B B C Sports: ‘Drama unlike any movie’ – Time for more promotion and relegation?
![Rob McElhenney [left] and Ryan Reynolds [centre] in the stands watching Wrexham](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/5tuFZT4mwZ.q5O6SGQv2rw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTk-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/aol_bbc_articles_618/27a9ae88ed4c23b12f0cfee51611f96f)
Ryan Reynolds called it as “insane”.
The Deadpool actor’s team, Wrexham, defeated Notts County 3-2 in the most anticipated National League game ever.
Both sides had accumulated more than 100 points and scored more than 100 goals in an exciting title chase. Both clearly deserved to be in the EFL the following season.
Despite ending the season with 107 points, 23 more than third-placed Chesterfield, Notts had to settle for a spot in the play-offs and finally made it into League Two via a penalty-shootout triumph over the Spireites at Wembley.
“It’s just insane to me in this league that only one goes up automatically,” Reynolds told BT Sport [now TNT Sport] after the game.
“If it were different – and I think it should be – both of these clubs would be celebrating together right now because what they’ve done has not only created drama unlike anything you’d ever see in a damn movie, but something that I think people will be talking about for ages.”
A strong endorsement from one of Hollywood’s brightest actors.
The National League is calling for an additional promotion spot to prevent history from repeating itself.
How does national league promotion work?
![Byron Webster [centre] celebrates with the trophy after Bromley beat Solihull Moors in the National League promotion final](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/AKrqOSA_7R7pgB5NPDK7yA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTk-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/aol_bbc_articles_618/419d58b6673226d8c3d1fc1769510d9b)
Wrexham’s fifth-tier title triumph in 2023 already seems like a distant memory.
The north Wales team, led by Reynolds and co-owner Rob McElhenney, is aiming for a record third consecutive promotion, which would propel them into the Championship.
However, in the National League, discussions about changing the structure have resumed.
This week, all 72 teams in non-league levels one and two wrote to the Football League, requesting an additional promotion space between the National League and League Two, making it three up and three down.
presently, only the champions in first place receive automatic promotion to the EFL, a position presently held by Barnet.
Teams placing second through seventh go to the play-offs, where second and third place earn byes to the semi-finals and face the winners of two “eliminator” matches between teams four and seven.
Each match is a single leg hosted by the team with the highest league finish, until the semi-final winners face off in the showpiece final at Wembley.
Prior to 1987, automatic promotion did not exist, and the lowest four EFL clubs had to rely on a vote of member clubs to stay in position.
In 2003, the play-off system was used to establish a second promotion position.
Four teams are promoted from League Two to League One, three move up from the third tier to the Championship, and three transition between the second division and the Premier League.
National League teams want three promotion berths.
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‘It just does not make sense not to have it.’
Clubs in the fifth division think that adding a second automatic promotion position will level the playing field throughout the English football pyramid and eliminate a “bottleneck” that has developed between the Football League and non-league.
Since taking over the club in 1994, Barnet chairman Anthony Kleanthous has supervised two promotions and three relegations between League Two and the National League, previously known as Division Three and the Conference.
“It simply doesn’t make sense not to have it. “The movement between divisions is what keeps football exciting,” Kleanthous told BBC Radio London.
“That’s what people forget: lock that trap door, and football becomes uninteresting. Football is interesting because it involves promotion and relegation.
“The truth is that any top National League club can compete against any League Two club. It’s not a justification to shut the door.
This final point is echoed by Altrincham Town manager Phil Parkinson.
“It’s almost like we have two League Two teams. “It’s essentially a full-time division,” he told BBC Sport.
“If it doesn’t happen now, I don’t know when it will since this is the most competitive league we’ve ever had.
“The majority of teams in this division would thrive in the league above.”
The National League includes 15 former EFL clubs. Over the last decade, eight of the 19 League Two teams who were demoted have been promoted.
Dagenham & Redbridge managing director Steve Thompson feels the addition of a third promotion berth is long overdue, using Notts County as an example, stating that it would have been a “travesty” if the Magpies had been eliminated in the playoffs.
Thompson and Kleanthous suggest that, although adding another relegation spot in League Two raises the probability of teams sliding out of the EFL, including a third place in the National League boosts their chances of returning to the top flight.
“We’re hoping football supporters, no matter who they support, will recognise the unfairness,” Thompson told the crowd.
What are the financial considerations?
The disparity in TV income between the two divisions provides clear reasons for any pushback from EFL teams.
League According to football financial specialist Kieran Maguire, two teams receive money from the Premier League in the form of solidarity payments and 8% of the EFL’s TV contracts, totaling £1.4m-£1.5m each year.
When clubs are relegated, they lose their solidarity payments and get two years of parachute payments from the EFL, resulting in a loss of over £1 million, according to Maguire.
Then there’s the disparity in rules.
League Two teams can spend up to 50% of their revenue on player-related things like wages, although the National League does not have a tight restriction.
According to Maguire, Wrexham and Stockport County made a £4 million and £5 million loss during their promotion-winning seasons, respectively.
“Those losses would be significant by League Two standards. So, if you’re going to transition to a three up, three down scenario, I believe there has to be greater continuity and consistency in terms of financial controls.
“The National League is regarded as a bit ‘Wild West’, with no owners and directors test. It is concerning that, in terms of governance, ethics, and funding sources, the National League does not receive the same level of scrutiny as the EFL.
Thompson stated that the National League has addressed some of these problems by using the Salary Cap Management Protocol [SCMP] starting next season to align with teams in Leagues One and Two.
The SCMP is a component of the EFL’s financial fair play structure.
What are the EFL clubs’ thoughts on the idea?
![Nigel Adkins [centre] talks to his Tranmere Rovers players on the touchline](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/1QzslT_qWMRbYCsWHOGLlA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTk-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/aol_bbc_articles_618/3087f71db3c1765996076be057b4fe7a)
This final point is a major concern for Shrewsbury Town manager Gareth Ainsworth, whose Wycombe Wanderers team would have been demoted in 2013-14 under the proposed alterations, having finished 22nd in League Two.
Ainsworth, who took over at Croud Meadow in November, believes the new terms will be voted down.
“Obviously, we won’t vote for it. “Who in their right mind in the EFL will vote for three down, three up?” He stated on the 72+ podcast.
“But that National League is strong and often the teams who do come up compete well, and that has to be a big argument point for them.”
Positive discussions about changing to a three-up, three-down system were conducted between the National League and the EFL, but they have stagnated.
The Football League said it will address the issue after the soon-to-be-installed Independent Regulator resolves the major financing dispute between the EFL and the Premier League.
“Recognising the strength of the pyramid, the league has been consistent in its commitment to looking both upwards and down when considering future changes,” the English Football League (EFL) stated.
“As such, we remain willing to consider changes to the current position on promotion and relegation in the EFL, but these discussions must be part of a broader package of reforms which benefit all levels of the game.”
So, does it have a realistic possibility of passing? Is this simply Turkeys voting for Christmas?
Ainsworth believes it is a difficult problem that requires careful consideration owing to the funding involved at the National League level, noting the success of Wrexham, Stockport County, and Chesterfield as evidence that teams can rise from non-league to prosper within the EFL’s present format.
He believes the league should make more of an effort to assist its own financially ailing clubs in comparison to those that have received significant investment.
Jobi McAnuff, who earned promotion to League Two with Leyton Orient in 2018-19, said he would be “astounded” if the idea was approved in time for the start of the next season.
“From the EFL’s perspective, if I was a team near the bottom of the table – that drop from League Two to the National League is a huge one when you look at income and revenue generated, and just the prestige of being in the EFL,” McAnuff told the podcast’s 72+ audience.
“I wouldn’t expect them to be queuing up to vote for it but I certainly get the merit from the National League side.”
One EFL owner who intends to vote in favor is Bromley owner Robin Stanton-Gleaves, who is in an unusual situation.
His team is now in its inaugural season in the EFL.
Last year’s promotion at Wembley was the club’s finest moment in its 133-year history.
With it, the club’s priorities shifted suddenly. Despite the increasing fear of relegation, he believes it should be modified to better align with other leagues.
“This vote will come down to money, as it always does,” he said to BBC Sport.
“I will vote for three up, three down and will trust the management at my football club that we don’t get into the relegation zone.
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