Premier League postponements are a betrayal of a club’s younger players

I have been given a simple mandate by my board at Hereford for the rest of this season: regardless of Covid-19 cases or injuries we must fulfil every fixture, even if I have to take five or six players out of the youth team. We have already had several games postponed and it does not help financially, so our priority is to get matches on with whoever is available.

The contrast with recent events in the Premier League is stark. Arsenal have come under particular scrutiny for their determination to call off the north London derby and, to be clear, it is obvious nobody has done anything outside the rules. Everybody wants to protect their own interests but, when you see injuries and other absences overriding Covid as the real grounds for postponement, it seems clear the regulations are not working.

In the National League North we have to play games if we have 14 or more players available. I have registered our under-18 side for that eventuality: we do not have an under-23 squad so, if five or six are missing, I will trust the kids to put on a performance. It makes me wonder why clubs in the top flight are not required to do something similar. It could only benefit the sport, because a lack of exposure to competitive football can damage the careers of academy-raised players.

The Premier League rule is that a club must be able to field players with “appropriate experience”, broadly meaning that they have played at least one senior game at league level this season. When a team fall short of that and have to postpone a game, you have to wonder why. Many of the clubs competing around the top six have squads of more than 50 players on professional contracts, some of whom earn well into five figures each week. Dozens are sent out