Welsh Premier League Football - Davenport talks-up the English pyramid

FORMER Bangor City boss Peter Davenport says that his ex-club, and others in the Welsh Premier, would be better-off in the English non-league system.
Writing in response to a Facebook poll, former Manchester United frontman Davenport says: "You have to look long term and for me the only way forward is the English pyramid system.
"The same old tired faces run the Welsh Premier league with not one good idea between them.
"The FAW just do not care about their national league, never talk it up, in fact they never mention it!
"They don't put any money in to maintain or improve the stadia, facilities or pitches - unfortunately, this means the Welsh Premier is a dead-end league and has no way to progress.
"As for the carrot of European football, for sure I had some great times as Bangor City manager taking a team of optimistic part-timers into Europe but let's be honest and realistic, you can be 100% certain that the European dream is finished by the end of August! The opposition are just too good."
Davenport says he firmly believes that, if Bangor had left when he suggested it eight years ago, the club would at least be near the top of the Blue Square North and knocking on the door of the Blue Square Premier League.
"There are huge teams at the top of the English non-league with good support who travel to away games and that is something the Welsh Premier, apart from Bangor and one or two other clubs, just does not have," he continued.
"Bangor have shown in the past that they can survive and compete with big English clubs so it's not as if they would be out of their depth.
"Plus, it is one step away from the possibility of playing football league against even bigger teams with even more support and thereby even greater revenue for the club. Surely thats a dream worth trying for?"
Davenport adds that none of the teams that Bangor played regularly and who have progressed since the club left the English system, such as Macclesfield, Accrington and Morecambe, have as much history or potential as City, yet they are streets ahead of them at the moment.
"The Welsh Premier and FAW response to those who want to leave is predictable scaremongering - oh, but to join the english pyramid system you will have to go into the tough and lowly North West Counties league and try to work your way through.
"My answer to that is - so what - any club will have to grin and bear it through the pyramid system but will without doubt have a lot of success as they rise through the leagues.
"AFC United, AFC Liverpool, AFC Wimbledon and even Telford are all well on the way to doing just that and the interest in them is amazing. "Bangor could do the same and so could other Welsh Premier clubs such as Rhyl.
"Let's be honest, if Bangor, Rhyl and Carmarthen all resigned from the Welsh Premier at the same time the league couldn't survive and would fall like a house of cards.
"When all is said and done, two main questions have to be asked to all club owners, administrators, sponsors and supporters - is your club playing at the highest possible level it can and is it earning the highest possible revenue it can?
"In Bangor's case the answers to both are resounding - No, it can do better!"