Gloucestershire Northern Senior League managers call for changes to be made surrounding the promotion play-off system following Chalford AFC’s disappointment last season.
Last season saw Ben Powell’s Chalford do the unthinkable, winning the GNSL Division One unbeaten and claimed the Reg Davis Memorial Cup with a memorable 3-2 win over Dursley Town.
Chalford won 30 games in all competitions, drawing the rest to become one of the first teams to go an entire season unbeaten.
They finished top of the GNSL, after finishing runners-up in back-to-back seasons, winning the title by a margin of 12 points, the largest gap by a team in over a decade.
Despite these achievements Powell’s side did not earn promotion to the GFA County League which sparked an uproar across the entire division.
“Maybe I’m old fashioned but if you win a league and completed the necessary ground improvements you should be promoted, your job after 28/30 games in theory is done,” Powell said.
Chalford suffered defeat against Avonmouth in a play-off fixture which saw them fail to clinch promotion.
So how exactly did Chalford miss out? Well, the County League only allows two spots for teams to be promoted from the leagues below.
Those two spots are contested by the champions of three feeder leagues which include the GNSL, Bristol & Suburban League and Bristol Premier Combination League.
The two Bristol champions face off against each other with the loser having to play another game against the GNSL champions.
In this case Avonmouth lost their fixture so faced off against Chalford in which they defeated the GNSL champions.
But this is where it goes off the rails as if the loser of the first match one (Avonmouth) beats the GNSL champions, then the GNSL side have to play the winner of match one.
If the GNSL won, this game then the promoted sides would be decided on goal difference which is another reason there is huge debates around the league.
Chalford went on to lose both of these fixtures which Powell and his side haven’t forgotten and still feel the effects now.
“Obviously we were all gutted not to go up, but we can’t let that take away from way we performed last season, it was an exceptional year and one we look back on with immense pride.
”We knew the situation with the playoffs at the start of last season, so it was no surprise to us that we had to go through them, it just left us a bit deflated once the season ended,” Powell said.
Powell is not the only manager to be concerned with the promotion path as Dursley manager, Karl Nash, and Lee Smith of Tredworth have both voiced their opinions on the matter.
“They played 35 games, won 35 out of 35, they should have a space and the other two should argue out the next space.”
“It wasn’t a shock because we know there is a play-off in place. Do we agree with it, probably not,” Nash said.
“It doesn’t faze us at all. The rules are the rules but it’s a long way away and this league is tough for sure,” Smith said.
Chalford attempted to appeal the decision but were unsuccessful in their attempts.
Powell and Nash both felt this was a mistake on the leagues behalf due to the fact that the season before, Cheltenham Civil Service were promoted automatically as a result of a pyramid change.
“ I was supportive of Cheltenham Civil Service when they went through it, and I’ll be supportive of whichever team has to go through it again this year,” Powell said.
“I know it happened the other year when Civil Service won our league and lost both play-off games, but they went up because of the pyramid change,” Nash said.
Improvements have been called over the past few seasons from clubs that have suffered similar faits.
However, this one was different because of the success Chalford had achieved over the season which saw them dubbed County League standard by many in the league.
So how would the improvements look? Powell and Nash both have their ways of improving the promotion picture which is similar to many others.
“My view is the same as many people’s views, the two teams in Bristol should be playing off against each other and the Gloucester team should go up and warrant their place,” Nash said.
“If there are three feeder leagues there should be three spots, its simple math. I think the leagues and GFA should get together and find a way to resolve this for the future.
“We’ve seen recently with Charlton Rovers dropping out of GNSL 2 how damaging it is when a group win a league and don’t get promoted. They were GNSL One Champions in 2018 with a fantastic side but didn’t go up due to facility issues and now they are a one team club in the Cheltenham League,” Powell said.
Teams will forever continue to fight for the change but how long will it take for the Gloucestershire FA to act on these enquires and change the promotion system?
