Mark Harris

This is where you will find all of the Non-League Football Paper’s Mark Harris news, opinion and content.

MARK HARRIS: Where will we be in a decade?

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There’s a natural tendency in Non-League to look backwards rather than forwards. Nostalgia is great, but how often do we consider what our level of the game will look line in ten or fifteen years’ time?

Mark Harris: Protect our volunteers!

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Like it or not, Non-League football is no longer a matter of kicking a ball round for 90 minutes on a Saturday afternoon. We rely on volunteers to do the jobs that enable clubs to stage matches.

Mark Harris: Success isn’t just winning

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Some see the Regulator as the game’s saviour. We don’t yet know whether the new government will follow their predecessors in restricting the Regulator’s scope to including Steps 1-2 of the NLS.

MARK HARRIS: Let’s answer those myths

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We all love a good whinge. Whether it’s about lighting the Wembley arch, stiff penalties for clubs who stick two fingers up to financial regulations, or games being called off at the last minute.

MARK HARRIS: This year’s five big issues

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What do we all do in the close season? Some eagerly await new signings, complain when the fixtures aren’t out at the same time as the Premier League (“Workington away on a Tuesday, AGAIN!”) and daydream about winning the League by Christmas.

Mark Harris

MARK HARRIS: Thinking of it laterally

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It used to be called the AGM Cup. Others have dubbed it Maps and Darts. The club allocations for next season have been out for ten days and social media is awash with puzzlement and indignation-as usual.

Mark Harris: Lateral flow is key compenent

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Allocations (AKA The AGM Cup) are a perennial feature of the Non-League calendar. It’s that time when everyone becomes an expert on the road network (“if you take the B374 after Nether Whopping it’ll save 20 minutes”) and conspiracy theories abound.

MARK HARRIS: Volunteers are priceless

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Amidst all the mis-guided optimism around the Crouch Review, the biggest challenge facing Non-League football barely warranted a mention. Namely the reliance of NLS clubs on volunteers to perform every task bar playing and management, up to and including the boardroom.

Mark Harris: Stream of tears

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If, as seems likely, Article 48 remains in place, clubs must either bring forward or put back Saturday kick-off times (NPL clubs can do so by agreement with the visiting team and league).

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