Regionalisation: How would carving up the leagues work and would it benefit Doncaster Rovers?

Step forward Fleetwood Town chairman Andy Pilley.

In a time when it has been difficult to avoid self-interest when discussing the ramifications of the crisis on the game, Pilley instead used the platform of BBC Radio 5 Live to speak in more altruistic terms.

And he highlighted that while safeguarding the integrity of competition is at the forefront of plenty of minds, the real threat to football is purely financial.

With the game shut down, clubs have little to no revenue. And with the shutdown set to rumble on indefinitely, they have no idea when income will reappear.

Furloughing staff and wage deferrals are helping the attempts of these grand old institutions to make it through the coronavirus pandemic.

But thinking the financial battle will have ended once balls are being kicked again is optimistic at best.

With overspending rife in the sport, clubs are hardly well built to handle tests of their financial mettle.

Those lucky enough to have reserves of cash will have seen them decimated, with plans for spending torn up and rewritten in more humble terms.

The ramifications of the crisis will likely be felt for years to come.

So Pilley’s suggestions of thinking outside the box certainly have merit, especially if the professional game is to remain as broad as it is currently.

The eye-catching suggestion from Pilley was the potential regionalisation of Leagues One and Two - but what would that involve?

WHAT COULD REGIONALISATION LOOK LIKE?

Clubs, of course, would be split on geographical lines - though clubs in the midlands could find themselves in either pot in the hunt for balance.

Based on the current bottom two tiers, the following would likely result from the split:

A potential ‘League One North’:

- Accrington

- Blackpool

- Bolton

- Bradford

- Burton

- Carlisle

- Crewe

- Doncaster Rovers

- Fleetwood

- Grimsby

- Lincoln City

- Macclesfield

- Mansfield

- Morecambe

- Oldham

- Peterborough

- Port Vale

- Rochdale

- Rotherham

- Salford

- Scunthorpe

- Sunderland

- Tranmere

HOW WOULD PROMOTION AND RELEGATION WORK?

The best example for this is the current set up of the National League with the North and South divisions feeding into the Premier.

Two teams are promoted from each of the regional divisions - one automatic, one via a play-off.

Options for the EFL would include increasing the number of teams promoted to the Championship from three to four to mirror the National League model - though this may run into opposition from clubs currently in the second tier.

Or the play-offs could include a grand final between a team from each regional division facing off for a place in the Championship.

Relegation would be more complicated because those coming down would need to be assigned to a region, and the two divisions would need to maintain equal numbers.

Further down the pyramid, some clubs on the borders (what would be the Midlands in this scenario) are shunted between the regions to maintain the balance.

WHY WOULD REGIONALISATION BE BENEFICIAL?

A glance as to how this would affect Doncaster Rovers suggests the reduction in travel of around 2,000 miles per season.

But the major positive factor for clubs with regionalisation would not be travelling distances, but the knock-on effects of a lengthy trip.

To avoid long hours on coaches on the day of matches, clubs will stay over the night before, which also allows the opportunity for a light training session before travelling to the ground.

With at least 19 players travelling, plus coaching and support staff, each stay costs thousands of pounds and mounts up considerably over the course of a season.

Judging a trip of more than two hours each way as one requiring an overnight stay, Rovers have 13 in the current League One set-up - five of those being borderline.

In a regionalised division featuring the current clubs in the bottom two EFL divisions, that would drop to five, with four of those being classed as borderline.

Regionalisation creates a situation where real choice will befall clubs over whether they elect to stay overnight, rather than the feeling it is a necessity with many trips in the current set-up. It would hand clubs more power over how they would spend their money.

The same too would apply to fans.

Pilley pointed out a lack of desire to travel to Gillingham from Fleetwood on a Tuesday night. The implications of this on a supporter are great with taking time off work also adding to the financial burden.

WHY WOULD REGIONALISATION BE A NEGATIVE?

There would be concerns over the damage to the ‘brand’ as a result of shifting back towards regionalisation. There is a strength to the current league structure, with football in this country able to sustain more than 100 professional clubs, all playing nationally, for more than half a century..

Would the regional structure hold as much interest for supporters, sponsors, national and international media?

There would also be concerns over the strength of competition within a regionalised structure.

While not always an absolute, the largest determining factor towards the success of clubs on average is the size of the playing budget. The rankings in Leagues One and Two are largely a reflection of this, with some obvious notable exceptions.

So regionalisation would likely create greater financial disparity within divisions - something which again could impact upon the brand.

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