CHOSEN ONES MUST BE ON MERIT TIME FOR EFL RE-THINK
WHAT follows will probably not please some and is indeed sure to encounter some fierce resistance. Change, even for the better, often does that. But if Non-League football is to work for the many, not just the few, then change is going to have to come. The English Football League have advanced proposals for restructuring – The Whole Game Solution – which their 72 clubs will vote on next summer. The debate is heating up. The EFL’s published plan is to increase to 80 clubs, so that it can form four divisions of 20 each, the extra eight coming from the Vanarama National League. The EFL say the scheme would reduce fixture congestion and boost finances. Member clubs are unsure, though. At the moment, there are 24 in each division, meaning if the proposals went through, they would lose four home league games. That would be quite some revenue loss. As a result, the EFL are now making noises about leagues of 20 in the Championship, and 22 in each of the three leagues under. That means 86, not 80 clubs, with National League naturally worried about losing as many as 14.
Moving on up
On top, the suggestion is that 14 of the bigger clubs may be approached, with a breakaway even possible. It is certainly possible that those desperate to return to the Football League but struggling, like Wrexham and York say, would be flattered into being cherry-picked. My own feeling is that if the plan does find favour, let the 14 go with grace – but only on merit. When I were a lad (insert own joke here), the big clubs of Non-League football were my home town team Weymouth, Hereford, Yeovil, Wimbledon, Cambridge United and Worcester City from the Southern League; Macclesfield, Morecambe, Altrincham, Wigan Athletic, Boston United and Scarborough from the North. Life and the game have moved on but it has all happened on merit from the formation of the Alliance Premier League, forerunner to the Conference in 1979, and certainly since the introduction of automatic promotion in 1987 ended the injustice of re-election, or non-election for deserving Non-League teams. Let the EFL vote for their plan next summer, then the following season make it clear that the Vanarama National’s top 14 will go into the EFL, be it the giants of Tranmere Rovers or – unlikely but possible – North Ferriby United. At that point, Non-League football can then get back to being what it should be – Non-League football. These days, Vanarama National is the Premier League of Non-League, with its haves and havenots, full and part-timers. Tiers develop between the moneyed ex-EFL clubs along with those, often with wealthy backers, chasing a dream, and the rest just looking to find an affordably good manager and group of players for a season or several.
Principle
Dream-chasing must never be taken away – as long as it is sustainable – but it means that many former big clubs beneath the EFL are unlikely to make it back to the top echelons of Non-League under its current structure. Personally, I would have an EFL Division Two North and South, as the old Third Division was until 1958. That way, there are more local derbies and more income. But the EFL insist they are now a national competition. There is no reason why Non-League has to be, however. After the top 14 depart, we can still have Conference North and South, and stronger ones, to maximise income. Does Tranmere v Forest Green on a Tuesday next February – a round trip of almost 350 miles – really make sense? Naturally, there must be automatic relegation and promotion between the EFL and Non-League still. Detail can be agreed later, but let’s establish principle first. Turkeys may not vote for Christmas, but surely football can vote for a bigger picture and a greater good?