23-08-2016, 10:56
Well we've had four divisions whether 1234, or 123 North and South for all of living memory. Change makes for more change IMO. Once you make five divisions with fewer league matches and the sky doesn't fall in you can contemplate radical change. Five divisions won't have been around for millions of years, the resistance to perhaps a regional conference structure or even six or seven divisions will necessarily reduce.
We're dumping some premier fringe squads into what used to be a paint tin. That experiment will be a ludicrous failure in my eyes, but why shouldn't Manchester Heath be the equivalent of Real Madrid's B Team in the Championship? Why should Premier youngsters have to be loaned to clubs like ours to play against grown men in competitive matches? Why should we be denied seeing rising stars about to be the future of British football, playing together? Away at Bromwich Throstles, nice fixture in my opinion and it'll reinvigorate big moribund clubs and even perhaps attract TV audiences.
Once you've brought 100 league teams into the fold you can't step back. You can't say oh you lot are out now we want to go back to 92 and four divisions. The only way is forward. Did you care less that we went out of the League Cup? Only about 1,000 turned up! We have enough games without it NOW! But a 38 match programme instead of 46 makes a huge difference. There's room to redevelop and reinvigorate cup competitions. Then - playing one that involves a group round won't look so out of place as it does now.
Money always talks, the trick will be to make it talk for the benefit of the game. At the moment it's buying Benteke for Crystal Palace and Shakiri for Stoke, do we want to sustain that, or shake the tree and see if a few of the apples fall in our direction?
We're dumping some premier fringe squads into what used to be a paint tin. That experiment will be a ludicrous failure in my eyes, but why shouldn't Manchester Heath be the equivalent of Real Madrid's B Team in the Championship? Why should Premier youngsters have to be loaned to clubs like ours to play against grown men in competitive matches? Why should we be denied seeing rising stars about to be the future of British football, playing together? Away at Bromwich Throstles, nice fixture in my opinion and it'll reinvigorate big moribund clubs and even perhaps attract TV audiences.
Once you've brought 100 league teams into the fold you can't step back. You can't say oh you lot are out now we want to go back to 92 and four divisions. The only way is forward. Did you care less that we went out of the League Cup? Only about 1,000 turned up! We have enough games without it NOW! But a 38 match programme instead of 46 makes a huge difference. There's room to redevelop and reinvigorate cup competitions. Then - playing one that involves a group round won't look so out of place as it does now.
Money always talks, the trick will be to make it talk for the benefit of the game. At the moment it's buying Benteke for Crystal Palace and Shakiri for Stoke, do we want to sustain that, or shake the tree and see if a few of the apples fall in our direction?