MFL Weekly Round Up (Premier Division)

Lichfield City

A few of the players from the 23/24 squad have left Lichfield City over the past week as the club looks to rebuild going into next season.

Lewi Burnside has left the club to join step four side Chasetown over the last few days who was one of the best full backs in the league at the end of last season. He was ever present throughout the 23/24 season and made 43 starts in all competitions. He also notably scored in the play-off final to get it back to 2-1 early in the second half against Darlaston.

Cameron Dunn has also left the club over the last week. Another player who was brilliant for Lichfield last season and made 25 starts in all competitions. Leighton McMenemy has also left to go to Australia.

Their top goal scorer from 23/24 Dan Smith needs ACL reconstruction surgery and will be out for all of next season. He was excellent last season and hopefully it’s a speedy recovery.        

It’s going to be interesting to see who Lichfield bring in over the summer. If they get the right sort of players in, they could challenge near the top of the table again. It’s still a relatively strong squad with the likes of James Beeson and Jack Edwards who are some of the best players in the division.      

​The club have also got the leadership and experience to cope with the likes of Dan Lomas and Joe Haines in the squad.

Stourport Swifts

Stourport announced that promising attacking player Jamie Meddows has committed for the 24/25 season which is a boost for the Swifts. He was excellent throughout last season with ten goals from 23 starts in all competitions.

The Swifts have been challenging for the last few seasons under Quentin Townsend with finishes of 7th (22/23) and 4th (23/24) in the MFL Premier.

It will be interesting to see how they get on throughout next season. The main departure is the retirement of Ben Jevons who was such a key player for them at the back. None the less, if they can replace him with a player that’s good and can develop, they could kick on in 24/25.

Studley

Mike Fowler has committed to Studley for another season which is excellent news for the Bees.
Studley narrowly missed out on the play offs last season to Highgate United but are set to challenge in 24/25 if they can keep most of their squad over the summer.

There building something at the Studley Sports Centre and keeping their manager on board continues the momentum they had last season.

They could be one of the clubs to watch over the next few months to see who they bring in to add to the squad.

Zach Guinan emerged as one of the best number nines in the league last season with 17 goals in all competitions. If they can keep players like him on board, they could challenge again throughout 24/25.   

Tividale

Stuart How resigned as the manager of Tividale last weekend which came as a bit of a surprise. It was a challenging season for the club in 23/24 with a 17th place finish but there were signs they were building something under him. 

None the less, the search for a new manager is under way and it will be interesting to see who they get in over the next few weeks.

Five wins from 34 matches shows they struggled last season but it’s not a bad squad on paper. The attacking threat of Ryan Snape and Ewan Edwards can cause teams problems and there’s experience and leadership with the likes of Joe Burroughs at the back.

There were a few matches last season where they could have got something from them. It would normally come down to fine margins such as missed chances and mistakes at the back which cost them throughout 23/24.  

It’s going to be interesting to see who the club appoints as their new manager. The new management team will probably want to bring their own players in but there’s a few players in this squad that could be worth keeping going into next season.

They could have a bounce back season throughout 24/25 like Uttoxeter Town if they can get it right over the summer.

Round up feature written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League