THINKING OF IT LATERALLY

IT USED to be called the AGM Cup. Others have dubbed it Maps and Darts. The club allocations for next season have been out for ten days and social media is awash with puzzlement and indignation – as usual.

- Mark HARRIS

Much of the chatter reflects a lack of understanding about how lateral movements are worked out, the challenges involved and why pleasing everyone is an impossible task.

BIG BOYS (AND GIRLS) FOOTBALL

First, a statement of the obvious. Only clubs entitled to play at a particular level of the game can be allocated to the leagues at that level. As we all know, that’s not always decided on the field. Clubs resign, request relegation, or fail ground grading. Each influences where clubs are placed.

Every year some clubs are unhappy because they, or another club, have been moved against their wishes. The reality is, regardless of how long any club has played in a particular competition, no club gets to choose the league in which it plays.

SPORTING INTEGRITY

A pyramid structure like the NLS should be made up of leagues with the same number of clubs. Overcrowded divisions mean more midweek games; more travel and less income from midweek home games, from which revenue averages 30% less than a Saturday fixture.

Extending the season doesn’t help because of the extra weeks’ wages for players and reducing the recovery time for grass pitches.

Some clubs are simply unlucky to fall on the divisional boundaries. I experienced it twice at Witton Albion. The alternative is leagues with different numbers of clubs, which could ultimately see some leagues disbanded because they don’t have enough clubs. Admittedly, divisions of equal numbers is almost impossible to achieve at Steps 5-6 due to volume and geography. England is not a perfect shape.

MORE SPEED LESS HASTE