Sky Bet EFL 2019/20

[Colly]

FEEL OUR FEROCIOUS HEAT on the away kit.

[DNB]

As a Luton fan, I'm pretty worried as to what we're going to do. No manager, no coaches, how the hell will we win the games required if they do play again? We have a fairly decent run in as well, with many winnable games ahead, especially against teams who have nothing to play for. It looks as though the board are preparing for League One next year (potentially even with Nathan Jones back at the helm, although I'd take Steve Robinson from Motherwell!). 

[Lineker]

Quote

Six League One clubs with hopes of promotion on Thursday night outlined their determination to complete the season in a sign of deep divisions among clubs concerning the correct response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Peterborough’s chairman, Darragh MacAnthony, released a statement he said was made on behalf of his club and five others in the division’s top 10: Oxford, Portsmouth, Ipswich, Fleetwood and Sunderland.

The message was relayed before clubs in League One and League Two meet on Friday and with the increasingly contentious decision over whether to continue or abandon their seasons likely to be put to a vote next week.

“We as a collective are united in our goal to finish this season,” MacAnthony tweeted. “We have no desire for voiding the season, PPG [points-per-game] scenarios/letting a computer decide our footballing fate. For our fans/staff & for the integrity of our sport we are all looking forward to completing our pending fixtures/season under guidance from the EFL at a time it is deemed safe to do so.”

Although the EFL continues to work towards a resumption and is planning for a return to training on 25 May, lower-division clubs are split over the options. Do they continue behind closed doors in late June, delay a restart until August or September, void the campaign, or retain promotion and relegation on a points-per-game basis? There seems to be no consensus regarding a situation described as a mess by different sources and there are fears clubs denied promotion could initiate legal action.

The EFL will discuss each individual stance and concerns with third-tier club secretaries on Friday. In a sign of the divide in League One Rochdale’s chief executive, David Bottomley, said on Thursday the campaign should end now, on a points-per-game basis. “You have to end the season. We think you should just award automatic promotion and relegation and forget the play-offs, so you’ve got two up to the Championship and two down.”

A majority of those in League Two want a halt called to the season. The biggest problem is funding a restart when it is not uncommon for players and backroom staff to have been furloughed and where a significant proportion of annual revenue is derived from gate receipts and matchday hospitality.

Although teams such as Sunderland – who regularly attract crowds in excess of 30,000 and have 24,000 season-ticket holders – would be able to mitigate some of the financial damage through selling live streaming of games, others, especially in League Two, could struggle badly.

Another problem is the need for teams to be compliant with the EFL’s 50-page return-to-training safety protocols. Whereas the bigger clubs should have little difficulty meeting the criteria, physical distancing requirements are extremely difficult to fulfil at some smaller, often cramped, training grounds. One club questioned whether all of their rivals would be motivated to meet the criteria if continuing the season would not serve their interests. Every facility must be approved for use by Public Health England, whose inspectors face a challenge to complete this task before 25 May. Then there is the price of the twice‑weekly coronavirus tests mandatory for players and staff. These cost £150 per test and will need to be conducted in specially built gazebos.

The players are still to be consulted but, particularly among those furloughed, there is understood to be a widespread enthusiasm for returning. It is thought those out of contract in June would be offered short-term extensions.

While getting players fit in time for a late June kick-off concerns several clubs, the one area where consensus reigns is the desire to play home and away at their own grounds. There is agreement that neutral grounds would damage the competition’s integrity. Moreover, individual clubs invariably have strong relationships with their local police force and seem confident supporters would stay away from stadiums.

[Adam]

Note it's the six clubs behind the top two who all have big spending power. Selfish.

It's also the clubs who miss out on promotion in an unweighted PPG table, since Wycombe would finish 3rd. Only them and us from the top ten not involved in this stunt.

[DavidMarrio]

17 minutes ago, Adam said:

Note it's the six clubs behind the top two who all have big spending power. Selfish.

It's also the clubs who miss out on promotion in an unweighted PPG table, since Wycombe would finish 3rd. Only them and us from the top ten not involved in this stunt.

Unfortunately that's going to be the case amongst all leagues. Each club has their agenda and circumstances so people involved in promotion/relegation/titles/European spots are gonna fight for their argument. 

 

[Colly]

It's all based on self interest, that's why the leagues need to make the decision rather than the clubs. Which will still be a ruddy mess.

[Adam]

1 hour ago, Colly said:

It's all based on self interest, that's why the leagues need to make the decision rather than the clubs. Which will still be a ruddy mess.

Yup, now bearing out with this:

Which they can't just decide themselves. We can't have divisions all doing different things. No surprise they decide for no relegation themselves, but the National League still understandably wants its two promotion places.

A right mess.

[Colly]

There's no safety reason why they can have playoffs for promotion but not for relegation, if they can't complete the season "properly" it seems a reasonable compromise. 

[Bobfoc]

This "no relegation for League Two clubs" thing would have been nice last season.

[Lineker]

13 hours ago, Adam said:

Yup, now bearing out with this:

Which they can't just decide themselves. We can't have divisions all doing different things. No surprise they decide for no relegation themselves, but the National League still understandably wants its two promotion places.

A right mess.

More on this: 

Quote

League Two clubs have unanimously agreed to cancel the regular season with immediate effect but want to stage the play-offs, a decision that requires ratification by the English Football League and Football Association.

The clubs gave an indicative view during a conference call on Friday and agreed that curtailing the season was the only sensible outcome. The EFL’s preferred framework for settling league positions would be on points-per-game, with clubs favouring a weighting to reflect home and away results. The decision would not alter the clubs that stand to be promoted automatically – Crewe, Swindon and Plymouth – or those in the play-offs.

Significantly, a majority indicated they oppose relegation, with clubs understood to be deeply uncomfortable with relegating bottom-placed Stevenage without affording them the chance to play their way out of danger. The clubs came to an informal consensus that there should be “no further relegation” into the National League, with the shared expectation that Barrow should be promoted as National League champions to restore the EFL to 72 teams following the demise of Bury.

“The feeling is it is not fair and I think that is right and proper when you have got 10 games to go,” said the Stevenage owner, Phil Wallace. “We are three points behind Macclesfield with a game in hand and I would really like the opportunity play our way out of trouble. We are revitalised and Macclesfield in difficulties.”

All 24 clubs gave their view on the call, chaired by the EFL chairman, Rick Parry. Many reiterated they would ideally like to restart but that it was impossible to do so because of the absence of crowds and the need for testing – it is understood it would cost each club £140,000 to test players and staff until the end of the season.

For some clubs the cost of testing, taking staff off furlough to pay two months’ wages, sterilisation and personal protective equipment (PPE) is thought to be £500,000.

Matters in League One remain unclear, with clubs set to reconvene next week after failing to make a breakthrough. More than six clubs wish to carry on, including Peterborough, Portsmouth, Sunderland and Tranmere, and are seeking answers as to the ramifications of stopping in relation to potential liabilities, including insurance policies. It is understood clubs would each have to foot a bill of around £30,000 to broadcasters in the event of the campaign being discontinued.

Different solutions to ending the League One season have been floated, including a play-off finale encompassing as many as eight teams given only three points separate second-placed Rotherham and eighth-placed Wycombe, and one owner has suggested condensing the season and playing fewer games. Others clubs have raised concerns about sporting integrity and teams fielding weakened sides.

The Peterborough owner, Darragh MacAnthony, accused League One clubs who do not want to return of “hibernating”.

[Colly]

Don't two teams get relegated from League 2 usually? Stevenage are 10 points from safety...

[Gazz]

Bury's expulsion means at the moment, there are only 91 league clubs

[Lineker]

Quote

The English Football League has recommended that promotion and relegation should take place in the Championship, League One and League Two, regardless of whether clubs vote, or have voted, to curtail the campaign.

Although this proposed framework has still to be endorsed by the clubs themselves, the EFL’s board has made it plain it regards its draft plan as “integral” to preserving the competition’s “integrity”.

Last week League Two clubs agreed to end the season with immediate effect and their League One counterparts are scheduled to decide next week whether to play on. Meanwhile all Championship clubs, bar Hull City, are keen to restart the second-tier fixture list, with the majority returning to training on Monday for a provisional resumption around 20 June.

In a series of recommendations released on Thursday the EFL said that 51% of clubs in League One or the Championship would need to agree to any curtailment of their campaigns. The final table would then be decided by an unweighted points-per-game system and play-offs, involving no more than four teams, should still take place.

The EFL blueprint challenges the declared preference of League Two clubs that Stevenage be spared relegation to the National League but confirms that Swindon, Crewe and Plymouth appear set for automatic promotion to League One.

“There is a strong desire to remain as faithful as possible to the regulations and ensure consistency in the approach adopted in all divisions,” said the EFL chairman, Rick Parry.

One barrier to continuing the League One season has been the cost of twice-weekly coronavirus testing, mandatory under the EFL’s return-to-play protocols, and Sunderland have asked the Professional Footballers’ Association to help shoulder the £150-per-test cost.

Championship clubs are undergoing initial mandatory tests at their training grounds but have the option of saving about £1,300 a week by asking players to conduct subsequent swab tests at home or enlisting backroom staff to conduct them before training sessions. Under both methods samples would be collected by couriers. Middlesbrough are understood to be one of around eight clubs adopting the self-testing system but two-thirds of the division has chosen to pay a premium for independent testers.

Parry has cautioned that EFL clubs face a collective £200m deficit by the end of September, due primarily to loss of matchday revenue prompted by the need to play behind closed doors.

With considerable uncertainty as to when fans will return and a salary cap beckoning for Leagues One and Two, Sunderland’s co-owner Charlie Methven and the MP Damian Collins, formerly chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) committee, have produced a blueprint for football’s future. It proposes the Football Association creates a Football Finance Authority (FFA) financially backed by the government which would provide funds needed to keep clubs damaged by the coronavirus pandemic afloat. This funding would not involve loans but the purchase of minority, maximum 49%, shareholdings. The money could not be spent on player recruitment or enhancing infrastructure.

An independent director, selected by a registered supporters’ trust or local government authority, would join the club’s board and either the supporters’ trust or local authority could acquire the shareholding at a discount in the future.

“Without reform of the governance of football finances, any bailout for clubs will be a short-term fix,” Methven and Collins wrote. “Once the pressure is off, the rules – whatever they are – will be bent and challenged by the owners of clubs intent on short-term success, at the cost of medium-term sustainability.”

[DFF]

Not fond of it being unweighted, but it's better than nothing. 

[Colly]

On 09/05/2020 at 15:39, Adam said:

I may have missed it but I don't think so. The FA Council ratified the decision to void although South Shields were one club threatening legal action.

I hope they have a change of heart on it because if they do PPG in the professional leagues there is no reason not to do it at Non-League as well.

 

[Lineker]

Championship resumes on June 20^th.

[Lineker]

Quote

Macclesfield Town could face a points deduction that would leave them bottom of League Two after being charged by the EFL on three counts, including failing to pay several players their March wages on time.

The matter is with an independent disciplinary commission and if the club, who have said they will contest the charges, are found guilty a points deduction is possible. Macclesfield are second bottom of League Two, three points above Stevenage.

In May Macclesfield were given a seven-point deduction for the failure to play December’s match against Plymouth and the non-payment of wages, and in March an independent hearing reduced a 10-point deduction for the non-payment of wages and for failing to fulfil a fixture against Crewe to a seven-point penalty, with three suspended. In total the club has been deducted 11 points.

The Silkmen Supporters’ Trust loaned £10,000 to help pay the remaining 20% of April wages after all players and staff were placed on to the government’s furlough job retention scheme.

An English Football League statement said: “The club has been charged with failing to pay a number of players on the applicable payment dates due in March 2020, whilst also failing to act with utmost good faith in respect of matters with the EFL and for breaching an order, requirement, direction or instruction of the league.”

Macclesfield responded by saying they would “be appealing these charges vehemently” and were “deeply surprised” by the EFL’s move. May’s wages are understood to be paid on time and in full.

The club also highlighted part of an independent panel’s findings from May’s hearing, which stated: “The commission should make it clear that it does not consider that MTFC’s tardiness (yet again) to pay the players’ remuneration for March on time necessarily requires a further charge. Given its reasoning and conclusions as above, it would require strong persuasion to impose a yet further points deduction for any such breach (albeit the sixth monthly failure this season to pay players promptly).”

The league has stipulated that promotion and relegation should take place in all of its leagues, despite an overwhelming majority of League Two clubs indicating a preference to curtail the season without relegating the bottom club.

[Lineker]

Quote

Several League One clubs are in uproar at their rivals training and being tested for Covid-19 before the critical vote on Tuesday to decide how to complete the interrupted season. It is understood the four teams set to be awarded play-off places if a majority of clubs vote to support the English Football League board’s proposal to curtail the campaign via an unweighted points-per-game model – Oxford, Portsmouth, Fleetwood and Wycombe – are those who have trained and been tested.

The EFL confirmed on Sunday that 135 players and staff from four clubs were tested from last Wednesday to Saturday, with zero individuals returning positive results. Peterborough, who would miss out on the play-offs under the EFL’s proposed framework, and Tranmere, who stand to be relegated if the points-per-game system receives a majority vote , are furious that a handful of teams have resumed activities before the standings have been rubber stamped and accused the EFL of a lack of transparency.

Tranmere’s vice-chairman, Nicola Palios, wrote on Twitter: “How can clubs have a fair vote on Tuesday re our proposals when the EFL have only done Covid testing for clubs who would be in the playoffs under their proposal and not ours? And have struck the deal for TV assuming theirs will go through? This is NOT a fair process.”

Peterborough’s owner, Darragh MacAnthony, meanwhile, said the club, who occupied a play-off place when the season was halted in March, did not receive an approach to restart training.

In response, the EFL pointed out that, in principle, all clubs were permitted to return to “stage one” training, subject to strict medical protocols, including regular twice-weekly testing. Clubs that have returned are also required to appoint a Covid-19 officer to ensure safety protocols are followed. Championship clubs are on “stage two” of training but League One clubs are not expected to transition to contact training until next week at the earliest. 

All 71 clubs have been invited to attend the virtual meeting on Tuesday but many have already voted via proxy. Clubs will be able to vote on proposals put forward by the EFL board, Barnsley and Tranmere, who have called for a “margin for error” clause, as well as on amendments raised by Lincoln, Ipswich and Stevenage. Once a framework is agreed, divisions will vote on whether to continue or curtail the season. Coventry and Rotherham would be promoted via the framework, which is expected to gain a majority vote.

The meeting was originally scheduled for Monday but it had to be pushed back 24 hours after a delay in voting papers reaching clubs last week. With Wednesday the deadline for employees to be furloughed, that left some clubs fretting over whether they will be eligible for support during the final four months of the government’s job retention scheme. Five clear days’ notice is required before an EGM can take place.

Elsewhere, a west London derby between Fulham and Brentford at Craven Cottage will restart the Championship season behind closed doors on 20 June. The lunchtime kick-off will be televised by Sky Sports before the title contending West Brom entertain Birmingham, whose manager, Pep Clotet, announced on Monday that he will step down at the end of the season.

The outcome of League Two is also set to become clearer on Tuesday before the EFL board convenes for its weekly meeting on Wednesday. League Two clubs have indicated a wish to end the season at its current point and made it clear they opposed relegating the division’s bottom club.

Stevenage, who are bottom, have proposed an amendment to ensure there is no relegation from the division. Exeter, Cheltenham, Colchester and Northampton – the four teams set to contest the play-offs – returned to training last week.

[Adam]

If I had a penny for every time Darragh MacAnthony opened his mouth and spouted self-centred, hypocritical, sanctimonious bullshit...I'd be filthy rich.

Also, I like the Palios's but their convoluted mathematical proposal was clearly thought of solely as a way to save Tranmere from relegation. The transparent desperation of these teams owners over the last few weeks, and the arguments they have caused, have been really irritating and embarrassing.

[lanky316]

I was resigned to Stevenage being in League Three anyway just end the misery and sod any prolonged suffering please.