Not looking great for Plymouth...

[Thunder Bolt]

Dropping out of the Football League would be a disaster for them, I sincerely hope they stay up.

I would be all for sending them players on loan, players we really don't need at the moment. I say we lend them Brezovan, Dunk, Crofts and Barker. Be a good experience for Dunk to be playing in a team under constant pressure and where he'd have to wake up a bit in terms of concentration. Crofts needs games and we don't really need him, there would need to be a recall clause there just in case and Barker wouldn't be noticed if he left on loan (again).

Realistically, it won't happen. But I'd like us to help them out and help them stay up.

Crofts is injured.

 

[Giraffe]

Shame you had to spoil an otherwise well considered post with a totally misinformed "example". Looking through the list of conference champions, I don't see any who have spent big money or "gambled". It's just a tough league to get out of.

Are you saying Crawley didn't spend big to get out of the BSP?

 

[Munkfish]

Are you saying Crawley didn't spend big to get out of the BSP?

Fleetwood and Crawely both spent LARGE to get out of the league, Luton are too, but not having much luck getting out at the moment.

 

[Arthur]

Shame you had to spoil an otherwise well considered post with a totally misinformed "example". Looking through the list of conference champions, I don't see any who have spent big money or "gambled". It's just a tough league to get out of.

Hmmmm weren't Crawley making 6 figure signings the season they romped it? Ditto Fleetwood last season?

My personal view is that the same promotion / relegation rules should apply to all divisions down to the fifth tier - i.e. 3 up, 3 down. Once it goes regional, it gets a little more complicated...

Agree with you but then the same ground grading rules would have to apply.

 

[Giraffe]

Fleetwood and Crawely both spent LARGE to get out of the league, Luton are too, but not having much luck getting out at the moment.

Indeed both big spenders in BSP terms, Crawley more so than Fleetwood, but both spent more in transfers winning the BSP than any other team in league two did in the same season.

 

[Gazwag]

I'm not sure Gus would like the idea of players dropping that far down for experience, wasn't he upset that Oxford almost ruined JFC (or was that just on NSC).

Taking about promotion/relegation, it doesn't seem that long ago that the likes of Wigan and Wimbledon had to be voted into the football league, there was no automatic promotion

 

[Giraffe]

Big spending mentioned here:

Are Forest Green the next Conference big-spenders?


Forest Green don't seem to be benefitting quite so much this season though (currently fifth).

 

[BensGrandad]

Promotion and relegation has to be voted on by the league chairmen could you see the bottom half of Div 2 clubs voting for 2 or 3 to be relegated because I can't, so will not happen, like the old seek re election it is a closed shop.

We've sent Dickenson out to AFC Wimbledon he could probably have done them a turn and comes from the West Country well Dorset, and possibly Adgestein.

 

[Hillian1]

I've no idea, bearing in mind the relative qualities in League and the Conference, why they don't open up four promotion / relegation places each season.

This notion of league / non-league is a peculiarly British one, and there's no real reason to make the distinction, unless someone can enlighten me otherwise.

I think to be a full League club you have to fully be professional. This could however be bollocks.

 

[Arthur]

I think to be a full League club you have to fully be professional. This could however be bollocks.

I've no idea if that is true or not.

How many of the conference sides aren't professional these days?

Also how many of them have grounds which wouldn't be good enough for the football league? Can't be many.

 

[Ninja Elephant]

Why can't the Blue Square Premier now be considered League 3? Most of the clubs are professional, most of them have played in the football league as well so it wouldn't make too much of a difference. Would expand the League Cup but that might be a good thing too. I don't see a downside. Also, sort out the daft 4 up from League 2 with 2 down. That is daft. It should be 3 up and 3 down from all 5 leagues, including BSP.

 

[Giraffe]

Why can't the Blue Square Premier now be considered League 3? Most of the clubs are professional, most of them have played in the football league as well so it wouldn't make too much of a difference. Would expand the League Cup but that might be a good thing too. I don't see a downside. Also, sort out the daft 4 up from League 2 with 2 down. That is daft. It should be 3 up and 3 down from all 5 leagues, including BSP.

Completely this. It would freshen up the league a lot. New sides coming up (and by that I mean proper new sides, not those recovering from administration) have generally held their own or done better. I see no reason why this wouldn't continue by opening up three up three down.

It would also mean clubs going down would have more of a realistic chance of going straight back up.

 

[The Large One]

I think to be a full League club you have to fully be professional. This could however be bollocks.

Calling Portsmouth 'professional' is pushing it.

 

[Ninja Elephant]

Completely this. It would freshen up the league a lot. New sides coming up (and by that I mean proper new sides, not those recovering from administration) have generally held their own or done better. I see no reason why this wouldn't continue by opening up three up three down.

It would also mean clubs going down would have more of a realistic chance of going straight back up.

I think everyone would be in favour of the whole pyramid being more competitive. As you have said previously in this thread, if you look at the clubs who have come up recently they all spend big money to do so. I think it would be much more positive for the whole footballing structure in this country if there were 5 leagues.

There is a downside though, thinking about it. It will be even harder to see Portsmouth out of the league structure entirely.

 

[Durlston]

They aren't good enough sadly. Likely to be heading down with Accrington.

I watched Barnet on Saturday and they were absolutely dreadful. Hardly created anything against a very average Rochdale side. Looks like their final match at Northampton will be a relegation decider for a FOURTH season in a row! There are so many bad teams at the foot of League Two that anyone from 14th downwards could still be relegated.

Plymouth should not press the panic button yet. AFC Wimbledon away tomorrow and Barnet at home on Saturday are winnable matches.

 

[Ernest]

Every club at the bottom has a sob story and we were just lucky in 97/98 only one team got chucked out of the FL

 

[Boys 9d]

Members of one of the main Non-League Forums are generally of the opinion that the greatest problems is that the Pyramid is unbalanced by having a "tower" at the top (Premier League, Football League and Conference National). The view that seems to dominate is that League 2 and Conference National should amalgamate and become a League 2 North and South with two clubs from each promoted to League 1. Bearing in mind the comments of contributers to this thread, the standard of this new level would not be much dimished.

 

[Ninja Elephant]

Members of one of the main Non-League Forums are generally of the opinion that the greatest problems is that the Pyramid is unbalanced by having a "tower" at the top (Premier League, Football League and Conference National). The view that seems to dominate is that League 2 and Conference National should amalgamate and become a League 2 North and South with two clubs from each promoted to League 1. Bearing in mind the comments of contributers to this thread, the standard of this new level would not be much dimished.

But you could easily have 3 or 4 Northern teams who deserve promotion a whole lot more than either of the 2 Southern teams who would get promotion by default if their league is weak. And vice-versa. It would probably balance out over time, but that doesn't seem a fair system either.

 

[Frutos]

Why can't the Blue Square Premier now be considered League 3? Most of the clubs are professional, most of them have played in the football league as well so it wouldn't make too much of a difference. Would expand the League Cup but that might be a good thing too. I don't see a downside. Also, sort out the daft 4 up from League 2 with 2 down. That is daft. It should be 3 up and 3 down from all 5 leagues, including BSP.

Forget League 3, just go back to calling them Division 1, 2, 3 and 4, make the BSP into Division 5, and then BSN and BSS into Division 5 North/South.

Simples.

 

[Boys 9d]

Reply to Ninja Elephant.

You could use the same argument against regionalisation at every level of the Pyramid.

To Frutos.

That maintains the "tower".