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EFL Football suspended until 30 April

IndoMike

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It seems there is provision, of sorts, for this in the FA rules.

According to The Times, they dictate that if 75 per cent of the fixtures haven’t been completed the season will be null and void. If, however, that has occurred, the standings at the point of cessation will count.

On this basis, it’s hard to see how, for instance, Liverpool won’t be awarded the title - and I think few would argue with that - but becomes rather more complicated where issues of promotion and relegation are involved.

You could make a case that if there are no play-offs, the fourth placed team in League Two should be promoted. At the same time, Cheltenham might reasonably argue they have played a game less, while the fourth bottom team in League One will no doubt be making a case for three up three down.

Good luck to those charged with resolving the situation!
Definitely difficult decisions to make
As I said above Egg, if they did it on average points so far Cheltenham would be 4th and City 5th.
Or they could keep the top 3 and 4th-7th could play off.
Whatever, they're certainly not going to keep everyone happy.
So the only (slightly vain) hope is that the season can be completed in the summer. This would mitigate against financial losses, be fair to the season ticket holders, and be fair from the sporting aspect. But as pointed out, players' contracts would be a tricky problem.
Missing the football already
 

denzel

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My solution: Play out the season even if that means ending in October.

Start a new season on Boxing Day, all divisions split into half so we would be in a league of twelve sides, meaning 22 games to complete before May. Simple.
 

WXF

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Coronavirus isn’t going away anytime soon, and players will be among those least at risk given their age and the unlikelihood of them suffering from respiratory or immune problems. There’s little reason why the FL and Prem season shouldn’t finish. All matches are already filmed and broadcast online. Ensure iFollow upscales between now and the start of April, play matches behind closed doors and rearrange them so they aren’t played in the sacred 3 pm - 5 pm slot. Better than loosing a season for the first time since WW2.
 

denzel

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Coronavirus isn’t going away anytime soon, and players will be among those least at risk given their age and the unlikelihood of them suffering from respiratory or immune problems. There’s little reason why the FL and Prem season shouldn’t finish. All matches are already filmed and broadcast online. Ensure iFollow upscales between now and the start of April, play matches behind closed doors and rearrange them so they aren’t played in the sacred 3 pm - 5 pm slot. Better than loosing a season for the first time since WW2.
Half the National League games scheduled for today have been postponed because of players or staff showing symptoms. Staff have families they have responsibilities towards. We are nowhere near the peak yet so scheduling games would be a ridiculous decision.
 

manc grecian

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following through
Coronavirus isn’t going away anytime soon, and players will be among those least at risk given their age and the unlikelihood of them suffering from respiratory or immune problems. There’s little reason why the FL and Prem season shouldn’t finish. All matches are already filmed and broadcast online. Ensure iFollow upscales between now and the start of April, play matches behind closed doors and rearrange them so they aren’t played in the sacred 3 pm - 5 pm slot. Better than loosing a season for the first time since WW2.
What if one team has six players missing and the other at full strength. It would be a farce
 

Red Devon

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Let’s hope the EFL do not use a type of Duckworth/Lewis formula for the last 5 games to work matters out 😎😁😎
I hear they’re seriously thinking of using this new Tagg/Taylor method that has yet to be seen😀😂😂
 
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My solution: Play out the season even if that means ending in October.

Start a new season on Boxing Day, all divisions split into half so we would be in a league of twelve sides, meaning 22 games to complete before May. Simple.
There's nothing in the workshop manual for this situation where health worries and financial concerns combine especially the latter with lower level league clubs.
It may well be that early April would be far too soon to get back to anything approaching normality and players quite rightly would be claiming that they were not really match fit after missing maybe 4-5 games in a row, although logically this would be the same for all sides.
I'm just throwing this out as a suggestion which is to call a complete halt to the current season and starting the leagues again in Aug/Sept with the same teams in the same positions and with the same points that they have currently.
For this to happen clubs would then present projected end of season shortfall accounts (i.e taking into account no further match day revenue etc) to a body with financial backing from Govt/Prem/EFL lifeline finance and for this shortfall to be guaranteed. A rough average figure across L1 and 2 could be around £250000 per club?
 

Oldsmobile-88

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In RaWZ we trust....Amen.
I expect there will be some sort of cut off date to resume the season.
If it does not start by the beginning of May,the season could be scrubbed ?

Very surreal when you think of the things football seasons in this country has survived.
Rampant disorder & the 3 day week(1970s)Rapid decline in attendance until 1986.
Various disasters that resulted in many deaths in the 1980s.
A season could be scuppered by a disease that started on the other side of the world by someone eating the ‘delicacy’ of a bat !!
 

WXF

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What if one team has six players missing and the other at full strength. It would be a farce
It is already possible for games to be postponed if a squad comes down with an illness.
Half the National League games scheduled for today have been postponed because of players or staff showing symptoms. Staff have families they have responsibilities towards. We are nowhere near the peak yet so scheduling games would be a ridiculous decision.
If we are going to extend this level of precaution across the economy for up to six months then for most of us not finishing the 2019/2020 football season will be the very least of our worries.
 
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IndoMike

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I expect there will be some sort of cut off date to resume the season.
If it does not start by the beginning of May,the season could be scrubbed ?

Very surreal when you think of the things football seasons in this country has survived.
Rampant disorder & the 3 day week(1970s)Rapid decline in attendance until 1986.
Various disasters that resulted in many deaths in the 1980s.
A season could be scuppered by a disease that started on the other side of the world by someone eating the ‘delicacy’ of a bat !!
In the interest of veracity, it is yet to be discovered how the disease really started.
Since it can lie dormant or undetected for weeks, it is not impossible that it was imported into China.
 
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