Barbazza wrote:Haven't Hinckley been doing something similar in the Conference North?
They were certainly in line for the next nomination - with one game to go, it's P41 W2 D4 L35 F33 A141. That's a goal difference of -108 - not quite as hideous as Hucknall Town's, but almost - and of the 10 points they've won, three were deducted for failing to pay creditors, and another three were lost when they missed a fixture against Bishop's Stortford (which I used to live just a stone's throw from). Losing over half your points from off-the-field misdemeanours can be considered very rejectful, but Hinckley, like Hucknall, are on the very edge of survival - both clubs have been long since relegated but it's unknown if either of them will make it as far as next season.
In a further skewer through the face of clubs beginning with H, Henley Town of the Hellenic League Division One East haven't won a game all season. Their ship is sinking faster than a rowing boat at the Regatta that's been hit by a torpedo: one game to go and it's P27 W0 D4 L23 F30 A114. Four points, a goal difference of -84, and they're as much in trouble as the others I've mentioned - they played in the Hellenic Premier Leagure last season, finished out of the relegation places but were forced down a division for "not building a stand to fulfil league requirements". Presumably their ground is little more than a pitch with some rudimentary terraces and a lot of open space. They almost collapsed last season but opted to play this season in Division One East, and it's not gone well to say the least. However, their website does point out that the all-time rejects of the Hellenic League are Princes Risborough Town, who played in the league's first season in 1953-54 and lost every match!
And on that note, here's the one I was looking for the other day; pole position for Football Rejects Of The Season are
Woodford United, of the Southern League Division One Central. With 41 games played and only one to go... like Princes Risborough Town half a century ago, Woodford have lost all their games. They've hit the back of the net a mere 20 times, less than once every two games on average, have allowed 183 goals to spill past them, and it's hard to see how it could get any worse. However, in this division, the penalties for fielding an ineligible player are very harsh - Chalfont St. Peter did exactly that and were docked 15 points, which (strangely) has only cost them five places in the table - they weren't going to be promoted, nor were they ever in relegation trouble, but then... there's only one relegation place, and even Leighton Town, with their miserable record of W6 D5 L30 for all of 23 points, were long since safe due to Woodford's cataclysmically awful performance on the field. There's one game to go, at third in the table Godalming Town, and I suppose it's not a case of whether or not Woodford will lose, merely how much they will lose by.
The season's results read like an ever-increasing horror story. Having kept the scoreline of their opening day fixture away at North Greenford United to a respectable 1-0, they only managed to lose by a single goal four more times in the season - one 1-0 result, two 2-1s, and this gem: Reject Moment of the season could have been when they managed to score four times in a home match on 18th December... but allowed Leighton Town put five past them. The number of times they've shipped four or five goals in the season is more than I'm prepared to count, and higher scorelines aren't at all uncommon; once Beaconsfield SYCOB had put six past them on 27th October, the rot properly set in. Six times the goalie has been fishing seven balls out the net (courtesy of Chertsey Town, Burnham, Chalfont St. Peter, Rugby Town, Aylesbury, and Burnham
again), Thatcham Town scored eight... but surely the worst sight for Woodford fans, if there are any left, was watching the two occasions in March when Biggleswade Town and Ashford Town racked up a double-figure score. Ten-nil both times, separated by only 11 days, and both of those results had just come after the 7-0 hammerings from Rugby and Aylesbury.
Here's an interesting article that goes some way to explaining how Woodford United have found themselves as the Southern League's punching bag this season. The article also mentions how Cornard United, of the Eastern Counties League Division One, had also lost all their matches up to that point - but since then, they've won one and drawn one and will most likely end the season on four points, as Henley Town will - it seems, though, that there is nowhere for Cornard to be relegated to and they may well end up facing the same trial again next season.
Formula One Rejects salutes this season's Football Rejects. They even play in colours that scream "Life Racing Engines!" louder than the emphysema-riddled W12 could ever manage. If anyone can find a better nomination than this team, go for it.