The Magnificent Pyramid Part Two

Into the Magnificent Pyramid Part Two we go, and the continuation themed owner’s investment with the initial outlays reaping value to buy a non-League team, the project is to build the club up from the ground under new club owner’s remit. The flip side remains with many clubs spending beyond their means leading to the horror liquidation as highlighted with the Rushden and Diamonds article, link to article Diamonds are Forever? Oct 4^th 2023. To flip the coin again there are non-League clubs that can outspend some clubs in League 2 on transfer fees and a higher wage structure, a new phenomenon the non-parallel universe. One of the football leagues founder members Notts County, who bounced back into the Football League, blew a non-League record away as stated with on attendance on the thirteen thousand mark to sit alongside the club’s Meadow Lane ground on capacity to 20,000 to outflank several Championship clubs and even Bournemouth and Luton Town of the Premiership.

The 2022-23 National League Champions AFC Wrexham, averaged out to 10,000 gate intake with Oldham Athletic, Notts County and Chesterfield averaging out at 7,400 attendances. Oldham Athletic competed in the first Premiership season in the 1992-93 season and are the First Premier League club to drop to non-League football. The clubs mentioned had higher attendances bar five teams in League Two, the English pyramid system is unique, not to be seen anywhere else in the world. Non-League spectators are rising by forty percent, due to fans higher up the pyramid becoming disillusioned with football’s commercialism and the elite, to be out of touch with the supporters in part, alongside the decline of the economy and match price tickets. The Premiership and the Championship have not seen falling attendances but demographically changing becoming more older and affluent, the last twenty years has seen a wind of change, to use the termed ‘cult’ following with the fans down the rope of the pyramid to seek a new experience to connect to have a pint with the players, chairman to feel intimately tied to the club, as opposed to being sanitised to be put to pasture.

The detached model at the higher echelons is a development embodiment to may highlighted in recent times, with the formation of Manchester FC and the City of Liverpool football clubs formed by supporters who became disenchanted with the two iconic clubs, clubs of the statue can offer a family footballing experience. The beauty of the pyramid is that dreams can be realised, highlighted in recent times with the meteoric rise of Luton Town from being a non-League club in 2014 at a four season level to gaining three promotions in six seasons to realise the dream of Premiership status, the GOAT of the ‘Magnificent Pyramid’.

Detailed the Pyramid

The Premier League – 20 teams
The Championship – 24 teams
League One – 24 teams
League Two – 24 teams
Step 5 Conference Premier League – 24 teams
Step 6 Conference North and South, two leagues – 44 teams
Step 7 Northern Premier League, the Southern League and the Isthmian League, 3 leagues – 72 teams
Step 8 Multiple 6 leagues – 136 teams
Step 9 Multiple 14 leagues – 293 teams
Step 10 Multiple 17 leagues – 321 teams
Step 11 446 leagues – 5510 teams

From Step 11 to the Premiership, that would be the sporting goat of all time.