ONE STEP BEYOND
All the big reaction as the curtain falls at Steps 3-6
MARK HARRIS says the Northern Premier League are “ex- tremely amenable” to the pyramid restructure that will see an eighth division at Step 4 being back on the table for next season – but says the mechanism must be robust so the legal eagles don’t swoop.
The FA’s plans for a pure pyramid being introduced for the 2020-21 season were put on hold following the Covid-19 outbreak that led to Steps 3-6 being declared null and void last year.
This season has now been formally curtailed after a club survey indicated more than 75 per cent of clubs at Steps 3-6 were in favour of stopping their campaigns if the season couldn’t restart by April 1 with crowds and hospitality.
government’s roadmap out of lockdown announced last Monday confirmed what has long looked inevitable.
Finding a way to implement the postponed restructure is now being explored by the FA and while Pitching In NPL chairman Harris says making the changes for 2021-22 can’t be ruled out, the situation needs to be discussed.
Harris told The NLP: “The challenge is always in and around where you do have a curtailed season is the basis on which you draw your clubs up.
“It’s for Steps 5 and 6 to comment on the best ways in which they wish to restructure. But we are extremely amenable to that happening. But we do need to understand what the proposed mechanism is for selecting those clubs to be ‘promoted’ where you can’t base it on on-field records.
“We’re working with the FA. There are endless options on the table. Not all of which we’ve developed, but one of the benefits that’s come out of the survey exercise is that many people have put forward many ideas – including Project Non-League – so there is no shortage of different options to consider.
Impact
“The key thing is, we need to ensure there is a method for selecting clubs for promotion that is robust. And, crucially, could not be open to a legal challenge somewhere else in the National League System.
“The way the footballing world is now, you have to conThe sider the risks as much as the benefits when you make a decision such as this. So we’re very open-minded. All three Trident Leagues are very much on the same page to implement a reorganisation for next season, then we would accept that.
“The other things we need to understand is the level of lateral movement that would be required to create the extra division. We have to be mindful of the impact on clubs.
“But the work is now being done. No final decision has been taken, in the same way as the reorganisation at Steps 5 and 6. There’s a lot more preparatory work to be done.
“So the FA’s statement is absolutely correct – it’s very much back on the table. There are no done deals. Are we ruling it in?
No. Are we ruling it out? No. But we need to understand what the mechanism for promotion would be, ensure it is robust and there will need to be criteria.
“One of those criteria – and this does not reflect the views of the FA – is that clubs need to demonstrate they can achieve a licence to operate at Step 4 within the same period of time any club promoted through on-field achievement has to.
“What we cannot do is dilute the quality. But, by the same token, we do want to be bringing up clubs that are capable of and wish to develop. In the next four to six weeks, hopefully it will become clearer as to whether it is possible for next year or we have to wait another year.”
A crucial difference between last season and this is the wordFORWARD-THINKING ing around the campaign’s termination. Rather than ‘null and void’, it has been ‘curtailed’ which means the records aren’t scrubbed from the books.
“The name of the game for next season is all about trying to build in flexibility – if we need it,” Harris, who says the NPL won’t be offering formal competitions for clubs who may want to play in-line with Covid protocols, said.
“Have we got the right decision? Absolutely. Each of the three Trident Leagues had proposed the season be terminated, albeit with different wording.
“Curtailment gives us that extra flexibility but at the same time it gives players, supporters, officials the opportunity to draw a line in the sand and start their planning for next season.”