Only one going down: it's in our hands!

[Beano]

Thatcham Town have decided to return to Step 5 football, so have resigned from the Southern League South & West Division.

 

As The Kingfishers cannot finish in the bottom two in their division, that means that their departure will create a reprieve for the team finishing 21st.  In turn, that means that the vacancy within the Southern League that was created by Hinckley United going bust in October will be filled by the team finishing 21st in the Central Division.

 

It's all explained on this spreadsheet by Peter Miller:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AqII2SlGRhT7dGQ5ZGJtd0tjY3l2ZW90NHQ2QlFubkE&usp=sharing#gid=0

 

What this means is that we now have a fantastic opportunity to avoid relegation, starting tomorrow by getting a result against Slough.  

 

Good luck to Thatcham as they seek to regroup but, in the meantime, we need to make the final push to stay at Step 4. 

 

We can do this! 

 

[Krooner]

Is that right Beano ? 

 

I thought it was done as PPG across the whole of Step 4 rather than by division ?

[Beano]

It certainly is.  Rule 5.4 of the National League System has this to say about vacancies created by resignations and/or insolvency:

 

 

5.4 Where a vacancy occurs the following procedures will apply:-

 

(i) Where a potential vacancy had been  notified in a particular division prior to the end of the Playing Season, the Club concerned would be classed as the relegated Club and the best ranked Club in that division would be reprieved.

 

(ii) Where a vacancy occurs following the completion of the Playing Season then the best ranked Club across the particular Step would be reprieved. The ranking to be determined by the average  points gained per game played.

 

There are two factors at work here; Hinckley United were wound up on October 7th, which creates an "in-division" reprieve in the Southern League Premier Division, which means that the subsequent vacancy at Step 4 would ordinarily have been decided by which of the clubs finishing 21st in the Southern League Divisions had the highest PPG. That would be whoever finishes 21st in the South & West Division.  However, as Thatcham have resigned from that division and bottom clubs now cannot be reprieved, the "within League" reprieve at Step 4 goes across to the Central Division.

 

Any clubs that resign after the conclusion of the season would create reprieves that are determined purely by PPG.

 

Of course, as we're not going to finish in the bottom two, it's not going to be a problem... 

[Krooner]

Thanks for that mate

[Tel]

Just read on the Combined Counties blog Chertsey have resigned from Step 4 hoping to take a spot in the C / C

 

Could it be possible for an Ashford reprieve ?

[Green_Fingers]

Just read on the Combined Counties blog Chertsey have resigned from Step 4 hoping to take a spot in the C / C

 

Could it be possible for an Ashford reprieve ?

As Beano states above "bottom" Clubs cannot be reprieved.  

[Beano]

Well, The FA did say that, but then the Northern Premier League moved the goalposts. Chertsey's resignation might mean they are "deemed" the bottom club, even if they finish above us. We just need to get a better result than they do on Saturday and make sure it's not us in last place. Everything else is out of our hands.

[Tel]

As Beano states above "bottom" Clubs cannot be reprieved.

 

So that's it for Ashford or is Beano going to through a spanner in the works with a well maybe not

[Beano]

No, I'm not.

 

It's all in The FA's hands now but, my understanding of the current situation is that Fleet Town will be reprieved, as Thatcham will be deemed to be the 22nd club in the South & West Division. Chertsey will be deemed to finish 22nd in our division (even though they weren't the bottom club). There is a vacancy within the Southern League caused by the liquidation of Hinckley United; The FA did say all along that they wouldn't reprieve teams that finished last, but their rules also say that the demise of Hinckley creates a reprieve within the League.  I think this will be decided by comparing the Points Per Game averages of both ourselves and Guildford City; Guildford's is better, so they would be first in line IF that's the way The FA go.

 

They may decide to go "across step" to fill the vacancy, in which case there is even less chance that we'd be offered the chance to stay up because our PPG is so low.

 

Of course, we can't know if there are any other clubs suffering problems and, as we know from our experience in 2010, until the Leagues have their AGMs, nothing is cast in stone.