Picking a play-off final venue in London when the nearest entrants are from 110 miles away is a bad look for the National League.
It was, in many respects, a perfect advertisement for the National League. At lunchtime on the same day as the Champions League final, BT Sport’s attentions were elsewhere: on the play-off semi-final between Wrexham and Grimsby Town. Those who tuned in were treated to nine goals, including a winner two minutes from the end of extra-time, a sprinkling of stardust – if that’s your thing – in the presence of Wrexham’s owners, and eventually a defeat that will end up as a documentary in slow-motion footage with a piano playing sombrely in the background. Grimsby took a huge step towards returning to the EFL after just one season away – a surprisingly rare achievement.
But seasoned National League watchers will be fully aware of the division’s capability of reverse Midasing just about anything they come into contact with. Consider, for example, the row over its distribution of pandemic funding. There has been a considerable amount of goodwill surrounding the league this season. The surge in attendances for non-league matches has been one of the most positive stories of this campaign, especially when compared with some of the apocalyptic predictions made at the start of the pandemic. Six clubs attracted an average attendance of over 5,000, while a further six averaged more than 2,000 and only one club – Dover Athletic, who finished on one point, and they managed an average of 816 – on less than 1,000.
The top 10 National League average attendances this season
1) Wrexham 8,636
2) Stockport County 7,126
3) Notts County 6,800
4) Chesterfield 6,403
5) Southend United 5,773
6) Grimsby Town 5,568
7) Woking 2,664
8) Torquay United 2,576
9) Eastleigh 2,566
10) Yeovil Town 2,422
— Thomas Feaheny (@ThomasFeaheny) May 19, 2022
Yet the final of the play-offs, a chance to end a terrific season full of drama between two good teams which…
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