When Bradford Park Avenue won the Division One North Title last season they did so by attaining 82 points out of 42 games, but it’s also worth noting that they lost 10 of those games!

The season before that Buxton ran away with the title when they amassed 101 points in a 46 game season.  It was our first season back in the Northern Premier League and it was before Division One was regionalised, and you could actually argue that it was a much tougher league to win back then.

Incidentally, Buxton lost just five games all season!

Cammell Laird were runners-up, but eventually lost in the play-off final to Eastwood Town.  Laird’s had lost just 8 games compared to Eastwood who’d lost a staggering 11 games!

Three times out of the last four seasons the runners-up have secured promotion via the play-offs, so we will be hoping that proves to be a lucky omen if that’s how it has to be!

As for championship races the final points tally has been very close in recent times.

In 2004-05 North Ferriby won the title with 83 points ahead of Ilkeston Town who were just two points behind…incidentally, they both lost 9 games a piece in a 42 game season, but were both promoted as two went up automatically before the regionalisation.

AFC Telford who finished third won the play-off final against Kendal Town.

In the 2005-06 season Mossley (78) pipped Fleetwood (76) for the title with a two point margin.  Yet again both were promoted, despite the fact that they each lost 10 games during a 42 match season.

After the heartache in the previous play-off, third placed Kendal Town beat Gresley Rovers to achieve promotion.

Last season Bradford Park Avenue (82) won the title by just one point from FC United of Manchester. (81) Bradford Park Avenue could afford to lose 10 games during their run to the championship title.

With the regionalisation of the Unibond First Division, FC United took their place in the Premier Division by beating us 4-1 at Gigg Lane

This season the title will be decided in the final week between Durham City and ourselves, and on paper at this stage you would be hard pressed to deny Durham promotion based on the fact that they lost just 3 games all season, but having drawn a staggering 12 games, that may well prove to be their Achilles’ heel.

In a balanced argument you would have to say that if we lose the title on goal difference, then our defence will have proven to be our Achilles’ heel!

Like has been said before, virtually any other season both clubs would have been promoted with their current records.

Sadly Cammell Laird have been told that they will be demoted at the end of the season regardless of their final league position as they have failed to acquire the ‘c’ grade they need to stay in the premiership.

I believe the league rules state that in such cases the best placed team in the relegation spots will replace the out going team, and as that stands it would be Witton Albion that avoid relegation, but unfortunately Prescot Cables might be assigned to the southern section… at least that’s the rumour doing the rounds at this moment in time.

Leigh Genesis and Whitby Town are the likely candidates to join the northern section, which has 21 members.  And if the rumour is correct then the theory is Prescot will join the southern section to balance the two divisions out as they currently have just 20 members. 

That said there is also a chance that Market Drayton Town could be promoted to the southern section as well as Atherstone and Chasetown, so in reality there could actually be two division with 22 teams, albeit that is deemed highly unlikely.

I was rather hoping that there would’ve been an additional promotion spot available to one of the regional divisions, and with things being equal you would have to say if that was likely then it would probably be given to the top heavy northern section of the Unibond – that of course means it would be either Durham or us.

It looks as though we’ll have to do it the hard way though which isn’t such a bad thing, as all going well we can at least say we got there on merit!

I have to say that all this could’ve been avoided if clubs like Cammell Laird were given more than one years grace to come up with the specified ground criteria.

As it stands we are currently trading with a grade ‘d’ certificate, and if we are lucky enough to gain promotion we will have to be passed fit for a grade ‘c’ before the 31^st March 2010 in order to stay in the Premier League.

We have of course made improvements which should give us the required grading, but it has to be said that the grading is somewhat draconian considering the support we receive at levels three and four.

I understand the reasons why a certain criteria has to be met.  If you’re ambitious and you want to join the elite teams then you need to be prepared in advance, but over the past few years clubs at our level and below we have been catering for clubs with a much bigger following without a problem.

In our particular case we have hosted FC United on three occasions.  Burscough & Southport in a big FA Cup Qualifying tie, and more recently FC Halifax Town, and touch wood – we’ve never had a problem, so I have to sympathise with Laird’s who’ve also hosted big games as well.