Deakin to leave summer ‘legacy’

Newtown could well find themselves kicking off their future seasons in March if Welsh Premier secretary John Deakin gets his way and leaves a legacy of summer football when he retires.

The 66 year-old administrator (right) has committed to the job for the next two seasons and believes that he will leave the domestic game in a strong position by switching to a summer format.

Speaking to www.welsh-premier.co.uk, he said the current Arctic winter strengthens the argument despite his previous attempts to introduce it falling on deaf ears.

“I’m confident if we went to the clubs now we’d get a majority vote in favour of summer football,” he said. “For the second winter in a row we are facing a difficult fixtures situation and it is particularly difficult this season with the split to be finalised on January 15.

“We are facing a difficult few weeks to complete all the fixtures, even if the weather improves. Clubs like Bangor will face a trip to Llanelli midweek in mid-winter when travelling is far from easy. It doesn’t surprise me at all to hear clubs talking about summer football again. It’s time to give it a go.

“I first brought this up in 1999 and here we are 11 years on still trying to play football in Wales on snow-covered pitches, rock-hard grounds - it’s anything but spectator-friendly.

“Clubs should bite the bullet and give it a try for two years and if it doesn’t work, we can revert to winter football. I’d be the first to admit I was totally wrong if it didn’t work out, but I’m fed-up of finding ourselves in the same sort of position every winter when we’ve got a straightforward solution.

“Last week at Aberystwyth the ground staff did a fantastic job to get the game on against Port Talbot, but after all that work the game was watched by just 219 spectators. On a different day in better weather that game would have attracted between 400 and 500.

“Yes, there are obstacles to summer football, but the main obstacle is the clubs’ stubborn resistance to try something new. It wouldn’t affect clubs in the Welsh Cup as there’s a break in that anyway, it would just mean extending it over two seasons, and it would make our league more competitive in Europe if clubs were playing midway through the season.

“I’m 66 now, but I’ve committed myself to continue this year and the year after, but when I call it a day I want to have made a difference. I’m committed to trying to improve domestic football and I believe summer football can do that."

Deakin said he would be recommending the league’s management committee call a meeting of Welsh Premier League clubs to put the summer football option up for vote.

Only three league games have survived the weather in the last two weeks and, unless a thaw arrives in time, this weekend's programme is already under threat. It means the league is facing a race against time to complete the fixture list for the first half of the season with the Super 12 set to divide into two groups of six at the end of January.