PHIL YER BOOTS
‘Now is perfect time to push for three-up’
STEVENAGE chairman Phil Wallace believes the National League should seize the moment – and press their case for three-up, three-down with the Football League.
Ex-Conference vice-chairman Wallace, who was at the vanguard of the push for two promotion spots, said: “It was always the intention to go to three-up, three down after that, but it’s not been achieved. It’s been the Holy Grail for almost 20 years.”
STEVENAGE chairman Phil Wallace believes now is the perfect time for the National League to renew their case for three-up, three-down with the Football League.
Wallace admits he has a vested interest because his Boro side sat bottom of League Two when the season was cut short in mid-March and are facing relegation from the EFL on points per game.
But he does have strong Conference credentials. He was part of the fight for two promotion places – which eventually bore fruit in 2003.
“I would always support three-up, three-down,” he exclusively told The NLP. “That’s my roots.
“I was the Conference vice-chairman that was pushing for two-up, twodown. I spoke to 200 to 300 people at a Football League conference and, along with some others, we were pioneering.
“It was always the intention to go to three-up, three-down after that, but it’s not been achieved. It’s been the Holy Grail for almost 20 years.”
Wallace has suggested the National League could offer to promote just one club this season – on the proviso that three-up, three-down is brought back on the table after that.
He puts forward two key reasons why it could by good timing now – one is the parachute money the EFL could save if they don’t relegate and the other is the prohibitive cost of testing and salaries if the National League playoffs were to go ahead.
He said: “The problem in the past was there wasn’t any money to pay a potential third relegation team in the Football League.
Protocols
“But if they don’t relegate this year, they would have £1.2m in unpaid relegation parachute payments. Why not take that and put it into the pot to solve the problem we have to pay for the third relegation team?
“As for the National League, there’s not a clearcut promotion solution. They might put Barrow forward, that’s up to them, but it won’t be easy to return for play-offs with the protocols in place.
“Testing is a very expensive exercise and you would also have to bring players and staff back from furlough. In League Two, I think it’s generally accepted that it’s going to cost the clubs £1m between them to play the play-offs.
“That’s with four clubs. If you have six in the National League, it becomes an expensive lottery ticket.
“The National League could say ‘we’ll just put our champion club up and we’ll open a debate on three-up, three-down in full realisation that the EFL haven’t paid out the parachute payments this season.
Integrity
“That money could help towards three-up, three-down. I would start the same campaign as we did with two-up, two-down and apply pressure.”
Wallace knows that his ideas will have their detractors. The EFL board appear determined to press ahead with promotion and relegation across their three divisions, while the National League would be extremely wary of not taking up their two spots this term – unless there were guarantees in place about future berths.
But, like other forward-thinkers in the game, Wallace believes it’s time for innovation. “Three-up, three-down is a subject which has to be debated,” he said. “Why not take it further and put the third bottom team in the EFL into a play-off with the National League play-off winners, with the top two going up automatically?
“It’s about monetizing the game so that we can all survive.
“Three-up, three-down would improve the fluidity between the leagues. Of course there’s more chance of going down, but it would be easier to go up. It would refresh the League and you wouldn’t get a bottleneck.”
As for whether Stevenage will be returning to the National League next term, Wallace insists it wouldn’t be fair on points per game.
He added: “The only way expulsion from the EFL should happen is on the pitch over a full season. That’s what we all signed up for, not with 20 per cent of the season still to play. Where is the integrity in that?
“If you are going to play play-offs to have a chance of promotion, why shouldn’t you be able to play for the chance to avoid relegation?”
Wallace also pointed out that income from steaming live games could be vital for EFL clubs next season if games are played, as seems likely, behind closed doors, but suggested Non-League clubs could face greater financial strife if they don’t have the infrastructure to do
that.