Promotion / Relegation as it stands - January 2019
Thu 30th January 2020 | General | By Martin Fallon
The end of the 2019/20 season will see the implementation of the second phase of the FA's National League System restructure designed to create a pure Non-League Pyramid.
This will see the creation of a new league at Step 4, which will be run by the Northern Premier League, with two new divisions at Step 5, these being in the Midlands and the West London/Thames Valley areas.
The effect of this is that there are many extra promotion spots available at the end of the 2019/20 season, with usual relegation also affected.
Here we have a look at the changes for Promotion & Relegation that will come in at the end of this season.
Boundaries
It is important to remember that if you are promoted / relegated at the end of a season, you are NOT promoted from one league to another. Instead, you are simply moved to another Step within the football pyramid.
Once all of the promotion / relegation spots have been decided, the FA then meets in order to allocate clubs in each Step to the relevant leagues. This can also mean that current clubs in a Step can move leagues so that the number of teams fit, such as Silsden moving out of our league and Emley moving into our league at the end of last season.
Historically speaking, we have had two divisions that pretty much sat on top of one another. However now that we have a Premier Division and TWO First Divisions, this is not the case, with the footprint of the two First Divisions larger than that of the Premier Division.
This means that we are at a much greater risk of club's being moved to other leagues within the pyramid, which is known as lateral movements. This will be an important issue for our league both at the end of the season and in subsequent seasons.
Step 5 Promotion
With a new Step 4 being introduced, extra teams are needed at Step 4. The first way the FA are doing this is to do away with automatic relegation from the seven Step 4 leagues. Clubs finishing bottom could still go down, but that will be via a play-offs. More on that in a moment.
Despite no automatic relegation from Step 4, there are still more teams needed which means extra promotion spaces this season.
To address the North/South imbalance that has built up over the years, three teams are being promoted automatically from our Premier Division, the Northern Counties East League Premier Division and the Northern League Division One.
In the remaining eleven Step 5 leagues, the Champions will be promoted automatically, but there are also opportunities for runners up.
The four runners up with the best Points per Game (PPG) average will also be promoted automatically. The remaining seven runners up will go into a one of play off away at the seven teams who finish bottom of the Step 4 leagues. The winners of that will take a place in Step 4 next season, with the losers dropping to Step 5.
From a NWCFL perspective, it is quite simple. The top three in our Premier Division will be automatically promoted at the end of the season.
We could gain a club from the Northern Premier League for next season, but for this to happen they would have to finish bottom, lose the play off against a Step 5 runner up, and be in our area. Pickering Town are currently bottom who are not in our area, although Kendal Town are second bottom who are in our area.
Step 5 Relegation
With so many teams getting promoted, and with two new Step 5 leagues being created, extra teams are needed for next season in Step 5. As a result the number of relegation spots has reduced to one for this season. However there is still a chance that we wont relegate anybody.
The side finishing bottom in each of the fourteen Step 5 divisions will be ranked on a PPG basis. The two sides with the best PPG will be reprieved, the other 12 will be relegated.
As it stands at the end of January 2020, here are the bottom placed teams across Step 5 ranked by PPG.
| League |
Pos |
Team |
Pld |
Pts |
PPG |
| Eastern Counties |
20 |
Hadleigh United |
24 |
16 |
0.67 |
| Eastern Counties |
20 |
Hadleigh United |
24 |
16 |
0.67 |
| Northern League |
20 |
Whickham |
23 |
14 |
0.61 |
| NWCFL |
20 |
Litherland REMYCA |
25 |
15 |
0.60 |
| Southern Counties East |
20 |
Greenwich Borough |
20 |
12 |
0.60 |
| South Midlands |
21 |
London Colney |
22 |
12 |
0.55 |
| Combined Counties |
21 |
CB Hounslow United |
26 |
14 |
0.54 |
| Western League |
21 |
Odd Down Bath |
23 |
10 |
0.43 |
| Midland League |
20 |
Selston |
17 |
7 |
0.41 |
| Northern Counties East |
20 |
Athersley Recreation |
22 |
9 |
0.41 |
| Southern Combination |
20 |
Loxwood |
22 |
9 |
0.41 |
| Wessex League |
20 |
Amesbury Town |
22 |
8 |
0.36 |
| Hellenic |
19 |
Holmer Green |
22 |
5 |
0.23 |
| United Counties |
20 |
Sleaford Town |
22 |
5 |
0.23 |
| Essex Senior |
20 |
Sawbridgeworth Town |
23 |
5 |
0.22 |
From a NWCFL perspective, Litherland REMYCA would be relegated as hings stand, but there is not much in it. A win at Avro on Saturday would give them 18 points from 26 games and a 0.69 PPG average, which would be the best across Step 5 and enough to give them a reprieve.
With such fine margins, every point really does count.
Step 6 Promotion
Despite relegation from Step 5 being slashed, a lot of extra teams are needed for next season in Step 5. Therefore the top FOUR teams from each Step 6 division will be promoted at the end of the season. The only exception is in the two South West Peninsula divisions which will promote two sides from each of their divisions.
From a NWCFL perspective, it's simple. The top four in our First Division North and First Division South will be promoted automatically.
For those of you doing the maths, you can see the massive affect this will have on our Premier Division for next season.
In the Premier Division we currently have 20 teams. We will lose three teams who will be promoted to the Northern Premier League, yet gain EIGHT from our two First Division's. This will mean that at least FIVE teams will be laterally moved, or SIX if our PPG mean that we don't relegate anybody from Step 5.
This is why it is important to remember that you get actually get promoted / relegated from a Step to Step perspective, not from a league to league perspective.
Step 6 Relegation
All that can be said for Step 6 relegations is that the bottom TWO sides are liable to relegation to Step 7.
At Step 7 there are 46 divisions, but it is not automatic promotion. Sides wishing to be promoted to Step 6 had to have applied by 31st December and also have to pass certain ground grading criteria.
The numbers promoted / relegated is therefore unknown and won't be known until after the end of the season. Therefore the best that any team in Step 6 can do is to get as many points as they can. The reason for this is that if any reprieves are available, then sides starting with the best PPG will be reprieved.
As it stands at the end of January 2020, here are the bottom placed teams across Step 6 ranked by PPG.
| League |
Pos |
Team |
Pld |
Pts |
PPG |
| NWCFL D1N |
19 |
St Helens Town |
26 |
24 |
0.92 |
| NWCFL D1N |
20 |
Steeton |
25 |
22 |
0.88 |
| Eastern Counties D1N |
19 |
Kings Lynn Res |
20 |
16 |
0.80 |
| NWCFL D1S |
19 |
Barnton |
24 |
19 |
0.79 |
| Midland League |
19 |
Nuneaton Griff |
25 |
19 |
0.76 |
| Wessex League |
18 |
Totten and Eling |
20 |
14 |
0.70 |
| South West Peninsula D1W |
19 |
St Dennis |
22 |
15 |
0.68 |
| Northern Counties East |
19 |
Harrogate Railway Athletic |
20 |
13 |
0.65 |
| Combined Counties |
19 |
Godalming Town |
22 |
14 |
0.64 |
| NWCFL D1S |
20 |
St Martins |
24 |
15 |
0.63 |
| West Midlands (Regional) |
16 |
Willenhall Town |
32 |
20 |
0.63 |
| Combined Counties |
20 |
Eversley & California |
21 |
13 |
0.62 |
| South West Peninsula D1E |
19 |
Sidmouth Town |
21 |
13 |
0.62 |
| Midland League |
20 |
Stafford Town |
26 |
16 |
0.62 |
| South Midlands |
18 |
Park View |
20 |
12 |
0.6 |
| Western League |
19 |
Bishop Sutton |
20 |
12 |
0.60 |
| South West Peninsula D1E |
20 |
Torrington AFC |
22 |
13 |
0.59 |
| South West Peninsula D1W |
20 |
Godolphin Atlantic |
24 |
14 |
0.58 |
| United Counties |
19 |
Huntingdon Town |
25 |
14 |
0.56 |
| Hellenic D1E |
16 |
Langley |
20 |
11 |
0.55 |
| Southern Counties East |
16 |
Bridon Ropes |
19 |
10 |
0.53 |
| South Midlands |
19 |
Brimsdown |
24 |
12 |
0.5 |
| Wessex League |
19 |
Folland Sports |
22 |
11 |
0.50 |
| Hellenic D1W |
15 |
Tytherington Rocks |
20 |
9 |
0.45 |
| West Midlands (Regional) |
17 |
Telford Junors |
32 |
13 |
0.41 |
| East Midlands Counties |
18 |
Shirebrook Town |
20 |
8 |
0.40 |
| Western League |
20 |
Bristol Telephones |
20 |
8 |
0.40 |
| Eastern Counties D1N |
20 |
Wisbech St Mary |
26 |
10 |
0.38 |
| Northern League |
19 |
Durham City |
22 |
8 |
0.36 |
| Southern Combination |
17 |
Billingshurst |
17 |
6 |
0.35 |
| Northern League |
20 |
Brandon United |
20 |
7 |
0.35 |
| Southern Counties East |
17 |
Kent Football United |
20 |
7 |
0.35 |
| Hellenic D1E |
17 |
Abingdon Town |
18 |
6 |
0.33 |
| Eastern Counties D1S |
17 |
Newbury Forest |
17 |
5 |
0.29 |
| East Midlands Counties |
19 |
Borrowash Victoria |
21 |
5 |
0.24 |
| United Counties |
20 |
Lutterworth Athletic |
20 |
4 |
0.20 |
| Eastern Counties D1S |
18 |
Fire United |
13 |
2 |
0.15 |
| Hellenic D1W |
16 |
New College Swindon |
18 |
1 |
0.06 |
| Northern Counties East |
20 |
East Hull |
21 |
1 |
0.05 |
| Southern Combination |
18 |
Sidlesham |
0 |
0 |
0.00 |
From a NWCFL perspective, three of our teams currently have the best PPG across Step 6, with the other having a good PPG also.
However it is worth stating that PPG would only come into it if there are spaces once usual promotions from Step 7 have been satisfied, and it could be that no teams are actually reprieved. If there are repreives though, we are in a good postition at present to get some!
Promotion / Relegation as it stands - January 2019
Thu 30th January 2020 | General
By Martin Fallon
The end of the 2019/20 season will see the implementation of the second phase of the FA's National League System restructure designed to create a pure Non-League Pyramid.
This will see the creation of a new league at Step 4, which will be run by the Northern Premier League, with two new divisions at Step 5, these being in the Midlands and the West London/Thames Valley areas.
The effect of this is that there are many extra promotion spots available at the end of the 2019/20 season, with usual relegation also affected.
Here we have a look at the changes for Promotion & Relegation that will come in at the end of this season.
Boundaries
It is important to remember that if you are promoted / relegated at the end of a season, you are NOT promoted from one league to another. Instead, you are simply moved to another Step within the football pyramid.
Once all of the promotion / relegation spots have been decided, the FA then meets in order to allocate clubs in each Step to the relevant leagues. This can also mean that current clubs in a Step can move leagues so that the number of teams fit, such as Silsden moving out of our league and Emley moving into our league at the end of last season.
Historically speaking, we have had two divisions that pretty much sat on top of one another. However now that we have a Premier Division and TWO First Divisions, this is not the case, with the footprint of the two First Divisions larger than that of the Premier Division.
This means that we are at a much greater risk of club's being moved to other leagues within the pyramid, which is known as lateral movements. This will be an important issue for our league both at the end of the season and in subsequent seasons.
Step 5 Promotion
With a new Step 4 being introduced, extra teams are needed at Step 4. The first way the FA are doing this is to do away with automatic relegation from the seven Step 4 leagues. Clubs finishing bottom could still go down, but that will be via a play-offs. More on that in a moment.
Despite no automatic relegation from Step 4, there are still more teams needed which means extra promotion spaces this season.
To address the North/South imbalance that has built up over the years, three teams are being promoted automatically from our Premier Division, the Northern Counties East League Premier Division and the Northern League Division One.
In the remaining eleven Step 5 leagues, the Champions will be promoted automatically, but there are also opportunities for runners up.
The four runners up with the best Points per Game (PPG) average will also be promoted automatically. The remaining seven runners up will go into a one of play off away at the seven teams who finish bottom of the Step 4 leagues. The winners of that will take a place in Step 4 next season, with the losers dropping to Step 5.
From a NWCFL perspective, it is quite simple. The top three in our Premier Division will be automatically promoted at the end of the season.
We could gain a club from the Northern Premier League for next season, but for this to happen they would have to finish bottom, lose the play off against a Step 5 runner up, and be in our area. Pickering Town are currently bottom who are not in our area, although Kendal Town are second bottom who are in our area.
Step 5 Relegation
With so many teams getting promoted, and with two new Step 5 leagues being created, extra teams are needed for next season in Step 5. As a result the number of relegation spots has reduced to one for this season. However there is still a chance that we wont relegate anybody.
The side finishing bottom in each of the fourteen Step 5 divisions will be ranked on a PPG basis. The two sides with the best PPG will be reprieved, the other 12 will be relegated.
As it stands at the end of January 2020, here are the bottom placed teams across Step 5 ranked by PPG.
| League |
Pos |
Team |
Pld |
Pts |
PPG |
| Eastern Counties |
20 |
Hadleigh United |
24 |
16 |
0.67 |
| Eastern Counties |
20 |
Hadleigh United |
24 |
16 |
0.67 |
| Northern League |
20 |
Whickham |
23 |
14 |
0.61 |
| NWCFL |
20 |
Litherland REMYCA |
25 |
15 |
0.60 |
| Southern Counties East |
20 |
Greenwich Borough |
20 |
12 |
0.60 |
| South Midlands |
21 |
London Colney |
22 |
12 |
0.55 |
| Combined Counties |
21 |
CB Hounslow United |
26 |
14 |
0.54 |
| Western League |
21 |
Odd Down Bath |
23 |
10 |
0.43 |
| Midland League |
20 |
Selston |
17 |
7 |
0.41 |
| Northern Counties East |
20 |
Athersley Recreation |
22 |
9 |
0.41 |
| Southern Combination |
20 |
Loxwood |
22 |
9 |
0.41 |
| Wessex League |
20 |
Amesbury Town |
22 |
8 |
0.36 |
| Hellenic |
19 |
Holmer Green |
22 |
5 |
0.23 |
| United Counties |
20 |
Sleaford Town |
22 |
5 |
0.23 |
| Essex Senior |
20 |
Sawbridgeworth Town |
23 |
5 |
0.22 |
From a NWCFL perspective, Litherland REMYCA would be relegated as hings stand, but there is not much in it. A win at Avro on Saturday would give them 18 points from 26 games and a 0.69 PPG average, which would be the best across Step 5 and enough to give them a reprieve.
With such fine margins, every point really does count.
Step 6 Promotion
Despite relegation from Step 5 being slashed, a lot of extra teams are needed for next season in Step 5. Therefore the top FOUR teams from each Step 6 division will be promoted at the end of the season. The only exception is in the two South West Peninsula divisions which will promote two sides from each of their divisions.
From a NWCFL perspective, it's simple. The top four in our First Division North and First Division South will be promoted automatically.
For those of you doing the maths, you can see the massive affect this will have on our Premier Division for next season.
In the Premier Division we currently have 20 teams. We will lose three teams who will be promoted to the Northern Premier League, yet gain EIGHT from our two First Division's. This will mean that at least FIVE teams will be laterally moved, or SIX if our PPG mean that we don't relegate anybody from Step 5.
This is why it is important to remember that you get actually get promoted / relegated from a Step to Step perspective, not from a league to league perspective.
Step 6 Relegation
All that can be said for Step 6 relegations is that the bottom TWO sides are liable to relegation to Step 7.
At Step 7 there are 46 divisions, but it is not automatic promotion. Sides wishing to be promoted to Step 6 had to have applied by 31st December and also have to pass certain ground grading criteria.
The numbers promoted / relegated is therefore unknown and won't be known until after the end of the season. Therefore the best that any team in Step 6 can do is to get as many points as they can. The reason for this is that if any reprieves are available, then sides starting with the best PPG will be reprieved.
As it stands at the end of January 2020, here are the bottom placed teams across Step 6 ranked by PPG.
| League |
Pos |
Team |
Pld |
Pts |
PPG |
| NWCFL D1N |
19 |
St Helens Town |
26 |
24 |
0.92 |
| NWCFL D1N |
20 |
Steeton |
25 |
22 |
0.88 |
| Eastern Counties D1N |
19 |
Kings Lynn Res |
20 |
16 |
0.80 |
| NWCFL D1S |
19 |
Barnton |
24 |
19 |
0.79 |
| Midland League |
19 |
Nuneaton Griff |
25 |
19 |
0.76 |
| Wessex League |
18 |
Totten and Eling |
20 |
14 |
0.70 |
| South West Peninsula D1W |
19 |
St Dennis |
22 |
15 |
0.68 |
| Northern Counties East |
19 |
Harrogate Railway Athletic |
20 |
13 |
0.65 |
| Combined Counties |
19 |
Godalming Town |
22 |
14 |
0.64 |
| NWCFL D1S |
20 |
St Martins |
24 |
15 |
0.63 |
| West Midlands (Regional) |
16 |
Willenhall Town |
32 |
20 |
0.63 |
| Combined Counties |
20 |
Eversley & California |
21 |
13 |
0.62 |
| South West Peninsula D1E |
19 |
Sidmouth Town |
21 |
13 |
0.62 |
| Midland League |
20 |
Stafford Town |
26 |
16 |
0.62 |
| South Midlands |
18 |
Park View |
20 |
12 |
0.6 |
| Western League |
19 |
Bishop Sutton |
20 |
12 |
0.60 |
| South West Peninsula D1E |
20 |
Torrington AFC |
22 |
13 |
0.59 |
| South West Peninsula D1W |
20 |
Godolphin Atlantic |
24 |
14 |
0.58 |
| United Counties |
19 |
Huntingdon Town |
25 |
14 |
0.56 |
| Hellenic D1E |
16 |
Langley |
20 |
11 |
0.55 |
| Southern Counties East |
16 |
Bridon Ropes |
19 |
10 |
0.53 |
| South Midlands |
19 |
Brimsdown |
24 |
12 |
0.5 |
| Wessex League |
19 |
Folland Sports |
22 |
11 |
0.50 |
| Hellenic D1W |
15 |
Tytherington Rocks |
20 |
9 |
0.45 |
| West Midlands (Regional) |
17 |
Telford Junors |
32 |
13 |
0.41 |
| East Midlands Counties |
18 |
Shirebrook Town |
20 |
8 |
0.40 |
| Western League |
20 |
Bristol Telephones |
20 |
8 |
0.40 |
| Eastern Counties D1N |
20 |
Wisbech St Mary |
26 |
10 |
0.38 |
| Northern League |
19 |
Durham City |
22 |
8 |
0.36 |
| Southern Combination |
17 |
Billingshurst |
17 |
6 |
0.35 |
| Northern League |
20 |
Brandon United |
20 |
7 |
0.35 |
| Southern Counties East |
17 |
Kent Football United |
20 |
7 |
0.35 |
| Hellenic D1E |
17 |
Abingdon Town |
18 |
6 |
0.33 |
| Eastern Counties D1S |
17 |
Newbury Forest |
17 |
5 |
0.29 |
| East Midlands Counties |
19 |
Borrowash Victoria |
21 |
5 |
0.24 |
| United Counties |
20 |
Lutterworth Athletic |
20 |
4 |
0.20 |
| Eastern Counties D1S |
18 |
Fire United |
13 |
2 |
0.15 |
| Hellenic D1W |
16 |
New College Swindon |
18 |
1 |
0.06 |
| Northern Counties East |
20 |
East Hull |
21 |
1 |
0.05 |
| Southern Combination |
18 |
Sidlesham |
0 |
0 |
0.00 |
From a NWCFL perspective, three of our teams currently have the best PPG across Step 6, with the other having a good PPG also.
However it is worth stating that PPG would only come into it if there are spaces once usual promotions from Step 7 have been satisfied, and it could be that no teams are actually reprieved. If there are repreives though, we are in a good postition at present to get some!
