Taking a quick glance at the bottom section of non-league's top division it looks like the relegation places have been decided as there in a nine point gap between Weymouth in 21st and Maidenhead United currently in 20th but with The Terras having 51 points to play for and Kings Lynn Town in 22nd having 54 points everyone connected with the clubs will think all is not lost just yet!
For Dover Athletic who started the season on -12 and now find themselves on -5 which is 22 points from safety I think even the most ardent of their supporters will know the writing is on the wall for them spending the 22/23 campaign in the Vanarama South.
Their loyal fans did have something to celebrate recently when on Tuesday 25th January they won 1-0 at home to Eastleigh which was their first league win since Tuesday 26th January 2021 when they beat Barnet 3-1. Had they not won it would of been a full calendar year without a league win! Just 486 supporters were at The Crabble to see the game.
Former Eastbourne Borough, Hemel Hempstead and Salisbury City manager replaced Ian Culverhouse in the hot seat at The Walks in December. Since he has come in The Linnets have won two, drawn one and lost six of their nine league games played - Their defeat at home to Altrincham (17th) by 0-1 on Saturday would of been a real blow for them.
Widdrington wasn't on the touchline on Saturday as he was serving the first of a four match touchline ban after he was charged by the Football Association following an incident in their recent game with Southend United. He will also miss games against Woking, Bromley and a massive game away to Barnet on Tuesday 22nd February.
Weymouth are also under new management - David Oldfield moved from Vanarama South side Oxford City on the 18th January replacing Brian Stock who left after a run of seven consecutive league defeats.
Things have improved under Oldfield with three draws and three defeats in six league games. One of the defeats was a 3-0 loss at Kings Lynn Town which didn't help their cause but draws against title challenger's Boreham Wood and Chesterfield as well as Yeovil Town have given their fans some hope. Saturday's 1-1 draw against The Spireites saw Ahkeem Rose scored the equalise in the 98th minute. It was the Jamaican striker's first goal for the club in 11 appearances this season - He joined for Dover Athletic last summer and spent the 18/19 and 19/20 seasons in League Two with Grimsby Town. He has recently returned to Weymouth after a short loan spell with Wimborne Town in the Southern League Premier South.
Tomorrow evening's game at home to Eastleigh is massive for Weymouth. The Spitfires are without a win in six league games but have drawn their last two after four defeats in a row. They are currently under the interim management of Jason Bristow following Ben Streven's departure in January.
Maidenhead United were looking likely to be involved in the relegation fight but since Christmas they have picked up 12 points from 21 on offer which has lead the the nine point safety gap they now have.
For Barnet it's been another season to forget. Had there been relegation in 20/21 The Bees would of been playing Step Two football for this season as they finished third from bottom. Things have got a little better for them on the pitch this season - they have won 8 league games so far which is the total amount they won in last season's 42 games but a 1-3 home defeat to local rival's Wealdstone didn't help on Saturday following a 1-6 heavy defeat to Notts County in the midweek previous.
In 2022 they have picked up draws against Boreham Wood and Altrincham along with a win over Aldershot Town but have suffered defeats to Chesterfield (1-4), Stockport County (0-5), Southend United (1-2), Notts County (1-6) and Wealdstone (1-3). Dean Brennan's side do have a chance to get to a final this midweek as they travel to play Isthmian League South-Central Division side Northwood in the Middlesex Senior Cup Semi-Final on Tuesday before a league trip to Torquay United next weekend.
One team who looked almost certain to be involved in a relegation fight was Southend United but they are now looking upwards towards what would be a very unexpected play-off place. Since Kevin Maher, Mark Bentley and former Barnet manager Darren Currie replaced Phil Brown in the middle of October things have improved for the Essex side.
It did take a few games to get going but since Christmas The Shrimpers have won 7 and drawn 2 of their 9 league games played and now find themselves just 8 points off of the play-off places.
When they took over Southend United had just 2 wins from 10 games - they now have 11 from 27. An amazing turn around of form.
Matthew Dennis, 19, who has joined on loan from Premier League Norwich City has been in fantastic scoring form for them. The former Arsenal academy player has netted 6 times in their current unbeaten run.
A season's best crowd of 8,070 saw their recent 2-0 defeat of Bromley at Roots Hall and they could beat this figure with the visit of Grimsby Town this Friday evening.
Boreham Wood (5th) have 4 games in hand over their title rivals following their history making Emirates FA Cup run and could overtake both of them if they win those games. Their Fifth Round game live on TV at Everton in sandwiched between league games versus Eastleigh and Dagenham & Redbridge. For a club who were played at Step Four of the non-league ladder as recently as the 2005/06 season it's certainly a grand achievement especially with all the ex football league teams in the division and the huge crowds they attract. Don't forget Boreham Wood have recently gone close to getting into the football league losing to Tranmere Rovers in the 2018 play-off final and losing to Harrogate Town in the 2020 play-off semi-finals.
I think many people thought they may drop down the division this season when they sold their striker Kabongo Tshimanga to Chesterfield in the summer.
Unfortunately for Chesterfield their top scoring striker was stretched off with a serious leg injury in Saturday's game at Weymouth and looks set to be out of the game for a extended period of time. I send him my best wishes as I'm sure all football fans do.
The game between Stockport County and Chesterfield last midweek saw a crowd of 10,236 cram into Edgeley Park to see the home side come back from 0-2 down at half-time to rescue an all important point in a thrilling 2-2 draw.
This isn't the biggest crowd in non-league's top division this season as 12,843 saw Notts County v Solihull Moors at Meadow Lane in November.
Six clubs all have average league attendances over 5,000 being Southend United, Grimsby Town, Wrexham, Notts County, Stockport County and Chesterfield.
I think there is now a massive case for three up and three down between The Vanarama National League and League Two. Two should go up automatically and then one from the play-offs.
Incredibly Boreham Wood who have the lowest average attendance currently at 891 could win the league!
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