Unofficial Halesowen Town FC Forum

I appreciate that this thread doesn't normally come about until June, and there are a few people on the forum who won't thank me for raising this, but I have been contemplating whether a move to the Southern League might work better for us next season.

When you take a look at the top of the NPL, there are some big old teams fighting it out at the top. Salford, Blyth, Workington, Darlo, to name a few- at least two of which will be around next season. Top spots in the Southern are currently Poole, Chips 'n' Ham, Weymouth and Redditch.

Now maybe I'm being a bit disingenuous, but I genuinely don't see the same level of competition, and I'm starting to think we'd fare better back in the South. Plus- in the cups, you'll see the more NPL teams going a lot further.

I know John wanted the North this year, and I was inclined to agree with him at the time, but I'm starting to feel the Yeltz would be stronger in the Southern. Anyone else thought about this at all? Would a change work for the better?

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... edit#gid=0

This is normally very accurate. But I know what you are saying.

piearce9 wrote:Now maybe I'm being a bit disingenuous, but I genuinely don't see the same level of competition, and I'm starting to think we'd fare better back in the South. Plus- in the cups, you'll see the more NPL teams going a lot further.

I know John wanted the North this year, and I was inclined to agree with him at the time, but I'm starting to feel the Yeltz would be stronger in the Southern. Anyone else thought about this at all? Would a change work for the better?

I have always favoured the South. It's generally much easier to get to places than going up the M6 or M1. Also it could be easier to attract players in this league.

I know what you mean about the top clubs at the moment, with NPL ones being better than the equivalent SPL sides, but I think the depth of the Southern Premier is very similar to the NPL and won't be much easier to get out of.

With the possibility of teams like Telford, Hednesford, and FC United getting relegated it would be a shame to end up going south as these would be good earners for the club. The crowds in the Northern are generally better and I'd also miss some of the cracking away trips to the likes of Marine, Whitby, Colwyn Bay and Ramsbottom.
That said, whether a move south would suit us better i guess it remains to be seen, especially as we'd be the new guys again not knowing much about teams (I guess they'd know little about us too). I've got mixed feelings really, the Northern is a tough league with some brutal trips to the likes of Blyth and Workington, but I can't imagine a trip to Weymouth in January or on the bank holiday weekend in January would be much joy either. It'll be interesting to see how it pans out.