There's a First Time For Everything!

By Paul Price

The Neville Southall Championship sees Harold hill fc as the winners, gaining promotion to the Premiership for the first time. Finishing a full 11 points clear of second place is no easy feat in a difficult league, with six teams inside the game worlds top 100. Manager Mark Holloway will have his strike partnership of Tristan Plummer and Nathan Delfouneso - 28 and 16 league goals respectively - to thank for his excellent title win.

In second place came Greenking FC, with the ever prolific Shane Long finishing as the teams top goal scorer. Also on form for Greenking this season was experienced creative midfielder Jougle, creating 8 goals for the side from Harrow. Fans will be a little worried of their playoff chances however, after some mixed recent form.

Finishing third this season was Matt Payne's England, just one point behind Greenking in what was a tight league after the run away champions. Their outstanding performer of the season was centre Nicholas Knight, along with partner David Wheater, although they did concede the most goals out of the top five. Gaining a place in the playoffs, England have since left the SPFA, giving up their place to the next best positioned team. Greenwich FC therefore qualify after finishing in 6th position, and will join Aye Ready FC and Enugu Rangers in this seasons playoffs.

No surprises in the Ivan Zamorano Championship as the excellent Inter Reisha make a quick return to the Premiership after winning the league by seven points. As ever, it's striker Omar Koroma who produced the goals for Reisha, with Erick Flores running the show from midfield. Many were surprised when Reisha were relegated last season, but the side have shown they can bounce back and you can expect them to be a force in the Premiership next season.

Finishing in second place was Lundy Villa. Matt Jones' side had the best defensive record in the league, and led the way early on in the season, before Inter Reisha showed their quality and took over. After a couple of inactive seasons, Lundy decided to swap the XFF for the SPFA, and making the playoffs in their first season is an achievement worth celebrating.

Achieving their highest position yet in the SPFA in fifth spot was Steve Richards' XTRA_TIME. Deciding against signing any new faces during pre season, Richards has seen excellent performances from veteran Soloman Kalou and Ivan Temnikov in midfield and goals coming from striker Wallyson.

Joining Lundy Villa and XTRA_TIME in the playoffs will be Old Boys Tolworth and Horsham Rangers AFC, with many punters placing their money on Lundy Villa.

The John McDermott Championship saw an interesting battle at the top, with Yaktopian Yaks and CUJimmyFC exchanging places at the top a number of times towards the end of the season. Despite CUJimmy leading the way for the most part, it was the Yaks that ended up champions, four points clear of their rivals. Striker Claudio Amaya got the goals but it was Alessandro Rosina who was the outstanding performer, not just for the Yaks, but in the whole league. Manager Phil Cooling reluctantly released the ageing Rosina at the end of the season, but dedicated his title win to the Italian.

CUJimmyFC will have to make do with a playoff spot, although they will be entering as the favourites, with goals not only coming from the strikers, but also from the wings, proving that manager Jimmy Brown likes his team to attack in numbers. At the other end of the pitch, the two solid centre backs Gianni Zuiverloon and Olenxadr Chyzhov mean the team can afford to commit numbers in attack.

Finishing fourth was the Edible Flowers, the yoyo club managed by Phillip Anderson. Can Anderson's side make it back to the Premiership through another playoff, after achieving the same feat two seasons ago. With some excellent performances from new signings Ahmet Ari and full back Luis during the season, Anderson has once again proved himself as a shrewd operator on the transfer market. Striker Fabian Moreno - another pre season signing - finished as the clubs top goal scorer with 16 goals, making fans believe they can once again make the Premiership and maybe this time, survive.

Also in the playoffs are Lilywhite Army, and Badger's Creek FC sneak in due to FC Ballaghkeen leaving the SPFA.