Baker feels there’s little appetite from clubs to play on
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Slough Town’s joint manager Neil Baker believes there is little appetite from National League South clubs to take on a loan simply to complete the season, and he’s resigning himself to the fact the campaign is likely to be over already.
Slough Town FC: Joint boss expects National League South season to be ended and declared null and void
Slough Town’s joint manager Neil Baker believes there is little appetite from National League South clubs to take on a loan simply to complete the season, and he’s resigning himself to the fact the campaign is likely to be over already.
Clubs were able to kick off the campaign back in October thanks to a one-off £10m grant from the National Lottery that was distributed between the teams, however, the next tranche of money, £11m from the Winter Sport Survival Package, is to be issued as loans rather than grants.
Ahead of last weekend’s games National League North and South fixtures were suspended for two weeks and, with the Government confirming this week that help would only be available in loans, Baker can only see the league being declared null and void from this point as clubs can’t afford to continue.
“I think the two-week suspension was just to get an idea over whether the DCMS (Department for Culture, Media and Sport) would change their minds and provide some loans,” said Baker. “I think the league know it’s not going to make any difference. I don’t believe the DCMS are going to change their minds and I think there’s too much going on in the world.
“Clubs have had good grants already; I don’t think the National League continuing with grants is something they would look at as a necessity.”
Weeks before the funding issue came up the Rebels had already called for the season to be put on hold due to safety concerns, with COVID-19 spreading rapidly and the country being placed into another lockdown.
The club said the league needed some time to consider how it would better protect it’s players and club staff – as well as their families – from catching the virus and suggested that mandatory testing of squads would help, if not alleviate, the issue.
Those calls initially fell on deaf ears at the National League, but it does now appear likely the season will be cancelled as most clubs at
Slough’s level are unwilling to saddle themselves with debt simply to go on playing matches behind closed doors.
Baker added: “I just don’t believe football should be going on in the current climate and the funding just compounds it.
“It’s interesting that a number of clubs have now come out and agreed with us.
“We were the lone wolves four weeks ago when we came out with our statement (on safety concerns), but a number of clubs are now behind that as well and are agreeing with what we've had to say.
“I feel like we can look at ourselves and say we've done something right.
“We were the first and nobody else has come out and said what we’ve said. A lot of people agreed with us in private, a lot of managers, but not many clubs were prepared to put their heads above the parapet like ourselves.
“We knew that we would be open to grief on social media and things like that because of where we were in the league, but, like I said, I had already made my decision to step away from football prior to us making that statement, and I think me making that decision made people at the club also think about what we were actually doing? I feel like we’ve got a genuine group of people at the club and feel we’ve done the right thing for ourselves, families and volunteers.
“I just don’t think that nonleague football, with everything that is going on in the country, is something that needed to be going ahead.
“That’s my opinion and I think the club agreed with it in the end to be honest.”
On Wednesday, the DCMS announced that clubs at steps 1-2 would have to take out loans, or a grant from the league to be paid back by receiving smaller solidarity payments, to carry on playing.
Clubs are welcome to apply for a grant but must show that there’s an imminent risk to their future or that the loans are unaffordable, something most clubs would find difficult to prove.
“I don’t think there is going to be an appetite for anyone to take on these loans so I can only see the season being declared null and void as clubs can’t afford to continue,” said Baker.
“Unfortunately, paying players – which is what clubs need to do – is not going to be seen as accepting circumstances for this loan.
“Also, we’ve all been starved of any income, so I don’t know how they propose we pay it back.
“Having crowds allowed back in and watching our games was the only thing that was going to save our level of football unfortunately and allow us to continue.
“People talk about streaming your games but for the vast majority of clubs, streaming doesn’t generate enough revenue. It’s like asking a business to trade without any income - you can’t do it. Football is no different and I think we're only headed one way.
“The league probably knows that already and after these two weeks, they may be hoping they can bring something else to the table, but I just can’t see there’s going to be any funding from anywhere else.
“There is no appetite to give the National League another grant so I think the football season is finished.”
Baker added: “We’ve been saying this for weeks now anyway, and I've gone past caring what other clubs think.
“I’ve been involved in football since I was five-years-old so for me to step away like I have done and ask for the season to finish shows I’ve got pretty strong feelings on the matter.
“We’re 12 games into a 40game season, where we are in the league is completely irrelevant.”