- Metropolitan–London League
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Metropolitan–London League Countries England Founded 1971 First season 1971–72 Folded 1975 Divisions One (1974–1975)
Two (1971–1974)Number of teams Lowest: 20 (1974–1975)
Highest: 25 (1971–1972)Domestic cup(s) FA Cup Most championships Epping Town (2) The Metropolitan–London League was a short-lived football league for clubs in and around London. It was formed in 1971 by a merger of the Greater London League and the Metropolitan League (which had lost several clubs to the Southern League).[1] It ran with two divisions until 1974, reduced to one in 1974–75 season, after which it merged with the Spartan League to form the London Spartan League, which was later renamed the Spartan League.[2] It merged with the South Midlands League in 1997 to form the modern Spartan South Midlands League
Contents
List of champions
Season Division One Division Two 1971–72 Epping Town Muirhead Sports 1972–73 Swanley East Thurrock United 1973–74 Epping Town Alma Swanley Season Champions 1974–75 Cray Wanderers Seasons
1971–72
Division One
The new Division One was composed of:
- Eight clubs from the Greater London League (BROB Barnet, Canvey Island, Chingford, Eton Manor, Ford United, Swanley, Ulysses and Willesden)
- Four clubs from the Metropolitan League (Cray Wanderers, Epping Town, Hatfield Town and Sheppey United)
- One club from the Kent League (Faversham Town)
- East Ham United
Pos Club P W D L F A Pts Notes 1 Epping Town 26 18 5 3 71 25 41 2 Faversham Town 26 15 5 6 54 30 35 3 East Ham United 26 14 6 6 59 37 34 4 Cray Wanderers 26 15 1 10 59 38 31 5 Ford United 26 12 6 8 47 35 30 6 Swanley 26 12 5 9 56 36 29 7 Eton Manor 26 10 8 8 45 44 28 8 Hatfield Town 26 11 5 10 50 51 27 9 Sheppey United 26 9 6 11 43 47 24 Joined the Kent League at end of season 10 Canvey Island 26 7 8 11 29 52 22 11 Willesden 26 6 8 12 35 51 20 12 Chingford 26 6 6 14 34 52 18 13 BROB Barnet 26 6 4 16 26 78 16 14 Ulysses 26 3 3 20 25 57 9 Division Two
All clubs in Division Two except Muirhead Sports had come from the Greater London League
Pos Club P W D L F A Pts Notes 1 Muirhead Sports 20 16 3 1 58 19 35 2 279 Chislehurst 20 13 5 2 63 28 31 Left league at end of season 3 Penhill Standard 20 9 6 5 37 31 24 Promoted to Division One 4 Highfield 20 9 4 7 45 28 22 5 Polytechnic 20 8 3 9 36 41 19 6 Bexley 20 6 6 8 37 40 18 7 Thames Polytechnic 20 7 4 9 25 32 18 8 Brentstonians 20 6 6 8 27 43 18 9 Heathside Sports 20 7 3 10 35 44 17 10 Barkingside 20 5 4 11 36 46 14 11 RAS & RA 20 0 4 16 12 59 4 1972–73
Division One
Division One featured one new club, Penhill Standard, who had been promoted from Division Two the previous season.
Pos Club P W D L F A Pts Notes 1 Swanley 26 18 6 2 57 26 42 2 Epping Town 26 16 6 4 54 22 38 3 Canvey Island 26 15 5 6 45 38 35 4 Cray Wanderers 26 16 2 8 46 28 34 5 Willesden 26 14 4 8 48 37 32 6 Hatfield Town 26 14 2 10 43 36 30 7 Faversham Town 26 12 4 10 44 31 28 Joined Athenian League at end of season 8 East Ham United 26 11 4 11 60 43 26 9 Eton Manor 26 9 8 9 30 30 26 10 Ford United 26 5 9 12 25 42 19 11 BROB Barnet 26 6 5 15 30 52 17 12 Ulysses 26 4 8 14 22 51 16 13 Chingford 26 4 4 18 24 52 12 14 Penhill Standard 26 3 4 19 24 64 10 Relegated to Division Two Division Two
Division Two featured one new club, East Thurrock United.
Pos Club P W D L F A Pts Notes 1 East Thurrock United 18 11 5 2 36 12 27 Promoted to Division One 2 Highfield 18 11 4 3 37 17 26 3 Muirhead Sports 18 8 7 3 32 21 23 4 Heathside Sports 18 8 6 4 36 25 22 5 Polytechnic 18 10 2 6 37 29 22 6 Bexley 18 6 3 9 34 38 15 7 RAS & RA 18 4 5 9 15 28 13 8 Barkingside 18 3 6 9 23 42 12 9 Thames Polytechnic 18 4 3 11 24 41 11 10 Brentstonians 18 3 3 12 17 38 9 1973–74
Division One
Division One featured two new clubs, East Thurrock United and Highfield, both promoted from Division Two the previous season.
Pos Club P W D L F A Pts Notes 1 Epping Town 26 19 2 5 75 24 40 Joined Athenian League at end of season 2 East Ham United 26 15 7 4 34 19 37 3 Eton Manor 26 13 7 6 41 25 33 4 Cray Wanderers 26 14 5 7 62 42 33 5 Canvey Island 26 13 6 7 40 29 32 6 Hatfield Town 26 12 7 7 45 42 31 7 Swanley Town 26 9 7 10 44 45 25 8 Willesden 26 11 2 13 46 45 24 Joined Athenian League at end of season 9 Highfield 26 9 4 13 36 58 22 10 Chingford 26 5 9 12 30 48 19 11 East Thurrock United 26 7 4 15 39 52 18 12 Ford United 26 5 8 13 18 45 18 Joined Essex Senior League at end of season 13 BROB Barnet 26 4 9 13 26 51 17 14 Ulysses 26 5 5 16 23 39 15 Division One
Division Two featured two new clubs:
- Alma Swanley
- Penhill Standard (relegated from Division One)
Pos Club P W D L F A Pts Notes 1 Alma Swanley 18 15 3 0 51 14 33 2 Heathside Sports 18 12 4 2 42 15 28 3 Muirhead Sports 18 10 3 5 38 30 23 4 Penhill Standard 18 7 6 5 32 25 20 5 Thames Polytechnic 18 7 2 9 22 33 16 6 Polytechnic 18 6 3 9 21 31 15 Left league at end of season 7 Bexley 18 6 2 10 20 28 14 8 RAS & RA 18 5 3 10 18 28 13 9 Barkingside 18 4 2 12 20 38 10 10 Brentstonians 18 2 4 12 16 38 8 1975–75
Pos Club P W D L F A Pts Notes 1 Cray Wanderers 38 32 4 2 128 36 68 Placed in Division One of London Spartan League 2 Alma Swanley 38 26 7 5 91 41 59 Placed in Division One of London Spartan League 3 Canvey Island 38 24 7 7 78 30 55 Joined Essex Senior League 4 Swanley Town 38 23 6 9 81 40 52 Placed in Division One of London Spartan League 5 Eton Manor 38 21 6 11 72 39 48 Joined Essex Senior League 6 Penhill Standard 38 20 8 10 70 55 48 Placed in Division One of London Spartan League 7 Hatfield Town 38 16 12 10 57 35 44 Placed in Division One of London Spartan League 8 Chingford 38 19 6 13 62 44 44 Placed in Division One of London Spartan League 9 Heathside Sports 38 16 10 12 54 41 42 Placed in Division One of London Spartan League 10 East Ham United 38 14 13 11 57 39 41 Placed in Division One of London Spartan League 11 Highfield 38 13 10 15 47 58 36 Placed in Division Two of London Spartan League[3] 12 East Thurrock United 38 14 6 18 58 64 34 Placed in Division Two of London Spartan League[3] 13 BROB Barnet 38 12 7 19 46 61 31 Placed in Division Two of London Spartan League[3] 14 Muirhead Sports 38 12 6 20 54 77 30 Placed in Division Two of London Spartan League[3] 15 Bexley 38 9 11 18 46 88 29 Placed in Division Two of London Spartan League[3] 16 Barkingside 38 8 8 22 45 80 24 Placed in Division Two of London Spartan League[3] 17 Thames Polytechnic 38 7 9 22 33 82 23 Placed in Division Two of London Spartan League[3] 18 Ulysses 38 4 14 20 40 72 22 Placed in Division Two of London Spartan League[3] 19 Brentstonians 38 6 4 28 34 107 16 20 RAS & RA 38 3 8 27 42 106 14 Placed in Division Two of London Spartan League[3] Member clubs
Twenty-seven clubs played in the league during its existence:
- 279 Chislehurst
- Alma Swanley
- Barkingside
- Bexley
- Brentstonians
- BROB Barnet
- Canvey Island
- Chingford
- Cray Wanderers
- East Ham United
- East Thurrock United
- Epping Town
- Eton Manor
- Faversham Town
- Ford United
- Hatfield Town
- Heathside Sports
- Highfield
- Muirhead Sports
- Penhill Standard
- Polytechnic
- RAS & RA
- Sheppey United
- Swanley Town
- Thames Polytechnic
- Ulysses
- Willesden
References
- ^ Cray Wanderers in the Metropolitan League Cray Wanderers FC
- ^ Penhill Standard at the Football Club History Database
- ^ a b c d e f g h i London Spartan League Non League Matters
Categories:- Metropolitan–London League
- Defunct football leagues in England
- Spartan South Midlands Football League
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