The new 2020-2021 season is under way. The league committee is delighted that football has restarted and are looking forward to seeing how the season unfolds. September has seen some excellent performances and really interesting results. Below is a division by division review of September.

John Cooper Premier Division

The Premier Division promises to be a fantastic competition this season, with the four sides who could still have conceivably won the title last season, still in the competition – Old Roan, Balma, Eltham Town and FC Greenwich. Bermondsey Town and AMG Ballerz had both fallen away from a title challenge, but can beat anyone on their day. Leyton Athletic Reserves are also back, hoping to improve on the debut season. Added to the mix are Erith & Belvedere Reserves, up from Division Two and three new sides, TenEmBee, Holmesdale Reserves/U23s and West Wickham Albion, all exciting set-ups. Sadly, Teviot Rangers, who ran away with Division One last year, folded before they had a chance to show their worth in the Premier Division.

Old Roan are top of the pile so far, with 4 wins out of 4 – FC Greenwich (3-2), West Wickham Albion (5-0), TenEmBee (3-1) and Erith & Belvedere Reserves (3-1). They have started in fantastic form, as they ended last season, where in all likelihood, they would have won the league. Once again Pat Brennan has been in red-hot form, with 9 in 4 games.

Balma also boast a 100% record, but from 3 league games. They have beaten Erith & Belvedere (5-3), FC Greenwich (6-1) and West Wickham Albion (5-1). They look more potent in attack than last season and already have two players on 7 goals – Ross Cable and Rommell Simmonds. They will be right up there again this season.

Eltham Town have had a mixed start to the season, losing on the opening day to Bermondsey Town (1-4), before two victories against TenEmBee (4-3) and Leyton Athletic Reserves (5-2), before losing to FC Greenwich (3-8). They will need to be more consistent if they are to sustain a title challenge, but will be pleased with the start made by Dan Corbett, who has bagged 7 goals in 4 games.

Bermondsey Town have started promisingly, with an impressive win against Eltham Town (4-1) followed by a decent point against FC Greenwich (2-2). With a ground share with Fisher FC, and after a good pre-season and relaunching their Sunday side, things look really promising for Bermondsey.

FC Greenwich definitely had the toughest start to the new season, playing four of the other top six last season. They opened with a narrow defeat to Old Roan (2-3), before a draw with Bermondsey Town (2-2), a heavy loss to Balma (1-6) before bouncing back with a big win against Eltham Town (8-3). They will not be completely satisfied with 4 points from 4 games, but are not out of the title race, having played most of their rivals already. They have been thankful for the form of Mickey Brown, who was excellent last season, and has 5 in 3 games already.

AMG Ballerz started the new term with a win against Erith & Belvedere Reserves (4-2), before a narrow loss to TenEmBee (1-2). They appear to have tightened up their defence, but will need to be more consistent if they to break away from mid-table.

Leyton Athletic Reserves use the BASLFL to develop younger players and will not be too disheartened by their start. After losing to Eltham Town (2-5), they won against a similarly youthful Holmesdale Reserves (4-1). Although they will not be up amongst the top sides, they always try to play football the right way.

TenEmBee are new to the league and boast an impressive manager, who works with young players at Millwall. They will be another young side, with positive reports from opposition that they also like to play good football. Following narrow losses to top sides, Eltham Town (3-4) and Old Roan (1-3), they got their first three points against AMG Ballerz (2-1). They will surprise a few teams this season I think.

West Wickham Albion come to the league with a host of players who have played at a higher level, but for one reason or another had fallen out of the game. They will take time to gel as a team, after a really late start to pre-season, but obviously boast some serious talent. They have faced the current top two, losing to Old Roan (0-5) and Balma (1-5) sandwiched between a victory over Erith & Belvedere Reserves (5-3). I think they will get stronger as the season progresses.

Holmesdale Reserves/U23s have only played one league game so far, a loss to Leyton Athletic Reserves (1-4). With the first team in the SCEFL, they will have access to some excellent young players and will hope to improve as the season progresses.

Propping up the table at present are Erith & Belvedere Reserves , who have lost all four so far – Balma (3-5), AMG Ballerz (2-4), West Wickham Albion (3-5) and Old Roan (1-3). These narrow losses will hurt manager Harry Lock and his team, but show that they can compete with the top sides in the division. They will pick up points before long I am sure.