Professional football in England is stronger than anywhere else on the globe. Throughout the country, we have at our disposal an array of league’s filled with accomplished players, exceptionally qualified coaches and stadiums that are fit for cup finals. Nowhere else in the world would you see a club in the fifth tier of the footballing pyramid paying their players full time wages to train day in, day out in order to compete in a league filled with 23 like minded teams.
Of course, this league, known to you and I as the National League Premier Division, is a far cry from the glitz and glamour of the Premier League, or even the Championship; but it’s still an impeccably ran, professionally maintained, established division which offers opportunity to players from around Europe the chance to showcase their talents, week in, week out. Nurtured in a way that shows just how ravenous we are as a nation to further improve the overall standard of football within our country, the National League has gone from strength to strength over the past 5-10 years, and will continue to do so for years to come. You can also bet within these leagues, so you don’t have to miss out on any angle of entertainment. Visit FootyAccas for some lower league football tips, insights and further views.
National League viewed as a stepping stone by many young pro’s
With more and more teams now opting to turn ‘full-time’ in the National League (formerly known as the Football Conference), fans of clubs competing in this division have seen an increased level of quality and performance from their players. Personnel brought in has also improved drastically, with many accomplished footballers who have formerly plied their trade in the top tiers of the game now dropping down to play in the National League after seeing opportunities limited within the Football League.
Ex academy players, who have been frozen out by Premier League sides also use clubs in the National League as the perfect stepping stone to return to the ‘professional game’. Although this can be frustrating for spectators, due to these players only sticking around temporarily until something better comes along, more often than not does still help to improve the standard of the game, even if it is only for a limited period of time.
The National League now boasts the likes of Leyton Orient, Hartlepool and Tranmere Rovers, among others; all of which have spent the majority of their history competing in the higher tiers, all of which now find themselves in a real battle to gain promotion back to the Football League. For the latter, this is the third season in a row they find themselves competing in the fifth division of English football. After spending the past 70 years fluctuating between the top four tiers of the professional game, Tranmere tumbled into the National League at the end of the 2015/16 campaign after finishing rock bottom of League Two and have so far struggled to mount a serious challenge of returning.
The likes of Torquay United, who first dropped into what at the time was called the Football Conference in 2008, did manage to win promotion back to the Football League a mere two seasons later, only to drop back down at the end of the 2014/15 season following an abysmal season that saw the Cornish club finish 24th in League Two. Gary Owers side now look in contention to be relegated once more into the National League South after picking up just 11 points from 19 games so far this term, something that has become a bit of a consistent feature at Plainmoor in recent seasons.
Limited promotion places
So just why are so many established teams struggling to escape this challenging division? There are many factors why so many clubs are finding it so difficult to climb out of the National League; the first, and potentially most important being because there is such limited opportunities for clubs to be promoted. In any other league within the professional game, sides have the ability to finish either top, second, or in League Two’s case even third to gain automatic entry into the division above. Should they fail in this quest, they can then still rely on a place in the play off’s to try and battle it out with fellow promotion hopefuls, allowing clubs to finish as low as 6th or 7th and still have the chance to go up.
The National League is slightly different however. The concept is still the same, but there are more limited spaces available; in order to gain automatic promotion to League Two, teams must win the whole division. Clubs have to finish in pole position if they’re to avoid a play off battle, which in turn means that the sides that do go into the play off’s have to finish in the top 5. This is a hugely challenging task, considering there are 24 teams that frequently play twice a week all battling it out with one and other, all trying to achieve the same objective.
Too easy to get stuck
Grimsby Town were promoted from the National League at the end of the 2015/16 campaign, after plying their trade in the fifth tier for six seasons following their relegation from League Two back in 2010. After a record FOUR failed play off attempts, the Mariners finally escaped the National League after beating Forest Green Rovers 3-1 in the final at Wembley. Luton Town did similar two seasons before, the Hatters spent 5 seasons in the division following their demotion from the Football League back in 2011, and had to endure three failed play off campaigns on the bounce before finally finding their way out of the unforgiving league in 2015.
The likes of Wrexham and Macclesfield Town are prime examples of teams who have quite simply just got stuck in the National League in recent years; the Welsh side have now participated in fifth tier football for 9 straight seasons after falling out of the ‘professional’ game, with the Cheshire outfit now enduring their 6th successive season among the non league elite. Woking have been mainstays in the National League for the past 24 years, bar a three year absence where they were relegated to the Conference South in 2010. This shows just how easy it is for clubs to get stuck in this division, caught in limbo between wanting to progress to the next level, but being held back by a lack of resources and financial capabilities.
Finance often disappears after relegation
A lot of this is due to money disappearing once teams fall out of the Football League, teams often see investors withdraw their financial support once they are relegated into non league, as it is viewed as much less profitable to be involved in a club that no longer competes in the the top four tiers. This of course makes sense, and is in no way unreasonable from a business point of view, but what it does do is completely hinder any chances those teams effected would have of mounting an immediate push for promotion.
Top players will understandably leave the club if they can no longer be afforded and other, more appealing offers come forward; while ticket sales could fall if fans no longer wish to watch their side in a lower league (sad, but it does happen). All these factors obviously have a detrimental effect to these clubs, and contribute towards their rapid decline, with many falling further and further down the football pyramid as years go by. On the other hand, teams that get taken over by investors looking to propel them to the next level often see a flurry of changes that on the face of it look promising, but in reality do more harm than good.
National League side Eastleigh saw an injection of cash introduced to the club four years ago, but after winning the Conference South to gain entry to the Premier division, are now struggling at the wrong end of the table after initially looking good value for promotion following their play off extroverts in 2015. Much of this is due to players being brought in from Football League clubs, on lengthy big money contracts that they cannot be released from. These players aren’t necessarily bothered about the welfare of the club, or indeed how they can progress with them, it’s all about getting that one last pay cheque; security, if you like for what lies ahead, and that does the club in question absolutely no favours.
With more money being pumped into the game at non league level, facilities throughout the league improving year after year, and the ability of young players coming through the ranks going from strength to strength, the National League certainly has an exciting future. There will probably never be a second automatic space opened up in the fifth tier, so it will more than likely remain a thankless task for teams to claw themselves out of. This factor is unquestionably frustrating for the sides all desperate to escape the clutches of non league football, but for the neutral, it’s an exciting spectacle like none other; and that’s why we love it.
