Welcome messages for Sutton United, Hartlepool, Torquay and several others as they strive to break free from the agony of non-league football.
In a busy time of turmoil and uncertainty, there is a clear path to the EFL without boring the risk of zero and nullity or points per game.
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Dover Athletic’s Crabble Athletic Ground home (Photo by Michael Regan / Getty Images)
But it’s a different situation for the National League North and South clubs, whose season has been voided. Even the 18 teams in the sixth division that proposed the creation of a new “mini-league” that would lead to promotion to the National League saw their ambitious proposal rejected by the FA Alliance Committee.
The FA Council will meet on Thursday March 18 to ratify the committee’s recommendation.
The Fallout will not result in any relegation from the fifth division for the first time since its inception in 1979.
Teams at the top can fight for a place in the EFL, while the teams at the bottom can play their season without the threat of relegation.
National League table. (Photo by Catherine Ivill / Getty Images)
National League table. (Photo by Catherine Ivill / Getty Images)All easy to sail from here, right? Not quite.
Even an untrained eye looking at the National League table will point to the club that sits at the bottom of the division and knows that something is not quite right.
The basement club Dover Athletic stopped the football operation after only 15 games in its turbulent season due to the Financing crisis which plunged the season into uncertainty in January.
Last month, White owner Jim Parmenter made the desperate decision to cut costs and preserve the future of the South Coast outfit by closing the club while the rest of the division continued to play.
“/> Luke Armstrong of Hartlepool United celebrates his first goal during the Vanarama National League game between Hartlepool United and Barnet at Victoria Park in Hartlepool on Saturday, February 27, 2021. (Photo Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)
It’s hard not to sympathize with the Dover players and staff, including former pools favorite Nicky Southall, who felt cut in two after his vacation.
“Football has been my life since I was 16 and now I’m on vacation watching the results come in. As you can imagine, it’s difficult,” the Dover manager tweeted.
What is happening to Dover? The question on everyone’s lips.
The club is pending and the effects of its closure were not to be expected – although you fear it could matter.
As bad as their situation is, there are also some logistical problems that have yet to be resolved.
According to the schedule, Dover will travel to the hunt for Hartlepool (currently runner-up in the table) on the last day of the campaign on May 29.
In an ideal world, this game will be played as planned at 3 p.m. in Victoria Park. But we are not that naive.
On the last day of the season, almost all clubs compete at the same time to avoid unfair advantages that could result from one team ending their season earlier than another.
With Dover unable to play, Hartlepool technically ended their season well before May 29, potentially putting them at a disadvantage.
Pools rivals will go into their games knowing exactly what it takes in terms of a result to overtake them – possibly into a crucial play-off or promotion spot.
Playing at the same time preserves the sense of competition and avoids any shame from Gijón-like scenarios that may unfold.
And Hartlepool can only hope that Weymouth, who also won’t play on May 29, agrees to switch their league game to that date.
We can think about the “integrity” of the competition, but the real thing was when the clubs were promoted and relegated based on an equation.
Just over a year ago, the 2019-20 season ended due to the coronavirus pandemic. It wasn’t particularly kind to the National League or their clubs.
What used to be pure competition now takes into account security (no fans) and financial preservation (suspension of seasons, vacation staff, granting of grants and loans).
Without the risk of relegation, the division loses its competitive advantage as the clubs can afford to lose games and play weakened teams without real consequences.
Even if Dover suddenly decided to continue the game, they just couldn’t. After Tuesday evening, many clubs played almost twice as many games as the whites.
You have 10 weeks to play 29 soccer games, most of the season. It’s just not feasible and unfortunately their season is over.
But it’s not for the remaining 22 clubs in the division, some of which have not yet played against Dover.
The most logical and fairest solution would be to cancel all Dover results so far this season, which will have consequences for the top of the division.
If it turns out to be the case, Pools and Sutton would do well as they haven’t played Dover this season. Promotion rivals Torquay, Stockport County and Wrexham have all beaten Dover and would be three points worse off if their results were erased.
Meanwhile, Notts County, who lost to Dover on the opening day of the season, would also benefit from the added bonus of a slightly improved goal difference.
“Obviously we have no insight into what is going on in relation to the League’s activities with Dover or the talks they are having,” Magpies boss Neal Ardley told Nottinghamshire Live.
“With the situation at Dover it is becoming increasingly clear that they will not end this season.
“So what are we going to do with the results so far? Let’s get that clarity now, not with five games left or three weeks to go to the end of the campaign. “
About you, National League.
