Talking Points: The big stories in Non-League

1. Is the National League relegation battle all but sorted? 

In many seasons we have been treated to a pulsating battle at the bottom of the National League as teams fight gallantly to retain their place in Non-League’s highest tier. Unfortunately, this campaign does not seem as though it is going to be one of those years.
As things stand, Braintree and Maidstone have already had their fate confirmed, while Aldershot and Dover Athletic are 11 and 8 points away from safety respectively, with just four games left to play.

2. Have any champions been crowned across Steps 1 to 4 yet? 

This weekend saw the first title races come to their conclusion as three of the four Bostik leagues crowned their champions on Saturday.
Dorking Wanderers beat Worthing 3-0 to romp to the Bostik Premier title, securing their 12th promotion in just 18 seasons in the process.
Meanwhile, Bowers & Pitsea gained an unassailable lead at the top of the Bostik North and Hayes & Yeading, who have found the net an extraordinary 119 times already this season,  have now secured the Bostik South Central title.

3. Which National League club has spent the most on agency fees? 

Last week the FA released figures on how much clubs had spent on agent fees between February 2018 and the end of January this year. It certainly provided some interesting reading…
Current league leaders Salford City were the highest spenders in the top division, with their £76,338 equating to almost 25% of the overall league expenditure.
This represents a vast difference from their title challengers, Leyton Orient (£30,000), Solihull Moors (£5,660) and Wrexham (£26,468).
Meanwhile, Chesterfield, who have struggled at the wrong end of the table for most of the campaign, also spent heavily, shelling out £72,943 on agency fees.

4. How are the title races in Steps 1 and 2 shaping up? 

We are certainly in for a dramatic last few weeks of the season with several title races set to go down to the wire.
In the National League, Leyton Orient have a slender two point lead over Salford City following last night’s dramatic 3-2 win over Eastleigh. While third placed Solihull Moors sit just a point further back.
In the North, Stockport County edged ahead of Chorley by a solitary point with an emphatic 6-0 win at Chester, while in the South, Torquay’s last gasp equalizer at second placed Woking last weekend maintained their seven point lead at the top.