The Relegation Thread

[Si Robin]

Possibly, Rushden and Diamonds was a good example, worked their way up to League One, last a season and it all fell apart from there (Think the owner passed away who owned Dr Martens) and ended up folding.

Ironically we sent them down from L1 last game of the season (missing out on GD on the play offs in the process) and Nene Park was a lovely little ground, oddly had the largest stand behind the goal with tables and seats inside etc and that was given to the away fans, so they had the best facilities! Been demolished now which is crazy.

That said Fleetwood is an example of when it can work longer term and with their facilities/training ground would surely survive Pilley moving on.

Salford would be the one you'd expect to struggle if their investment got the plug pulled mind as they have very little in the way of facilities as you see on Class of 92 when they are picking dog shit up off the local park!

Griggs handed the club to the Supporter's Trust (I think they were a Trust) a while before passing. His family basically forced him to give it up. Naturally, with the wages they were paying, etc... it was simply unsustainable for the small number of fans they had to keep it going and the costs spiralled until eventually they went bust. That AFC R&D are still only in Step 4 of the non-league pyramid sums up how much they needed the financial backing.

This has always been my concern with FGR. Dale Vince is not immortal - at least I assume he's not - what happens when he goes?

 

[ShrimpsMeltdown]

I think that's us probably done after another limp performance on Saturday, doesn't look like we have any fight left.

Looking forward to Sutton at home on a Tuesday night infront of 800 people again.

 

[Luke Imp]

42 for safety now, it's been flitting between 42-45 for a while now.

I'm still expecting two or three teams to kick into some semblance of form but the bottom five have lost 18 of their last 25 games, with only 1 win so they need to be giving it a go soon if they fancy it!

 

[Chris FGR]

Can’t see beyond the current bottom 4 going down tbh. Oxford and MK have got enough about them to pick up another couple of wins.

 

[GEORGE]

Can’t see beyond the current bottom 4 going down tbh. Oxford and MK have got enough about them to pick up another couple of wins.

I agree with you -- Are you the 4 smallest clubs ? And by the way this is not a bigclub/small club debate either.

 

[Luke Imp]

I agree with you -- Are you the 4 smallest clubs ? And by the way this is not a bigclub/small club debate either.

There's Burton, Fleetwood and Cheltenham you'd probably look at as well.

 

[Luke Imp]

Here you go ...

Not sure whether Yeo is updating this but Burton/Cheltenham the only sides down there playing each other this weekend.

 

[Chris FGR]

I agree with you -- Are you the 4 smallest clubs ? And by the way this is not a bigclub/small club debate either.

I would swap Cambridge with Burton or Fleetwood, but yeah definitely ourselves, Morecambe and Accy are the smallest 3.

On another note It’s funny how many of the current League 1 teams we’ve played in non league. There’s those 5, plus yourselves, Cheltenham, Exeter, Lincoln, Oxford and Shrewsbury literally half the league.

Faced quite a few in 3 different divisions as well.

 

[Greenacres]

I would swap Cambridge with Burton or Fleetwood, but yeah definitely ourselves, Morecambe and Accy are the smallest 3.

On another note It’s funny how many of the current League 1 teams we’ve played in non league. There’s those 5, plus yourselves, Cheltenham, Exeter, Lincoln, Oxford and Shrewsbury literally half the league.

Faced quite a few in 3 different divisions as well.

Without resorting to Wikipedia...to confirm exact dates...I reckon there must be at least 8-10 teams in League Two who we also played in the Conference/Nat Lge.

 

[Chris FGR]

Back in 98 we played Burton in the Southern League. Playing them in the third tier didn’t seem too likely back then. Crawley were in that division too.

Going to places like Atherstone, Hastings, Gresley & Sittingbourne was a bit different to Sheff Wed, Ipswich, Derby or Portsmouth.

 

[Si Robin]

It was a draw at Burton in the Southern League on the last day of the season that began our rise up the Leagues.

Crazy that it's nearly 26 years ago now!!

 

[Bartonyellow]

It was a draw at Burton in the Southern League on the last day of the season that began our rise up the Leagues.

Crazy that it's nearly 26 years ago now!!

26 years ago - feels a lot less.
That was at our very palatial eton park with a tin shed for a roof and swapping ends at half time. Man with an ice cream tub to put the money in for the programmes.
Sometimes I forget how far we have come - from that to the championship and efl semi final.

 

[Si Robin]

26 years ago - feels a lot less.
That was at our very palatial eton park with a tin shed for a roof and swapping ends at half time. Man with an ice cream tub to put the money in for the programmes.
Sometimes I forget how far we have come - from that to the championship and efl semi final.

This was that day - in my favourite all time Cheltenham kit (also the last kit we had not made by Errea!!)

 

[gainsparkshrew]

Is that Steve Cotterill on the left?
I know he was your manager when you came into the FL, was he player-manager?

 

[Si Robin]

Yeah - he was brought in as a player (we were part-time then) and was asked to take over when Chris Robinson was sacked in January of that year. He became the full-time manager in the summer of 1997.

 

[GEORGE]

It was a draw at Burton in the Southern League on the last day of the season that began our rise up the Leagues.

Crazy that it's nearly 26 years ago now!!

I remember watching Cheltenham in a Southen league cup game when Bridgwater Town were in the Southern league Midland division. Not sure what Division Cheltenham were in.

 

[Si Robin]

We played them in the Southern League Midland Division in 82/83 - oddly in back to back games (Cheltenham won 1-0 and 2-0).

We also played them in the 1959/60 and 1960/61 FA Cup 4th Qualifying Rounds - Cheltenham were in the Southern Premier at the time so one division below the Football League.

We've never played them in the Southern League Cup - I've just checked every year from when we joined the Southern League in the 1935/36 season up to our last Southern League season in 1996/97.

 

[Chris FGR]

Cheltenham were lucky that Gresley failed the ground grading, they would have stood no chance against the unstoppable force that was us in the 97/98 season

 

[Si Robin]

You probably would have beaten us in 97/98 had we not gone up. Relegated from the Conference in 1992 we finished 2nd four times and 3rd the once over the next 5 years. In fact I went from my first game in 1994 to the 1999/2000 season before I saw us finish below 3rd in any League we played in.

It's not lost on me though how lucky we were that season. Nowadays they simply keep a relegated team up rather than give promotion to the second place team.

Apparently it still rankles in Gresley as well because they'd agreed a groundshare with Derby at the Baseball Ground until theirs had been brought up to code, but that was rejected.

 

[GEORGE]

We played them in the Southern League Midland Division in 82/83 - oddly in back to back games (Cheltenham won 1-0 and 2-0).

We also played them in the 1959/60 and 1960/61 FA Cup 4th Qualifying Rounds - Cheltenham were in the Southern Premier at the time so one division below the Football League.

We've never played them in the Southern League Cup - I've just checked every year from when we joined the Southern League in the 1935/36 season up to our last Southern League season in 1996/97.

Ah my mistake It must have been a league game ( 82/83 ) My dad went to an FA cup game between the 2 in the early 60's. It was played at Whaddon Road I believe. Cannot verify with him as he' been dead for 15 years.

 

[Si Robin]

Ah my mistake It must have been a league game ( 82/83 ) My dad went to an FA cup game between the 2 in the early 60's. It was played at Whaddon Road I believe. Cannot verify with him as he' been dead for 15 years.

Both FA Cup ties went to replays, so were played at both grounds.

 

[longmover]

This was that day - in my favourite all time Cheltenham kit (also the last kit we had not made by Errea!!)

View attachment 18434

Si that kit is awful, the worst imo, some lad on loan from Barnet missed a penalty for us that game, remember sitting in the center circle waiting for the gloucester city game to finish, pretty sure it had been delayed due to crowd trouble.

 

[Si Robin]

Si that kit is awful, the worst imo, some lad on loan from Barnet missed a penalty for us that game, remember sitting in the center circle waiting for the gloucester city game to finish, pretty sure it had been delayed due to crowd trouble.

Yeah, Gloucester fans tried to storm the pitch in the hope the game would be abandoned when they went 3-1 down.

Richard Dunwell missed the penalty.

20 years on from one of the most nerve-racking days in Cheltenham Town history

A day of almost unbearable tension at Eton Park

www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk

And I disagree about the kit (not with the white shorts, but with the black ones of course).

 

[Valeite]

That photo looks a bit like Chris Banks now a physio at the Vale in a terrible kit!

 

[YEO YEO YEO]

Tough games for all at the bottom today. Will anyone pick up any points?

Barnsley vs Morecambe
Cheltenham vs Burton
Peterborough vs Oxford
Port Vale vs Cambridge
Portsmouth vs Forest Green
Wycombe vs MK

No game for Accrington.

Alll away from home too.

 

[WhiteRussian]

Tough games for all at the bottom today. Will anyone pick up any points?

Barnsley vs Morecambe
Cheltenham vs Burton
Peterborough vs Oxford
Port Vale vs Cambridge
Portsmouth vs Forest Green
Wycombe vs MK

No game for Accrington.

Alll away from home too.

Cambridge and Burton might but I can't see anyone else getting any joy today.

 

[leedsvaliant]

We're pretty poor at home but I can still see us beating Cambridge. Burton potentially but Cheltenham have picked up. It could be 'as you were'.

 

[Laker]

I live in hope that one day we might win again. But realistically I think we’ll lose today.

 

[valefan16]

We're pretty poor at home but I can still see us beating Cambridge. Burton potentially but Cheltenham have picked up. It could be 'as you were'.

Hopefully our annual spring upturn will kick in. We’ve only lost 1 in 4 which is positive but need to be tighter at the back.

Hopefully Forrester and Garrity are back and we can put in a decent performance.

 

[Greenacres]

We are likely to be missing our midfield general today, Dylan McGeouch, can't really see who can replace him in that role as our already threadbare squad is looking even barer...Big Dunc could start with Reece Brown instead, but he doesn't really tackle or put himself about much, so I can't see that working as he is definitely not a like for like replacement. Pompey will really need to be off their game, and us at the same levels as last Sunday, for us to get anything at all...probably a home win.