On the 26th March 2020 the Football Association (FA) announced that all football from steps 3-6 in the non-league system would be brought to an abrupt halt, all results expunged and the leagues would be voided because of the Corona Virus.
The BetVictor Isthmian League is a regional men’s football league covering London, East and South East England featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. It consists of 82 teams in four divisions; the Premier Division above (Step 3), the North, South Central and South East divisions (all Step 4). It has various regional feeder leagues and the league as a whole is a feeder league mainly to the National League South.
Of course though, this league fell under the bracket and everything was voided. This was a great disappointment for all involved after all the hard work but for some relegation candidates this would be a sigh of relief and they could start again fresh next season. On the other hand, this was an extremely bitter pill to swallow for promotion candidates such as Hanwell Town who play in the South Central Division and many others. There’s also now an issue with financial security as there’s no more income for theses clubs for the foreseeable future but there are different initiatives and ways they can obtain money to help them stay afloat in these unprecedented times.
The BetVictor Isthmian League has recently started a series called, “That Was The Season That…Wasn’t” on its website and it goes in depth into all different types of statistics which I will vaguely cover. I will highlight the the top three of each category so far but if you want to delve deeper into more of the data I’ll link a Tweet to every category.
The first statistic for the unfinished 2019/20 season is ‘Attendances.’
The top three clubs for brining in the largest average crowds over the season were Worthing FC (who play in The BetVictor Isthmian Premier Division), Guernsey FC and Hastings United FC (who both play in The BetVictor Isthmian South East Division.)
The top three clubs with the biggest attendance increase from last year over the season were Horsham FC (who play in The BetVictor Isthmian Premier Division), Chertsey Town FC (who play in The BetVictor Isthmian South Central Division) and Chichester City FC (who play in The BetVictor Isthmian South East Division.)
There are plenty more statistics on attendances from the best attended matches to the breakdown of the individual leagues which can be found by clicking on this Tweet:
The next statistic for the unfinished 2019/20 season is ‘Goals.’
The top three clubs who’ve been firing on all cylinders over the season are Ware FC, Chertsey Town FC (who both play in The BetVictor Isthmian South Central Division) and Ashford United FC (who play in The BetVictor Isthmian South East Division).
On the other hand, the clubs who have shipped the most goals over the season are FC Romania, Staines Town FC, Northwood FC and Hertford Town FC (who all funnily enough play in The BetVictor Isthmian South Central Division and are probably glad to see the season come to an end).
There are plenty more statistics on goals from the top goal scorers and highest scoring matches to the breakdown of the individual leagues which can be found by clicking on this Tweet:
The third statistic for the unfinished 2019/20 season is ‘Home and Away.’
The top three clubs who’ve picked up the most points at home over the season and have fortresses are Hastings United FC, Hornchurch FC and Carshalton FC (who all play in The BetVictor Isthmian Premier Division).
The top three clubs who love life on the road and have picked up the most points away from home over the season are Maldon & Tiptree FC (who play in The BetVictor Isthmian North Division), Worthing FC (who play in The BetVictor Isthmian Premier Division)and Ashford United FC (who play in The BetVictor Isthmian South East Division).
There are plenty more statistics on home and away data from the fewest home and away points to the most goals sored away from home which can be found by clicking on this Tweet:
Lastly, the league created a table which shows how the teams within the league performed in cup competitions (FA Cup and FA Trophy). Teams get three points for each victory and one for a draw. Everybody has two defeats as it only takes one to knock you out of a competition, and they’ve all been knocked out of both of them!
This isn’t a statistic but it was done for a bit of fun by the league which shows who was the most successful team within the league in cup competitions this season. Here’s the table below:
If you want to go more into depth with extra information and analysis about this, click on the Tweet below:
I hope you enjoyed this little piece on statistics and I’m sure the league will keep the series going throughout these times, so keep an eye out for that either on their website or on their Twitter. Lastly, head over to our home page where you can find all up to date relevant Non-League content about the Corona Virus and much more.
-Dan Davies
nonleaguefootballsouthern.sport.blog 