The pros and cons of the National League season ending due to the coronavirus outbreak – impact on Barrow, Notts County, Chesterfield, Hartlepool United and the EFL

The National League season is set to be cut short due to the coronavirus outbreak. Our Hartlepool United writer Dominic Scurr looks over the key pros and cons of a premature end to the campaign.
Vanarama National League ball (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)Vanarama National League ball (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Vanarama National League ball (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Pro – Clarity (sort of)

Ending the season now, if nothing else, will help settle things down and allow clubs to put initial plans in place for the new season (whenever that may be).

Clubs across the country have found themselves in limbo, not knowing what to do next and no clear picture as to when the current season would get back under way.

Gavan Holohan of Hartlepool United in action during the Vanarama National League match between Hartlepool United and Barrow at Victoria Park, Hartlepool on Saturday 28th December 2019. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)Gavan Holohan of Hartlepool United in action during the Vanarama National League match between Hartlepool United and Barrow at Victoria Park, Hartlepool on Saturday 28th December 2019. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)
Gavan Holohan of Hartlepool United in action during the Vanarama National League match between Hartlepool United and Barrow at Victoria Park, Hartlepool on Saturday 28th December 2019. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Cancelling things now means clubs won’t have to worry about spinning several plates just to keep above water with a potential restart of the current campaign no longer at the forefront of their mind.

Con – How will things be decided?

While ending the season now provides some degree of clarity, there remains a pressing question as to what happens next? Will the season be voided or decided as it stands on a points per game basis? Both options have significant drawbacks and leave things very much uncertain especially when the EFL are currently committed to concluding their current season. There is still so much that needs answering.

Con – Matchday income

National League logo (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)National League logo (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
National League logo (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

Cancelling the season now means clubs will be around five matches worth of matchday income out of pocket. Resuming the season at some point would still give clubs the chance to generate further income when the season got back under way.

Hartlepool United will lose roughly £100,000 on matchday income from the season being cut short.

Pro – Player contracts

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

With many National League players’ contracts up at the end of April, a potential significant sticking point surrounded what would happen with them should the season be extended to restart in the summer.

Boreham Wood’s chairman Danny Hunter claimed their season was over shortly after the suspension of fixtures as a summer restart would leave them with only six first-team players.

While clubs could extend player contracts into the summer, the financial risks and potential implications of doing so with no guarantee of a set restart date would be significant.

Ending the season now ensures the cost to clubs is kept to a minimum.

Con – What about the players?

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Cutting the season short means players out of contract in April will either have to somehow negotiate a contract extension during such an uncertain period or find a new club. The fact that football is currently suspended indefinitely makes finding a new club incredibly difficult.

So this risks leaving players without what is likely to be their main source of income for a good number of months until things get back up and running again.

Con – It disrupts the integrity of the competition

Few will argue against Barrow being the best team in the National League after 37 matches. The Bluebirds deservedly sit four points clear at the top of the table.

The only issue is the season isn’t 37 matches long and they still have 27 points left to play for. In two matches time, they could find themselves off the top of the table if things were to continue.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

To end the season now and potentially promote Barrow wouldn’t exactly be fair on all the teams still in with a chance of earning automatic promotion. Granting promotion on an incomplete season would undoubtedly disrupt the integrity of the competition.

You’ve also got teams in and around the play-offs and fighting for survival that wouldn’t have been given a fair chance to either make the top seven or escape relegation.

A void season doesn’t seem an appropriate solution either as every teams’ hard work and expense will have been for nothing. Promotion to the EFL is worth £1 million so to potentially deny a team of that sort of cash injection risks opening a legal can of worms.

Con – Knock on impact

With the EFL still committed to finishing the current season, there risks being a significant knock-on impact with the league’s no longer being in sync with each other.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The National League has made impressive strides to close the gap between non-league football and the Football League and cancelling the season risks being a big step backwards should the EFL eventually continue.

Cancelling the National League season while the leagues above look to continue creates a very complex situation. If the National League season is voided without and promotions or relegations, this would effectively force the EFL’s hand – especially when it comes to relegation from League Two.

Even in the event Barrow are awarded promotion, no one knows when the 2020-21 EFL season will start which risks leaving the Bluebirds unable to play a competitive match for a significant period of time.

If the National League cancels its season, other leagues would be put under significant pressure to follow suit.

Pro – Public safety

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

While we may not like to admit it, there are more important things in life than football and this is most definitely the case in the current climate.

Cancelling the season helps put things to rest during this unprecedented period for not only football but the world as a whole.

We can take our minds off football and focus on the things that really matter – spending time with loved ones, looking after each other and staying safe.