Conference clubs thwart Fairclough's England plans

Paul Fairclough's debut as manager of the England National Game XI has been turned into something of a farce by the refusal of Nationwide Conference clubs to to release players for next Tuesday's Under-23 friendly against Belgium in Ostend.

Conference teams, who were due to supply all 16 members of Fairclough's original squad, want to hang on to their players to keep them fresh and fit for the contest for play-off places and promotion to the Football League.

It seemed earlier this week that specific concerns about insurance cover and players' safety were being met and that Conference clubs would back down and allow their players to cross the Channel next week, but last night hopes of a compromise were dashed and Fairclough has had to pick a new England non-League representative squad from clubs in the three Conference feeder leagues.

The Conference chief executive, John Moules, explained last night that club chairmen do not mind providing players for "meaningful matches in tournaments where the National Game can show its true colours", but added that they were "not happy with friendly matches during the season, especially as Conference clubs now operate with small squads".

Moules, who has been angered by what he describes as a "lack of communication" from the game's governing body, also claimed that the club chairmen were not officially given confirmation of Tuesday's fixture against the Belgians until a week ago – an assertion denied yesterday by the FA's National Leagues manager, Greg Fee.

"This is a very sad day for all the Conference players who have been prevented from representing their country in Belgium next week," Fee said.

Fairclough thanked the feeder-league clubs who have released players at short notice and said: "These players can potentially put themselves in the frame for the Four Nations Tournament in May, which last year attracted many league scouts."

ENGLAND NATIONAL GAME XI Revised squad (Under-23 friendly v Belgium, Ostend, Tuesday): L Key (Kingstonian), N Bull (Aldershot Town); S Ward, C Duffy, J Minton (all Canvey Island), M Tomlinson (Runcorn Halton), M Pullan (Crawley Town), A Wilde (Worcester City), I Craney (Altrincham), A Riviere (Welling Utd), T Sills (Kingstonian), F Manuella (Aylesbury Utd), R D'Sane (Aldershot Town), C McAllister (Basingstoke Town), S Rickards (Tamworth).