If I could change one thing about Non-League…

Editor Alex Narey says…

If I could change one thing in Non-League…

It’s not so much something I would change in Non-League, but rather people’s perception of what Non-League football is like. There seems to be this opinion that Non-League football is a world away from life in the Football League, and that’s frankly rubbish! The National League is virtually a full-time league now, and I believe too many clubs who are relegated into it do not give the football the respect it deserves and as a result, they offer a sluggish challenge and fall away too easily.
One other point I think needs addressing is the protection of managers at the lowers levels; too many get involved in the nitty gritty of boardroom squabbles when they should be allowed to get on with the job they were recruited to do. Non-League football can be too claustrophobic and too many people get involved on the playing side when they should be letting other more qualified people take care of that.

Senior writer Matt Badcock says…

If I could change one thing about Non-League…

Three-up into the Football League. It’s crazy this still hasn’t changed. The National League has shown it is a competition worthy of an extra automatic promotion place and it might also spark some of the League Two clubs who are happy to tread water into life. Stagnation is no good in football and there’s too much of it in that division.
Also, and this goes for all levels of football, celebratory pitch invasions when clubs win play-off semi-finals should result in an immediate victory for the other team. They’re only acceptable when someone has actually won something.

News editor Jon Couch says…

If I could change one thing about Non-League…

For me, the FA Trophy could be structured a lot better than it currently is. National League clubs enter the competition far too late, thus reducing the chances of a Step 3 or 4 club pulling out a potentially money-spinning crowd puller.
Saturday matches, unnecessary replays and a two-legged semi-final are other factors which put the bigger clubs off mounting a lengthy FA Trophy run, especially when there is something still at stake in their league campaigns.