How to complete the season

Of course it’s convenient to observe that they and Coventry have both played 34 games and Oxford 35, but that doesn’t necessarily make it their “game in hand”. Some clubs have played 36 and some others also 34.

Wycombe playing away at Coventry is just the hardest test an Oxford fan could wish on them to make up to 35 games, but doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the correct one.

No, the reason we're describing the Coventry-Wycombe game as their 'Game in Hand' is that it was supposed to be played on January 25th but got postponed because Coventry were still in the FA Cup and therefore busy that weekend.

It is the one game that the two clubs are playing that is outside of the normal 'Gameweeks'.

Now, it would of course also be more than fair to say that everyone doesn't have the same difficulty of schedule left, so it would be unfair to stop the season right now because of that.......
 
No, the reason we're describing the Coventry-Wycombe game as their 'Game in Hand' is that it was supposed to be played on January 25th but got postponed because Coventry were still in the FA Cup and therefore busy that weekend.

It is the one game that the two clubs are playing that is outside of the normal 'Gameweeks'.

Now, it would of course also be more than fair to say that everyone doesn't have the same difficulty of schedule left, so it would be unfair to stop the season right now because of that.......

Yes, good point - accept that entirely. And it would be the only possible game to get hurried through 'behind closed doors' if necessary, in order to make any future decision about 'top 3 go up' more legally robust.

But, Coventry City could reasonably argue they don't have to expose their players to greater risk and could decline to play...

Could you see it happening? I think it's a real punt and if I was a betting man (which I am), I would bet that voiding the season is the far more likely.
 
Could you see it happening? I think it's a real punt and if I was a betting man (which I am), I would bet that voiding the season is the far more likely.

I think so too - and then there would be no promotion or relegation, and we'd play a League One with 23 teams again next season.
The likes of Leeds, West Brom, Coventry and S*****n :ROFLMAO: would be furious, but it's the simplest approach if they decide that they can't get the season finished at all (although I still think that finishing the season some way, some how is the fairest option - even if it screws up the football calendar for a couple of years).

Of course, whilst it's less of a concern for us - I wonder what they would do to the European places, if that happened?
Would they really let Spurs play in next season's Champions League despite the fact that they're twelve points behind Leicester, outside the European places altogether right now and generally crap this year?
 
Surely the priority is to start the next season as cleanly as possible, maybe in Sept or Oct with the league cup cancelled, and draw a line under this one as fairly as possible, with title winners but minimal promotion and relegation. I’m not interested in Europe really so someone else can ponder that.
 
It’s a shame that it’s not the World Cup year next year then we could have had until the end of the year (Dec) to finish the season e.g. 2021/22 winter break for World Cup in 2022!
 
I think the focus should not be 'How to complete this season', instead it should be 'What to do next season'. This season should finish when the scheduled games (particularly league games) are concluded, if this season ends in July, August, September October etc then so be it.

As soon as we know when this season is likely to finish, then we can focus on what next season looks like. If next seasons league or cup formats change then as long as everyone knows before a ball is kicked then what is the problem? If we have to reduce games next season to return to a normal season in 2021/2022, then scrapping the cups for one season is an obvious possibility. You could even just have 23 league games, pot luck whether you play teams home or away (12 away, 11 at home?), or 30 games made up of playing each team once and remaining 7 games drawn out of a hat. Appreciate these ideas aren't perfect but this season needs finishing in its entirety and then we move on.
 
I think they should complete this season normally and then next season we just play each team once not twice and have a very short season

obviously some folks would get lucky or unlucky depending on who they play home and away but I think people have to suck it up somewhere.

and how exciting to have a short sprint of a season...I reckon there’d be way less draws and way more attacking football
 
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I think they should complete this season normally and then next season we just play each team once not twice and have a very short season

obviously some folks would get lucky or unlucky depending on who they play home and away but I think people have to suck it up somewhere.

and how exciting to have a short sprint of a season...I reckon there’d be way less draws and way more attacking football
I was thinking the same thing. Just play 23 games next season.
 
Football is a spectator sport especially at this level, playing out the season behind closed doors is hardly an exciting prospect, it might finalise league placings but the "fans" will not be that involved with their teams efforts whilst sat at home self isolating, I can remember the emotional highs and lows our team has been involved in over decades and will be there forever, listening to a shoot out behind closed doors for me is not an enthralling prospect.
 
Football is a spectator sport especially at this level, playing out the season behind closed doors is hardly an exciting prospect, it might finalise league placings but the "fans" will not be that involved with their teams efforts whilst sat at home self isolating, I can remember the emotional highs and lows our team has been involved in over decades and will be there forever, listening to a shoot out behind closed doors for me is not an enthralling prospect.
Would make the whole affair, for me at least, completely pointless. It's an entertainment package, a spectator sport. It's frustrating not watching anything, to then be denied the participation as a spectator would be a step too far. And, how many players want to play in an empty stadium?
(I wouldn't expect many clubs to be excited about the idea of no income either!)
 
Football is a spectator sport especially at this level, playing out the season behind closed doors is hardly an exciting prospect
It's not exciting and it's not going to be viable.
Footballers, club staff, match officials etc etc are all human. There will be a proportion with the virus to varying degrees, with squads unable to train together and players concerned about exposure to themselves and their families.
 
Would make the whole affair, for me at least, completely pointless. It's an entertainment package, a spectator sport. It's frustrating not watching anything, to then be denied the participation as a spectator would be a step too far. And, how many players want to play in an empty stadium?
(I wouldn't expect many clubs to be excited about the idea of no income either!)

The point about income is important. There are two many reasons for finishing the season in it's entirety. Firstly, it provides a fair and final result for all promotions, relegations, and cup competitions, and secondly, it provides much needed income for the clubs who would have rightly budgeted for revenue from all league games.
Playing behind closed doors brings closure but at a significant cost to the clubs.
 
Yeah a southern and northern league to reduce travelling. That would be great
Not necessarily, as that might lead to the two leagues being imbalanced in terms of standard. I'd suggest split league into 3/4 chunks based on final table, then do a drawto put equal number in each section.
 
Or play two games a week all season and scrap cup games. That should shorten the season
Problem with any plans that rely on forcing a lot of games into short period, is what happens if there is a recurrence of virus next winter, or games lost to other factors (eg weather)?
 
Here's an idea. Inter-league playoffs where a team plays home and away against the team they could be replacing. The team going up have to earn the right to go up, and the team in the relegation zone should have to earn the right to a reprieve.

1st in lower division vs bottom of higher division
2nd in lower division vs 2nd from bottom in higher division
3rd in lower division (or playoffs winner) vs 3rd from bottom of higher division

We most certainly should not declare the season null and void like Karen Brady has selfishly suggested. I wonder if she would have that same opinion if she was vice-chairman of Leicester City?
 
Here's an idea. Inter-league playoffs where a team plays home and away against the team they could be replacing. The team going up have to earn the right to go up, and the team in the relegation zone should have to earn the right to a reprieve.

1st in lower division vs bottom of higher division
2nd in lower division vs 2nd from bottom in higher division
3rd in lower division (or playoffs winner) vs 3rd from bottom of higher division

We most certainly should not declare the season null and void like Karen Brady has selfishly suggested. I wonder if she would have that same opinion if she was vice-chairman of Leicester City?

That's how the playoffs were first introduced. Not sure how long it ran like that but think it was pulled because the higher league team tended to win.
 
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