County (not so) long shot?

It seems to happen nearly every year in the Conference. The Conference AGM takes place and a club is spared relegation due to the misfortune of another team.

Even before the County side trooped of the pitch at Kidderminster, there was talk of Hereford or Aldershot Town or some other side being in financial difficulties. At the time I think most County fans dismissed the possibility of escaping relegation as too far fetched.

After all, we certainly do not deserve to stay up. We were, by any measure, pants. Both on the pitch and off it.

However, as time has passed it is the unfortunate Aldershot Town who look to be in a real mess. The club is currently in administration, and look to be in that position at the time of the Conference AGM. That date for our diary is Saturday June 8th.

The Conference can if they wish accept Aldershot Town who dropped out of the football league, and merely deduct points. They can though, relegate them to the Conference South, leading to a bit of a shuffle between Conference North and South and one less side dropping down from the Blue Square Premier.

That side, is us.

So what will it be? Well, the Administrators currently running the Shots, Quantuma Restructuring, released a statement here and the choice of words is interesting.

‘We remain optimistic that Aldershot Town F. C. will be playing Conference League football next season.’

Conference League Football. Not specifically Conference National football. Are they resigned to Conference South football?

Further to this, and only whispers, but it has been mentioned that there are those inside Stockport County Football Club who believe a County reprieve is quite likely.

On the flip side I have found plenty of chatter mentioning Boston United’s two league demotion and whether that was due to factors over and above merely being in Administration, hinting at Aldershot NOT being demoted to BSS.

I will leave this with a comment from a Boston United on their double demotion.

‘…it was nothing to do with the FA. We were demoted at the Conference AGM by the conference, the FA were happy for us to go in either division and left them to decide. The fact that the conference had to accept clubs relegated from the FL saved us from a further demotion, but only for 1 season. If Aldershot are in admin/CVA then they will be demoted a further league as it contravenes conference rules, as long as they take Aldershot it is their discretion which league they allocate them to.

I would love to believe that!

In any event we do not have long to wait to find out. And I will bet even if we do escape relegation we will still be a part-time club.

My last thoughts are with the Shots though. Good luck to them. Tough times. I hope they come out of their current predicament in one piece.

Oh… apologies for this choon Shots fans!