Ten Football League clubs can be saved - so which nine (plus Pompey) do you save?

Pompey and Charlton are two of Steve Bone's 10 Football League clubs to save - who are yours? Picture: Jason Brown

Earlier in the season, you may remember I was asking you for the 10 teams you’d get rid of from the Football League if you had the power.

It was great fun for a while, though I lost interest when some contributors didn’t name Leicester among the sides they like to dispose of, which was the main point of the exercise.

Many teams had multiple mentions, with the likes of Swindon, Oxford, that lot up the road, MK Dons and Forest Green all at the front of the queue for an instant ban from football activities.

Anyhow, I’ve now decided to join the ‘be kind’ brigade who seem to be all around us these days. If you’ve nothing nice to say, say nothing, so it goes, so instead of voting teams out of the Football League, let’s name the ones we’d keep in.

Imagine you’ve been given the job of cutting the league down to one division of 10 teams. The 10 have to come from the current 92 and Pompey can be one of them (though perhaps there are Blues fans that would relish a stress-free future if they were not involved any more?).

To help you on your way, I will name my 10.

I would save Pompey and along with them I think you’d need some proper old clubs to do battle with, so I’m going with Arsenal (my favourite of the ‘big’ teams), Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, West Ham and Wolves. They remind me of my early days taking interest in football in the early 80s. Though the fact Forest thrashed us 5-0 on my 18th birthday means they are very lucky to be considered.

I’ll add Charlton and Bradford – I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for both. For many of the years I’ve been watching the Blues, the Addicks and the Bantams have been in the same division and I always look forward to games against them.

That leaves room for another two and I’m going for Leyton Orient and AFC Wimbledon. Not sure why the Os get in the reprieved group, but the real Dons I have always had a bit of affection for, though not when John Fashanu and Eric Young were rearranging Pompey players' faces in the mid 80s.

So who are your 10 to save? Tweet @stevebone1 or email [email protected]

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Read Steve Bone's columns in the Sports Mail every Sunday and in the Pompey programme every home game.