The qualifiers for the Premier National Trophy are no clearer after the recent round of fixtures. With Premier League matches now taking centre stage, it will be the start of next month before things are clarified.
Newcastle are assured of winning the Northern group and Edinburgh only need to avoid a 22 point defeat at Glasgow to be assured of the runner-up place.
The Central groups is between Swindon and Workington. Workington need to win their remaining home fixture against Swindon by at least 10 points to take the aggregate match point. Sheffield finish runners-up regardless of the outcome.
The Southern group is no clearer although Newport remain favourites to top the group. They have one away win and their rivals are running out of matches. Newport can clinch the group with a home win over Arena Essex in a match to be arranged. If they fail to win this match, Arena will be the most likely group winners although Reading or Exeter could be in contention. The runners-up place is wide open.
As for the final 'wild card' place for the best group runner up, there is total confusion since no-one appears to know the rules. If it is decided on match points difference as hinted at earlier, Edinburgh look best placed unless they lose heavily at Glasgow.
The best runners-up place cannot be decided on points gained due to the different sizes of te three groups. The alternative view is that the place will be won by the team with the highest proportion of points gained. Match points will then be used to sort out any ties.
Sheffield have 9 points out of 15. That is 60% of the points available. For the Southern group, 12 points will constitute 60% of the 20 points available. No team can take second place in the Southern group with more that 12 points. They cannot do better than Sheffield and will be unlikely to beat Sheefield's +45 points difference.
Edinburgh can equal Sheffield's 9 points with a draw at Glasgow or exceed it with a win. This will take them through either way with a points difference of at least +53.
So, regardless what happens in the Central or Southern groups, Edinburgh go through if they win or draw at Glasgow while Sheffield go though if Edinburgh lose. This scenario is identical to the Premier League Cup in 1997 where Edinburgh won at Glasgow to deprive Sheffield of a semi-final spot. Moanrchs went on to win the cup defeating Reading in the semi-final and Oxford in the final.
All this must be news to the Sheffield presenter who stated last week at Owlerton that Sheffield were 'virtually certain to qualify' for the wild card place. You would have thought that Sheffield of all teams would have got things right. They have in Neil Machin a representative on the BSPA management committee and the BSPA press secretary Nigel Pearson as announcer.
This smacks of lack of professionalism in duping the Owlerton punters.
Ultimately, the buck must rest with the BSPA for dreaming up a new competitition and then appearing to make up the rules as they go along."
Full details will be provides as soon as the rules are clarified.