National League news: York City vs Rochdale – Match to remember or wake-up call for modern football?
York City’s 1-1 draw with Rochdale last month was a thriller, with the Minstermen snatching away their hosts’ National League title hopes in the final moments.
While the game proved quite entertaining, it was the second time in four seasons that two teams have finished on 100+ points – and only one club can receive automatic promotion.
Here, Sports News Blitz writer Uchenna Haq gives his thoughts on the current set-up.
Thrilling title decider
It was a thrilling title-deciding match-up between York and Rochdale.
Thirteen breathtaking minutes of extra time saw Rochdale come within an inch of league glory thanks to a goal in the 95th minute, but York secured the title with a strike in the dying seconds.
The visitors finished on 108 points with a +73 goal difference, guaranteeing EFL football next season.
Rochdale, however, ended on 106 points with a +47 goal difference and must now fight five other teams contending for the sole play-off promotion spot.
In the National League, over the past decade, two teams have finished the league on 100+ points just twice, with the other occurring in the 2022/23 season when Wrexham and Notts County produced a similarly spectacular battle.
But is it justified to finish the league on over 100 points, a tally guaranteeing promotion in any of the other footballing leagues, and still have to overcome play-offs?
National League play-offs
Within the last 10 years, second-place teams such as Tranmere Rovers, Harrogate Town, and Notts County have won 30 per cent of the time.
Since the 2017/18 rule change, which increased the number of play-off positions from four spots to six, that number has narrowly improved to 33%.
Play-offs within a league like the National League are one of the toughest runs of games in football.
Consistency in the regular season is irrelevant and 46 matches of quality football could be erased in 90 minutes.
If you can’t dig in and grab win after win here, another long and gruelling season awaits you.
Momentum is a key factor – it doesn’t matter whether you’re second in the league or seventh as you’re in the play-offs either way.
If winning doesn’t feel familiar and your team lacks confidence and cohesion, you’re at risk.
Lower leagues always favour the underdog, so for teams in the higher positions, there is more pressure to perform and less room to make the slightest mistake.
The bottom line is: this league is too unforgiving for anything less than gold.
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EFL standards, protectionism
Historically, the English Football League (EFL) has appeared somewhat shut off to teams in the National League.
The National League contains ‘risky clubs’.
They often have temperamental budgets, relying on influxes of money from owners and programmes.
Clubs within the league are more at risk of going bust or dropping into financial hardship, with examples including Scunthorpe, Southend, and Morecambe.
However, the decreased opportunity for promotion out of the league encourages even riskier spending, increasing overall financial pressure.
The requirements to adhere to EFL standards regarding ownership, finances, and stadiums are also very strict.
Stadiums, in particular, require certain seating arrangements, lighting, and safety standards approved by both the league and councils.
Teams have two options – quickly provide the cash and complete the upgrades or face sanctions.
In 2024, Gateshead failed to meet those requirements despite making the play-offs and that cost them a chance at making it into the EFL.
Moreover, if more clubs were to come up, more League Two teams would inevitably face relegation too.
It thus appears the rigid nature of the EFL is less concerned with sporting fairness than it is about protecting the current teams from the financial insecurity of dropping down.
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What football needs
Ex-Barnet manager Martin Allen has previously claimed: “The Conference has got to be the hardest division to get out of, without a shadow of a doubt.”
Paul Cook echoed this after the 2022/23 season, when Notts County narrowly won the play-offs against his Chesterfield side despite racking up over 100 points.
“How it’s only been allowed to have one team go up automatically is just insane. It’s an absolute sporting disgrace,” he said.
Football beyond corporate is not in agreement with the league’s format, it seems.
And countering the current state of the promotion system is the 3UP Movement.
The idea that four teams are promoted out of League Two but only two teams come up is being widely disputed, and rightly so.
Of the 19 teams promoted in the last 10 seasons, four teams have fallen out of the EFL.
Four have exceeded League Two, most notably Championship side Wrexham and recent League One winners Lincoln City.
Clearly, teams coming into the professional football leagues can manage to hold their own – it’s not a yo-yo system showing major discrepancies in ability between the EFL and National League.
Indeed, Forest Green Rovers manager Robbie Savage thinks of the National League as a “League Three” because “most teams are professional”.
At the end of the day, it’s up to the EFL to make the changes.
Football is ready to make the move, but the restrictions over sport are preventing it.
Do you think it’s time?
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