‘We are staying up’
Waltham Forest earn a reprieve from relegation after FA panel decision
WALTHAM Forest have been spared relegation from the Ryman League by a special FA committee at Wembley Stadium.
In welcome news for the club, the consequence of a dreadful campaign was last Friday lifted.
Delighted club secretary Tony Brazier was delighted as doomsday was cancelled.
“Where we finished was one thing, but it was always going to be decided elsewhere,” he told Guardian Series Sport.
“We are very pleased because while we were positive that we would bounce back if we went down, we wanted to stay at the level and it means we can get better players.
“Now we’ve survived we have a more stable organisation and it means we have a chance of consolidation and maybe a bit more than that.”
Forest will play in Ryman Division One North next season, thanks to the withdrawal from competition of two other teams.
The FA’s reprive panel struck off Forest’s relegation in order to keep balance across the non-league football pyramid.
A truly woeful campaign last season means Forest are luck not to suffer the relegation they earned by winning just six games, and shipping 90 goals.
But the future is bright for the club and also long-suffering fans, insisted secretary Brazier.
“There’s no reason why we should not be mid-table, but whether we have the resources to kick on and do better, only time will tell.
“There are a number of really strong teams still in the division.
“But hopefully we can hit the ground running,” added Brazier.
He admitted the club, lodging at Crickelfields in Ilford, will remain in exile for a fourth consecutive season.
Constant speculation over a doomed bid by Forest to return to Walthamstow’s Wadham Lodge cast a shadow over the previous campaign.
Mystery still surriounds the reason why Forest could not return to their spiritual home.
No spokmean was this week available for Match Day Centres, which owns Wadham Lodge in Kitchener Road.
“We now know so it is not an issue which will distract us from events on the pitch, which it did last season” claimed Brazier.
“We are getting used to being there now. So I do not think players can blame the pitch.
“I know we will not attract quite as many fans, but at least we know where we are and we can look forward.
Meanwhile, boss Wale Ojelabi has met owner Isaac Johnson for talks over the squad, in sore need of strengthening over the summer.
“I told him what I want and hopefully we should know where we are soon in terms of players,” he said.
“We need a whole team’s worth of players with just a few from last season. That will give us a lift.
“Last season, I had suspensions and I could not field the same team for two games in a row. If we can avoid suspensions then we should be alright
