Help save Rushden & Diamonds FC

[lanky316]

Kept simply there are too many teams and if you start doing a "trickle effect" down the tiers where do you stop? There are glass ceilings in football as it is without giving extra funds to teams only up to a certain level.

Essentially it could be in terms of age. My history of the NBA and so on are limited so please forgive any errors here - When the major American Leagues are set up they tended to put in a set amount of franchises they could sustain then over the years invited more teams to join. To do that now in effect the FA would need to revamp the whole sport. In return that would kill far more clubs and supporters than it would save.

[Guest Neon Noodle]

Somebody who actually knows Football League history can correct me on this but wasn't the Premier League basically created because the top teams were tired of sharing their TV revenue with the lower tiers?

[gunnar hendershow]

I would assume the trickle down would only reach to League Two, and would be determined by placing in the league as opposed to everyone in League One for example getting the same amount. It just seems like a worthwhile idea, but the fact it would lower player's salaries at the top is enough to make it an incredibly hard thing to pass. There hasn't been the labor strife we see in American sports over in England, but I think with the way the league has grown and the wealth gap with it there's a recipe in place for it to become a problem. It's all very confusing to me, you used to have a lot of teams win in England and since the formation of the Premier League it has become nearly impossible for clubs to reach the top without going into massive debt (Chelsea and Man City, though both have owners who don't even notice the financial hit).

[Lineker]

Rushden & Diamonds have been expelled from the Football Conference for financial reasons, reports the BBC Non-League Show.

Relegated Southport will now stay up, while Thurrock will remain in the Blue Square Bet South and Bishop's Stortford will move to Blue Square Bet North.

Cash-strapped Rushden's financial problems have been well documented.

They are due to attend a winding-up hearing on Monday and were fined £2,000 and docked five points last month.

That led to them being demoted one place to 13th in the Blue Square Bet Premier.

Hopes of being rescued by an investment consortium, linked in with the Glenn Hoddle Academy, were dashed on Friday.

And, although the club made a presentation to the Football Conference AGM concerning their status for next season, they have now lost their place in the league.

Rushden were created in 1992 when owner Max Griggs merged two local clubs, Rushden Town and Irthlingborough Diamonds.

He was then at the helm for 11 years, building a new home at Nene Park, during which time he took the club into the Football League in 2001.

But Griggs stepped down at the age of 65 in October 2003, deciding that he has done all he could do for them.

He gave the stadium and 22 acres of land to the club's Supporters Trust in 2005.

But the former founder resigned as life president in January 2007, following an argument over land.

[stokeriño]

Yeah, was about to post that.

It doesn't matter so much if they're in a lower division, but it's not a good sign for the winding-up hearing on Monday. :/

[METALMAN]

too much Rushden, not enough diamonds.