HOME

Leading League goalscorer:
Michael Cheek
(Bromley)
 21 goals

Sutton United finished as National League champions and with that honour London gained another Football League club with Sutton winning promotion to the League.

The second promotion spot to the Football League went to Hartlepool United who beat another recent ex-League side Torquay United in a closely fought play-off final at Bristol City's Ashton Gate ground. Hartlepool led 1-0 going into the 95th minute of the final when Torquay 'keeper Lucas Covolan joined his forwards in a desperate attempt to score ....and he scored the equaliser with a header! Extra time saw no further goals scored with Hartlepool winning the penalty shoot-out 5-4 after the first four penalties were all missed.

Six National League clubs - Barnet, Boreham Wood, Dagenham & Redbridge, King's Lynn Town, Solihull Moors and Stockport County - all beat Football League sides in the First Round of the FA Cup with Boreham Wood and Stockport reaching the Third Round where they were beaten at home by Millwall and West Ham respectively. 
FA Cup results 2020/21

Champions Sutton United were automatically promoted to the Football League for the first time in their history. Hartlepool United won their place back in the Football League through the play-offs. Grimsby Town and Southend United were relegated from the Football League to the National League.

* Covid saw the North and South Divisions of the National League abandoned in February 2021. National League Dover Athletic were one of the clubs hoping that the same would apply to the top division but those clubs voted to complete the season. However Dover Athletic were well behind with their fixtures having furloughed their staff. In March - having not played since January 30th - they had their playing record for the season expunged. At the time they had played 15 League matches winning 3, drawing 1 and losing 11. They were also fined £40,000 and while they kept their place in the National League they would start the 2021/22 season with a 12 point penalty.

** The financial problems that resulted in Macclesfield Town losing their Football League place at the end of the 2019/20 season saw them in front of the Insolvency & Companies Court in September 2021. Debts of over £500,000 saw them declared financially bust and that was soon followed by them losing their place in the National League before the new season had started.

With the National Leagues North and South having been abandoned before completion there was no promotion or relegation between those divisions and the National League leaving the top division with 23 member clubs in 2021/22.

Did You Know.....

So, what wouldn't you make freely available to an alcoholic ex-footballer about to appear in a chat show on live national television?
Guess what George Best was given?

Read about the results ...Football in the Media