It’s Time for an Extra Promotion Spot in the EFL

Courtesy Graham Burrell

It is now time for an extra promotion to take place in the EFL.

There is a very small gap when you look at the top of the National League as well as the bottom of League Two. It is truly about time that the high-time promotion was actually expanded. Sutton and even Hartlepool have actually held their own in League Two after they got a promotion in their last season. In the year 2021, it would seem that the lines between the lowest tier and the third tier have actually been blurred. They are now blurred more than ever. Phil Parkinson had been in League One and he was appointed by the one and only Wrexham. You then have Dave Challinor who had been promoted to League Two with the Hartlepool team. He then chose to leave and took the manager’s job which sent him to Stockport. League Two’s top scorer, Paul Mullin dropped down two whole divisions, along with Paddy Madden and of course, James Jones.

Credit Graham Burrell

A New Market of Movement

As the team and markets change, so do the League One football betting odds. Of course, as the new market movement evolves, this happens to raise a few questions. Some of the questions revolve around what League actually means, in comparison to Non-League. The terms meet the standard definition. When you look at League Two you will soon see that this is the bottom of the EFL pyramid, and the National League is the top-tier of a completely separate body. It has a separate jurisdiction too. By just about every measure that is implemented, it would seem that the gap is non-existent. There is no longer any sort of stigma at all about dropping into the National League. It is actually a very good environment for young players as it helps them to develop. When you look at the audience, you will soon see that clubs in League Two often don’t attract as much support as some of those in the National League.

Credit Graham Burrell

The FA Cup 

When you look at the FA Cup last season alone, you will see that there were plenty of shocks provided by non-league teams. Some of the teams that provide these shocks go on to achieve success, as we have done since our run from 2016/17. some get promoted back to the Football League, but then disappear again, as Macclesfield have done. However, plenty of non-league teams thrive in the FA Cup, and use that as a springboard to settle in the Football League. Cambridge are a great example of this.

There’s also a bottleneck of poor teams at the bottom of the Football League, and this is proven by a single stat. The last time that a club was promoted was the first time of asking was Cheltenham in 2015. Since then, Notts County, Chesterfield and Grimsby have all dropped out of the league and not come back. Why? Because the National League is packed with teams capable of holding their own in the Football league, and it’s time they were given an extra promotion place to prove it.