While at the top of the Premier League we still have 2 games left to decide the latest in a long string of champions, how about sparing a thought for those at the other end of the football league.
Last week saw Macclesfield Town drop out of the League Two trapdoor having plummeted down the league come the turn of the year, having not won since New Year’s Eve; either Barnet or Hereford are now set to join them back in non-league after a prolonged stay in the football league.
The problem of being dropping down to non-league though is well documented with recently relegated clubs not making an immediate return as expected. You’ve only got to look at the likes of Grimsby, York City, Stockport County and in one of the most extreme cases, Darlington who were recently relegated down to the Blue Square North. The huge loss in revenue has hit them all hard, especially having to deal with the likes of bankrolled Crawley Town and Fleetwood.
Many clubs who have secured their League Two future have had close escapes though, perhaps most high profile of all, Bradford City, once of the Premier League. Joint chairman Mark Lawn has constantly spoken about the Bantams’ future looking incredibly bleak, and unlikely to stretch out much longer if they were to be relegated out of the Football League.
Because of this, along with their well documented financial difficulties over the past 10 years, one can excuse City’s fans for holding their breath slightly in their brief flirt with the bottom two.
Along with Bradford City, Plymouth Argyle were another high profile club who flirted with relegation recently. Another team who had spent beyond their means in the not too distant past and are now paying for it having dropped like a stone to the bottom of the 92.
While it is an incredible hardship for the teams who drop out of the Football League, it’s not all doom and gloom and they should look to copy the model of Oxford United, perhaps the biggest name to grace the top division of non-league football. While they never won the league, they beat York City in the playoff final at Wembley on May 16t 2010 and are now battling for a playoff spot in the League Two playoffs for a spot in League One.
While the future doesn’t look bright for either Barnet or Hereford United having to battle for Football League survival, and recently being perennial strugglers, their fans can only hope they can stay up and get rid of the deadwood who got them into this position in the first place.
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