My heart goes out to all at Gateshead FC after cruellest of blows

May I say how utterly decimated and angered I am that Gateshead were thrown out of the National League play-offs which could have ended their 63-year exile from the Football League, itself originally a miscarriage of justice.

My heart goes out to the board of directors who have worked so diligently to resurrect the club after disastrous ownership, to manager Rob Elliot, his players, and most certainly the loyal fans all of whom are totally innocent in this dreadfully depressing affair. They deserve so much better than to have their season long dreams cruelly killed after overcoming all obstacles to get them to the brink of success.

All of this leaves Gateshead Council very much in the stocks as far as public opinion is concerned alongside the unbending Football League. They appear to blame one another.

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What the EFL demanded was a 10-year guaranteed tenure at the council-owned International Stadium. It was not forthcoming in their eyes which has led to round condemnation that a council has not supported its own town.

Inevitably it is not as simple as that. Indeed Gateshead Council leader Martin Gannon said in an official statement that a 10-year agreement was actually in place. However - and this is the crux - it did include a break clause "because the council might not be running the stadium directly this time next year."

Ah, thereby lies the problem as far as the Football League is concerned. The council is currently seeking a new operator to run its leisure facilities including the stadium as it attempts to balance its budget and so the football club is deemed vulnerable.

A break clause means nothing is guaranteed because the council are no longer exclusively in charge. Gateshead FC could be forced at any time to negotiate fresh terms not necessarily to their advantage with another operator. Sadly when you don't own your own ground you are always at risk.

Timing is everything in life. Bad timing can be plain unlucky. Gateshead are paying the ultimate price for being successful just as the council are bailing out.

Where all this leaves them in the immediate future is equally worrying. Will Gateshead be allowed to aim for the play-offs or better next season through an agreement reached with newly installed operators or is survival in no man's land the only depressing goal?

May I wish Rob, his lads, and the Heed Army all the very best in the FA Trophy final at Wembley on May 11. They all deserve some tangible reward this up and down season.