The Mayor Of Simpleton Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 You wanted a non-league post, you've got one (huzzah). A simple question, do you believe that leagues at Steps 5 and 6 should have the same standard number of teams in them (18/20/22). Looking at Steps 5 and 6 nationally, here is how the leagues currently operate: Western League Premier - 20 Teams First Division - 21 Teams Hellenic League Premier - 20 Teams Division 1 East - 16 Teams Division 1 West - 17 Teams Wessex League Premier - 21 Teams Division 1 - 16 Teams Combined Counties Premier Division - 22 Teams Division 1 - 18 Teams Kent Football Leagues Hurliman - 17 Teams Invicta - 17 Teams Essex Football Leagues Senior - 19 Teams Olympian - 14 (in Premier League) Midland Leagues Alliance - 22 Teams West Midlands Premier - 22 Teams Combination - 18 Teams United Counties Premier - 21 Teams Division 1 - 19 Teams Spartan South Midlands Premier - 22 Teams Division 1 - 21 Teams Eastern Counties Premier - 20 Teams Division 1 - 18 Teams North East Counties Premier Division - 22 Teams Division 1 - 22 Teams North West Counties Premier Division - 22 Teams Division 1 - 18 Teams Northern League Division 1 - 24 Teams (the largest contingent at Step 5 this season) Division 2 - 22 Teams Would it ever be possible to standardise teams across both steps so that you can get a 20-20 or 22-22 split per step (or 20-20/20 | 22-22/22 in the cases of the Hellenic and Midland), or should their Step 6 Leagues be amalgamated into one league with 'overspill' clubs sent elsewhere? With all Step 5 leagues having to have at least 20 members for next season (a potential problem for Kent and Essex sides) will Step 6 league have to have at least 18-20 members in the future, and if so how would this be achieved (through adding more teams up from Step 7 or having less teams in leagues and changing the boundaries?) If so, what effect would this have on the Combined Counties? The floor, gentlemen, is yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bomaya Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 One issue as you will know from reading NLM is that geographically the population in the UK is skewed. A very large chunk lives in the south east corner mainly London. So leagues that are split by geographical boundaries won't necessarily equal the amount of teams that play in that area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mayor Of Simpleton Posted September 21, 2012 Author Share Posted September 21, 2012 That is true Bomaya, but then why does Birmingham and the Midlands have (at present) a 22/22-19 split and the Combined Counties 22-18 and Kent 17-17? The North East has less people living there than London and the South East, yet is operating on a 24-22 spilt (ok, I know that they had to balance Step 5 with the demotion of Darlington FC). Is it just population, or is it also that there are more floodlit grounds north of Watford Gap? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian_W Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 You can view the current English non-league pyramid at http://www.nonleague...l-pyramid-r1026 You can also view the current step 5 clubs on a single map at http://www.nonleague.../maps/step5.php and those in step 6 at http://www.nonleague.../maps/step6.php and in case you are interested step 7 is at http://www.nonleague.../maps/step7.php! And just because you can, you can see all the non league clubs (that we list) at http://www.nonleague.co.uk/maps/all_non_league_clubs.php - this is essentially down to and including step 7 in the UK (and one or two below that) three steps in Wales (beyond that it is almost impossible to find the info) and a few divisions in Scotland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bomaya Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 That is true Bomaya, but then why does Birmingham and the Midlands have (at present) a 22/22-19 split and the Combined Counties 22-18 and Kent 17-17? The North East has less people living there than London and the South East, yet is operating on a 24-22 spilt (ok, I know that they had to balance Step 5 with the demotion of Darlington FC). Is it just population, or is it also that there are more floodlit grounds north of Watford Gap? Yes. Apparently all the nothern leagues are fully floodlit at steps 5 and 6. Another thing is the Conf North/South split has dropped further and further south. Bishops Stortford who are nearish to London Stansted airport play in the Conf North. It's a vicious cycle - Northern clubs refuse promotion from Step 3, 4 and 5 because they know their travel costs will go up. This leads to less Northern teams being at Step 2 which leads to the line conitnuing todrop south. And of course it means the leagues at lower levels are overflowing with good teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mayor Of Simpleton Posted September 21, 2012 Author Share Posted September 21, 2012 Tell me about it, Bomaya - not just Bishop's Stortford but my team, Brackley and Oxford City as well! I am glad that Bishops Stortford were given extra money to finance their trips up north, as it wasn't their fault (they were moved because Rushden & Diamonds were wound up IIRC?) Speaking with the WMRL secretary this summer, she said that all leagues (in her opinion) should either be 20-20 or 22-22 at Steps 5 & 6. However as you've pointed out this could nigh but impossible to do. There are clubs like Harrow Hill and Chipping Norton lower down who have Grade H or better facilities, but surely they cannot leapfrog other teams? Also, there's the issue of finance - partly why the Wessex 1st Division is down to the bare bones at the moment. Is it more expensive to run a team in the south than in the north? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chubby Brown Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 Wasn't all of this part of the FA's attempts at restructuring step 5 (leading to restructuring of step 6) this summer......an attempt which was eventually scuppered as the various leagues and their member clubs were not in favour of the proposed changes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mayor Of Simpleton Posted September 22, 2012 Author Share Posted September 22, 2012 That's correct, Chubby, and as a 'compromise' (of sorts) we will now be having the extra promotion places from Step 5 this season. The pyramid, as most fans will tell you, is unbalanced and hopefully by bulking up Step 4 it will be a way of changing the current imbalance. Anyway, would it be feasible for a cross-board (or cross-league) 22-20 or 22-22 split at Steps 5 and 6, as proposed by the WMRL secretary, or should leagues at Step 6 stay as they are and rely on new teams coming up from Step 7 (maybe even increase the amount of Step 7's promoted, so long as they have the correct facilities?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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