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A Decade of Change in the NCEL

22nd December, 2011

A look at the Northern Counties East League tables a decade ago shows how much things can change in ten years.

On this day in 2001, Alfreton Town - who are now in the Blue Square Bet Prem - headed the Premier Division whilst Gedling Town - who no longer exist - were at the top of Division One.

In fact, out of the 36 sides that took part in the Premier Division and Division One that season, eight are now in higher leagues, three are in lower leagues and three have since disbanded.

21 of them are still in the NCEL whilst one is plying their trade at the same level elsewhere.

Let's take a look at each team and where they are now:

Premier Division
1. Alfreton Town (Final Position in 2001/02: 1st; Current Position: Blue Square Bet Premier, 23rd)
After their promotion in 2002, Alfreton Town moved up through the UniBond League and became a team in the inaugural Conference North two years later. After a couple of years of just missing out on promotion, it was finally achieved as champions in 2010/11 and, now part of the Blue Square Bet Premier, Alfreton Town are the highest-ranked former NCEL side.

2. Selby Town (Final Position in 2001/02: 7th; Current Position: Baris NCEL Premier Division, 20th)
Selby Town have stayed in the NCEL Premier Division for the past ten years with their best finish being second in the 2004/05 season, two points behind champions Goole AFC, and they also finished third in 2008/09. Their worst position was 16th in 2002/03.

3. Pickering Town (Final Position in 2001/02: 4th; Current Position: Baris NCEL Premier Division, 18th)
Like Selby Town, Pickering Town have remained in the NCEL Premier Division for the past ten years. They finished third in 2007/08 which is their best final position in the last decade whilst their worst was thirteenth in 2002/03.

4. Hallam (Final Position in 2001/02: 3rd; Current Position: Baris NCEL Division One, 11th)
Hallam remained in the NCEL Premier Division until the end of last season when they finished 19th and were relegated into Division One. Best position was in 2007/08 when they ended up in sixth in the Premier Division.

5. Brigg Town (Final Position in 2001/02: 2nd; Current Position: EvoStik League Division One South, 16th)
After finishing 2001/02 and 2002/03 as runners-up, Brigg were finally promoted at the end of the 2003/04 season in third spot due to a restructuring of the National League System. They've stayed at Step 4 ever since although they were spared relegation back into the NCEL in 2009 due to the withdrawal of Gresley Rovers from the UniBond League.

6. Arnold Town (Final Position in 2001/02: 10th; Current Position: Baris NCEL Premier Division, 16th)
Another side to have stayed in the NCEL Premier Division for all of the past ten years but on two occasions flirted with relegation by finishing in 18th position. Their best season was 2005/06 when they claimed fifth spot.

7. Thackley (Final Position in 2001/02: 8th; Current Position: Baris NCEL Premier Division, 8th)
Thackley have stayed in the NCEL Premier Division for the whole decade with fourth being their best position in 2009/10 and the worst being eighteenth in 2006/07.

8. Sheffield (Final Position in 2001/02: 9th; Current Position: EvoStik League Division One South, 5th)
The world's oldest club finished fourth three seasons in a row before going up as runners-up in the 2006/07 campaign as part of a restructure of the UniBond League.

9. Garforth Town (Final Position in 2001/02: 20th; Current Position: EvoStik League Division One North, 8th)
Despite being midtable at this stage ten years ago, Garforth ended up bottom. But, they stayed up due to a number of factors including Denaby United's demise. The following season, they once again finished bottom and were relegated into Division One. Second spot in 2004/05 meant a quick return to the Premier Division and, finishing fourth in 2006/07, they went up into the newly-expanded UniBond League where they are today.

10. Armthorpe Welfare (Final Position in 2001/02: 6th; Current Position: Baris NCEL Premier Division, 11th)
Armthorpe have been a member of the NCEL Premier Division for the whole of the decade. Their best finish was third in 2009/10 whilst, at the other end of the table, they were eighteenth on two occasions.

11. Harrogate Railway (Final Position in 2001/02: 5th; Current Position: EvoStik League Division One North, 15th)
Fifth spot was followed by a couple of midtable finishes before two third places, the second of which saw them go up into the UniBond League at the end of the 2005/06 season and have stayed at Step 4 ever since. They have twice reached the Second Round of the FA Cup in the last ten years, before bowing out to Bristol City and Mansfield Town.

12. Denaby United (Final Position in 2001/02: 18th; Current Position: Doncaster & District Senior League Division One, 1st)
Denaby United became defunct at the end of the 2001/02 season due to ground issues, five years after they had lifted the Premier Division title. The name returned this season, playing in the Doncaster & District Senior League.

13. Glapwell (Final Position in 2001/02: 14th; Current Position: Windsor Foodservice Central Midlands League Division North, 15th)
A number of midtable NCEL Premier Division seasons before runners-up spot in 2007/08 was good enough for promotion up into the UniBond League. They stayed at step 4 until ground issues forced their resignation in the summer. Now playing in the Windsor Foodservice Central Midlands League.

14. Borrowash Victoria (Final Position in 2001/02: 16th; Current Position: East Midlands Counties League, 2nd)
Borrowash Victoria spent another three seasons in the Premier Division, spared relegation twice when finishing 19th but went down at the end of the 2004/05 campaign having ended up bottom. They had three midtable seasons in Division One before moving across to the newly-formed East Midlands Counties League in 2008.

15. Goole AFC (Final Position in 2001/02: 12th; Current Position: EvoStik League Division One South, 9th)
Goole AFC were promoted into the UniBond League as champions in the 2004/05 season after a couple of top six finishes. They were reprieved from relegation back into the NCEL the following year due to a restructuring of the National League System and also survived despite being docked ten points for entering administration during the 2008/09 season.

16. Liversedge (Final Position in 2001/02: 11th; Current Position: Baris NCEL Premier Division, 12th)
A decade of varying fortunes for Liversedge in the NCEL Premier Division with a runners-up spot in 2005/06 as their best finish whilst they ended up in seventeenth at the end of last season.

17. Brodsworth Welfare (Final Position in 2001/02: 15th)
Brodsworth Welfare were tagged the survivors of the Premier Division after being spared demotion on a number of occasions over the decade until their relegation at the end of the 2009/10 campaign with just two points. They repeated that tally in Division One last season before ground problems saw the team, renamed Brodsworth in the summer, resign from the NCEL just days before the start of the current campaign. A team called Brodsworth Welfare AFC currently takes part in the Doncaster Senior League.

18. Eccleshill United (Final Position in 2001/02: 13th; Current Position: Baris NCEL Division One, 7th)
Eccleshill United stayed pretty much a mid-table NCEL Premier Division side until they finished bottom in the 2008/09 season and were relegated to Division One.

19. Glasshoughton Welfare (Final Position in 2001/02: 17th; Current Position: Baris NCEL Division One, 3rd)
Like Eccleshill, Glasshoughton seemed a perennial mid-table NCEL Premier Division team before relegation in bottom spot in 2007/08. The following season saw them end bottom of Division One but have been steadily improving since.

20. Buxton (Final Position in 2001/02: 19th; Current Position: EvoStik League Premier Division, 19th)
Buxton finished in the bottom two but, like Garforth Town, were spared relegation and took full advantage with top eight finishes for the next three seasons before promotion to the UniBond League as champions in 2005/06. The following campaign saw them win UniBond Division One and they've stayed at Step 3.

Division One
1. Gedling Town (Final Position in 2001/02: 1st)
The champions stayed in Division One, mostly finishing in the top six, until they joined Borrowash Victoria in moving across to the East Midlands Counties League for the 2008/09 season. Resigned from the East Midlands Counties League in the Summer.

2. Worsbrough Bridge Athletic (Final Position in 2001/02: 3rd; Current Position: Baris NCEL Division One, 9th)
Worsbrough have been in Division One for the whole decade with their final position in 2001/02 being their best. Ended the 2009/10 campaign at the bottom of the table.

3. Mickleover Sports (Final Position in 2001/02: 5th; Current Position: EvoStik League Premier Division, 18th)
Promoted as champions the following season and then moved up into the UniBond League after winning the Premier Division title in 2008/09. They were champions again twelve months later and are now plying their trade at Step 3.

4. Lincoln Moorlands (Final Position in 2001/02: 4th; Current Position: Baris NCEL Premier Division, 17th)
Stayed in Division One until a fifth-place finish in 2006/07 was good enough for promotion into the Premier Division due to restructuring further up the National League System. Three seasons towards the foot of the table followed but finished sixth last season.

5. Hall Road Rangers (Final Position in 2001/02: 9th; Current Position: Baris NCEL Premier Division, 14th)
Seasons of varying success in Division One for Hall Road Rangers until their promotion into the Premier Division as runners-up in 2007/08 since when they've been a mid-table side.

6. Hatfield Main (Final Position in 2001/02: 10th; Current Position: Doncaster & District Senior League Premier Division, 5th)
Hatfield Main resigned from the NCEL at the end of the following season. They then joined the Central Midlands League in 2005 but left four years later before reappearing in the Doncaster & District Senior League at the start of last season.

7. Winterton Rangers (Final Position in 2001/02: 7th; Current Position: Baris NCEL Premier Division, 6th)
A run of mid-table finishes before fifth in 2005/06 was followed by a runners-up spot and promotion the following year. Rangers then won the Premier Division title in 2007/08 with 91 points, thirteen ahead of second-placed Glapwell, but couldn't go up into the UniBond League due to ground issues. Since then, have finished each season in the top six.

8. Maltby Main (Final Position in 2001/02: 6th; Current Position: Baris NCEL Premier Division, 19th)
Promoted in third in the 2003/04 season and, despite finishing next-to-bottom the following year, have stayed in the NCEL Premier Division ever since.

9. Bridlington Town (Final Position in 2001/02: 2nd; Current Position: Baris NCEL Premier Division, 3rd)
Bridlington Town ended up promoted as runners-up and then were champions of the Premier Division the following season, beating second-placed Brigg Town by twenty points. The Seasiders then had five seasons in the UniBond League until they were relegated back into the NCEL in 2007/08. They were Premier Division champions again in 2009/10 but decided not to take promotion and finished third last season.

10. Yorkshire Amateur (Final Position in 2001/02: 12th; Current Position: Baris NCEL Division One, 17th)
Best finish was third last season after ending most of the decade's seasons in the bottom half of the Division One table.

11. Tadcaster Albion (Final Position in 2001/02: 13th; Current Position: Baris NCEL Premier Division, 2nd)
Tadcaster Albion promoted to the Premier Division for the first time as champions in 2009/10 after a number of seasons of varying fortunes, finishing bottom in 2003/04, and as high as sixth the following campaign. Ended in fourth spot in their first year in the top flight.

12. Rossington Main (Final Position in 2001/02: 8th; Current Position: Baris NCEL Division One, 8th)
Were bottom in 2006/07 and next-to-bottom the following year but, apart from that, have been a solid mid-table side in Division One for the past decade.

13. Staveley Miners Welfare (Final Position in 2001/02: 15th; Current Position: Baris NCEL Premier Division, 5th)
Staveley Miners Welfare seemed to be another of the sides destined to stay in Division One before a steady improvement saw them finish fourth twice before going up as champions at the end of last season.

14. Parkgate (Final Position in 2001/02: 14th; Current Position: Baris NCEL Premier Division, 7th)
Parkgate perhaps surprised everybody when, after a few seasons of finishing mid-table, they won the Division One title by eleven points in 2006/07 to move up into the Premier Division. But, they have formed an excellent top-flight reputation since with their best finish being runners-up to Farsley AFC last season.

15. Louth United (Final Position in 2001/02: 11th)
Louth United quit the NCEL the following season and, after a few years in the Central Midlands League, they decided to disband in the summer of 2007. Their Park Avenue ground is now used by Louth Town who came into the NCEL in 2010.

16. Pontefract Collieries (Final Position in 2001/02: 16th; Current Position: Baris NCEL Division One, 2nd)
Ended up in bottom spot, improved to finish fourth in the following campaign before spending a few years in the bottom half of the table, culminating in the wooden spoon again in 2007/08. A steady move upwards since has seen them claim ninth, fifth and fifth again in the last three seasons.

Where are they now?
Blue Square Bet Prem (1): Alfreton Town
EvoStik League Premier (2): Buxton, Mickleover Sports
EvoStik League Division One North/South (5): Brigg Town, Garforth Town, Goole AFC, Harrogate Railway, Sheffield
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Baris NCEL Premier Division (14): Armthorpe Welfare, Arnold Town, Bridlington Town, Hall Road Rangers, Liversedge, Lincoln Moorlands Railway, Maltby Main, Parkgate, Pickering Town, Selby Town, Staveley Miners Welfare, Tadcaster Albion, Thackley, Winterton Rangers
Baris NCEL Division One (7): Eccleshill United, Glasshoughton Welfare, Hallam, Pontefract Collieries, Rossington Main, Worsbrough Bridge Athletic, Yorkshire Amateur
East Midlands Counties League (1): Borrowash Victoria
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Windsor Foodservice Central Midlands League (1): Glapwell
Doncaster & District Senior League (2): Denaby United, Hatfield Main
Disbanded (3): Brodsworth Welfare, Gedling Town, Louth United

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Season 2011/12 Tables

NCEL Premier Division P Pts +/-
1 Retford United 38 85 55
2 Bridlington Town 38 84 60
3 Scarborough Ath 38 74 46
4 Brighouse Town 38 73 34
5 Staveley MW 38 71 14
6 Winterton Rangers 38 68 22
7 Parkgate 38 67 27
8 Tadcaster Albion 38 67 18
9 Arnold Town 38 63 10
10 Thackley 38 62 12
11 Barton Town Old Boys 38 53 -3
12 Pickering Town 38 51 -1
13 Armthorpe Welfare 38 50 -1
14 Liversedge 38 41 -18
15 Long Eaton United 38 34 -25
16 Hall Road Rangers (-3) 38 34 -29
17 Nostell MW 38 32 -38
18 Maltby Main 38 29 -43
19 Lincoln Moorlands 38 25 -56
R 20 Selby Town 38 12 -84
NCEL Division One P Pts +/-
R 1 Handsworth 38 82 49
P 2 Glasshoughton Welf 38 79 45
P 3 Worksop Parramore 38 77 43
4 Albion Sports 38 76 36
5 Pontefract Collieries 38 72 37
6 Eccleshill United (2) 38 66 26
7 Rossington Main 38 64 28
8 Hemsworth MW 38 60 7
9 Dinnington Town 38 60 1
10 AFC Emley (-1) 38 57 14
11 Worsbrough Bridge 38 57 9
12 Louth Town 38 55 -3
13 Shirebrook Town 38 51 0
14 Hallam 38 51 -8
15 Teversal 38 51 -12
16 Bottesford Town 38 33 -31
17 Askern Villa 38 33 -33
18 Grimsby Borough 38 26 -56
19 Yorkshire Amateur (-3) 38 25 -59
20 Appleby Frodingham 38 8 -93

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