Kentish Express Ashford & District
League season is over
The Isthmian League season will not be completed for the second year in a row.
With football in the National League South scrapped the week before, it meant there would be no promotion places to fight for and time was also against the league.
For some, the 2020/21 season had barely begun. Sittingbourne had only played five league games. The Isthmian League campaign didn’t get started until the third week of September and the competition ground to a halt in early November because of Covid restrictions.
Both seasons ended after much debate and Folkestone Invicta chairman Paul Morgan has called for the league to get their strategy in place to deal with any more issues before the 2021/22 season begins.
Mr Morgan said: “I know some clubs still wanted to complete the league fixtures but it was going to be impossible without delaying the start of next season.
“The only good thing was only 8-10 games were played before the league came to a halt unlike like last season when over half the fixtures were played and the league became null and void. A few clubs thought it was unfair, especially the clubs looking at promotion, but we all had to accept it.
“I personally think the league should start thinking on what course of action should be taken if Covid is still around. Maybe delay the league starting in August and move it to October/November because we all don’t want this to happen again as it is very frustrating for everyone.
“I really hope there is no need to look at this and we can all start again in August but better to be safe than sorry.”
Folkestone had played nine games and sat 10th in the Premier Division.
Margate had won only one of their nine league games played during the start of the campaign. Their manager Jay Saunders agreed with the curtailment of the season but felt plans should have already been in place.
He said: “I think it was the right decision. The fact that we didn’t have testing at out level, regardless of everything else like not having fans in, to not have testing, for players’ safety, it wasn’t right. I had the virus myself and have lost a family member through it so for me it was a no-brainer.”
He described the handling of the situation by the league as “a bit of a shambles” as for many weeks there was uncertainty about what would happen to the season.
Saunders said: “Once it was null and void last season then stuff should have been put in place that if there was a second wave, then A, B, C, this is what we are going to do, everyone is clear with it, nobody can argue but they didn’t and the league made a rod for its own back.
“It has been difficult from a club’s point of view, difficult to plan, impossible for players and then there were rumours that we might come back but we hadn’t played since October. It was ridiculous. It doesn’t take an expert to work out that with the amount of games we had left it wasn’t going to happen.”
Clubs had been asked about what they felt should happen with the season and the view from the Isthmian League in early January was that they wanted the season to be terminated. Fixtures had previously been postponed until March 6.
The results of the survey showed that over 76% of all clubs indicated a preference to curtail the 2020-21 league season if it could not be restarted with limited spectator numbers and hospitality before April 1, 2021.
It was decided by the FA’s Alliance and Leagues Committees that extending the season beyond the end of May would not be a viable option due to a variety of reasons, including the financial implications for many clubs, player contracts and the extent of the fixture scheduling issues.
Faversham Town chairman Paul Bennett is just glad they now have a decision and can move on. Town were unbeaten in their six Division 1 South East matches at the start of the 2020/21 season but were in favour of null and void after so much disruption.
He said: “Whatever decision they made we were fine to go along with it. We were just in a bit of limbo and we didn’t know what was going to happen.
“For me, it was a case of ‘let’s see what the league says and then we can make our decisions’. I am fine with the decisions they have made.
“Our volunteers can start hooking up again after March, or whenever they can, and we can get on with things.”
The FA’s statement said: “Taking into account the survey results and the ongoing impact of Covid-19, which continues to adversely affect incomes for clubs due to restrictions on both spectators and hospitality, The FA’s Alliance and Leagues Committees have reached a consensus that subject to the approval of FA Council, the 2020-21 league season for Steps 3-6 of the NLS should be curtailed with immediate effect, with no further league matches taking place this season.”
It will now be down to the FA Council to rubber-stamp that decision.