Clubs struggle to cope with realities of winter

BAD Weather, postponements and financial pressure continue to frame the non-league winter.

- By MIKE PARRISH

A sodden Langsford Park, home of Tavistock, which is an all too familiar scene for non-league clubs across the region right now

Plymouth Parkway's visit to Sholing arrives with rare assurance, and a reminder of what is at stake beyond 90 minutes.It may not be the football that defines this weekend's trip to Shol-ing’s 3G surface, but the certainty of it. Across the Southern League Premier Division, recent weeks have followed a familiar pattern. Inspections, postponements and busy revisions to the fixture list have shaped the calendar, as grass pitches across the region have once again found themselves at the mercy of a winter that offers little flexibility or respite. It is a scenario repeated time and time again, yet no less disruptive for its regularity.

For many non-league clubs, the effects stretch well beyond simple inconvenience. Games lost to the weather are money lost at the gate and vital income that sustains squads, staff, and day-to-day operations. While the costs of running a football club remain constant, the opportunities to offset them now arrive sporadically. Fixture secretaries juggle rearrangements, players train without rhythm, and boards wait for Saturdays that never quite come.