Shropshire Star

AFC Telford chairman angry at National League

AFC Telford United chairman Andy Pryce has hit out at the ‘unfair’ treatment of National League clubs after their fixture with Spennymoor Town was postponed.

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Andy Pryce

The Bucks have called for the season to be declared null and void and were insisting on today’s scheduled National League North clash not to go ahead as other clubs cast their votes on the outcome of the season.

Telford prefer that the season is suspended until the outcome of the resolution is revealed in just under a month’s time.

Despite the league demanding that the game was played, Telford and Spennymoor were able to postpone it after the visitors also outlined their desire to end the campaign.

The decision finally came at 4.15pm yesterday and Pryce has been left frustrated at the treatment of the clubs.

“It’s a situation that potentially could have been avoided by suspending the league for a further week or two, as the votes on the resolution come in,” he told the Shropshire Star. “That would have been a sensible stance to take from the league. Starting the league back up at this precise moment, in my eyes, is not good for the integrity of the game.

“It’s very frustrating. The amount of communication since last March has been below what we as football clubs and as members of the National League expect.

“We expect a little bit more. We expect to be treated a little bit better in the sense that we’re members of their league and they should be looking after us in that sense. Recently, regarding the communications, Mark Ives the interim CEO has always answered the phone calls and replied to our emails. Things on the communication side have been looking up. But from a board level of the National League, they need to do more. There’s a lot of things that leave us guessing. We’re sat on a Friday wondering whether we’re meant to be playing on a Saturday.

“It’s unfair. I believe it’s not fair for any club. Every club at this level has different circumstances, we’re not all the same, but it seems like they think we are. I think that’s totally wrong. It’s disappointing but we’re dealing with it. The main thing from our point of view is looking after the best interests of AFC Telford United and that we’re here for the long haul and we don’t jeopardise that for the sake of four months of football.”