Petition - Completion of Leagues at Non League Level

[Rhodes]

Another petition folks asking the FA to rethink their hasty decision to make the Non-League season null and void for Step 3 and below:

https://www.change.org/p/the-fa-completion-of-all-football-leagues?recruiter=1065367215&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&utm_term=psf_combo_share_initial&recruited_by_id=ec50c980-7030-11ea-962d-cfd4830d4efb

[Savagebee]

12 hours ago, Rhodes said:

Another petition folks asking the FA to rethink their hasty decision to make the Non-League season null and void for Step 3 and below:

https://www.change.org/p/the-fa-completion-of-all-football-leagues?recruiter=1065367215&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&utm_term=psf_combo_share_initial&recruited_by_id=ec50c980-7030-11ea-962d-cfd4830d4efb

Cant see it making much difference if I'm honest.

[Rhodes]

3 hours ago, Savagebee said:

Cant see it making much difference if I'm honest.

Savagebee - I have never been a big fan of petitions, they are just a waste of time at the end of the day, have any ever made a difference

[Savagebee]

1 hour ago, Rhodes said:

Savagebee - I have never been a big fan of petitions, they are just a waste of time at the end of the day, have any ever made a difference

Agree Rhodes.

The powers to be have made there decision its a done deal.

[Rhodes]

Not the petition however I see that over 60 Non League Club's have duly signed a letter to the FA pleading with them to reconsider their hasty decision to declare the 2019/20 campaign null and void across Steps 3 to 7:

https://www.thenonleaguefootballpaper.com/latest-news/29818/exclusive-the-open-letter-to-the-fa-signed-by-over-60-non-league-clubs/?utm_medium=onesignal&utm_source=push_notifications&utm_campaign=web_push

[Rhodes]

These are all the signatories of the letter, I can only see Guillem Balague's name from the SSML:

[Rhodes]

This is the letter in it's entirety, apologies as I see that the Chairman of Colney Heath, Martin Marlborough, signed it too:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1S2D1pubuExfxKsIMlKnB_pFO8-boHx_t/view

[Rhodes]

An interesting Daily Mail on-line article on the letter sent to the Football Association following their premature decision to declare this season null and void, in the letter the FA were warned in no uncertain terms that they may face legal action from Non-League Clubs unless they reconsider the decision:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sportsnews/article-8168935/FA-warned-non-league-clubs-face-legal-action-letter-deciding-void-season.html

[Rhodes]

There was an announcement earlier today on the BBC Sport website stating that some local MPs have told Club's within their Constituency's that they will write to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport asking for an intervention in the decision to declare this season null and void. The hugely unpopular decision has still to be ratified by the FA Council so it could yet be over turned:

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/52098137

[Rhodes]

I see that more Club's have signed the open letter to the FA pleading with them to reconsider their hasty decision to declare the 2019/20 campaign null and void across Steps 3 to 7, Stotfold, Codicote, New Salamis and St Panteleimon have joined Biggleswade United and Colney Heath

[Rhodes]

On ‎30‎/‎03‎/‎2020 at 22:27, Rhodes said:

This is the letter in it's entirety, apologies as I see that the Chairman of Colney Heath, Martin Marlborough, signed it too:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1S2D1pubuExfxKsIMlKnB_pFO8-boHx_t/view

Colney Heath in particular were understandably not happy about the decision to declare the 2019/20 campaign null and void across Steps 3 to 7 and here is a statement from their supremo Ryan Thompson which says it all:

[Rhodes]

I see that a form has been devised for a number of Leagues below Step 7 level offering their affiliated Club's a vote on how to conclude the season, here's an example of one of the forms:

[Savagebee]

1 hour ago, Rhodes said:

I see that a form has been devised for a number of Leagues below Step 7 level offering their affiliated Club's a vote on how to conclude the season, here's an example of one of the forms:

Interesting.

[petethegreek]

2 hours ago, Rhodes said:

I see that a form has been devised for a number of Leagues below Step 7 level offering their affiliated Club's a vote on how to conclude the season, here's an example of one of the forms:

Does this not contradict the FA statement?

As a result, The FA and NLS Steps 3 to 6 have reached a consensus that their 2019/20 season will now be brought to an end, and all results will be expunged. This will mean no promotion or relegation of clubs between NLS Steps 3 to 6, and no promotion to NLS Step 2.  

These decisions will also apply to the Leagues and clubs who play at NLS Step 7.

[Big J R]

Referring to Ryan Thompson's statement posted by Rhodsey, I know many County F.A's have put the majority of their 'back-room' staff on that dreaded word, FURLOUGH.

This is going to affect many people in the future. All three of my Grand-Daughters are now in that position. One has two young girls.  Our eldest daughter has also been placed on FURLOUGH and is fighting to get any money at all.

[Rhodes]

Big J R - That was actually the letter from the Hertfordshire FA (link below) on another thread and nothing to do with Ryan Thompson's statement. I had never heard of the word Furlough before and the letter went on to say 'Furlough leave is a temporary leave of absence for economic reasons and is designed to save jobs in the long term. Our workforce is supportive of this decision and look forward to returning to work at the earliest possible opportunity'. I can't actually believe that the workforce at the Hertfordshire FA would be supportive of the decision if they have been sent home without pay for the next two months at least, there will presumably be a lot of women with children to support who do the typing and general administration so how will they get by:

http://www.hertfordshirefa.com/news/2020/mar/31/operations-update

 

[Rhodes]

On ‎31‎/‎03‎/‎2020 at 16:04, Rhodes said:

There was an announcement earlier today on the BBC Sport website stating that some local MPs have told Club's within their Constituency's that they will write to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport asking for an intervention in the decision to declare this season null and void. The hugely unpopular decision has still to be ratified by the FA Council so it could yet be over turned:

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/52098137

Here is a letter sent to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport by the Member of Parliament for South Shields, it's a well worded letter isn't it:

[patemondo]

It will get suspended. until understand when we can play football again. I see no opportunity until at least August IMO this could roll until Jan 2021. In which case the completion of the 2019/20 season makes sense.

Basically we need to keep our nerve until we know the extent of the virus has on humanity as a whole, 

[Rhodes]

Alex Cunningham MP recently wrote to both the FA and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport about the decision to null and void the 2019/20 campaign. Here is the FA's response to Mr Cunningham's letter including the interesting line "it is critical to try and preserve the integrity of competition within the Leagues by not predicting outcomes at a point where the season had not been completed":

[Rhodes]

Further to my last post, I don't recall seeing Alex Cunningham's letters to both the Football Association and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport earlier this week but at least the FA responded promptly albeit unsatisfactorily. Here is an article from the Evening Standard on Thursday following Mr Cunningham's letters:

Pressure on the Football Association to reconsider the decision to end the non-league season is growing, as two MPs joined the fight.

As of Wednesday morning, 132 clubs - including League One pair Peterborough United and Lincoln City - had signed an open letter threatening legal action if the FA does does not "urgently" reconsider voiding the campaign for steps three to six of the non-league pyramid, and expunging all results.

Meanwhile, the National League, which makes up steps one and two, has announced an indefinite suspension to the season and says it will seek legal advice over how to conclude the campaign - with or without fulfilling remaining fixtures.

Alex Cunningham, MP for Stockton North, has written to the sports minister Nigel Huddleston asking for him to intervene. Stockton Town were 13 points clear at the top of Northern League Division One. Jacob Young, MP for Redcar where Redcar Athletic and Marske United are both affected, has also contacted DCMS.

The disaffected club say they will be forced to "embark on potential legal recourse" if they FA holds firm, with the decision still to be approved by the FA Council.

The clubs said they had reached a consensus to "take a similar stance" to the Premier League, which is suspended until at least April 30, and advocated finishing the season on a points-per-game basis if it proves impossible to complete outstanding fixtures.

An FA spokesperson said the decision was made by "committee representatives for the respective leagues" and "fully supported" by the governing body.