NO SAFETY NET BUT THE CITY SHOULD STAY IN

NO "POSH" KNOCKING FOR LEAGUE PLACE THIS TIME

It was thought after Exeter City had won their final match that they had put themselves above the re-election line, but when the figures were properly worked out, taking into account goal average, it was seen that Mansfield Town, and not Exeter, who had escaped. The following extract from the Fourth Division League Table of the gix clubs with fewer than 40 points for the season, gives an idea of how tight the finish was between the three immediately above the bottom two.

So for the third time since the war and the seventh altogether the City find themselves in the unenviable position of having to apply to the League for reinstatement. And this season, more so than on previous occasions in fact, there is no guarantee that Exeter will get back. There is no safety-net. Almost all the remaining Fourth Division clubs are situated in the North of England. Exeter is the farthest point South that they have to travel, and they don't like it.

SHARE OF THE GATE RECEIPTS OR A GUARANTEE

On all trips they stand to get 20 per-cent of the gate receipts or a £100 guarantee, whichever is the most, and as the City's gates are not likely to give them any more than the minimum they may just as well take £100 from anyone else and do a lot less travelling. And a club does not have to be on the bottom to get voted out, for anywhere in the bottom four will do, as Gateshead found out when they were third from bottom and still got pushed out. There are just as many facts in the City's favour of course. This season there is no team with the strong claims of Peterborough to be found knocking on the door. The City have had only one bad season in the Fourth Division, and it would be harsh to kick them out for one failure when a side like Hartlepools has finished at the bottom once again.

WORST SEASON FOR YEARS

But re-elected or otherwise the cold and unpleasant fact remains that the City have had their worst season for years. It is a disgrace that the club of Exeter's potential should be left grovelling at the bottom of the Football League's lowest division when two seasons ago they almost won promotion. As the results and performances have got worse and worse, so have the gate figures and the finances, and the sum total of all that is that the City have really hit rock-bottom. There is no single reason for the cause of their slump. The finger can be pointed at the policy off the field, the performances on the field, and the players themselves, and any conclusion to be drawn would be right every time. It is a culmination of mistakes that has ended in ignominy.

THE VIEWS OF GLEN WILSON

As for Glen Wilson, he must have had the unhappiest start of any player-manager in the history of the game. He says: "In the first place we have had a shocking season from the playing point of view, and I feel very sorry for the hard core of 4,000 or 60 so supporters who have turned up to watch us each week. I stick to my guns and say that no one can really blame me for the situation that exists at present because things were already set up before I came here last summer. I came here determined to make a good team, and I'm convinced that I can still do it. What I have learned this season will stand me in good stead, and next season I am prepared to take full responsibility for our performances. This season it hadn't been a case of fighting forward for promotion, it had been a case of trying to keep away from the bottom. In a nutshell, the team just has not been good enough."

HOPES VOICED BY THE CHAIRMAN

Nobody could disagree with the last words of that statement. It is perfectly obvious that the team has not been good enough, and the simple reason is that Exeter City did not get the brand of players they were promised after the Board decided on a big clear-out at the end of last season. They didn't get the first-class defenders or forwards, and they did not see the results of the hopes voiced by the chairman and the new manager.

At the annual meeting in August Mr Gillin said that he was greatly optimistic that with the players retained and the new signings the City would be able to put a younger, stronger, and experienced side into the field.

Mr Wilson followed this up by stating that Exeter City will not in the season to come be giving one hundred per-cent because they will be giving one hundred and fifty per-cent.

These statements were made in all good faith, but it is obvious now that they did not have the material backing that the two speakers believed at the time.

As to what will happen in 1961-62 providing Exeter are re-elected, the only consolation is that things cannot get any worse unless the club goes out of the League altogether.

PLAYERS FOR NEXT SEASON

Only ten professionals are being kept on for next season, a smaller number than usual, but in addition Brian Turner, the Newton Spurs full-back who played regularly as an amateur for the Reserves this season has been offered a professional engagement.

The retained list comprises one goalkeeper, Alan Jones, two backs, MacDonald and Whitnall, three half-backs, Keith Harvey, Mitchell, and Glen Wilson, the player-manager, and four forwards, Ray Carter, Peter Gordon, Graham Rees, and Eric Welsh.