Things have changed since my last contribution on here - with most of that change coming from Northamptonshire.
First, Rushden & Diamonds. They were facing a winding-up petition on June 13th, not brought by but supported by HMRC. June 13th was a couple of days after the Conference AGM, and the timing put the Conference in a very difficult position.
Their response was to seek assurances from Rushden, regarding their ability to compete in the Conference in 2011-12. As Neville Chamberlain might have said, no such assurance was received - and Rushden were expelled, though they immediately announced their intention to appeal. The result of that was that Southport were reprieved from relegation from the Conference Premier; that created a vacancy at step 2, and with the way things are done, the vacancy was filled by Thurrock, who had finished 20th in Conference South, with a superior points per game record to that of Stafford Rangers, who had finished 20th in Conference North.
So, it became necessary for a team to move from Conference South to Conference North - and that team was Bishops Stortford, who will now face games against Blyth and Workington next season. This is a situation that has been widely foretold: it stems from the imbalance of feeder leagues below step 4.
There's a notional boundary between North and South which stretches from the Severn to The Wash. And there are fourteen leagues at step 5; but only 4½ of those leagues are north of that Severn-Wash line. One of those leagues - the Northern League - rarely promotes teams to step 4. The result is that step 4 - and, ultimately, step 2 - are fed with far more southern than northern teams; and when the Southern League promotes two indubitably southern teams, as it did this year with Salisbury and Truro, the imbalance is accelerated.
Stortford have announced their intention to appeal to the FA, but it's clear that radical restucturing of the top end of the pyramid is required.
Rushden's plight looks terminal - and their neighbours Kettering Town are little better off. They have issues regarding their ground at Rockingham Road, which is in much need of repair and on which they have a very short lease. The solution proposed is that Kettering move to Nene Park - Rushden's ground. But it looks like a permanent move, not a temporary one.
Kettering fans believe that the club wouldn't be Kettering Town if it moved to Nene Park. Rushden fans see their club dying. Nobody is happy.
First, Rushden & Diamonds. They were facing a winding-up petition on June 13th, not brought by but supported by HMRC. June 13th was a couple of days after the Conference AGM, and the timing put the Conference in a very difficult position.
Their response was to seek assurances from Rushden, regarding their ability to compete in the Conference in 2011-12. As Neville Chamberlain might have said, no such assurance was received - and Rushden were expelled, though they immediately announced their intention to appeal. The result of that was that Southport were reprieved from relegation from the Conference Premier; that created a vacancy at step 2, and with the way things are done, the vacancy was filled by Thurrock, who had finished 20th in Conference South, with a superior points per game record to that of Stafford Rangers, who had finished 20th in Conference North.
So, it became necessary for a team to move from Conference South to Conference North - and that team was Bishops Stortford, who will now face games against Blyth and Workington next season. This is a situation that has been widely foretold: it stems from the imbalance of feeder leagues below step 4.
There's a notional boundary between North and South which stretches from the Severn to The Wash. And there are fourteen leagues at step 5; but only 4½ of those leagues are north of that Severn-Wash line. One of those leagues - the Northern League - rarely promotes teams to step 4. The result is that step 4 - and, ultimately, step 2 - are fed with far more southern than northern teams; and when the Southern League promotes two indubitably southern teams, as it did this year with Salisbury and Truro, the imbalance is accelerated.
Stortford have announced their intention to appeal to the FA, but it's clear that radical restucturing of the top end of the pyramid is required.
Rushden's plight looks terminal - and their neighbours Kettering Town are little better off. They have issues regarding their ground at Rockingham Road, which is in much need of repair and on which they have a very short lease. The solution proposed is that Kettering move to Nene Park - Rushden's ground. But it looks like a permanent move, not a temporary one.
Kettering fans believe that the club wouldn't be Kettering Town if it moved to Nene Park. Rushden fans see their club dying. Nobody is happy.
