You enter a wonder of the ancient world expecting to see something spectacular. But after making hot, slow progress down long, claustrophobic tunnels, you end up in a sterile chamber, not unlike an empty garage.
Recently, I’ve found myself wondering if the non-league football pyramid isn’t the same. We all set out with such high hopes in 1982, but where has the journey taken us? A select few clubs may have prospered, but others have been destroyed. Most, I suspect, have just ended up in that sterile chamber.
Is it time for a rethink? Might semi-professional clubs have a better chance of survival if they played in a competition that was more local to them rather than dreaming the impossible dream of Football League or National League membership?
Could there be an argument for going back to self-contained structures like the old Cheshire League and Lancashire Combination? Do supporters genuinely want a club that’s bleeding itself white to compete at the highest — and most expensive — level? Or would they prefer to see a successful team in familiar surroundings?
The pyramid came into existence because the Football League was a closed shop. The only way in was to be elected, and in general turkeys didn’t vote for Christmas. Whether they won the Southern League, the Northern Premier or even the Alliance, ambitious non-league clubs regularly found the door slammed in their face. Wigan Athletic got so frustrated that they applied to join the Scottish League in 1972.
But that was almost half a century ago. Football is a very different game nowadays and the National League is much tougher than it was even in the 1990s, when Stalybridge survived for six seasons. Unless a club has the backing of some generous millionaires it’s hard to see how it could survive, let alone be competitive, at the highest levels.
There’s a lot of evidence to show that unless you’re wealthy, the Conference sucks the life out of you. The road down from Everest is littered with the corpses of “normal” non-league outfits that couldn’t afford to compete. Even Droylsden chairman Dave Pace, who was well-known for his free-spending ways, admitted defeat during the Bloods’ one season in the National League in 2007-08. And of course relegation brings no parachute payments.
Hyde United, Stalybridge Celtic, Witton Albion, Leek Town, Farsley Celtic — the list goes on. Chorley may be going through the traumas a second time. All these clubs paid a heavy price for chancing their arm in the top tier of semi-professional football. Was it worth it? Was it even enjoyable? Crowd sizes suggest the fans weren’t exactly motivated by the thought of watching Conference football once the initial thrill of promotion quickly wore off.
Ever since I started reporting on non-league football in 1980, one of the complaints I’ve heard most often has been about the high cost of travel. Something like 20 years ago I recall Radcliffe manager Kevin Glendon telling the old Pink how much his club was struggling and calling for a north west league with realistic distances between members.
Yet whenever league structures are changed it inevitably results in more travelling. The NPL expanded in 1986. The Conference followed suit in 2004. Initially, clubs tend to dismiss new divisions as far too expensive, then crumble and the follow the herd. North Ferriby originally said National League North was beyond them as a village club, then went on to join it. They won promotion to the national division in 2016, were relegated in 2017, and went bump in 2019.
Current membership of National League North stretches from Blyth in the north to Brackley in the south, and Hereford in the west to Kings Lynn in the east. When Hyde United played at Lowestoft a few years ago they left at 8am and didn’t get back till about 1am the following day.
There will always be “ambitious” clubs that gamble on success. There will always be rich people who are willing to bankroll a club. But as a rule they eventually get fed up of throwing their money down a black hole.
Anyone remember Gretna who left the NPL to join the Scottish League in 2002? With the backing of Brooks Mileson they went right up to the Scottish Premier League and played in the 2006 Scottish Cup final. Two years later they went bust and the successor club is now in the East of Scotland League.
Most semi-professional outfits don’t get big crowds (the six Tameside clubs draw a combined attendance of less than 2,000 from a borough population of almost 250,000). Travel is a nightmare and it’s hard to bring in money. The vast majority of sides walk a financial tightrope.
Is this what we really want? Has the time come to take a bite of the reality sandwich and restructure the non-league game in a more prudent way? Or is the thought of distant if improbable glory what attracts us?