Quote Originally Posted by jackal2 View Post
The vast majority of the clubs that have won promotion automatically or through the play-offs from the National League in recent years have done so operating within what you would regard as normal budgets for the size of their club. I've highlighted in bold below the clubs that were known to have 'sugar daddy' backing and/or over-inflated spending relative to their income, but the rest just found the right formula within their regular means, sometimes after several attempts.

2007–08 Aldershot Town; Exeter City
2008–09 Burton Albion; Torquay United
2009–10 Stevenage Borough; Oxford United
2010–11 Crawley Town; AFC Wimbledon
2011–12 Fleetwood Town; York City
2012–13 Mansfield Town; Newport County
2013–14 Luton Town; Cambridge United
2014–15 Barnet; Bristol Rovers
2015–16 Cheltenham Town; Grimsby Town
2016–17 Lincoln City; Forest Green Rovers
2017–18 Macclesfield Town; Tranmere Rovers
2018–19 Leyton Orient; Salford City
2019–20 Barrow; Harrogate Town
2020–21 Sutton United; Hartlepool United
2021-22 Stockport County
Well that's a comprehensive and interesting list of promoted teams.