Out of the 20 clubs relegated from League Two since 2015, eight have since won promotion back to the fourth tier – Barnet, Oldham, Grimsby, Notts County, Chesterfield, Leyton Orient, Cheltenham and Tranmere.
Clubs who have paid a heavier price are Dagenham & Redbridge, who were relegated to National League South last season after nine years in the National League, and Macclesfield Town – though the club was dissolved due to financial issues which began while still in League Two.
The Silkmen have since worked their way back to National League North after being re-established as the phoenix club Macclesfield FC.
“The counter-argument for the clubs coming down from the EFL is that the National League is a safety net,” Thompson said.
“If you look back at some of the clubs that have been relegated over the years, they’ve been in real trouble.
“But the National League’s been there, it’s a well-run professional league and those clubs have been able to regroup and bounce back up.
“So the extra promotion place actually, I believe, will benefit EFL clubs because it’ll be easier for them to bounce back up.”
Thompson also fears that continuing to make it “so difficult” to get promoted to League Two will force some owners of National League clubs to walk away.
“That would be to the detriment of football,” he said.
