No more long trips up the A1. Inevitable that the travelling would be too much for Durham but it is a shame that North East teams struggle so much in this league. Maybe it’s time for an Evo Stick east and west section rather than a north and south.
Hopefully it won’t matter to us if it is east/west or north/south!! Sad to see any club have to leave the league. (With one exception of course!)
WHS.
It might not matter to you but surely even you appreciate the bigger picture here.
Durham have had their problems and interest slipped away but it doesn’t bode well for any club looking for promotion from northern league (likely to be Dunston this season).
Rising fuel costs means bigger expenditure. Mix that with low home gates and no north eastern club will survive financially in the First division.
An eastern/western First division would cut down on travelling for most clubs across evo stik league. Which means more sustainability. Surely this is better for football as a whole.
Not sure it would cut travel, there are a few teams in the southern section who would be in the same league as Durham if you went East/West. It proves the point I have made many times in the past, the old Cheshire League and the other similar leagues were a better idea, reinstate them and have play offs for the champions for going into the Northern or Souther Conferences.
Durham would still face the same problem whichever directions you choose if they won a division in that the Premier League is full of clubs from all over the north of England. The fact is that small clubs need local games to keep costs down, only “Dreamers” like our recent neighbours think you can play in a national league on gates of less than 1,000. And never mind the clubs, the travelling involved for supporters in the present set ups is very excessive, I’m sure most of us would prefer to be in a league with Nantwich, Altrincham, Chester, Winsford etc. than in a league where a “local derby” entails travelling 50 miles or so! Anyway at least the Durham supporters live in a lovely City which is more than we can say!!
WHS.
Surely WHS you are doing Northwich down. There’s a lovely river running through the middle of the town,which is a real nice focal point. (Could be the Venice of the North West). Great choice of varied shops (plenty of room to move around) and plenty of scope to lease one or two with copious amounts of betting, card and charity shops, a ring road that has made drivin a pleasure, (modelled on drivin in Rome), the expectation of a multi plex cinema and a nearly bankrupt green football club (green meaning colour nowt to do with the environment). There’s plenty of job opportunities for young people and a thriving rail network. There’s an excellent local newspaper and whats more all the political decision making is done in Chester!!! SBL
SBL, Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit!! Mind you, cannot argue with what you say!!
WHS.
I think that a Western/Eastern set-up would be better at this level, because even if there are clubs as far south as us in the East, at least teams such as Durham wouldn’t also have to cross the country to get as far south. That’s where a lot of the extra travel comes in. Two leagues, one based around the A1(M)/M1 and the other around the M6 would be better IMO.
[quote=“WHS” post=43176]Not sure it would cut travel, there are a few teams in the southern section who would be in the same league as Durham if you went East/West. It proves the point I have made many times in the past, the old Cheshire League and the other similar leagues were a better idea, reinstate them and have play offs for the champions for going into the Northern or Souther Conferences.
Durham would still face the same problem whichever directions you choose if they won a division in that the Premier League is full of clubs from all over the north of England. The fact is that small clubs need local games to keep costs down, only “Dreamers” like our recent neighbours think you can play in a national league on gates of less than 1,000. And never mind the clubs, the travelling involved for supporters in the present set ups is very excessive, I’m sure most of us would prefer to be in a league with Nantwich, Altrincham, Chester, Winsford etc. than in a league where a “local derby” entails travelling 50 miles or so! Anyway at least the Durham supporters live in a lovely City which is more than we can say!!
WHS.[/quote]
I have to say i tend to agree with the above.
I was speaking to Mark Harris about it on Thursday night at the quiz, and he advised me that th eleague regularly sit down and look at the travelling, but the average mileage for most clubs actually increaes when goiong east/west rather than north/south.
For me it needs a restructure, a 4 way split. I’d even be tempted to continue this right up to the football league.
Rising fuel costs are going to really impact non-league clubs.