Oxford United boss Chris Wilder believes the Weymouth crisis means there’s no longer a level playing field in the league.

He says the Blue Square Premier has been devalued by the Terras threatening to fulfill their remaining fixtures by fielding their youth team, as they did last weekend when the lost 9-0 at home to Rushden.

“It really is something that will, I imagine, be embarrassing for the Conference,” he said.

“And speaking to Alan Lewer, the Weymouth manager, it will get worse before it gets better.

“I feel sorry for Weymouth and their supporters, because they’ve been a decent club, and quite strong since they came up into this division.

“But it really isn’t a competitive side now and it makes it unfair for all the clubs that have already played them twice, when they were playing their full first-team, that other teams are now playing their youth side.

“It’s not just us, there are a number of teams who have played Weymouth twice.”

If the cash-strapped Dorset club fold, the league would have to expunge their results, and that would be to Oxford’s benefit.

The U’s took only one point from their two games against Weymouth this season – losing 1-0 at the Kassam Stadium last August and drawing 2-2 at Wessex Stadium in December – whereas some of the other leading clubs have fared much better against them.

Cambridge United and Stevenage took four points from their two matches each against Weymouth, while Histon, Kidderminster and Wrexham have all recorded one win from their one meeting so far.

Weymouth, though, are doing everything possible to keep going, and they have been told by the Conference that there is nothing to stop them playing their youth team in their remaining games providing they are registered, which they all were last week.

Wilder said: “The timing of playing teams will always have an element of fortune in it, you see that in the Premier League when the big clubs sometimes put out weaker teams just before the Champions League, and it can always be fortunate or unfortunate depending on injuries and suspensions.

“That happens at all levels of football and you always understand that. But this takes it to a completely different level when you’re then playing kids.”

Weymouth Football Club, which has debts of about £300,000, has issued a million shares, worth 50 pence each, in an effort to raise funds.

l THE Football Association has launched an investigation into betting patterns following Weymouth’s 9-0 defeat by Rushden.

Punters are believed to have netted more than £1 million as they capitalised on news that the Terras were fielding a youth team, with more than £680,000 traded on a Rushden win on the Betfair exchange alone.

A spokesman for the FA said that it was looking into the circumstances surrounding the bets placed on the game, but refused to comment further.