A good article from iNews today. Thoughts?
https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/extra-promotion-place-national-league-efl-1398708
I’m intrigued by the phrase “foisted upon them for the good of the game “. I’d be interested to know what the writer had in mind when he wrote that, because I can’t see any way it’s going to happen.
Prior to relegation, we'd have said no. Sod's law says they will increase the numbers the season after we finally go up, with the additional risk of dropping straight back down again.
Would the EFL ever agree to it? They agreed to increasing from 1 to 2, so it's not out of the question.
I don't think the EFL will have much choice soon. I believe that the government are demanding reform of the leagues with better integration between the national league and EFL if they want further funding
The question is whether the National League is experiencing a unique temporary situation due to Wrexham, Stockport and Chesterfield’s sudden wealth, and our fall from grace, or whether we have surreptitiously helped create Division Five.
The National League’s case isn’t helped by the likes of Dover and King’s Lynn, but I suppose every league has a few small teams punching above their weight (after all, it was us once in a far higher league).
It does seem odd these days that four teams are promoted from League 2/relegated from League 1. Tough pill for League 2 clubs to swallow, but it makes sense for all leagues to have a standardised 3 up/3 down system.
I think it's time for 3, or maybe even 4 promotion places from the National League. I honestly think the top 6 in the NL would be better than the bottom 6 in League 2, but just two promotions and relegations have caused something of a bottleneck. While I admire clubs that perform above what might be considered their 'natural level', I think the EFL would be stronger with the likes of Notts, Chesterfield, Wrexham and Stockport replacing some of the clubs in League 2 who struggle to get 2,000 for a home game. I think the NL should now be considered a definite Division 5, and should be treated accordingly.
Think the Dover and King's Lyne situation is being effectively resolved by default (put Dover well below KL in my opinion).