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Post by davep on Oct 4, 2021 12:37:01 GMT
Currently 14 Southern and 9 Northern teams in the National League - but no 'genuinely' Northern teams (only Kings Lynn - which I don't think that many would normally classify as the north of England) currently in the bottom half of the table (so 8 of the top 12 are Northern).
6 Southern and 6 Northern ex-Football League teams in the National League. All of the Southern teams except for Dagenham in the bottom half of the table and three of them in the bottom four. All the Northern teams in the top half of the table and four of them in the top 7 (the promotion and play off places)
Nine ex-Football league teams in the National League North - none in the National League South (Maidstone Town used to be in the Football League - but not Maidstone United).
The current bottom 4 in EFL Division 2 are all Northern.
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Post by terrier on Oct 4, 2021 12:47:40 GMT
Maidstone United is the former EFL team, not Maidstone Town.
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Post by sallycat on Oct 4, 2021 13:16:57 GMT
He's right, you know. Confusingly, both the old and new club have the same name. They perhaps managed to do this by originally naming the current club something different (it was formed as Maidstone Invicta)
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Post by sol on Oct 4, 2021 14:36:43 GMT
Currently 14 Southern and 9 Northern teams in the National League - but no 'genuinely' Northern teams (only Kings Lynn - which I don't think that many would normally classify as the north of England) currently in the bottom half of the table (so 8 of the top 12 are Northern). 6 Southern and 6 Northern ex-Football League teams in the National League. All of the Southern teams except for Dagenham in the bottom half of the table and three of them in the bottom four. All the Northern teams in the top half of the table and four of them in the top 7 (the promotion and play off places) Nine ex-Football league teams in the National League North - none in the National League South (Maidstone Town used to be in the Football League - but not Maidstone United). The current bottom 4 in EFL Division 2 are all Northern. Hope all’s well DAVEP Q: do you think there is a north/south divide. Reason I ask sometime again G Neville was talking up the London PL clubs and he said the northern giants Utd, City, Liverpool might struggle to compete in years to come - that has not happened as yet. |
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Post by sol on Oct 4, 2021 14:37:10 GMT
*sometime ago
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Post by Andy K on Oct 4, 2021 18:00:05 GMT
The best thing is we are above all of them!
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Post by Amber Aleman on Oct 4, 2021 19:43:23 GMT
It's probably relevant that three of the National League clubs to have received substantial new investment in recent times (Notts County, Stockport, Wrexham) are all north of Leicester.
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Post by scorpioeyes on Oct 5, 2021 9:53:45 GMT
It's probably relevant that three of the National League clubs to have received substantial new investment in recent times (Notts County, Stockport, Wrexham) are all north of Leicester. Yes, very relevant! Even more relevant is the fact that the distance from Nottingham to Stockport is 80 miles, while the journey from Stockport to Wrexham is only 50. So the total journey, should you make it, is longer than, say, Sutton to Bournemouth! |
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tonyd
1st team Player
Posts: 1,496 
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Post by tonyd on Oct 5, 2021 11:28:06 GMT
All this just shows that Boris the Liar’s levelling up is working. At least at level 5 football, which is obviously the priority.
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Post by davep on Oct 5, 2021 12:09:24 GMT
In relation to the specific question of whether there is a north-south divide:
1. Although I think that Dartford are a very good side, I suspect that the overall standard of National League North is currently probably quite a bit higher than the overall standard of National League South. That's perhaps not surprising given the financial backing being given to some of the northern sides (Fylde), the size of some of the northern clubs (York) and the ability of some of the northern clubs to access very good loan signings from nearby Premier League clubs (e.g. Gateshead - Newcastle - and previously Kings Lynn - Norwich).
2. It's a similar situation in the National League. The only two southern sides up the top of the table at the moment are Dagenham who I understand have a fair deal of financial backing behind them (from Walt Disney!) and Boreham Wood who receive financial support from Arsenal.
3. All that said, if it was all about financial backing, one might expect the National League championship to be a two horse race between Stockport and Wrexham this season - and I suspect that won't be the case. Indeed, I would anticipate the most competitive National League for many years. Following Sutton's success last season, I think that many clubs have started this season with the mindset "if Sutton can win the league with their budget, so can we". I suspect that clubs like Bromley, Woking and Altrincham will all be thinking that way - and good luck to them.
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Post by sallycat on Oct 5, 2021 13:48:00 GMT
Good. I'd be so happy to see more traditional non-league clubs emulating our success without doing it through financial good luck. It's always seemed strange to me how we (rightly) focus on fair play and a level playing field once a team is on the pitch but have wildly differing levels of advantage off it.
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