Walsall Wood

[UttoDiamond]

Can't see them surviving the season I'm afraid. Will probably take voluntary demotion, so that will leave 3 relegation spots. Very sad that they massively overspent in the summer without the income.

[sussexdiamond]

If they are going, they need to do it before next week.
It's not fair, particularly for away teams, that clubs are having to incur match expenses and pay players wages for games they know will be erased very soon.

[StaceyH]

Whilst I appreciated the efforts going on behind the scenes and I’m sure they’re grateful for the NPL’s support so far, I agree this situation cannot continue indefinitely. It’s simply not fair of the rest of the league and surely brings the integrity of the NPL into question.
I wouldn’t wish for any club to go under (well, maybe there’s one!) but this needs to be resolved quickly now.

[sussexdiamond]

Their game against Quorn on Saturday has been postponed. Surely it's time to call a halt and expunge what record so far they have. Their next scheduled match is against Diamonds.

[Three of Diamonds]

Their game against Quorn on Saturday has been postponed. Surely it's time to call a halt and expunge what record so far they have. Their next scheduled match is against Diamonds.

Whilst they have been postponing games, they've still only played 1 less than us, so I'd reckon they still have time to sort themselves out (if they can)

[Stourbridge_Diamond]

League must be in a difficult situation

On the one hand, it's 'failing to fulfil a fixture' a number of times, and those should be given as walkover wins to their opposition, and probably Walsall punished with a points deduction.

But on the other hand - that action only really works if it's likely the club will complete the season - basically it guarantees the club folds and records expunged.

At least our fan-owned model should mean we have the checks and balances in-place to prevent this type of thing from happening to us.

[paulg]

It would be useful if the league could take a firmer and quicker stance on this to set a precedent for all concerned, because the issue of clubs splashing cash on player wages (cash that in this case didn’t appear to last very long at all) when building teams in the summer is making a mockery of the league table. Clubs like Diamonds who stick to an honest and sustainable budget when bidding for players presumably lose out to rivals promising bigger money which in the case of Walsall Wood ran out for manager and players in Sep/Oct (often in the past teams who have overspent have tended to last out until Feb/Mar time before collapsing, but this seems ridiculously early in the season to be failing to meet financial promises made in the summer). If clubs go unpunished for such practices it only encourages more to follow suit.

The league can’t control what wages clubs offer players, but they do have control over what happens to clubs who can’t meet financial commitments made just a couple of months previously.

[rickthediamond]

They’ve been suspended by the NPL.

[Stourbridge_Diamond]

Don't see any official league announcement yet - but that's come from Express & Star (local paper for Black Country), so probably in the know.

[sussexdiamond]

It's always sad when a club get into difficulties, as we well know. But they have several months now for the truly dedicated volunteers to regroup. And I am sure we wish them well.
As a consequence Anstey and Lye lose 3 points. Khalsa, Coventry, Grantham and Long Eaton all one point.
From a selfish point of view our club has not been financially inconvenienced by their resignation coming just in time.