NWCFL Chairman Paul Lawler discusses all
Wed 26th January 2022 | General | By Alex Thrower
“It seems to have got worse this season.”
North West Counties Football League Chairman Paul Lawler isn’t discussing Killing Eve or my inability to write a half-decent headline, rather referring to the disciplinary records of clubs throughout the North-West Counties.
Speaking openly, the NWCFL Chairman since June 2015 discusses these ongoing issues, what the pandemic has taught non-league football, and just what the future of the pyramid may look like.
“We put a large emphasis on respect and good sportsmanship, with clubs being run well from the very top. This season we’ve seen 23 dismissals from the technical area and 41 cautions- it’s only January,” he adds.
“We’ve struggled this season in getting match officials and a lot of that is down to commitment but also decisions being questioned and scrutinised every second of a game. It seems to have worsened this year and I can’t understand why. There’s far less respect being shown to officials and opponents and it has to be addressed.
“This is going to be unpopular, but it needs to be said. I actually think the quality of officials is good, I’m always watching as a neutral and I understand that both sides will have competing views on decisions, but what I see is a set of officials doing their best. This isn’t the Premier League- even their referees get things wrong. Mistakes will be made, but it comes from the very top of clubs to ensure a calmness and discipline.
“We get a lot of complaints from supporters and we don’t want to lose those fans which will ultimately cost clubs money. My message to teams is to look at the discipline tables, those who do the best there tend to be high up in the actual standings.”
Now in his seventh year as Chair, Lawler knows how difficult the past two seasons have been for everyone involved in non-league and was quick to stress the positives far outweigh the negatives. Not least because completion of a full campaign now looks highly likely.
“It’s been a really good season in the fact we’ve got the majority of games in,” he notes.
“The biggest concern going into it was making sure we’d complete all the fixtures and so far the weather has held off reasonably. I think if we go another year without finishing, then the whole of the National League system could crumble. But we’ve got bigger crowds; people are clearly appreciating non-league football even more than before the pandemic and that’s great to see.
“A huge amount of credit has to go to clubs, who have worked really hard towards improving the matchday experience.
“Our priority the last two years hasn't been football. That's come secondary behind the health and wellbeing of everyone involved across non-league. Helping clubs was so important so we scrapped fines, paid money where we could as well as reducing costs where possible. We’re not blessed with cash, but we helped clubs secure grants from the FA. We only lost one team (in FC Oswestry Town who folded in July 2020) which is a tragedy and heart-breaking, but the fact it’s only one is remarkable.”
Lawler continues by discussing that while this season’s successes should be celebrated, it has not been without a great deal of hard work and struggle throughout the pandemic.
“I didn’t want to start last season (2020/21) until we were sure it could be finished, that’s why it returned so late and then by November it was already winding down- most teams only played around five games,” he says.
“I imagine after that, everybody who is involved in non-league football thought about calling it a day. But we’ve got incredible volunteers, who seemed to just keep going and every success this league has going forward belongs to them.
“This season has been very different in how we’ve approached Covid. With vaccination and protection of our older volunteers, it’s been a lot better for everyone. We’ve tried to not cancel games immediately but have followed quite clear guidelines from the FA on it. There are always cases where people won’t be happy, but we’re following the rules fairly across the leagues. Clubs have done really well; we have to praise them because they’ve coped with it superbly.”
With attentions now turning towards the future of the NWCFL and non-league as a whole, Lawler has also had his say on the help the League has given clubs over the years and what might come next.
“We’ve helped a lot of teams find their way into the National League system and higher,” he remarks.
“Salford City, AFC Fylde, Fleetwood Town, I think the number is close to 50 clubs who have been through the NWCFL. It’s a great place to start and something we take huge pride in. We go to clubs even when they’re not in the NWCFL, helping to nurture them through the pyramid. I think I’m right in saying Charnock Richard worked with us for nine years before they joined and now, they’re doing well in Step 5.
“We want to help all our clubs to succeed and reach their own goals.
“I put the proposal in to the FA after last season to continue with the planned restructure of non-league. There were a lot of Step 7 clubs who worked hard to get into the National League system, so I felt it was the right thing to do. We were able to move clubs who had been successful up, which I know caused a lot of negativity higher up the structure. Sadly, we lost Hanley Town and Whitchurch Alport, but we had to think long term and it was important for football to progress despite the pandemic.
“The play-offs in Step 6 are superb, but I believe there be more promotion between Steps 5 and 4. One team going up each year creates a bottleneck of good clubs, which is great for building the strength of our Premier Division, but it does stop progression.
Lawler finishes by reinforcing what his main aim throughout the pandemic has been and what will drive his Chairmanship going forward.
“Sustainability. I’m a big supporter of clubs being sustainable, that’s what really matters. For people to come and enjoy watching non-league football, growing its supporter base and increasing the popularity of football at the lower levels. We’ve come through a really tough time, but we’re looking forward with cautious optimism. Let’s get through this campaign first!”
NWCFL Chairman Paul Lawler discusses all
Wed 26th January 2022 | General
By Alex Thrower
“It seems to have got worse this season.”
North West Counties Football League Chairman Paul Lawler isn’t discussing Killing Eve or my inability to write a half-decent headline, rather referring to the disciplinary records of clubs throughout the North-West Counties.
Speaking openly, the NWCFL Chairman since June 2015 discusses these ongoing issues, what the pandemic has taught non-league football, and just what the future of the pyramid may look like.
“We put a large emphasis on respect and good sportsmanship, with clubs being run well from the very top. This season we’ve seen 23 dismissals from the technical area and 41 cautions- it’s only January,” he adds.
“We’ve struggled this season in getting match officials and a lot of that is down to commitment but also decisions being questioned and scrutinised every second of a game. It seems to have worsened this year and I can’t understand why. There’s far less respect being shown to officials and opponents and it has to be addressed.
“This is going to be unpopular, but it needs to be said. I actually think the quality of officials is good, I’m always watching as a neutral and I understand that both sides will have competing views on decisions, but what I see is a set of officials doing their best. This isn’t the Premier League- even their referees get things wrong. Mistakes will be made, but it comes from the very top of clubs to ensure a calmness and discipline.
“We get a lot of complaints from supporters and we don’t want to lose those fans which will ultimately cost clubs money. My message to teams is to look at the discipline tables, those who do the best there tend to be high up in the actual standings.”
Now in his seventh year as Chair, Lawler knows how difficult the past two seasons have been for everyone involved in non-league and was quick to stress the positives far outweigh the negatives. Not least because completion of a full campaign now looks highly likely.
“It’s been a really good season in the fact we’ve got the majority of games in,” he notes.
“The biggest concern going into it was making sure we’d complete all the fixtures and so far the weather has held off reasonably. I think if we go another year without finishing, then the whole of the National League system could crumble. But we’ve got bigger crowds; people are clearly appreciating non-league football even more than before the pandemic and that’s great to see.
“A huge amount of credit has to go to clubs, who have worked really hard towards improving the matchday experience.
“Our priority the last two years hasn't been football. That's come secondary behind the health and wellbeing of everyone involved across non-league. Helping clubs was so important so we scrapped fines, paid money where we could as well as reducing costs where possible. We’re not blessed with cash, but we helped clubs secure grants from the FA. We only lost one team (in FC Oswestry Town who folded in July 2020) which is a tragedy and heart-breaking, but the fact it’s only one is remarkable.”
Lawler continues by discussing that while this season’s successes should be celebrated, it has not been without a great deal of hard work and struggle throughout the pandemic.
“I didn’t want to start last season (2020/21) until we were sure it could be finished, that’s why it returned so late and then by November it was already winding down- most teams only played around five games,” he says.
“I imagine after that, everybody who is involved in non-league football thought about calling it a day. But we’ve got incredible volunteers, who seemed to just keep going and every success this league has going forward belongs to them.
“This season has been very different in how we’ve approached Covid. With vaccination and protection of our older volunteers, it’s been a lot better for everyone. We’ve tried to not cancel games immediately but have followed quite clear guidelines from the FA on it. There are always cases where people won’t be happy, but we’re following the rules fairly across the leagues. Clubs have done really well; we have to praise them because they’ve coped with it superbly.”
With attentions now turning towards the future of the NWCFL and non-league as a whole, Lawler has also had his say on the help the League has given clubs over the years and what might come next.
“We’ve helped a lot of teams find their way into the National League system and higher,” he remarks.
“Salford City, AFC Fylde, Fleetwood Town, I think the number is close to 50 clubs who have been through the NWCFL. It’s a great place to start and something we take huge pride in. We go to clubs even when they’re not in the NWCFL, helping to nurture them through the pyramid. I think I’m right in saying Charnock Richard worked with us for nine years before they joined and now, they’re doing well in Step 5.
“We want to help all our clubs to succeed and reach their own goals.
“I put the proposal in to the FA after last season to continue with the planned restructure of non-league. There were a lot of Step 7 clubs who worked hard to get into the National League system, so I felt it was the right thing to do. We were able to move clubs who had been successful up, which I know caused a lot of negativity higher up the structure. Sadly, we lost Hanley Town and Whitchurch Alport, but we had to think long term and it was important for football to progress despite the pandemic.
“The play-offs in Step 6 are superb, but I believe there be more promotion between Steps 5 and 4. One team going up each year creates a bottleneck of good clubs, which is great for building the strength of our Premier Division, but it does stop progression.
Lawler finishes by reinforcing what his main aim throughout the pandemic has been and what will drive his Chairmanship going forward.
“Sustainability. I’m a big supporter of clubs being sustainable, that’s what really matters. For people to come and enjoy watching non-league football, growing its supporter base and increasing the popularity of football at the lower levels. We’ve come through a really tough time, but we’re looking forward with cautious optimism. Let’s get through this campaign first!”
