As the Premier League gets ready to return to action on Wednesday, everyone involved with the three divisions of the National League (tiers five and six of the English football pyramid) continue to sit and wait on the outcome of our own 2019/20 season – a season that was cancelled nearly two months ago, and where the last games were played in the middle of March.
Every one of the 68 member clubs is in a different situation, but for teams like us at Chorley, it is especially challenging to plan when you have no idea which level you’ll be playing at when the new season begins. Following news from the league late last week on the proposals being considered for finalising our season, we have been given the added scenario to contemplate; Chorley FC could be the only club across the entirety of non-league to be relegated.
There’s no question we were cut adrift and had a mountain to climb to get out of trouble when the season came to a stop; an almost impossible task to achieve. However, even if we were only one point off safety, the fact is we would still be the only team entertaining the prospect of relegation.
To everyone connected with the club, this feels unjust, inconsistent and unfair.
Throughout the weekend, I have been encouraged and overwhelmed by the calls and messages from fellow managers in the National League and the EFL offering their support. They share the view that there is a sense of injustice surrounding the proposal that our club could be the only one to be relegated from across all of non-league.
I am very proud to be the manager of a football club I’ve been associated with for almost two decades, and one that, for the last 10 years, has been going from strength to strength on and off the field. Myself, my staff and the club’s board are clear that we want the opportunity to play in the National League again in 2020/21.
What we are asking for is fairness across non-league and hope the National League can see the relegation element of their proposal lacks integrity. The views of the vast majority of the football family should count for something, and we are hopeful they will.
This is an op-ed by Jamie Vermiglio, the manager of Chorley FC.
