The Fermanagh and Western Football League Management Committee made the decision to null and void the league on Monday night.

The league say that an alternative competition will be played instead while the Fermanagh and Western intend to go ahead with the Mulhern and Reihill Cups.

We gauged the opinion of a number of managers’ on the decision made by the league.

James McKenna

(Enniskillen Town)

I don’t understand the decision. I think that we should have been looking to play one round of games and then split the league with the top half playing each other once and the bottom half playing each other once. That would make it a 19 game season in all but with most teams having played four games already it would only be another 15 games and I don’t think anybody would have any argument about where they finished after 19 games. I just think it has been made too soon. Games can be rattled off pretty quickly, we have to June to play them and it is only15 games and boys just want to play at this stage. I would have felt that the logical decision would have been to take away the Junior Cup this year but I feel that you have to try and play the league.

Michael Kerr

(Enniskillen Rangers)

I know a lot of people are disappointed with the decision but at the end of the day we are in a pandemic and while we all want to play football we just have to deal with it. Look, maybe the decision was made too early and I do think it would have been possible to finish the season but maybe they felt that they had to make a decision to give clarity to clubs.

To be honest, I’m not going to be too disappointed as football hasn’t been as enjoyable with no changing rooms and no social aspect to it after a game and there is going to be another competition and with it being the first time it will be played for maybe teams will want to be the first to win it.

Kyle McCleery

(Lisbellaw United)

It is a difficult situation that the Fermanagh and Western are in but could they have waited until mid January and then made a call on it? You have to respect the decision but maybe it has been made a bit too early. Hand on heart, I don’t think that we would have been able to finish off the season as it is with 26 games but I do think that the split idea, where you play 19 games, was a fair option and if you got those games played I don’t think anybody could have complained and the team that were top would deserve to be champions.

Look, nobody has a crystal ball or knows what is going to happen but I do think the decision could have waited.

Anthony Fitzpatrick

(Enniskillen Athletic)

We would be very disappointed with the decision. We were hoping to get back going after Christmas and the boys were chomping at the bit. I felt that the split option was the best one for this season and I still think that it is. To null and void the league without the stakeholders getting a say is nonsensical and I hope that it will be revisited. I just don’t understand the point of playing another competition and the Junior Cup, why not play the league instead.

Ryan Hanna

(Tummery Athletic)

I was shocked when I heard the decision and I don’t think anybody saw it coming. I understand that they are between a rock and a hard place but there was going to be no football between now and January anyway so why not go down the route of an EGM and try and get the rules changed to play the split option if playing the full season was not possible. There is this new competition that is going to come in and then you have the cups but for me you have to try and play the league, that is your bread and butter, it should be a priority.

Ryan Beacom

(Irvinestown Wanderers)

Like anybody else, you want football to be played and you want the league to go on but it is the uncertainty of not knowing. Will there be enough time to play the games as there is still 22 games to go and when will the league restart? I see both sides of the coin. I do think though that the league should have been more proactive with this in the summer. They seen the problems that Covid had caused to last season and maybe they could have said that we will try to fulfill the full season but if we get to Christmas and we have only X amount of games played then we switch to plan B, whether that’s a split league or whatever and I think everybody would have been fine with that. Ultimately though there is more important things than football at the minute.

Gavin Connolly

(Enniskillen Galaxy)

From a club point of view it is very disappointing and I feel very premature. I understand the thought process behind it but I don’t think they needed to make a call so early on it. From a Division Two perspective, it wouldn’t have been a problem to finish the season and I believe that the Junior Cup should have been scrapped as the league has to be the priority.