The manager of Rocester has condemned the “ridiculous” fixture schedule his club has been given by the Midland Football League after postponed games were re-arranged to be played within a short time frame of one another.
Paul Wright told Sport in Staffs that he is aggrieved that his side has been asked to play “five games in nine days” in April despite having two free Saturdays in March.
The Romans’ postponed league clash with Uttoxeter Town was re-arranged to be played on Thursday, April 9 meaning the MFL Division 1 outfit will be five games from April 4 and April 13.
Rocester’s official twitter account wrote:
“Our game away to @UttoxeterTownFC has had to be rescheduled for Thursday 9th April.
“This means at the start of April we will be playing Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Monday! And we have two free weekends in March! #crazy.”
Wright commented: “We have 11 games left this season to play. We have eight Saturdays left however the league are asking us to play nearly half of them games, five, in nine days at the start of April.
“We will play Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and then Easter Monday. It’s ridiculous in itself, however when you factor in that we have two free Saturdays in March it makes it even more crazy.
“There is very little thought process gone into the decision. Ashby (Ivanhoe) have 17 league games to play and they will be playing four games a week – nearly half a season.
“The integrity of the league is put into question as players will be unavailable due to work commitments.”
Ashby Ivanhoe have the most games left to play in MFL Division 1, although the team who has played the least across the whole of the Midland Football League is Coventry Plumbing.
They have played just ten out of their 30 scheduled MFL Division 3 games since August.
The Midland Football League told Sport in Staffs that the season “must be concluded” by April 25.
A spokesperson for the MFL said: “It has been an exceptional winter for all concerned with unprecedented levels of rainfall and flooding.
“The Midland Football League, along with leagues across the country, has suffered a high volume of postponements.
“The League issue fixtures prior to the start of the season. Clubs are required under competition rules to arrange any postponed fixtures themselves within the timescales set, the League will only be involved in rearranging fixtures if the two clubs concerned cannot agree a mutually agreeable date.
“Any decision that the competition does make has to take all clubs needs into account, bearing in mind that the Football Association have currently decreed that the season must be concluded by 25th April.
“Unfortunately, this means that some clubs will have to play three games a week to complete the season.”
Click to follow Sport in Staffs for all our latest articles on:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
WE HAVE MOVED! 