Dave
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Post by Dave on Dec 18, 2008 17:11:36 GMT
A Blue Square Premier chairman has called for the division to be regionalised because of travel and accommodation costs. Woking's David Taylor believes it has to come, even more so in the current credit crunch.
From what I understand It would mean only one team going up as champions of each South and North division. Unless it was change for three or even four teams to get relegated from division two. I don't think the div two league clubs would want to see any changes made as it would be an even bigger trap door for teams near the bottom of that league.
If it was changed to say three going down from division two, then I would think the third team to go up from the BSP would be the winner of a play off final between the two clubs who finished second in each league.
While I can understand why some clubs who has low gates might want to support such an idea, my view is that it will only make it harder to get out the BSP and would make the BSP look even lower than what it is.
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merse
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Post by merse on Dec 18, 2008 17:58:23 GMT
 As I commented on the Herald Express website on this subject....................if Mr Taylor were to run his club properly so that OUR fans could have been adequately fed and welcomed in his ground they would have made enough money to underwrite an overnight trip in each of the two seasons we have been barred from their Social Club and that they have run out of food in the away section of the ground. We have nothing to learn from dead end clubs like Woking. We gain little from their pathetic away following and it's certainly NOT prudent to set league standards using THEM as a bench mark rather than ourselves! Ironically it was at Woking that my friends and I had a pre-match pub chat with OUR Chairman Alex Rowe and Director Marc Boyce and one of the things we talked about was overnight stays and the cost of them. Alex and Marc revealed how much OUR club invests in a proper preparation for professional footballers and the lengths they (the directors) go to in securing a good deal for the Football Club with old friend of the club John Jarvis who's Ramada-Jarvis chain of hotels provide the bulk of overnight accommodation.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2008 18:24:06 GMT
When the Alliance Premier League - now the BSP - was set up in 1979 the bold decision was made to make it a national league. This was in keeping with the ambition of those involved at a time when the motorway network was pretty much complete. Curiously it also happened when there was periodic talk - nothing more - about going back to Div 3N and Div 3S.
I can't remember any serious proposals to de-nationalise and I think that's even less likely now there are so many ex-Football League clubs on the scene. I don't think it'll happen.
Having said that, I've just grabbed a sheet of paper to see what would happen if you lumped the BSP together with the current top 12 of Conf S and Conf N - before drawing an E-W line to create two leagues of 24 clubs.
There would be dispute over whether to put Worcester in the north - and Cambridge in the south - which would make sense if it wasn't for Histon. Keeping the Cambridgeshire clubs together pushes them north - unless Worcester and Forest Green were pushed that way because of their closeness to the M5. If Cambridge went north they'd join other recent ex-league clubs Kidderminster, Wrexham, Rushden, York and Mansfield. Burton and Histon would be there with them.
In the south, by contrast, the only recent ex-league clubs would be Torquay and Oxford and the league would only stretch as far north as Worcester and Stevenage. This league would, as it happens, divide equally between current BSP and Conf S clubs. It would be rather different to the current BSP in just about every way imaginable.
If there's a "problem" I think it's further down the pyramid. I would keep the current Conf N and Conf S (non league Step 2) and create a Midland Premier to make four leagues (of one division only) at Step 3. I'd cut out what is now Step 4 - leagues such as the one occupied by Truro and Taunton where teams travel all over the place to play in front of miniscule crowds - and go straight to the leagues which currently exist at Step 5. Top three levels in the FA Trophy; the rest in the FA Vase. It's too simple, of course, largely because the Southern, Isthmian and Northern Premier each like to have three divisions to call their own.
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Dave
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Post by Dave on Dec 18, 2008 23:09:52 GMT
I also do not think it would happen Barton and interesting reading your post on the problems about what team would play in the north or the south.
I do think that clubs who are having such low gates are always going to find it difficult to meet all the expenses of having to travel so far to some games.
Such clubs may be in danger of going under for that reason only and that would not be in the interest of the league, so surly an answer needs to be found and a way to help such clubs.
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Post by dazgull on Dec 19, 2008 8:43:26 GMT
There is no way regionalisation will occur. Woking do half the mileage we do through a season and have plenty of trips under the 100 mile mark whereas we just have Weymouth in that bracket.
In fact this season Wokings total mileage there and back to all league matches totals 5612. Compared to our 10638. They only have three trips over 200 miles and their chairman complaining about having to trek 206 miles to Wrexham (big deal..!!). Ask any of our regular away trippers about doing a 250 mile trek to some ground and back again and its taken as the norm.
Incidently Rushden do the least mileage with similar distances done by Kettering and Oxford. For a change though we do not do the most, poor Barrow have to trawl around 11466.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2008 9:09:49 GMT
I think Merse is pretty much on Woking's case here. As we've suspected, there seem to be several categories of club in the BSP: (1) those who could operate in the Football League; (2) those for whom the BSP is natural territory; (3) those for whom a regionalised set-up would probably be best. Woking may once have aimed for (1) but have settled into being (2) and now realise they're heading for (3). Bang in the middle of southern England, a regionalised set up with the likes of Torquay would be rather more attractive for Woking than the lowlier, muddier waters of Fisher Athletic and Thurrock. More about Woking's chairman - the Naked Leader - at www.nakedleader.com/pages/David-Taylor-Our-Founder.html. |
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