The unofficial AFC Rushden & Diamonds messageboard

Tony, having looked at some grounds they should walk the ground grading, the rules don't seem to apply to clubs other than us ;)

I know its a nice ground for step 5, but the lack of turnstiles / seats / cover must be an issue.

davealbon wrote:

BartonRaz wrote:

Bob's Bitch wrote:...Spalding were fortunate that they already had a certificate from their previous spell in the level above as their ground was dreadful.

Spalding do not already have the required ground grading for Step 4. They still have some work to do before the end of March deadline in order to qualify.

I suspect that's our only hope, given the FA don't seem to have any hard and fast rules, as I don't think the UCL will be supportive of losing two clubs from a division that is seriously understrength already, following the Godmanchester and Woodford problems at the start of this season.

BartonRaz wrote:

davealbon wrote:Spalding do not already have the required ground grading for Step 4. They still have some work to do before the end of March deadline in order to qualify.

Only going by what was written by one of your fellow board members here ;) :

http://thediamondsforum.co.uk/viewtopic ... nd+grading

You should know better than to take notice of anything the Duke says! ;)

I haven't been able to find it so far, so does anyone know the reasoning behind the FA's decision to expand the Step 3 and 4 leagues to 24 teams? It seems to be like a strange decision, given that there's hardly a great demand for more games at those levels. It just increases costs for struggling clubs, whilst thinning out attendances. Oh and it leads to some absolute cannon fodder in 23rd and 24th place. :?

Bob's Bitch wrote:I haven't been able to find it so far, so does anyone know the reasoning behind the FA's decision to expand the Step 3 and 4 leagues to 24 teams? It seems to be like a strange decision, given that there's hardly a great demand for more games at those levels. It just increases costs for struggling clubs, whilst thinning out attendances. Oh and it leads to some absolute cannon fodder in 23rd and 24th place. :?

It followed a failed initiative to reorganise step 5 - http://www.thefa.com/Leagues/NewsAndFea ... iew-100512

This is also the doc that suggests bottom placed teams should be relegated, and only one team can be promoted from each step 5 division. Whether it has since been reconfirmed via the "discussions" mentioned isnt too clear. (It also suggests Step 5 divisions should have 20-22 clubs by now, and that they would be strict on ground grading at step 5.....)

It's an FA tactic, propose changes and chuck in one that no one will like so three that don't improve the game get through

Diamond_ Wolf wrote:Im suprised Histon have lasted as long as they have in all honesty! They are a village club and no bigger than most UCL teams.

They have now announced that they will re-structure and go down the 'fan ownership' route.

http://www.histonfc.co.uk/news.php?id=1 ... um=twitter

Trek wrote:They have now announced that they will re-structure and go down the 'fan ownership' route.

http://www.histonfc.co.uk/news.php?id=1 ... um=twitter

sounds like a case of "coming soon to a ground like ours".

SouthRushdenJFC wrote:It's an FA tactic, propose changes and chuck in one that no one will like so three that don't improve the game get through

Perhaps the most up to date version of the Step 5 to Step 4 promotion rules are on the UCL site - http://full-time.thefa.com/DisplayNews. ... ue=1625657