Different paths could trigger big changes

WHETHER or not you agree with the decision to declare the season at Steps 3 to 7 null and void, at least we have some clarity. With the FA Council ratifying the decision this week, it looks like it’s the end of the matter, despite the possibility of legal action from some unhappy clubs.

Of course, you have to have sympathy for all those teams who have lost out on promotion, or the possibility of going up.

Let’s hope they will be able to channel their frustration into another promotion assault next term.

While everyone knows where they stand at those levels, you can’t say the same with the National League and their three divisions.

The clubs are set to vote on whether to cancel the remaining regular season games. If that happens, there will then be further consultation on matters like promotion, play-offs and relegation.

It could drag on for a while yet, but it is important the right decisions eventually get made.

If the National League ultimately take a different path than the rest of Non-League, could that cause friction?

Possibly, and Torquay boss Gary Johnson suggested last week that the National League’s top flight – nearly all professional clubs – could become part of the EFL. There is a certain logic behind that.

At present, Non-League is a mix of professional and semi-professional clubs. How can you make the same decisions for all those clubs when they are so markedly different? It may make more sense for the largely part-time National League North and South to be the top tier of Non-League. It’s food for thought anyway.