Three Up from the NL?

[upthemaggies]

This is true, which is why it’s good it looks like being tied to part of a wider package. Really it should be taken out of their hands by the mooted new regular just going ‘well that’s stupid’ and rationalising the whole thing. Ideally into smaller divisions of 20 as well.

Five leagues of 20, a 100 club Football League with 3 up 3 down at every level, has always made sense to me.

[MarcusCole]

Five leagues of 20, a 100 club Football League with 3 up 3 down at every level, has always made sense to me.

And the loss of revenue to the clubs from playing 8 fewer games per season would come from where? Clubs at this level make the vast majority of income from ticket sales.

[upthemaggies]

And the loss of revenue to the clubs from playing 8 fewer games per season would come from where? Clubs at this level make the vast majority of income from ticket sales.

They'd have to take cups more seriously, there'd be less midweek games around winter and less meaningless mid-table slogs at the end of the season. It's a yes from me, but you're right, money talks louder than sense so it's probably a no go.

The more I think about 3 up 3 down, the worse an idea it seems. Nobody is thinking about the consequences.
We've already had teams like Bury and Darlington disappearing into obscurity because nobody credible wants to buy them whilst non-entities like FGR and Salford are attracting big backers who can start from scratch. Going from 2 to 3 is only going to further encourage potential buyers to look at a 5th tier side with no history rather than a long established 4th tier club that's fallen on hard times. It could be a disastrous move in the long run.

[Chicken Balti Pie]

And the loss of revenue to the clubs from playing 8 fewer games per season would come from where? Clubs at this level make the vast majority of income from ticket sales.

The number of managers that complain about fixture congestion, even in the lower league will be happy.

Also, less games doesn't mean less income. Less night matches for instance which invariably have lower attendances and often fail to break even as you still need stewards and catering. With most games at a weekend, fixture congestion is less, more people are likely to go to games as they don't have to fit in other plans or watch the pennies as much. Would be a good thing

[Magpies1959]

Four leagues of twenty five then, as I guess two leagues of fifty would be a bit stupid

[upthemaggies]

Four leagues of twenty five then, as I guess two leagues of fifty would be a bit stupid

If fairness is all that matters, we may as well cut to the chase and have one league of 100 clubs where everybody gets to play the big teams and have their day in the sun. No points awarded, every club gets a participation trophy at the end of the campaign, men and women alternate to play the fixtures with disability and LGBQT+ squads taking centre stage once every few months, fans of big clubs encouraged to ally themselves with smaller clubs and attend their games instead or risk losing their season tickets to ensure equity in gates and receipts. No negative chants allowed whatsoever, including banter between rival fans so that everybody feels safe and welcome.
We could call it the Utopia League.
Nobody who wants to be on the right side of history could possibly question it and must be silenced for spreading disinformation.

[MarcusCole]

The number of managers that complain about fixture congestion, even in the lower league will be happy.

Also, less games doesn't mean less income. Less night matches for instance which invariably have lower attendances and often fail to break even as you still need stewards and catering. With most games at a weekend, fixture congestion is less, more people are likely to go to games as they don't have to fit in other plans or watch the pennies as much. Would be a good thing

Disagree, they are usually complaining because of the meaningless cup games. For the League 1 and 2 clubs you could get rid of the Meaningless cup that nobody cares about and managers would be far happier. For the national league I would suggest getting rid of the FA trophy for professional clubs as it was not intended that fully professional teams would be taking part in it.

[durhampie]

If fairness is all that matters, we may as well cut to the chase and have one league of 100 clubs where everybody gets to play the big teams and have their day in the sun. No points awarded, every club gets a participation trophy at the end of the campaign, men and women alternate to play the fixtures with disability and LGBQT+ squads taking centre stage once every few months, fans of big clubs encouraged to ally themselves with smaller clubs and attend their games instead or risk losing their season tickets to ensure equity in gates and receipts. No negative chants allowed whatsoever, including banter between rival fans so that everybody feels safe and welcome.
We could call it the Utopia League.
Nobody who wants to be on the right side of history could possibly question it and must be silenced for spreading disinformation.

Just make the National League Div. 3. And for the North and South, the winners of each division to play off in a final, The winners of that final then having to apply to be elected to the league, depending on facilities being up to EFL standards.

[uysapie]

Just make the National League Div. 3. And for the North and South, the winners of each division to play off in a final, The winners of that final then having to apply to be elected to the league, depending on facilities being up to EFL standards.

Wouldn't that bring back the old re-election issue for the bottom team in Div 3 or are you suggesting 1 relegation spot?

[Proactive not Reactive]

I would prefer the National League to join Division 2 and form a North and South(East and West if you prefer) bigger attendances, less travelling making more financial sense for the football clubs that struggle the most financially.