Over half-a-century old now, the Comet Stevenage Sunday Football League begins a new season on Sunday, writes Darren "Statto" Jones (statto@cssfl.info)...

The Constitution...

The very difficult process of sorting the leagues has been finalised. With only seven Clubs remaining from the nineteen that originally entered last season's top two divisions, there was obviously some discontent from some of the Clubs present at the Meeting as a lot of them would like to play as low as possible.

Premier Division: Almond Tree United FC, Arena-Group FC (new Club), Broadhall FC, Dun Cow FC, FC Nirankari (formerly Nirankari Stevenage Res), MBDA FC, Real Stevenage CF (new Club), St Nicholas FC (new Club), Stevenage Leisure Limited FC

Division 1: AJS Tyres Broadhall FC (formerly Broadhall 'A'), Bedwell Rangers FC, Coopers United FC (new Club), FC Mallard (formerly Mallard Old Boys), Marquis of Lorne FC, MKS Carpentry FC (formerly Hermit of Redcoats), Odyssey FC, Putterills FC, TC United FC

Division 2: A1 Trophies FC, Breachwood Lions FC, Broadhall Athletic FC (formerly Broadhall Res), Chequers FC, Crooked Billet Boro FC, Emperors Head FC, Hartham Press FC, Nirankari Timebridge AFC (formerly Timebridge AFC), Pear Tree FC (new Club), Rileys Athletic FC

Division 3: ABC Taxis FC, Broadhall Icon FC (formerly Icon Onderers), Granby FC, Old Barclayvians FC (formerly Stevenage Colts Res), Proverbial United FC (formerly Timebridge AFC Res), Roebuck Gate FC, Stevenage Old Town FC, TC Wanderers FC (new Club), The Old Post Office FC (formerly Times Club), View Point Wanderers FC (formerly FC Squirrel)

Pitches Lost...

Another blow to the League saw more Council pitches lost due to re-development at Ridlins End. In the long-run, it'll be good, but for now, the once 22 pitches are down to 16. Thankfully there are seven Clubs using private pitches.

Opening Day Fixtures (Sunday 4th September)...

Premier Division: Arena-Group v St Nicholas (10:00, Shephalbury Park), Broadhall v Real Stev (10:00, Shephalbury Park), FC Nirankari v Dun Cow (Alleynes School), Stev Leisure Ltd v MBDA FC (Meadway Park)
Division 1: Bedwell R v AJS Tyres Broadhall (Peartree Park), Coopers Utd v Marquis of Lorne (Chells Park), Putterills v MKS Carpentry (Canterbury Way)
Division 2: Breachwood L v Chequers (Breachwood Green), Broadhall Ath v Nirankari Timebridge (10:30, Shephalbury Park), Hartham Press v Emperors Head (Peartree Park), Pear Tree v Rileys Ath (Peartree Park)
Division 3: ABC Taxis v Roebuck Gate (10:30, Shephalbury Park), Granby v Broadhall Icon (Canterbury Way), TC Wand v TOPO (Alleynes School)

TC United marksman nicks it...

Terry Lock took the honours as CSSFL Golden Boot winner, sponsored by KC Sports.

The TC United striker hit 31 in the league, three more than his nearest two competitors, one of whom had four goals removed due to a player ineligibility issue.

Tel hit four himself on the final day of the season as TC thrashed Timebridge 7-1. It was a silver lining for him and the Club as they'd suffered defeat in their previous seven games.

Bedwell Rangers' Luke Smith hit the most overall goals, 42, as they enjoyed a superb season.

Golden Boot Top Five (League Goals only): 1 Terry Lock (TC United) 31, =2 Josh Dance (Hermit of Redcoats) 28, =2 Carl Thompson (Chequers) 28, 4 Carl Smith (Stevenage Leisure Limited) 26, 5 Luke Smith (Bedwell Rangers) 24

Batch does it again!...

For the sixth successive season, John "Batch" Batcheldor scooped the Referee of the Year Award, based on markings from the Clubs. Referee Secretary Dave Bailey has been runner-up every time.

Cup Draws…

CSSFL Challenge Cup Preliminary Round: TC Utd v Odyssey, Roebuck Gate v Emperors Head, TC Wand v AJS Tyres Broadhall, Breachwood L v Dun Cow, TOPO v Proverbial Utd, MKS Carpentry v Stev Old Town. First Round: TC Utd or Odyssey v Roebuck Gate or Emperors Head, TC Wand or AJS Tyres Broadhall v Breachwood L or Dun Cow, TOPO or Proverbial Utd v MKS Carpentry or Stev Old Town, Nirankari Timebridge v Crooked Billet Boro, FC Nirankari v Hartham Press, Putterills v MBDA, ABC Taxis v FC Mallard, Broadhall v St Nicholas, Real Stev v Coopers Utd, Marquis of Lorne v Almond Tree Utd, Stev Leisure Ltd v Granby, A1 Trophies v View Point Wand, Chequers v Broadhall Icon, Arena-Group v Broadhall Ath, Old Barclayvians v Bedwell R, Pear Tree v Rileys Ath

Premier Division Cup Preliminary Round: Real Stev v Dun Cow. Quarter-Finals: Real Stev or Dun Cow v Broadhall, Stev Leisure Ltd v MBDA, FC Nirankari v Arena-Group, Almond Tree Utd v St Nicholas

Division 1 Cup Preliminary Round: Odyssey v FC Mallard. Quarter-Finals: Odyssey or FC Mallard v Coopers Utd, TC Utd v MKS Carpentry, Marquis of Lorne v Bedwell R, AJS Tyres Broadhall v Putterills

Division 2 Cup Preliminary Round: A1 Trophies v Rileys Ath, Chequers v Hartham Press. Quarter-Finals: A1 Trophies or Rileys Ath v Chequers or Hartham Press, Emperors Head v Breachwood L, Nirankari Timebridge v Broadhall Ath, Pear Tree v Crooked Billet Boro

Division 3 Cup Preliminary Round: ABC Taxis v View Point Wand, Old Barclayvians v Stev Old Town. Quarter-Finals: ABC Taxis or View Point Wand v Old Barclayvians or Stev Old Town, Roebuck Gate v Broadhall Icon, TC Wand v Granby, TOPO v Proverbial Utd

The league website can be found at www.cssfl.info

***PLEASE NOTE: THIS WAS SENT TO THE COMET, BUT THEY COULDN'T FIT IT IN, SO THEY ONLY OFFERED TO PUT IT ON-LINE***