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We’ll Get By With A Little Help From Our Friends

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The Saddlers avoided relegation to League 2 during the 2010/11 season due to the great escape by then manager Dean Smith however it could have turned out so much differently hadn’t the FA inflicted punishment on Plymouth Argyle.

Argyle in February 2011 issued a notice for administration and were immediately deducted ten points. Had those ten points not have been imposed then the Saddlers would have indeed faced the drop.

Why are we talking about this now I hear you ask?

Well over the past two weeks there have been developments surrounding two sides in League 1.

Firstly Blackpool. On February 12th they entered the high court to discuss their situation with current owner Karl Oyston. The club was placed into receivership and immediately put up for sale so they can try and  pay something towards the £22m that the current owners owe to Latvian  banker Valeri Belokan.

English Football League rules state that if a club suffer “an insolvency event”, which includes the appointment of a receiver, they receive a 12-point deduction, but the league has not yet determined whether that penalty will be imposed in this case.

Should Blackpool harshly receive a twelve point deduction then they will (as it currently stands) be on 36 points, just one point ahead of the Saddlers.

News surrounding another League 1 club came out into the open today following the release of a statement by Coventry City and the EFL surrounding their future at the Ricoh Arena.

The rental agreements surrounding Wasps, Coventry and SISU are still up in the air and the EFL have told the club they must prove where they will fulfil their fixtures next season or face expulsion from the Football League.

Rumours suggest that Coventry have requested to play at Nuneaton Borough however their chairman has rubbished the claims.

The EFL board has requested Coventry provide more details by 5 March over their intentions for next season.

League One side City say their “only option” is to continue playing at the Ricoh Arena.

The EFL board has informed Coventry that unless a satisfactory solution can be found within the next two months, it will need to call an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of all 72 clubs to consider City’s expulsion from the league and any future membership.

If required, that EGM would be held on 25 April in order to resolve the issue in advance of any outstanding promotion and relegation issues at the end of this season.

Should Blackpool face a points deduction and should Coventry face expulsion then the Saddlers mission to stay in League 1 will get easier however its up to us to stay in the league regardless of other clubs misfortunes.

We welcome fellow relegation rivals Bradford to the Banks’s Stadium tomorrow knowing a defeat will see us register our sixth straight defeat and staring relegation firmly in the face.

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