Baffins Milton chairman Steve Cripps still favours null and void – but wants FA to find a way to promote US Portsmouth

Baffins Milton Rovers (blue) in action against Bournemouth Poppies last October - one of just 36 Wessex League Premier games they have played since the start of August 2019. Pic: Chris Moorhouse.

Even if the pandemic-wrecked campaign could restart in April, he insists it would be better to ‘play out the cups and draw a line under the league.’

Cripps would then be hopeful ‘some mechanism’ could be found by the Football Association to promote US Portsmouth into the top flight of the Wessex for 2021/22.

Following on from the Government allowing grassroots football to resume from March 29, the FA are planning to meet with leagues at step 5 and 6 levels - including the Wessex League - this week.

Baffins Milton Rovers chairman Steve Cripps. Picture: Sarah Standing

If a season which has been paused since just before Christmas is given the green light, games could resume in mid-April.

A second successive null and voiding for steps 3-6 remains the most likely outcome, though.

For Cripps, Boris Johnson’s ‘roadmap out of lockdown’ announcement hasn’t changed his view.

‘The season should be scrapped,’ he said. ‘Some clubs can’t use their grounds after April because of cricket, and then it would be a case of ‘are we home or away?’ and it would just be a mess.

‘We’ve taken the chance (during lockdown) to do some pitch maintenance work - we’d have to play all our games away.

‘Let’s just play out the cups and concentrate on getting everything right for the start of the next league season.’

By then, Cripps is hopeful US Portsmouth could be on Baffins’ Wessex Premier fixture list.

USP top the Wessex Division 1 points-per-game table based on all results since the start of the 2019/20 season.

‘There has to be some consideration given to what they have achieved, some mechanism whereby the FA can promote them,’ said the PMC Stadium chief.

‘To let them stay in their division for another season would be a travesty.

‘I’d vote for them to come up and I’m sure Paul (Kelly, AFC Portchester chairman) and Horndean would as well.

‘It would be good for the Portsmouth area if they did come up.’

If the FA were to null and void steps 3-6, Baffins would have played just 36 Wessex Premier games in 2019/20 and 2020/21 combined – two fewer than one completed season - due to the pandemic.

No other Wessex Premier club have played fewer league games than Baffins over the same period, but Rovers could still have at least one competitive game to play prior to next season.

Shaun Wilkinson’s squad are through to the final of the 2019/20 Portsmouth Senior Cup, having beaten a youthful Horndean in December. There they will meet either holders Moneyfields or Fareham Town.

‘You could introduce a one-off cup to give clubs a few games,’ Cripps added, ‘but to get all the league games on will be too hard.

‘I’ve heard talk of clubs just playing each other once, but I just can’t see it.

‘They would be better off focusing on next season.’