It’s time for three up three down between League Two and the National League

Why is it three teams get relegated from the Premier League, and promoted from the Championship, three teams get relegated from the Championship and promoted from League One, four teams get relegated from League One and promoted from League Two but only two get relegated from League Two and promoted from the National League?

I know the EFL and the National League are different bodies and have different guidelines but so are the Premier League and EFL and they still have the same promotion and relegation process. Surely this is a case of the EFL looking after their interests rather than what’s good for the game in general. Why should the National League (essential League Three) be discriminated against in this way? To understand both sides of the argument, we should look back at a time that the fifth tier of English Football was even more discriminated against then it is at the moment. Let me explain…

In 1986 the winners of the Alliance Premier League (now The National League) were Enfield FC. Their reward for winning the league was bugger all. Sure, they had the mass hysteria of the pitch invasion and the trophy celebrations. They didn’t get promoted to the Football League even though it was their second league triumph in four years. They were to start the 1986-87 season in exactly the same league as they ended the previous season in. How can that have been fair? 

Until then, there was a re-election system among the League clubs to decide who played in the Football League the following season. Basically it was a process by which the lowest placed clubs in the League (usually the bottom four) had to reapply for their place, while non league clubs could also apply for a place in the Football League. These clubs then had to face their Football League peers at the league’s AGM at the end of the season. At this meeting the league members had the choice to either vote to retain the current league members, or allow entry to the League from non-league clubs that applied.  Can you imagine that? For a Football League club to vote for one of their own teams to be demoted was tantamount to a turkey voting for Christmas!! It’s no surprise that this rarely happened during the re-election years.

Fortunately automatic promotion and relegation started in the 1986-87 season where the top Conference side would simply replace the bottom team in the EFL. A second promotion / relegation place was added at the end of the 2002-2003 season. The champions went up as before and there was a play-off system to decide the other promoted team. In truth the National League sides have never had it so good. There is now a clear path to the Football League for a number of teams. That isn’t really the point though.

A lot has changed since 1987 The National League is no longer the poor relation of the Football League and cannot continue to be treated as something that is tolerated rather than embraced. Most clubs are now full time. The lure of league football has made National League clubs more ambitious. The days of fifth tier footballers being butchers, bakers and candlestick makers are well and truly over. The amount of established Football League clubs who have been relegated to the league over the years has also contributed to that. With the likes of Notts County, Tranmere Rovers, Bristol Rovers, Grimsby Town, Wrexham and Leyton Orient plying their trade in the National League over the years, this change was inevitable. There are currently eleven former EFL clubs out of the twenty-three teams in the National League. 

Let’s look at the amount of First Round FA Cup upsets we had last weekend. It was almost a surprise if a National League side didn’t beat a league team. A record number of fourteen non-league sides made it through to the Second Round of the cup including twelve from the National League (including clubs for the North and South divisions). While any team can cause an upset on a given day, it does indicate the narrowing of the gap in quality between the National League and League Two.   

Since 1987 a total of 49 clubs have been promoted to the EFL either as champions or through the play offs under the new system. Not one of them has been relegated back to the National League in their first season. In fact, Doncaster Rovers, Carlisle United, Exeter City, Stevenage, Crawley Town and Bristol Rovers were promoted again the season after they entered the Football League!! Six of the clubs, Wycombe, Burton Albion, Colchester United, Yeovil, Luton Town and Doncaster Rovers have gone as high as the Championship. Even if we look back to the dark days of re-election, the likes of Wigan Athletic, Wimbledon and Oxford United, who were all elected to the League, made it to the top flight. Wigan and Wimbledon both stayed there for a number of years and won the FA Cup along the way. While Oxford United’s stay at the top table was brief, they did win the League Cup in that period, at a time when top teams used to take is seriously.   

The only way it is possible for three up three down to happen is if EFL clubs vote for it. It is easy to assume that they would protect their own interests and vote against it. However they must have votes for the one automatic promotion / relegation place from 1986-87. They also must have approved the second promotion place from 2002-03. EFL clubs might quite rightly point to the fact that only five team relegated from the Football League since 1987 have come straight back up at the first time of asking. Surely three up three down would increase that number? They might also look at the financial disparity between the leagues in terms of TV revenue. However, parachute money available if the worst happened and more of a chance of going back up. A lot of League Two clubs would quite rightly feel they have more of a chance of avoiding relegation under the current system. However if the likes of Notts County, Leyton Orient and Tranmere Rovers can go down under two up two down then anyone can!!!    

I firmly believe that if EFL teams vote against three up three down, they aren’t looking at the bigger picture.  The National league is a competitive division where clubs aren’t being properly rewarded. Interest in the fifth tier is at an all-time high. The rebranding of the Conference to the National League in 2015 as well as the BT Sports live coverage and highlights show has ensured that coverage the division is closer to what is received by much of the EFL.  

If Boreham Wood, the team I support achieved promotion to the EFL under the current system, I would still be in favour of three up three down being introduced once they were there. I’d be reassured that if they did go down, there would be a clearer path for them to go back up. While Boreham Wood wouldn’t want to finish third from bottom, if that’s where they end up under the 3 up 3 down system, I’d have no complaints. 

Fifth tier clubs have shown time and time again how they can successfully adapt to life in the Football League which shows there really isn’t a great deal of difference between the fourth and fifth tier of English Football. Therefore, the idea of handing an extra promotion place to the National League seems a natural step and it can only increase the level of competition seen in both divisions. For a while now the National League have been pushing for a three up, three down but nothing has ever been agreed with the EFL. This is understandable but in the interest of fairness and increased competition, surely it is time for it to happen.