Relegation Thread 2017/18

[CFC91]

Had a £2.3m budget this year as well?

Even though he's talking about cutting the budget to just under £1m, that's still a top one in the NL. Average is probably £700/£750k.

Don't even think £2.3m will be the biggest down here, sure I read we were 4th/5th biggest.

If we trim £1m off the playing budget we will still be competitive on the face of things but so much of that is tied up on 2 year deals from shambolic signings like O'Grady made by Gary Caldwell.

We have 12 players out of contract from a playing squad of about 30, 5 on loan so that's 17 gone already. OF the 13 left, I think 11 are under contract for 1 more year (but has a relegation release clause) and 1 is under contract for 2 years.

Most players have a 20% wage reduction in their contracts including O'Grady.

Me personally, anyone that has contributed to our downfall and been part of this shambolic side this season I would show the door too. Let's start from scratch and get some in who might actually care because this lot don't

 

[Indian Dan]

We've never been out the FL. And I never thought we would be especially after how good we were until the last 3 seasons.

It is a warning how badly things can go wrong, our board is a joke, our deby is crippling, our wages are horrendous and the fan base is more divided than you can ever imagine.

The life has been completely sucked out of the club and I suspect there will be some emotional and angry people at Forest Green tomorrow and the next home game.

It could well be the end of the club, we cant sustain the currently level of debt unless the club is taken over, which Dave Allen and Ashley Carson seemingly don't actually want to happen despite all their bravado.

Never thought it would actually happen but i'll be there tomorrow, seeing it through to the bitter end. The board don't deserve our support, the players don't deserve it but the club and what it stands for does.

I realise it’s all very raw at the moment, but take heart. Look at the clubs that have taken your route and come back stronger.

Just don’t think of Stockport, York, Wrexham, Tranmere etc.

You will return.

 

[joethegill]

I can't say I know an awful lot about Chesterfield and their situation, but the one time I saw them on the telly v Notts County I think they looked a decent enough side! Very odd.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

Oh make no mistake , it can happen to anyone. Anyone! Nobody should fool themselves and think it couldn’t happen to them, as stated above Chesterfield a few seasons ago looked a million miles away from Non League football.

Therefore if you have never had the misfortune, as a fan, to experience the ultimate EFL relegation , the real pressure cooker atmosphere of a L2 relegation scrap with the potential drop through the trapdoor to Nationals League, it should be celebrated#nostain

Other than actually going completely bust, and having to reform further down the NL period I can’t think of anything worse than a season (or more!!) outside of the Football League . Yuk

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

I can't say I know an awful lot about Chesterfield and their situation, but the one time I saw them on the telly v Notts County I think they looked a decent enough side! Very odd.

That’s the magic of TV Joe, oh and combined with our away form this season lol

 

[SoutheySWFC]

The smugness of some Chesterfield fans when they got Dave Allen in despite our warnings means i am less sympathetic than most to their plight.

 

[Soup Ladle]

We've been in The Football League for 25 years now and some fans on other sites still say we are a non-league team, we've stayed up on the last day twice in that time 1999 and 2014 and i thought we were gone both times but thankfully i was wrong How long do you have to be here to be considered a FL team. We have played in a FA Cup Semi-Final in 2001 and The League Cup semi-Final in 2006 how many lower league teams have done that?

I think of Wycombe as a FL side but that's mainly because they were always in the FL since I was a young lad. Technically you have to have spent more years in the FL than out of it to be considered as a traditional football league club but your support is FL size and you don't look out of place so for me I'd say you are a FL club. Congratulations.

 

[Si Robin]

We've been in The Football League for 25 years now and some fans on other sites still say we are a non-league team, we've stayed up on the last day twice in that time 1999 and 2014 and i thought we were gone both times but thankfully i was wrong How long do you have to be here to be considered a FL team. We have played in a FA Cup Semi-Final in 2001 and The League Cup semi-Final in 2006 how many lower league teams have done that?

I spoke to a couple of Wycombe fans in the bar after our game a few weeks back and we all agreed that our two clubs are non-league in spirit - regardless of how long we've been playing in the Football League. What we meant by that is that we miss the swapping ends at half-time, having a laugh with the opposition fans before and after games and just the whole informal attitude, we're all shit together, family feel.

I dread the day when our fans can't just have a chat with Board members off the cuff.

 

[LongEatonPie]

This should solve the problem, don’t know what the fuss is all about. Just one wipe will remove any #stains

 

[Liam_SWFC]

The smugness of some Chesterfield fans when they got Dave Allen in despite our warnings means i am less sympathetic than most to their plight.

Me the same, will never forget them taking the piss out of us when we were close to admin back in 2010/11, hoping we'd go out of business. Dave Allen was the best thing since sliced bread back then, and we were all 'bitter'.

 

[Chris FGR]

Grimsby have just about finished cleaning up the mess after they stained themselves last time, now they're threatening to soil themselves again. The dirty incontinent fuckers.

 

[northstandexile]

My definition of non-League or FL is that if the club was in the league when it went from Div3n&s to Div 3 and 4 then they are proper FL club. Anybody else are tin pot non league.

I include Peterborough in this as I remember them playing in Midland League.

Of course Accrington are non league as they weren’t formed until 1968.

 

[rudebwoyben]

My definition of non-League or FL is that if the club was in the league when it went from Div3n&s to Div 3 and 4 then they are proper FL club. Anybody else are tin pot non league.

I include Peterborough in this as I remember them playing in Midland League.

Of course Accrington are non league as they weren’t formed until 1968.

A rather weird definition considering the 4th division has now been in existence considerably longer than the old divisions 3n/3s.

 

[northstandexile]

A rather weird definition considering the 4th division has now been in existence considerably longer than the old divisions 3n/3s.

I suggest it is more to do with my age than anything else

 

[Vanni]

My definition is much more simpler - it's only football and things can and do change just like in real life. This means you won't finds words such as 'a proper club' or 'tinpot' in my vocabulary.

Size of fan base is another thing entirely, and sometimes I think it's more important than history. To explain myself better, I was made aware by this NL fan I know that some NL clubs had a much better home attendance record than quite a few FL clubs back in the 80's and early 90's. This chap told me that some FL clubs used to get only a little over 1k at home matches while some 'traditional' NL sides were getting over 2 or 3k. So I ask who was the 'proper club' then - the FL side with only 1k fans at their home games or the NL one with triple that amount?

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

A - The FL club with 1K.

I don’t relate it to size of average home attendance. It’s to do with club’s history and which league (FL vs NL) they’ve played in most, with more emphasis naturally on my time as a football fan.

My original point wasnt really about do who is and who isn’t considered a FL or NL club it was purely that any traditional FL club (Luton, Mansfield, Oxford,Lincoln) etc having played in NL during the past few decades is a stain on the club’s history. Just like going to a period of administration is, just considerably worse.

Surely for the vast majority of clubs the day you get relegated out of the FL for the first time is the nadir in that club’s history. However, I’ve been told otherwise by a fountain of knowledge on Football and a few others so considered this further and.... nope it’s nothing to be proud of, it’s an embarrassing skid mark on a club’s history

Some clubs low points are lower than others
Torquay United about to prove that , sadly

 

[Habbinalan]

A - The FL club with 1K.

I don’t relate it to size of average home attendance. It’s to do with club’s history and which league (FL vs NL) they’ve played in most, with more emphasis naturally on my time as a football fan.

My original point wasnt really about do who is and who isn’t considered a FL or NL club it was purely that any traditional FL club (Luton, Mansfield, Oxford,Lincoln) etc having played in NL during the past few decades is a stain on the club’s history. Just like going to a period of administration is, just considerably worse.

Surely for the vast majority of clubs the day you get relegated out of the FL for the first time is the nadir in that club’s history. However, I’ve been told otherwise by a fountain of knowledge on Football and a few others so considered this further and.... nope it’s nothing to be proud of, it’s an embarrassing skid mark on a club’s history

Some clubs low points are lower than others
Torquay United about to prove that , sadly

You've clearly led a sheltered life.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

No, quite the opposite

I’m guessing you call tails when it’s heads a lot, and don’t do too well at roulette Habbinalan.

Try again

 

[SoutheySWFC]

Good debate, one my grandad always pulled up was naming clubs who had played in the FL and now aren't, he then asked, who replaced em?

 

[Chris FGR]

Good debate, one my grandad always pulled up was naming clubs who had played in the FL and now aren't.

Hartlepool

he then asked, who replaced em?

FOREST GREEN

 

[AdamStag]

if you’ve been down there once and for only a small period of time, it doesn’t really reflect on the club.

Mansfield and Luton have only been there for 5 years in their history, so if someone thinks that makes us non-league for instance, they’re probably just a bit stupid.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

Nobody thinks that Adam, as far as I’m aware nobody has suggested it either. Stags are a traditional league club who have played in non league football#stain

But those 5 years in Non League surely are the low point for MTFC, right? Or have you blocked the memory of Histon and Barrow visiting Field Mill?

 

[AdamStag]

Nobody thinks that Adam, as far as I’m aware nobody has suggested it either. Stags are a traditional league club who have played in non league football#stain

But those 5 years in Non League surely are the low point for MTFC, right? Or have you blocked the memory of Histon and Barrow visiting Field Mill?

Not at all, barrow provided 7-0 and 8-1 wins in successive seasons, I quite liked them tbh.

Whereas i wouldn’t be so thrilled if we were still down there, away days at Tamworth, Telford and the the like became popular and were a great day out. We went down with nothing and now probably have the best chairman in the league, sir John. We’ve our own training pitches, a state of the art training facility and academy on its way. Despite this seasons under achievement you saw JR with his scarf in the directors box at chestefield waving and clapping when you saw them on their arse, where we were a decade ago.

Mansfield only ever had one stain, and he’s no longer here.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

Don’t forget the 1-1 in front of 1253 at the Mill.

Relegation from EFL , clubs historic low point? If not what is? You still never answer straight questions do you lol

Radford has been superb for Mansfield no doubt about it , pumped in millions of pounds into the club, improved and continuing to improve the infrastructure of the club as you rightly mention with those training facilities and academy improvement. I hear there is even talk of a hotel at the ground, alas no 4th stand.

The future certainly looks bright from Mansfield under Radford and his considerable wealth, just need to tell the Mansfield public that

 

[AdamStag]

Don’t forget the 1-1 in front of 1253 at the Mill.

Relegation from EFL , clubs historic low point? If not what is? You still never answer straight questions do you lol

Radford has been superb for Mansfield no doubt about it , pumped in millions of pounds into the club, improved and continuing to improve the infrastructure of the club as you rightly mention with those training facilities and academy improvement. I hear there is even talk of a hotel at the ground, alas no 4th stand.

The future certainly looks bright from Mansfield under Radford and his considerable wealth, just need to tell the Mansfield public that

That was a win over barrow as well, it was the winter where we didn’t play a home game for 6 weeks, and had 4 home games in 9 days, id love to see how many a Morecambe or a Barnet would have got in the league with a pile up like that! folk had also just splashed out on tickets for our trip to Wembley a few weeks later.

But yes. The future is looking good for us, but as we’ve learned with chesterfield and many before, nothing can be taken for granted.

 

[GTFCfish]

Sorry Chesterfield but even the traffic signs seem to have accepted your fate:

 

[George Reilly's Hairpiece]

Today could be the day that the dreaded suffix appears after the final score on the vidiprinter for both ourselves and Chesterfield. Both sets of supporters will be shaking their heads, for differing reasons, how they come to find themselves in this position.

Realistically we both need to win today to give other clubs something to worry about, but we seem to have been in this last chance saloon so long, I'm not sure we have it in us to continue to try and stand and brawl. But should we land a lucky shot today then maybe, just maybe a great escape might be on.

Of the rest, Crewe are safe. Mathematically, yes they can go down, but mathematically I can win the lottery tonight. I reckon I'd get shorter odds on that. And if Crewe did go down on the back of the strangest set of results in the history of the game, only we could join them in relegation to the National League. So somehow that now makes it seem more likely, in a, can only happen to us kind of way.

Port Vale and Yeovil join them in the fantasy land of relegation with one more point, but they are already at the five ball stage in the lottery draw. Morecambe are 100/1 best priced, which seems about right as they'll more than likely pick a couple of draws.

The variance is so high now, with such few games left, that Forest Green and Grimsby could be safe or really back in the mire depending on one set of results. Forest Green must be massively boosted by last week's win and have the perfect opponent, so all in their hands. And a win for them probably increases Grimsby's chances on the final day, so hard to see past the bottom 2 being confirmed in those positions either sooner or later.

 

[The Jovial Forester]

We've been OK at home since the turn of the year so got to hope we can get enough from those fixtures. SMASHING Luton away will just be a bonus

 

[Urban]

Grimsby fans have officially lost any right to say anything about Akinde pen after their last three matches! Today's call was a joke - how is THAT given??

We blew Newport away today for the most part. But we're down now I reckon.

 

[Luke Imp]

Yeah, I think we're going have to remove Akinde pen and replace it with Grimsby pen. Do they ever score from anything or than a penalty?! Terrible call in that game.

Morecambe, from looking pretty safe, are all of a sudden dragged back in a little today, although that obviously depends on Barnet.