After Coronavirus - What next for league football? (poll)

[Luke Imp]

Dave Artell just told Radio Stoke in the last hour that two clubs in League Two want the season over for financial reasons.

"They've got the two highest budgets and are fighting for the season to be null and void...read into that what you want, but they've not got much to play for."

Hi Mansfield and Salford.

I think Salford have been pretty consistent in their stance about wanting the season finished.

 

[Richard Cranium]

so Macclesfield and Morecambe going down with Satanage?
or did you mean 4 up 3 down between L1 and L2.
or 3 up 2 down between L1 and L2?

Sorry didn't mean the 3 down bit. 3 up no play offs, 1 down or whatever they've decided this season.

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

I think Salford have been pretty consistent in their stance about wanting the season finished.

I can believe Neville saying one thing and doing the other so I take what he says with a pinch of salt. However, more than likely, maybe Artell should've been more specific and not said the two biggest budgets. Because we all know Salford spend more than anyone in this league.

But one of our fans also reckons that Scunthorpe could be a team that want it voiding. Given they were frantically offloading high earners in January and they've pissed some money away last 5 years, maybe he's right.

 

[Chris FGR]

I just don't get how lower league clubs are going to survive for long without income, that is by far the bigger issue then whether this season gets finished or not.

Fuck the 'integrity of the competition' what's the point in playing behind closed doors if it bankrupts everyone? Bringing forward sponsorship/prize money or whatever is not the answer imo. Will the Premier League bail everyone out, and if they do at what cost will that be?

 

[Richard Cranium]

Could be Scunthorpe. As Conker says we've heard fuck all, the last sort of update we had was the owner saying they'll cover any financial short falls over the coming weeks.

It maybe wrong but I can't see any clubs voting to play behind closed doors except those in with a chance of promotion. I couldn't give a fuck what happens just hope we are all still here and have a club to go and watch when it's all over now.

 

[Indian Dan]

Could be Scunthorpe. As Conker says we've heard fuck all, the last sort of update we had was the owner saying they'll cover any financial short falls over the coming weeks.

It maybe wrong but I can't see any clubs voting to play behind closed doors except those in with a chance of promotion. I couldn't give a fuck what happens just hope we are all still here and have a club to go and watch when it's all over now.

I imagine that’s the stance of most owners, but the telling words are ‘the coming weeks’. There’s more than a chance this could roll on for many months.

How many owners could still finance their clubs then. Even if clubs are mothballed with no playing staff at all, the start up costs would be horrific.

I think more than a few us need to prepare for the possibility of our clubs no longer existing - in their present, 72 club format anyway.

Hello, non league, amateur football.

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

People say many clubs are going to the wall. I highly doubt it because it's not an individual club, this affects us collectively. Worst case scenario is that lower league football will default itself before mass closures of clubs. Indeed, defaults were seen across the board during the ITV Digital collapse. But today's game is different, the failed big clubs in the Championship will be against that because the Premier League won't default and that'll put them at a huge disadvantage.

When ITV Digital happened and clubs defaulted and were bailed out, the poorly-run clubs went into administration with no penalty and then proceeded to spend again. This is why we now have points deductions to act as a deterrent for people looking to spend, bailout and repeat the cycle again. And even then it doesn't work. However, because of what happened then, those well run amongst us won't want to default but conversely, would want restrictions applied to any club financially resetting itself so they won't be let off for the process they've gone through and won't be allowed to carry on as they did before, spending vast sums on a pipe dream. Defaulting means all contracts would be voided and renegotiated, but on the flipside of that particular coin, you're relying on gentlemen's agreements not to poach other players. I could see well backed clubs like Stoke refusing to participate in these agreements before throwing money around and being opportunistic which would throw the default option right out of the window. But if this carries on for longer, the default option is the one football is inevitably going to take.

Different clubs have different agendas. Those passionate about voiding a season because they're two weeks from a performance based hit to revenue from going down deserve criticism for nothing but blatant opportunism. But do those in promoted places deserve to be penalised at those clubs expense after working hard for 80% of the season? I don't think they do. So an impasse was always going to happen with the argument of voiding the season. It'll only become clearer if Rick Parry's masterplan ends up failing, which I think many of us think it will.

 

[Indian Dan]

There also needs to be some sort of ‘sanction’ preventing those clubs who have furloughed their playing staff from entering the transfer market until those wages have been repaid in full.

 

[Luke Imp]

I can believe Neville saying one thing and doing the other so I take what he says with a pinch of salt. However, more than likely, maybe Artell should've been more specific and not said the two biggest budgets. Because we all know Salford spend more than anyone in this league.

But one of our fans also reckons that Scunthorpe could be a team that want it voiding. Given they were frantically offloading high earners in January and they've pissed some money away last 5 years, maybe he's right.

Perhaps Scunny. I think Neville and Swann were having a media slanging match because the latter suggested not paying players at all until football restarted (I'm not sure whether that was actually true, just a piece I skim read).

 

[Boletus Edulis]

So if it is null and void, presumably if Bury can prove money in the kitty they could come back to League 1 whenever it starts?

 

[valefan16]

We have now furloughed the players although topping up any wages to ensure all players and staff get 100% wages which suggests maybe some developments as we have held off until now, seems odd we'd do that if they are in training again in 3 weeks as per the plan for the re-start by the EFL last week.

 

[chipmunx]

We have now furloughed the players although topping up any wages to ensure all players and staff get 100% wages which suggests maybe some developments as we have held off until now, seems odd we'd do that if they are in training again in 3 weeks as per the plan for the re-start by the EFL last week.

The plan for a re-start was obviously a non-starter then...

 

[Chris FGR]

German league restarting on 9th May apparently!

 

[Deepcut Cobbler]

German league restarting on 9th May apparently!

Although there are quite a few of the players stating that they will not play.
If they are ordered/'encouraged' to play there is nothing to stop them claiming to have symptoms and putting the rest of the squad into self isolation for 14+ days and scuppering that plan.

 

[Chris FGR]

Although there are quite a few of the players stating that they will not play.
If they are ordered/'encouraged' to play there is nothing to stop them claiming to have symptoms and putting the rest of the squad into self isolation for 14+ days and scuppering that plan.

Aren't they all training though?

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

So if it is null and void, presumably if Bury can prove money in the kitty they could come back to League 1 whenever it starts?

Nope as the decision to expel them was unanimous by the owners. No way would they be allowed back in and even then, the club has no infrastructure it can call its own financially at the moment. It'll be a long road for them to get back to the league even if the season is voided.

 

[Deepcut Cobbler]

Aren't they all training though?

Yes, but maintaining restrictions, social distancing etc... to retain their fitness levels. Be a lot different if they started playing competitively.

 

[WhiteRussian]

I don't know about Germany but can you see the media howling if a football player here got seriously injured playing a game and took up a hospital bed while this virus is still prevalent. It would make the top clubs furlough PR debacle seem clever.

 

[T.A]

Nope as the decision to expel them was unanimous by the owners. No way would they be allowed back in and even then, the club has no infrastructure it can call its own financially at the moment. It'll be a long road for them to get back to the league even if the season is voided.

There was no vote to kick us out.

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

There was no vote to kick us out.

There was on letting you back in though. Which would mean the expulsion was upheld. https://www.independent.co.uk/sport...-league-place-proposal-rejected-a9121616.html

 

[Spanishstag]

Just thinking about this ,as a non attending stags fan ,field mill has a 9000 ish capacity ,surely without away fans it would be possible to accomodate a crowd of say 4000 and stay within the social distancing rules ,just a thought

 

[chipmunx]

Just thinking about this ,as a non attending stags fan ,field mill has a 9000 ish capacity ,surely without away fans it would be possible to accomodate a crowd of say 4000 and stay within the social distancing rules ,just a thought

nope.... - the average stadium seat size is approx 19 inches (approx 48.3cm) so if you had a person sat in seat 1 in a row then seats 2,3,4 and 5 would need to be empty to maintain a 2 metre distance. Similarly there would need to be probably 3 empty rows behind - so only 1 seat in 20 could be used.... so a 9000 capacity all seater stadium could hold around 450 people if it complied with current social distancing measures......

 

[Super_horns]

I don't know about Germany but can you see the media howling if a football player here got seriously injured playing a game and took up a hospital bed while this virus is still prevalent. It would make the top clubs furlough PR debacle seem clever.

Or even just playing whilst we are still on a form of lockdown/social distancing so presume nothing will take place till they are relxed.

Which means pubs will be open and people will say why not the grounds?

And as Deepcut says will the players be happy about it?

In the top flight they moan if a blade of grass is out of place or the penalty spot isn't perfect.

 

[Vanni]

According to Nixon a ‘big’ club in L2 is really struggling financially and is desperate for the season to be brought to a conclusion.

Can’t be many to choose from.

Bradford Plymouth Swindon. Any other likely candidates?

According to a friend of mine the 'big' team in question is Bradford. I'm afraid I can't add anything further though 'cos that's all he has heard to date. But I'll just say this fella must know a few genuine ITK people as I can count the number of times his info turned out to be wrong on one finger.

 

[Chris FGR]

Can't be Bradford, they are much too massive. They even took 4000 to Morecambe on a Thursday morning according to one of their fans on here.

 

[chipmunx]

Can't be Bradford, they are much too massive. They even took 4000 to Morecambe on a Thursday morning according to one of their fans on here.

I suppose if it is them they could always crawl to Bradford P.A., merge and start again in National League North if the worst came to the worst....

 

[Chris FGR]

I suppose if it is them they could always crawl to Bradford P.A., merge and start again in National League North if the worst came to the worst....

They could call themselves Bradford (Park Avenue & City) FC.

 

[chipmunx]

They could call themselves Bradford (Park Avenue & City) FC.

maybe just plain old Bradford FC - but instead of being the Bantams call them the Phoenix (as both teams who formed them would have restarted)

 

[T.A]

There was on letting you back in though. Which would mean the expulsion was upheld. https://www.independent.co.uk/sport...-league-place-proposal-rejected-a9121616.html

EFL in lie shocker. Even Andy Holt said there was no vote. Anyway pointless arguing over a mute point. More than happy to restart at the level we will. Doesnt look like it will be much fun at this level for a while.

 

[chipmunx]

EFL in lie shocker. Even Andy Holt said there was no vote. Anyway pointless arguing over a mute point. More than happy to restart at the level we will. Doesnt look like it will be much fun at this level for a while.

There was no vote when you were kicked out - but when you cheekily asked to be put in League 2 for the 20/21 season that was voted on in September - it's even referenced on Bury's Wikipedia page.