Deans boss not changing his ‘null and void’ opinion

Horndean manager Michael Birmingham is adamant a second successive 'non-elite' football season should be declared null and void.

And the Deans boss cannot understand why the FA has not already scrapped the current campaign.

Clubs from steps three to six of the pyramid have until Friday to return an FA survey on how they think the 2020/21 season should be concluded.

A number of solutions including null and void, restarting the current campaign in August and playing a percentage of remaining fixtures then using a points per game system have been suggested.

A Project Non League plan has also been launched on social media, asking the FA to promote clubs at steps 3-6 based on a PPG ratio from combining results in 2019/20 and 2020/21.

Despite alternative suggestions, Birmimgham is not budging on how he feels the season should be concluded. Even with his Horndean side sitting third in the Wessex League Premier table, he insisted 2020-21 should be scrapped.

Birmingham revealed: ‘My opinion hasn’t changed. I put down on the survey it should be finished null and void.

‘I think, at the end of the day, we’ve got vaccinations now but it’s no guarantee that we’re all going to get them straight away.

‘Hopefully, by the end of September every adult should maybe have been vaccinated.

‘The thing is it’s going to be stop-start again so just call it a day, call it a day.

'I don’t get why a statement hasn’t been made yet (on null and void), I don’t get it.

'Until we can get a grip of it, which isn’t going to happen because it’s spreading rapidly and it’s getting more aggressive, so what’s the point in risking people? There is no point.’

Some suggestions have been made over holding mini-competitions should competitive football be allowed to resume before pre-season. But Birmingham says it would be 'selfish' to launch any tournament amid the pandmeic.

The Deans boss also played down the idea of resuming the current season in August.

‘I think all the time we’re umming and erring and going ‘maybe we can play a tournament, this, that and the other, I just think it’s selfish,' he added.

‘I don’t think people are thinking too much into it.

‘I get it’s not easy, especially when you’ve got clubs maybe going for promotion and it’s happened a second year running, but that’s it.’