Hawks submit fresh proposal to the National League that would see them promoted from the South division

On Thursday afternoon they were told that only Wealdstone would be promoted from the National League South.

That was due to government guidelines stating step 2 of the non-league system was not classified as elite sport, and therefore could not be played behind closed doors. As a result, the South and North division play-offs were scrapped.

Apparently, the National League had only been made aware of the government guidelines - issued to the FA via the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) - on Wednesday evening.

The National League’s proposal - to be voted on by clubs by Monday - is to relegate just one club from their top flight (Chorley) and promote Wealdstone and King’s Lynn via an unweighted points-per-game methodology.

By Thursday evening, Hawks officials were in talks with York City sporting director Dave Penney, whose club ended 2019/20 top of the North division but who missed out on the title as King’s Lynn, who had games in hand, enjoyed a better PPG ratio.

That ended with Hawks emailing a new proposal to National League chief executive Michael Tattersall late on Thursday night. The League were this afternoon discussing the proposal but by tea-time Hawks gad still not heard whether it had been accepted and would be put to clubs for voting on.

The email, seen by The News, said: ‘Please note the following amendment proposal from Havant and Waterlooville Football Club, to be applied to the Draft National League Ordinary Resolution and to the National League Competition Rules.

‘As the Unweighted Points Per Game calculation seems to have been generally accepted to decide the League Champions, then it only seems fair and equitable to use the Unweighted PPG calculation to determine competition agreed promotion for the team or teams that finish highest in the league should the play offs not take place.’

The proposed amendment reads: ‘Should any season be curtailed, due to exceptional and unforeseen circumstances, after 75% of the said season has been completed and the Play-Off Competition cannot take place, then promotion and relegation should be determined, on an Unweighted Points Per Game basis.

‘Following the said Unweighted PPG calculation, the number of competition allocated promotion places should be taken by the teams finishing highest in the League and be promoted.’

Hawks boss Paul Doswell took to Twitter to vent his anger at the decision - insisting that the National League never really wanted to relegate from their top flight.

‘Amazing isn’t it that the night before our meeting with @TheVanaramaNL they miraculously receive guidance from a government dept to inform them that sadly step 2 are not considered elite sportspeople but step one is,’ Doswell wrote.

‘The guidance for return to elite sport is ‘those people who derive an income from sport’. To my knowledge every step two club pays income to their players known as salaries.

‘I guarantee that the @TheVanaramaNL and the @FA have jumped onto this guidance as it’s clear from day one they wanted to effectively null and void step two and not relegate from the National League.

‘Let’s see the actual evidence that this was really government advice and whether the @FA and @TheVanaramaNL even tried on steps 2 behalf to convince this department that we do derive income from playing!’

Doswell added: ‘I’m not into conspiracy theories but what a coincidence this advice came through the day before our meeting, despite this government advice for return to sport having been published for some time!’

He ended by calling on other clubs denied a chance to compete in the play-offs to ‘keep fighting this flimsiest excuse ever put to deny us all the chance to salvage something from this unreal season.’

Dorking, like Hawks, were also hoping to take part in the South play-offs. Their owner/manager Marc White has launched a blistering attack on the National League, accusing them of lacking ‘integrity.’

He is furious that the National League did not defer Thursday’s Zoom meeting with the clubs after being told the day before that step 2 was not elite football.

‘They could easily have delayed the meeting until the league and the FA had had a really good look at it,’ White said. ‘You would have expected a thorough pulling apart of the guidance, but there wasn’t any.

‘The only steer we can see is the player must derive a living from their wage, and to a man they all do - whether they are in a part-time team or a full-time team.

‘You’re thinking there must be something we don’t know, but in the meeting there was nothing - just a slide to say it wasn’t the same (as step one). No hard evidence to say where has this come from and why has it been interpreted this way.

‘For me, there are bullet holes in the decision to rush the meeting.

‘Was it 23rd hour info? This guidance has been out for a long time. If it’s been pulled apart, show us the consultation, show us the interpretation of why it differs from the National League.

‘I really hope the National League does not dig its heels in, they need to provide evidence of significant consultation as to why this has been interpreted differently.

‘This league is prepared to operate without integrity. The league have a professional image it wants to uphold, if that was genuine 23rd hour news it should have been pulled apart and the meeting delayed. Severe consultation, with legal people, should have taken place.

‘There are conspiracy theorists out there who are saying you are saving clubs in the premier division. When this first happened I had friends of mine who thought it would be contrived, it would end up like this.

‘I don’t understand how they can relegate one side, deny others, deny sides promotion, on the back of evidence that is not actually in front of anybody.’

White also thought it ‘bizarre’ that Hawks and York weren’t considered for promotion as the second-best teams after the PPG methodology had been applied if the play-offs could not take place.

‘Why wasn’t the recommendation to promote two teams? The leagues have two promotion spots,’ White said. ‘The EFL had integrity, they promoted and relegated - they said that was how it had to be. How would the National League feel if the EFL had stopped relegation and affected their promotion?

‘Let’s be clear about this, by doing this the National League are alone in being the only football league in the country that proposes to finish with disparity, which leaves them without integrity - completely.

‘They are prepared to relegate one team. Chorley will be the only team relegated in non league football, what a record that will be, it will be on Question of Sport, if the proposals go through!’

‘The EFL had winners and losers. But to me it’s not about winners and losers, it’s about being part of a league that does things fair and properly.’

White continued: ‘Show us who has interpreted this decision to be any different for step 2 to step 1. There are red flags for me that don’t stack up - why don’t you promote with integrity and relegate, so at the very least you promote the team in second in the event you really deem the play-offs as not do-able.

‘The National League need to to talk to the FA about this, to say this is causing our league to finish in a way which is highly wrong.

‘I hope they are not so proud they can’t admit this did need more time and effort.

‘A lot is expected of football clubs as you go up the pyramid. If we get clear evidence play-offs can’t take place we will move on, but do things with etiquette, do things with decorum for the member clubs on their behalf.’

Slough Town were another club who have been denied a South play-off chance.

Their joint-boss, Neil Baker, tweeted: ‘I can’t feel anything other than step 2 was shafted yesterday!! Feel let down by the National League not even going into bat for us and at least given us the option of play offs!’

He then told Radio Berkshire: ‘I feel we've been sold down the river. How you can treat the same competition differently is just beyond me.’

Up in the North division, Altrincham were one of the clubs hoping to take part in the play-offs.

Joint chairman Bill Waterson said: ‘Our players and our club have been deemed as not worthy by the government.

‘Some National League North clubs protested that they were full time and therefore should be considered as elite, but the government has damned all clubs at our level to second class status.’