|
Post by Kenty in Weardale on Mar 29, 2020 20:53:56 GMT
2 points that we need to remember at this time:-
1. The FA Council has yet to ratify the "null and void" status, it's not a decision yet
2. There may well be clubs in EFL/Connie Nat/Connie S and N that fold with a need to promote clubs therefore to cover. On that basis I believe we have the 4th best ppg out of NPL, Isthmian etc step 3 league leaders
|
|
|
Post by wwrebel on Mar 29, 2020 21:50:17 GMT
Our points per game record is not as good as Truro City so on that basis presumably we would need 2 teams to drop out of the Conference South for us to get a chance of being moved up the pyramid.
I must add that I do not wish to see any non league clubs folding during this crisis but I suppose it is inevitable that unfortunately some will.
|
|
|
Post by westsussexisred on Mar 29, 2020 22:20:05 GMT
1 has already gone... Bury
I personally cant see teams like Macclesfield surviving the next few months. Bristol Rovers have announced that they are in 24m debts. Dover announced today they cant afford to keep some people. Tip of the iceberg
|
|
|
Post by Kenty in Weardale on Mar 29, 2020 23:00:59 GMT
Our points per game record is not as good as Truro City so on that basis presumably we would need 2 teams to drop out of the Conference South for us to get a chance of being moved up the pyramid. I must add that I do not wish to see any non league clubs folding during this crisis but I suppose it is inevitable that unfortunately some will. If clubs above do go pop, then it won't matter where they are geographically as the league can allocate a club to a league. The club then makes up its mind whether to accept the offer. If I remember correctly, clubs at County level have in the past declined promotion when they felt that the allocated league involved too much travel. Again, if memory serves, A southern club ?Bishops Stortford? was placed, rather oddly in Connie N, and was given a grant towards transport costs as very small recompense.
|
|
|
Post by westsussexisred on Mar 29, 2020 23:15:48 GMT
Our points per game record is not as good as Truro City so on that basis presumably we would need 2 teams to drop out of the Conference South for us to get a chance of being moved up the pyramid. I must add that I do not wish to see any non league clubs folding during this crisis but I suppose it is inevitable that unfortunately some will. If clubs above do go pop, then it won't matter where they are geographically as the league can allocate a club to a league. The club then makes up its mind whether to accept the offer. If I remember correctly, clubs at County level have in the past declined promotion when they felt that the allocated league involved too much travel. Again, if memory serves, A southern club ?Bishops Stortford? was placed, rather oddly in Connie N, and was given a grant towards transport costs as very small recompense. You always used to (and still do) get southern teams in the nat north because there was 2 southern leagues (Isthmian and Southern) and 1 northern league. Now its 2 southern (Isthmian and southern south) 1 Midland (Southern Central) and 1 northern (northern prem) the problem will continue. As you will well know Kenty the trips that north east teams have to do in the northern prem is criminal. It gets worse in the national north. Blyth playing teams like Hereford and Gloucester in a 'northern' league is mind boggling. No wonder why the are at the bottom on the league.
|
|
|
Post by Kenty in Weardale on Mar 30, 2020 0:04:40 GMT
You're WSR, I think that the suits at the FA League Committee (FALC) see fans as an inconvenience in their desire for world domination (and a decent prawn sarni and awful tie/blazer combo)
|
|
|
Post by westsussexisred on Mar 30, 2020 8:45:25 GMT
You're WSR, I think that the suits at the FA League Committee (FALC) see fans as an inconvenience in their desire for world domination (and a decent prawn sarni and awful tie/blazer combo) I dont know but would imagine that the FALC was mainly London/south east based and look to help out the london/se clubs. That'll probably we why we travel so little compared to every other step 3 league. All that with worthing being an outlier in the geography of the Isthmian prem
|
|
|
Post by virgs1 on Mar 30, 2020 10:00:25 GMT
|
|
|
Post by wwrebel on Mar 31, 2020 16:17:41 GMT
National league have now suspended the current season indefinitely.
|
|
|
Post by Kenty in Weardale on Mar 31, 2020 19:01:58 GMT
Over 100 clubs have now joined the opposition to the FA edict
|
|
|
Post by Kenty in Weardale on Apr 1, 2020 23:07:06 GMT
The "fightback" grows; now 132 clubs and 2 MPs.
For me, the issue is not necessarily the edict, more the manner of its making
|
|
|
Post by vertigate on Apr 1, 2020 23:08:11 GMT
In number terms, 100 clubs equates to the whole of step 3 plus a handful at step 4. Its going to need at least 4 times this amount to get a majority before the FA need to even consider their options. The local Southern Combination League voted for the season to be null and void so there is at least 40+ clubs there who have no interest in the appeal.
Could be a blessing in disguise really. I have previously been vocal about the agricultural nature of Conference South teams in the past and can't see our young talented lads competing too well against the physicality and experience of the league above. The club would have to break away from its current ethos of using and developing locally based players to have any chance of surviving. Higher prices coupled with poorer entertainment value would inevitably lead to a drop in attendance figures. Something that never bodes well for long term stability. There will be a peak somewhere and the Isthmian League appears to be our natural level, so why not embrace it?
I spoke to some FC United of Manchester supporters about their experience of step 2 and they were glad when they were relegated to the Northern Premier League. They being a club whose average attendance is double ours at the same level. Seems to be the same in the Conference North section too with regard to a lack of entertainment value.
In the financial meltdown that is only going to get worse every day for the foreseeable future, I think Keithsson eluded to this the other day, surely it has to be better for the club to be playing in a league with a smaller footprint next season (if there even is one and the club manages to survive the current turmoil) Can't imagine anyone buying a season ticket for next year with all the uncertainty around start dates for next season which will also hurt the club financially - the FA realistically have to get the season finished or voided at all levels by the end of May to have any chance of a start up in August as it usually takes 3 months of planning to get the fixtures prepared across all levels of the game. Expect many clubs to fold over the summer too which could cause further issues with league allocations and the inevitable appeals that could follow. If things are allowed to carry on as they are for much longer, next season could well be in doubt too.
Any appeal will be futile and a waste of precious money as the FA will just use the unprecedented scale of the problem to justify their decision that there was no fair way to decide on promotion spots as with 24-30 points outstanding to be played for, any team in the top 4 could make a case for promotion. The teams in 2nd, 3rd and 4th have a better head to head record against us so why should we necessarily be any more deserving? Although it has no more logical weight than anything else, the Football Web Pages Predicted League Table has us winning the league by a single point so its reasonably far too close to call what would have panned out.
Different situation for Jersey Bulls and Vauxhall Motors who had already mathematically won their divisions further down the pyramid - they certainly have valid grounds for appeal but no-one else should in my mind.
|
|
|
Post by Kenty in Weardale on Apr 2, 2020 1:50:55 GMT
All very valid points Vertigate and it's hard to disagree with any of them. As I have said before I feel that the least worst choice was made but, and here is where you may disagree with me, at this time we have no idea how long and what form the lockdown is going to take. Some pessimists, even well qualified ones, are talking in terms of months, even into the autumn. It was a choice that didn't have to be made now and should have been via a transferable vote ballot with all step 3,4,5,6 and 7 leagues given the chance to list in order their 3 preferred options.
As to the FA Council, some informed observers are saying that the pressure is really building on them
Best wishes to you and yours
Kenty
|
|
|
Post by Keithsson on Apr 2, 2020 9:21:42 GMT
The "fightback" grows; now 132 clubs and 2 MPs. For me, the issue is not necessarily the edict, more the manner of its making That sums up my angst with it all too. For the reasons eloquently explained previously the decision taken is the least smelliest pile of poop. It is still a pile of steaming manure but in all the permutations there's no perfect option. Had some patience been employed by the authorities, some meaningful dialogue and engagement, then I feel in time the vast majority would coalesce behind a null and void decision. As it is when folk feel they have been steamrollered it generally tends to p1ss them off... when an allegation/conspiracy theory emerges that your biggest local rival has perhaps had a hand in it then being p1ssed off just gets an upgrade. The way this decision was reached is a bit like the police guidance for enforcing the Covid legislation. The approach is meant to be the 4 E's... Engage, Explain, Educate, Enforce. They're supposed to try and engage, explain and educate people breaking the law before taking punitive action. The FA's actions shows that no time and effort was put in to doing any of the three E's that precede enforcement... do no pass go, go straight to Jail. THAT is what has upset me, not, arguably the ultimate end result. So whilst I admire the spirit of the petition I feel, and it's just a personal opinion, it'll only make things seem worse. The old saying 'it's the hope that kills you' is very true. The momentum is commendable but as pointed out waaay short of a majority. With all the publicity it has had it still only numbers 132 clubs. The remaining clubs have had ample time to join it and haven't. If they too were incensed, they would have by now. That simple logic tells us that 2019/20 will be held null and void for non-league, if not for all football eventually. So bravo for the fight but the hopes raised by the venture will make the ultimate outcome feel more of a kick in the happy sack than if everyone had simply accepted this was ultimately always going to be the grudgingly logical conclusion to an unprecedented and utterly awful situation that is totally out of the hands of clubs or even the authorities that govern football.
|
|
|
Post by Keithsson on Apr 3, 2020 13:34:01 GMT
Local MP in 'supporting a populist local cause' shocker... Club site - Link
|
|