Robins chief warns Premier League

INCOMING Altrincham co-chairman Bill Waterson has warned the Premier League’s plans to complete their season could have a negative knock-on effect down the pyramid.

With talks ongoing over the completion of the Premier League and Football League seasons, the 2019/20 campaigns of all non-league clubs have been brought to a premature end.

Waterson, who formally begins his role with the Robins at the beginning of the 2020/21 season, believes those at the top need to take this imbalance into account.

He told M.E.N. Sport: “I have a concern that the Premier League is going to keep going to the end which might delay the start of next season for everybody until potentially the winter.

“Then everybody’s doing without football because the Premier League has got to finish its cycle. That feels as though it might be too much of an ask for the Premier League to have on all the rest of football.

“I suspect also that there won’t necessarily be a lot of thought given to the impacts of this across the rest of football.”

With many non-league clubs financially struggling due to the impact of the shutdown, there have been calls for financial support from the top of the game.

Waterson, however, does not see it that way. He said: “Effectively we’re businesses competing with different products, but in the same marketplace so to expect handouts from the Premier League is not realistic.

“I would expect them to take decisions that impact football as a whole in an altruistic manner.”