Notts County, the founderest founding member of the Football League in 1888, were relegated out of it on Saturday, and will spend next season playing in the National League.
The Magpies, 157, finished in the play-off positions in season 2017/18, but showed what a waste of time it would have been had they been promoted in May 2018, because a side who can't survive in League Two, can hardly expect to do so in League One.
Even a blind man can see that!
County play their home games at Meadow Lane, a quaint little ground which is in a narrow lane next to a meadow, as its name suggests. Supporters of the club wept openly after their side's tragic 3-1 defeat at Swindon Town on Saturday, fearing they might never return to the dizzy heights of League Two, where they were regularly trounced by the likes of Newport County, Cheltenham Town, Grimsby, and Crewe Alexandra.
They will be buoyed, however, by the past performances of other teams, who having dropped out of the league, have come bouncing back even stronger after a reality check in the doldrums.
Manager Neil Ardley lied:
"The players gave it their all. This was a strong division, and being relegated from it into non-league is no disgrace, no disgrace at all."
