Views from the Sieve

I saw this article in The Time this evening (needs subscription) which includes some comments from Steve Thompson.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/all- ... -rr7lxqfd7

All three divisions of the National League are likely to vote to terminate the season as early as this week rather than take on loans from the government’s rescue package, according to club representatives.

The National League will send out resolutions this week to all 66 clubs asking them to vote on whether to continue the season, or end it without any promotion or relegation..

What an utter f****** waste of time as the man said

The first round of funding handouts was a joke and clubs rightly moaned, we got way more than we should have. Had the handout been fair/correct meaning less moaning who would have known if the government would have continue the same model rather than repayable loans. Not the first time clarity guarantee has not been sought, you would think people wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

https://onedrive.live.com/view.aspx?res ... hxpRJzLlDQ

This might not be a very popular view, but on Saturday the club announced a new signing at 2pm and at 10pm started pushing for grants of taxpayers' money. That was a bit rich when you think about it. Taking on new staff is hardly the action of a business going under.

I read that Chesterfield have put players on furlough who don't figure in the manager's plans and then signed new players. To me that looks like abuse of systems put in place to preserve jobs. It's no doubt legal but if I were DCMS it would make me stop and think.

Rugby League, below Super League level, didn't play after March last year and have been supported by £16 million of soft loans with no grants - so non league football has actually had more help than that semi-pro sport.

I can understand a lot of clubs not taking on long term low interest loans when the terms of those loans don’t seem to have been published.
There are still grants available to those clubs willing to open their books for viewing to the relevant government department.
“Sod That” seems to be the attitude of many clubs.
Our club did very well out of the previous grants. I can see the season ending, I can also see the uptake of future season tickets dropping, including my two.

I think our division could be a tight vote tbh. A few clubs have already come out and said they want to play on.

The whole thing is a shambles. Obviously nobody expected us to still be shut out in February but the league, in their haste to get the season started, have seemingly failed to ensure the future was safeguarded in writing before doing so. I imagine every club will be out of pocket from this overall, as ticket sales aren't the only income that's stopped in the last year. And all for nothing.

DCMS are probably quite rightly annoyed by the actions of clubs over the last few months. Pleading poverty but I don't see anyone cutting the budget. Clubs are signing players left right and centre. It's so typical of football and completely irresponsible. The sooner that robust financial rules are enforced at all levels the better.

It was stated in the video that any club can apply or qualify for a grant dependent on their financial means and also that the National leagues will not have to go into liquidation, so let that process commence and then lets see how the 66 clubs fair before making some rash decisions.

They should finish the season. If it means putting it on hold for 6 weeks and then finishing this and starting next season late, so be it. You can’t expect supporters to pay to stream what are turning into non-competitive games.

It’s also despicable that there are clubs like Chesterfield using the furlough scheme for out of favour players whilst loaning in players. The government will see that sort of behaviour at the same time as they’re being begged for money.

If the league was suspended I assume it would be to re-start with crowds, maybe socially distanced at first. I can't work out when that would be. I suppose it depends on the success of the vaccination programme and its impact on infection levels?

I too think they should finish the season as it takes away a fair few sacrifices clubs and even locked out fans have had to try and implement since this awful unrest started and also why after all this time a fair few clubs of the three Divisions have been treated unfairly to other fellow clubs, its seriously could effect a longer term unity amongst themselves? Even yesterday according to the Non League paper today Billericay sided a team with less than 10 first team starts between them as they chose to play their Under 23's to keep their contracted first team players on furlough, day's pass and a further sinkhole?