Waking up this Saturday morning to hear the rain pounding against the window it reminded me of this regular occurrence during the football season when we often hear those rude two letter words 'pitch inspection' at Adie Moran Park and it got me once again thinking about what will happen with the upcoming season.
Those of us who support teams in steps five and six of the football pyramid (Heys in step six) had eyebrows raised this week that the FA have invited representatives from said two levels to a meeting on 19th June to discuss 'possible scenario's' for the 2020-21 season.
So this is likely to mean when do we start the season?, August, September or October?, what happens with safe distancing?, can club houses which are the lifeline if every club at this level open for business?, the list can be endless.
Unlike the 'project restart' of the Premiership where players and back room staff are tested with regularity the non league scene will have no such privilege so yes we can all safe distance on the terraces (some would argue with so few fans we do that every week anyway and have done for donkeys years!) but how safe is it for the players.
Whatever time we return to action a way needs to be found to open the club houses and certainly at Heys that's where the majority of the match day revenue comes in especially after the game when fans and friends sit to discuss the game and catch up on the weeks news.
To be fair here a lot of difficult decisions need to be made the most obvious one being when to start the season.
So the ideal world scenario we all want, a traditional early August kick off with the sun shining opening day Heys at home and wallop some poor bewildered opponent 5-0 and set the stall out with immediate effect, all fixtures are fulfilled Heys get promoted and everything is rosy in the garden thank you very much.
And then I woke up,so September maybe with an August pre season?...but what if its October?...how on earth will that work?.
As any fan at this level will tell you we get a good spell of games in from August to mid November and then winter sets in games get called off and games pile up.
If this was a case of just the 38 league fixtures you could could cope but if we take a look at Heys fixtures last season we were involved in four cup competitions!...I list below
FA VASE
MACRON CUP
INTER LEAGUE CUP
LANCASHIRE LEAGUE TROPHY
So this by my reckoning could be another 25 games at least should Heys progress through and as said earlier if we start in October something will clearly have to give here with at least three of these four scrapped preferably in my opinion keeping the FA Vase for the prestige otherwise it makes no sense at all, ..but you may disagree.
FA Cup
Another strong rumour is the FA intend to shorten this seasons FA Cup scrapping the early prelim and qualifying rounds and starting the competition at step four upwards which means even if teams at our level had accumulted enough points in the table to qualify (Heys hadn't) they would still be denied the chance to compete and the vital revenue the competition brings.
Again I go back to my earlier point, scrap all these other cup competitions (and equivalent cups in other leagues up and down the country) and leave the FA Cup as it is, a work around can be found here if common sense prevails.
New Teams
With no promotion or relegation now in 2019-20 this opens up a new series scenario's.Will new teams earmarked for a North West Counties debut like the newly formed AFC Bury or the new team from the Isle of Man be allowed to participate?...some one will need to make way surely? or will they have to wait until 21-22 season? again lots of questions here.
Didn't Heys get to a cup final last season?
As I mentioned in my season review it seems to be forgotten about and gone quiet from the powers that be at the FA but despite getting spanked 9-0 by Bamber Bridge in the semi final of the Lancashire league Trophy the 'Brigs' admin department got clumsy and fielded an ineligible player who went on to score two goals on the night and they were duly thrown out of the competition.
We are apparently playing Lancaster City FC also of the NPL, my thoughts here are this is a chance of silverware...something for either club to add to the honours list, prestige and a day out for both sets of fans (covid 19 permitting) so why not play it as a pre season game? (whenever pre season will be) with something actually riding on it?
It will get the players fitness levels up which are needed anyway, a coin could be tossed to decide the venue home or away or indeed use the FA facility in Leyland where the semi final took place and we battle it out for silverware,its a no brainer for me!..don't scrap it for gods sake please!,we don't get chances like this very often and I doubt Lancaster City do either?.
Lock down thoughts.
So whilst all the above offers no answers it does get everyone talking and thinking..how would YOU like to see all this work?..keep the cups if the season kicks off in October, or scrap them ? the beauty of football is everyone will have different thoughts and ideas..but ultimately its the FA that decide our fate.
I have talked with a few Heys fans recently online, text etc who are chomping at the bit to get going again next season and I think fans of all clubs will treat every game like a cup final next season (I know I will be) because now, times have changed and without getting political, I am not 100% convinced even when covid 19 is over that something could not happen like this again in the future so health permitting I will be at every Heys game next season home and away because the things you took for granted before like having a pint on the touchline and watching a game with your pals whilst scalding your mouth on a match day pie (John Cronnelley) you wont anymore, I guarantee it. I for one will never ever complain about being stood in the wind the rain or sub zero temperatures (yer right!) because if you do... think back to mid March the shutdown and then nothing...months of ABSOLUTELY nothing...
Stay safe everyone and we will meet again at a non league ground soon in the sun, rain, sleet or snow and we wont care because we will be doing what we love.
Rick