This was a classically a daft and rather crass thing for Phil to say and reminds us of his less gifted media side
Like a few fellow Zoners on here , Phil might not have yet picked up on just how far the National League has travelled, Neither is it any longer a "Country for old men "
Since its inception 42 years ago, with restructuring and many other factors , the standard of play has risen considerably The formation of the National league and 2 divisions below at the 6th tier has also led to progress football wise
Recent evidence suggests the standard between League 1, let alone league 2 and the National league is not as big as it once was
The number of clubs promoted from the Vanarama who have continued on to League 1, emphasizes the point, with 8 doing so recently from 20 and only 3 falling back
More of these clubs retain academies and more players are also loaned out to these lower league clubs including to the 6th tier
Because of the introduction of ongoing reduced squad sizes the number of players, many young , released by league clubs this year headed towards tripling to nearly 500 !! and find themselves dropping to the Vanarama again lifting standards and this will of course continue
We know across the board players are fitter, given training techniques, testing, sports science and diets, this has also improved in the Vanarama to a point , as have facilities, ground improvements and surfaces and more clubs heading to full or close to full time status, so the standard of competition has constantly improved
A number of league clubs now profile EVERY player in the National League for recruitment, now more important than ever, with the numbers rising
For every Vardy , there is an Andre Grey, Marcus Maddison, Sean Hughes, Jordan Willard, Luke Maxwell, Shilo Tracy, Tyrell Shade, Jarnel Broom, Withers , Maxwell, Eisa, Afalayen, Hannant and many more.
Quite a few gems then , although many here try to run the poor argument that they are as rare as hens teeth, Rubbish of course., NOW THAT AROUND 50 A YEAR GET PLUCKED UPWARDS AND SUCCEED
The numbers being recruited further up have risen especially directly to the Premier league, mostly Youngsters, but by far the majority are being snapped up by the likes of Stevenage, Shrewsbury, Accrington, Port Vale, AFC Wimbledon, Swindon, and Forest Green, These are the clubs most active in recruiting from the Vanarama, accepted mostly undisclosed fees (as that is the norm these days ) although not for big money and a number are frees
Interestingly the majority signed are nearly all CREATIVE or ATTACKING players, neither are they getting on in years and are mostly youngsters
More players are jumping straight from tier 6 as well. Overall in 4 seasons 169 players moved up fro tier 5 and 6
Peterborough always come to mind as the big poachers and yes they do look strongly in this area and attribute much of their success to it, albeit paying out more than most. However they are minnows compared to the main deep divers who recruit here with NEWPORT and Stevenage way clear recruiting 24 between them alongside Barnsley, Hartlepool, Huddersfield and Accrington also with big appetites
Strangely Kidderminster Harriers from the 6th tier have had most players snaffled from them with 9 going up , some straight to the Premiership, Woking had 7 and Lincoln 7 when they were lower down
So the National league is not packed with hoofers and gnarlers and has changed considerably. It is seen now as a much more effective route for young players to develop a league career than stiffing it out in the under 23s and is highly regarded by at least a significant number of Football Leaguer coaches
TALENT isn't enough to be a professional footballer as we know . getting loaned out to these leagues is key, for too many reasons to explain here, I hope if nothing else we up our game in terms of loaning out many of our remaining talented youngsters
p.s await my personal troll like friend and Ron stooge to slip in some sardonic one liners to attempt to quickly detract from any valuable messages here as quickly as possible
