Why stakes are so high in England's hottest title race

Why stakes are so high in England's hottest title raceImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, York City manager Stuart Maynard (left) and Rochdale boss Jimmy McNulty have guided their clubs to hugely impressive campaigns in the National LeagueByDaniel AustinBBC Sport senior journalistPublished6 minutes agoCommentsWhen Rochdale and York City kick off their National League final-day title decider at lunchtime on Saturday, the result will decide who is promoted as champions - but will also have a potentially enormous impact on both clubs' respective futures.Over 45 matchdays, the two teams have far outclassed the rest of their rivals in the fifth tier of English football, going toe-to-toe in an epic race where dropped points have been extremely rare.Now only one game remains. Leaders York boast a two-point advantage, having amassed a whopping 107, but Rochdale have home advantage and their 10,249-capacity Crown Oil Arena has long been sold out.Rochdale were almost down and out last weekend, but scored a 99th-minute winner away at Braintree to keep their title charge alive and deject York, whose players were watching a live stream on the pitch after they beat Yeovil.Never before have two teams with so many points faced off in a winner-takes-all final-day decider for a place in the English Football League.The champions will take home the trophy and be promoted to League Two, while the runners-up will need to dust themselves off and battle through the gruelling six-team play-offs.Why is National League title race so important?The National League title race is so fraught with danger because the winners tend to enjoy a positive long-term future, while the runners-up often face lasting negative consequences.Let's start with the bad news.Since the play-off system and its second promotion spot were introduced to the National League at the end of the 2002-03 season, the team finishing second has been promoted only six times out of 23.During that time, there have...