Blue Square Premier League

[Blades_fan]

I'm a Sheffield United fan but one thing puzzles me about the Blue Square Premier League.
Four teams are relegated from it,this season Woking,Weymouth and Lewes drop back into the Blue Square South League and Northwich drop down to the Blue Square North League.
Surely that means that next season the South League will have 23 teams in it while the Blue Square North League will have 21 teams in it as 2 teams are promoted from both the North and South Leagues up to the Blue Square Premier League.

[mark01]

This happens often between these leagues. Last season Worcester City moved from Conference North to South, to make the numbers up. As you say there are 3 teams going down to the Conference South so probably Worcester (as the highest northern club) will transfer over again.

[Blades_fan]

Thanks for that mark01.

It makes sense when you explain it.

[Hammond Egg]

Apparently there's a regulation which prevents a team forcibly moved from North to South being moved back again within three years.

Worcester lost some of their players (those who live to the north of Birmingham) when they made the north-south move last season; this is because, for midweek away games in particular, they would be taking copious amounts of time off work after long journeys to (for example) Sussex.

If the rule isn't changed, or Worcester stand on their rights ( something similar might happen with players from south of Worcester not wishing to play midweek games at Southport or Stalybridge) then it seems that the next team in line to be moved from South to North would be Braintree Town, for goodness' sake.

In the past, though, quite a number of issues, particularly as regards relegation, are decided by non-football matters. At least one team will be relegated who didn't finish in the bottom three (Team Bath) and, if the Conference regards N & S as two sections of the same division, they could reprieve the 20th placed team with the better record - which would be Hyde Utd. I understand that a number of teams in Conference South in particular have been in serious financial trouble this season and some of them may volunteer for relegation.

I hope that doesn't happen. The Hyde Solution, or mark01's solution, would both make some sense. But non-League football isn't familiar with good sense.