Brighouse Town and Wythenshawe Town are set to play Step 4 football again in the 2025-2026 season after receiving reprieves in their respective Northern Premier League divisions.
The latter club in Greater Manchester finished in the NPL West division drop zone, but remain in it owing to Farsley Celtic’s woes which has seen them dropped from the National League North to the Northern Counties East Division One.
Brighouse ended their East division campaign fourth from bottom but have been handed their lifeline by the withdrawal of Bemerton Heath Harlequins, who finished just outside the play-off places in Southern Division One South and now drop back in to the Wessex Premier.
Town will play newcomers into the division in the shape of two clubs from the town of Blyth in the north east, Blyth Spartans and Blyth Town, Redcar Athletic, Hallam and Silsden, having said farewell to promoted clubs Cleethorpes Town and Stocksbridge Park Steels.
The lateral and up and down movements are decided by the FA and then put to the respective leagues. Town will now take their place in the extra preliminary round of the FA Cup in early August ahead of a 42 match league programme.
In the meantime manager Grant Black has commenced work in vigorous fashion sorting out pre-season friendlies and also signing up players. At the last count he had seven friendlies registered with opposing managers and he has signed two players from Wakefield and Emley. They are respectively former Town player Callum Charlton, a pacy wide player and front man Nathan Curtis.
He has also snapped up the experienced and well travelled Danny Frost who will also be the club’s new player-coach.
The new captain of the side will be Josh Waldram who has re-signed on along with strikers Danny Edwards and Rhys Plater and forward of midfielder Romario Dunne.
Following the final four Calderdale Schools finals this week, the playing surface will be given its annual dressing and re-seed to prepare for a another busy eleven months.
On Sunday, May 25, the club’s annual funday will take place and officials were just keeping fingers crossed a change in weather did not put a dampener on things.
