The face of non league football is most certainly changing with last week seeing the final nails hammered home in the Chester City and Farsley Celtic coffins.

The face of non league football is most certainly changing with last week seeing the final nails hammered home in the Chester City and Farsley Celtic coffins. This season will go down when finally the money problems that we have all encountered one way or the other recently catch up with our football clubs and the people that run them finishing our Saturday afternoon entertainment at least for a time. Just like us there is already talk of both of these clubs being reformed and getting under way again come August at lower levels. The usual 'we wont be making the same mistakes again' noises are already being made and you just hope [and at Lynn here as well] that these statements are true. Far, far too many clubs have thrown silly amounts of money at players in the hope that they will bring home the bacon and achieve what we are all after - success. More often than not it doesn't happen but of course these guys will still want paying - regardless as to being top or bot tom of the league. I saw the debt at Farsley was in the region of �750,000 which in itself is a staggering amount of money. I went there in our conference north days and its fair to say that its a pretty modest set up to say the least at Farsley. How a club could end up with a debt that big beggars belief. Over at Chester there problems have accumulated over the years and it came as no real surprise when finally they went over the edge. You cannot live on sentiment and being unable to fulfil league fixtures turned out to be the final straw.

Here at Lynn we have also learnt the lesson the hard way this year. No football in the town for the first time in so many years is difficult to accept and take. One of the tasks King's Lynn Town will face when they run back out onto the Walks turf this August is to win back that great fan base that was in evidence over the past few seasons. It will not be easy - the fair on the plate will not be as appealing as before. It can be hoped that the team that will be put together - from scratch will hit the floor running. This will be no easy task as we saw with Carl Heggs team last August. Patience will be a key word not only for this next season but for several after that too. The silly money has gone, the reality begins very shortly when we find out where will be visiting next season - Durham no, Dereham maybe.

Finally whilst mentioning Durham well done to them for finally winning their first league game last weekend.

Take care, Mark