Reasonably Priced & No VAR

For many, many years the idea of football as ‘one game’ meant that a World Cup or European Cup final was being played to the same rules as a Sunday morning game on the local rec.

From a technical point of view that is still the same, the new handball laws apply to all levels of the game, but the introduction of VAR has finally ended the notion of every match being played under the same conditions.

Since the weekend’s controversial penalty decisions the difference between the top-level (magnified, perhaps, by the absence of crowds) and the game below is as stark as it has ever been.

That presents an opportunity for many. 

I've seen a number of clubs on social media in England promote their upcoming fixtures with the promise of ‘no VAR’ in addition to the other benefits of watching your local team such as the chance to stand on a terrace and/or with a beer in your hand.

It would be nice to think that referees will come in for slightly less abuse in this scenario as we embrace the idea that human error is ok, although in the heat of matches I’m not too sure that will happen.

But in the short-term there is an opportunity for clubs (again, in England only as the return of supporters at any level in Scotland or Wales remains a long way off and even here there are genuine fears about the future for many EFL and National League clubs) to maximise their gate revenue and provide a much-needed focal point for their communities over the course of the next few months.

There May Be Trouble Ahead...

But while there are autumn evenings like the one at Hallam FC on Tuesday then it can seem for a moment as though everything is as per normal in life and football.

Sandygate, standing high above Sheffield in the Crosspool district, hosted a first league game of the season for The Countrymen with Retford the visitors to the world's oldest ground.

Adult admission remains a fiver but your money is no longer passed over to the gateman but transferred electronically online to secure a ticket before they go off sale.

With a maximum attendance of 300 and the extra regulations in place to allow games to go ahead, selling tickets online only allows Hallam to then be confident in the knowledge of how many are coming and who they are.

Apart from the initial changes, giving your name to the friendly volunteers and scanning a QR code for track and trace, the experience was familiar and welcoming with the bar open and small groups engaged in conversation about football and many other topics beside.

Interestingly I bumped into a handful of people who work in the same office, a mixed group of Owls and Blades, who were at Sandygate for the first time and enjoying the laid-back, beer-in-hand vibe.

Given the announcement earlier in the day about spectators at matches higher up, I'm sure they and others will be back as the season progresses.

Good news for Hallam but no club will be completely safe from the impending storm that is surely coming as the effects of a season played in front of empty stands (or not played at all as is a possibility in the National Leagues with the knock-on effects that will have lower down) become clearer.

On the pitch I thought the referee had a good game (despite what the players thought) and when both sides concentrated on the football after a niggly first-half, the second 45 kept the crowd of 281 entertained as the spoils were shared two-apiece.

Back at Sandygate

 

The above photo was taken in early March as Hallam FC hosted North Ferriby at Sandygate in Sheffield, the last game I saw before the suspension of football.

I'm hopeful of being back at the ground this coming Tuesday for the opening game of the new season in the Northern Counties East Football League (NCEFL).

So much has changed since then, of course, but clubs up and down the country are working so hard to get games on in front of spectators.

For Hallam that means a cap on attendance numbers and online ticket sales - still just a fiver for adults - but I'm sure the warm welcome and friendly atmosphere will be the same.

The Big Kick-Off in FA Women's National League

This Sunday sees the FA Women's National League 2020/21 season get underway with matches across England and spectators welcome.

In many ways the FA WNL will perform a similar function to the non-league men's game has over the past few weeks, providing value for money football and a welcome chance to get out to a match while the elite game remains behind closed doors.

The league is branding itself as the #HeartbeatOfWomensFootball on social media and that reflects the depth of the competition which encompasses two Premier divisions (Northern and Southern) and four regional divisions beneath.

Perhaps it also reflects that the Women's Super League, for all of the top stars who have come to play in it this year, is increasingly resembling a closed shop and one where the interests of supporters is secondary to the business interests.

Although a route from the WNL into the Women's Championship does still exist it was closed off by the suspension of action last season and is also not solely dependant on results on the pitch.

There are some great websites and blogs covering the game at this level, She Kicks being a great source of fixtures and information.

Fixtures on the opening day include Middlesbrough versus Hull City (tickets available online priced at £3 adults and just 1p for accompanied children) and Poole Town against Southampton FC (admission by donation).

Next Steps Along the Bumpy Road

Watching the excellent BBC coverage of Stocksbridge Park Steels against Stalybridge Celtic in the FA Cup on Saturday afternoon you could almost feel as though football life was back to normal as supporters enjoyed the game, swapped ends at half-time and clapped their teams off at the end of a well-contested tie.

But many bumps in the road lie ahead, in England where clubs are being warned to comply with the new Covid-19 guidelines that come into force on Monday, in Scotland where friendly fixtures outside the top-flight are now being played, albeit behind closed doors, and in Wales where the grassroots game remains in limbo amid fears an entire season may be lost.

A busy week ahead sees the league season begin at Steps 3 and 4 of the non-league game in England, the Northern, Southern and Isthmian Leagues having again worked together to attract a joint sponsor and also in the FA Women's National League where some very competitive football will be played at very affordable prices.

It is also the opening round of the FA Vase and the next stage of the FA Women's Cup.

Information about as many games as I can will be on twitter throughout the week.

Finding a Fixture

As the 2020/21 season slowly begins to find its feet, here's a quick look at good places to find upcoming fixtures.

The FA Cup moves on to the Preliminary Round stage at the weekend while the FA Youth Cup is also underway.

All FA competitions have their own page on the FA website with upcoming fixtures for each.

Most major websites, such as BBC Football, have fixture lists which cover the main leagues in each of the home nations.

Once you go below that then the individual league websites are great sources of information, the Northern Counties East Football League (NCEFL) and the Combined Counties Football League (CCFL) being just two such examples.

The excellent Non-League Paper comes out every Sunday and has a fixture guide for the week ahead, covering all levels of the game in England below the EFL.

If you're loking regionally then the London Football Guide is a long-established website that gives a rundown of all the matches taking place in and around the capital over the coming week, including those at under-23 level involving Premier League and EFL clubs.

And I also like The Shrew is Away on twitter which covers what's happening in the Shropshire area.

With Scottish and Welsh football below the top-level not yet up and running I will look at those in more detail over the next month or so.