As the rest of society comes to terms with the latest raft of Government Coronavirus restrictions, the local footballing world is doing its best to make sense of what the new normal means for the Toolstation Western League.

The new three tier restrictions announced by the Prime Minister state that “organised sport / licensed physical activity” are allowed in outdoor settings. However, the small print for the “Very High” Covid alert level indicates that leisure centres and gyms will close, along with pubs and bars. These two measures were the principal threat to restarting football, with clubhouses unable to open whilst pubs remained closed and dressing rooms couldn’t open whilst it was considered unsafe to use gyms.

At present, only the Liverpool region has been put under these restrictions and it is too early to say whether the additional Local Authority interventions referred to in the Prime Minister’s latest announcement will include mothballing non-league football.

A lockdown in Bath and North East Somerset, where the number of cases per 100,000 was estimated to be 87 between October 3rd and October 9th, would rule out fans watching six of the League’s 41 clubs. If Wiltshire and South Gloucestershire were to be added to this list, more than half of the Western League’s sides would be unable to welcome spectators.

Before the season started in September, the Western League, along with all the Leagues at their level of the pyramid, were resolute in the belief that football could not continue without fans. Whilst compromises were made to start the FA’s Cup competitions, Non-leagues across the country at the Southern League level and below have started their seasons with fans, even in parts of the North of England most affected by the virus.

If the latest guidance signals the ends of fans in non-league grounds, it is likely that Clubs in Liverpool will know first. Merthyr Tydfil has one of the highest rates of infection in the country, a fact that saw Southern League Premier Division, Merthyr Town, suspend playing until the start of next season.

The fate of Merthyr Town could yet befall the rest of the Non-Leagues. The Football Association have remained unhelpfully tight-lipped on the subject of what might happen to the 2020/21 season, if it is stricken by the virus, as last season was.

Clubs in the Toolstation Western League First Division, where Welton Rovers play their football, have played an average of 16% of their matches their season. There is little logic in Leagues completing their season on anything less than 50% of the games played and only then if all Clubs have been played once. Whether a Points Per Game option for the Western League is a reality remains to be seen. Arguably, the null and void fate of last season is a more realistic option, particularly given the state Leagues in the North of England are likely to find themselves in if this crisis worsens over the winter months.

In the short term at least, Clubs will be focused on whether they can continue to welcome fans into grounds and how they might generate extra revenue through table serviced bars and socially distanced tea huts. In the longer term, the question remains, what are we actually playing for this season? Marcus Brody