[spireitematt]

Thanks for that, Matt; interesting stuff. I did read somewhere that RB Leipzig were pretty much universally despised in Germany and that the normal model over there was for fan rather than private ownership, as it is in a few other countries. (I`m all for that, by the way; should bring it in over here.) I didn`t know the other stuff, though.

The only St Pauli I`ve heard of over there is the red-light district of Hamburg – allegedly. I only know this, of course, because I erm, erm, read it somewhere. Never been there, obviously, and at my age there`d be no bloody point in going there now. Is it the same St Pauli (he asks out of nothing more than academic interest)? Do they play in red?

My interest in European football only extends as far as Spain, really.  I spent some time in Salamanca as a student many, many moons ago and I used to watch the local team UDS Salamanca whilst I was there. Sadly, they went into liquidation – about 10 years ago, I think -  but a couple of new clubs were formed out of their ashes, as it were, a few years later; Unionistas de Salamanca and Salamanca UDS. They`ve both been climbing steadily up the leagues the last few years and are in the third tier now Unionistas could be going up again at the end of the season as things stand but UDS could be going the other way.

We seem to have digressed somewhat from Dancing`s original thread title of “Can we do it?” but what the hell. Threads are supposed to wander; this one certainly has.

That is correct SGB they are despised by fans of other clubs. In Germany the model for clubs is a mixture of fan owned and private ownership which is where the 50+1 rules comes in. It's very democratic, if the fans are members then they can vote on ticket prices, kits etc. Teams in Spain have Presidents which are voted in by the members.

It is indeed the same St Pauli, there rivals are Hamburg and the Derby is called the Hamburger. I think they play in brown and white.

Since I discovered that Youtube live stream 2nd division Spanish football at weekend, I will watch maybe 2 games every week.

As for the original question of ''Can we do it?'' Mathematically yes we can. We need to keep winning games and keep the run of form going. If you asked that question at the beginning of the season then I would have said no because early on in the season we looked destined for relegation and going to National League North. Since James Rowe has come in and changed the teams fortunes around he's made the fans feel optimistic again and made football enjoyable and long may it continue.

Looking at Sutton's fixtures they will hit a bad run of form at some point. Torquay, Eastleigh and you could include Notts County in the list as well they've seemed to have hit a run of bad form, Torquay have lost 3 out of their last 5 games. All we have to do is keep winning and keep a run of form going.

[SaltergateBorn]

That hits the nail fairly and squarely on the head, Matt. All we can do is to try to keep winning our games and then, at the end of the day, we finish where we finish. It is nice, though, to be talking about the top of the table rather than the other end.

[Devongone]

I got well poo-poohed, well slagged off, on Bob's Board once for saying I'd like Chesterfield to learn some lessons from St Pauli. Some, more than some!

Their equivalent of a Chairman then was openly gay. They did have a gay player. They were openly anti-racist and encouraged black players. They were known as the rebels or the pirates because of their general attitude.

I'm no expert on German football, though I did know Hoffenheim were hated. TheMacLad of our Preston Board here hates Fylde for much the same reason - he's against all plastic clubs! And I can see his point, though I like the idea of a vegan Forest Green coming out of as unlikely a town as Nailsworth.

But St Pauli, yes keeping ploughing your own furrow, continue to rebel! Over here we're ploughing our furlough!

Sutton's trouble is that it isn't really a place, it's part of a place. Now that's fine if you are established like Tottenham, but Sutton, a little like Hoffenheim, was an amateur club, who have grown in recent times. I don't think children go to school in Sutton and learn the equivalent of "you're Chesterfield and your main job is to hate Mansfield". I'd got that sussed at primary school!

[spireitematt]

Lost 2 games in a row now, teams above and around us have won and the playoffs aren't out of reach just yet but they are starting to slip away. 6pts from a playoff spot now, Barnet is a must win game now, a draw or a loss to Barnet and the playoffs I think will have gone and then it's just about finishing the season in a respectable position in the table and go for promotion next season.

Stockport have shown they mean business and want promotion by going out and buying Paddy Madden from Fleetwood which in my opinion is a fantastic signing and one which will give them a boost and a lift and maybe it will help them kick on for promotion.

[SaltergateBorn]

I suppose it was inevitable that we had to hit a bad patch eventually and it puts into perspective where we are at present.

I don`t think the play-offs would be out of reach, Matt, but certainly we need to get back to winning again very quickly.

[spireitematt]

I suppose it was inevitable that we had to hit a bad patch eventually and it puts into perspective where we are at present.

I don`t think the play-offs would be out of reach, Matt, but certainly we need to get back to winning again very quickly.

I agree. No they aren't out of reach just yet but if we slip up against Barnet and results go against us then they could very well will be out of reach. We do need to get back to winning ways again but we shouldn't overreact because we lost 2 games. We aren't going to win every game and we will pick up injuries and be outplayed by other teams because that's what happens. We just need to keep the faith and trust in the trust and the process.

[Devongone]

I'm not so sure about Paddy Madden for Stockport. I fancied them to win it before they did that. Now I think they'll either stroll it, or blow it. He'll have a target on his back in this league. Those sneaky little goals he picks up in the EFL, will he sniff them out, or will he be snuffed out?

As for us, we need to keep building. We aren't going down are we? We've got a good manager. If we need to build some more, then that's what we do. Maidenhead hammered Torquay after beating us and Sutton are on a roll. Our rivals have to win consistently too you know. We are all in the National League because we are extremely fallible.

[spireitematt]

5pts off the playoffs still with about 3 games in hand, just got to keep winning. I reckon the National League will take points off clubs who have beaten Dover this season as it would make the league much fairer.

[SaltergateBorn]

That is what`s always happened in the past, Matt, when a team has dropped out part-way through a season; so if precedent is anything to go by at least 4 teams above us will lose 3 points. It certainly wouldn`t do our situation any harm if that happened.

[Dancingwilldoit]

If Dover get kicked out we lose one of our games in hand don't forget. It still moves us up the league though.