26-09-2016, 13:34
I thought the proposals were dead in the water but the EFL has come back with a "plan" to increase the number of clubs to 106 by adding 14 National League clubs to create a 20-team Championship and three 22-team divisions below.
The first problem with this IMO is that if you took the top 14 current National League sides you'd get Dagenham, Forest Green, Barrow, Tranmere, Lincoln, Eastleigh, Aldershot, Dover, Macclesfield, Boreham Wood, Maidstone, Gateshead, Sutton Utd and Wrexham. Of those Tranmere, Lincoln, Macclesfield, Aldershot and Wrexham could support league football. Forest Green would do it on its owner's back. Dagenham, Eastleigh, Barrow, Maidstone and Gateshead might just manage it. Dover, Boreham Wood and Sutton Utd aren't really set up for it. And if you were to list clubs you'd actually positively want in the league you'd be down to the old lags: Tranmere, Lincoln, Aldershot and Wrexham.
Barnet's chairman who is behind this says this would reduce the number of clubs relegated in the proposed changes, the Championship would be happy with 20 teams and the National league teams would be happy too. BUT it would, in fact, mean mass relegations from the Championship, Division One and Division Two and IMO that only National League teams would be happy (and several of them might be very nervous). If in the season before such a proposal happened promotion were limited for practical reasons to just two teams only in each division this would still mean:-
6 Championship sides go to Division One (and two come up from there) to make 20 teams.
8 Division One teams go to Division Two (and two come up from there) to make 22 teams.
10 Division Two teams go to Divsion Three ( and two come up from the National) to make 22 teams to join the other 12 National League teams.
So under Mr Tony Kleanthous's scheme (and he is an FA and EFL Board member) 24 teams, one third of the entire EFL membership of 72 clubs would be relegated to give League Status to a number of clubs who would struggle to afford it. It wouldn't make the game as a whole better at all. And the whole purpose of it seems to be to reduce the loss in the number of home gates in the previous proposal by making the divisions bigger.
As far as Chesterfield goes, under this proposal we would currently retain Division One status, but if we slipped from 15th to 17th we'd be in Division 2 again.
However, any proposal has to receive 90% approval to make it into reality, which effectively means only 8 clubs in opposition to change can stymie it forever. With 24 clubs facing the prospect of relegation I wonder if Mr Kleanthous has for some reason invented a deliberate non-runner ..... because voting for this would be turkeys and Christmas. Or maybe everyone likes the idea??????????????????????????????????????
The first problem with this IMO is that if you took the top 14 current National League sides you'd get Dagenham, Forest Green, Barrow, Tranmere, Lincoln, Eastleigh, Aldershot, Dover, Macclesfield, Boreham Wood, Maidstone, Gateshead, Sutton Utd and Wrexham. Of those Tranmere, Lincoln, Macclesfield, Aldershot and Wrexham could support league football. Forest Green would do it on its owner's back. Dagenham, Eastleigh, Barrow, Maidstone and Gateshead might just manage it. Dover, Boreham Wood and Sutton Utd aren't really set up for it. And if you were to list clubs you'd actually positively want in the league you'd be down to the old lags: Tranmere, Lincoln, Aldershot and Wrexham.
Barnet's chairman who is behind this says this would reduce the number of clubs relegated in the proposed changes, the Championship would be happy with 20 teams and the National league teams would be happy too. BUT it would, in fact, mean mass relegations from the Championship, Division One and Division Two and IMO that only National League teams would be happy (and several of them might be very nervous). If in the season before such a proposal happened promotion were limited for practical reasons to just two teams only in each division this would still mean:-
6 Championship sides go to Division One (and two come up from there) to make 20 teams.
8 Division One teams go to Division Two (and two come up from there) to make 22 teams.
10 Division Two teams go to Divsion Three ( and two come up from the National) to make 22 teams to join the other 12 National League teams.
So under Mr Tony Kleanthous's scheme (and he is an FA and EFL Board member) 24 teams, one third of the entire EFL membership of 72 clubs would be relegated to give League Status to a number of clubs who would struggle to afford it. It wouldn't make the game as a whole better at all. And the whole purpose of it seems to be to reduce the loss in the number of home gates in the previous proposal by making the divisions bigger.
As far as Chesterfield goes, under this proposal we would currently retain Division One status, but if we slipped from 15th to 17th we'd be in Division 2 again.
However, any proposal has to receive 90% approval to make it into reality, which effectively means only 8 clubs in opposition to change can stymie it forever. With 24 clubs facing the prospect of relegation I wonder if Mr Kleanthous has for some reason invented a deliberate non-runner ..... because voting for this would be turkeys and Christmas. Or maybe everyone likes the idea??????????????????????????????????????