National League/Non-League 22/23

[Gassin's finest]

I guess I'm likely to be the only one who posts in here, but hey.

National League gets under way on the 6th August:

There's quite a few clubs in the South East, so I'm planning a little tour of the grounds for S****horpe's away days.

 

[Gassin's finest]

Speaking of Scunny, please, please let this go through:

https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/...-news/swann-agrees-sale-of-s****horpe-7363058

edit: yeh, yeh... s****horpe problem breaks the link. Damn AOL.

 

[muppetman]

Hoping for a decent season for Halifax but I think the manager moved on so we shall see.

 

[Lumiere]

It's a shame only 2 get promoted from the National League. I'm not sure why they don't expand it, would make it a lot more interesting and help out more clubs from the financial side. It's especially unfair as 4 get relegated.

 

[Marty]

Rothwell completes Oldham Athletic takeover

Businessman Frank Rothwell completes a takeover of Oldham Athletic, buying the financially-challenged club from Abdallah Lemsagam.

www.bbc.com

Things are hopefully looking up for the other relegated team last season.

 

[Marty]

It's a shame only 2 get promoted from the National League. I'm not sure why they don't expand it, would make it a lot more interesting and help out more clubs from the financial side. It's especially unfair as 4 get relegated.

The EFL would have to agree to allocate an extra relegation spot. Unlikely to happen.

Personally I'd do away with four teams going up/down between L1 and L2 as well and have three up, three down as the standard going all the way down the pyramid.

 

[1961beavera]

I'll be keeping tabs on Blyth Spartans in National League N, spent my teenage years in Blyth and followed the Spartans seeing them beat Stoke, draw at Wrexham (only to be robbed by Alf Grey) and other memorable FA Cup games (First was against Preston managed by one B Charlton with B Kidd and N Stiles on the team sheet).

 

[bceej]

Will be popping by to watch Clapton CFC as I’m a few minutes walk away these days.

 

['O Zio]

Comical scenes at Macclesfield FC (the artist formerly known as Macc Town) today.

Mid-way through the second half, the ref takes a ball to the back of the head and goes down. He gets taken to the sidelines for assessment, but then after a lot of faffing about, they ask over the tannoy if anyone in the crowd is a qualified ref.

Long story short, we ended up with some 60-odd year old bloke running the line for the last 20 mins or so while the linesman took over as ref. Daftest part is they didn't even give him any kit so he was running up and down in the pair of smart shorts and striped polo shirt he'd turned up in in 30 degree heat the poor sod.

Obviously this is very low-level competition but there were still 3k people there so fair play to the bloke.

 

[branchie]

Anybody watching the Wrexham documentary?

 

[taidgh]

Anybody watching the Wrexham documentary?

almost created a thread on it. have you started it? any good?

 

[branchie]

almost created a thread on it. have you started it? any good?

Yes. Watched the first two this afternoon.

Wrexham are my closest "proper" football club so I have a soft spot for them. The document doesn't disappoint. It's a good watch - funny, honest, and a slightly quirky behind the scenes look that's simplifies everything for the American audience.

I also like the way it respects Wales and the Welsh language.

Give it a go!

 

[cwy21]

almost created a thread on it. have you started it? any good?

I watched the first two episodes and enjoyed it. As long as you accept that certain things need to get explained for Americans who don't follow football (like the football pyramid, promotion/relegation, and a few British slang terms) it was entertaining.

Also Wrexham just released this statement. In a world where pub teams stream their matches on youtube/twitch, it's incredible how behind the times the National League appears to be. Including teams not able to post highlights until Monday!?!?!

STATEMENT | Domestic & International Streaming

The matter of streaming of National League games for all clubs has been on the agenda for an extended period, with Wrexham AFC first raising this in April 2021.

www.wrexhamafc.co.uk

 

[taidgh]

Yes. Watched the first two this afternoon.

Wrexham are my closest "proper" football club so I have a soft spot for them. The document doesn't disappoint. It's a good watch - funny, honest, and a slightly quirky behind the scenes look that's simplifies everything for the American audience.

I also like the way it respects Wales and the Welsh language.

Give it a go!

Cool. Will do. I was worried it would focus too much on the celebrity owners.

 

[UncleBuck]

Just got back from watching the mighty Barton Rovers v Biggleswade, Southern League Division One Central.
Wasn’t a bad game actually but oh my god, the players didn’t stop moaning to the ref at the slightest bit of contact!

 

[Nice One Cyril]

Couple of my mates follow Bath City, so I keep an eye out for their results, in National League South.

 

[Gassin's finest]

We're fucked...

https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/...ws/s****horpe-united-at-risk-entering-7583710

S****horpe United are understood to be in genuine danger of entering administration after a proposed takeover deal collapsed.

The National League side have been searching for a buyer for the last few months with owner Peter Swann looking to sell his majority stake in the club following relegation from League Two.

However, the businessman confirmed last week that a potential deal had fallen through after the takeover group failed to prove funds despite passing the Owners' and Directors' Test needed in non-league.

Speaking to BBC Radio Humberside, he confirmed that the main takeover option was no longer on the table, explaining: "We are still negotiating. The buyer has to have the funds and I'm afraid that they didn't have them.

"I've been working with a couple of other groups at the minute and we start again, virtually, on some of the stuff. It's not easy to sell the club, as you can imagine at this moment in time, but that's why I stepped away so I can crack on with that.

Swann revealed that two different parties are in talks about buying the club but neither has been advanced, leaving a deal looking some way off.
He added: "If they can't prove they have proof of funds, how are we supposed to proceed? There are still a couple of others bubbling under the surface so we caught up with them again and started to move on with them.

"Hopefully, we can get something done as soon as we can. It's not an easy task but I am trying various avenues to get this deal done."


Speaking earlier, Mr Swann said his priority was still to find a buyer. But when asked about administration, he refused to be drawn on his next moves.

He said: "People want me out yet they still want me to finance the football club. At this moment in time, yes there will be a limit to that. I don't know when that is, when that decision will be made but I'm doing my best to give the football club the best future it can. But it's not great, we haven't had great results over the last few years but I'm trying to make sure the club has a future. I've always said that since day one."

Bottom of the league with four points from eight matches, administration could see the FA deduct the Iron points from their total this season with consecutive relegations possible.

Asked by BBC Radio Humberside if the club could go into administration, Swann said he didn't want to discuss it. He explained: "I'm not going there, I'm not going down that route. I've told you where we are and we'll try to get a deal done."
The Swann family has owned the club since 2013 and they reached the League One play-offs in 2017 and 2018. Two relegations followed including a miserable 26-point season last term which saw the Iron end their 72-year stay in the Football League. Swann previously revealed that the club would have gone into administration in 2021 if they not had taken on an EFL loan.

The Swann's continue to finance the club but with time running out to agree on a deal, the potential of the club being plunged into administration is thought to be just weeks away.

Football financial expert Kieran Maguire has previously explained that in 2021 the Iron had effectively been losing around £30,000 each week. He said: “On a sustainable basis, S****horpe doesn't look like a great investment because in each of the last nine or 10 years it's spent more money on wages than it's been generating an income.”

Worries are now growing about becoming the next Bury FC if a takeover cannot be agreed upon.

The former League Two club were expelled from the Football League in 2019 and were wound up with debts of £5m in 2020. They have since reformed as a phoenix club in tier 5 of the league system.

 

[tototoner]

Fair play

 

[Marty]

Fair play

And from 2017

 

[aliyid]

After a positive start (10pts in first 6 games) it’s all gone a bit tits up for Maidstone since then (4pts from last 12 games) and we find ourselves in relegation zone.

Only 3pts separating the bottom six