“Light at the end of the tunnel!” Town planning for ‘exciting’ return

MELKSHAM Town Football Club is looking ahead to an “exciting” future despite the news that the 2020/21 league season has ended prematurely.

Chair of the club, Darren Perrin, has told Melksham News that the club respects the decision by the FA to conclude the league.

Instead, the club is planning for the 2021/22 season and in the meantime will have some “exciting” news to reveal in the coming month that Darren says will be “very welcomed” by supporters and the community as a whole.

“It’s the right decision,” said Darren about the conclusion of the league. “We had only played six games – we had over 30 games left to play, which would have been impossible to fit in.”

The cancellation of the 2020/21 season follows on from the 2019/20 season which was declared null and void by the FA. The lack of action at the InfiLED Arena at Oakfields, has left the club struggling financially.

“The effect of the Coronavirus pandemic on the club financially has been disastrous; it’s decimated us,” said Darren. “But as I have said before, we will get through it – the support from the community has been amazing.

“But health and safety must come first. The players won’t have been vaccinated – so it’s for the best.

“But now there is a light at the end of the tunnel and we are excited for what comes next. And we’re also excited for our youth teams and grass roots teams who in four weeks’ time can start playing again.

“We are looking forward to welcoming people back to the club – and watch this space, we have some very exciting news that we will be announcing over the coming month. And it will be very welcomed by supporters and the community.”

Prior to the decision to curtail the 2020/21 season, the FA surveyed clubs across the National League System (NLS) Steps 3-6, to gather views on the continuation or conclusion of the 2020-21 league season.

The FA’s statement, released last week said, “The results of the survey showed that over 76 per cent of all clubs across Steps 3-6 indicated a preference to curtail the 2020-21 league season if it could not be restarted with limited spectator numbers and hospitality before 1 April 2021. 

“During this process, taking into account views of clubs and leagues, it was decided that extending the 2020-21 league season beyond the end of May 2021 would not be a viable option. This was due to various considerations, including the financial implications for many clubs, player contracts and the extent of the fixture scheduling issues caused by the national lockdown and various postponements which had resulted in there being 81 per cent of matches left to complete for Steps 3 and 4, and 75 per cent at Steps 5 and 6. 

“Taking into account the survey results and the ongoing impact of Covid-19, which continues to adversely affect incomes for clubs due to restrictions on both spectators and hospitality, our alliance and leagues committees have reached a consensus that, subject to the approval of FA Council, the 2020-21 league season for Steps 3-6 of the NLS should be curtailed with immediate effect, with no further league matches taking place this season.”