Eeles: Plan is to complete the season but I do fear for clubs

Former Premier defender Shotton makes surprise Leek appearance: P46&47

LEEK Town chairman Jon Eeles has revealed that league officials have a double action plan in place to complete the season as non-league clubs head in to a temporary suspension.

The Government’s implementation of a monthlong national lockdown means the non-league scene is forced in to hibernation until December 2.

The move affects Leek’s league - the Northern Premier - and all tiers below that, although elite football, right down to the National Leagues, will be able to continue.

Blues were due to play their final South East Division game before lockdown last night at Ilkeston.

Eeles says he is not surprised that action has been taken.

“We are preparing for lockdown from one minute past midnight on Thursday, which means no training, no games and no activities,” he said.

“Given the noises coming out of the league since we started, they put contingency plans in place if a minor lockdown happened.

“They have two plans. One is for a break the length of time we will be having, four weeks, and then resume. That will mean a busy time post-christmas and possibly extending the season by a week.

“The other more radical plan is to regionalise the leagues if the lockdown is for an extended period of time.

“That could mean splitting the 20 teams in to two divisions of 10 so there are less games and travelling. That leaves clubs with 18 games to complete.

“There would still be promotion and relegation, although the finer points of that course of action still need to be hammered out if it is required.”

The lack of games in the run-up to Christmas will undoubtedly hit clubs hard, but Eeles, pictured, says Leek are in a decent position to weather the storm.

However, he says he does believe some clubs will struggle to come through the latest lockdown.

“When we started in th summer I was very optimistic about playing the season because people were behaving themselves,” he added. “As the season has gone on, I’ve become less optimistic. I’ve been to some away fixtures where clubs are not doing things as well as I would like - including fans not social distancing.

“We will be fine because the funds generated have been spent wisely and the stewardship of the club is very good.

“But I do fear for other clubs. We have already seen Droylsden pull out and I would expect a few more to be in a similar situation.”

There have been calls to keep grassroots sports running during lockdown, but while Eeles appreciates the mental health and personal wellbeing aspect of participants, he says it is also important to consider the volunteers who make activities possible. And he admitted that he had been subjected to online abuse while sticking to the guidelines to get games on.

“It’s not just about a matchday for clubs, it is all the preparation which goes on during the week as well,” explained Eeles.

“To be honest, I am ready for a break because it is hard work, and that’s not just me, that goes for all chairmen and volunteers.

“I’ve received abuse on social media from away fans who have been unhappy with the measures we have put in place at Leek, thinking they are too much.

“That has been very frustrating. At the end of the day, if everyone had followed the rules, we wouldn’t be having another lockdown.”