I’m pretty sure much of this has been said before on this or other threads. My apologies, if so. I’m just gathering my thoughts, really.
A betting man would see us as relegated already. If the worst does happen, then, there are a number of scenarios.
There’s hope. Some clubs have returned within one or two seasons. Bristol Rovers, Carlisle, Cheltenham and Shrewsbury all secured immediate promotions in recent times. The clubs that have bounced back relatively quickly haven’t been burdened/constrained by financial difficulties, though.
We might come back stronger. There are examples of clubs whose recent non-league experience allowed them to clear out, restructure and regain the winning habit (Luton being the most obvious example, perhaps).
It might take some time. As we all know, the National League and National League North are littered with the corpses of ex-league clubs. Some have been gone five years, some ten, others fifteen… It’s beginning to look as though more than a five year stay in the NL makes it permanent for the majority of clubs. We have been warned.
It might take decades. Think of Accrington Stanley (44 years) and Barrow (48 years). Consequently, I would feel sorry for the latter if they got relegated, but please let it happen to them rather than us (not looking very likely now anyway…).
It might not happen in our lifetimes (depending on your current age, lifestyle and DNA). For many of us, the time it took Barrow and Accrington would be too long for us ever to see our club play as a league side again. I remember watching Southend play Southport… They’ve been gone for 43 years now. It could be even worse, though. Some clubs have simply disappeared (New Brighton, for example). And then there’s Gainsborough Trinity. Established in 1873 and with a proper town centre ground where they’ve played since 1884, they fell out of the football league in 1912 and currently play in the Northern Premier League… God help us.
And the club may well go bust. This has happened to numerous clubs following relegation to non-league (and our finances aren’t exactly robust, are they?). Many ex-league clubs and returnees are phoenix entities. It may well be AFC Southend that returns to League 2 in 2027/2032/2062/2122 (delete according to your level of pessimism).
It really could be a disaster, then. We do have the size of the town on our side (but PL glory hunters on the flipside of that) and the long history of the club. As the ancient Chinese curse has it - “May you live in interesting times”.
