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More promotion spots for step 5 clubs


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Hardly makes any difference Step 5 to Step 4! Only 4 extra places over whole country as only bottom clubs to be relegated from Step 4. Ware safe again!

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​The Northern league chairman was quoted "At the end of next season 26 clubs will be promoted from Step 5 into the seven Step 4 divisions, comprising the 14 champion clubs plus 12 others via either play-offs of point-per-game"

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But clubs finishing next to bottom (and third from bottom in Ryman) wont be due for relegation any more. That means only 4 extra places for Step 5 by my reckoning.

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"To achieve its aim, the FA also confirmed that only the bottom clubs in the current Step 3 divisions will be relegated at the end of season 2017-2018. In addition, only the clubs finishing last in the six divisions currently operating at Step 4 will be relegated next season with 26 clubs coming up from Step 5."

 

It doesnt say 26 extra clubs! 

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Also Step 5 will 20 clubs per division. We will have 4 less midweek games.

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Interesting that the Isthmian League getting a new Step 4 Division.  So, North, South and I presume West(ish)?  Southern League getting a new Step 3 Division. Mmm, that'll be interesting.

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The 26 comes from the following calculation:

 

Step 3 moving from 3 leagues of 24 to 4 leagues of 22 =  +16

Step 4 moving from 2 leagues of 24 and 4 leagues of 22 to 7 leagues of 20 = +4

Bottom team only getting relegated from step 4 to step 5 = +6

 

16+4+6 = 26

 

This would mean that along with the 14 champions at step 5 next season there will be a bonus 12 teams promoted from step 5 to step 4.

 

But I believe the main driver for this re-structure is to create more Northern teams at step 4 and step 3 as the ones there already are extremely isolated with huge travel times.  Consequently many step 5 Northern clubs decline promotion as the travelling when they move up to step 4 is too great, which then exasperates this southern drift.  So I would guess that the additional 12 promoted teams will have a bias towards Northern teams as opposed to the quote I posted above from the Northern league chairman (i.e. that it will be decided on play offs/ppg).  Just my opinion though - I am sure he has a much better insight than me.

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Just looked at the maps and the geographical spread is worse than I imagined.

 

Out of the 22 teams in the step 5 Northern league, 21 of them are in the North East.    But in the Step 4 league that they would get promoted to there was not a single team from the North East in the league last season!  Only brave South Shields who got promoted this year will be in it next season,  They will not have a single local derby and their nearest match is against Scarborough Town which is 91 miles away and a 2 hour+ drive each way!!!!! 

 

No wonder the champions from this league normally decline promotion!  This has got to be sorted but if the FA decided that the bulk of the bonus 12 promotions came from the step 5 Northern league then I guess there would be complaints from Spartan league clubs and others that we did not have a fair crack at promotion compared to the Northern League teams.  Another consequence of promoting lots of teams from the step 5 Northern league is that there will probably be a knock on effect below them at step 6 and step 7 with not enough teams having the ground grading to fill the gaps vacated.

 

So perhaps they will take the option of least resistance and decide the extra 12 promotions based on play offs and PPG as per the quote from the Northern League chairman above.

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