Before I begin I have a little problem. I need to find a different blog system that will allow me easily to copy from an Excel spreadsheet into this text window. Does anybody know a good one?
Now to the main subject which is promotion and relegation at the bottom of the pyramid. I am sure I will get sidetracked at some point as this is a train of thought blog. I shall one day plan, correlate and rewrite my thinkage but for now you get what comes into my head and you can suck it up or leave.
The Premier League and Football League have been running for so long now that we all know the process involving playoff matches that results in promotion from the level below to the level above and relegation running the other way. I have for years now tried to follow the pyramid all the way down and believe me it gets a lot more complicated very quickly.
During the summer we saw that Swansea, Stoke and West Bromwich Albion were relegated from the Premier League to be replaced by Fulham, Cardiff and Wolverhampton Wanderers. This proves that if you lose one team with a long name beginning with W that you need to replace it with another team possessing a long name beginning with W. That is just the way it is.
You can easily find the teams promoted and relegated in the Football League and at the end of that list you will find that Barnet and Chestefield exited the league to be replaced by Macclesfield Town and Tranmere Rovers who happened to finish first and second in the National League. That does not always happen due to the playoffs which allow a team in form at the end of the season to climb above their level and gain promotion.
At the bottom of the National League you get the first (although simple) complication as four teams are relegated to the National League North and National League South and it seems to be more often three-one than two-two although I have not yet noticed a four-nil relegation. Two teams from each of those leagues are promoted and usually one team is transferred between the leagues to even things up. Only the F.A.s finest politicians are allowed to know the arguments that result in that decision.
This summer it WAS a two-two split as Chester & Guiseley dropped into the National North while Torquay and Woking dropped into the National South. Helen Chamberlain must be devastated as the freefall of Torquay United continues. Salford City under the direction of Gary Neville were promoted along with Harrogate Town from the Northern division. Braintree Town and Havant & Waterlooville were promoted from the South division but both of these two are currently in the relegation zone and may go straight back down.
With some clubs folding and others refusing promotion things can get more complicated so I decided to go all the way to the bottom of the pyramid and check on the promotions and relegations between levels 10 and 11.
What I found surprised me slightly but not greatly. Of the 34 teams finishing bottom of the level 10 leagues 21 kept their place in their league while only an unlucky 13 were actually dropped out of the top 10, 12 to level 11 and one to level 12.
Cove and Bagshot kept their places in the Combined Counties league while British Airways and Tooting Bec were promoted from the Middlesex County League and the Surrey Elite Intermediate League respectively. Some level 10 leagues are undersubscribed and ambitious clubs will always want to play at the highest level that they can.
At this point I should say that I learned a few things over the last couple of seasons. Level 11 teams are considered amateur while level 10 is the start of the professional game although you will always find exceptions to any rule. Consequently when I went to support a level 10 club I payed £3.50 and got some good entertainment last season. This year, after relegation to level 11 I was able to walk in free and watch some of the same players.
Another level 11 club I watched charged me an entrance fee this season but they were playing a level 10 club in a cup match and I have no idea what the rules are in that situation. I did talk to a member of staff who said that they were forced to produce a program for the match so that must be one of the rules for matches involving a level 10 team. Knowing what I now know I think that the South West Peninsula League which covers levels 10 and 11 is a very good idea to introduce clubs coming up to the new rules that they will have to adhere to.
The Southern Combination have a system involving thee clubs being promoted and relegated but all three were reprieved this year. Billingshurst, Oakwood and Southwick all retained their places and as far as I can see no other teams joined them. You only have to be relegated if there are teams wanting to replace you and I can understand some clubs not wishing to get involved with all the F.A.Rules.
I read somewhere that one club was refused promotion by the F.A. because their paved path from the gate to the grandstand was two slabs short. I hope there were some other requirements that were not met but if the F.A. really wants to promote football rather than whip clubs into submission they could have paid for two slabs to be delivered. I bought some for less than a fiver not so long ago.
My spreadsheet lists 69 clubs who were either promoted or finished top of their league and opted not to be promoted from Step 7, level 11. As I said earlier it does get complicated at this level.
30 Clubs stayed in the same league that they were in last season, 2 moved sideways and Smithswood Firs folded but I have not yet found out why. That means that 36 clubs actually took the promotion that they had earned. Some clubs not at the top of their leagues took advantage of the restructure and applied to the new divisions to be rewarded with an undeserved promotion but when you consider how quickly some players come and go the strength of a side can vary greatly from season to season.
One league that intrigued me but it is in an area that has been an anomaly for a while is the Essex Olympian League that remains at Level 11 but where the only promotion was to the Essex Senior League at Level 9. In this league Catholic United won the title but refused promotion while three clubs finishing lower down were taken into the newly formed Eastern Counties League division One South which will eventually become a feeder to the Essex Senior League.
It took a lot of time to work through the complications but for me it is worth it as I love a challenge and as I build my spreadsheet it becomes easier to refer from one to another to locate the information I need to further my understanding.
I still think the F.A. have got it wrong. The simpletons in charge want a 1-2-4-8-16 structure which can be tweaked within a few seasons but they then have to encourage those 16 leagues to change to a two subsidiary league structure which means bringing in a LOT more teams at level 10 which is where all the complications start and why so many teams choose not to come under the wings of the uncaring, whip carrying Football Association.
How about looking at the shape of the country and adding another league at Step 2, Level 6? That would fit nicely with last season's three subsidiary leagues. One fewer relegation from the National League would enable some teams to build their push for the football league. If you do not get the top right the bottom will fall apart sooner rather than later.
Now to the main subject which is promotion and relegation at the bottom of the pyramid. I am sure I will get sidetracked at some point as this is a train of thought blog. I shall one day plan, correlate and rewrite my thinkage but for now you get what comes into my head and you can suck it up or leave.
The Premier League and Football League have been running for so long now that we all know the process involving playoff matches that results in promotion from the level below to the level above and relegation running the other way. I have for years now tried to follow the pyramid all the way down and believe me it gets a lot more complicated very quickly.
During the summer we saw that Swansea, Stoke and West Bromwich Albion were relegated from the Premier League to be replaced by Fulham, Cardiff and Wolverhampton Wanderers. This proves that if you lose one team with a long name beginning with W that you need to replace it with another team possessing a long name beginning with W. That is just the way it is.
You can easily find the teams promoted and relegated in the Football League and at the end of that list you will find that Barnet and Chestefield exited the league to be replaced by Macclesfield Town and Tranmere Rovers who happened to finish first and second in the National League. That does not always happen due to the playoffs which allow a team in form at the end of the season to climb above their level and gain promotion.
At the bottom of the National League you get the first (although simple) complication as four teams are relegated to the National League North and National League South and it seems to be more often three-one than two-two although I have not yet noticed a four-nil relegation. Two teams from each of those leagues are promoted and usually one team is transferred between the leagues to even things up. Only the F.A.s finest politicians are allowed to know the arguments that result in that decision.
This summer it WAS a two-two split as Chester & Guiseley dropped into the National North while Torquay and Woking dropped into the National South. Helen Chamberlain must be devastated as the freefall of Torquay United continues. Salford City under the direction of Gary Neville were promoted along with Harrogate Town from the Northern division. Braintree Town and Havant & Waterlooville were promoted from the South division but both of these two are currently in the relegation zone and may go straight back down.
With some clubs folding and others refusing promotion things can get more complicated so I decided to go all the way to the bottom of the pyramid and check on the promotions and relegations between levels 10 and 11.
What I found surprised me slightly but not greatly. Of the 34 teams finishing bottom of the level 10 leagues 21 kept their place in their league while only an unlucky 13 were actually dropped out of the top 10, 12 to level 11 and one to level 12.
Cove and Bagshot kept their places in the Combined Counties league while British Airways and Tooting Bec were promoted from the Middlesex County League and the Surrey Elite Intermediate League respectively. Some level 10 leagues are undersubscribed and ambitious clubs will always want to play at the highest level that they can.
At this point I should say that I learned a few things over the last couple of seasons. Level 11 teams are considered amateur while level 10 is the start of the professional game although you will always find exceptions to any rule. Consequently when I went to support a level 10 club I payed £3.50 and got some good entertainment last season. This year, after relegation to level 11 I was able to walk in free and watch some of the same players.
Another level 11 club I watched charged me an entrance fee this season but they were playing a level 10 club in a cup match and I have no idea what the rules are in that situation. I did talk to a member of staff who said that they were forced to produce a program for the match so that must be one of the rules for matches involving a level 10 team. Knowing what I now know I think that the South West Peninsula League which covers levels 10 and 11 is a very good idea to introduce clubs coming up to the new rules that they will have to adhere to.
The Southern Combination have a system involving thee clubs being promoted and relegated but all three were reprieved this year. Billingshurst, Oakwood and Southwick all retained their places and as far as I can see no other teams joined them. You only have to be relegated if there are teams wanting to replace you and I can understand some clubs not wishing to get involved with all the F.A.Rules.
I read somewhere that one club was refused promotion by the F.A. because their paved path from the gate to the grandstand was two slabs short. I hope there were some other requirements that were not met but if the F.A. really wants to promote football rather than whip clubs into submission they could have paid for two slabs to be delivered. I bought some for less than a fiver not so long ago.
My spreadsheet lists 69 clubs who were either promoted or finished top of their league and opted not to be promoted from Step 7, level 11. As I said earlier it does get complicated at this level.
30 Clubs stayed in the same league that they were in last season, 2 moved sideways and Smithswood Firs folded but I have not yet found out why. That means that 36 clubs actually took the promotion that they had earned. Some clubs not at the top of their leagues took advantage of the restructure and applied to the new divisions to be rewarded with an undeserved promotion but when you consider how quickly some players come and go the strength of a side can vary greatly from season to season.
One league that intrigued me but it is in an area that has been an anomaly for a while is the Essex Olympian League that remains at Level 11 but where the only promotion was to the Essex Senior League at Level 9. In this league Catholic United won the title but refused promotion while three clubs finishing lower down were taken into the newly formed Eastern Counties League division One South which will eventually become a feeder to the Essex Senior League.
It took a lot of time to work through the complications but for me it is worth it as I love a challenge and as I build my spreadsheet it becomes easier to refer from one to another to locate the information I need to further my understanding.
I still think the F.A. have got it wrong. The simpletons in charge want a 1-2-4-8-16 structure which can be tweaked within a few seasons but they then have to encourage those 16 leagues to change to a two subsidiary league structure which means bringing in a LOT more teams at level 10 which is where all the complications start and why so many teams choose not to come under the wings of the uncaring, whip carrying Football Association.
How about looking at the shape of the country and adding another league at Step 2, Level 6? That would fit nicely with last season's three subsidiary leagues. One fewer relegation from the National League would enable some teams to build their push for the football league. If you do not get the top right the bottom will fall apart sooner rather than later.
