Turvey Speaks Out

[ESG]

It is hard to say what impact Adam Crozier’s departure will have on the lower leagues. The Football Association does have a committee structure which looks after various aspects of the game, and from that point of view things will carry on.

I believe football is for everyone and not just for any particular aspect. The people from the professional game have their own discussions, but I don’t know quite what they are after. I don’t believe they should necessarily be controlling the whole of football. Football is about people. If I won the lottery and became the chairman of a league club, how would that make me a different person? There is nothing to say I would be any better than the chairman of a non-league club.They call us amateurs, but I spend seven days a week on football. The only differences are the zeroes at the end of the figures. But they’re running one club — as chairman of the Ryman League I’m running a league of 88 clubs.

The word that people like to use is grassroots. To me that means people who go out to play on a Saturday and Sunday morning but then you have got the semi-professional level as well as the full professionals. And some of the semi-pro clubs pay their players as much as some of the professionals. We all have a particular part to play in the game but the semi-professional game has not been given any direct representation on the board.

There could be more done for the semi-professional game. The major semi-professional leagues do receive an administration grant from the FA, but it is quite small in terms of overall funding. The Premier League clubs do generate a lot of money and I suppose they have a responsibility to see that football prospers as a whole.

It is a shame that there has to be a struggle. Any power games are regrettable, but people have to be accountable. No one should make decisions without consultation.

I am not particularly worried that the amateur representatives on the board will be unable to resist further pressure from the professionals. I know the “national game” people [representatives of the amateur and semi-professional game] on the board and I don’t believe they will be swayed. They will vote for what they think is right. From my time on the FA board I can remember national game people voting with and against the professional representatives and not always as a bloc. For example, we supported the Football League representatives against the Premier League on the future of the Worthington Cup.

There should not be factions. When you are elected to be on a particular body you should be voting for what is best for football. But maybe I’m an old-fashioned idealist.