Morpeth Town chairman Ken Beattie spoke to The Highwaymen match day programme about the impact of promotion on his side:
There has been plenty of discussion surrounding Morpeth and promotion and the implications of that.
The talk of promotion as indicated in the press is that it could be a permanent system that clubs must be promoted.
But in my opinion, what the FA must do, to not put clubs in financial risk, is to take into consideration the travelling and the cost.
For instance, in business if I was looking to take on an order, I’d see if the company could afford to take on that order because there is a cost implication. It might well be you need to turn the order away because you can’t afford to take it on.
Football is like business. You have got to see if the club can afford it at a cost of say £45,000 extra for travel and other costs for the new season. It’s about people getting time off work, committee members getting time off work.
The FA look at teams in the National League and see if they can afford to go into the Football League.
You can’t just dispell that concept when you come lower down the pyramid and say you must come up without even considering finances. It’s a huge jump.
This league we’re in covers Northumberland, Durham and part of North Yorkshire.
If a team from North Northumberland came into the league, say Wooler, it would be impossible for them to travel.
It has got to be on a geographical basis and whether teams can afford it.
The FA should be looking at a system whereby certain leagues go no further than say Harrogate or the borders for example.
The club will look at it and see if we can afford it because we have made a big commitment since we got involved with junior football and promoting junior football in the area.
We have spent in the region of £50,000.
We have a further spend commitment for drainage for pitches outside the ground, to get 3G pitches, an improvement in dressing rooms and improving the stadium all to help this club grow and help develop the youth in Morpeth and the surrounding areas.
