Gearing Up

Middleton  1  Farsley Celtic Juniors  0

Yorkshire Amateur League – Supreme Division

Admission / Programme – No / No

Over the years I’ve kind of developed a bit of a sixth sense.

It’s all to do with clubs who look to be gearing up for a promotion out of the Regional Feeder League System, and into Step 6 of the Football Pyramid.

The clubs who apply to make this move are typically announced in early January of every season, and more often than not, I can work out in advance who they might be, even if the clubs themselves haven’t yet publicly declared their intentions. Process wise, clubs have to apply, be assessed, and then need to finish in the top five of their respective leagues, then, they have a chance.

Then of course there has to be a vacancy for them to be promoted, oh, and it also looks like some higher level FA ‘consideration’, of which the details aren’t made public, takes place, which may see one club be more successful than another.

Then you’ve got the South East where you merely have to form a team and find a piece of grass to be accepted, but in the North, see above, that’s how it works.

So, what is my secret for working out who might be looking to make the move in the North?

It’s either a sudden raft of ground improvements taking place, which coincide with a successful side on the pitch, or, a club suddenly announces a move to a new home, that might just tick all the Step 6 boxes! Clearly, neither of which are rocket science if we are being honest.

So when I saw on the socials that Middleton FC, a team from South Leeds in the Yorkshire Amateur League, had moved from a 4G pitch in Belle Isle, to the impressive South Leeds Stadium, or John Charles Centre For Sport as it is also known, I began to wonder whether this was a move that had been made with a specific end in mind! If they have publicly declared their intentions, I'll be honest, I've missed it. 

I went to see Middleton play at the South Leeds Hub in September 2021, a home game against Wortley, it was one of those times when I could see the pitch within the complex, but I couldn’t find the entrance, well, I did eventually, but not without a bit of a drive round!

But they’ve moved, from somewhere which on the face of it was perfectly adequate, for a side who were quite happy playing in the Yorkshire Amateur League, to somewhere else. So, something has changed….

South Leeds Stadium sits, as you would expect, in the South of Leeds, not far from the M621. I chose to go on a day when Leeds United were playing at home to Sheffield Wednesday, and as a result, I got caught up in heavy traffic on the said motorway, what with Elland Road only being a junction or so further on. Indeed, from inside South Leeds Stadium you could hear quite audibly the roar of the crowd up the road.

The stadium itself forms part of a larger leisure complex, and is located at the end of an industrial estate that sits just off the main Dewsbury Road. The area is classed as Belle Isle, but close by is Beeston to the West, Hunslet to the North, and indeed the area of Middleton slightly to the East. Running behind the stadium is the Middleton Light Railway, something I didn’t know existed, and on the day of the game, trains could be seen taking happy passengers along the short route in the vintage carriages.

The stadium itself, which also serves as the home of Hunslet RLFC, and has previously been used as a base for Leeds United Reserves, is dominated by a huge stand on the East side, built over two tiers, that houses 3500 spectators. The entrance to the rear, which leads from the car park, takes you past the reception and down a corridor, before you enter onto a concrete walkway that splits the lower tiered seating deck.

Bars and corporate facilities sit between the two tiers, while for the purposes of the Middleton game, spectators were only allowed in the lower tier, and, you couldn’t get a pint!

A running track surrounds the pitch, while the rest of the vast expanse is made up of shallow grass banking that runs from the exterior fence, right up to the edges of the athletics track. The usual athletics paraphernalia is dotted around the complex, but for all intents and purposes, it’s all about the stand, and indeed it’s bowels that no doubt house a plethora of facilities.

Parts of the exterior of the stadium have been decorated by murals, some of which are football related, but much of it is linked to Rugby League, and of course the local area which is indeed a RL hotbed. Hunslet RLFC of course being the club as we know, once a big player in the English game, but now perhaps not so much, having never been a part of the much feted Super League.

What was the game like then? Well the opponents were Farsley Celtic Juniors, who I’ll be honest, I have no idea just how they are linked to Farsley Celtic right now, if at all. They certainly didn’t look to be very ‘junior’ although they perhaps once were! I think the answer may be in that statement, I suspect they were the junior side at one point, however when they reached a certain age they had to move into men’s football, but by the same token, they kept the name, and maybe the ties were cut in every other sense. Anyway, this is about Middleton….

The hosts won thanks to a first half goal from Liam Mudd, and despite having Jordan Duncan dismissed for an altercation by the corner flag in the second period, they did enough to take the points, without really creating too many clear cut chances. Farsley were always second best, and again, created very little in the way of goal scoring opportunities.

A small but vociferous crowd watched the game and saw Middleton continue to lead the way at the top of the table, if they carry on like this, you never know, they might end up finishing in a promotion spot, and then of course it’s all about the facilities.

Hang on though, haven’t they just moved into a 3500 seater stadium? Watch this space…sixth sense and all that!