# 2021–22 Spartan South Midlands Football League

The 2021–22 season was the 25th in the history of the Spartan South Midlands Football League, a football competition in England. The league operates three divisions, two of which are in covered in this article: the Premier Division at Step 5, and Division One at Step 6 of the English football league system.
The league constitution for this season was based on allocations for Steps 5 and 6 that were announced by The Football Association on 18 May 2021, and were subject to appeal.
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.

## Premier Division

The Premier Division featured 13 clubs which competed in the division last season, along with seven new clubs.
* Transferred from the Hellenic League:
** Ardley United
** Flackwell Heath
** Holmer Green
** Risborough Rangers
* PLus:
** Hadley, transferred from the Essex Senior League
** Milton Keynes Irish, promoted from Division One
** New Salamis, promoted from Division One
Cockfosters, initially allocated to this division from the Essex Senior League, successfully appealed and the transfer was rescinded.

### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | New Salamis | 38 | 30 | 4 | 4 | 123 | 36 | +87 | 94 | Promoted to the Isthmian League |
| 2 | Risborough Rangers | 38 | 29 | 6 | 3 | 101 | 23 | +78 | 93 | Retented at Step 5 |
| 3 | Hadley | 38 | 25 | 8 | 5 | 78 | 33 | +45 | 83 | Promoted to the Southern League |
| 4 | Leighton Town | 38 | 20 | 11 | 7 | 78 | 42 | +36 | 71 | |
| 5 | Harpenden Town | 38 | 20 | 8 | 10 | 69 | 45 | +24 | 68 | |
| 6 | Flackwell Heath | 38 | 21 | 5 | 12 | 66 | 42 | +24 | 68 | Transferred to the Combined Counties League |
| 7 | Ardley United | 38 | 17 | 9 | 12 | 67 | 45 | +22 | 60 | |
| 8 | Leverstock Green | 38 | 17 | 5 | 16 | 63 | 57 | +6 | 56 | |
| 9 | Dunstable Town | 38 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 50 | 60 | −10 | 50 | |
| 10 | Arlesey Town | 38 | 13 | 8 | 17 | 58 | 77 | −19 | 47 | |
| 11 | Harefield United | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 70 | 67 | +3 | 46 | Transferred to the Combined Counties League |
| 12 | Milton Keynes Irish | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 55 | 59 | −4 | 46 | Transferred to the United Counties League |
| 13 | Tring Athletic | 38 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 51 | 61 | −10 | 43 | |
| 14 | Aylesbury Vale Dynamos | 38 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 57 | 85 | −28 | 43 | |
| 15 | Oxhey Jets | 38 | 12 | 6 | 20 | 60 | 101 | −41 | 42 | Transferred to the Combined Counties League |
| 16 | Broadfields United | 38 | 12 | 1 | 25 | 55 | 81 | −26 | 37 | Transferred to the Combined Counties League |
| 17 | Baldock Town | 38 | 9 | 8 | 21 | 51 | 73 | −22 | 35 | |
| 18 | Crawley Green | 38 | 8 | 6 | 24 | 57 | 92 | −35 | 30 | |
| 19 | London Colney | 38 | 9 | 3 | 26 | 38 | 99 | −61 | 30 | Reprieved from relegation |
| 20 | Holmer Green | 38 | 7 | 8 | 23 | 44 | 113 | −69 | 29 | Relegated to Division One |
* ↑ Risborough Rangers failed to meet ground grading standards and were not promoted. Their appeal was unsuccessful.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000011-QINU`"'
* ↑ Reprieved as one of 12 clubs with the most PPG out of 16 that were second-from-bottom at Step 5.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000013-QINU`"'

## Division One

Division One featured nine clubs which competed in the division last season, along with eleven new clubs.
* Transferred from the United Counties League:
** Burton Park Wanderers
** Irchester United
** Northampton Sileby Rangers
** Raunds Town
** Rushden & Higham United
** Wellingborough Whitworth
* Transferred from the Hellenic League:
** Kidlington reserves
** Long Crendon
** Penn & Tylers Green
** Thame Rangers
* Plus:
** Letchworth Garden City Eagles, promoted from the Hertfordshire Senior County League

### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Stotfold | 38 | 31 | 3 | 4 | 126 | 31 | +95 | 96 | Promoted to the Premier Division |
| 2 | Ampthill Town | 38 | 25 | 8 | 5 | 93 | 52 | +41 | 83 | Qualified for the play-offs |
| 3 | Winslow United | 38 | 25 | 5 | 8 | 104 | 40 | +64 | 80 | Qualified for the play-offs |
| 4 | Shefford Town & Campton | 38 | 26 | 2 | 10 | 115 | 57 | +58 | 80 | Qualified for the play-offs, then promoted to the Premier Division |
| 5 | Wellingborough Whitworth | 38 | 24 | 4 | 10 | 114 | 63 | +51 | 76 | Qualified for the play-offs |
| 6 | Northampton Sileby Rangers | 38 | 23 | 4 | 11 | 110 | 66 | +44 | 73 | |
| 7 | Bedford | 38 | 19 | 7 | 12 | 90 | 72 | +18 | 63 | |
| 8 | Long Crendon | 38 | 18 | 5 | 15 | 99 | 75 | +24 | 59 | Transferred to the Hellenic League |
| 9 | Buckingham Athletic | 38 | 18 | 4 | 16 | 78 | 57 | +21 | 58 | |
| 10 | Penn & Tylers Green | 38 | 15 | 9 | 14 | 85 | 74 | +11 | 54 | Transferred to the Combined Counties League |
| 11 | Rushden & Higham United | 38 | 15 | 7 | 16 | 61 | 82 | −21 | 52 | |
| 12 | Letchworth Garden City Eagles | 38 | 14 | 7 | 17 | 62 | 67 | −5 | 49 | |
| 13 | Amersham Town | 38 | 13 | 5 | 20 | 63 | 83 | −20 | 44 | |
| 14 | Thame Rangers | 38 | 12 | 6 | 20 | 54 | 85 | −31 | 42 | |
| 15 | Langford | 38 | 12 | 1 | 25 | 49 | 83 | −34 | 37 | |
| 16 | London Tigers | 38 | 11 | 4 | 23 | 50 | 97 | −47 | 37 | |
| 17 | Raunds Town | 38 | 10 | 6 | 22 | 52 | 99 | −47 | 36 | |
| 18 | Kidlington reserves | 38 | 9 | 5 | 24 | 53 | 122 | −69 | 32 | Transferred to the Hellenic League |
| 19 | Burton Park Wanderers | 38 | 5 | 6 | 27 | 51 | 128 | −77 | 21 | Reprieved from relegation |
| 20 | Irchester United | 38 | 4 | 4 | 30 | 39 | 115 | −76 | 16 | Relegated to the Northamptonshire Combination League |
* ↑ Bedford deducted one point for fielding an ineligible player.
* ↑ All third-from-bottom clubs at Step 6 were reprieved from relegation. The top 15 second-from-bottom sides were also reprieved on a PPG basis.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000022-QINU`"'

### Play-offs

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final | Final |
| 2 | Ampthill Town | 2 | | | |
| 5 | Wellingborough Whitworth | 3 | | | |
| 5 | Wellingborough Whitworth | 3 | 2 | Wellingborough Whitworth | 1 |
| | | | 3 | Shefford Town & Campton | 4 |
| 3 | Winslow United | 0 | 3 | Shefford Town & Campton | 4 |
| 4 | Shefford Town & Campton | 2 | | | |

## Division Two

Division Two featured 13 clubs which competed in the division last season, along with three new club:
* Milton Keynes College Football Academy
* Eynesbury United, joined from the Cambridgeshire County League
* Risborough Rangers development, transferred from the Hellenic League Division Two North

### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
| 1 | Old Bradwell United | 28 | 21 | 3 | 4 | 102 | 19 | +83 | 66 | |
| 2 | Aston Clinton | 28 | 22 | 0 | 6 | 72 | 34 | +38 | 66 | |
| 3 | Pitstone & Ivinghoe | 28 | 18 | 6 | 4 | 97 | 47 | +50 | 60 | |
| 4 | Bovingdon | 28 | 18 | 5 | 5 | 63 | 24 | +39 | 59 | |
| 5 | Milton Keynes College Football Academy | 28 | 17 | 4 | 7 | 72 | 44 | +28 | 55 | |
| 6 | Eynesbury United | 28 | 17 | 3 | 8 | 66 | 36 | +30 | 54 | |
| 7 | Totternhoe | 28 | 15 | 3 | 10 | 47 | 50 | −3 | 48 | |
| 8 | New Bradwell St Peter | 28 | 11 | 4 | 13 | 42 | 49 | −7 | 37 | |
| 9 | Sarratt | 28 | 9 | 3 | 16 | 43 | 66 | −23 | 30 | |
| 10 | Codicote | 28 | 9 | 2 | 17 | 45 | 64 | −19 | 29 | |
| 11 | Risborough Rangers development | 28 | 8 | 1 | 19 | 35 | 57 | −22 | 25 | |
| 12 | Berkhamsted Raiders | 28 | 6 | 6 | 16 | 37 | 74 | −37 | 24 | |
| 13 | Buckingham United | 28 | 7 | 1 | 20 | 44 | 105 | −61 | 22 | |
| 14 | The 61 | 28 | 5 | 2 | 21 | 26 | 78 | −52 | 17 | |
| 15 | Tring Corinthians | 28 | 3 | 5 | 20 | 30 | 74 | −44 | 14 | |
| 16 | Berkhamsted Comrades | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Club folded, record expunged |

## Step 5 rankings

The 10 runners-up with the most points per game (PPG) at Step 5 were automatically promoted after the 2021–22 season. The remaining six played one-off inter-step play-off matches with the six third-from-bottom clubs with the fewest PPG from the eight divisions at Step 4. The winner of each match was promoted to Step 4 for the 2022–23 season, while each loser was relegated to Step 5.
The final points-per-game ranking of the second-placed teams was as follows:
| Pos | Team, division | Pld | Pts | PPG | Promotion or qualification |
| 10 | Exmouth Town, Western League Premier | 36 | 77 | 2.139 | Promotion to Step 4 |
| 11 | Newhaven, Southern Combination League Premier | 38 | 80 | 2.105 | Qualification for the inter-step play-offs |
| 12 | Eccleshill United, Northern Counties East League Premier | 38 | 79 | 2.079 | Qualification for the inter-step play-offs |
| 13 | Saffron Walden Town, Essex Senior League | 40 | 83 | 2.075 | Qualification for the inter-step play-offs |
| 14 | Boldmere St Michaels, Midland League Premier | 36 | 74 | 2.056 | Qualification for the inter-step play-offs |
| 15 | Skelmersdale United, North West Counties League Premier | 40 | 79 | 1.975 | Qualification for the inter-step play-offs |
| 16 | Consett, Northern League One | 38 | 75 | 1.974 | Qualification for the inter-step play-offs |
The 12 best second-from-bottom clubs on a PPG basis out of 16 that were at Step 5 were reprieved from relegation. The four worst teams were relegated.
The final points-per-game ranking of the second-from-bottom-placed teams was also as follows:
| Pos | Team, division | Pld | Pts | PPG | Qualification or relegation |
| 12 | Lordswood, Southern Counties East League Premier | 38 | 24 | 0.632 | Retention at Step 5 |
| 13 | St Margaretsbury, Essex Senior League | 40 | 25 | 0.625 | Relegation to Step 6 |
| 14 | Northampton ON Chenecks, United Counties League Premier South | 38 | 20 | 0.526 | Relegation to Step 6 |
| 15 | Calne Town, Hellenic League Premier | 38 | 19 | 0.500 | Relegation to Step 6 |
| 16 | Athersley Recreation, Northern Counties East League Premier | 38 | 10 | 0.263 | Relegation to Step 6 |