PETERBOROUGH SPORTS AT....

[comrade powell]

home!!!!

[comrade powell]

One level below us - 12th in Southern League Premier Central - 9 points from 6 matches.

Certainly scored some goals to reach this stage...
Gainsborough 4-2
Rushden & Diamonds 5-1
Hitchin 4-0
Basford 3-2

[stillmanjunior]

Weirdly I was chatting to a Bromsgrove fan about them a few months back at a charity match we were playing in. He said they spent a lot last season, they were top when the season was curtailed and have risen through the leagues.

Presumably they won’t play before they travel to us. We have a big advantage here and I’m just relieved we haven’t got a team in our division. This frenzy of home draws this season is making up for the past few seasons.

[comrade powell]

Everything you need to know about The Turbines...

https://pslfc.com/clubinfo/Club%20History

[Micawber]

Typical. Another home draw when no doubt crowds will still not be permitted.

[comrade powell]

In fact the match may never happen if Peterborough remains in Tier 4 as the club is non elite...

https://www.thefa.com/news/2020/dec/19/covid-19-tier-4-update-191220

[pete mac]

Would that be a bye for us then?

[pete mac]

And we could then play St Albans?

[LB]

In fact the match may never happen if Peterborough remains in Tier 4 as the club is non elite...

https://www.thefa.com/news/2020/dec/19/covid-19-tier-4-update-191220

The whole competition is starting to get a bit farcical. Truro have been thrown out because one of their players has tested positive (I wonder if he got it at Tier 4 Concord on Saturday?) so they can't play at Oxford tonight. Yeovil were supposed to be playing at Boreham Wood tonight but two of their players have shown symptoms so the game is off. If they test negative the game will go ahead tomorrow but if they test positive it won't and Yeovil will be out. Frome are due at Maidstone tonight but isn't clear if that is going ahead either as means travelling into Tier 4.

As they haven't even played last season's final yet don't understand why the F A was so determined to get the three rounds played in December in view of the weather and the virus.

[comrade powell]

Frome complained to the FA and have been told to travel to Maidstone tomorrow which they are not at all happy about.

[comrade powell]

Frome have decided not to travel tonight...

https://www.weareba11.com/post/fa-trophy-our-response-to-the-fa-decision

Looks like they’re getting a lot of support from the football community for their stance. Will be interesting to see what the FA now rule.

[LB]

I see that Gloucester are due to play at Maldon & Tiptree tonight which is also in Tier 4 - will be interesting to see what they decide to do.

[stillmanjunior]

We are down to the last 32, they need to fit in four rounds until the final, scheduled for May. That’s loads of time.

Obvious solution for me is to see if these ties are viable to play by say the date of the next round, and maybe push other ties back. Obviously I’d like us to progress but doing it by default is a nonsense, if the situation was reversed I’d be fuming if Peterborough got a bye and it shouldn’t happen for us.

If there appears to be no way out of areas being in tier 4 just scrap the competition and share the prize money out to those left. Even if we win the next round I think we’ve made about £10k from three games. It’s a decent sum but gradually getting a couple of thousand for every win hardly feels worth it for the risks involved.

One of the selling points of the trophy is to see your team get more exposure at a Wembley final and for players to enjoy a potential one-off experience. With all that still in doubt I don’t see the point of the competition continuing this season. It’s going to be hard enough for clubs to squeeze in league games let alone this.

[comrade powell]

In the present climate both the Trophy and Vase are being reduced to a farce and I’m reminded of the sensible decision by those county FAs, including our own, who cancelled their cup competitions this season.

As you say there aren’t many rounds to fit in but the backlog of league fixtures is only going to increase for most clubs.

I therefore propose that both competitions are suspended in the hope that the situation has eased come summer and the remaining rounds are played then. It would certainly make for a competitive preseason!
Otherwise you could well have a club reaching Wembley having received several byes.

[Peter Newman]

I suppose the irony is that Concord are out of the 2020/21 Trophy but still in the 2019/20 competition.

[LB]

Mark and Martin both make good points, and as Peter points out last season's competition hasn't been completed yet.

As Wembley is presumably booked for the finals of both this season's Trophy and Vase on 8th May, why not use that date to play last season's finals instead and extend this season's competitions? If not they could find themselves with the competitions from both seasons at the final stage uncompleted.

As for a club reaching Wembley having received byes, that made me think of North Ferriby who lifted the Trophy without winning either semi final or the final (not that I am still bitter of course!)

[LB]

Yeovil have had to withdraw because they weren't able to confirm the result of the tests by 2.30 pm this afternoon so Boreham Wood get a bye into the next round.

[comrade powell]

I remember lots of people using that word integrity during the debate back in the spring about whether the curtailed season should be null and voided. To me that was always the best solution but it was deemed imperative to have things decided by the arbitrary method of PPG. The farce that ensued with a club being relegated by 0.1 point is likely to be surpassed by decisions like the one concerning Yeovil and others recently. Madness....

[LB]

I see that the F A has written to Frome Town to tell them that they have been removed from the competition and Maidstone go through. Apparently Frome have said they don't accept the decision and want further discussion with the F A - you have to wish them luck with that!

[Beau Nash]

When the whole UK goes into full lockdown (Tier4 or whatever other system) does the home team automatically go through to the next round due to prohibited travel?  

Does the "elite" grading make any difference, allowing travel?  

[LB]

The ironic thing about the Yeovil situation is that both players tested negative!

[comrade powell]

I know we all love to hate Yeovil but when we look back on this season in the future that will surely go down as one of the most ridiculous decisions taken by the authorities. Although I suppose Yeovil have more pressing issues than progress in the Trophy. Perhaps we’ll be playing them next Boxing Day.

[tovid]

Trying to maintain any competition in the current national conditions seems increasingly barmy. With no clear plan for ever getting the country out of this stasis it is all a bit pointless.

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