A look back at the local Non League scene in the Coventry and Warwickshire area over the course of the 2017/18 season.
Both Nuneaton Town and Leamington secured their status at National League level which is an increasingly difficult achievement given the mix of wealthy newcomers and famous old clubs they are mixing with.
In the National League North in 2017/18, for example, Salford City topped the table after significant investment in their squad while the likes of Stockport County were capable of attracting crowds of over 5,000.
Increasing costs, a hugely disrupted winter and lengthy trips to the likes of Blyth Spartans and Spennymoor will also have taken their toll on both clubs and they deserve great credit for continuing to provide such a high standard of football, at Step 2 of the Non-League Pyramid, for their respective local communities.
Nuneaton enjoyed an upturn in form under Dino Maamria before he ended his short spell in charge to take the Stevenage job and continue to produce sought-after young players.
Three of their number, Daniel Nti, George Green and Luther Wildin will look to earn a move into the Football League when they take part in a week of training and matches with Jamie Vardy’s V9 Academy later this summer.
Stratford Town maintained their place at Step 3 of the Pyramid but manager Carl Adams stepped down at the end of the campaign and has taken on the challenge of getting Rugby Town out of the Midland Football League (see below) in 2018/19.
Bedworth United enjoyed an excellent season in the second tier of the Northern Premier League (Step 4) and won their play-off final against Stamford in dramatic fashion thanks in no small part to evergreen former Sky Blues youngster Iyseden Christie, now 41, who scored and then set up the winner after coming on as a substitute.
The Greenbacks will join Stratford in the Southern League Central division next season after the FA announced the provisional allocation of teams at Step 1-4.
There was plenty of local interest in the Midland Football League Premier Division (Step 5) as Coventry Sphinx, Coventry United and Rugby Town all battled it out.
The trio all finished in the top-half of the table but out of the promotion places.
