My understanding (of which I have very little!) was that the NCEL was attempting to address to midlands bias (real or imagined) of the league by offering a third division with less stringent ground grading and travel requirements, looking at clubs from the Humber Premier, the CML, West Yorks League, West Riding et al. This could, of course, just be nonsense or an attempt to protect itself from potential rival leagues, or just a means of scuppering anyone else's plans of expansion. Just to throw a cat amongst the proverbial pigeons - amongst the teams mentioned in this potential expansion were: Bay Athletic, Fields S&S, Westella and Willerby (or vice versa), and Hutton Cranswick United. I presume this is merely unfounded gossip, as (I presume) many of these clubs would need substantial funds to bring their grounds to close to ncel and it is unclear where such money would come from. I appear to wittering again. I stop.

No, I don't think you're wittering either. From what I can gather, it's an attempt to address a Yorkshire based problem at Step 7. At the moment, the only Step 7 league in the area is the CML - fine if you're in South Yorkshire as the travelling isn't so bad, but if you're further north, then it starts to become a bit silly. From what I can gather, the two main Leagues - the West Yorks and the WR County Amateur - are both outside the pyramid, and don't speak to each other, thus negating the suggestion put to them that they should form a Step 7 league between them consisting of clubs from each league. As they won't do it, the NCEL has stepped into the breach, and will be offering a place in the pyramid for those clubs who are ambitious in the two leagues. Of course, they will also no doubt claim Humberside and other Yorkshire based clubs, thereby creating another problem for the CML by once again nicking it's clubs. Perhaps the CML should look at it's East Midlands and Lincs base and look at recruiting in more clubs from there - there are at least four in the Notts Senior League who would make good members of the CML, and a few others in the MRA and the Lincs league. The CML is very good at replenishing numbers - it's had enough practise! - and would withstand another "grab" on it's clubs as long as it took the same attitude to the leagues below it.

How have the ground grading rules been relaxed gord? I'd definitely prefer Kiveton to be in a NCEL Division 2 than the CMFL as they are at the moment, but obviously this would either mean Kivo getting lights (never going to happen) or the new league not insisting on lights.

I am afraid I am now obliged to ask a very silly question (my apologies in advance as this is now almost certainly in the incorrect section). I had assumed that the West Yorks and West Riding leagues were feeders to the NCEL (ie step 7), given that this is not the case do these leagues still count as level 11 leagues (I can feel a hornet's nest being rattled here), as there are many leagues outside the pyramid system which still are (as I understand it) regarded as having a 'level' (eg local leagues go down to level 15 in places and possibly even further in others). Both the wisdom and the patience of you all are greatly appreciated.

In Reply To

How indeed! We had a mountain of work to do to get into the NCEL - we asked for a grading visit when we were nowhere near the standard so that we knew what we would have to do. We've done it - new dressing rooms, new stand, new pitch pbarrier, new fencing around the arena, hard standing etc etc, and we got in. We now, I would say along with Barton Town, have probably the best two grounds in our division - discounting those who share at higher level clubs like Leeds Carnegie, Scarborough and Grimsby Borough.

But 12 months after we gained admission having done all that work, clubs were being admitted with grounds not as good as ours was before we did it all - no seats, dressing rooms outside the enclosed area of the ground, viewing possible from outside the arena etc - and clubs are even being promoted to the Premier having still not met Division One standards.

There are two clubs in the Premier that I know of whose dressing rooms are outside the enclosed area of the ground - yet we could not even put our new ones where we initially wanted at the top of the bank with a stepped walkway down. the league insisted they went adjacent to the pitch, and thereby took away a great viewing area and scope for spectator area development behind the Welfare End goal.

Interesting that you mention the Notts Alliance. Is football in this league of a similar standard to the Notts Senior League?

The Yorkshire Leagues don't have this problem and I've no idea why they haven't joined the NLS yet but they should and fast as the CML seems to have developed a monoploy on promotion slots to the NCEL just lately dragging the league southwards and the Northern League much more islolated leaving a gaping hole between the Northern League and NCEL's boundary!

Why can't other leagues do what the Western have done by having the South-West Penninsular league feed directly into their Premier Division thus putting it on a par with their own (more easterly based) division 1.