Comment: Almost 200 signings in eight years - AFC Telford United's relegation has been on the cards for a while

But has it been coming? For many, that answer will be yes.

For Bucks fans, aside from a brush with the play-offs and a run to the FA Trophy last four, there has been little to shout about for a long time.

Mid-table National League North finishes became the norm after their return to tier two of non league football in 2015.

And since then, it has been a slow decline towards relegation zone and after last year's scare, the unthinkable has now happened.

The inquest into how a club the size of the Bucks has dropped back into tier three will now begin.

The list of reasons and bad decisions that have led to this will be lengthy – but you can look no further than the recruitment.

Since the Bucks were relegated to the National League North in 2015, they have signed a total of 196 players. That is an average of 24 players a season.

How can you build a side capable of success at tier two, let alone one that can survive relegation, with such turnover and a lack of continuity?

Those decisions I'm sure will lay at the door of not just the managers, but those behind the scenes.

However, this isn't something that has been sprung upon the Bucks.

The highest number of signings through a season was in 2015/16, 35 in total, with other high totals of 31 coming in 2017/18, 32 last season and 27 in the current campaign.

With regards to whether those signings have been value for money, or been successes, that is down to opinions, but given Telford's fate it is safe to say the majority haven't worked.

They range from big non-league names and experienced players who haven't hit the heights expected of them - to short term loans from EFL and other non-league clubs.

The latter have become more of a regular occurrence in recent years - and only a small number of been success stories.

Successive Bucks managers have gone down this route - but it is like building a house on sand, without foundations. Eventually it'll come toppling down.

It is quite telling that the season where they signed a lower number of players turned out to be their most successful in the last eight years.

Non-league football does operate on one-year contracts - players are very lucky at this level if they get more than a 12-month deal, so it does make building squads difficult.

But this is way beyond that and then some. It hasn't worked for years and has got progressively worse and the Bucks have paid the ultimate price now.

There has been glimmers of hope in the last eight years though.

After a tricky first campaign, in 2018, Rob Edwards announced he was hopeful the club could so go full-time after a number of his players committed to training four times a week.

Weeks later Edwards had gone and the plan never transpired.

Gavin Cowan took over and enjoyed a successful season, largely down to the goals of Dan Udoh, but the recruitment in general was good. They narrowly missed out on the play-offs and enjoyed FA Trophy success, reaching the last four.

It felt like the club were in a good place, Cowan had harnessed the support of the fans, getting them to 'trust the process', which turned out to be something of a saying during his time at the club.

However, it didn't turn out to be the case. Covid-19 cut the next two seasons short and that impact cannot be underestimated in their sad decline.

It would be unfair to say the club have had it all plain sailing off the pitch in recent years. They haven't and Covid played a big part in that.

However, it had a big impact on a number of clubs who have enjoyed success since and it isn't the reason why Telford are preparing for life back in either the Northern Premier League or Southern League.

Largely, it is down to poor recruitment.

So, what now?

First of all they need to tie down their biggest asset, Kevin Wilkin. His experience in non-league is going to be vital in turning their fortunes around.

Also, the club need to be developing an identity, a strategy. What is the plan? Of course, it will be return to tier two as soon as possible.

But in terms of signings and direction, there needs to be a strategy, that means the plan isn't ripped up and changed every time a new manager arrives.

Ironically, recruitment is the exact thing the Bucks need to get right if they are to bounce back at the first attempt.

If they don't, a return to the National League North might be further away than some would like.