A well run Notts County would be able to be 16th in Tier 2. Oldham Athletic were founder members of the Premier League. Sc­unthorpe United have had 3 England captains playing for them. I lament such demise and several other examples.

Nevertheless when relegation from Tier 4 with the accompanying promotion from Tier 5 occurred it made the entire football
pyramid almost down to Sunday League a meritocracy.

In the early 1970s I could not have envisaged Morecambe being a division above Carlisle United.

We sometimes think that xxxxxxxx xxxxx is not fit to be in the EFL because it is not really a football town, there are low attendances and the football club does not get into the local soul. But the reality nowadays is that if a 'local lad made good' is prepared to indefinitely pour money into such a club it will remain in the EFL.

The crazy situation is that there is 'football inflation' that is greater than the ability of Tiers 3 to 5 can rationally cope with. Yet the fan expects to pay no more over several consecutive seasons, especially when results are worse than mundane.