In some ways the drop that clubs fear most is that from League 2 to the Blue Square Premiership. Half of the clubs in the Conference this season had been Football League clubs at some point in their history. Luton were once in the top flight and Grimsby Town and Stockport County were in the second tier. There are only two promotion places out of the division, as distinct from four from League 2, and one of those is decided by play offs.
In some ways the drop that clubs fear most is that from League 2 to the Blue Square Premiership. Half of the clubs in the Conference this season had been Football League clubs at some point in their history. Luton were once in the top flight and Grimsby Town and Stockport County were in the second tier. There are only two promotion places out of the division, as distinct from four from League 2, and one of those is decided by play offs.
Relegation to the Conference can cost around £600,000 in lost revenue. Sometimes wage costs can be difficult to cut immediately. Lincoln found that their three remaining contracted players took up 60 per cent of the playing budget following relegation in 2011.
Macclesfield Town enjoyed 15 years in the Football League before relegation this year. Not far from Manchester, in a relatively affluent area, the Silkmen have always struggled with tiny crowds and one of the smallest budgets in the League.
However, chairman Mike Rance thinks that their lean and mean operation will help them to bounce back. He argues that a small organisation is easier to re-engineer. The wage structure has always been tight.
The other relegated club, Hereford United, have something of a revolving door reputation. This is not so surprising given that the difference in playing standards between, say, the bottom eight clubs in League 2 and the top eight in the Conference is probably not great. There is a big gap between the top teams in League 2 and those struggling in the Conference.
Bulls chairman David Keyte is not too confident of a quick return. It took them nearly a decade to get back last time. However, there will be some attractive relatively local matches with the likes of Forest Green Rovers, Kidderminster Harriers and Newport County.