In October 2020 our 17 year old son was named in the squad for Burnham Ramblers’ senior team for the third time, which is how I ended up on the touchline at Burnham-on-Crouch finding out what Step 6 of non-league football actually means.
What is Step 6?
Step 6 is the 10th tier of English football, which is NINE promotions away from the Premier League. Tiers 1 to 4 are the Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two. After that it’s non-league, and the “steps” count from the top – the National League is Step 1 (tier 5), then the National League North and South at Step 2, and so on down to Step 6 at tier 10.
Burnham Ramblers were in the Thurlow Nunn League First Division South when we went, which is now usually just called the Eastern Counties League. Their ground is Leslie Field.
A Saturday at a Step 6 ground
It was a home game against May & Baker on 24 October 2020. Getting in cost £7, a programme was £2.50, and there were about 50 people there. No Covid restrictions thankfully. The standard of play exceeded expectations – fast and physical. The final score was a home win, 3-1.
The dream
The night before, I dreamt Burnham won 4-0, our son came on as a sub with 15 minutes to go and scored, and then I got called on with 5 minutes left and got the last goal. I was wearing a Burnham kit with the number 19 on my back (he was number 13) and I had no idea I was in the squad. My goal was a classic – I was standing about a foot from the goal line, the ball hit my shin and went in. Nobody ran over to celebrate with me because they weren’t sure what I was doing on the pitch.
Quick answers
What level is Step 6? Tier 10 of English football.
What league is it? For Burnham Ramblers, the Eastern Counties League Division One South.
I looked for the report in the Daily Mail afterwards. It wasn’t there!