The 2021-22 National League season gets underway on the 21st of August this year and despite the problems of 20-21 only Dover Athletic will be starting on negative points. Grimsby Town and Southend United were relegated last season but there was no relegation from the division and it will have 23 teams as Macclesfield Town sadly folded. They are back this year but not at this level.
National League Winners
Stockport County is our tip. They went close last year losing in the playoff semi-final to eventual winners Hartlepool after finishing 3rd. They appointed Simon Rusk as manager in January and he let them to 14 wins & 10 draws in his 28 games. He has spent the summer overhauling the squad and has added some intriguing signings including England Youth International Will Fish from Manchester United.
Playoff Contenders
Under the current format, six teams make the playoffs, this keeps the interest alive pretty much to the final games which is no bad thing for teams who are reliant on gate receipts. Wrexham who counts Hollywood A-lister Ryan Reynolds amongst their owners is an obvious choice to finally bounce back. This will be their 14th season out of the league and if money is made available they should be in the hunt.
Ryan Reynolds Hollywood A-Lister and Wrexham owner. Image: Featureflash Photo Agency/Shutterstock.com
Notts County also appears to be looking to go one better having fallen at the semi-final stage last year. They have acquired some good players from divisional rivals Chesterfield & Torquay United and are our tip for the second promotion place.
Newly relegated Grimsby should be competitive as should last season’s beaten playoff finalists Torquay. Both were long term football league stalwarts and with good fan bases should be hard to beat at home.
Further, we have heard good things about Dagenham & Redbridge who have been out of the league since 2015-16. They have kept most of last seasons squad together and they should benefit from the return of Sam Ling. They could be the season’s surprise team.
How will the relegated Teams fare?
Grimsby Town will be expecting a quick return, however, as they have found in the past this is a hard division to bounce straight back from. In their previous spell here it took six seasons to regain their league status and they might just miss out this year.
This brings us on to Southend, who are hard to fathom. They almost pulled off the immaculate escape last year but a lot of that squad is now gone and has been replaced by experienced but older players. They might need this season to adjust before pushing for a league place again.
National League Relegation candidates
Dover Athletic are obvious candidates, starting on -12 points. The squad is hardly recognisable from last year and the new faces will need time to settle in. Kings Lynn has done well getting to this level and only stayed up due to a reprieve last season.
Only Three teams are going down this year due to Macclesfield’s situation and we think it is two from Wealdstone, Weymouth or Woking.
National League Final Table Prediction
1. Stockport County
2. Wrexham
3. Notts County
4. Grimsby Town
5. Torquay United
6. Dagenham & Redbridge
7. Solihull Moors
8. Chesterfield
9. Southend
10. Bromley
11. Boreham Wood
12. Eastleigh
13. Halifax
14. Yeovil Town
15. Aldershot
16. Maidenhead
17. Barnet
18. Altrincham
19. Wealdstone
20. Woking
21. Weymouth
22. King’s Lynn
23. Dover Athletic
Playoff Final Notts County (promoted) Vs Dagenham & Redbridge
So there we have it, our predictions for the National League in 2021-22. Why not check out our most recent National League posts while you are here, or have a go at one of our growing bank of Football Quizzes.
