People are deluded if they believe there’ll be a 38 league game season – Mason

A 38-league game season during the global pandemic is not viable and the Steps 3 to 6 leagues should join together and make a stand to the FA to put a stop to the current plan.

That’s the damming verdict of Steeton manager Roy Mason, who also felt “pressurised” into returning to training and backs the multiple reduced and localised leagues of ten clubs idea.

Mason’s views add weight to Handsworth manager Russ Eagle’s criticism of the plan to start the new Non League season on 5th September, despite the severe challenges that are heavily signposted.

“Anyone who thinks they’ll be playing a 38-game full season, I think they are deluded,” Mason told Non League Yorkshire.

“I think the way it is going; we’re going to have a series of lockdowns and it is going to be stop-start-stop-start. The season has got more chance of stopping than it has of truly starting.

“Once you get you into October, that’s when the wet weekends come and we have games postponed. Some teams in our league didn’t play much from the backend of November to February last season because pitches were waterlogged.

“We could have a scenario where we come to February and teams could have only played ten games. I think some managers think I’m negative about it, but it is not, it is realisation. 

“Yeah we all have to get back playing, but from speaking to our coaching staff and our volunteers, we want to get back when it is safe for everyone from players, volunteers and supporters.

“Our volunteers are essentially guys in their seventies and they’re at a vulnerable age and without volunteers it is not viable. 

“A 38 league game season is not going to finish and I never thought I would hear myself say it, but I am in the camp of ‘let’s put things on hold as they are for 12 months and get some regionalised games on’.

“Around here we can have some cracking local games because around us you have Silsden, Thackley, Eccleshill, Campion and Albion (Sports) and then get back to normal football as and when it is same to do so for everyone. 

“As a short-term measure to get some football back, I think that would be quite a good scenario for everyone. 

“The one thing I am impressed with is the North West Counties and Paul Lawler, the league chairman. 

“I think he represents his club’s fantastically well. He’s prepared to question things. The North West Counties are doing everything they can to be realistic about things and trying to be proactive.

“In all honesty, I think below Step 3, the FA don’t care. I certainly think for Steps 5 and 6 I don’t think they give two hoots about those leagues which has shown as well with the null and void scenario.

“I think the Step 5 and 6 leagues should make a stand to the FA and say ‘we’re not starting on 5th September’. Other clubs and leagues will feel pressurised into starting on that date.

“I think most leagues at Steps 5 and 6 will be generally a bit frustrated and feel that the FA don’t listen and their opinion doesn’t really count. I think it is only the bigger teams where they do count.”

Steeton are in the North West Counties Division One North and clubs in that league do have long journeys to away games. 

Steeton have to travel to places such as Cleator Moor Celtic in Cumbria and the far end of Liverpool and Mason admits it is simply unworkable whilst we live in uncertain and ever-changing times.

“The first thing (challenge) in our league is travelling,” he said.

“We have quite a young squad so some of our lads don’t even drive. We travel on a minibus together.

“So that’s means the lads who don’t drive are lost as they have no means of getting to games. We may have one or two younger lads who do drive, but don’t feel comfortable long distances. 

“Then on the cost of it, we’re going to have to finance everyone’s petrol. There’s a lot of impracticalities. Having no changing rooms and having to change remotely and having no showers after a game is not great.

“What do you want to do? It is fine if it is a nice day, but even in August and September we can have days when it throws it down. What are lads supposed to do? Make their own way to Cleator Moor Celtic, play in a kit which is soaking wet, take it off outside the changing rooms and drive home without being able to have a shower? 

“I’m not complaining about the travelling, but it is not feasible for clubs to travel without a minibus. 

“About three weeks ago when the FA announced we could start doing friendly games (on August 1st), my phone was red hot with manager saying ‘right, season’s going to start on September, let’s get the friendly games in,” he said.

“I was going ‘whoah, whoah, whoah’ because our league have already said they are going to start without fans being allowed in the ground because it is not financially viable. The Government have said they’ll not open it up for spectators until October anyway.

“I said ‘what makes everybody think we’ll be starting on the 5th September’.

“Our league is (now) probably the worst affected (at the moment) because how many areas are in lockdown in the North West (parts of Yorkshire).

“We have a friendly with Barnoldwick scheduled for next Saturday and that’s not likely to happen because of the lockdown and the ban on playing the Lancashire FA have put on clubs around the affected areas.”

Despite reservations, Mason’s Steeton have started training and even played in a pre-season friendly at Eccleshill. However, Mason admits he felt forced.

He said: “Yes I did feel pressurised into starting training again. That wasn’t by anyone at the FA, but you talk to some managers who said July training was far too early but felt they had to because other clubs were training and they felt there was a chance they would lose players.

“They were worried players would go and train with a club who was already back training.

“We only went back training two weeks ago and I could never understand these managers who had their clubs training before that.

“You were almost giving these lads three or four months of pre-season and they’d soon get bored of that.

“What doesn’t help as a manager is you’re trying to run a pre-season without knowing when the season will start or if it will start?”

Only players and coaching staff from Steeton were allowed to attend the Eccleshill friendly and Mason feels for those who were shut-out and he says banning spectators is not healthy on a few fronts.

“We put a different slightly different spin on it because we’ve said to our committee that for the friendly games that it is just going to be players and coaching staff,” he said.

“No-one else comes and it is like a training session. Our kit-man, he’s in his late 60s and I’ve already said to him that I’m not prepared to expose him because the kits will be muddy, there could be blood on them.

“The point about volunteers and if you alienate them and they can’t be involved, they may turn round and say ‘you know what, stuff it, I can’t be arsed anymore, I’m not interested’.

“The longer people are out of something and don’t do it – and bear in mind we haven’t played since March – people decide to do different things.

“I think it is nonsensical (that spectators cannot attend friendlies) because you can into Asda and you’re going to be closer to people in there.

“I think clubs would do it sensibly (if spectators were allowed in), but it sums up the Government because it has been mixed messages throughout the whole thing.

“I think no club at our is going to get big crowds, but 50 people coming in at £3 a pop is £150 and that covers your match day expenses like officials and kit washing.

“By the end of the pre-season friendlies clubs could have shelled out the best part of £1000 on officials and kit washing without any income coming in.

“The costs of running a Non League club are quite high. At Steeton we don’t have massive outgoings and we don’t pay players like a lot of clubs do.

“But you look at things like paying officials. You still have to pay a referee and two linesman and we had to pay them on Saturday at Eccleshill.

“I think because there’s no income coming in, every club is splitting the cost, but someone is still having to put their hand in their pocket.

“So even over these next few weeks, there’s still going to be costs like insurances, rates, gas, electric, water. 

“It is not financially viable for a lot of clubs and I would hazard a guess that many have lost sponsorship from businesses who are not even in a position to sponsor you for £100 programme advert because they’ve to furlough or lay people off.

“I think the whole of Non League Football is going to change because these players who have been commanding bigger expenses, let’s call it, clubs aren’t going to be in a position to pay those kind of expenses.

“Lads are going to have to lower their expectations. People have also got enough on and I think most people are thinking about work a lot more.

“People are thinking ‘am I still going to be a job soon, how’s my business looking’? 

“Players may have to take jobs that takes them away from football on a Saturday.”

If you have enjoyed this interview, please consider making a donation to the not-for-profit organisation NLY Community Sport which provides sport for children and adults with disabilities and learning difficulties. CLICK HERE to visit the JustGiving page.

There is a video at the bottom of the page showing our work.

NLY Community Sport, run by James Grayson and Connor Rollinson, has always had combatting social isolation at the top of our objectives when running our Disability Football teams so when the green light to return is given, our work will play an important role in reintroducing our players, who have disabilities and learning difficulties, back into society.

We have six teams, a mixture of Junior and Adult teams – Nostell MW DFC, Pontefract Pirates, Selby Disability Football Club and the South Yorkshire Superheroes (Barnsley) – across Yorkshire.

We have enjoyed great success over the past three years. Several of our players have represented Mencap GB in Geneva, including Billy Hobson from Selby and Greg Smith, whose story is quite inspiring.

Like most organisations, we have been affected financially by the Coronavirus and we have incurred losses which we cannot recover. We have not been hit as badly as other organisations, but we do need raise £2000 to put us back at the level we were at in mid-March and enable us to make a difference once again to our players’ lives in the future, without having financial worries. As each day goes by, a substantial number of our players become further isolated so we need to be ‘ready for action’ when restrictions are lifted.

Any amount raised above £2000 will be put towards new projects (when the world returns to normal) designed to further benefit people with disabilities and learning difficulties. You can learn more about the organisation HERE and on our Facebook page.

Watch the video below to see highlights from our three years as an organisation. The video was produced for our players at the end of March to remind them of good memories from the last three years.