[spireitematt]

The only thing I have against Wrexham is that if they'd stopped whingeing and got on with playing they'd have been back in the EFL eight years ago or more. That's where they should be and I'd like them to get back.

The question I would ask about our buying Danny Rowe is that if there is nothing odd in our behaviour, why didn't we do it as soon as we knew about Asante's ACL. I knew his absence would make a massive difference to us and that we had several tough games coming one after another. I knew from Devon, watching a bit online, as an amateur fan, who once played a bit .......... Does anybody out there think I know more than our manager James Rowe? So we predictably dropped eight vital points and then some money and an available player arrived ...............  Since James Rowe's arrival he has been consistent in making quick decisions and moving with great speed in the market. He has been solving tomorrow's problem yesterday. This time he tried an unlikely answer to his problem over three games before acting. Doesn't sound like the same man does it? Whether we win or lose at Wrexham I'll be wondering what's going on, won't you?

He will get things wrong and make mistakes, who doesn't? It's what makes us human. We need to look at the bigger picture, before James Rowe came in we were staring at dropping into National League North this was before they scrapped the National League North/South season. The turnaround from being near the bottom of the table and being in and around the playoffs has been unbelievable.

Now we all want promotion but I think there are better teams above us in the table. Since these 6 teams playoffs have come in no one below 2nd or 3rd has been promoted. If we don't get promoted then we go again next season.

The question I am going to ask you is if we do get promotion and this question is for Dancing and SGB (wherever he is) as well is do you think this current team is good enough to compete in L2 and stay up?

[SaltergateBorn]

Yes, Matt, I`m still here. Certain other things are taking up most of my mental energies at the moment; first among them being an impending first house-move in 28 years which, after several false starts, now looks as though it`s going to go ahead. I`m still listening and watching, though.

The short answer to your question is that I`ve no idea. Over the past few years the established EFL teams that have dropped into the NL have usually come back stronger when they`ve finally made it back. Lincoln, Tranmere, Leyton Orient, Oxford, Mansfield Luton et al have all survived quite comfortably so I see no reason for thinking that we wouldn`t. I do say `wouldn`t` rather than `won`t` though, because I really can`t see us making it now. Long term injuries to key players have rather done for us this year, I`m afraid, and I reckon it`s going to be a case of recharging for next year.

It`s not only Wrexham fans who are wondering where the money`s coming from; it`s rather concerning me as well. We weren`t banking on joining the ESL, were we?

[Dancingwilldoit]

In answer to the question Matt - Yes. People moan about this "god awful" league but its not much different to league 2. The quality of football is pretty much the same. The only big difference I can see is the quality of referees and the sometimes blatant cheating and diving. There are not many teams go up to league 2 and come back down straight away which must say something.
Re the money tree, as I understand it we had a £100k loan from those very friendly people in government, all we had to do was to agree to make a hefty donation to the Conservative Party Seriously though its a long term low interest loan so I assume thats where the funds are coming from and not Tom Cruise who's waiting in the wings to take the club over.

[Devongone]

In the Non-League Paper today James Rowe says he has been chasing Danny Rowe for months without success, and decided to have a final try around the deadline day and was surprised but delighted to succeed. So until his last gasp success Mr Rowe was doing the best he could with the resources he had. He also denies there is any financial problem and that it should have no impact on next season's finances either.

[spireitematt]

I agree Dancing there isn't much between L2 and the National League. Barrow have done ok in L2 but they are near the drop zone but doubt they'll go down now though but anything is possible.

[Devongone]

One of the understandable problems being a Chesterfield fan is that we've spent years being lied to and wondering where the money is coming from and going to. We (I) do suspect everyone and everything.

Certainly the sums we are laying out are small, but in the National League they are enough to have us classified as big spenders. And the rumour was we didn't have any money ........

Dancing is certainly right about the gap narrowing between our football and EFL2. It's a simple effect of the promotion and relegation system. This season they might get Sutton Utd and Bromley. We get Southend and Grimsby two clubs well-capable of getting a 7-8,000 crowd and a strong tradition of being in the Football League. Barrow lost a lot from last season and on paper are nowhere near as good, but they don't look like going down.

As to SGB, I've been looking at moving back to Derbyshire for quite a while. I need to downsize now. I can afford far more than I'm seeking. In fact I could make myself a cash buyer and rent out my home in Totnes if I wanted. But my partner was the impetus behind our moves. He was the organiser. He was a theatrical director, he took stuff in his stride. Moving after 14 /15 years here, there's so much stuff, so much to do and how the fcku do I choose the right place to live out my remaining time on the planet? I've never moved alone. To say I'm daunted would be the understatement of all time. Best of luck SGB.

[Dancingwilldoit]

Make the jump Dev. Its no good in a couple of years saying "I wish I had ...........".
My Mum had Dementia and had to move from a 4 bed detached into sheltered accommodation in 2019. I had to do the move, not pleasant but we got there. She passed away late last year so had it again. Problem was because of Covid I couldnt give the mountains of bloody stuff away, some of which was still in storage. Nobody would take it. I did find an excellent removal co though who did in the end take care of everything for a fee of course.
Its hard to throw some stuff out but its amazing the amount of rubbish we accumulate through life.

[SaltergateBorn]

Thanks for the good wishes, Dev; much appreciated. However, I suspect that by the time the process is finished my brain is going to be so thoroughly scrambled that I`ll be more in need of a good frontal lobotomy than good luck. There`s no doubt that moving house does get more stressful as you get older, especially so if it`s the first one you`ll have made on your own. I can see the problem in dragging yourself away from Totnes as well. Lovely place. Are all the bookshops still there?

Dancing is absolutely right, though. Sometimes, once you`ve decided that it`s what you want to do, you just have to bite the bullet and do it. Short-term pain for long-term gain and all that. I once read a comment by Mark Twain to the effect that when we look back in 20 years` time we`ll be more disappointed with the things we didn`t do than the things we did. I reckon he was right and it would be nice to think we`ll all still be around in 20 years to prove it.

[Devongone]

Thanks for the good wishes. I need the encouragement.

SGB, Totnes is becoming "every day I love you less and less," but that might just be grief. The bookshops are almost all gone, but may be making a come back. The last years of my working life I worked in Harlequin, the second-hand and remaindered bookshop opposite the market square. It is now no more. Pedlar's Pack at the bottom of Fore Street closed years ago, the second hand shop where the owner sat reading all day died when his wife passed on tragically, the Totnes Bookshop owned by Dartington Estates has been shrinking into obscurity for years and may not ever re-open IMO, Bell Book and Candle's owner died and it is now kept alive by volunteers as a community bookshop. On the positive side a new independent shop opened on Eastgate during the pandemic that looks more than promising, and we do have an Oxfam bookshop that is well-stocked and well-run, but has spent the last year largely closed of course. The trouble with Totnes is that it is a long way up its own bottom and lost a lots of its attraction when Dartington College of Arts combined with Falmouth College and left the town to become a forgotten part of the University of Cornwall. The place isn't sure whether to be a working town or another kind of Salcombe. Now where else can you get news of Totnes? (You do realise we were probably part of the same school choir, when I was too junior a boy even to have spoken to you!)

The Mark Twain comment is so true ....... in my case anyway.