''It's The End Of The World As We Know It [And I Feel Fine]''

‘’It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I feel Fine)’’

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Those of you who like the band R.E.M. will be familiar with the song ‘’It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)’’, which was on 1987’s ‘’Document’’ album. The record appeared around the time a team was first relegated from the Fourth Division [now League Two] of English soccer to the Conference [now National League]. The decades-old order of the bottom four in the basement division applying to be [and generally being] re-elected had been cast aside in favour of a fairer system of allowing new blood infuse into the Football League, as Scarborough came in at the expense of Lincoln City [who subsequently returned at the first time of asking].

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The R.E.M. song of course wasn’t anything to do with the change in the league structure, or even football. But it had a resonance that could be applied to the change. Progress can’t be stopped. Once you got over the fear that you could now be relegated to the Conference if you finished bottom, you could console yourself with the realisation that your team only needed to finish better than one other side to beat the drop [well, until 2002-03, when the second promotion / relegation spot between the divisions was introduced].

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The fate that befell Lincoln City in 1987 and many teams since has visited my club Rochdale this term. Having finished bottom of the entire Football League in 2022-23, relegation to non-league after 102 years in the Football League was confirmed with a few games to spare.

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It has been a long time since Rochdale finished bottom of the Football League [1979-80 to be exact, which is so long ago that Margaret Thatcher had only just come to power]. The club did have to subsequently apply for re-election in 1981-82 and 1983-84 but the years after the introduction of automatic relegation to the Conference generally saw the club on an upward curve, culminating in the 2010 promotion out of the fourth tier after a 36-year stay. All that is immaterial now.

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You could easily fill an entire National League with long-standing members who have been relegated from the Football League to the fifth-tier in in the intervening years since 1987. Lincoln City, Darlington, Colchester United, Halifax Town, Hereford United, Doncaster Rovers, Chester City, Exeter City, Shrewsbury Town, York City, Carlisle United, Cambridge United, Oxford United, Torquay United, Mansfield Town, Wrexham, Luton Town, Newport County, Grimsby Town, Stockport County, Bristol Rovers, Tranmere Rovers, Hartlepool United, Leyton Orient, Chesterfield, Notts County, Southend United, Scunthorpe United, Oldham Athletic.

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From the above list Luton Town, Grimsby Town, Notts County, Oldham Athletic, Oxford United and Carlisle United were once top-flight sides. Notts County versus Oldham Athletic, a National League tie in 2022-23, was a Premier League tie in 1992-93. Current top-flight side Brighton and Championship winners Burnley came within a whisker of slipping into non-league back in the 1980’s and 1990’s [Burnley survived by a point in 1986-87, Brighton on goal difference in 1996-97].

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Many clubs have climbed back into the Football League over the years, some more than once [Lincoln City and Barnet come to mind], although a few have fallen further [York City, Torquay United and Stockport County, for example] before bottoming out and starting to climb back.

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Will Rochdale bounce straight back? Lincoln City [as I’ve already mentioned] did so in 1988, as did Darlington in 1990, Bristol Rovers in 2015, Cheltenham Town in 2016 and Grimsby Town in 2022. But this is highly unlikely. A good first season out of the Football League would be one of stabilising in the fifth tier and not falling further, as happened to Scunthorpe United this term [four go down to the sixth tier parallel leagues, which is a big trapdoor].

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The play-off system in the National League is generous; finish anywhere between second and seventh and you’re in them [Grimsby’s promotion in 2022 from a sixth-place league position is the furthest-down a promotion has come from]. And it’s surely only a matter of time before a third promotion / relegation spot is introduced between League Two and the National League, or even a four-up-four-down system that mimics the traffic between League Two and League One.

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Membership of the National League, while not exactly something we would have chosen, is certainly nothing to be ashamed of. Yes, we’ve been 102 years in the Football League. But we’ve always been in the third or fourth tiers of English soccer so the fifth tier hardly represents falling off a cliff; it’s just one rung down. The National League is League Three in all but name.

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I suppose putting all of the above together is why I feel fine, even though it is the end of the world as we know it. To quote another song, I don’t fear the reaper [‘’(Don’t Fear) The Reaper’’ by Blue Oyster Cult is a song most people have heard, even if it’s the only one by the band that you have heard!]. There is a new reality to be adjusted to, but one we can stabilise at and rebuild from, even if it is to be for a protracted time [Wrexham, who are going up this term, have been in the fifth tier for 15 years and were the longest-serving team in the fifth tier].

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There’s a life lesson from all of this. One that can be applied to work life or just life in general. Things change. Things end and lead to new beginnings. Negatives can be viewed from a positive perspective. A new chapter is beginning, a new adventure. ?