With the play-off dates now confirmed for the Covid-19 pandemic hit 2019-20 National League campaign, the identity of the club who will be joining Barrow in gaining promotion to League Two will soon be revealed.
The first eliminator round will see Boreham Wood face FC Halifax Town and Yeovil Town host Barnet, with the winners facing Harrogate Town and Notts County respectively for a place in the final at Wembley.
During last four months whilst the season has been on hold there has been much debate about what the future might hold for lower league football in England. Many have also wondered whether the structure of the football pyramid requires overhauling in the wake of the expected financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic, including the re-introduction of regionalisation for the lower reaches of the Football League.
One of the many proposals discussed is the potential regionalisation of League Two and the National League, as previously mentioned on South West Football blogspot, but there is one plan that has so far been firmly off the agenda, which is three up, three down between League Two and the National League.
Without the occurence of the coronavirus pandemic then it is entirely plausible that this idea would be the subject of much debate; especially in light of the fact that for the first time since promotion and relegation between the two divisions was increased to two teams in 2002 two teams relegated in the previous season - Notts County and Yeovil Town - are due to meet in the play-offs.
Should the Glovers manage to beat Barnet in the first round of play-off matches they will then face the Magpies in the semi final to compete for a place in the final at Wembley and the chance of an immediate return to the Football League.
Since two promotion and relegation places were introduced between the Football League and the National League at the start of the 2002-03 season three teams have bounced back via the play-offs (Shrewsbury Town 2003-04, Carlisle United 2004-05 and Bristol Rovers 2014-15) and one as champions (Cheltenham Town). Also, during this time, seven clubs have won back-to-back promotions from the National League and League Two reach League One (Doncaster Rovers, Carlisle United, Exeter City, Stevenage, Crawley Town, Bristol Rovers and Tranmere Rovers) - a statistic which reflects the overall strength of the National League. In comparison only five teams have won successive promotions from League Two and League One to reach the Championship (Hull City, Peterborough United, Rotherham United, Burton Albion and Luton Town).
If Notts County or Yeovil Town were to win the play-offs and join Barrow in winning promotion into League Two it is not inconceivable that they could emerge as one of the leading sides in League Two once the 2020-21 campaign gets underway. If another pair of relegated sides from the fourth tier were able to get their act together following relegation from the Football League in the same way the argument for a third promotion from the National League would grow stronger.
