Season Suspended

[phil62]

No games till April 3rd at the earliest. Will the season be declared void? Will it end now and we go up? Discuss.

[NottinghamWhite]

The Chief medical Officer stated yesterday that he is not expecting the peak to arrive until the end of May. Based on that statement, then thinking that cancelling matches just until April 3rd will solve the problem is a pipe-dream. More likely it will be, at the earliest, the end of May.

[Deleted User 728]

Impossible to say right now.

I'd guess there's three possible options :

1. Compress the season and finish it as normal either behind closed doors or with crowds, maybe playing every two or three days till it's done
2. Abandon the season altogether and freeze league and European qualifying positions
3. Take the current standings as final placings and relegate/promote and crown champions as is

Of those, I can't see #3 being an option for legal reasons.
Really, I don't think #2 flies either but it's a little bit more likely.
It's got to be #1 I think, possibly with the European Championships shunted to next summer while league programmes around Europe are completed as late as June and July. Then there'd be an extended transfer window into September, I guess.

[Barlow Boy]

All,

We already have a Coronavirus thread where the season being suspended is already being discussed.

[HalifaxWhite]

It's a tricky question with two sides.

You have teams like us west Brom and Liverpool who if they cancel and reset will be furious as we're on the verge but then also teams at the bottom who still have a chance of getting out will be sent down without that chance.

They will have to look at (using their terminology) "the balance of probability" of promotion vs relegations as things stand and the likelihood of turnarounds then weigh it up.

If there are more teams ether far enough ahead or too far behind then it means surely you declare it. But if more teams are in the balance than looking set then it has to be cancelled. Looking set doesn't mean 100% mathematical but just on the balance and likelihood.

That's my view anyway.

[Blanc de blanc]

Is there room for maybe a Duckworth-Lewis formula, say allocate points for unplaced matched based on the average points gained per similar played fixture (home and away)? Given the amount of money riding on promotion and relegation I would be surprised if the EFL contract didn’t have something to say about what happens in the event of an act of God. Do we have any lawyers on the board?

[Blanc de blanc]

Also, if this goes on for any length of time, some clubs will fold if they are not covered by insurance. Who will pay the players’ wages with no gate income? What about staff working in the grounds on probably low wages? I don’t think this has been thought through properly, or rather, I hope it has and I am just not aware.

[Tedbaker]

They’ll play the games in the summer and cancel the Euros. I can’t see another option.

[Deleted User 728]

Also, if this goes on for any length of time, some clubs will fold if they are not covered by insurance. Who will pay the players’ wages with no gate income? What about staff working in the grounds on probably low wages? I don’t think this has been thought through properly, or rather, I hope it has and I am just not aware.

I think it has been thought through and they figure the loss of life is worth more than businesses folding, including the clubs.
I know what you're saying and think it's desperately sad but this wouldn't be the first time football has been affected like this.
If you think back to when Pompey went into administration for the second time, loads of local firms went bust because of unpaid bills for catering, cleaning, maintenance, staffing, etc ..

This will impact the entire country - and continent - and yet you can't really lay it at the door of the government - any government, I say again - or insurance companies because this is what's classed as "an act of god".

[MOT1964]

It's time for the Pools Panel