IT’S ALL GONE QUACKERS!
Ducks quit – and it throws Pyramid into chaos
THE FA’S Leagues Committee are bracing themselves for a summer of discontent following Shaw Lane’s shock decision to resign from the Evo-Stik League.
The Ducks – who reached this season’s FA Cup first round and finished sixth in the league, just outside the play-offs – revealed on Friday they had been forced to disband their first team after failing to find new investors.
And the decision has created a huge knock-on effect round the entire re-structured Step 3 and 4 Pyramid with several clubs unhappy at being shifted to another division at the 11th hour.
Hednesford Town and Banbury United will both exercise their rights to appeal their respective league moves in the next seven days, as will Fleet Town, whose switch to Southern League South & West from Southern Central will “cripple the club” according to the secretary Richard Whittingham.
BOARD member Richard Whittingham says he fears for the future of Fleet Town after the Hampshire club suffered from the knockon effect of Shaw Lane’s shock demise this week.
The Ducks, who were only formed in 2012, were forced to resign from the Evo-Stik League on Friday after failing to find new investors.
The decision spells good news for Essex club FC Romania, who have been offered a place at Step 4 by virtue of having the best points-per-game ratio for a third-placed Step 5 side, and Wimborne Town, who edged out Cambridge City by just ONE GOAL to take their place in Step 3 through the same method.
But it’s not been received quite so warmly at Hednesford Town, who have been shifted from Southern League Central to the Northern Premier League and Banbury United, who move from Southern South West to Southern Central.
Both have appealed the FA’s decision ahead of an emergency committee meeting this morning – and they will be joined by Fleet Town, whose switch to Southern South West from Southern Central will mean a 300 per cent increase to the club’s budget, which will send them out of business, according to sectretary Whittingham.
“There is no way we will be able to sustain it,” he told
The NLP. “Our management team of Simon Haughney and Martin Grey and the core of our players are based in Surrey and London and can’t be expected to make the time, effort and money to make trips to Somerset and the west every other week.
Ramifications
“We are still picking up the pieces of the death of our former chairman, Steve Cantle, and a move to the South West will cripple us. We would have to take voluntary relegation to Step 5 at best.
“Surely it would make more sense to shift Didcot Town or Marlow into the South West, as they are more westerly than us, or promote Sholing instead of FC Romania as a straight forward replacement for Wimborne? It’s just not been thought out and can have major ramifications for clubs like ours.”
Hednesford have told of their intention to appeal with manager Rob Smith having spent the last six weeks working hard to recruit a new squad for the Southern League Central.
A club statement said: “Hednesford Town Football Club will appeal this deci- sion on the grounds that there are two clubs in the Southern League Central Division who are more northerly than us – these being Coalville Town and Kings Lynn Town.”
Objective
Shaw Lane’s decision to stand down caused shockwaves around the Pyramid after they failed to attract new investment into the club.
In a statement, the Barns- ley-based club’s owner Craig Wood said he had “taken the club as far as he could”, claiming success up to now had cost him over £1 million.
“It is with great regret and sadness that Shaw Lane AFC have informed the relevant bodies of their withdrawal from all football matters with immediate effect,” the statement read. “It has been well publicised that the club has been trying to attract inward investment in the last few weeks. This was not forthcoming within the timescales necessary.
“The objective when Shaw Lane FC started was to give Barnsley a Non-League football club, which could work together with Barnsley FC and the council to become an asset for the community.
“Unfortunately neither of these bodies shared his vision and Craig has decided to retire from the club.”