No relegation this yr......Fleet safe it may seem.

[Matt (GNFC)]

http://www.confguide.com/cgi-bin/news.mpl/2003/03/20/a

[Student Scum]

Interesting development...

Even if this proves to be the case, they shouldn't announce it until the end of the season, otherwise we'll have the same amount of pointless, soulless games they have in the third division at the end of every year....

 

[David Holden]

Lets wait until the FA ratify it before getting the flags out.

[David Holden]

Luckily we have the games against Morecambe and Chester who are looking to secure their playoff places so at least those matches will mean something.

 

 

[Student Scum]

Oh I agree. Let's not get the flags out yet (if at all)

In the words of a friend who has just mailed me (better reveal the source - she'd hate me for blatant plagiarism!)

 

"We should be striving to deserve to stay up, not putting it down to luck!!!!"

[David Holden]

Agreed, but there would be a certain satisfaction if Kettering finished second from bottom <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

[Student Scum]

But then just who would you want to finish bottom..?!!

[David Holden]

Hmm trickey question that, perhaps a team that is using every technique, other than winning matches to stay up!

[Student Scum]

Ooooh, go on.....gissa clue.....!!!

 

[FleetFanatic]

It would seem that that team was the responsible for the proposal.....

 

.....yet more corruption as far as I'm concerned.

 

What happened to the detail of 'you can't change the rules or league structure half-way through a season'?

 

That was the excuse for not going through with a conference division 2.

[FleetFanatic]

Story is now on BBC:

Click Here

[Bate'o]

With bottom club Kettering likely to be relegated, Leigh and Stevenage, second and third from bottom respectively, would be the main benefactors of the new proposal.

 

Hmm, slightly suspicious!!

 

I wonder who it was who put the proposal forward?

[new to the game]

so what did our club vote for?

now that would be interesting to know.

[Wobbly Wayne rides again]

I would have expected us to vote for an increase, for a club of our size a couple of extra home games a year provide some much needed revenue. And it also gives us a better chance of survival, not just this year, but next year as well.

 

Rightly or wrongly, all the stick for this is heading Stevenages way, but any club in with a sniff of relegation would have been foolish to vote no.

 

But I think more to the point is, why were any clubs allowed to vote at this late stage of the season. By all means, increase the number of teams to 24, but surely this has to be something that is decided at the start of a season and not when there are only 8 games to go.

 

 

Personally I am in favour of the increase, but I would have still relegated 3, but some how worked out a way of promoting more. ( But then again I haven't got millions so, the Conference Board are not likely to listen to me )

[Rotten Johnny Shawcraw]

Quote:

With bottom club Kettering likely to be relegated, Leigh and Stevenage, second and third from bottom respectively, would be the main benefactors of the new proposal.

Hmm, slightly suspicious!!

More than slightly suspicious, in fact the whole thing stinks, how can you suddenly move the goalposts at this stage of the season? Whilst we all want to stay up lets do it on merit rather than some dodgy deal which if common sense prevails will not be approved anyway. Could Westley and his pals be behind it? If this goes ahead the conference loses all credability, imagine the outcry if the premiership clubs tried this?

[FleetFanatic]

I personally feel it will be implemented, BUT NEXT SEASON.

 

Otherwise it affects the play-offs too - some teams played the lower positioned teams when they were fighting for points, but if games suddenly mean nothing, is it fair for say Chester or Morecombe to play their games against more than one of the bottom teams (including ourselves) when they no longer need to put up much of a fight?

 

All of a sudden, different teams will have played their games under different sets of circumstances.

[David Holden]

It will be next season, after all there won't be 24 teams THIS season.

 

The playing teams with nothing to play for cuts both ways. Take out the fear factor for the team at the bottom and they relax and can play better football.

 

Look at last season when we suddenly had something to play for and we went to pieces.

[FleetFanatic]

I meant that it will be 1 team relegated next season.

 

Of course, you knew that.....

 

You can't move the goalposts with just 7 games left!

 

If this goes through then it is another example of corruption - will the FA ever realise that Westley (& now Stevenage) are damaging non-league football?

 

Let's face it - they didn't make this proposal with our interests in mind.

This is all about keeping Stevenage in the conference by fair means or foul.

[Alan ( GNFC )]

So if , as expected , Accrington fail their ground grading inspection , then nobody is relegated .

What a cosy set up .

 

[Rotten Johnny Shawcraw]

Quote:

I meant that it will be 1 team relegated next season.

Of course, you knew that.....

You can't move the goalposts with just 7 games left!

If this goes through then it is another example of corruption - will the FA ever realise that Westley (& now Stevenage) are damaging non-league football?

Let's face it - they didn't make this proposal with our interests in mind.
This is all about keeping Stevenage in the conference by fair means or foul.

If it is just one down next season at least we'd all know at the start of the season where we stood, but you can't change the rules of any game halfway through, clearly Stevanage's highly dubious 5-0 win over Farnborough isn't likely to save them so now Westley is trying another stunt, surely the FA have got to step in?
And are the rest of our games going to be vital six pointers etc or totally meaningless?