How and when will the season end ?

[lanzaroteowl]

Wimbledon cancelled totally this year. 

Stating the government probably won't allow mass gatherings all summer.

Don't hold your breath lads

[Dick_Turpin]

I don’t think there are any right answers. Better to finish this season if they can - it’s neat and the most “sporting” thing to do. I don’t care how that happens and I don’t see why it’s disrespectful at all. It’s probably impossible but given we don’t know how and when things will get back to normal it may be that there’ll be no time to start and finish next season before the Euros so we may as well finish this one. 

I’m still working and my industry is trying to find new ways to keep going. Many people and industries are in the same boat. I don’t think that means we’re trampling over memories of the dead and I don’t see why football has to carry a higher moral burden.

 

It’ll probably come down to UEFA bashing things out with the clubs. 

[gurujuan]

16 minutes ago, rickygoo said:

I don’t think there are any right answers. Better to finish this season if they can - it’s neat and the most “sporting” thing to do. I don’t care how that happens and I don’t see why it’s disrespectful at all. It’s probably impossible but given we don’t know how and when things will get back to normal it may be that there’ll be no time to start and finish next season before the Euros so we may as well finish this one. 

I’m still working and my industry is trying to find new ways to keep going. Many people and industries are in the same boat. I don’t think that means we’re trampling over memories of the dead and I don’t see why football has to carry a higher moral burden.

 

It’ll probably come down to UEFA bashing things out with the clubs. 

Kudos that you are striving to remain at work, and I’m presuming you are in one of the “essential” services. Football, or sport in general, can’t be classified as essential, despite what Bill Shankly may have thought

Edited April 1, 2020 by gurujuan

[The Night-Owl]

Totally losing all respect and love for football. It was bad enough all the greed which brought about the re-branding of the old top flight and the old European Cup; plus the obscene wages and transfer fees, not to mention TV money, parachute payments, FFP/P&S and changing kick off times for TV purposes with no thought for travelling fans.

 

Football appears obscenely selfish and self important, thinking it is more important than the emergency services, human lives and health, as it appears to give little thought to its paying fans. If football thinks it doesn't need fans and completes the season without fans, then that's probably me finally finished with football. 

 

It is nonsensical to complete the season after June, I don't see how it possibly can be finished before the end of June or after June. Unless they plan on finishing it without fans or they plan on holding contracts until it's possible to resume by which time many clubs could have gone out of business or something.

 

Regardless of how many games are left the season should be cancelled if it can't be completed before the end of June. Finishing it without fans shouldn't even be an option. For once football should put its fans, ordinary people and the emergency services first over money and do the honourable thing and cancelling the season, like numerous other sports and sporting events. Because there are far more important things at stake than mere sport and sporting honours.

Edited April 1, 2020 by The Night-Owl

[KivoOwl]

Finish this season when it's safe to do so. 

 

For the 20/21 season, play each other once rather than twice. Have a draw to see which teams have one game more at home and away.

 

Sorted.

[Dick_Turpin]

4 minutes ago, gurujuan said:

Kudos that you are striving to remain at work, and I’m presuming you are in one of the “essential” services. Football, or sport in general, can’t be classified as essential, despite what Bill Shankly may have thought

Nope - I’m working from home. And the industry as a whole is rethinking things.
 

Finishing the season doesn’t mean football thinks it’s more important than life or death. It’s just trying to finish the season. I genuinely don’t see why people get angry about it. If they can they will. If they can’t they won’t. 

[Dick_Turpin]

7 minutes ago, The Night-Owl said:

Football appears obscenely selfish and self important, thinking it is more important than the emergency services, human lives and health

Where have they said this? Why would finishing the season mean this is true? I actually want the 6 or 7 months of football I’ve endured this season to actually mean something and I want them to finish it. I don’t care if that’s behind closed doors or whatever. I think all potential routes are poor. I just happen to think finishing the season is the least worst. 

[The Night-Owl]

3 minutes ago, rickygoo said:

Where have they said this? Why would finishing the season mean this is true? I actually want the 6 or 7 months of football I’ve endured this season to actually mean something and I want them to finish it. I don’t care if that’s behind closed doors or whatever. I think all potential routes are poor. I just happen to think finishing the season is the least worst. 

 

To insist on finishing the season with or without fans, they'd endanger the lives of players; staff, fans and the emergency services, if they completed the season behind closed doors without fans. All for the good of a few teams and TV money. Why else would they persist with the unfeasible hope of completing the season, other than for selfish financial reasons, when it's blatantly obvious that the season can't be completed before the end of the June. The only way it can be finished anytime soon is without fans, what is football without fans?

 

To me that strikes as obscene and selfish, when fans could endanger themselves by foolishly congregating outside closed venues, plus even games without fans would put a strain upon non playing staff and emergency services, unnecessarily so, when their health and lives should be far more important than the honour of completing an hindered season. I see no sensible or safe way of finishing the season, and it should be cancelled, so that people can focus on helping others and the emergency services by self isolating, avoiding gatherings and putting health and life above trivial things such as sport. For once modern football should do the honourable thing and think of its fans, ordinary people and emergency services, and more important things, rather than selfishly thinking of nothing but money. 

[BIG D]

29 minutes ago, KivoOwl said:

Finish this season when it's safe to do so. 

 

For the 20/21 season, play each other once rather than twice. Have a draw to see which teams have one game more at home and away.

 

Sorted.

And make a balls of 2 seasons?

[Dick_Turpin]

2 minutes ago, The Night-Owl said:

 

To insist on finishing the season with or without fans, they'd endanger the lives of players; staff, fans and the emergency services, if they completed the season behind closed doors without fans. All for the good of a few teams and TV money. Why else would they persist with the unfeasible hope of completing the season, other than for selfish financial reasons, when it's blatantly obvious that the season can't be completed before the end of the June. The only way it can be finished anytime soon is without fans, what is football without fans?

 

To me that strikes as obscene and selfish, when fans could endanger themselves by foolishly congregating outside closed venues, plus even games without fans would put a strain upon non playing staff and emergency services, unnecessarily so, when their health and lives should be far more important than the honour of completing an hindered season. I see no sensible or safe way of finishing the season, and it should be cancelled, so that people can focus on helping others and the emergency services by self isolating, avoiding gatherings and putting health and life above trivial things such as sport. For once modern football should do the honourable thing and think of its fans, ordinary people and emergency services, and more important things, rather than selfishly thinking of nothing but money. 

Bit over egging it. If it’s dangerous they won’t play. Football cancelled when it didn’t have to. Other sports didn’t. I’m no fan of modern football but they played it better than by the book when it came to coronavirus.  If there’s no sensible or safe way of finishing it they won’t finish it. You’re getting mad about something that hasn’t and won’t happen. 

[Dick_Turpin]

5 minutes ago, BIG D said:

And make a balls of 2 seasons?

Nope finishing this season means this season is finished properly. With the threat of rolling lockdowns there’s no guarantee next season will escape unscathed if we don’t finish this season. 

[the third man]

9 hours ago, OxonOwl said:

 

Someone else suggested that we cancel next season and use the time to finish this season and maybe have an ad hoc competition or two to pad it out.

 

That way no one loses what they have achieved this season so far.

 

I am inclined to agree. 

But next season would be a disaster, who is going to watch a load of meaningless matches, are TV companies going to pay a fortune for meaningless matches?

 

This could lead to even PL clubs going bust with their wage bills and very much reduced TV monies

 

Just scrap this season and start afresh when we can

[Dick_Turpin]

1 minute ago, the third man said:

But next season would be a disaster, who is going to watch a load of meaningless matches, are TV companies going to pay a fortune for meaningless matches?

 

This could lead to even PL clubs going bust with their wage bills and very much reduced TV monies

 

Just scrap this season and start afresh when we can

But if there isn’t enough time to finish next season because of further lockdowns and Euro 2021 looming you’ll get meaningless matches anyway. Best finish this season and work out something potentially truncated for next. Where’s Duckworth Lewis when you need it? 

[the third man]

1 hour ago, The Night-Owl said:

 

To insist on finishing the season with or without fans, they'd endanger the lives of players; staff, fans and the emergency services, if they completed the season behind closed doors without fans. All for the good of a few teams and TV money. Why else would they persist with the unfeasible hope of completing the season, other than for selfish financial reasons, when it's blatantly obvious that the season can't be completed before the end of the June. The only way it can be finished anytime soon is without fans, what is football without fans?

 

To me that strikes as obscene and selfish, when fans could endanger themselves by foolishly congregating outside closed venues, plus even games without fans would put a strain upon non playing staff and emergency services, unnecessarily so, when their health and lives should be far more important than the honour of completing an hindered season. I see no sensible or safe way of finishing the season, and it should be cancelled, so that people can focus on helping others and the emergency services by self isolating, avoiding gatherings and putting health and life above trivial things such as sport. For once modern football should do the honourable thing and think of its fans, ordinary people and emergency services, and more important things, rather than selfishly thinking of nothing but money. 

 

The problem with behind closed doors games will be fans turning up, didn't thousands turn up to the PSG game that was behind closed doors in the CL

 

It would therefore be a massive police presence away from the grounds to stop fans getting there, putting loads of people at risk

[SiJ]

Just now, rickygoo said:

But if there isn’t enough time to finish next season because of further lockdowns and Euro 2021 looming you’ll get meaningless matches anyway. Best finish this season and work out something potentially truncated for next. Where’s Duckworth Lewis when you need it? 

If you truncate next season, then that will see clubs lose even more revenue and income. 

 

Less matches, a reduced tv deal. 

 

 

[Dick_Turpin]

Just now, SiJ said:

If you truncate next season, then that will see clubs lose even more revenue and income. 

 

Less matches, a reduced tv deal. 

 

 

There’s no right answer. Just lots of wrong ones. If we don’t finish this season I want some money back from my ST. Likewise I will for next season too. It’s all a nightmare. 

[the third man]

1 minute ago, rickygoo said:

But if there isn’t enough time to finish next season because of further lockdowns and Euro 2021 looming you’ll get meaningless matches anyway. Best finish this season and work out something potentially truncated for next. Where’s Duckworth Lewis when you need it? 

 

It just causes problems with out of contract players after 30th June

 

You cant force players to carry on at the clubs they are at now, you cant force clubs to keep players on that are out of contract either

 

so you wouldn't be finishing this season off, you would be adding a truncated 20 / 21 season to a truncated 19 / 20 season

[Dick_Turpin]

6 minutes ago, the third man said:

 

It just causes problems with out of contract players after 30th June

 

You cant force players to carry on at the clubs they are at now, you cant force clubs to keep players on that are out of contract either

 

so you wouldn't be finishing this season off, you would be adding a truncated 20 / 21 season to a truncated 19 / 20 season

It’ll boil down to UEFA. If they can finish the season they will. If they can’t they won’t. I don’t know why everyone is towing about it. 

[sherlyegg]

45 minutes ago, the third man said:

The problem with behind closed doors games will be fans turning up, didn't thousands turn up to the PSG game that was behind closed doors in the CL

Also a player may think foook that, i ain't playing....or maybe says nothing and plays...then gets a cough, both teams then isolated..etc etc etc.

This season is over it will be abandoned or postponed until next season and could quite easily not start until Jan next year....or even later.

Even when over the peak the meds are not certain the virus will disappear, it could erupt again, especialy in the autumn early winter so I would think any mass gatherings will be out of the question until they are sure it is safe.

[Bulldog]

On 28/03/2020 at 13:34, areNOTwhatTHEYseem said:

 

Yep, the FA have done exactly that below National League level...and a group of clubs are already lobbying them to reverse their decision.

 

Common sense would dictate that this season can't be completed and the only course of action available will eventually be to cancel it for all levels of the game.

 

Once contracts expire and players complete previously-agreed moves or refuse to extend contracts or loans for a month or so, you could have a situation where the squad that plays the final 9 games of the season is significantly different from that which played the previous 37, which opens up all sorts of issues around the integrity of the competition.

 

You can't have promotion or relegation decided in such circumstances.

 

I honestly think this season is a write-off. Go again from scratch once we're in a position to do so.

 

Of course, there will be clubs who aren't happy with that and the whole thing will be tied up in legal red-tape, challenges and counter-challenges for years to come. You'd hope they'd understand that there's nothing else to be done given the circumstances, but when there's money at stake, football no longer has any morals.

The teams below national league voted overwhelmingly to expunge the season. I have only heard of 1 - South Shields - who are considering an appeal. Under the circumstances it seems futile