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Midland
Combination History |
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How the League began |
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Founded in 1998 as part of
the Football Association's plan for Women's Football, The Midland Combination League , in conjunction with three other
Combination Leagues (the South East, South West & Northern), is part of the second tier of the Pyramid of Women's Football,
feeding into Division One (North) of the F.A. Women's Premier League.
The League consists of a single division of twelve clubs from as far afield
as South Yorkshire in
the north, Shropshire in the west and Huntingdonshire in the East and Worcestershire in the South.
Champion Clubs from the West Midland and Unison East
Midland Regional Leagues are eligible for promotion to the Midland Combination.
The eleven founder members of the league were Rea Valley Rovers, Newcastle Town, Kilnhurst, Chesterfield FC Ladies, Bloxwich Town, Shrewsbury Town, Highfield Rangers, Mansfield Town, Derby County, Stratford, Birmingham City. |
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The first season (1998/1999) |
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The end of the first
season saw League Champions Birmingham City promoted into the Northern Division of the FA Women's Premier League and
Stratford relegated back into the West Midland Regional Women's Football League having
lost all but 2 of their 20 of their league matches.
There
was no relegation from the Northern Division of the FA Women's Premier League above - this was to increase the number of teams
in the Premier League.
The Combination League also welcomed
three new additional member clubs, Telford United and Worksop Town , champions of the West Midland Regional and Unison East Midland Regional Leagues respectively, and Peterborough
United who won their place by virtue of a play off between the two divisional runners up . Peterborough United were victorious
over Lichfield Diamonds by 2-1. Bloxwich Town looked for an improvement in their fortunes by changing name to Wyrley Rangers. |
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League Champions |
Birmingham City |
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Relegated to West Midland League |
Stratford Ladies |
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Relegated to East Midland League |
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Relegated from National
League |
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Team |
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
Pts |
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Birmingham City |
20 |
16 |
2 |
2 |
89 |
23 |
50 |
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Newcastle Town |
20 |
14 |
2 |
4 |
67 |
26 |
44 |
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Mansfield Town |
20 |
14 |
2 |
4 |
54 |
22 |
44 |
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Highfield Rangers |
20 |
12 |
1 |
7 |
62 |
42 |
37 |
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Derby County |
20 |
10 |
2 |
8 |
41 |
45 |
32 |
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Chesterfield |
20 |
9 |
3 |
8 |
42 |
41 |
30 |
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Shrewsbury Town |
20 |
7 |
4 |
9 |
40 |
45 |
25 |
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Kilnhurst |
20 |
7 |
1 |
12 |
38 |
61 |
22 |
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Rea Valley Rovers |
20 |
6 |
0 |
14 |
29 |
61 |
18 |
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Bloxwich |
20 |
4 |
2 |
14 |
28 |
47 |
14 |
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Stratford |
20 |
1 |
1 |
18 |
30 |
111 |
4 |
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The second season (1999/2000) |
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The second season (1999/2000)
saw Newcastle Town take the championship from Telford United. Although the final
gap between the two clubs was 13 points it was only in the final few weeks of the season that Newcastle managed to pull away from the chasing group.
Worksop Town and Rea Valley Rovers finished in the relegation zone. They were replaced by the Champions of the
West Midland Regional and Unison East Midland Regional Leagues Stafford Rangers and Ilkeston Ladies.
Arnold Town were relegated from the National League |
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League Champions |
Newcastle Town |
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Relegated to West Midland League |
Rea Valley Rovers |
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Relegated to East Midland League |
Worksop Town |
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Relegated from National
League |
Arnold Town |
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. |
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Team |
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
Pts |
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Newcastle Town |
22 |
20 |
0 |
2 |
106 |
17 |
60 |
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Telford United |
22 |
15 |
2 |
5 |
73 |
33 |
47 |
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Kilnhurst |
22 |
13 |
3 |
6 |
70 |
50 |
42 |
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Chesterfield FC Ladies |
22 |
11 |
6 |
5 |
57 |
23 |
39 |
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Wyrley Rangers |
22 |
10 |
5 |
7 |
53 |
38 |
35 |
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Shrewsbury Town |
22 |
9 |
3 |
10 |
46 |
46 |
30 |
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Highfield Rangers |
22 |
8 |
5 |
9 |
43 |
55 |
29 |
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Mansfield Town |
22 |
8 |
4 |
10 |
55 |
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