• Welcome to the ShrimperZone forums.
    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which only gives you limited access.

    Existing Users:.
    Please log-in using your existing username and password. If you have any problems, please see below.

    New Users:
    Join our free community now and gain access to post topics, communicate privately with other members, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and free. Click here to join.

    Fans from other clubs
    We welcome and appreciate supporters from other clubs who wish to engage in sensible discussion. Please feel free to join as above but understand that this is a moderated site and those who cannot play nicely will be quickly removed.

    Assistance Required
    For help with the registration process or accessing your account, please send a note using the Contact us link in the footer, please include your account name. We can then provide you with a new password and verification to get you on the site.

Quality of National League teams compared to L2

NL teams are lower quality but more enterprising. There are just too many moribund teams in L2.

It’s like L1 when we were last promoted to the Championship. The technical level went up but the football was turgid and the teams soulless.
 
You go back 20 years or so and this league was being won every year by Kiddimister Harriers and teams that were so amateur their grounds held them back from promotion. Now you have several former league clubs with decent fan bases thar fell on hardtimes financially all competing to get back into the arse end of the Football league.

League 2 is worse than the National league, League one is a no man's land where financially mismanaged former prem teams land and slay the division with the odd occasional, Southend/Wycombe/ Plymouth hitting the dizzying heights of the Championship. There is sp much money in the Prem now that clubs that have that one of two seasons In the sun ala Swansea/ Cardiff/ Hull never dip back down to the levels from whence they came. The whole game is now rigged.
It’s all up for debate isn’t it, but I see Plymouth as a bigger club than Southend or Wycombe, with their natural level being champ/L1 as opposed to L1/L2. That’s my perception, not backed up by facts.
 
Yeah I don’t think there’s much of a gap between league 1 even and the NL. This was always gonna be a very tough league to compete in, more so than a few years ago. If anyone needed a reality check I think they’ve had it by now!

I'd argue that. The jump between NL and lg1 is huge. Some big clubs with big budgets and half the players being Championship quality.
 
As said above league two have a lot of stale clubs but with such a small trapdoor you only have to be better than two other teams to stay in league two. NL is hugely competitive with wealthy small teams and historic bigger former league clubs scrapping for the single auto promotion spot.

Would take a number of the top teams in this league and reckon they would be able to beat even a playoff side in league two most times.
 
I’d be in favour of a League 2 North and South, replacing League 2 and The National League. One spot from each going into L1 and a playoff between the 2nd and 3rd spots in each of the regional L2 divisions making up the final promotion.

In turn the bottom 2 in each L2 regional would swap with the top 2 in the Nat League North and South.

Would create a lot more local derbies, reduce clubs overheads due to less travel and better for the planet as less greenhouse gasses.
 
I think eventually the top 8 clubs at the moment in the league will get their promotion and the clubs relegated will be like us poorly run and in debt. Makes the games more interesting when we play them.

Despite our recent progression we are going to be non league for a while so no point comparing this and that and just get used to the situation. Let's just just support the team and see how it goes.

If the national League is so much better than league 2 then we are playing better teams now than if we got promoted so should be happier at this level compared to previous seasons when we were a football league club
 
Last edited:
For my pennies worth i think the entire football setup from Premiershite down should be looked into . As far as im concerned the EFL should say fk you premiershite we will go our own way, I other clubs notably those in the championship want to align with the premiershite allow them too,maybe Rangers and Celtic will join them ,let them form there own 2 divisions and the EFL and VNL downwards form there own competition., keeping the FA CUP as there own. Anyway thats my opinion .
 
Some of the quality of football I've seen this season is the worse I've ever witnessed.....so for me this is worse than league 2. Only Chesterfield I've seen played some decent football on the deck and they tore us apart. Plenty of games this season resembles 2 Sunday league sides for me. Even Bromley who are near the top couldn't string 3 passes together the other week against us.
 
Not much difference in quality of football, stadiums and especially wages. You have to finish top to guarantee promotion, anything below is a lottery which is why it's so incredibly hard down here. Let's for example assume the current top 2 go up, Chesterfield and Halifax. I don't think it will be those 2 but for arguments sake. That means next season there will still be Wrexham, stockport, dagenham, boreham wood, bromley, notts county and the two newbies from L2 all likely vying for promotion! That's what we'll have to compete with.
 
For my pennies worth i think the entire football setup from Premiershite down should be looked into . As far as im concerned the EFL should say fk you premiershite we will go our own way, I other clubs notably those in the championship want to align with the premiershite allow them too,maybe Rangers and Celtic will join them ,let them form there own 2 divisions and the EFL and VNL downwards form there own competition., keeping the FA CUP as there own. Anyway thats my opinion .
Like a WWE RAW v Smackdown scenario?
 
You have to think whoever goes up this season from NL is going to go very well next season in League 2 if it's Chesterfield, Stockport or Wrexham they gotta be worth a punt on being L2 champs.
 
While I think there is a grey area between the top of NL and bottom of L2, I do think there's greater quality in general in L2. Teams who get promoted tend to do pretty well because they're carrying that momentum and winning mentality. The squads tend to be more stable and the management typically is established and well supported by the fanbase. That can be the case at every level.

I do agree that there should be an additional promotion route for NL teams. I'd consider expanding the playoff campaign and having more of a 'super 8' type finale.
 
It’s all up for debate isn’t it, but I see Plymouth as a bigger club than Southend or Wycombe, with their natural level being champ/L1 as opposed to L1/L2. That’s my perception, not backed up by facts.
Plymouth problem is attracting players...... players don't seem to like going their. Strange as it's Lovely part of the world. Just hasn't got that x factor when it comes to attracting players. Lets just say if Plymouth and Wycombe go to sign the same player and the contract is the same, I'm pretty sure that player would choose Wycombe.
 
I’d be in favour of a League 2 North and South, replacing League 2 and The National League. One spot from each going into L1 and a playoff between the 2nd and 3rd spots in each of the regional L2 divisions making up the final promotion.

In turn the bottom 2 in each L2 regional would swap with the top 2 in the Nat League North and South.

Would create a lot more local derbies, reduce clubs overheads due to less travel and better for the planet as less greenhouse gasses.

This would work for most clubs but probably not for Gloucester City who strangely are in the NL North?!!?!?!?!
 
Have adjusted to our predicament now, but it took some getting used to. Was able to come back home 3 times a season prior to covid. March 7th, 2020 was at our home game vs Bristol Rovers in L1. Left the "Hall" encouraged after a good 3-1 win, with a young promising team. Fast forward to the next game I was able to get to. Away at Grimsby, November 19th, 2021. What a demise in position but also quality of the team.

However, If I look at this objectively, I was still excited to see us play, realize that as a life long fan, not supporting the Blues is not an option. Also that night the stadium, atmosphere and some of the play was similar to many L1 & L2 games I've been at.

So I've realized that there might be a good chance that we might not be able to get out of this league for a while, but also that there are many former league teams in here with us and that number will probably keep growing over the next couple of seasons. Oldham if they go down were a Premiership team, Stockport have played in Europe.

I guess my point is that there will be plenty of games in legitimate League stadiums, with league minded fans and atmosphere to make it a positive football experience for us fans.

At least until we can get our house in order.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top