Three-up three-down debate goes on for Football League promotion (From Worcester News)

Three-up three-down debate goes on for Football League promotion

8:40am Saturday 16th March 2013 in Sport By Steve Carley, @stevecarleyWN

INCREASING the am-ount of teams promoted from the Blue Square Bet Premier from two to three has long been an issue for debate.

Should the top tier of the non-league pyramid be granted an extra spot, and therefore one more team relegated from League Two, or is the situation enough?

The subject has once again come to the fore as the season reaches its climax with the Football Conference having asked for a future increase.

It would see two teams promoted automatically with the sides in third to sixth playing off for the third spot.

For a club like Kidderminster Harriers, who have finished sixth in the past two seasons, that would be good news.

But given that the decision on an extra place will be made by League Two clubs, it seems unlikely that the proposal will find favour any time soon.

In any case, Steve Burr’s second-placed side are aiming to avoid that agony this term by taking a further step towards promotion when they host Tamworth today (3pm).

“It would mean three down from the Football League and turkeys don’t vote for Christmas,“ said Football Conference general manager Dennis Strudwick.

“It won’t happen overnight. So it’s probably a dripping tap campaign. It’s a campaign that we carefully need to manage.”