Behind closed doors.

Can anyone realistically see any non league football starting before mass gatherings are allowed? I have to say I can't.

PL will and the EFL might, either entirely (or just the championship) but I just don't see it for non league as being remotely financially viable. I also can't see how clubs will have any funds to make any signings until season ticket sales commence and I don't see how they can be sold until a date for starting is decided upon.

I had sort of assumed that by Aug/Sep we would be back but after yesterday's presser where Chris Whitty said social distancing could last the full calendar year, I can't see anything less urgent to reopen than football grounds where people gather shoulder to shoulder for a couple of hours (especially in the colder months when literally everyone gets undercover).

Schools will be open, and so will shops but sporting venues (to spectators), theatres, cinemas and gig venues are going to be right at the back of the queue I think.

I also think if the EFL starts behind closed doors and non league can't get going or even if PL and the champ start without L1 and L2 in tow, it causes huge problems in terms of promotion and relegation throughout the pyramid.

The financial side is a well foreseen problem and is a huge one but I feel like no one is fully appreciating the administrative issues this causes. If football has a staggered start by more than a month or so, I don't know how that gap gets bridged.

Edited by Pricey2 - 23 Apr 2020 at 10:49pm

So the national League have ended their season.

Vote now opened to conclude by May 7th on the resolution. Options appear to be PPG straight or PPG (based on home PPG and away PPG allocated proportionately to benefit teams who had more home games left unplayed) or null and void.

If either of the PPG options are exercised then the next vote will be on whether to keep the play offs and play them behind closed doors later or to leave table as is.

If they choose to nominate sides for promotion, they will nominate Barrow first (to replace Bury) and then a second one (play off winners or the second placed team) if the EFL agree to relegate Stevenage.



Really simple and clear then in summary.

David Cameron is absolutely a villa fan. Whether he ran round the playing fields of Eton pretending to be Dennis Mortimer I can't confirm.

I suspect his choice, like with Prince William was to pick a club who were big enough for people to have heard of but small and irrelevant enough that outside the west midlands, not cared about by most. If you are an Everton/Liverpool, City/United, Arsenal/spurs fan etc there are a large number of fans who dislike you.

Unless you live in the west midlands, you don't really care about villa. Col sees them as a similar club to Stoke, Watford, Palace etc who lucked out in 82:and won half as many European cups as Nottingham Forest.

For most of the country who don't suffer like us with real life Villa fans telling us how massive they are and getting arsey when you ask, "really? Why did you shut part of the ground when you were in the championship then?", they aren't really an issue.

If you've ever met a villa fan, you'll get it. I don't know if you have to pass a moron test to get into villa park or if going through the turnstile instils it in you but by Christ they have more than their share don't they?

David Cameron, Prince William....need I go on?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.thenational.ae/sport/football/66-players-out-of-contract-why-the-premier-league-could-vote-for-a-june-30-finish-1.1006850

And there is the issue, even for PL clubs. It may be possible to sort something for their players short term but it is unlikely to be replicated down in L1/L2 and if the leagues end up concluding on different formulae from one another then it creates another problem in itself.

Football will be able to resume behind closed doors at some point in the medium term future but with Euro 2021 plonked in the summer, next season must finish on time or you risk some international players playing through this summer, next season, another full summer before starting 21/22 in a right state.

This will bring about a player welfare issue on top of this financial disaster. As unpalatable as it seems, they might have been better taking the plunge and finishing themselves even if null and void.

They could still vote to cheer up the nation and relegate villa on the grounds of Jack Grealish being king knobhead of the lockdown.

Edited by Pricey2 - 17 Apr 2020 at 10:41am