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Legend is a word used all too often in football, however in the case of Leamington FC, Mick Brady deserves that title. 

We have unfortunately today heard of the passing of the club's life president, known affectionately to brakes fans as Sir Mick. During the club's period of abeyance, Mick kept the idea of the club going when it looked hopeless and everyone else had given up. Put simply, without Mick Brady there would be no Leamington FC. 

Everyone at Leamington FC sends our condolences and best wishes to Jenny and the rest of Mick's family and friends during this incredibly tough time. This is one of the biggest losses for the club in a long time, he will never be forgotten for giving us the club we now know as a National League North club today.

RIP Sir Mick 'Mr Leamington' Brady. 

The National League North Clubs have issued a joint statement to be considered by the National League Board today in a letter to CEO Michael Tattersall.

Mr M Tattersall
Chief Executive
National League
By email

24th September 2020

JOINT STATEMENT FROM NATIONAL LEAGUE NORTH CLUBS REGARDING THE START OF THE 2020/21 SEASON

Dear Michael,

A meeting was held by Zoom at 17.30 on Wednesday 23rd September 2020 with representation from the majority of member clubs from the National League North to discuss the financial implications of the government’s announcement that supporters will not be allowed entry in to stadiums from the 1st October 2020.

During the meeting a set of anonymous polls were conducted with the most important question being asked of clubs;

Given the simple option, no caveats attached, of starting the season or not without crowds, what would your answer be?

The majority verdict of 81% from clubs in the National League North would be to NOT start the season, unless there was a financial support package in place for member clubs.
The meeting considered the impact of the FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round on the contractual status of players, many of whom have contracts that begin on the ‘commencement of the football season’. We are sure you are aware that clubs wrote these contracts based on information provided by the FA via the National League. The issue is, that should there be a delay to the National League North season then these contracts would be activated by the FA Cup fixture. This would leave clubs exposed to having to pay these players for the rest of the season with obvious financial implications.

Elite status was debated at length, because as you are aware National League North and South clubs were granted elite status in July 2020. Therefore, the question was asked why do clubs from Step 1 receive one vote per club and Step 2 only receives four votes per league? We believe the decision regarding when to start the National League should be democratic across all members due to the financial implications of any decision on member clubs. This is never more apparent following the government’s decision on Tuesday and we request that we should be treated equally and have one vote per club across the whole National League system.

These are views shared by the majority of clubs in the National League North and we ask that they are represented at the National League Board meeting taking place today.

Yours sincerely

AFC Fylde - David Haythornthwaite
AFC Telford - Luke Shelley
Alfreton - Wayne Bradley
Blyth Spartans  - Anthony Platten
Boston United  - David Newton
Brackley Town  - Pat Ashby
Bradford (Park Avenue)  - Martin Knight
Chester  - Andrew Morris
Chorley  - Graham Watkinson
Curzon Ashton  - Rob Hurst
Darlington  - David Johnston
Farsley Celtic  - Joshua Greaves
Gateshead  - Neil Pinkerton
Gloucester City  - Alex Patheram
Guiseley  - James Pickles
Hereford  - Martin Watson
Kettering Town  - Dave Mahoney
Leamington  - Jim Scott
Southport  - Ian Kyle
Spennymoor Town  - Tony Wilson 

*Kidderminster Harriers No response was received at time of announcement.

Yesterday’s government statement suspending the return of spectators on 1 October was a severe blow to football fans. The implications for fans at all levels is currently unclear and for National League clubs at Steps 1-2 even more so.

There are currently so many unanswered questions. Will crowds of up to a maximum of 600 continue to be allowed at Steps 3-7? What will happen to the FA Cup as Step 2 clubs currently have to play behind closed doors and we are due to enter that competition on Saturday 3 October? What decision will the National League make on commencement of the season and will clubs get an individual vote on that decision.

One point for your general interest is that if clubs have players on contract (not yet activated) and they play in an FA cup tie on 3 October then their contracts will be activated for the whole season with significant costs to clubs.

There are so many more questions and issues in addition to those listed above, as we sail through these uncharted waters. Clubs are taking part in a conference call later today to air and discuss their views and we can expect communication from the FA and National League in the coming days. We will update you as soon as we have definitive information.

We have been working hard over the last 6 weeks to get the stadium ready for the return of fans with all necessary social distancing measures and that work would have been completed before 3 October. One way markings, standing and queueing areas have all been completed within the stadium, screening is currently being installed in refreshment areas and team changing rooms have altered to enable player social distancing measures. We have been successful in obtaining a £15,000 grant through the Football Foundation funded by the Premier League. This can only be used for COVID-19 measures to enable the return of play and fans through the gate.

We have also been working hard on meeting the Sports Ground Safety Advisory Group guidelines on determining safe social distancing capacity guidelines and those figures suggest that the capacity will be approximately 620 based on a one metre distancing rule.

We have installed a significantly enhanced Wi-Fi system to enable us to stream matches live and have purchased the equipment to make this possible. The National League have advised us that we are allowed to stream matches whilst the COVID-19 restrictions on the full return of fans remain in place.

As and when fans are allowed back in stadiums it will only be on the proviso that ‘track and trace’ systems are in place for all fans attending, thus we have agreed a deal with a ticketing company that will, for the foreseeable future, make all games ‘ticket only’.

We had deliberately held back on announcements regarding season tickets due to the uncertainty and that has proved a wise decision in light of yesterday’s announcement. We did not wish to take fans money when there are so many unknowns. The fantastic support already provided by fans means that we are under no immediate financial pressure.

In fact, the view of the board is that the uncertainty is not going to go away and thus we will not be introducing season tickets. We will instead be introducing a very, very low cost membership scheme aimed at ensuring that our fans have priority on ticketing when you are finally allowed back in stadiums.

The club are deliberating as to whether to offer a season ticket for our streaming service, however,  if this is the way the National League decide to proceed with the season.

With regard to the requirement to appoint a club Medical Officer we are delighted to announce that Helen Dillon, a consultant in the Infectious Diseased Department at Warwick Hospital, has volunteered to fill the role and we are hugely indebted to her for her support.

Undoubtedly we will be further updating you in the coming days with the latest consequences of the government ruling. In the meantime keep safe and don’t lose the faith.

Jim Scott
Chairman
On behalf of the Board of Directors.