URGENT: Possible Restructure of the DITB League

Dear All,

As you know, in the DITB Fantasy Football League, I have always tried to make things as realistic and as close to the real thing as possible.

That is why we have prizes for Champion's League and UEFA Cup qualifiers, forfeits for relegated teams, and even the FFA Cup to compete for during the season.

Now, I would like your thoughts, opinions, and ultimately your vote on an idea that would make our league even more realistic...

An idea that would magnify the joys, and especially the heartaches, of league football...

An idea that would intensify the pressure on managers, and allow them to experience what real managers do in the real world...

An idea that will give more managers something to play for in the latter stages of the season, whether at the top or at the bottom...

An idea that will mean more prizes to give away, but also more penalties, whether financial or otherwise...

An idea that will allow us to expand the fine institution that is the DITB League...

An idea that will pit the best against the best, and the rest against the rest...

Yes, my brothers, I HAVE A DREAM!!!!!

Yes, my friends, in case you haven't yet guessed it already, I'm talking about the creation of a two-tier league structure, i.e., creating two divisions within the DITB League.

Just think about it... REAL promotion and REAL relegation.

At the moment, no-one cares if they have to pay a fiver for finishing third from bottom at the end of the year. However, imagine how seriously they would take it if they were really relegated into the second division.

Imagine the joys of pipping your nearest rival to third place in the second division and securing promotion into the First Division, or Premier League, if we choose to call it that.

Just think, we would have a cup competition where teams from the bottom of a lower division could take on the big boys at the top of the first.

Everyone in the top half of the first division will be playing for European qualification.

Everyone in the bottom half of the first division will be struggling to avoid relegation.

Everyone in the top half of the second division will be battling for real promotion into the top flight.

Everyone in the bottom half of the second division will be fighting to avoid the forfeit (and should we raise the forfeit as it has remained the same for many years despite inflation?).

EVERYONE will also be playing for the FFA Cup.

Don't worry, there will still be prizes for the second division, maybe £100, £50 and £30, with forfeits of £20, £15 and £10 for the bottom three. Prizes in the top flight would remain the same.

Let's face it, some teams out there will probably already be looking at this and fancying themselves to win £100 in the second division, rather than trying to beat the best to the £200 ultimate prize!

We could maybe even boost the prize for the FFA Cup to £50 as well.

Of course, as well as the prize money, there will be other benefits to being in the top flight... most notably in the form of our weekly update which will be Division One focused, with maybe a small mention of the state of play in Division Two.

Of course, there's also the prestige that comes with being a top flight team, which only really exists when there is a division below you.

And just imagine the bragging rights at our annual ACP and AGP get togethers.

In terms of timings, I propose that the new structure will come into effect for the 2007/08 season which gives everyone a fair chance to be master of their own destiny this season, after which there would be a cull of the bottom 15 or more teams, depending on how many teams we have this year.

So there you have it folks. That's my proposal on the table.

I wanted to flag it up now so that all managers could voice their opinions before a ball is kicked this season. It would certainly make the coming season the most meaningful, pressurised, but also the most exciting season to date.

I believe this is the only way we can introduce new members to the fold and expand the DITB empire.

I believe that this move is for the best and will take the DITB League to another level.

I will take every manager's thoughts and opinions into consideration before making any decision, which will be announced before the season kicks off.

Therefore, I will need your feedback as soon as possible.

I look forward to hearing from you all soon.

Cheers,


Michael R.
Diving in the Box FF League Chairman