Today I'm going back just two years to 2020 and York City's visit to The Walks, the home of King's Lynn Town in a top of the table National League North (the sixth tier of the English football pyramid) clash played in front of a bumper crowd of 4,019.
I hope all you grammar Nazis took careful note of the all important apostrophe in the King's Lynn name. Apostrophes can be the bane of your life when trying to find related names in the various available search engines. I recall hearing a few years ago that the emergency services were pushing for the removal of all apostrophes from street and town names because they were losing valuable seconds when wrongly entering such names into their Satnavs. Belonging, as I do, to the lost generation who did not receive a grammatical education at school (other than in French obviously), apostrophes have always been something of a mystery to me but I now understand that the apostrophe in this case indicates possession i.e. King's Lynn means Lynn that belongs to the King. Any the wiser? No? Apparently this Norfolk town has always been known locally as Lynn and was in fact called Bishop's Lynn until 1537 when it was surrendered to King Henry VIII. Oh and nobody is entirely sure what the word Lynn refers to. Anyway, it's King's Lynn to you and don't you forget it.
Season 2019/20 was cruelly interrupted by the Covid19 pandemic. At the time this game was played we were becoming conscious of the virus but really had no appreciation as to how it was likely to impact us. Live sport is perhaps a trivial subject when compared to the wider troubles caused by the pandemic but it is an important part of our culture and, as such, anything that causes sporting activity to come to a grinding halt is something serious. Indeed the only previous time that English football had been stopped mid-season and then abandoned was in 1939 with the advent of the Second World War. Within a month of the featured game, matches in the National League North had ceased and the season was curtailed albeit incomplete. Once the decision was taken not to play out the remaining fixtures in the League, the next question was to decide on the impact for the following (brand new) season. In all Leagues below the National Leagues (essentially amateur levels of the game), the decision was taken to consider the season to be null and void (as had been the case in 1939). In all Leagues above League 1 & 2 and National Leagues (essentially top professional levels of the game), the decision was taken to play the season to a conclusion albeit behind closed doors. But in Leagues 1 & 2 and the National Leagues the decision was taken to consider the season finished on a points per game (PPG) basis with promotion and relegation decided accordingly.
In National League North, King's Lynn Town therefore finished as Champions after 32 games (out of a previously planned 42) with a PPG of 2.00. Runners-Up were York City having played 34 games and having a PPG of 1.94. Hindsight may be a wonderful thing but it is galling to realise that, had the featured match finished as a draw, it would have been York who would have been promoted on PPG and not King's Lynn. Following a shot from distance which was spilled by City's keeper Pete Jameson, the crucial goal was scored by Lynn's Adam Marriott in the 67th minute. It was his 28th and arguably most important goal of the season. Tipped for greater things, a move into the Football League did not materialise for Marriott and he found himself at Eastleigh the following season and currently plies his trade for Barnet in the National League Premier. Following their promotion, sour grapes obliges me to say that King's Lynn didn't go on to light up the National League Premier Division the following season and only avoided relegation due to the demise of Macclesfield Town and the results of Dover Athletic having been expunged (that's such a great word that you never hear outside of a football context). Happily for all York fans with a healthy disregard for King's Lynn and their bonkers Chairman Stephen Cleeve, Lynn appear set to make the return journey to National League North this season. One hopes that York won't have to meet them again next season!
CRB Match No. 2374
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