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

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

There's no ideal way of sorting it. But given Scotland are set to promote, and controversially relegate, teams, I think voiding a season which is over 80% complete is off the table. The moment the SPFL finish the Premiership (which they will in a month I reckon), they've stated they'll crown Celtic champions. The moment this happens, Liverpool will be straight to the PL and UEFA offices demanding the title which they've pretty much won. So null and void is completely off the table. And if European competition is set to go ahead next year, I feel they're going to award those currently in the places rather than wrongly give Spurs another season in the CL and give Arsenal a European place they hardly deserve after an aberration of a season on their part.

Had we been at the halfway stage or even in January when we suspended football I'd have been in favour of voiding the season. But with 9 games to go, you could realistically say that half our division have dead seasons and nothing to play for and you can't leave teams unrewarded. If you scrapped relegation in the top four divisions for this season, suddenly most the country has nothing to play for and I reckon the majority would be in favour of promoting those at the top with only the ones on the fringes of the automatic or playoff spots being against it.

It would've been interesting had we played on for another week because, with an upcoming midweek round, we may well have seen Bolton and Southend mathematically relegated which would've caused an even bigger headache with regard to how to end the season. But the headache is that the EFL wants 92 teams in its leagues next season. Which is why I think teams will be promoted but none will be relegated. I'm 99% sure that Barrow will be in League Two next season. But you're not going to have a 23 team L1 and a 25 team L2. And I feel for Cheltenham, Exeter and the six in League One who could all realistically still get an auto spot. But you simply can't punish those who've been up there for the majority of the season.

All will become clearer by the end of May anyway,

 

[chipmunx]

It would've been interesting had we played on for another week because, with an upcoming midweek round, we may well have seen Bolton and Southend mathematically relegated which would've caused an even bigger headache with regard to how to end the season. But the headache is that the EFL wants 92 teams in its leagues next season. Which is why I think teams will be promoted but none will be relegated. I'm 99% sure that Barrow will be in League Two next season.

All will become clearer by the end of May anyway,

Hope you're right on the Barrow part
If fairness came into it Southend, Bolton would both get relegated and Crewe, Swindon and Plymouth would all go up;- Neither Bolton or Southend could realistically argue they would have stayed up without divine intervention.
Agreed things should become clearer by the end of May..... 2021

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

Hope you're right on the Barrow part
If fairness came into it Southend, Bolton would both get relegated and Crewe, Swindon and Plymouth would all go up;- Neither Bolton or Southend could realistically argue they would have stayed up without divine intervention.
Agreed things should become clearer by the end of May..... 2021

I would've been in favour of relegating teams if all were dead and buried. But the bottom 3 in the Championship and PL can all stay up realistically (although I do think Norwich would've gone) and Tranmere picking up three wins before this crisis probably gave them a shot at survival even though they've looked awful for most the year. So the temporary 22 team PL and 22 team L2 with you lot up in the league seems the fairest solution as top clubs deserve some reward as well rather than be completely punished. I do think a few NL clubs will go to the wall anyway so there'll be a lot of AGM Cup related movement in non league this Summer which will see many of the sides robbed of promotion in the Non League Pyramid finally get their deserved promotions.

If relegation is off the table, the biggest winners will be Bolton. Not only will they avoid a relegation, they'll probably do their best to wriggle out of that 12 point penalty before likely overspending their way back to the Championship in what's set to be the last uncapped season. Stevenage will also be winners in retaining league status, but you could argue they may well be down there again next season given the state their squad is in.

 

[Indian Dan]

If the season is finished without playing all the games, surely those clubs who have had points deducted this season should have them deducted next season - otherwise their punishment is meaningless. If you’re not going to promote teams who have achieved something, surely you can’t benefit those clubs who would most likely be relegated by not relegating them.

Ppg and be done with it, ffs.

 

[chipmunx]

If the season is finished without playing all the games, surely those clubs who have had points deducted this season should have them deducted next season - otherwise their punishment is meaningless. If you’re not going to promote teams who have achieved something, surely you can’t benefit those clubs who would most likely be relegated by not relegating them.

Ppg and be done with it, ffs.

If it's for issues within this season like say Macclesfield then if the season is voided they will get away with it - but clubs like Bolton should start next season with the deductions they had this year if they have avoided relegation on a technicality.

 

[Indian Dan]

Maybe if the EFL drag their heels long enough, a few clubs might go bust and they can realign the leagues. The fuckwits.

 

[chipmunx]

Maybe if the EFL drag their heels long enough, a few clubs might go bust and they can realign the leagues. The fuckwits.

that might be one of the reasons the National League is trying to get their finalised table sorted out quicker than the EFL - incase extra spaces become available.

 

[Indian Dan]

I have no idea which clubs are likely to be affected - apart from the usual suspects. Might be us for all I know.

I’d imagine every single club in the bottom 2 leagues is vulnerable. Depends on how long some can hold on - or even whether their owners can be arsed to.

 

[Super_horns]

Whatever happens unless they finish the season someome will start legal action ASAP.

 

[shoddycollins]

IMHO the issues of when games can be played and when fans might be admitted don't really affect whether you finish this season or not.

Whenever the next game is played, with or without fans, it makes no difference to the spread of coronavirus or the loss in gate reciepts if it's the first game of a new season or one of the remaining games in the 2019/20 schedule.

Like I said before, my concern with cancelling this season in order to get on with next sesason is that next season ends up interrupted too, or is unable to start until it'll too late to play a whole season, the result then being two cancelled seasons in a row instead of one.

 

[Indian Dan]

Whatever happens unless they finish the season someome will start legal action ASAP.

One club owner has already said he is ready to cancel his entire playing staff’s contracts immediately and deal with any legal proceedings as and when. ‘Players are not as important as the club’, he said.

He’s right, too.

 

[darren gregory]

Whilst totally separate from us i don't like the way the Sweaty socks have done it.
Partick are relegated despite having a game in hand , which if they won would mean they were safe.
That can't be fair as teams have not all played the same amount of games.
In our League it wouldn't affect anything other than Swindon would need a point to be Champions with their game in hand.
Slightly off at a tangent but they are able to accomodate a 2022 World Cup in December which will knacker all the structure so i'm hoping somehow any other delays to 20/21 season can be rectified .

 

[northstandexile]

The easiest and fairest way out of this is no relegation for anyone and just promote the automatic places after working out tables on ppg.

this would mean a 92 of 22-24-24-22.

then following season you just adjust the relegation and promotion places.

however the main issue is can a full season run next season because at present I can see further restrictions on crowd gatherings until a vaccine is found.

 

[chipmunx]

The easiest and fairest way out of this is no relegation for anyone and just promote the automatic places after working out tables on ppg.

this would mean a 92 of 22-24-24-22.

then following season you just adjust the relegation and promotion places.

however the main issue is can a full season run next season because at present I can see further restrictions on crowd gatherings until a vaccine is found.

with the world cup being in December 2022 it will probably end up with next season running say October to October with the built in buffer of 3 months incase there is any re-occurrence next winter and the following season March to November to accommodate the world cup. messy - but might work.
I've done medical trials before and the place i did them is starting covid-19 trials in 6-8 weeks time - they e-mailed me about them this morning....

 

[Indian Dan]

The easiest and fairest way out of this is no relegation for anyone and just promote the automatic places after working out tables on ppg.

this would mean a 92 of 22-24-24-22.

then following season you just adjust the relegation and promotion places.

however the main issue is can a full season run next season because at present I can see further restrictions on crowd gatherings until a vaccine is found.

It wouldn’t be fair, though. Why should Bolton get a massive reward? Unless, they are given the same punishment next season.

 

[chipmunx]

It wouldn’t be fair, though. Why should Bolton get a massive reward? Unless, they are given the same punishment next season.

Bury and Bolton's punishment would need to stand, but Macclesfield would probably get away with things - assuming they were all payed up by the next AGM - as they were not in a relegation place even with the points deductions.

 

[Chris FGR]

How long can clubs operate without gate receipts? Tbh I cannot see there being a 20/21 season as without match day income/season ticket sales etc how are clubs in league 2 going to be able to pay their staff and players?

There won't be fans in stadiums until a vaccine is available imo, which might take until spring 21.

 

[Indian Dan]

How long can clubs operate without gate receipts? Tbh I cannot see there being a 20/21 season as without match day income/season ticket sales etc how are clubs in league 2 going to be able to pay their staff and players?

There won't be fans in stadiums until a vaccine is available imo, which might take until spring 21.

You’re right there. Might as well put football in mothballs until it is 100% safe for fans. Fuck knows how many clubs would still be knocking around in 18 months, though.

Mind you, I don’t know how many will be hanging around in 3 months time.

 

[Super_horns]

Naturally health comes first and we must all go with the Government but there are many comments suggesting that we should be wary of how long we are in a lockdown as the economy and employment will struggle to cope.

For some it's a fine line really between keeping everyone well but not risking the long term future of business

 

[chipmunx]

Naturally health comes first and we must all go with the Government but there are many comments suggesting that we should be wary of how long we are in a lockdown as the economy and employment will struggle to cope.

For some it's a fine line really between keeping everyone well but not risking the long term future of business

there will be some companies and sectors of business that will suffer most and the results of say vastly improved air quality in cities may effect government policy on things such as banning new sales of petrol engines which i think will probably be brought forward from 2040 to maybe even 2030 after this is over - but these are things that have to happen eventually... the lockdown will just accelerate these things happening and is a price the country will have to pay in the shorter term.

 

[SteveD12]

Lee Johnson, manager of Bristol city, came up with what I think is a decent proposal.
He said that get all your players tested for the virus , if they are clear , get them together, move the squad into a hotel, and play a game every 3 or 4 days, behind closed doors, like the world cup. The season could be completed in 3 or 4 weeks!

I like this idea and don't see why it cant happen, boosts morale of public and keeps the money flowing in. I do think it's going to get cancelled though

 

[Indian Dan]

If fans are banned for 12-18 months we won’t have football clubs to support. We’ll all either become plastics or knock it on the head entirely.

I can’t see how mothballing clubs indefinitely will stop them going bust. Anyway they’ll have no money to resurrect a club from ground zero anyway.

Let’s face it, guys. A lot of us will have nothing to go back to.

 

[SteveD12]

I think it's most likely the season will be cancelled, but it should be voided, will make it lose value and will cause constant aggro if not, and I'm not just saying that as a Man U fan

 

[Indian Dan]

I think it's most likely the season will be cancelled, but it should be voided, will make it lose value and will cause constant aggro if not, and I'm not just saying that as a Man U fan

Yes, you are. Makes no difference to your club who will miss out on nothing.

 

[chipmunx]

I've just been watching part of the live science select committee meeting on sky news (yes i'm bored - i'm a key worker - who works nights and it's my day off...) and they suggested that large family gatherings like weddings have are far more dangerous than some sporting events because of the close contact - i think sport will come back in gradually with attendance limits initially which would be stepped up as we go along. It would be fine for clubs with lower attendances and those like Stevenage where they rarely score so the fans won't celebrate together... I think it's highly likely that away fans will be initially banned as there is probably more chance of the virus spreading on full coaches than on part empty terraces.

 

[Indian Dan]

EasyJet are proposing resuming flights leaving the middle seat of 3 empty.

Now, how about football following suit. No seats together.

 

[Greenacres]

EasyJet are proposing resuming flights leaving the middle seat of 3 empty.

Now, how about football following suit. No seats together.

I saw that article, not sure how football would implement that...maybe people with odd-numbered seats for one game, even the next.

On a more serious note, where I sit in our ground is almost exclusively season tickets, on one side of me there is a bloke in his 70's and the person who sits on the other side must be well over 80...I just hope both of them are available to attend whenever fixtures resume.

 

[Camborne Gills]

Perhaps, trying to be positive, we can try and finish the season behind closed doors, providing the virus is contained at a sufficiently low level. Hopefully we wouldn't necessarily have to rely on a vaccine in the meantime.

Cue a lot of replies saying i am talking bollocks!!

 

[Chris FGR]

EasyJet are proposing resuming flights leaving the middle seat of 3 empty.

Now, how about football following suit. No seats together.

What about terraces? Hard to force people to stand 2 metres apart.

 

[Indian Dan]

Seating only - you know, like proper football clubs!