There are some quite big changes revealed in the EBL format for 2009-10, announced yesterday - not least the number of departures!

Last year only three teams (Mansfield II, Bedford and Swindon) dropped out at the end of the season, all from Division 4. This year there are nearly twice as many just from the top three divisions (and two from the lowest stratum).

Two of the withdrawals are not unexpected, with the departure of both Cardiff Celts and Northampton Neptunes being predicted in our Promotion/Relegation Preview. Not that that makes their loss (from EBL1 and EBL2 respectively - though both were due to be relegated) any less disappointing, as neither were "flash in the pan" teams, with the Welsh outfit having been around since 1996, and the East Midlanders since '93.

Rather more surprising is the loss of Plymouth Raiders II. However, they are not really gone, just transformed. Having two successful clubs in the city, each running their own EBL team, and each having a very thorough and successful development programme, meant that there was a huge duplication of effort. So, a merger has been agreed, of the Plymouth Raiders development teams (which includes everything below BBL) and the Plymouth Marjon Cannons. The merged Division Two team will adopt a new name (which is still to be decided) for the new season, as will the Division 4 team - both of which have been entered using the Cannons name, which will soon disappear too. All the Raiders' and Cannons' teams in the Youth Leagues will also adopt the new name. The clubs stress that this move is purely for practical reasons, and was not prompted by any financial reasons.

So, three teams were lost from the top two divisions, and they are joined by three more from Division Three.

Black Country University of Wolverhampton never fully recovered from their ill-fated season in Division 2 (nor from having a name which didn't exactly encourage their fans to chant), and though they finished tenth (of twelve) it was only after a season of struggle against relegation.

London Towers are an even bigger loss (from the South). The only surviving senior side from the once great club found the going tough when their home venue, at Crystal Palace, was closed for refurbishment (not before time, incidentally), and then that closure went on for longer than planned (What? Building work over-running its schedule? That's unusual). That, together with increasing competition for players, with the resurgence of Brixton and Westminster, led to a season of struggle, and their eventual departure.

Another surprising departure is that of Southampton Trailblazers, after a mid-table finish in their second season in Division 3 South. They may have only spent three seasons in the league, but the club already had a long history, and a proud record of development work, and I suspect that finance may have been a factor here, too - as, perhaps, was the decision of veteran Mark Jackson to hang up his boots at the end of the season.

Finally, the two teams who have dropped out from Division Four have done so after very different seasons. Brighton Cougars struggled on their return after a four season absence, especially for a team once touted as potential BBL recruits (!), and only finished ahead of last place in the Midlands/South on count-back over West Anglia. The other absentees, Ilkeston Outlaws, were only in their second season in the league, and their fourth place finish was only two points behind Northern runners-up Tyne Met Trojans. I suspect that they are another team who have found financial constraints too tight.

Anyway, that's enough about those who aren't in! What about those who are?

 

As predicted, none of the EBL Division 1 teams have moved into the BBL this season, and that has provided a strong base from which to (at last) expand the division again to twelve teams.

The top two from Division Two, Leeds Carnegie and London Mets, have, as expected, been accepted into EBL's top tier.

With Cardiff falling on their swords, and Taunton Tigers due to be relegated, that left the question of which two teams should fill the additional vacancies, and Taunton's two late-season wins clearly proved enough to clinch one of the places for them.

The final berth has gone to Leicester Warriors, who finished third in Division Two, which means that, for the third season running, the application by Team Northumbria has been rejected - despite them having won the Championship Final twice in that time, and despite having knocked out Leicester at the quarter final stage of the play-offs this year!

Clearly the fact that the regulations make no specific reference to the status of the Championship winners is currently interpreted to mean that it has no relevance.

I know that there was concern among some Division One clubs at what they considered to be Leicester's less than perfect fulfilment of the other criteria for League One membership. However, with Karl Brown clearly exerting an influence within the club, and with the inevitable boost in interest in the game that Leicester Riders' success in the BBL this year will bring, I would not be surprised to see them exceeding expectations next season.

One clear benefit of the expansion of Division One is that it has created additional vacancies in EBL Division 2, and the withdrawal of Cardiff (who were due to drop down) and of Plymouth II (who were already there) meant that there was the opportunity to select six teams to join the six who were already in place.

As a result it proved possible to promote all three Champions from Division 3 - Durham Wildcats, winners in the North, Brixton Topcats, Southern winners, and Westminster Warriors, overall Championship winners.

The Northern runners-up, Mansfield Giants, also got the nod, as did the other outstanding team in the South, Watford Storm, who finished only four points behind the top two despite an injury list that ruled out Pierre Henry Fontaine (ruptured achillies), Joe Perara and Tayo Odulaja (broken ankles), Mark Quashie (broken foot), Baker (tendonitis) and Richie Burgess (back spasms), leaving them with half a team for the crucial run-in.

I believe that, among the competitive teams at the top end of Division 3 North, none of Derby Trailblazers II, Sheffield Sabres, and Sheffield Saints wished to be considered for promotion, which left Bradford Dragons (fifth in the North), Glamorgan Gladiators and Eastside Eagles (fourth and fifth in the South) as candidates for elevation.

Whether any of those three applied for Division Two, and if not whether they would have wanted to do so had they known there would be room, I don't know, but in the event it was University of Birmingham, who had finished bottom of Division Two, who were granted a reprieve to complete the twelve.

So, with five newcomers the division will look very different next season - and the league table will look even more unfamiliar, as two of the returning teams, NEWI Nets and Kent Crusaders, have changed their names, to Glyndwr Nets and Medway Park Crusaders.

In the case of the team from North Wales this is as a result in a change of name (and status) of the North East Wales Institute to become Glyndwr University, but (very sensibly) they chose to postpone changing the name of the team until the end of the season. For Kent, the new name reflects their move to the new Medway Park Centre of Sporting Excellence in Gillingham.

EBL Division 3 has thus been stripped of five of its elite teams. With Wolverhampton, Southampton and Towers dropping out, and Huddersfield Heat having their relegation confirmed, there was an opportunity to cut the South section back to 12 teams again, while still promoting eight teams from division four, and reprieving both Guildford Heat II and London Westside from the drop.

This left the unfortunate Huddersfield with the unwelcome record of being the only team in the whole of the Men's Leagues to actually suffer relegation this season!

Very conveniently, the eight teams which reached the play-offs in Division Four exactly matched the vacancies, with four slotting into the North and four into the South.

Both Leeds Carnegie II (EBL4 North Champions) and Loughborough Cardinals (Midlands/South Champions, and EBL4 Championship winners) look capable of making an impact on EBL3 North, where competition looks to be set to be as fierce next season as it was this.

Meanwhile, Tyne Met. Trojans (EBL4 North runners-up) have enough players with experience at a higher level to feel that they, too, can hold their own in the North, and third placed Stockport Falcons came through from a strong top four, to suggest that they could also prove competitive.

With Leeds and Loughborough being placed in the Northern section, only one of the Division 4 Champions, UWIC Archers, will play in EBL3 South, but the other three teams joining them in the move up have strong claims to be considered a threat to the established teams.

London Greenhouse Giants (about whom I must admit that I know as little now as I did twelve months ago) threatened the dominance of Loughborough in the Midlands/South for much of the season, before falling away in the closing weeks, while Midlands/South runners-up, Richmond College London, have a wealth of experience behind them, from their original parent club, London United.

Finally, the South-West runners-up, Bristol Academy Flyers II, have previous experience of life in Division 3, and, as they return after a two year absence, they should be capable of holding their own.  

Spare a thought, though, for Bognor Pirates. For the second year running they finished third in EBL4 South-West, and for the second year running they failed to gain promotion ... this time as the only third-placed team in EBL4 not to go up!   

 

With a nett loss of nine teams (eight promoted, two dropping out, and only Huddersfield coming down from Division 3), it looked as though it might be possible to reduce EBL 4 to just two regions, by adding two or three newcomers to the nineteen remaining teams. While this would have resulted in additional travel for its members, it would, at least have made the qualification formula for the play-offs more readily understandable!  

In the event, however, there is such a massive influx of new teams that they outnumber the ones they are joining, with a record twenty new entries!

At least, though, the formula for play-off qualification will still be simplified, as we will now have four regions which means that the same number can look forward to progressing from each section.

In the North, twelve teams have been accepted. These include the relegated Huddersfield, and, surprisingly, Liverpool. The Merseysiders followed successive relegations (from Division Two and Division Three) with a struggling season in Division 4, and when they defaulted on two of their last four games (and still had one fixture unplayed at the end of the season) their future looked in serious doubt.

They must have put up a strong case to avoid having their franchise withdrawn, and if they show as much determination on court next season they should show a better return.

They will, however, face more competition, for players, publicity, support and finance, from newcomers Merseyside Spartans (a basketball school and academy based tea,m, set up by coach Phil Rose, who left Sefton Stars at the end of last year).

The area around Liverpool will thus be well represented in this division, with Wirral Hornets also still there.

Another area with increased representation is the North-East, where Team Durham Wildcats will be joined by Tees Valley Sonics (effectively another new team, though taking over from the old Tees Valley Mohawks II, and sharing a venue with the Mohawks), Middlesbrough Lions (an established local club) and Tees & Wear Valley Supersonics. The latter is another team which will eventually operate under a different name. The original idea was for a joint venture between Mohawks and Wear Valley (who pulled out in mid-season last year), but the latter withdrew from that and this team now involves a partnership between Wear Valley and Sunderland University.

Stockport Falcons, newly promoted to Division 3, introduce a second team already, but they shouldn't be short on recruits, as they ran two teams in the Under-18 league, and they both finished as runners-up in their respective Conferences.

The Midlands division also finds itself with four new teams. Birmingham Mets have a well established junior programme on which to build, as, of course, do Milton Keynes Lions who return to this division after two years out. Coalville Cougars are yet another team which is completely unknown to me, as are Nottingham Hoods, who attempt to return league basketball to that city, following the ill-fated Knights. I wonder whether there is any connection between the disappearance of Ilkeston and the emergence of the Hoods?

Also receiving four recruits is the South-West division, where University of Chichester Thunder are clearly a second team for Worthing. Guernsey enter the men's league, following a successful first season by the club in Women's EBL 2, and, just like their sister team, they will play their "home" games at Hamble Leisure Centre in Southampton.

 

 

Team Solent has no connections either with the previous Solent club, nor with the Solent Kestrels development programme, and I believe it may be based on Southampton Solent University.

Bath & Trowbridge Titans complete the new quartet, and the name would suggest that it is based on the Bath Titans development programme, which was begun by the old Bath Romans (ex-Bristol Bombers) team which was run by Dave Roper before the University support declined.

The fourth and final region in Division 4 is, effectively, a completely new one, with two teams (Lambeth Lakers and Sevenoaks Suns) transferring from last year's Midlands/South, and eight new entrants.

Two are not totally new, as Brunel University were accepted for membership last year, and then pulled out before the season got under way, while Kingston Wildcats are back after a three year absence from the league, having won the Founder's Cup (for non-league teams) this year, in their second consecutive Final appearance.

Barking Abbey and Edmonton Phoenix are clearly partnered with existing successful Women's teams, while London Westside enter a second team, despite struggling themselves in last season's division 3.

Essex Basketball are yet another team which will actually play under a different name once the season begins. There is (apparently) a new BBL franchise (as yet unnamed) opening in Southend, and the fourth division entrants are their second-team.

As for Essex University, all I know about them is that they play in Essex (I think), at the University (I believe) while Southgate Academicals Lions probably play in Southgate.

Apparently, "... there are a number of applications for Division Four Men still under consideration" and we're promised that "Any changes ... will be published in due course." I assume that that means that there are more teams that may be admitted, rather than that some of those listed may be de-selected.

 

So, a record total of eighty-six teams, are listed to start the season.

However, of last season's seventy-nine who were selected at this time last year, only seventy-six made it to the starting line in September, and we lost another three during the course of the campaign.

With so many newcomers, and an increasingly difficult economic climate, I doubt if this year will be any different ... and the year that I finally feel that I have no need to add this cautionary note will be the year that we know that basketball really has arrived in this country!

 

[Any additional information, about any of the clubs who have been sold short by my lack of knowledge, will be gratefully received]