01.07.2020

[karldew]

If our players don’t sign contract extensions and loan players come back/go back to their parent clubs, what would our squad look like?

I know Sadlier is one out of contract? Copps?..

[donnievic]

As far as I heard everything was on hold till end of current season

[karldew]

As far as I heard everything was on hold till end of current season

You can’t just make them play if they haven’t got a contract and no one can make them sign a new one if they didn’t want to?

[dickos1]

It was being discussed on the radio today and the majority of contracts are 1st June or the end of the season. Whichever comes last

[karldew]

Colchester having to release first team players, sure there will be more to come from other teams.

It is for that reason that I have had to take the very difficult decision of not re-signing a number of players that under normal circumstances I would have been determined to re-sign.

I appreciate the decision will make the team less capable when the season does resume but it is very unlikely that we will be the only club to take such a step.

We will certainly remain competitive as unlike so many other clubs we have a very capable group of Academy players that are ready to step up.

I could have delayed the decision and hoped for a dramatic change of events but that would have been unfair.

I wanted to make the decision as early as I could to give those players that are being released a head start in what will be a very difficult environment for out of contract players.

They find themselves in this difficult situation through no fault of their own and I wish every one of them well.

Luke Prosser, Frank Nouble, Ryan Jackson and Brandon Comley are the most notable players that this has affected and I have nothing but good things to say about all of them.

[drfchound]

I wonder whether to Colchester academy players will be allowed to play two games a week though.

[karldew]

Reading Colchester fans comments they’re releasing a lot of U23s too!

[drfchound]

If the season was to be played to a finish, wouldn’t it be ironic if Bolton found themselves in the same situation as  Colchester and had to play their academy players to make up the first team.

[The Red Baron]

IMHO there is no way the League One and League Two seasons will restart, and I have my doubts about the Championship.

The EFL needs to be thinking now about how to decide this season- although I suspect that ultimately the answer will be null and void.

[DonnyOsmond]

I think a lot of players will find they've shot themselves in the foot, such as Sadlier. No one will be able to offer him as much in a post-coronavirus world.

[drfchound]

Sadlier was offered a contract by DRFC.
I wonder if it will still be on the table?

[Dutch Uncle]

IMHO there is no way the League One and League Two seasons will restart, and I have my doubts about the Championship.

The EFL needs to be thinking now about how to decide this season- although I suspect that ultimately the answer will be null and void.

If that is the case TRB, do you think that there is any chance individual records might not be expunged. It is one thing to say no promotion, relegation, etc but it would be a shame if more than three quarters of a season’s efforts by players were binned.

[idler]

I would think that it's only fair to include appearances goals etc. in a players career stats. There could always be an asterisk with the caveat *this includes the 1919/20 season which was abandoned due to the Corona virus.
That would seem the best outcome for all involved. I would be very disappointed if my goals or appearances were just binned, especially if I was having a good season. Even an average player would want appearances recorded to prove his fitness that season.

[IDM]

IMHO there is no way the League One and League Two seasons will restart, and I have my doubts about the Championship.

The EFL needs to be thinking now about how to decide this season- although I suspect that ultimately the answer will be null and void.

I think no stone should be left unturned to try and complete this season - on the pitch only.  At whatever time, and deal with next season later.

If and only if this cannot be done then the next fairest solution is to expunge the season.  There’s no way a contrived solution should be taken.

[The Red Baron]

IMHO there is no way the League One and League Two seasons will restart, and I have my doubts about the Championship.

The EFL needs to be thinking now about how to decide this season- although I suspect that ultimately the answer will be null and void.

If that is the case TRB, do you think that there is any chance individual records might not be expunged. It is one thing to say no promotion, relegation, etc but it would be a shame if more than three quarters of a season’s efforts by players were binned.

I agree, Dutch. Also it would be a shame if we lost our record of our biggest ever away win (7-1 at Southend). The records of the 1939-40 season were expunged, but only three League games had been played.

[The Red Baron]

IMHO there is no way the League One and League Two seasons will restart, and I have my doubts about the Championship.

The EFL needs to be thinking now about how to decide this season- although I suspect that ultimately the answer will be null and void.

I think no stone should be left unturned to try and complete this season - on the pitch only.  At whatever time, and deal with next season later.

If and only if this cannot be done then the next fairest solution is to expunge the season.  There’s no way a contrived solution should be taken.

I think we're getting close to the point of no return, though. I think there was a hope that as Lockdown began to be eased the players could resume training next month and play games in June and July. Then think about what can be done with next season.

However, it's becoming clear that Lockdown is likely to go on until at least mid-May and there will be only a few small changes even then. There are also some very large logistical challenges as described in this article about the Bundesliga's plans to resume in May. I suspect those may be too much for clubs at our level to overcome in order to play games in a safe environment for players and staff.

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

[Mike_F]

The way things are looking we could end up with no competitive sport until Christmas. Maybe the solution would be to finish this season in January and February then have a break and start up a new season in June instead of August with fewer mid-week games.

[The Red Baron]

The way things are looking we could end up with no competitive sport until Christmas. Maybe the solution would be to finish this season in January and February then have a break and start up a new season in June instead of August with fewer mid-week games.

Most teams' squads will be vastly different by next January.

[drfchound]

A good friend of mine who is at a L2 club is very doubtful that L2 clubs will finish the season.
They are under severe financial pressure generally and have a meeting planned for this week to discuss the situation.

[The Red Baron]

A good friend of mine who is at a L2 club is very doubtful that L2 clubs will finish the season.
They are under severe financial pressure generally and have a meeting planned for this week to discuss the situation.

I think the same applies to League One. Ask the owners and I reckon 95% will want the season to be ended now so they can start to plan for the future.

I think it's likely that the Premier League will be completed, even if it takes until August. It's just possible that the Championship might be, but below that I think there are too many obstacles to overcome.

[RoversAlias]

Whether they finish or not, and I am now accepting of the fact it may not, they should not expunged the records. Nothing wrong with leaving them as they are for statistical purposes and history. It isn't as if those matches never happened if the season is curtailed.

[Dutch Uncle]

 

[IDM]

Yes, don’t expunge the records of the games, but as far as the season’s standings etc, they will have to be put back to the start of the season, if we can’t complete.