Harrogate Railway manager Mick O’Connell has called on the FA to restructure the pyramid this summer rather than next year.
The FA’s original plan was to introduce various new leagues across the country for the 2020/21 campaign, but following the decision to expunge last season they pushed to restructuring to 2021.
That surprised many as considering the break between March and whenever next season begins provided a wonderful opportunity to finally re-shape the pyramid.
O’Connell is a supporter of restructuring immediately and he believes it is vital that the FA act now so clubs and players have reduced travelling burdens when Government restrictions are lifted.
“If they were ever going to do it, they should do it now because there’s no relegation or promotions issues,” O’Connell told Non League Yorkshire.
“I don’t understand why they didn’t get it done this summer? The FA seem to have had nothing to say on it?
“All they need to do is shift clubs geographically about and reduce the number of teams in the leagues and that will make it more financially viable for clubs. It will take night games out and mean clubs don’t need to put buses on which cost £600 at least.
“We’re two hours-and-a-half away from Skegness and for me they shouldn’t be in our league. You can’t justify that kind of travelling in our league. It is bad enough on a Saturday afternoon, imagine a midweek game for lads who are working the next day.
“It is worse for Skegness, they have the travelling 21 times. We only have to do it once.
“There’s a lot of travelling and the kind of expenses the lads will getting next season probably won’t even cover some of the trips.
“Then as well, if we don’t get back until October, that’s ten or 12 games lost straightaway haven’t you.
“How would we get those games back? The weather starts to change in October and if last season is anything to go by, you can draw a line through October, November, December and February. It was dreadful. It never stopped raining from the end of September.”
In a previous life, O’Connell was a well-known jockey on the Horse Racing circuit. Horse Racing resumed with races at Newcastle Racecourse on Monday.
Strict social-distancing measures were enforced and O’Connell admits those rules will hold Non League Football back from returning.
“I’ve spoken to a few people the other day about it and one of my mates was telling me that their changing rooms have had to be made bigger so that everyone is two metres apart,” he said.
“It is also a one way system so you walk in one door and out of the other. I know a lot of (Non League) clubs don’t have the facilities to do that as the changing rooms are small.
“Then there’s referees whose rooms are really tiny. There’s three of them in there.
“So whilst social-distancing is still a thing, no we won’t be back, but I personally think September when the kids go back to the school is when we might start playing again.
“I’ve seen a few people say October, but who knows, we could have another spike. But we (Non League Football) can’t play behind closed doors as places like clubhouses are how clubs survive.”