic
2001–02 StourbridgeRushall Olympic
2002–03 StourbridgeBromsgrove Rovers
2003–04 RocesterWillenhall Town
2004–05 Rushall OlympicChasetown
2005–06 Chasetown[10]Stourbridge[28]
2006–07 Leamington[11]Romulus[29]
2007–08 Atherstone Town[30]Loughborough Dynamo[31]
2008–09Market Drayton TownBarwell[32]
2009–10BarwellCoalville Town
2010–11Coalville TownTipton Town
2011–12GresleyWestfields
2012–13Stratford TownWestfields
2013–14TividaleBoldmere St. Michaels

The winners of the Alliance's two cup competitions were as follows:[33]

Season League Cup Joe McGorian Cup
1994–95 Sandwell BoroughNot contested
1995–96 BlakenallNot contested
1996–97 Willenhall TownShepshed Dynamo
1997–98 Knypersley VictoriaWillenhall Town
1998–99 Oldbury UnitedKnypersley Victoria
1999–2000 Willenhall TownOldbury United
2000–01 StourbridgeOadby Town
2001–02 Rushall OlympicStourbridge
2002–03 Stratford TownStourbridge
2003–04 Stratford TownStratford Town
2004–05 Racing Club WarwickNot contested
2005–06 BarwellRacing Club Warwick
2006–07 LeamingtonChasetown
2007–08 Shifnal TownLeamington
2008–09Market Drayton Town Atherstone Town
2009–10Coventry Sphinx Barwell
2010–11Stratford Town Barwell
2011–12Loughborough University Stratford Town
2012–13Loughborough University Gresley
2013–14QuornLoughborough University

References

  1. ↑ Robinson, Michael (2005). Non-League Football Tables 1889–2005. Soccer Books Limited. p. 88. ISBN 1-86223-125-7.
  2. ↑ "History". Worcestershire County FA. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Robinson, Michael. Non-League Football Tables 1889–2005. p. 123.
  4. 1 2 3 Robinson, Michael. Non-League Football Tables 1889–2005. p. 124.
  5. ↑ "Paget Rangers". The Football Club History Database. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  6. ↑ "Armitage '90". The Football Club History Database. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  7. ↑ "Stapenhill". The Football Club History Database. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  8. ↑ Robinson, Michael. Non-League Football Tables 1889–2005. p. 125.
  9. ↑ "Coalville". The Football Club History Database. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  10. 1 2 "Chasetown". The Football Club History Database. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  11. 1 2 "Leamington". The Football Club History Database. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  12. 1 2 "National League System" (pdf). The Football Association. Retrieved 2012-04-07.
  13. ↑ "New Era for Vics". Non-League Daily. 2008-06-04. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  14. ↑ "Midland Football Alliance 2010–11". Rocester F.C. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
  15. ↑ Nick Pullen (2006-06-29). "Lycett to rescue for the Midland Alliance". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  16. ↑ "Jefferson Taps in for Point". Hereford Times. 2005-01-06. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  17. ↑ Nick Pullen (2008-06-13). "Sponsorship boost for Midland Football Alliance". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  18. ↑ "News Items". Tipton Town F.C. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  19. ↑ "Fixtures & Results Grid: Midland Football Alliance". Tony's English Football Site. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  20. ↑ "Table: Midland Football Alliance". Tony's English Football Site. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  21. ↑ "FA Competition Administration". The Football Association. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
  22. 1 2 3 "League stats". Midland Football Alliance. Archived from the original on 2008-09-22. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  23. ↑ "Hungry Wolf". Worcester News. 2004-12-22. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  24. ↑ "Barwell swoop to cup win over Sphinx". The Hinckley Times. 2005-08-10. Retrieved 2012-04-08.
  25. ↑ "Attendances: Midland Alliance". Tony's English Football Site. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  26. ↑ Indicates the most recent occasion on which the club entered the Alliance
  27. ↑ Robinson, Michael. Non-League Football Tables 1889–2005. pp. 124–125.
  28. ↑ "Stourbridge". The Football Club History Database. Retrieved 2008-09-10.
  29. ↑ "Romulus". The Football Club History Database. Retrieved 2008-09-10.
  30. ↑ "Atherstone Town". The Football Club History Database. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  31. ↑ "Loughborough Dynamo". The Football Club History Database. Retrieved 2008-09-10.
  32. ↑ "Final Table 2008/09". Midland Football Alliance. Retrieved 2009-04-25.
  33. ↑ "League Stats". Midland Football Alliance. Archived from the original on 2008-09-22. Retrieved 2008-09-10.

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