In a normal football season, the only difference between finishing in 13th or 14th position is the exact degree of mid-table obscurity.

For UniBond League Division One side Guiseley AFC one place in the league table come the end of the season is all that stands between a lucrative promotion and a season of empty terraces and trips to Northern Counties East League minnows.

The long-awaited restructuring of the non-league pyramid system is to come into effect in time for next season but widespread bemusement about the complicated criteria for entry into the new leagues is the talk of the terraces across the country.

Guiseley are currently one position adrift of the 13th and final spot in the league table which would earn them promotion to the new UniBond Premier Division.

The Guiseley Club Chairman Phil Rogerson is acutely aware of what is at stake.

He said: "The bottom third of the First Division of course have to be joined by two thirds of the Northern Counties set-up, and I really don't want us to be in that!

"As always, we're going to be aiming for a top six position."

However, another season of under-achievement could lead to a drastically reduced income for his cash-strapped club.

The main change to the pyramid is the creation of a Conference North and Conference South which will be the first step below the Nationwide Conference

These will be made up of the top 13 teams from the three current feeder leagues; the UniBond Premier Division for teams in the north, the Dr Marten's Premier Division covering the midlands, and the Ryman Premier Division for southern clubs.

The remaining teams in these leagues who do not make the cut will be joined by the top 13 clubs from the division or divisions directly below them, and effectively be demoted one more step lower down the national football leagues.

Guiseley were relegated from the UniBond Premier League in 2001 but these changes mean they only need to finish in the top 13 to face some of their former opponents again.

Rogerson is confident that the changes will freshen up non-league football, and said:

"In the first season there will be more interest from the media, and because of the geographical situation there will be lots of new clubs for everyone to play.

"It also appears to be quite good for derbies - we will probably double or triple the number of local teams we can play."

As things currently stand, they could be lining up against local rivals Wakefield & Emley, Bradford Park Avenue and Frickley Athletic.

He admits though that he is uncertain as to exactly how the new season will pan out, and is unsure whether such wholesale changes were necessary

"The original scheme was to leave the northern system alone. That's what we voted for but they wrote to all the Premier Division clubs saying what they wanted to do.

"There was no chance anyone would have defected, so we had to quickly fall in line with the plans because the Conference were going to do it anyway so we didn't want to be left out.

"It was probably driven by clubs in the south in particular. The business with teams in the south east and south west being in the same leagues meant clubs in the east were going past grounds in London on their way to play in Dorset. It was ridiculous."

Financial considerations are paramount even at non-league level but by reducing the three feeder channels to just two, the increased travel costs, and the lower numbers of away fans prepared to travel the further distances, could prove financially damaging to the smaller clubs.

Rogerson admits: "I still feel there was a scheme with three leagues feeding into the Conference which might have been better but the thinking is that the play-off system for promotion will keep interest going longer.

"At present, if you are mid-table and you go out of the cups, crowds wane and there's less money coming in through the turnstiles at the end of the day."

It is ironic that it is the clubs who are struggling both on and off the pitch who have most to lose from the changes.

The most successful clubs will be able to reap the benefits of restructuring, while those outside the lucky 13 will be in a more perilous position than ever before.

GUISELEY AFC manager Neil Parsley feels that there has been a lot of confusion about the number of clubs to be promoted from UniBond Division One.

"Various figures have been bandied about from ten to 14. Our aim is to finish as high as we can and then there can be no doubt. However, I will feel sorry for anyone who just misses out as the figures seem to have been changed all the time."

He added: "It seems that the Conference are dictating what happens in the lower leagues but my only reservation is that we did not seem to have enough information before the current campaign started. Everything seemed to be rushed through and it has left people not knowing what to believe.

"No one really seems to know what the cut off will be and it has left everyone in a bit of a quandary."

Parsley also feels that for the clubs left in UniBond Division One it will be a little unfair,

"They will be joined by clubs from Northern Counties East and North West Counties and as I understand it only five of them meet the ground criteria.

"We only just scrape into the criteria ourselves but I feel sorry for clubs at the lower levels. They just don't have the funds to suddenly improve their facilities to UniBond level.

"The clubs left behind from UniBond One will surely end up playing at sub standard facilities and that is no fault of the clubs coming up."I just feel that all this was rushed through and not enough time given to it."

UNIBOND League Secretary Phil Bradley stemmed some of the rumours this week regarding the number of clubs to be promoted. He confirmed that the number of clubs to be promoted from UniBond Division One to the Premier Division under the restructuring at the end of the season would be 13.

Bradley said that he felt that the impending re-organisation of the leagues had added great interest to the second half of the current UniBond League campaign.

"Everyone is battling like mad for those top 13 promotion places and things have certainly livened up."

Bradley said that he felt that the restructuring had to be good because it was what the clubs wanted.

"This is what they wanted and what they voted for. The league is only there to serve the clubs, we follow their wishes," he said.