Is this weekend the last match we get to go to this season?

[djchapsticks]

Call season as it is but scrap relegation. Go to 3 x 14 team leagues.

2 come up from Championship

6 go up from League 1

Rest of league 1 merges with league 2.

 

Either 3 rounds of 13 games (preferable) for 39 games or 2 rounds of 13 then split after 26 and top and bottom 7 play each other home and away for 38 games.

Straight 2 up 2 down, no playoffs. If playoffs are insisted, 3rd bottom plays 3rd top in one off game at neutral ground.

Edited March 30, 2020 by djchapsticks

[DA Baracus]

There's no fair way of doing it. Every solution will have its disadvantages for some teams and there's no way of keeping everyone happy.

I'm all for calling it now as it is, meaning top teams win their league and bottom are relegated. No idea what to do about playoffs though!

No idea what they will decide though. They'll need to ensure that their rules are rewritten after this so that no one is in doubt what happens in such a scenario should it occur again, and that when clubs sign up to the rules (as part of a condition of membership) they know exactly what the deal is and won't be able to challenge it.

[Durnford]

Not sure what will happen with regard to the current season; particularly if current predictions are that public sport cannot restart until October. 

Least-ways with next season we have a couple of options; one where we only play each other a couple of times (imagine that) rather than the current 3 / 4 times a season. The other is that we look at potentially kicking off a summer football season maybe starting in February which would give us a chance of resolving the current malaise.

Spare a thought though for the English Premiership - with three clubs on the same points third from bottom only separated by goal difference can they really close the season at the current placings and relegate Bournemouth. Likewise how would you work out a shortened season for them - each team playing each other once? As far as I am aware there is no appetite for summer football in England particularly as it conflicts with other sports.

 

 

[bennett]

Reports of a mini pre season before fitba restarts, depending on what the English do.

 

 

Scottish football could follow the lead of English clubs who plan on having a mini pre-season prior to the return of competitive action.

The coronavirus pandemic means players have already gone three weeks without any football action and it’s unlikely they will return to training grounds before the end of April.

But clubs expect to be given time to undergo a mini pre-season of at least two weeks before they return to games when the UK’s lockdown is lifted.

The Telegraph report that both English Premier League and English Football League clubs want to be given the chance instead of going straight into games when football eventually returns.

And Scottish clubs could look to do the same with players currently on individual programmes and many of them out of the country after being allowed to go home to their families.

The likes of Celtic and Rangers have allowed their players to return to their homelands with many taking up the option to isolate with their families in more familiar surroundings.

Ibrox loanee Ianis Hagi returned to Romania while American star defender Matt Polster headed back to LA with his wife and has been isolating with his family back home.

The PFA have already expressed their concerns over players being overworked when they do return in a bid to get the season finished quickly.

Football isn’t expected to return until at least June, although that could continue to change as the impact of Covid-19 grows

[Ric]

I am surprised that so many people were completely unaware of what the initial timeline was going to be. It's true there was no official announcement, and you can see why after Harries said "could be 6 months" and the media went crazy, but the infection rates of similar countries showed this was going to last quite a few months. I was saying this to people at the start of March and people were like "nah, it'll not last that long".

There is little or no chance of replaying the rest of the league unless we either postpone or massively shorten the 20/21 season and even if that is the case it's going to be an absolute mess if the transfer window opens (which it will) while the final games are being played.

I am of the mind that we call the season, we award the titles and money based on the position the teams are in now with the only key decision being whether we allow promotion/relegation and or league reconstruction. I get that won't be popular for some, but this is not a normal situation. If clubs take legal action, even if it's my own, they will look pathetic trying to worry about their own interests when society is in such turmoil.

 

[Durnford]

I also found it strange that some people thought there was even the slightest possibility of football restarting in June let alone April. Current strategy appears to be cut the level of infection right down and give the NHS some breathing space, then a short relaxing of the controls to allow a small number to get infected but well within the numbers that the NHS can properly handle, and then lock down again.

It will be October at the earliest that proper spectator sport can restart. There has been some talk about televised behind-closed-doors games but is t hat really feasible?

Personally I think the current season needs to be completed before any thought can be given to the next but then there's the problem of so many players being out of contract in June. The SFA/SPFL could feasibly provide an automatic extension of contracts until the current season ends, and block any transfers (registration) until everything is sorted, but would they likely have the balls to take such a difficult and potentially controversial step?

I see they're talking about a world cup type tournament in England to blitz the remaining 90 + premier league games with some teams playing a game every two or three days. That may work for the super rich sides who have an enormous squad but, for those that can just about make up a first team side plus substitutes its going to be a real nightmare.

[Ric]

13 minutes ago, Durnford said:

It will be October at the earliest that proper spectator sport can restart. There has been some talk about televised behind-closed-doors games but is t hat really feasible?

For me, October looks viable, but I'd imagine that those with underlying conditions will still be told to avoid crowds.

The behind closed doors thing seems to come from the money men (or women) under pressure from the sponsors and the broadcasters. It's to be expected of course, but it's cynical (imo).

The reason not to extend the season, and to call it here is three fold:

1) We have no timeline for when the "lost" games could happen, and playing them later will affect two seasons (19/20 + 20/21) not just this one.
2) Problem with players contracts if we are playing games during the window.
3) This virus issue is bigger than football, while sport is important for all sorts of reasons it's important a clear and definitive message is sent. At this moment the only one you can provide is to say "it's done, the league is finished, stop worrying, take care of your family and friends and we'll start the next season when we can".

As many have said, there simply isn't a "perfect solution". Every single one has it's pros/cons.

Edited March 30, 2020 by Ric

[Lex]

With Wimbledon which was due to be played in July now cancelled and The Edinburgh festival due to run to the end of August cancelled... its clear that any prospect of playing football this summer is completely over.

 

Even if we wrote this season off next season is going to be affected too.

 

If we could get going by October I suppose we could finish 20/21 if we scrapped the league cup and played 2 games a week and extended, but that seems a tad optimistic.

 

I find it hard to imagine that we are going to go from where we are now to allowing repeated gatherings of 50,000+ people any time soon. Maybe that weekend was the last time we got to go to football this year...

 

[Dons_1988]

1 minute ago, Lex said:

With Wimbledon which was due to be played in July now cancelled and The Edinburgh festival due to run to the end of August cancelled... its clear that any prospect of playing football this summer is completely over.

 

You could be right but those events are global things that you can't just decide a few weeks in advance to put on. Domestic football is probably more flexible in that regard. If we saw an unlikely dramatic improvement in circumstances over April, you could be playing again within a couple of months.

[Durnford]

Unlikely - the current lock-down isn't to cure the disease but to slow down that rate of infection thereby giving the NHS a chance to regain control; at least for the time being. In a couple of month's time there will be a slight loosening of restrictions which will slowly give rise to an increase in infections; but not in the out-of-control levels we saw previously.  If infections start to spiral again then a second lock-down will need to be applied.

If heard immunity is really a strategy then you really need to have about 70% of the population having previously been infected by about October (i.e. before the cold weather starts to cut in and the flu season starts to further complicate things). If however your strategy is to delay things until an effective treatment or immunisation drug becomes available then the lock-down could be considerably extended.

The lack of effective testing is really something that is making the choice of the strategy a complete guessing game. Unless you know how many people have previously been infected; how can you gauge how many are potentially at risk?

A couple of weeks back I came down with a virus; I had a bad headache and my throat felt like someone had punched it. Within 24 hours I started to experience shortage of breath; that was so bad that each time I started to fall asleep I would wake up suddenly as my body realised I was short of breath. This went on for hours which tired me out more and more. Eventually I got up; went and watch some rubbish on television and had a couple of Laphroaig's. This had the effect of calming me down so that, eventually I could fall asleep naturally. The next day I felt fine but for a cough - but not a dry cough as in Covid-19. I think this was one of the other viruses that were going around and not THE virus but without testing how can I be sure. 

My point is that without definite data how can we possibly decide what is right; if we have a brief window when things are relaxed is it worth trying to play the remaining games before the split but what are you going to do if half of a side are still under self isolation?

Sorry for all those that just put up with my rant but ultimately without wide-scale testing we just don't know.

 

[Dons_1988]

2 hours ago, Durnford said:

Unlikely - the current lock-down isn't to cure the disease but to slow down that rate of infection thereby giving the NHS a chance to regain control; at least for the time being. In a couple of month's time there will be a slight loosening of restrictions which will slowly give rise to an increase in infections; but not in the out-of-control levels we saw previously.  If infections start to spiral again then a second lock-down will need to be applied.

If heard immunity is really a strategy then you really need to have about 70% of the population having previously been infected by about October (i.e. before the cold weather starts to cut in and the flu season starts to further complicate things). If however your strategy is to delay things until an effective treatment or immunisation drug becomes available then the lock-down could be considerably extended.

The lack of effective testing is really something that is making the choice of the strategy a complete guessing game. Unless you know how many people have previously been infected; how can you gauge how many are potentially at risk?

A couple of weeks back I came down with a virus; I had a bad headache and my throat felt like someone had punched it. Within 24 hours I started to experience shortage of breath; that was so bad that each time I started to fall asleep I would wake up suddenly as my body realised I was short of breath. This went on for hours which tired me out more and more. Eventually I got up; went and watch some rubbish on television and had a couple of Laphroaig's. This had the effect of calming me down so that, eventually I could fall asleep naturally. The next day I felt fine but for a cough - but not a dry cough as in Covid-19. I think this was one of the other viruses that were going around and not THE virus but without testing how can I be sure. 

My point is that without definite data how can we possibly decide what is right; if we have a brief window when things are relaxed is it worth trying to play the remaining games before the split but what are you going to do if half of a side are still under self isolation?

Sorry for all those that just put up with my rant but ultimately without wide-scale testing we just don't know.

 

Good post and I agree.

For clarity, my point was more that the Edinburgh fringe and the Scottish football season have different profiles. i.e. the fringe requires the entirety of Edinburgh city centre to be prepared, people travelling from round the world etc. whilst Scottish football could start next week and you'd get great crowds.

[DA Baracus]

On 30/03/2020 at 10:47, Durnford said:

Not sure what will happen with regard to the current season; particularly if current predictions are that public sport cannot restart until October. 

Least-ways with next season we have a couple of options; one where we only play each other a couple of times (imagine that) rather than the current 3 / 4 times a season. The other is that we look at potentially kicking off a summer football season maybe starting in February which would give us a chance of resolving the current malaise.

Spare a thought though for the English Premiership - with three clubs on the same points third from bottom only separated by goal difference can they really close the season at the current placings and relegate Bournemouth. Likewise how would you work out a shortened season for them - each team playing each other once? As far as I am aware there is no appetite for summer football in England particularly as it conflicts with other sports.

 

 

I'll be sparing no thoughts for rich jobber clubs in England. If the league is called as it is then it doesn't matter if a club is relegated due to goal difference. They probably shouldn't have been so shit to be in a bottom 3 place if they wanted to avoid relegation, be it now or when the season was originally due to end.

[Turkmenbashi]

Not sure how relevant it is here, but it looks like here in Belgium they are about to declare Club Brugge champions: there have been 29 games played so far which means everyone almost played each other twice, with more game til utterly stupid Belgian play off starts. Give n Brugge are 15 points clear it is probably fair, despite my local team being second placed Gent.

It seems that Waasland Beveren are getting relegated even though they are within three point of Oostende and Cercle Brugge. However, the two of them are due to play each other anyway on the 30th match day. So under Belgium's ridiculous play off system, they were down anyway.

Doubt any of this is transferable to Scotland

[Guest Jedi]

Declaring the season pretty much 'void' does look like the only realistic outcome at the moment. Still not sure about awarding Championships though. Obviously the promotion/relegation situation is an issue. What if...

Final league placings remain as they currently are

Bottom club plays a one-off match against the top club from the Division below, so it would be Hearts v Dundee Utd, Partick v Raith, Cove v Stranraer, Brechin v Kelty Hearts or Brora.

All at neutral venues with a 'winner takes all'. Might not take place until late August/September (or later)and would probably be behind closed doors.

Scrap the Scottish Cup at the semi-final stage, no winner for season 2019-20, just as no 'Champions'

In the unlikely event that there is any European football 'next season'...Celtic still go into the CL, with Rangers, Motherwell and Aberdeen in the Euro League.

'New' season starts whenever it is possible.

[Lobby Dossar]

6 hours ago, Dons_1988 said:

Good post and I agree.

For clarity, my point was more that the Edinburgh fringe and the Scottish football season have different profiles. i.e. the fringe requires the entirety of Edinburgh city centre to be prepared, people travelling from round the world etc. whilst Scottish football could start next week and you'd get great crowds.

The majority of fans that go to watch the 2 scumbags come from all over Scotland and Northern Ireland 

Drink in pubs around the 2 pigsties then make their way merrily back to whence they came

[bennett]

 

The word from uefa seems to be changing everyday,  even playing in empty grounds is still risky and goes against Government policies.

 

UEFA supremo Aleksander Ceferin has warned the SPFL that they ARE jeopardising their teams' spots in next year's European competitions if they cancel the Premiership early and declare the title in Celtic's favour.

The main man at the European governing body has also ordered leagues to play out to a finish, "without supporters if necessary

[Billy Jean King]

Empty threat, there will be no Euro competitions unless they come up with some truncated version which gets rid of all the qualification rounds which would effectively rule us out as a country anyway. UEFA are deluded if they think football fans will be traipsing over Europe in three months time.

 
The word from uefa seems to be changing everyday,  even playing in empty grounds is still risky and goes against Government policies.
 
UEFA supremo Aleksander Ceferin has warned the SPFL that they ARE jeopardising their teams' spots in next year's European competitions if they cancel the Premiership early and declare the title in Celtic's favour.

The main man at the European governing body has also ordered leagues to play out to a finish, "without supporters if necessary

[craigkillie]

The word from UEFA has been consistent, the only thing that has changed is the spin put on it by our gutter press as they rush to deliberately misinterpret what they say. UEFA's preference is for the season to be completed, and they've suggested that behind closed doors games could be used to help that happen. If that's not legally possible in a particular country then they will treat each case accordingly.

[Steve McQueen]

It seems pretty obvious that we'll finish this season this year then play a summer season next year.

[bairney]

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/coronavirus-3pm-tv-blackout-uefa-behind-closed-doors-a9446886.html?amp

Guess whose team and their fans are going to say "no"?

*unbelievable, they make up their own rules and histories to try please themselves.

 

Edited April 3, 2020 by bairney