Ineligibility Hearing put Back a Week

[SuperNickyWroe]

hereford chairman just been on sky sports news not happy that they got three and we only got one!

he said we committed the same offence which is true of course.

but they won the game by "cheating" cant believe he thinks we should also lose 3pts!

EDIT - our response to be shown "soon".................. 8/

[Richinns]

hereford chairman just been on sky sports news not happy that they got three and we only got one!

he said we committed the same offence which is true of course.

but they won the game by "cheating" cant believe he thinks we should also lose 3pts!

EDIT - our response to be shown "soon".................. 8/

It can only be cheating if it was undertaken on purpose. Neither team are guilty of that. Fine us both and leave the result as it stands would have been enough here.

[SuperNickyWroe]

It can only be cheating if it was undertaken on purpose. Neither team are guilty of that. Fine us both and leave the result as it stands would have been enough here.

rich, thats why i put it in " " as we know thats how us sensible ones see it - but you are talking about the

football league here!

[tktufc91]

Am I disappointed that we were given a one point penalty.....yes

Am I annoyed that we've lost a point, even though we gained no advantage.....yes

Do I think the Football League are as inconsistent as the number of good referees in League 2.....yes

Should we appeal.......No.

We are still in the play-off places with six games to play and we've got to play teams around us. I was expecting a three point deduction, so I'll reluctantly take a one point deduction.

Feel sorry for Hereford fans, but I think the three point penalty was always going to happen.

[MidDevon]

OK, I am not necessarily going to be popular with this, but my view is that we needed an ulmightly kick up the arse to ensure we become more proffessional behind the scenes.

We have seen several incidences of a lack of proffessionalism in the last couple of seasons.....and it had to come to a head sooner or later.

I am not just talking about getting in trouble with the FA over playing players who are not registered.

I am including things such as the fiasco surrounding Colin Lee.

The team arriving late at Northampton (not because we did not stay over night to save £2,500, but because we simply left too late in the day)

The ticketting arrangements for the Crawley Town match.

- We need someong to grasp the club by the scruff of the neck behind the scences....otherwise, you know what will happen don't you?

....everyone involved with the club will be more interested in saying "it's not my fault" than in putting some proffessional procedures in place to ensure we do not continue to score own goals.

I fully appreciate the work some of the current board are putting in to ensure that the club progresses, but occassionally there needs to be a "level head" ensuring that all that energy and enthusiasm is building stable foundations for he future.

[Richinns]

rich, thats why i put it in " " as we know thats how us sensible ones see it - but you are talking about the

football league here!

Ahh...Gotcha

[CP Gull]

After what happened to Hartlepool last season who's appeal failed,they increased the points deduction which so nearly relegated them,an appeal by us hear would be totaly foolish in my opinion,you will not change there minds,we will just end up worse.

That's not correct, Dave.

Hartlepool got the same penalty to Hereford i.e a 3 point deduction and a £10k fine for playing an ineligible player (he was suspended becuase of the 10 bookings rule) in a game they won 2-0 (against Brighton). They did indeed put in an appeal within the 28 days - left it until just before the last day of the season - but even with the three point deduction they stayed up on goal difference.

The result of the appeal wasn't announced until the 15th of June and the FL upheld the decision and the punishment stood, it wasn't increased. Clearly our situation could be very different if we appealed as surely they (the FL) would have to get their act together a lot quicker than they have done thus far as surely the outcome of any appeal must be decided well in advance of any play offs (should we be involved) being played as you can hardly "change" the decision once the Play Offs have been played.

[Dave]

That's not correct, Dave.

Hartlepool got a very similar penalty to Hereford i.e a 3 point deduction and a £10k fine for playing an ineligible player (he was suspended becuase of the 10 bookings rule) in a game they won 2-0 (against Brighton). They did indeed put in an appeal within the 28 days - left it until just before the last day of the season - but even with the three point deduction they stayed up on goal difference.

The result of the appeal wasn't announced until the 15th of June and the FL upheld the decision and the punishment stood, it wasn't increased. Clearly our situation could be very different if we appealed as surely they (the FL) would have to get their act together a lot quicker than they have done thus far as surely the outcome of any appeal must be decided well in advance of any play offs (should we be involved) being played as you can hardly "change" the decision once the Play Offs have been played.

Apologies ,thought i read there 3 point deducton,was an icrease from the original decision,my bad.

Still do think its worth the risk,as they could increase our deduction,and as i have said above 1 point change's nothing,in terms of number of wins required for a play-off place ,or automatic promotion.

[Fletch]

Probably what I was expecting TBH. I thought we would get 1 and Hereford 4 (1 for a "fine" and the 3 gained) so im not too shocked. I would suggest we hold off on any appeal to see how we're placed with the Rotherham game to go and if we're safe in the playoffs then dont bother appealing. Also we should wait and see how Hereford get on assuming the verdict comes before the 28 days runs out for our appeal.

[CP Gull]

as i have said above 1 point change's nothing,in terms of number of wins required for a play-off place ,or automatic promotion.

It may not do today, but it could quite easily mean the world come 5pm on the 7th May though! :S

I just don't think the punishment handed out to us is fair. They (the FL panel) have only acted in this way in an effort to try and be "fair" to Hereford in my opinion. I am 99.9% sure that if Hereford hadn't have made their mistake in the same game then we would have got a slap on the wrist, a big fine and the result would have stood. There is no way they would have deucted point(s) as it has never happened before. We have played a player we shouldn't have in a game where we gained no advantage quite simply as we lost, why should we be punished with a point deduction which in effect has been achieved in a totally unrelated game!

However, I do agree that we shouldn't bother with an appeal as the system is totally flawed and they (the FL) will inevitably uphold the decision reached by the panel - they just don't have the balls to ever overturn anything, do they? At least, not in the case of a "minnow" like us!

[Jerry]

Bucks needs to use this injustice to spur the lads on for the remainder of the season. The old "siege mentality" "the whole worlds against us" mentality that Fergie uses so well!

[Jeff]

I personally think that Hereford are pretty much nailed on to lose 3 points.

For us, it is obviously a lot more complicated. Dare i suggest that a common-sense approach (short of a simple slap on the wrist) would be to deduct us 1 point. O.K, we end up losing a point that had nothing to do with the game in which the infringement occurred, but the FA are seen to be taking a stance and we are punished, but not to the extent that our season is ruined by what was a genuine mistake.

What could be a crucial element in all this is that the FA have announced they are to review the Player registration/Transfer window regulations - admission in their own camp that the rules are too confusing. Could this work in our favour in the sense that the FA can see how it is possible to make a mistake with the current regs, and thus will show leniency in their decision.

And then of course there is always the precedent of Accrington not being deducted points for a similar offence in 2006/7.

I called it well, even if i do say so myself!

I've not had a chance to read all the responses to this, but I'm not in the least bit concerned about the outcome of todays procedings.

For one, its all over and done with. Nothing hanging over us anymore, we know where we stand. Although its all very annoying and frustrating, the club made a mistake and seemingly had plenty of "previous" in this sort of offence. I guess we were all hoping that with the nature of the offence - i.e both sides committing an offence in the same game - it would be seen to cancel itself out and we'd just get a slap on the wrist but no. Its been a costly mistake, but it seems like changes have been made internally to the club and changes are being made to the rules - too late to help us but as I have seen someone say, it could be the almighty kick up the ar5e that we needed.

As for what it does to the table, nothing. When i woke up this morning we were in 7th, and our goal of being in the playoffs was in our own hands and achieveable. And I'll go to sleep tonight with TUFC in the exact same position. Yes I know we're one point lighter, but the important thing is is that nothing has really changed from this morning. All we needed to do was match Gillingham, Port Vale and Rotherhams results over the next 6 games and we'd be in the playoffs. We still need to do just that and we'll be there (I don't see anyone below Rotherham being in with a shout, even now).

Accrington still have a tricky away game on Friday night, and anything less than a win for them could see us leapfrog them - thats not changed either. Same with Stevenage, anything less than a win for them on Saturday and we could overtake if we win ourselves. Even with a perfect set of results in our favour on Saturday, the best we could have got was 5th place and that still stands.

With regards to automatic promotion, lets be honest that was a aspiration rather than a realistic goal. Points penalty or not, it would be a massive achievement for us to get there. And we now sit 7 points off 2nd rather than 6. Lets be honest, to even consider automatic promotion we were probably going to have to win 4 of our last 6 as a minimum - well now its 5 out of 6. Still a long shot, but we are still on course for the playoffs. Of course I'll be devestated if we miss out by 1 point for a automatic or playoff spot, but we have lost far more points on the field than the 1 we lost today. Ellis and Hemmings made one mistake each at Morecambe and it cost us 3 points, Branno made a mistake at Cheltenham and it cost us 2, Robbo at Northampton cost us 2, the club secretary made a mistake against Hereford and it cost us 1.

So for me nothing has changed. We go to Bradford on Saturday still needing to win, and its still as massive a game as it ever was. Now we can really see what Buckle's motivation skills are all about - it should be so easy to get the players fired up for Bradford now. I know if I was a sportsman I'd revel in the opportunity to stick 2 fingers up to authority and achieve in the face of adversity. We were going to have to get a result there anyway, lets hope the lads are fired up enough now that we can do it.

COYY

[gulls_aloud]

I know we're kind of all in this together, but for me the point deduction feels like a slap in the face for the players who got us the points in the first place, whereas a fine is more fitting for the admin errors that have actually happened. I don't understand why on earth we should lose an additional point in a game we lost. Anyway, now we know where we stand - still in the play offs with everything to play for. Our future is in our own hands and I hope the manager and team feel fired up by this bizarre decision and we have a storming end to the season. That way we won't even need to consider an appeal.

[Regiment]

i'm in agreement to a degree about not appealing, but on the flip side, that suggests the punishment is fair and correct, and surely that needs to be questioned ??

also, if the appeal comes too late to affect this season, they'll just start us on minus points next season i guess (assuming an unsuccessful appeal results in greater points deduction). but this leads into another problem, if the "late" appeal is successful, and for argument sake (hypothetically), we finish in 7th, so play-off against team that finished in 4th, whereas the point taken away stopped us finishing 6th (thus playing team in 5th) - do you see what i mean !??!?? any appeal is a potentially huge can of worms, and i think we should keep the lid on it, learn from the mistakes that have been made, and kick on in the final 6 games, and do all we can on the pitch to get maximum points in the bag.

[basil75]

I believe Accrington did it and had no points deducted - in fact they've done it twice (once in the league and once in the JPT Trophy and got thrown out). Accrington also had all sorts of previous at the time.

Bury also did it twice - in the league they got one point deducted (but they drew 1-1 with Lincoln in that match). But they had also done it before in one of the cups and got thrown out. Bury, I believe, had also made a number of other small admin errors prior to the offence.

I can't remember exactly which cases - but I'm sure one case involved the player being ineligible through suspension (was it Hartlepool? - I'm not 100% familiar with that case)- which in my mind is miles worse than a transfer day admin mistake. I'm certain not all mistakes by previous clubs have been as a result of transfer day madness.