Coronavirus

[Alty Pieman]

If NL have playoffs then what will covid testing cost each club,.. anyone know ?
Or will the Nat league pay for it? like EFL did for L2 ?

 

[AJS]

If NL have playoffs then what will covid testing cost each club,.. anyone know ?
Or will the Nat league pay for it? like EFL did for L2 ?

Saw somewhere it would cost around £7000 for 20 people. Expensive at this level...

 

[doveranddover]

I would hope the NL &/or FA would pay most if not all

 

[chipmunx]

I understand that they can do pretty much what they want but as the EFL are planning playoffs and the Conference are hinting that they'll follow their lead then I do think the playoffs are more likely than not.

I have no idea which way they will go on play offs - it might come down to finances - can the clubs/league afford the covid tests. Notts and Harrogate are the only 2 of the 6 teams i'd say definitely can.

 

[#Beebot]

I have no idea which way they will go on play offs - it might come down to finances - can the clubs/league afford the covid tests. Notts and Harrogate are the only 2 of the 6 teams i'd say definitely can.

I think you can add us to that list. Kleanthous wouldn't turn down the playoffs.

 

[AdamStag]

So it’d be barrow up
4th vs 7th and 5th vs 6th - the winner of those away at 2nd and 3rd and the winners play wherever?

 

[LongEatonPie]

id imagine if you are in the playoff positions and want to go up you would find the money for the tests. However the NL must contribute at least some of the costs.

 

[Who Needs Mourinho]

I think you can add us to that list. Kleanthous wouldn't turn down the playoffs.

We’d take the place of a team if they couldn’t compete.

 

[karlready]

So, how many of the six clubs involved in these possible playoffs have a viable squad, in contract and relatively match-fit ? There is no income, and the expenses are huge; only one out of the six will get anything out of it. The whole thing is ridiculous.

 

[shoddycollins]

I think you can add us to that list. Kleanthous wouldn't turn down the playoffs.

Just throw them open to anyone who can afford the cost of testing. Fylde will win them.

 

[shoddycollins]

Well I still don’t get why league 2 voted not to have relegation tbh, silly idea.

I didn’t understand it then and I don’t now, you can’t have promotion but not relegation, you either have both or nothing.

Would make sense if the NL ended with only sending Barrow up, I would presume now it's confirmed that Stevenage are going down, the NL will be sending two up, whether there's playoffs or whether they promote Harrogate automatically.

Still harsh on Stevenage like, however bad they've been, allowing a club to be promoted on the basis of their performances over 4/5 of the season is one thing, but relegating a club based on 4/5 of season seems more harsh because relegation, especially from the league is a huge thing. I can understand Tranmere's gripes, that just as they seemed to be turning a corner and would have felt on course to avoid relegation, the season ends prematurely, they probably feel that in a 44 (as it is in L1) game season they would have been more than likely to survive.

 

[AdamStag]

Would make sense if the NL ended with only sending Barrow up, I would presume now it's confirmed that Stevenage are going down, the NL will be sending two up, whether there's playoffs or whether they promote Harrogate automatically.

Still harsh on Stevenage like, however bad they've been, allowing a club to be promoted on the basis of their performances over 4/5 of the season is one thing, but relegating a club based on 4/5 of season seems more harsh because relegation, especially from the league is a huge thing. I can understand Tranmere's gripes, that just as they seemed to be turning a corner and would have felt on course to avoid relegation, the season ends prematurely, they probably feel that in a 44 (as it is in L1) game season they would have been more than likely to survive.

Thing is I don’t have sympathy for Stevenage in the slightest, they’d lost their last 9 games in a row. They were beyond abysmal. Tranmere were down there due to their cup run and were in some sort of “form” before this all kicked off

 

[TheEndIsNigh]

So, how many of the six clubs involved in these possible playoffs have a viable squad, in contract and relatively match-fit ? There is no income, and the expenses are huge; only one out of the six will get anything out of it. The whole thing is ridiculous.

Not as ridiculous as just promoting Harrogate, when 2nd place has never meant automatic promotion. Some clubs have all those things in place. Mentioning no names obviously.

 

[AdamStag]

I think when it comes down to the playoffs - whether it be conference or league 2 it’s purely going to be who’s fitter.

Could be completely wrong but it’s hard to see any of the games having any form of cohesion about them at all.

 

[Who Needs Mourinho]

Thing is I don’t have sympathy for Stevenage in the slightest, they’d lost their last 9 games in a row. They were beyond abysmal. Tranmere were down there due to their cup run and were in some sort of “form” before this all kicked off

Agreed.

And if it wasn’t for the Bury situation they would have been miles away from safety.

 

[chipmunx]

Agreed.

And if it wasn’t for the Bury situation they would have been miles away from safety.

yep - there would have been no argument about sending both them and Macc down.

 

[HG Yellow&Black]

I think when it comes down to the playoffs - whether it be conference or league 2 it’s purely going to be who’s fitter.

Could be completely wrong but it’s hard to see any of the games having any form of cohesion about them at all.

Absolutely. The sporting continuity has totally gone.

Away from lack of training/time with no matches, when you then factor in some teams struggling to afford to test players and possibly not competing. Issues around some clubs in the playoffs having smaller budgets and therefore more players out of contract and less retained who might not want to risk playing or not play at 100% Vs clubs that have retained on longer contracts and don't have the risk.....it all adds up to a situation with very little sporting merit any more.

Null and void should have been the response and stopped all of the above and all the uncertainty that is still swirling around. Along with the potential quite rightly for teams to challenge legally with the league placings decided with still a quarter of the season left.....it's a shit but needed level playing field to a global, once in a century event.

 

[chipmunx]

Absolutely. The sporting continuity has totally gone.

Away from lack of training/time with no matches, when you then factor in some teams struggling to afford to test players and possibly not competing. Issues around some clubs in the playoffs having smaller budgets and therefore more players out of contract and less retained who might not want to risk playing or not play at 100% Vs clubs that have retained on longer contracts and don't have the risk.....it all adds up to a situation with very little sporting merit any more.

Null and void should have been the response and stopped all of the above and all the uncertainty that is still swirling around. Along with the potential quite rightly for teams to challenge legally with the league placings decided with still a quarter of the season left.....it's a shit but needed level playing field to a global, once in a century event.

with 3 months since any football and play offs if they happen likely to still be over by the end of June like in L2 then play offs would be an even bigger lottery than usual and there would be just as much chance of Barnet going up as Notts or Harrogate

 

[AdamStag]

with 3 months since any football and play offs if they happen likely to still be over by the end of June like in L2 then play offs would be an even bigger lottery than usual and there would be just as much chance of Barnet going up as Notts or Harrogate

Would be lovely for Harrogate to come up

 

[chipmunx]

Would be lovely for Harrogate to come up

As a Northern team i'd say any of Harrogate, Halifax, Stockport (IF they somehow get in) or even Notts would be better than Barnet, Boreham Wood or Yeovil - although Yeovil would be the best of those 3.

 

[HG Yellow&Black]

with 3 months since any football and play offs if they happen likely to still be over by the end of June like in L2 then play offs would be an even bigger lottery than usual and there would be just as much chance of Barnet going up as Notts or Harrogate

The use of the word lottery is spot on

That said the bigger the budget the more ability to buy the winning ticket. The contract issue for me is the big one which means those clubs able to afford to retain squads will be the ones able to carry on more as normal.
Great upside for Town but again you want to go up on merit not by default of being the biggest loss making club.
That said this level of football is more and more about this unfortunately.

 

[Master D]

Would be lovely for Harrogate to come up

They can't afford to. It's the last thing they want.

 

[AdamStag]

They can't afford to. It's the last thing they want.

How can they not afford to go into a league where they’ll get far more money?

 

[AdamStag]

As a Northern team i'd say any of Harrogate, Halifax, Stockport (IF they somehow get in) or even Notts would be better than Barnet, Boreham Wood or Yeovil - although Yeovil would be the best of those 3.

Harrogate or Stockport yeah.

Halifax? Fuck me, it’s like going back to the 1950s

 

[Boz]

Economically is it worth Harrogate getting promoted, given the cost of replacing their pitch coupled with excluding fans for the early stages of next season at least?

 

[HG Yellow&Black]

Economically is it worth Harrogate getting promoted, given the cost of replacing their pitch coupled with excluding fans for the early stages of next season at least?

A father's love for his son....of course they can afford it.
The club losses around half a million a year with the losses acting as a handy tax write down on his multi million property building company. So a couple of hundred k cost is not a problem at all to them

 

[Bee sting]

A father's love for his son....of course they can afford it.
The club losses around half a million a year with the losses acting as a handy tax write down on his multi million property building company. So a couple of hundred k cost is not a problem at all to them

If you are loosing 1/2 million a year, obviously you are not living within your means and spending money you haven't got. On that basis, you should be thrown out of any play off's and your place given to Wrexham to give them a chance to get back into the FL.

 

[chipmunx]

If you are loosing 1/2 million a year, obviously you are not living within your means and spending money you haven't got. On that basis, you should be thrown out of any play off's and your place given to Wrexham to give them a chance to get back into the FL.

Wrexham fans know that they'd still screw it up even if they were 1-0 up in the 90th minute of a play off final... they're cursed to be in the NL until they decide the LOW is their future...

 

[shoddycollins]

The use of the word lottery is spot on

That said the bigger the budget the more ability to buy the winning ticket. The contract issue for me is the big one which means those clubs able to afford to retain squads will be the ones able to carry on more as normal.
Great upside for Town but again you want to go up on merit not by default of being the biggest loss making club.
That said this level of football is more and more about this unfortunately.

Another HG?

Just what this forum needs.

 

[chipmunx]

Another HG?

Just what this forum needs.

ah.... a Mr pessimistic Gregory reference?