‘Extend the season’ – Deans boss on Wessex fixture farce
Simon Carter
Horndean boss Michael Birmingham has called for the Wessex League season to be extended for a few days due to fixture chaos.
Continued wet weather in recent weeks has left many clubs across the l e a g u e ’s two divisions facing a hectic schedule.
Horndean are one of two Wessex Premier clubs - Fareham are the others - to have six top flight games remaining after Tuesday evening’s matches were rained off.
As it stands, with the season due to finish on April 22, those six games must be crammed into a 10-day period. That means at some point playing two matches in as many days and three fixtures in four days.
That i s a s c h e du l e th at would be condemned by Premier League managers, but grassroots clubs have to seemingly grin and bear it.
Horndean are one of four clubs - AFC Portchester, Stoneham and Bemerton are the others - who could be involved in a promotion play-off final.
That final - away to a Southern League club for the right to play step 4 football next season - is due to be played on April 29.
Birmingham, therefore, suggests the Wessex League can extend their season, allowing clubs to play on Tuesday April 25 and Thursday April 27 if needs be.
He told The News: ‘The Wessex League are going to have to get hold of the FA and see if they can extend the season.
‘I don’t know what the FA would say - they’re a law unto themselves.
‘I would j ust extend the season for a couple of days.’
Third-placed Horndean – eight points behind leaders Portchester but with four games in hand - were due to host fourth-placed Bemerton at Five Heads Park on Tuesday
Now, as it stands, there is no date available for the fixture to be rescheduled prior to April 22 - unless it involves playing on successive days.
It could be staged next Monday, but that’s only 24 hours before Horndean host Brockenhurst and Bemerton welcome Portland.
That would still be a better date than next Wednesday, as that would see .Horndean playing three days in a row - they go to Baffins on the Thursday.
Horndean are due to host Hamble Club tonight, and another postponement would only add to what is becoming a huge logistical headache.
Still, it could be worse - you could be a player at Sandhurst Town FC.
R e m a rk ab l y, th e B e rkshire club still have 11 Combined Counties League Division 1 fixtures to play. And, including today, only 10 days of the season left!
As it stands, according to the Full Time website, they are playing tonight, Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.
I wonder what Jurgen Klopp or Pep Guardiola would make of that.
But the Sandhurst fixture list still leaves four games left to somehow fit in, including the one at Rising Ballers Kensington that was postponed on Tuesday and the one against Brook House that was postponed last night!
*Fareham travel to Laverstock & Ford tonight – the first of potentially six games in 10 days.