The great ‘Turkeys at Christmas’ debate around EFL / NL promotion spots

The National League has declared that, to generate more publicity for its ‘3Up’ campaign, all 12 ‘Premier’ Division games will kick off three minutes late on Saturday, November 15.

Nothing much wrong with that (writes Dave Thomas).

However, 48 of the National League’s 72 clubs are in the North and South divisions November 15 is the date of the Second Round of the FA Trophy, so it’s a bit of a shame that the sizeable majority of NL sides won’t be able to take part.

After all, as Torquay United know to their cost, the North and South divisions are every bit as badly affected by the current ‘one up/one through the Play-Offs’ system as the Premier is.

If this hugely frustrating anomaly, which goes against all the promotion principles running through the EFL, was decided by any moral argument, it would have been settled long ago.

But it’s not about right and wrong.

It’s driven simply by money and self-interest. The ‘turkeys-and-Christmas’ instinct, if you like.

And, although they’ve been banging on about the issue for years, the National League seems to be no nearer to persuading the EFL to concede a third relegation place.

They will argue that, behind the scenes, they’ve been making progress.

They will claim that, privately, individual EFL clubs sympathise and agree with them, and they may be right.

But the fact is that the EFL has done everything it can even to avoid a vote on the matter.

Under EFL rules it would need not only a majority of their clubs to vote in favour, but also a majority of Championship clubs – who, of course, are not directly involved.

Well, they might become involved financially if a third League Two relegation place involved any redistribution of ‘share-out’ money.

And here we go back to the nub of the problem.

Why would any clubs vote for something that would potentially or actually leave their members worse off?

The two relegated League Two clubs currently receive ‘parachute payments’ of around £460,000 for their first season in the National League and half that figure for the second.

They then have to manage without those big hand-downs which they enjoyed in the EFL.

IF Premier League support for Academies is taken into account, it’s estimated that, under current rules, even League Two clubs receive around £1.3 million a season, before they kick a ball in anger.

National League clubs receive a fraction of that amount, which helps to underline how seismic the NL Play-Off Final is each year.

The EFL’s latest ploy to avoid a vote on a third League Two relegation spot is to wait for the new independent football regulator to have his say.

But even if David Kogan came down firmly in favour, the EFL clubs would still have to vote on it.

So, good luck to the National League when they kick off at 3.03pm on November 15. For what it’s worth.

But hold on. There may be another move they could take, to strengthen both their case and their hold on the moral high ground.

That’s to announce that six clubs will be relegated from the NL Premier instead of four in future, to allow two automatic promotion places from North and South and two more through the Play-Offs.

I know it may sound a bit strong. But it is, in a way, what they want the EFL to do.

But do you think the NL Premier ‘turkeys’ would vote for that ‘Christmas’? Er..!