‘It makes no sense to me for football to be played at this crisis point in trying to overcome Covid-19’
FOR once in my life, I am in no hurry to return to football following my decision to leave Grimsby Town.
In fact, it is my firm opinion that the game at all levels should be shut down immediately to cope with the new rise in Covid-19 cases.
I am not sure how long the suspension of fixtures should be, but we all have to make sacrifices to cope with the new strain of the virus, which is spreading faster and affecting more people.
If a club with the resources of Manchester City cannot guard against an outbreak within their own camp, what chance do the smaller outfits have?
We are seeing an increasing number of games being postponed in the Premiership and Football League, while the continued absence of fans at many grounds throughout the country means it is not financially viable for many clubs to stage fixtures.
Yes, football is an entertainment industry and you can argue that people need something to take their minds taken off the pandemic, even if it is only watching games on television.
But we are talking about lives being at stake and, while the news about the vaccines developed is hugely encouraging, I believe we need to take all possible precautions until they are available to the vast majority of people.
The first to get them should be NHS workers, in my view, ahead of even the elderly. If we are not careful, our health service is going to be overrun and those at the front line deserve to be protected as soon as possible.
I don’t want to appear a harbinger of gloom as a new year is launched, which we all hope and pray will be happier and healthier than 2020. But I am convinced another lockdown will be imposed and it makes no sense to me for football to be played at this crisis point in trying to overcome Covid19.
I would not be involved in any case as, since my last column, I have reluctantly parted company with Grimsby, a club I hoped to serve and improve over many years. Without going into too much detail, it became clear that a takeover was in the offing and my allegiance was to the current board.
Therefore, any relationship between me and the new regime would have been soured from the start. It is vital to any club that the board and manager are on the same wavelength.
When majority shareholder John Fenty, the man who attracted me to join Grimsby, told me he was preparing to sell his shares, it made up my mind to quit as manager.
I felt it was best for all concerned that the club made a fresh start with a new man in charge of the team, although it was with a heavy heart that I announced I was leaving.
When I took the job on, I wanted to build something, just as I had done at Bristol Rovers years ago, and I really felt capable of doing it.
The supporters were great to me and my wife Kim and I like the area so much that we are on the point of selling our house near Bath, having found a stunning property to buy, and will be staying in the North.
Readers of this column may recall I revealed in it when I took the Grimsby job that I intended to invest £100,000 in the club.
That would have happened when the sale of my house went through and it was an agreement made in writing.
When I explained to John Fenty how I felt about the takeover, he agreed to give me a letter in writing to free me of the financial commitment I had offered.
Now, not for the first time, I am an out-of-work manager. But I have to admit that some of my appetite for the game has waned as a result of the way things turned out at Grimsby and working during Covid-19.
It is truly frightening when one of your players tests positive for the virus, which is what happened, and I found all the restrictions and rules that had to be observed made the job the most difficult I have ever faced.
I am truly not sure if I will go back into football management. I think the pandemic has made most of us re-evaluate our lives and the job would have to be totally right to attract me.
It’s all about finding good people to work with. I thought I had done that at Grimsby, but they were being hounded out when I left.
Paul Hurst is favourite to replace me as manager and I really like him, so I wish him well. When the takeover is completed, I am sure the supporters will get behind the club and he will have a chance of being successful.
But that can only happen if we conquer Covid-19. With the new variant of the virus so rife, I cannot believe it is safe for football to continue.
We should not be risking our hospitals getting overloaded. The new strain is not under control and we should shut down for a period until the vaccines have been administered.
Of course, that will mean more fixture congestion, another season ending beyond the scheduled date and a further one either starting late or following a shortened summer break.
So what? These are minor considerations in the overall scheme of things. We have been trying to get by on half-measures, like letting 2,000 fans through the gates, which doesn’t even pay the bills for the clubs concerned.
We have to be tougher with ourselves if we are to come out the other side of this awful time in our history as soon as humanly possible.
Sad as I find it to say, it is only common sense to me to put our wonderful game on hold again until it is safer to stage.