How do clubs cope being thrown between the northern and southern divisions, and is there a huge difference between the two regions at the same step?
Manchester or London, rugby Union or League, jellied eels or a chicken parmo?
The north and south are clearly divided. And no more so than in football, surely?
Well no, actually. Not if you fall foul of non-league football's strange take on geography.
Even players make comparisons between the two regions, with Corby Town goalkeeper Aidan Grant believing that players are willing to play at a lower level in the north of England to prevent long-distance travelling.
Oxford City are certainly one of the clubs that fall to the Football Association's bizarre geography.
The Nomads are a club at Step 2 of the non-league pyramid, and despite being based just 50 miles from London, they have played in both the National League North and the South.
Oxford's less prestigious side won promotion from the Southern Premier League in 2012, but were immediately in the then named Conference North.
Instead of being put in the Southern section, where they could have expected short trips to Maidenhead United and Farnborough, they were facing journeys to places like Workington and Harrogate, 600-mile and 400 mile return trips respectively.
A huge rise in travel costs, as well as having to convince players to join them on their journeys was a challenge in itself.
But, also knowing that they can be moved across to the the Southern section caused City an issue in recruitment and budgeting.
Although they are playing their first season in the National League South, Matthew Bruce of the Oxford Mail believes that the uncertainty of knowing which league they would be playing the following season was a serious issue.
He said: "It made it difficult for them to play long term for player requirement because they didn't know what league they’d be in the next season.
“When they were in the North, players were based north of Oxford, they’d stop and pick up players in the Birmingham area, which worked while they were in the North.
“When they went to the South, they had to change that, and they now have an entirely different pool of players. Players are now based in Hertfordshire or the edge of London.
“It was difficult because they thought they’d stay in the North, but there were changes in teams that pulled out of the league, and all the preparation they did in scouting players went out the window.
“The team they put together for their first season in the South was quite drastically different to the one before."
Oxford City are not alone.
Corby Town goalkeeper Aidan Grant who played in the Northern Premier Division this season, despite being based near Northampton, believes that players are willing to play at a lower level to stick to local travelling, rather than commuting further in a regionalised division that is further up the non-league pyramid.
The 22-year-old said: "Personally, I think there is a better calibre of player in the Ebac Northern League than what there is in the southern leagues.
“Many good players miss out on playing for the higher level teams due to their reluctance to move down south, so they end up playing in a lower league where just as good players from the south are playing in leagues such as the Southern Premier and even the National League."
The former Peterborough United and Aston Villa stopper believes that attracting players can become an issue when you have more travelling to do in a regionalised division.
Grant said: "For me it wasn't too much of a problem as in my career I have always been in different leagues and travelled nationwide.
“However it did take a toll on some others that couldn't make it to some away games midweek due to work commitments."
Originally from South Shields, Grant doesn't believe that further regionalisation of the leagues would benefit the non-league, despite aiding the clubs like Corby Town and Oxford City fit into either the northern or southern leagues.
He said:“I can see how further regionalising leagues could benefit teams like saving money on travel.
“However the league system now exposes players better to higher clubs. Players like Jamie Vardy could have gone by without being noticed.”
Although there are numerous former Football League clubs in the northern divisions, there are clubs that receive large amounts of investment, despite their lower reputation in the southern equivalents.
The attraction of living nearer to the capital can be an appeal to investors, which can then attract a higher calibre of player.
However, Sky Sports reporter and Torquay United supporter, Andy Charles believes there isn't any attraction to invest in southern-based clubs over northern-based sides.
Charles said: "I'm not convinced there are that many 'richer investors' involved at this level of football who do not have some kind of association with the club or area from the past, such as Dover's Jim Parmenter and John Summers with Whitehawk.
“Ebbsfleet is a bit of an outlier, although their Kuwaiti owners were involved with nearby Charlton for a while.
“Then there are the more random ones with US investment in Barrow, although their owner was born there, and of course Dale Vince at Forest Green Rovers. Even Eastleigh's money is fairly local.
“I don't think there is anything to say that a random team from the north would be denied investment because of geography. There are still plenty of clubs in the south who get by on little to no investment - Braintree and Boreham Wood just as a couple of examples."
Despite Charles' belief that investors have an affiliation with a club, there are an increasing amount of southern-based sides receiving good levels of investment, with Billericay Town are among the latest to join the growing list.
In any line of business, more money ensures a better quality of worker. A greater standard of footballer, usually gives you more than just a stereotypical non-league workhorse.
Whitehawk midfielder Sergio Torres believes there is a difference between the style of play in the north and south of the country.
The former Peterborough United midfielder, said: "When I was at Crawley we played in the Conference and some of the northern teams were a bit more physical in their style of play than the ones in the south."
Matthew Bruce has had experience of watching Oxford City in both the National League North and South and he also believes that there is a difference in styles of play between the two.
He said: "I think the North is the stronger league. The difference is the style of play between the two. The Northern sides tend to be a more physical league. In the South they are more 'footbally'.
“When we came into the South, the players from the North stood out more because they are more accustomed to playing at a higher level due to their physicality."
Despite a player experiencing different regional leagues, I believe that to benefit the clubs at step two to five of the non-league would be to further regionalise the leagues.
It isn't just Oxford City and Corby Town who have had to face large amounts of travelling, with clubs like Grantham Town and Ilkeston also falling victim to the north and south divide across the leagues.
If the FA were to consider a central division at step two and three to cover these teams that can play in the northern or southern divisions, then it would would remove the 600-mile round trips in 'regionalised’ divisions.
