So the Football Conference has reached the end of its "regular season" and the play-offs have begun with Halifax leading Cambridge 1-0 before they head south and Grimsby drawing 1-1 with Gateshead before they head north.
I have started reading the various non-league forums and I read on one of them that the North may be split East to West instead of North to South. This is clearly to provide a formal progression from the North West Counties League and the Northern Counties East League and I am keeping an open mind on that, because once the split occurs at Conference North and South level there are always going to be mid-table teams switching in order that the split can be made at a logical point.
I intend to return later today to the start of my dreaming. Elmore Eagles are at home to Godolphin Atlantic and I want to see this "Do Golfing" Atlantic and see if they are masters of the long ball game. I am always happy to watch football at the lower levels but I am not sure that there is anybody else like me as I know how hard it is to keep in touch with a single team and all its news, so following 10 teams is clearly an improbable task. This season I checked in on Yeovil and Brentford via facebook and kept in touch with Exeter via my friends at work.
Tamworth proved elusive but they are outside of my area and I have not visited my cousin as I thought I would. Weston-super-Mare improved dramatically during the season and I may keep them on now but early in the season I was all set to drop them for another team next season. I may have two new Conference teams to watch next season.
The Southern League has been represented by Bideford and Tiverton, two Devon teams, and I kept getting snippets of information in the local press. I hear that the Tiverton manager is thinking of leaving after a good season because of all the criticism he is getting. Does he not know that the criticism grows exponentially with the positive performances? I watched vitriolic cyber-bullying of Arsene Wenger when Arsenal were top of the table but that has all died down now that we have settled for fourth place.
The Western League as I have stated covers level 9 and 10. There are the F.A.Vase clubs. Buckland Athletic proved impossible to get information about. When I say impossible I mean I could not be bothered to put the effort in. They are likely to be dropped if I can find anyone else to support next season. Barnstaple was always an attraction as it is at the far end of a branch line and would be a lovely train ride away. I did not make it this season but I may keep them on for next year.
There is a possibility that I may drop Barnstaple as Elmore Eagles are also at Level 10 and they were my first contact club. They elected to move from the Western League to the South West Peninsula League and I certainly agree with them that travelling around Cornwall and Devon each week should I choose to follow them away is going to be far more pleasant than heading for Bristol every other week. I could, of course, follow both as I tried to do this season.
I shall be watching the promotion and relegation situation with interest as last season I was slightly shocked by the number of clubs switching divisions and even switching leagues. This is going to be more important in the coming years as the F.A. aims to formalise the promotion and relegation steps between leagues from level 8 down. New leagues are going to form and some leagues will be regraded to make this happen. Just keep in mind how the Northern League has dropped in status because it refused to join in with the national changes.
That is all for today.
I have started reading the various non-league forums and I read on one of them that the North may be split East to West instead of North to South. This is clearly to provide a formal progression from the North West Counties League and the Northern Counties East League and I am keeping an open mind on that, because once the split occurs at Conference North and South level there are always going to be mid-table teams switching in order that the split can be made at a logical point.
I intend to return later today to the start of my dreaming. Elmore Eagles are at home to Godolphin Atlantic and I want to see this "Do Golfing" Atlantic and see if they are masters of the long ball game. I am always happy to watch football at the lower levels but I am not sure that there is anybody else like me as I know how hard it is to keep in touch with a single team and all its news, so following 10 teams is clearly an improbable task. This season I checked in on Yeovil and Brentford via facebook and kept in touch with Exeter via my friends at work.
Tamworth proved elusive but they are outside of my area and I have not visited my cousin as I thought I would. Weston-super-Mare improved dramatically during the season and I may keep them on now but early in the season I was all set to drop them for another team next season. I may have two new Conference teams to watch next season.
The Southern League has been represented by Bideford and Tiverton, two Devon teams, and I kept getting snippets of information in the local press. I hear that the Tiverton manager is thinking of leaving after a good season because of all the criticism he is getting. Does he not know that the criticism grows exponentially with the positive performances? I watched vitriolic cyber-bullying of Arsene Wenger when Arsenal were top of the table but that has all died down now that we have settled for fourth place.
The Western League as I have stated covers level 9 and 10. There are the F.A.Vase clubs. Buckland Athletic proved impossible to get information about. When I say impossible I mean I could not be bothered to put the effort in. They are likely to be dropped if I can find anyone else to support next season. Barnstaple was always an attraction as it is at the far end of a branch line and would be a lovely train ride away. I did not make it this season but I may keep them on for next year.
There is a possibility that I may drop Barnstaple as Elmore Eagles are also at Level 10 and they were my first contact club. They elected to move from the Western League to the South West Peninsula League and I certainly agree with them that travelling around Cornwall and Devon each week should I choose to follow them away is going to be far more pleasant than heading for Bristol every other week. I could, of course, follow both as I tried to do this season.
I shall be watching the promotion and relegation situation with interest as last season I was slightly shocked by the number of clubs switching divisions and even switching leagues. This is going to be more important in the coming years as the F.A. aims to formalise the promotion and relegation steps between leagues from level 8 down. New leagues are going to form and some leagues will be regraded to make this happen. Just keep in mind how the Northern League has dropped in status because it refused to join in with the national changes.
That is all for today.
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