Punished teams burst out of the traps in a bid to avoid the drop

I feel as though this blog may start to become a bit of a broken record, but I am about to discuss the ineptitude of the FA again this week.

Since Sky Sports began to pump money into football, and namely, the Premiership, the gap between those dizzy heights and the football league has stretched every year. With little money being circulated in those lower divisions, it is no surprise that the odd team has gone into Administration.

And what better way to celebrate a team’s bankruptcy than to fine them a certain amount of points, just to make sure no one buys them and they plummet down the table all at the same time.

This year, League Two was rocked by Luton being hit with 30 point fine and Bournemouth and Rotherham both receiving minus 17.

Of course there was no compromise, no change of legislation to accommodate this extraordinary punishment, just another day at the office for the FA.

So far this season, Rotherham have racked up 15 points, which leaves them on -2. If the deduction hadn’t taken place, they would be nestling in the playoff places.

Bournemouth have claimed 9 points, which would bring them up to a respectable 13th position. And Lastly, Luton, whose morale must be lower than anyone else’s, have chalked up 11 points, which would have taken them to the heart of mid table at 12th.

If that’s the way it worked out, those impressive starts would have almost certainly meant that the clubs took pride in their position, and began to iron things out in the club. Prospective buyers would have snapped up the chance to buy a team full of heart, and the players would be less inclined to leave in the January transfer window.

I for one will be keeping a beady on eye on those teams this year and hope they manage to compete in the league before the season is up.

I have no affiliation to these teams, nor do I think that they have any divine right to be in League Two.

But the FA needs to understand that all they are doing with point deductions is making a league, which already has dwindling attendances, less competitive, which affects everyone involved in English football.