WNPL RELEGATION 2016/2017

[sportsbird]

Apparently, there have been discussions taking place now in relation to the WNPL relegation policy.
The inside story is that the relegation will not take place this year.
It appears that the FFSA will keep the same teams next year regardless of the requirements.
If this is to happen, it is an absolute farce.
There were state clubs that have done a lot of hard work to have the opportunity to enter the WNPL in 2016 and missed out and now looks like they will miss out again in 2017.
It appears that a senior hierarchy does not want a particular club to miss out in 2017.
Also, their have been discussions regarding player payments for all lady reds in 2017.
This is due to numerous soccer players participating in the AFL women's football due to the opportunity of money incentives which soccer does not.

[Baseball Bill]

Thanks for posting it twice. I missed it the first time.

[BlueForever]

This would as usual be a total backflip. Correct me if I'm not mistaken but at the beginning of the season when the rules and regulations came out it stated the finishing/finals approach. 8th place drops and 7th place plays off for the right to stay up, this is a joke if it doesnt happen. There are teams in State League that deserve to go up on there performance so far and teams that should drop for same reason. I guess though we can only wait until this is made clear from the FFSA.

[Danny Way]

The words "clear' and "FFSA" in the same sentence. That's actually funny !

[BlueForever]

Can anyone confirm if the promotion and relegation is going ahead or not in WNPL and WSL.

[themagnet]

Can anyone confirm if the promotion and relegation is going ahead or not in WNPL and WSL.

I wouldn't believe anything that comes out at the moment. FFSA will say one thing and do another. We'll only know for sure when the 2017 fixtures come out.

[sportsbird]

Following from my previous comments, it's true that there will be no relegation.
The FFSA are currently looking at expanding the competition to a 10-12 team comp.
This means opportunities for state league clubs to enter the WNPL.
How the FFSA are going to manage the competition with extra teams is still up in the air.
What I can gather, a certain official was worried that a particular club being relegated and become extinct.
There are to many memories and accolades that this official did not want to lose.
So by implementing this would inject another opportunity for this particular club to survive in the future.

[SAD GAL]

Hey guys settle down.

In years gone by I may have agreed with the comments about the backflip and farcical situation IF RELEGATION WS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN NEXTYEAR.

From what I've seen, the WNPL Prems teams are of a pretty good standard. There IS NOT MUCH separating the top from the bottom. That for me is the sign of a very healthy comp. The bottom 2-3 teams are only there because of the wins the top 2-3 teams achieved earlier on (with a couple of draws, etc.) however, as the season has panned out, they've gotten much better and are playing great football.

Therefore, if those bottom teams that are to be relegated because: finishing bottom OR have not met the criteria of being in Prems (no junior teams) then I think it will be detrimental to the competition. Just because you meet the criteria DOES not mean you will field a competitive team. Quite the opposite.

IF Westies get relegate (no juniors) then a whole swag of players will head to the promoted team. As we have seen before, a stable team will always out perform a newly promoted team with prem players recruited. It does not work.

Please leave it as it is. Stabilise the comp. Get 8 strong competitive teams and the competition will prosper.

[juniorsupporter]

The viability of the current State League comp is also an issue-

[themagnet]

The viability of the current State League comp is also an issue-

Absolutely. Have heard some talk of promoting two SL teams but not relegating anyone to improve the PL numbers, but this will leave SL floundering and give it even less credibility. Don't think there are too many clubs looking to, or even that have the ability to move into the SL if this happens.

[Lucas Leiva]

The viability of the current State League comp is also an issue-

Absolutely. Have heard some talk of promoting two SL teams but not relegating anyone to improve the PL numbers, but this will leave SL floundering and give it even less credibility. Don't think there are too many clubs looking to, or even that have the ability to move into the SL if this happens.

The way to make the SL viable is not to remove the two best teams and not replace them. The plan at the start of the season made sense, however there is an obvious need to grow it to an 8 team competition with 8 competitive sides when there is only 3/4.

The key is to not allow mens NPL clubs to enter the competition and just set up an "amateur" one-team side in the lower divisions. They should be coming in with a clear objective, philosophy and plan on becoming WNPL teams in the long term, and one such way is to promote themselves into the SL immediately as did Campbelltown on their return.

[juniorsupporter]

That would probably be where new state league teams would come from-

[Hydration Officer]

The Premier league competition has been very good and towards the end was very even,would be a shame to see any of them relegated.
Here s a crazy thought, why not leave them there and add 2 teams from State League ( Salisbury Inter + 1 ) make it a 10 team league,play two rounds.
Looks like the State league will need a rebuild with a couple of the clubs struggling.
Keep the Premier League strong and start building up the State League.

[SAD GAL]

Spot on Hydration

Build on the stable foundations. I think the current PL has a very good crop of teams and players. Directing efforts to SL will only provide a stronger comp from which players can make the leap forwards into Prems

Look at the bigger picture rather than self interests.

Cheers for the good discussion

[juniorsupporter]

"build up the state league", "direct efforts at the state league"- What does this look like? Logistically how does that work. Suggestions? Where do the additional teams in the state league come from? I agree with Hydration Officer that a couple in the State League may already be struggling. And a 7 team comp, which includes the U15's, with one or two teams struggling with numbers (remembering that each club needs to field 2 teams) and to compete isn't ideal, I think we can all agree. What practical ideas does anyone have for how the situation can be improved? There are also clubs in the State League who are strong and have the numbers (if not the quality yet) and desire to be WNPL clubs- What scenario would provide the best outcome for both the competition and the clubs involved?

[themagnet]

The Premier league competition has been very good and towards the end was very even,would be a shame to see any of them relegated.
Here s a crazy thought, why not leave them there and add 2 teams from State League ( Salisbury Inter + 1 ) make it a 10 team league,play two rounds.
Looks like the State league will need a rebuild with a couple of the clubs struggling.
Keep the Premier League strong and start building up the State League.

Because this will completely destroy the State League. I think 10 teams in the PL would be great and make the comp more interesting (I've found the last few rounds a bore as we've seen the same teams play each other so many times now).
But that will leave the State League severely weakened with some clubs already struggling to for numbers and quality. There doesn't seem to be any clubs that could then replace the two that you remove from State League either so that comp will just become weaker and weaker.

[The General]

The Premier league competition has been very good and towards the end was very even,would be a shame to see any of them relegated.
Here s a crazy thought, why not leave them there and add 2 teams from State League ( Salisbury Inter + 1 ) make it a 10 team league,play two rounds.
Looks like the State league will need a rebuild with a couple of the clubs struggling.
Keep the Premier League strong and start building up the State League.

Because this will completely destroy the State League. I think 10 teams in the PL would be great and make the comp more interesting (I've found the last few rounds a bore as we've seen the same teams play each other so many times now).
But that will leave the State League severely weakened with some clubs already struggling to for numbers and quality. There doesn't seem to be any clubs that could then replace the two that you remove from State League either so that comp will just become weaker and weaker.

If Stirling and Gawler apply to play in the divisions league next year will leave 6 teams in SL, and 4 teams in SL Reserves.

[juniorsupporter]

That would leave 5 in State League...including U15's

[BlueForever]

Gawler I know have struggled with players, and have played most games this season with players playing 180 minutes of football. Dont judge to quickly to drop both gawler and stirling especially when stirling have finished higher than the ffsa. How people can say the NPL is close is not correct when teams like para hills knights and Cumberland have really struggled to be competitive. Why wouldnt you drop those teams and promote state league sides. How else can leagues grow, change is needed.

[Lucas Leiva]

Everyone has an interesting interpretation of what the easy solution is here. Don't forget, the WNPL was licensed as an 8 team competition until 2018.

You're forgetting that although two teams (Inter & Campbelltown) being promoted sounds great, what happens to the other two clubs that want to be WNPL sides also (South Adelaide & Comets)? One is ready, one needs the SL still to be ready in a year or two.

And even though Stirling's results have been commendable and they should be encouraged to persist, their application to drop into Division 1 before the season even started has shown their ST (and perhaps LT) preference.

Again, any solution needs to be for the viable LT benefit of women's football in SA. I can see which clubs are working towards this and hope they're rewarded and supported over the coming years to create a vibrant, exciting and stable WNPL for future generations.

[SAD GAL]

Spot on Lucas L