[spireitematt]

Barnet 0-1 Chesterfield
Eastleigh 2-1 Oldham Athletic
Rochdale 2-0 Wealdstone
Solihull Moors 3-0 Kidderminster Harriers
Southend United 1-3 Altrincham
Woking 0-2 Gateshead


League Table After Matchday 40

SaltergateBorn - 725
Spireitematt - 718
Amelia - 633
St Charles - 596
Lord Snoots - 589
Dancing - 585
Devon - 541

[Devongone]

Barnet 0-1 Chesterfield
Eastleigh 3-0 Oldham Athletic
Rochdale 1-1 Wealdstone
Solihull Moors 1-1 Kidderminster Harriers
Southend United 2-0 Altrincham
Woking 1-0 Gateshead

What stupid Tuesday night games these are for teams that played Saturday and are left to traipse to the other end of the country for a night match with players on whom they've barely had time to make fitness assessments. I wonder if anyone will ever listen to me about a 20 team league and in the EFL too. Five EFL divisions not four. And a distance flag within the computer programmes that generate the fixtures. Computers are well capable of handling that. Is football?

Solihull's is the only really sensible fixture. Ours isn't too bad especially as we'll still win the league even if Danny Webb and Cookie both play. But Oldham. Wealdstone, Altrincham and Gateshead will all be too tired to use Wednesday for any useful purposes, so they'll be assessing fitness, treating players, warming up a bit and kicking about on Thursday, so they'll only have Friday to really prepare if they have a game on Saturday. If you haven't got Jack Grealish calves and Will Carling thighs forget promotion.

[Lord Snooty]

Football and common sense? You're 'aving a larf, mate.

[Dancingwilldoit]

Barnet 1-3 Chesterfield
Eastleigh 2-0 Oldham Athletic
Rochdale 1-1 Wealdstone
Solihull Moors 4-0 Kidderminster Harriers
Southend United 1-0 Altrincham
Woking 1-2 Gateshead

[Lord Snooty]

Barnet 0-2 Chesterfield
Eastleigh 1-1 Oldham Athletic
Rochdale 2-1 Wealdstone
Solihull Moors 2-2 Kidderminster Harriers
Southend United 2-0 Altrincham
Woking 0-1 Gateshead

[SaltergateBorn]

Barnet 2-3 Chesterfield
Eastleigh 1-2 Oldham Athletic
Rochdale 2-2 Wealdstone
Solihull Moors 1-2 Kidderminster Harriers
Southend United 1-1 Altrincham
Woking 0-2 Gateshead

The idea of 5 leagues of 20 sounds sensible on the face of it, but the problem is that smaller leagues = fewer games = lower gate receipts = less money; and, as we all know, in football - as in most other areas of life, to be fair - money rules all.

I used to work with a bloke who got to know Gordon Strachan when he was manager at Coventry City and he told me about a discussion they had on this very subject one night. GS maintained that playing 3 games a week was not an issue, as most clubs played at least one 90-minute practice game during training each week -sometimes more - on the basis that that was the only way to make sure the players were match-fit for Saturday. If that`s the case, playing Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday really shouldn`t be a problem.

[Devongone]

Gate receipts are an increasingly unimportant part of club income. In the National League, even in our division, many clubs struggle to attract 1500. Is the wage bill being footed out of that? Some are paying really good money to players and coaches and when they are travelling between Eastleigh and Gateshead they are literally doing nothing - they ain't catching up on paper work and emailing clients are they? In a 20 team league they'd lose 4 home gates and avoid the loss of 4 away games. And this is not to mention injuries ..... which necessitate employing medical staff and physios, rehabilitation, all for a player who you are paying a big wage to have a bad leg!

When I was supposed to be studying for my "A" Levels I was sometimes playing three games of football and one of rugby in a weekend. I wasn't playing them at a high level, in front of a baying and expectant crowd. They didn't cause me stress except when I thought of that hasty piece of homework I was handing in to BOK. Physically I could do it, because I was young and football-fit and some of the time playing in goal!

The danger with fewer games is nitwit coaches might fill the time with idiot training aimed not at creating a skilled footballer but some "superfit athlete" who then damages a hamstring in the unnecessarily demanding pre-game warm-up! Why the fcku does a keeper need to dive about before the game!? Has he forgotten how to do it since Friday when he last dived about.

And whilst I'm ranting why does a sub' need 15 minutes being shown something on an I-Pad by some grey-haired old loon? What have they been doing all week that they are so unprepared for going on the field they need a sudden crash-course?

The result of our current system is we watch STALE players trying so hard to do all they have been told that they cannot now think for themselves. This is a world in which 90% of the time a winger turns back instead of taking on his full back, looks after the ball and unthreateningly lays it back into midfield. From there it works back to a defender who naturally plays safety-first and uses his keeper, who responds by either dithering on the ball or essaying a misplaced short pass to concede a goal. The alternative is the random belt upfield!

Fewer games, concentration on quality and skill in training, fewer injuries, better product in need of far less punditry and hype. A beautiful game?

[Lord Snooty]

Bang on again, Dev. The difference at Town when we let Darren Moore go was, said caretaker Jonny Worthington, simplifying things and not over doing information.

Football was never meant to me that technical.

[Devongone]

I don't think it is the gate revenue that would be the issue for the clubs so much as the re-organisation itself. It would have to happen straight after a season - possibly 6 clubs from the Championship would go down and 2 from Division One would go up. So down to Division One, 6 have come down from above, 2 must come up from Div 2, so only 12 stay at the level they are at ......... so that division will have had a desperation preceding season. That means Division 2 gets 10 new sides doesn't it? Ten only stay in Division 2. So 12 clubs go down to join 8 from the National League and make up a new Division 3.

It is a MASSIVE disruption, and a huge number of clubs will fear the prospect of going down and the dog-fight of the season preceding it. Nevertheless the long-term benefits for football would be great and if clubs want more games they have that in their own hands - FIELD STRONG TEAMS TO TRY AND WIN CUP GAMES!!!

Will turkeys vote for Christmas if the present is a longer and better life on the farm?

[spireitematt]

League Table After Matchday 41

SaltergateBorn - 739
Spireitematt - 724
Amelia - 633
Lord Snoots - 603
St Charles - 596
Dancing - 591
Devon - 550