What question has the answer 119.40 or 120.57?

By Nathan Jackson
May 15 2011

With 23 of the 24 Blue Square Premier teams decided for next season, we take a look at the distances and times it takes to get to all of our non-league rivals. Despite the remaining team to be undecided, we know that on average it will be less than 2 and a half hours to travel to an away game on average.

DISTANCES
TEAM	MILES	TIME (MINS)
AFC Telford	117	151
AFC Wimbledon	148	194
Alfreton Town	43.6	75
Barrow	199	229
Bath City	191	223
Braintree Town	136	157
Cambridge United	96.6	117
Darlington	121	141
Ebbsfleet	155	179
Fleetwood	154	178
Forest Green Rovers	162	191
Gateshead	153	173
Grimsby Town	48	67
Hayes and Yeading	158	181
Kettering Town	71.9	100
Kidderminster Harriers	109	152
Luton Town	121	144
Mansfield Town	35.7	63
Newport County	193	216
Rushden and Diamonds	89	111
Stockport County	93.6	127
Tamworth	73	108
Wrexham	142	175
York City	83.8	109

Normally I would post this after the Playoff results have been decided and we have confirmation of all of our 23 opponents, but I will actually be at the Blue Square Premier Playoff Final and won't have access to the internet at the time.

With Luton and Wimbledon being relatively close in terms of geography, the distances and times aren't too dissimilar, but either way the average trip to an away game will be within 121 miles and will take less than two and a half hours.

Lincoln have also just come out of a division where most trips were more than 150 miles away, but in the Blue Square Premier, only seven trips will last more than 150 miles and there are nine within 100 miles, one of the few consolations about being relegated.

On the right you can see a table of all the distances and times to each of our opponents, the 22 we have confirmed and the two Playoff Finalists. There are plenty of familiar teams in there. If Luton stay down then 10 of City's 23 opponents will have been relegated from the Football League in the last ten years, whereas City have faced Telford and Kettering in the FA Cup in recent years.

Also in there are several teams who have risen up the non-league structure in recent years, with Fleetwood being the obvious example. In 2007/8 then visited Lincoln United in the Unibond Premier Division and won 3-0, Lincoln United were relegated because of that result and Fleetwood won promotion a few weeks later, eventually going up with now fellow Conference side Gateshead. It seems almost strange seeing to think that in 2007/8 I saw two teams facing Lincoln United in the League that we are now going to be facing ourselves.