Spare a thought for Altrincham

With Hereford United safely in the play-offs, it is timely to spare a thought for Altrincham who still don't know whether they will be in the Conference or Conference North next season.

If Altrincham stay up, then Tamworth as well as Scarborough will be relegated.

Their appeal to the FA is expected to be heard in a week or two but according to the Manchester Evening News last Friday an FA source said: "We are waiting to hear from Altrincham regarding any appeal. Once we do, we will schedule a hearing as soon as possible. We told Altrincham they hadn't a case to answer because they hadn't breached FIFA or FA regulations, which is why we initially charged Accrington. The Conference have their own rules".

The question that needs to be answered is just whose rules take precedence, the FA or the Conference?

The Altrincham webmaster noted: So, if the FA is now openly saying Alty does not have "a case to answer because they hadn't breached FIFA or FA regulations" and if the Conference rule book says "The FA rules will apply in respect of all matters concerning players", and if Mr Moules has confirmed on national radio that the Conference rules are not his own league's rules but the FA's (as reported on Bulls News last Monday), why are we finishing an otherwise successful season in which we have won the points to stay in this division in a state of trepidation at an 18 point deduction? Or, have I missed something in all this?

Meanwhile Alty's chairman, Geoff Goodwin, has commented on the recent unwarranted attacks on the Club by the Non-League Paper. Goodwin has refused to answer the paper's recent requests for interviews and has urged a boycott of the newspaper by Altrincham fans.

"The NLP has shown disrespect to our manager and secretary, and therefore the whole club, by telling him to jump on his sword; that was a disgrace".

He also pointed out that in their editorial last week the NLP made great play of the "fact" that the registration form asks whether a player has "ever" played abroad and the NLP went on to say, in as many words, that anyone should be able to deal with that simple question. In fact, Goodwin points out that the registration form does not even use the word "ever" in the sentence to which the NLP refers so the article's whole point is undermined.

Goodwin has thanked various clubs and supporters for their recent help. He promised that when this matter is sorted, he will make very clear the role of certain other clubs in this affair.

Meanwhile the petition in support of Altrincham has received over 8300 signatures.

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