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1 of 1- Matchman
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Radcliffe and Marine
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Last year’s promoted clubs Radcliffe and Marine are finding it hard going in the National League North.
Radcliffe are bottom of the table and without a win after 8 games (Drawn 4 Lost 4) and they have conceded 20 goals.
Marine fans have had little to cheer either. They have scored only 3 goals and have failed to score in 7 of their 9 matches. They have 6 points from 9 matches (W1, D3, L5)
- kevilsonlad
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Re: Radcliffe and Marine
Matchman wrote:
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Last year’s promoted clubs Radcliffe and Marine are finding it hard going in the National League North.
Radcliffe are bottom of the table and without a win after 8 games (Drawn 4 Lost 4) and they have conceded 20 goals.
Marine fans have had little to cheer either. They have scored only 3 goals and have failed to score in 7 of their 9 matches. They have 6 points from 9 matches (W1, D3, L5)
This is the main reason why i am not bothered about going for promotion this season or for a few seasons for that matter . Having a club who can hold their own is way more important me ....
- Matchman
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Re: Radcliffe and Marine
Interesting point Kev. Promotion can be a poisoned challice. Especially in non league where you sink or swim according to your resources. If promoted you can go from winning every week to losing every week and in a higher league like the National League North you find yourself competing against teams with much bigger budgets.
So for many non league clubs it's a case of finding the sustainable level you can compete at. Of course you've got to try to get promoted or there's no point in playing. Support increases when winning matches but there's an inevitable decrease in attendances when wins are hard to come by.
We are fortunate to have a generous but steady owner who is trying to make the club self sufficient and a manager who gets results without demanding an unaffordable player wages budget.
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Thread Starter- WhiteBallProject
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Re: Radcliffe and Marine
This discussions reminds me of the situation Ilkeston Town found themselves in the 1950s. The club won the Central Alliance four times in quick succession and made no attempt to apply to join the stronger Midland League. The board said that fans preferred watching Ilkeston win every week against local teams and the stats bear that out. 2000 to 3000 gates every week and crushing victories with loads of goals. Eventually the Midland League lost its Football League Reseve sides and took in more local teams from the Central Alliance including Ilkeston. We did not win it until 1968 but again the club refused to apply to join the recently formed stronger Northern Premier League. But relented in the early seventies and joined the Southern League which proved to be a disaster as the club struggled on the pitch and crowds plummeted! So perhaps they were right in the fifties? The difference since the Pyramid has been invented is that promotion is compulsory and if you refuse you get relegated. It’s a problem for many clubs!
Was it Icarus who flew too close to the sun?