• Welcome to the ShrimperZone forums.
    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which only gives you limited access.

    Existing Users:.
    Please log-in using your existing username and password. If you have any problems, please see below.

    New Users:
    Join our free community now and gain access to post topics, communicate privately with other members, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and free. Click here to join.

    Fans from other clubs
    We welcome and appreciate supporters from other clubs who wish to engage in sensible discussion. Please feel free to join as above but understand that this is a moderated site and those who cannot play nicely will be quickly removed.

    Assistance Required
    For help with the registration process or accessing your account, please send a note using the Contact us link in the footer, please include your account name. We can then provide you with a new password and verification to get you on the site.

Concord Rangers - kicked out the play offs

ms brush

Saga Lout
Joined
Apr 18, 2008
Messages
1,296
Not because of their football, but because the National League insists they can't compete because they don't have 500 covered seats at their ground. Seems really silly, when they probably don't have enough fans to sit in them!!
 
Yep this is well harsh but if they knew the rules at the start then those rules still stand eh, for such a small club like concord to reach the play offs is massive, they’ll just have to go again next season and do the best they can do keep the players they already have, they put Billericay to shame:Clap:
 
Knew the rules when they entered the league and have delayed informing their players only until recently apparently.
 
Yep this is well harsh but if they knew the rules at the start then those rules still stand eh, for such a small club like concord to reach the play offs is massive, they’ll just have to go again next season and do the best they can do keep the players they already have, they put Billericay to shame:Clap:
Already leaving in numbers from what I've heard.
 
Finished 6th in the play offs... Yet denied a place.

Official Club statement here:
http://www.concordrangers.co.uk/club-statement-3/


For what its worth, I would like to begin by saying i agree on both points of the disccussion, but it does seem a little unfair to me that just not Concord Rangers, but any other similar clubs that find themselves in the same situation in the future.

Yes, granted, they did have around 3 years notice, and should have acted on that, but their own ambitions of a promotion (just likes were unknown at the time), but if they did believe they could succeed, they should have seen this coming & done something like crowd funded local fans or press agents etc through money raising schemes in order to make this happen, to alieviate their small budget.

On another note...BTW...They already have 375 seats currently in place, so the other 125 seats should have been possibly really easy over the last 3 years since notice of intent was giving to all clubs in that league from the FA.

IMO....To be honest, (never been there,...well at least that i dont remember) but a quick look on footbal ground guide, suggests that they could have even saved a fair old few quid and just bolted on some seats at the clubhouse end (which is currently a covered concrete stepped covered terrace) and saved themselves the bother!!... Does that remind you of a genius solution of modernising a certain 1950's aging seaside stadium? :Winking:

But surely the most sensible thing that the FA should have done would have been to do say... if they did get promoted via the play offs, and Concord Rangers gave proof of financial assurances that the stand would be covered in time for the start of next season, then why not let them go ahead and play it (who ever it was they were facing??)...... & if they didnt achieve the building of the covered 500 stand (by say.... early /mid July)...... They forfeit their promotion, and as long as the losing play off club has built the 500 covered stand as requested, they should be promoted instead... As per the current FA rules.

On the other hand, if the club lost out on promotion via the play off's against another team, they wouldn't have to find the funds in the first place to build the stand, and would remain in the same league they are currently in..... ie:..... no financial outlay needed that year / season.

Personally, I find it strange really why the FA would punish such small towns / village teams up and down the country in such a manner that live on a shoe string budget with no money & basically live on a day to day basis of a small matchday income & the selling of a couple of sausage rolls and a few pints of ale etc,.... Yet demand so much for these small clubs to cover 500 fans weather proof, whether or not they have the fan base to fill the stands...To me personally, it sounds like madness... How does this law benefit the game we all love?... All the the best footballers that have played, started at "Grass Roots Level"... so what does that say about the integrity of the modern game, other than rinsing more money off anyone that can be found.

All in all.....I find this "ethic fa grass roots" punishment odd in all perspective, whilst the likes of Gillingham for example, play Division One football, & get away with that ramshackle of an away stand that holds 1,500 away fans is open to all the elements and has been built on rusty scaffolding and quite frankly a health and safety disaster waiting to happen..
I feel it's harsh to punish a small club like Concord Rangers (or any other teams for that matter), that continue to struggle or improve at that level.

.
 
Last edited:
Concord had 3 points deducted earlier in the season because they played a player whose loan deal had expired. One mistake about the rules during a season is understandable but 2 is pretty poor.
 
They spent money on players to the detriment of getting their ground (which is a dump) up to requirements, tough luck. In previous seasons Poole Town and Hungerford were denied competing in the play-offs for similar ground issues. The size of the club or it’s support Is totally irrelevant. The ground grading requirements at all levels of non-league are well known to all competing clubs.
 
All in all.....I find this "ethic fa grass roots" punishment odd in all perspective, whilst the likes of Gillingham for example, play Division One football, & get away with that ramshackle of an away stand that holds 1,500 away fans is open to all the elements and has been built on rusty scaffolding and quite frankly a health and safety disaster waiting to happen..

.
At least Gillingham have managed to build 3 decent new stands in quite a restricted space, whilst we are stuck at a dilapidated Roots Hall for quite a few more years yet.
 
Such a shame for the fans and surely an arrangement could have been made where concord agreed to make the necessary changes over the summer if they were promoted? I'm surprised that they haven't got that many seats, my recollection of the place, from when my sunday club won the Essex sunday premier cup a year ago, was two reasonable sized seating areas/stands.
 
Then their chairman should have thought of the fans! Why should they be allowed special dispensation for a delayed upgrade when they've known of the ground-grading rules for over four years? At best the place is ESL standard and pretty basic.
 
Such a shame for the fans and surely an arrangement could have been made where concord agreed to make the necessary changes over the summer if they were promoted? I'm surprised that they haven't got that many seats, my recollection of the place, from when my sunday club won the Essex sunday premier cup a year ago, was two reasonable sized seating areas/stands.

Different level but Hullbridge have just won the Essex Senior. Their ground inspection has been passed as they can add the required extra 50 seats this summer.
 
The ruling is to upgrade where necessary by March / April latest in the season following promotion to at least the minimum grading requirements for the league into which promoted, which is what Hullbridge apparently are doing. There's a lot more involved than just numbers of seats. Good to see Hullbridge progressing.

Concord had attained their Conf South ground grading and have had a few seasons in which to upgrade to minimum Conf Nat'l standards, which has to be done in order to compete in the Conf South / North play-offs, but they just didn't bother.
 
Back
Top