THE 1874 COLUMN - By Matt Waters

AS the ‘non-elite’ football suspension continues, 1874 Northwich co-manager Wayne Goodison believes that this break could be the end of the football pyramid as we know it.

He said: “It’s a them versus us situation again. The ‘elite’ as they like to class themselves, are getting what they are getting in terms of funding, and clubs at our level are being left to fend for themselves. For me, that’s the end of the football pyramid in that sense.”

Goodison made it clear that while he believes restrictions are fair, there has to be a clear strategy in place for how football can return in a safe manner.

“After the debacle of last season, you’d have thought one of the first things they would have put in place was a set of scenarios as to how we move forward with football at this level,” he said.

“To my knowledge that hasn’t happened. We had some information ahead of the season starting and we haven’t heard anything on what will happen should the season end early.

“No side has played double figures yet so if the lockdown was extended and the season was null and voided, that would make sense so we can come together and do something different once it’s safe to do so.

“It begs the question to me why we couldn’t have waited to finish last season now we are having this break and do something different later in the year.”

Going into the lockdown on the back of four straight wins, Goodison revealed that there are several plans in place to keep the players going over lockdown.

“What was noticeable last time is that the players came back fit for running, but not fit for football, and playing the game is a completely different dynamic.

“We’ve got Stuart Britton who has joined us as a fitness coach. He worked at Notts County last season and he’s been a real bonus.

“We’ve got an individual player programme set up and with the GPS trackers, we can monitor what work the players are doing.

“At the moment we are awaiting guidance on whether we can do some one on one sessions with the lads over the next few weeks.”

Goodison revealed that he hopes that once football returns, the players have the right amount of time to prepare.

“What I hope is that we are given a week to 10 days or so to prepare for our restart once we are given the green light to play again,” he said.

“I think we have to remember that if we don’t get that chance and a player gets injured because of it, they might not be able to work their day job.

“I hope we get some clarity and I think that’s what we all want so we can move football forward in the safest way for our players and supporters alike.”