Behind closed doors

[drfchound]

National League clubs have voted to end the 2019-20 season at its current point, with promotion and relegation outcomes "under careful consideration".

The league's board had urged clubs in its three divisions to vote in favour of ending the regular season without further games because of coronavirus.

The league said there was a "clear majority of clubs in favour" from the almost 90% of responses returned. from bbc

Mmmmm, I would imagine that clubs in the promotion places would vote to end the season now as would a number of the clubs just outside of the relegation places, as long as the tables ar3 deemed to be the final placing of course.

[silent majority]

National League clubs have voted to end the 2019-20 season at its current point, with promotion and relegation outcomes "under careful consideration".

The league's board had urged clubs in its three divisions to vote in favour of ending the regular season without further games because of coronavirus.

The league said there was a "clear majority of clubs in favour" from the almost 90% of responses returned. from bbc

Mmmmm, I would imagine that clubs in the promotion places would vote to end the season now as would a number of the clubs just outside of the relegation places, as long as the tables ar3 deemed to be the final placing of course.

It wasn't about promotion or relegation though, it was about clubs being able to stay viable over the summer months until the next season starts. It was an act of preservation.

[drfchound]

National League clubs have voted to end the 2019-20 season at its current point, with promotion and relegation outcomes "under careful consideration".

The league's board had urged clubs in its three divisions to vote in favour of ending the regular season without further games because of coronavirus.

The league said there was a "clear majority of clubs in favour" from the almost 90% of responses returned. from bbc

Mmmmm, I would imagine that clubs in the promotion places would vote to end the season now as would a number of the clubs just outside of the relegation places, as long as the tables ar3 deemed to be the final placing of course.

It wasn't about promotion or relegation though, it was about clubs being able to stay viable over the summer months until the next season starts. It was an act of preservation.

So would the season just be wiped from the records or would promotions be awarded and relegations be included.
I understand the need for preservation.

[silent majority]

National League clubs have voted to end the 2019-20 season at its current point, with promotion and relegation outcomes "under careful consideration".

The league's board had urged clubs in its three divisions to vote in favour of ending the regular season without further games because of coronavirus.

The league said there was a "clear majority of clubs in favour" from the almost 90% of responses returned. from bbc

Mmmmm, I would imagine that clubs in the promotion places would vote to end the season now as would a number of the clubs just outside of the relegation places, as long as the tables ar3 deemed to be the final placing of course.

It wasn't about promotion or relegation though, it was about clubs being able to stay viable over the summer months until the next season starts. It was an act of preservation.

So would the season just be wiped from the records or would promotions be awarded and relegations be included.
I understand the need for preservation.

Its a topic still up for discussion I believe.

[elmsallrover]

To be honest I can see next season been a total wipe out as well as this

[drfchound]

Yep, possibly.
Would that put players out of contract at the end of June out of work.
Or.......what about players who have signed a pre contract arrangement with another club in readiness for next season.
Lots to consider.

[redarmy82]

After tonight's press briefing, its quite clear social distancing will be in place until there's a vaccine.

We can forget any matches being played in front of fans until then.

[bpoolrover]

Got to agree redarmy can’t see it until 21/22 season

[redarmy82]

Could be later then that.

Could be several years for a vaccine in reality.

And what if we never find one?

[DonnyBazR0ver]

We have to learn to live with the virus until such time as a vaccine is rolled out.

Hopefully testing will become more readily available and we will all remain responsible for managing the risks. Across the work sectors businesses will have to adapt to assist employees and customers maintain a reasonable level of protection through a combination of measures such as continuing to work from home, distancing in the workplace, protective clothing, whilst we all maintain a higher level of hygiene.

There will be an overwhelming desire to get back to some form of normality and I'm sure football along with other sports will also adapt and open for business.

As a society, we will have to decide what is acceptable risks of infection and death. We will all have to manage that risk and do our own assessments of what we like/need to participate in.

Things will evolve. It's a global problem and We"ll learn how to adapt. It's evolution.

[BillyStubbsTears]

  SM. if that £16 million is down to completing fixtures before July I think people should be trying to make plans to lose it, and quite honestly if having to doff their hat every time the premiership teams cough the clubs that do survive could do worse than breaking away and going their own way.
  That particular house of cards is not as stable as people think and are the reason football authorities have lost their clout and the dog is wagging the tail.
  Football in Britain has it's best chance of getting some semblance of equality back into the game for years, It is time that the powers that be stood up and were counted and started to tell the clubs what was going to happen instead of the other way round.

Selby

How do you "make plans" to lose £0.75m per club for this season when you are within a few weeks of what should have been the completion date, and 90-odd% of the expenses for this season have either been spent, or have some contractually binding requirement to spend them?

[IDM]

Could be later then that.

Could be several years for a vaccine in reality.

And what if we never find one?

Oxford university are starting to test a vaccine today..

Of course, there is no guarantee that this will be successful nor that there would be production capacity to roll this out if it works.

The optimistic view is this could start to roll out in September. This year.

Let’s see eh?

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/coronavirus-vaccine-uk-nhs-matt-hancock-latest-a9476901.html

[IDM]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52379825

The Germans are looking to start football in the top two tiers as early as next month..

Clearly as a country we are behind Germany in dealing with the virus and testing numbers, but if we can sort the testing so there is sufficient to test all patients, all NHS staff and varies and critical workers - and then have further capacity to test non-critical folks, then some football could be started but behind closed doors.

[redarmy82]

Could be later then that.

Could be several years for a vaccine in reality.

And what if we never find one?

Oxford university are starting to test a vaccine today..

Of course, there is no guarantee that this will be successful nor that there would be production capacity to roll this out if it works.

The optimistic view is this could start to roll out in September. This year.

Let’s see eh?

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/coronavirus-vaccine-uk-nhs-matt-hancock-latest-a9476901.html

Well, Chris Whitty doesn't share that view, clearly.

[IDM]

Actually this goes hand in hand with what Whitty says.

Hr expects some form of social distancing at least to the end of this year.  Developing a vaccine, even the Oxford one if done relatively quickly, won’t bring a shortened end to social distancing measures in the meantime.  Read about the vaccine, the optimistic start of production is September - that doesn’t mean there will be enough made, distributed and applied, before the end of the year.

[redarmy82]

Actually this goes hand in hand with what Whitty says.

Hr expects some form of social distancing at least to the end of this year.  Developing a vaccine, even the Oxford one if done relatively quickly, won’t bring a shortened end to social distancing measures in the meantime.  Read about the vaccine, the optimistic start of production is September - that doesn’t mean there will be enough made, distributed and applied, before the end of the year.

He said the chance of a vaccine in the next year are very small.

[IDM]

That comment could have also been about drugs for the virus.

[redarmy82]

That comment could have also been about drugs for the virus.

He specifically said vaccine.

Either way, there will be not football, other than behind closed doors until it happens.

[IDM]

Vaccine and drugs, and he was generalising.

I wouldn’t expect him to be shouting that the Oxford trials are going to provide a quick win..

[selby]

Billy, what will be the hit next season if a full season of games are not played? or are minimised.
   I know you have to do well in cups to cover that amount, but some smaller teams will make that money and some even more.
   The matches played to complete this season, as the Accrington  Chairman has said will lose them money, so he has threatened not to fulfil the fixtures, and other clubs have expressed the same opinion Gillingham being one, so contrary to S.M.'s well meaning ideas, other clubs are looking at next season not backwards.
  The first thing to be ditched will be the cups, competitions that local  semi pro teams can make a seasons income from.  The thing that all football authorities should now be concentrating on, and with outside pressure coming from government is a more equal distribution of TV moneys to the lower leagues.
  Bizarrely this could be the best opportunity to obtain it, a few of the better known Championship sides going tits up would concentrate minds, although obviously I hope it does not come to any of this.
  If this season can be completed (which I very much doubt) and we can move onto a new full season then great I am all for it whatever the spectator situation would be, but the suggestions as far as I can see are to promote West Brom and Leeds and no relegation giving all the clubs in the Premiership more fixtures and income, and the rest of the EFL no cups, less league fixtures, and therefore less income. If the EFL fall for that they deserve to struggle for a future.

[swintonrover]

I personally would scrap the 20/21 season, and play out the rest of 19/20 in Spring 2021. We've lost a year, but it gets the season finished without complaint and normality can sort of resume from the start of 21/22.

[adamtherover]

I personally would scrap the 20/21 season, and play out the rest of 19/20 in Spring 2021. We've lost a year, but it gets the season finished without complaint and normality can sort of resume from the start of 21/22.

normality after scrapping a full season?
It will.be completely normal, aside from there would be about 75% of the teams gone bust!!

Losing these last 5 home games of the season is crippling some clubs!!

[redarmy82]

I personally would scrap the 20/21 season, and play out the rest of 19/20 in Spring 2021. We've lost a year, but it gets the season finished without complaint and normality can sort of resume from the start of 21/22.

normality after scrapping a full season?
It will.be completely normal, aside from there would be about 75% of the teams gone bust!!

Losing these last 5 home games of the season is crippling some clubs!!

Not sure what alternative there is.

There's no chance football is going to be played in front of fans for the next 12 months.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

We won't have to wait until 100% of the population is vaccinated. Things will open up again gradually, as society deems the risks are minimised as much as reasonably possible.

Once the new cases drop to an 'acceptable' level I can see in time grounds opening up at say 25 to 30% of capacity to start of with to accommodate distancing. It's then up to us as individuals whether you want to take the risk of going to a match, and if you do, then you might want to wear a mask/gloves etc. It's a starting point and we will all have to continue to act responsibly.

Hopefully common sense will prevail.

[DRNaith]

I work in the medical field, in R&D specifically. To find and then have a vaccine approved is not going to be a quick process.

Actually, it will probably be very quick in comparison to what we usually see, but in order to get approval (from the MHRA) it would need to be proved that this new vaccine would not create any long term health issue. Put bluntly, there is no point saving the whole population with a vaccine which have side effects that kill after 18 months.

Now it won't necessarily take 18 months to see how the human body would cope with it in the longer term, but those tests will take a considerable time. Don't forget that this is the whole population relying on this vaccine (or drug), if the MHRA get it wrong, the consequences would be enormous.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Precisely. The vaccine won't be and can't be the end game. Just as flu vaccine is optional, and recommended for those most at risk, then I think in time that's how we'll come to live/cope with this virus.

As it stands, none of us really know to what degree we are putting ourselves at risk when we walk out of the door. In perspective, yes the current death rate is above the national average but in the coming weeks/months, it will hopefully drop to more normal levels, particularly as the medical people across the globe will learn more about how to treat the infection better. And as you said above, more will be known about the success of the clinical trials as time progresses.

[redarmy82]

Precisely. The vaccine won't be and can't be the end game. Just as flu vaccine is optional, and recommended for those most at risk, then I think in time that's how we'll come to live/cope with this virus.

As it stands, none of us really know to what degree we are putting ourselves at risk when we walk out of the door. In perspective, yes the current death rate is above the national average but in the coming weeks/months, it will hopefully drop to more normal levels, particularly as the medical people across the globe will learn more about how to treat the infection better. And as you said above, more will be known about the success of the clinical trials as time progresses.

I'll listen to you then, rather than someone like Chris Whitty.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

I would hope you're capable of making your own assessment of what's best for you!

[big fat yorkshire pudding]

Precisely. The vaccine won't be and can't be the end game. Just as flu vaccine is optional, and recommended for those most at risk, then I think in time that's how we'll come to live/cope with this virus.

As it stands, none of us really know to what degree we are putting ourselves at risk when we walk out of the door. In perspective, yes the current death rate is above the national average but in the coming weeks/months, it will hopefully drop to more normal levels, particularly as the medical people across the globe will learn more about how to treat the infection better. And as you said above, more will be known about the success of the clinical trials as time progresses.

What it's made me realise is how much healthier you can be in some ways by not leaving the house.  As someone who suffers with a lot of colds, viruses and chest issues I have seen a big improvement from being confined to home.  Less so in my mental health and cabin fever is becoming a bit of an issue now.

What we have to consider in life though is what trade offs we want, would I accept a risk to enable me to go to football games, gigs and go on holiday?  I probably would to be honest.

[Campsall rover]

In my opinion it is far too early to make an assessment as to whether there will be or won’t be any Football in 2020 with spectators.

Germany who admittedly have not been hit as hard as us ( probably due to the volume of testing they have done ) are possibly going to re start the season next month. Not sure if spectators will be present initially.

If we can ramp up testing in the UK then who knows how soon the season may be able to re start.
I am still very much in favour of completing this season. A shorter 2020/21 season can be designed as required.

Even if this season is abolished who is to say when next season is going to start.
If it does not start in August it will have to be re vamped anyway so why not finish this one and we can sort out next season as and when.

Am i making sense.  Sounds sense to me.