Where to begin?

Where to begin...?
Such a lot happening this week that it’s a challenge to know what to concentrate on first!


Let’s go with the plight of clubs. Poor Palace have gone into administration despite Simon Jordan’s riches and Neil Warnock’s outstanding managerial qualities.


League rules mean that any club taking such a step is automatically docked 10 points – surely too Draconian a measure in these dire economic times. It means that Palace’s play-off challenge is savaged and they are plunged to just above the relegation scramble.


That’s bad enough but you could be Chester. The Conference side are being chased by the tax man and threatened with winding up. This after the club said it would accept an offer of a pound – that’s £1 – if someone would take it on. Fans have boycotted home games, players haven’t been paid and last week kids made up the team against Mansfield. Predictably they were hammered 4-0.


The daily telegraph said the FA should investigate what’s wrong but isn’t it reasonably plain?


We have an elite league, even an elite group within the elite league, and home town football at the level the League has sustained for 130 years is not viable anymore. There are only so many sugar daddies and sheikhs around and they aren’t interested in Chester.


Happily, one good news story was that Notts County have someone to pay their tax bill – this time.


So shutdowns, amalgamations, regional leagues and feeder clubs for the bigger fish has to happen.


My club, by the way, is a League 2 struggler and sad though it is I’d rather see us as a nursery for a Premier League side than go out of business.