2024/25 League Two Relegation Thread

[Stocky]

I actually think the NL play-off system is better than the FL one, attaching more benefit to the sides finishing further up the table.

Miles better and more exciting. Don't like two legged ties really. National League Play Offs are shit or bust and favour finishing higher as you say.

 

[valefan16]

Interesting debate to which there is only one logical answer, 2 automatically up from National League and 2 automatically down from EFL Div 2 PLUS a playoff between 3rd in NL and 3rd from bottom in EFL 2 to decide final promotion / relegation place. Your so called ‘bigger / established’ clubs have a fair chance of bouncing back up to the EFL and NL clubs have a fairer chance of reaching the EFL. Yes there will be yo-yo-ing but every club, every season, starts in the League they deserve to be in based on their football and ownership. If you’re good enough for the EFL you’ll be in it, if you’re not, you won’t

Not a bad shout and works in Germany for instance this idea.

Or a slight twist to keep the play offs with more clubs in is the 3rd bottom one makes the final automatically and plays the winner of the other 3/5 clubs to stay in the division.

 

[Boz]

Returning to the question of relegation prospects, at this point, I find it very hard to call. There are a lot of poor sides down near the bottom, my own team Tranmere included. At the start of the season, I felt that we'd assembled a squad capable of a mid-table finish and Adkins had done a decent job last season. It all looks very different now and our decent form in the second half of last season could mainly be attributed to the contribution of loanee Robbie Apter.

Had we lost to Carlisle last Saturday, then without a change of management, I'd have said Rovers were down. Now there is a glimmer of hope. I'm not expecting much in the way of improvements to playing staff, but there was fight in the team that beat to Carlisle. While Crosby doesn't seem to have had a major influence tactically, he does appear to be a spikier character than Adkins and seemed to be doing a lot of directing from the touchline in that last game, having been sat in the stands when he arrived.

Rovers have a difficult January and I can't see us picking up more than 3 points, so if other sides near the bottom have a decent month, we're likely to be bottom 2

Of the sides I've seen this season around in the lower third, Morecambe are well organised and have some fight about them. They should have enough to stay up. Harrogate and Newport seemed on a par with us. Swindon lacked someone to finish off the chances but that could be atypical looking at their other results.

 

[jacobncfc]

I pretty much enjoyed our entire time in the National League, but that’s probably because we skipped out the ‘being really shit’ part that seems to be mostly needed for clubs that go down.

We’d basically been rubbish for an entire decade and perpetually in ownership crisis or a relegation battle or both, so it probably also helps that we got taken over and became stable in that first summer as well. But we had four years where we won way more games than we lost, which is what it’s all about really. Got to visit some different places we’d never otherwise go to, and there’s always some kind of funny drama going on with the smaller clubs and the mad characters they seem to have involved.

It does need some more northern clubs, though. The endless away days in some random outer suburb of London started to get a bit dull by the end.

 

[hellogregory]

On paper Carlisle have for me not done too bad signing wise so far, attack based midfielders and now a forward for in the box.

But………….and this is the big enormous bit to it all, the defence is so atrocious it’s totally and utterly irrelevant what we have going forward we could have e the best attack set up in this league but it won’t matter if we are still constantly giving the ball away on the edge of our box for nearly the entire match and thus none of these new players touch the ball.

Williamson either needs to A: splash serious cash on 3 new centre backs or B: go hybrid on his system.

I’ve seen teams able to play direct in their own half THEN pass like mad in the opposing half

Going by what Williamson said last night, I don't think the defence will be strengthened much if at all.

He said a stat which I assume is true (I haven't checked) that over the last 10 games our defensive record is top 7 in the league.

I get the impression the priority is scoring more goals.

 

[Scum.]

Carlisle United will surely beat us on Saturday with Williamson against his former club.

 

[Carver]

To survive the drop we must win something like 10 games out of 22.

But if we do go down then we’ll be the biggest and considerably richest fish in the National League giving us a chance to beat the record total of points Wrexham set and become the greatest non league team of all time!

 

[Optipez]

I honestly think it should go back to 1 up/1 down.

I understand why clubs want 3 up/3 down, but if you hate the likes of Salford, Harrogate, FGR and other clubs without a League history (I'll even include Cheltenham even though we've been here for 25 years now, minus 1) then imagine how many doped clubs will be coming up if 3 can go up. Your Fyldes for example. 1 up/1 down meant Rushden had to wait a few more years than they wanted because teams like Cheltenham and Kidderminster stopped them. There were the only big financially doped club at the time - now they're ten a penny.

If 3 go down, then more of your traditional league clubs go down and fewer come up to be replaced by, as OneDecentLester calls them, team literally no-one cares about.

I'd go three up and down purely because if you finish at the bottom you deserve to drop and if you finish at the top you deserve to be promoted.
The pyramid is the greatest strength of English football, it stops a cartel of underachieving clubs just coasting. Workington were awful for years and it wasn't fair that Barnet weren't getting their chance.
No club should have a right to a league spot and I think fans of relegated clubs appreciate it more than most .
Never heard any fan of any of the Belts say relegation is unfair, just be horrified at how crap their clubs have ended up to drop into the abyss.

We were dead lucky, great new owners and playoffs every season. It's not like that for most clubs, for some it's basically a one way trip but that's the pyramid, it rewards success and crucifies failure.

 

[Optipez]

I'd said previously and still think a decent idea to turn the National League into EFL League 3 with it all being full time and bringing those clubs into the EFL rules and Regs. 3 Up, 3 Down, normal play offs. The Pyramid is strong enough now with the full time clubs to have 96 EFL clubs.

I'd go to L2 North and south, two up from each with four down from L1. It's not popular I know but Gateshead to Dover is just mental at lower league level. You're asking players to do an eight hour coach trip and then perform to their best, a big ask. There are more derbies, bigger crowds, less expense for clubs and shorter journeys for fans. I know there's plenty of groundhoppers, I'm one but I've been to Crewe, Mansfield, Walsall and the like more than Barrow, Exeter or Eastleigh just because it's an easier trip, specially for night matches and Notts are pretty central.

 

[BigDaveCUFC]

Going by what Williamson said last night, I don't think the defence will be strengthened much if at all.

He said a stat which I assume is true (I haven't checked) that over the last 10 games our defensive record is top 7 in the league.

I get the impression the priority is scoring more goals.

According to bloody stats I once got 32 chances in a match in championship manager and other side had one chance yet still won 1-0!!

It means nowt, they defend poorly give away the ball all the time and you have zero confidence they going forward in respect they will concede moment later

 

[hellogregory]

According to bloody stats I once got 32 chances in a match in championship manager and other side had one chance yet still won 1-0!!

It means nowt, they defend poorly give away the ball all the time and you have zero confidence they going forward in respect they will concede moment later

I'd point the finger at your attack more than your defence there.

I agree though, we need a centre back or two, plus half decent wing backs. I'm just saying what I got from listening to Williamson yesterday.

 

[GTFCfish]

National League Play Offs are shit or bust and favour finishing higher as you say.

 

[Alfie]

But if we do go down then we’ll be the biggest and considerably richest fish in the National League giving us a chance to beat the record total of points Wrexham set and become the greatest non league team of all time!

First things first, promotion would be most important either as Champions or play-offs.
And it would not matter if points were pathetic as long as promotion was assured.
Creating a record would and should be 2nd consideration.

 

[GTFCfish]

Pre Season 26/27:

Carver:

“We have the best side ever assembled at National League North level and are going to absolutely piss it.”

 

[hellogregory]

To survive the drop we must win something like 10 games out of 22.

But if we do go down then we’ll be the biggest and considerably richest fish in the National League giving us a chance to beat the record total of points Wrexham set and become the greatest non league team of all time!

Thing is carver, we probably have the biggest wage bill and budget in this league, yet look where we are. Spending money means absolutely fuck all if there’s a losers culture stinking through every corridor of the club.

Better decisions need made and when we do go down we’ll need a big clear out. This is why it doesn’t sit comfortable with me seeing us dishing out 3 year contracts like confetti. We are going to be stuck with a lot of players on huge money and long contracts.

 

[Carver]

Thing is carver, we probably have the biggest wage bill and budget in this league, yet look where we are. Spending money means absolutely fuck all if there’s a losers culture stinking through every corridor of the club.

Better decisions need made and when we do go down we’ll need a big clear out. This is why it doesn’t sit comfortable with me seeing us dishing out 3 year contracts like confetti. We are going to be stuck with a lot of players on huge money and long contracts.

Once every bad thing Simpson left over is gone we will start to do better.