On October 20^th the Toolstation Western League announced that they had received an email from the Chairman of Bitton AFC, John Langdon, stating that the Club have resigned from the League with immediate effect. A day later Bitton issued a statement on their website explaining that the decision had “been taken with a heavy heart but in the interest of the whole club and its future sustainability”. The statement went on to highlight the “long arduous journeys” which have “proved to be financially one step too far for the club”. Yet this was a Club that only two years ago was playing in the semi-final of the FA Vase, so was this a decision brought about by economic pressures outside or inside the Football Club?

An article in The Non League Paper, published on October 23rd, highlighted John Langdon’s criticism of the “shift in Western League Premier Division’s geographical patch following the National League System restructure in 2021”. The article went on to suggest that this had increased Bitton’s travel bill by £8000. Yet in the same year as the restructuring Bitton were announcing the signing of players like Sam Hillson from Cornish side Bodmin Town and Adam Carter from Devon side, Bideford.

On the pitch Bitton have long harboured aspirations to play Southern League football, regularly mentioned as early season promotion contenders, despite their form consistently tailing off in recent seasons. Two changes of manger this season have done nothing to improve the clubs results, quite the opposite and 13 games into this Western League season John Langdon decided to pull the plug on the First Team, whilst the Reserves, Women’s and Juniors sides are reportedly set to continue.

So what went wrong at Bitton? The outspoken Chairman has cited the restructuring and its impact on the cost of travel and he has a point. To play at clubs in Devon and Cornwall, Bitton have spent this season and last driving past Roman Glass St George, Hallen and Cribbs, all Western League Clubs moved into the Hellenic League by the FA. Why were Clubs to the west of Bristol, with better access to the M5, moved out of the Western League while Clubs to the east were left to contemplate round trips approaching 400 miles in a single day?

The cost implications of the increased travel distances in the Western League Premier Division prompted Odd Down and Brislington to opt for voluntary relegation, a fact not lost on the Bitton hierarchy. However, the Western League have been working with the Football Association and the South West Peninsula League to devise a more sustainable structure for Clubs at Step 5 of the National League System. Project South West was intended to benefit Clubs like Bitton, making their resignation from the League in October all the more challenging.

A less charitable view is that Bitton, like so many non league clubs before them, have been found guilty of living beyond their means. The cost of living crisis, the cost of fuel and the decline in male players wanting to commit to Saturday afternoon football, have all conspired to call time on a Club that under the management of Dan Langdon, the Chairmans son, made no secret of their ambition for promotion.

Was the writing on the wall for Bitton last season? An article in the Bristol Post in February, quoted Dan Langdon, the then manager, as wanting to “take a different approach” with the squad having seen their latest title push fizzle out. In an augur of what was to come only eight months later Langdon said in the piece that, “a total rebuild is needed and we’re making everyone, not least our supporters, aware that things are likely to become more challenging before they get better”.

Dan Langdon stepped down after seven years at the Club in May, with Rob Sage and Ollie Porter taking over management of the First Team. With the Club rooted to foot of the Western League Premier Division table, experienced manager, Wayne Thorne was brought in to steady the ship, achieving the Clubs first win of the season at Welton Rovers on October 11th. Yet that victory proved scant consolation to the new manager, players and supporters who only nine days later would be reading that their stay in the Western League had come to a premature end.

Bitton say they will now reflect and decide on their options going forward, but their decision to withdraw from this season is not without consequence. Goals have been removed, points lost and the league table redrawn. Yet the implications are far wider than simple mathematics. Neither the Western league nor the FA will want to see Bitton’s mid-season resignation embolden other beleaguered Club Chairman into thinking this is a legitimate option for addressing an ailing season.

Simon Parkinson’s excellent article about the demise of Bitton on the Bristol Live website, speculates whether the Club will “re-emerge as a Toolstation Division One competitor next season, or from further down the non-League chain as Winterbourne and Gillingham did”. The reference to these two Clubs reflects the fact that they too had resigned from the Western League in recent season. Yet these were orderly transitions, conducted in the proper process. By comparison Bitton’s announcement resembled all the spontaneity of a Tory leadership contest.

How footballs authorities act next will send a message throughout the non-league game about how Clubs are run, financed and their obligations to the Leagues and Clubs that make up the National League System. Scrutiny of Bitton’s plight might also provide welcome succour to a Club that has become the focus of intense conjecture, vindicating the tenure of the Langdon’s that promised so much, but ultimately achieved the first teams demise, rather than its promotion.

Could things have been done differently? Should Bitton have opted for voluntary relegation or resigned from the League last season? What role did the FA’s restructuring really play in Bitton’s plight and how many other Clubs have been taken to the cliff edge by the cost of living crisis? Perhaps we’ll never know where the blame truly lies, but lessons must be learnt from any Club that fails to complete a season in this way.