Premier Relegation Dogfight

[BAD GUY]

Hartley Wintney helped Cove out,Cobham helped Colliers Wood out,Horley,Cobham and numerous others have helped Dorking out in time of need.Thought it was Ironic that Stan the Man liked your post,2 Faceless individuals together.

Smudge, let me quote your comments again: 

The thing that shook me about the recent results is the dislike for each other.

Its called being competative not dislike !

4 games all involving relegation where the team that had nothing to play for made sure that the team in the relegation dogfight got nothing or little at all !

So what do you want teams to do ?  Go out an let the relegation team win !!  You're totally deluded. The team in the relegation dogfight are there for a reason and no-one else's fault.. Why on earth should a team let another win? It would be easier for the ''nothing to play for'' team not to bother turning up and lose the points 

 

So Smudge, don't move the goalposts talking about helping clubs use their pitch/facilities.  You were on about results clear and simple. 

[Smudge]

Will Mourinho play a weakened side in Sundays clash against Liverpool? of course he will.In the biggest League in the world,yet a Step 5 Club cannot do their local Club a favour by doing the same.

[Lazy Sod]

And question the integrity of the league? At times like this, certain people should be limited with access to public forums.

[Big J R]

Will Mourinho play a weakened side in Sundays clash against Liverpool? of course he will.In the biggest League in the world,yet a Step 5 Club cannot do their local Club a favour by doing the same.

 

 

He's already said yesterday that this is what he's going to do, Peter.

 

And quite right too IMHO.

[Powelly1]

Mourinho has no choice but play a weakened team as he'll be without 3-6 first choice players.

 

Rich - my statements were factual. You ground share, you pay out, you have no sight of a new ground. I don't agree with clubs ground sharing in order to maintain status that's all. My opinion. Like a lot of others you throw your toys out when someone has a different view to yours. Bit embarrassing to be honest. There's always an excuse as well - this player missing or "we're paying the price for a someone who ran the club in the past", etc, etc.

 

Yes we have a nice ground and it's council owned, but is an update to the site that was already there. It houses other clubs and is part of a redevelopment in the area - we do pay our way, it's not free! Our council are very generous and we're extremely grateful.

[Chris Clapham]

Some local authorities are starting to understand the word "community" more and more (as votes get less and less no doubt). I am sure Epsom & Ewell council would assist if approached with the right plan/package?

[Powelly1]

Really good point CC. Maybe they've never been approached?

[Chris Clapham]

Mole Valley SCR                   40 11 8 21 62 92 41 -30

Ash United                            41 11 5 25 60 77 38 -17

Horley Town                         39 10 5 24 50 86 35 -36

Alton Town                           42 9 7 26 57 93 34 -36 (relegated)

Chessington & Hook United 39 9 5 25 55 97 32 -42

Edited April 24, 2014 by Chris Clapham

[Chris Clapham]

Really good point CC. Maybe they've never been approached?

 

I wouldn't know but Westfield and Sutton United, in particular, seem to have got around the table so to speak.

[Lazy Sod]

I heard a whisper that Bedfont Sports are to be deducted 3 points for fielding an inelligible player in a recent game

[Chris Clapham]

I heard a whisper that Bedfont Sports are to be deducted 3 points for fielding an inelligible player in a recent game

 

Ouch (if true)!

[Chris Clapham]

I heard a whisper that Bedfont Sports are to be deducted 3 points for fielding an inelligible player in a recent game

Strongly denied on twitter by BSFC!

[Smudge]

And question the integrity of the league? At times like this, certain people should be limited with access to public forums.

 

I heard a whisper that Bedfont Sports are to be deducted 3 points for fielding an inelligible player in a recent game

 

Another faceless individual who supports windsor,stirring.

[E&E Rich]

Some local authorities are starting to understand the word "community" more and more (as votes get less and less no doubt). I am sure Epsom & Ewell council would assist if approached with the right plan/package?

Just to clarify on this point CC, the Council are very supportive of us. Officially!

 

We even appeared in the Borough Plan for 1996 with the view to "positively considering" any reasonable proposal, and saying they were fully committed to our return to the Borough. And in fairness when we identified a site in 2001 we were granted outline planning permission. However, the land was not theirs to sell and we had to get it from the local Health Authority who didn't want a football stadium bringing down house prices in the area and eventually selling it for four times the going rate to the David Lloyd Group who now have a sports centre there. That situation also cost us money in plans etc.

 

Since that time we have a number of Councillors who have said that there is no land available. Laughable really but you have to remember that our Council is run by The Residents, not a well known political party. NIMBY has never been more appropriate a term and they are impervious to any pressure, political or otherwise, because of the huge majority they hold over here.

 

There has been mismanagement in the distant past, but much though Powelly doesn't like me using the excuse, it is factual; until we get a ground we can't move on, but we can't get a ground without a viable site and we can't find a viable site because the council hasn't got anywhere available. Officially!

 

In addition, our club isn't run like many others at this level. The Committee get a say on our day to day expenses, but have to run everything past a Holding Company that bought the ground in the late seventies and sold it in 1987. They remain committed to our return but they also keep a very tight hand on the purse strings. That's not all bad, although there have been some shocking errors on their behalf also. 

 

Powelly, I would also advise that we aren't doing this to maintain status. We have in fact dropped from what was Step Four football during this time. We are trying to maintain our existence, something completely different from those clubs who choose to leave their grounds. I repeat, we had no choice. Also, we do still have sight of a new ground, (just not publicly as we were burned by the David Lloyd situation in 2001) but I won't go into detail here because it's not my place to do so. Some days I get really positive that we'll get a ground, and others it's really depressing again. It's also immensely frustrating having your hands tied by decisions that were made over thirty years ago. Unless you have lost your ground in similar circumstances like a Hendon or a Wealdstone you cannot truly appreciate the mind numbing slog of playing somewhere else, with no social base to really call your own and giving your money to other clubs, despite Chipstead being a very nice venue.

 

It's also equally frustrating to be told that we are wrong by someone who is totally unaware of the facts or our situation but is quite happy to criticise.

 

I used to walk to my team's ground when I was a kid. It was only a mile away. We haven't been able to do that since 1993. John Major was Prime Minister, it was that long ago.

Edited April 25, 2014 by E&E Rich

[Jeff Hamnett TSF]

Sadly this is Trigger's broom territority.

 

It's the same club youve had for 25 years, just replaced the players  and the ground a few times.

 

As someone who can see a similar thing happening at my club (without the cash from a sale) I don't say that with any glee.

 

I just know I wouldnt be following DFC at various grounds for any length of time.

[thevoiceofreason]

If the purse string holders are making money, or at least not losing significantly, they're not going to see making sure they get a new ground as a priority. Ground sharing should be a last resort, not a cop out...

(unless the alternative is a God awful tippy tap anti football playground,

in which case, anything is preferable to that.)

[BAD GUY]

Just to clarify on this point CC, the Council are very supportive of us. Officially!

 

We even appeared in the Borough Plan for 1996 with the view to "positively considering" any reasonable proposal, and saying they were fully committed to our return to the Borough. And in fairness when we identified a site in 2001 we were granted outline planning permission. However, the land was not theirs to sell and we had to get it from the local Health Authority who didn't want a football stadium bringing down house prices in the area and eventually selling it for four times the going rate to the David Lloyd Group who now have a sports centre there. That situation also cost us money in plans etc.

 

Since that time we have a number of Councillors who have said that there is no land available. Laughable really but you have to remember that our Council is run by The Residents, not a well known political party. NIMBY has never been more appropriate a term and they are impervious to any pressure, political or otherwise, because of the huge majority they hold over here.

 

There has been mismanagement in the distant past, but much though Powelly doesn't like me using the excuse, it is factual; until we get a ground we can't move on, but we can't get a ground without a viable site and we can't find a viable site because the council hasn't got anywhere available. Officially!

 

In addition, our club isn't run like many others at this level. The Committee get a say on our day to day expenses, but have to run everything past a Holding Company that bought the ground in the late seventies and sold it in 1987. They remain committed to our return but they also keep a very tight hand on the purse strings. That's not all bad, although there have been some shocking errors on their behalf also. 

 

Powelly, I would also advise that we aren't doing this to maintain status. We have in fact dropped from what was Step Four football during this time. We are trying to maintain our existence, something completely different from those clubs who choose to leave their grounds. I repeat, we had no choice. Also, we do still have sight of a new ground, (just not publicly as we were burned by the David Lloyd situation in 2001) but I won't go into detail here because it's not my place to do so. Some days I get really positive that we'll get a ground, and others it's really depressing again. It's also immensely frustrating having your hands tied by decisions that were made over thirty years ago. Unless you have lost your ground in similar circumstances like a Hendon or a Wealdstone you cannot truly appreciate the mind numbing slog of playing somewhere else, with no social base to really call your own and giving your money to other clubs, despite Chipstead being a very nice venue.

 

It's also equally frustrating to be told that we are wrong by someone who is totally unaware of the facts or our situation but is quite happy to criticise.

 

I used to walk to my team's ground when I was a kid. It was only a mile away. We haven't been able to do that since 1993. John Major was Prime Minister, it was that long ago.

Interesting E&E.  So its near on 30 years since E&E have had their own ground and since been groundsharing.  One must assume that the money E&E made from selling their ground has paid for the groundsharing and management / players wage costs which. with hardly any revenue being made 'cos E&E have no home base, how long will that money last ? Money must eventually dry up so how long do you think E&E can continue this trend ? 

[duncs]

What sort of ground do you want,i would suggest there are plenty of grounds in your boro that could of been developed by now,you and nobody else can expect a state of the art ground just given to you,come on Epsom authorities pick up the reigns and give this club some direction otherwise i can see it all ending bad.

[Two Ton Ted]

The intial problem was the EE Borough Councillors didn't want any football ground in the Borough, especially one with floodlights, hence two planning applications were rejected. The Residents Assocation, who run the council, couldn't care less about football and have no wider remit than NIMBY.

 

There's plenty of Council owned land in the Borough where you put in a temporary stand, and portacabin club house and some floodlights, but most of it is earmarked for things like scouts firework displays and cashcow car boot sales, so the thought of using the land for sporting activies is of no interest to the Council.

 

As someone who was involved with trying to get some resolution on the EEFC ground issue for a number of years, I can confirm things moving very slowly in that Borough. The current ground opportunity (if it's the location I think it is) has been in discussion for nigh on 8 years now.

 

I fear for the future of the EEFC, and also cannot see how Epsom Athletic could even begin to get close to developing a ground in the borough without a multimillionaire backer who can buy them a plot.

[E&E Rich]

What sort of ground do you want,i would suggest there are plenty of grounds in your boro that could of been developed by now,you and nobody else can expect a state of the art ground just given to you,come on Epsom authorities pick up the reigns and give this club some direction otherwise i can see it all ending bad.

With respect duncs

 

You have no clue what goes on at Epsom or in Epsom. It may look green from a distance, but every bit is protected by the NIMBYs who will block planning. Note also that Epsom Athletic have the same aim, and the same roadblock in front of them as TTT has already advised.

 

I fully accept that some things could have been done differently in the past and I also take on board that some people may not have had the drive in the past for the reasons VOR has put forward. This doesn't include TTT by the way who is a top bloke and is badly missed at the club.

 

I won't answer the question about how many years we may have left. I shall just say that a lot depends on how much each season costs us. If we had no playing budget for example we might be able to squeeze another 30 years out of it!!