[baggiejohn]

Football has got to sort itself out and that could mean div 1 and 2 going part time and premiership and championship wages being reduced drastically.

Premiership & Top Championship players will then follow the money, probably into China.
Reduced wages will mean reduced standards, & then it won't be so marketable.

[LiamTheBaggie]

PPG or play behind closed doors, baffled by Albion fans who would be happy to void season. Over three quarters of season played one of two outstanding teams in Championship, get out of this league before we're stuck in it for a while do you not remember the sixteen years in the wilderness when club nearly went to the wall? Seals down the road will be laughing into cornflakes with some of comments on here.

I do not care what they think - they are totally irrelevant

We have achieved nothing yet - I do not want a promotion awarded to us nor do I favour PPG. Football without spectators is a relatively rubbish spectacle and all the tossing and turning about disinfecting grass and corner flags have highlighted this sport for the embarrassment it is.

We have a football league that is hanging out of its backside with clubs struggling to survive. Promotion and relegation will mean absolutely nothing when half of the football league are in either administration or liquidation.

Void the season and then assess where we are in three months time.

[baggiemart]

Premiership & Top Championship players will then follow the money, probably into China.
Reduced wages will mean reduced standards, & then it won't be so marketable.

Go to China    Really !!

If they want to do that then good riddance to most of them.  A lot of the foreign players who come over here are very average at best. They come here take the big wages and keep some of the promising young English players from getting any match time.

All of this could be good for the England national team.  The foreign players won't come here because there would be no big money in it for them. So our young English players get to play more matches and subsequently the English manager gets more choice for the England team. 

[gazberg]

PPG would be the most logical if we are putting safety first. Voiding a campaign at over 80% complete would be the most illogical whether you are focused on health or not and I would be saying this if we were in the relegation zone.

Continuing with football in the top 2 flights is extremely low risk for all involved. The sooner it resumes and is finished the better IMO.

[Standaman]

I do not care what they think - they are totally irrelevant

We have achieved nothing yet - I do not want a promotion awarded to us nor do I favour PPG. Football without spectators is a relatively rubbish spectacle and all the tossing and turning about disinfecting grass and corner flags have highlighted this sport for the embarrassment it is.

We have a football league that is hanging out of its backside with clubs struggling to survive. Promotion and relegation will mean absolutely nothing when half of the football league are in either administration or liquidation.

Void the season and then assess where we are in three months time.

I have some sympathy for this view but I have some major reservations.

If you view football as the Titanic and the Premier League as the life raft we need to do everything we can to get onto the life raft. There is not a prayer that the PL will throw the rest of professional game a lifeline the desperation of those already  on board is testimony to that.

If we all could just hunker down for a couple of months and finish off the season or start a new one then fine but the evidence is mounting to suggest that won't be the case. The game can't sustain a prolonged furlough at some point a BCD restart somewhere is inevitable these issues need to resolved at some point and sooner is better than latter.

In short if there is anyway for the club to get into the Premier League then I'm taking it. 

[paulosull]

I do not care what they think - they are totally irrelevant

We have achieved nothing yet - I do not want a promotion awarded to us nor do I favour PPG. Football without spectators is a relatively rubbish spectacle and all the tossing and turning about disinfecting grass and corner flags have highlighted this sport for the embarrassment it is.

We have a football league that is hanging out of its backside with clubs struggling to survive. Promotion and relegation will mean absolutely nothing when half of the football league are in either administration or liquidation.

Void the season and then assess where we are in three months time.

totally disagree with you, why void a season that is almost complete? All your doing is rewarding failure. Football whether we like it or not is a business and a hell of a lot of money is available to 20 teams in prem if over a season your good enough you  stay up if not you get relegated. Even in a curtailed season that is  almost complete PPG would be a fair outcome.
My preference would be to get football up and running again finish season with out fans and then see what future holds.

[Webby]

Think the points above make the most sense. If this was the 60's for example, end the season or void it would be fine.

Football now is a business/sports entertainment as we all know, not the common mans game. There is too much money and to many powerful business owners (especially Prem) for this void to be an option without people suing and threatening etc.

Only thing that would cause there to be universal agreement of stopping things I guess would be a major, major pandemic like Spanish flu (1919) that's killing 10s of millions of people or some giant natural disaster like Yellowstone going off that affects whole globe.

[leeiswba]

I’ve gone past caring to be honest, it’s literally just a bunch of millionaires/billionaires arguing about how to best protect their investment without any care in the world about the football itself.

None of them care what happens to any other club, if someone gave me the option of Albion going up but 30 lower league teams going out of business or Albion staying down for 5 years and all lower league clubs staying in business I would pick the second option.

Everyone involved in making decisions would pick the first option I.e. looking after themselves.

[liverbaggie]

Businesses come and go.
One mans meat is another mans poison.
We are a model club admired round the country.
So,if others fall by the wayside,so be it.
Thus coronavirus is setting new rules,maybe it was needed.

[LiamTheBaggie]

totally disagree with you, why void a season that is almost complete? All your doing is rewarding failure. Football whether we like it or not is a business and a hell of a lot of money is available to 20 teams in prem if over a season your good enough you  stay up if not you get relegated. Even in a curtailed season that is  almost complete PPG would be a fair outcome.
My preference would be to get football up and running again finish season with out fans and then see what future holds.

If this would have happened in 2002 then Wolves would have been promoted above us. If this happens in 2005 the we do not make history with the great escape and would have been relegated. Football is played on a pitch, not an excel spresdsheet

You’re suggesting points per game because it is sufficient to see us promoted. A mathematician deciding the fate of football clubs. There are 9 games left in our season and two of those are against clubs immediately beneath us. I do not want a promotion with an asterisk against our name.

If the season cannot be continued with its supporters in its venues, then if a temporary suspension is out of the question due to contracts, just void the season and reconvene when it’s safe to do so.

You’re only championing PPG because it’s in your interests. At best you’re doing exactly what the likes of Villa, Watford and Hull are doing which you would criticise them for.

If we don’t go up, if we never go up, it means nothing to me. I’ll still be there. I hope the fans of Walsall, Accrington and Morecambe get to say the same.

[baggiejohn]

If the season cannot be continued with its supporters in its venues, then if a temporary suspension is out of the question due to contracts, just void the season and reconvene when it’s safe to do so.

I think I've said before Liam, I've not got a problem in principle to a re-set to August 2019.
What I wouldn't want is clubs like Villa being given a chance to rebuild their squad.

If it's a rewind, then it's a genuine rewind with the players we all had then.

Not sure how we'd deal with the players we bought in January, though

[zippyandbungle]

Think the points above make the most sense. If this was the 60's for example, end the season or void it would be fine.

Football now is a business/sports entertainment as we all know, not the common mans game. There is too much money and to many powerful business owners (especially Prem) for this void to be an option without people suing and threatening etc.

Only thing that would cause there to be universal agreement of stopping things I guess would be a major, major pandemic like Spanish flu (1919) that's killing 10s of millions of people or some giant natural disaster like Yellowstone going off that affects whole globe.

Probably wouldn’t have mentioned Yellowstone the way this year is planning out 😀

[TheJacko2000]

If this would have happened in 2002 then Wolves would have been promoted above us. If this happens in 2005 the we do not make history with the great escape and would have been relegated. Football is played on a pitch, not an excel spresdsheet

You’re suggesting points per game because it is sufficient to see us promoted. A mathematician deciding the fate of football clubs. There are 9 games left in our season and two of those are against clubs immediately beneath us. I do not want a promotion with an asterisk against our name.

If the season cannot be continued with its supporters in its venues, then if a temporary suspension is out of the question due to contracts, just void the season and reconvene when it’s safe to do so.

You’re only championing PPG because it’s in your interests. At best you’re doing exactly what the likes of Villa, Watford and Hull are doing which you would criticise them for.

If we don’t go up, if we never go up, it means nothing to me. I’ll still be there. I hope the fans of Walsall, Accrington and Morecambe get to say the same.

Think it's a moot point because unless there is a Spanish Flu level 2nd spike the season will be completed behind closed doors. No computers required.

[paulosull]

If this would have happened in 2002 then Wolves would have been promoted above us. If this happens in 2005 the we do not make history with the great escape and would have been relegated. Football is played on a pitch, not an excel spresdsheet

You’re suggesting points per game because it is sufficient to see us promoted. A mathematician deciding the fate of football clubs. There are 9 games left in our season and two of those are against clubs immediately beneath us. I do not want a promotion with an asterisk against our name.

If the season cannot be continued with its supporters in its venues, then if a temporary suspension is out of the question due to contracts, just void the season and reconvene when it’s safe to do so.

You’re only championing PPG because it’s in your interests. At best you’re doing exactly what the likes of Villa, Watford and Hull are doing which you would criticise them for.

If we don’t go up, if we never go up, it means nothing to me. I’ll still be there. I hope the fans of Walsall, Accrington and Morecambe get to say the same.

mute point it didn't happen in 2002 or 2005, its happened now with season almost completed and Albion in a position to be promoted. As I've said I'd prefer to finish season on pitch but if impossible more than happy if PPG is used.
As for the way football is structured with clubs in financial difficulties hasn't that been part of the course for years.

[baggiejohn]

Probably wouldn’t have mentioned Yellowstone the way this year is planning out 😀

Robinson, Friday & now Yellowstone, been a good week for you 

[LiamTheBaggie]

mute point it didn't happen in 2002 or 2005, its happened now with season almost completed and Albion in a position to be promoted. As I've said I'd prefer to finish season on pitch but if impossible more than happy if PPG is used.
As for the way football is structured with clubs in financial difficulties hasn't that been part of the course for years.

You’re missing my point - a lot can happen in 9 football matches that a excel spreadsheet cannot predict. Albion turning round an 11 point deficit or surviving on the final day. Had we relied on a mathematician then those events do not happen and we run the same possibility now.

Clubs are providing a stumbling block to playing behind closed doors and I do not see how that will work if clubs are refusing to play.

[Standaman]

From a sporting integrity perspective voiding the season is probably the right thing to do. We also spare ourselves the argument between players and clubs about the safety or otherwise of a BCD return. The sporting integrity argument has been greatly undermined by the it's  early and vociferous adoption of those with the most to gain from voiding the season. Yes, I am looking at you Karen Brady.

A reasonable compromise is a BCD completion which while not ideal and fraught with issues but at least it tidies up the season. You cannot have BCD completion without promotion/relegation which is quite probably the worst of all worlds. The problem here is not all leagues can complete BCD. League 2 can't and wont' in truth League 1 probably shouldn't which means some sort of other mechanism being introduced to resolve the promotion or relegation issues.

Equally to keep clubs honest there has to be the prospect of resolution by other means because at that point a team like Watford or Norwich would just keep on throwing up objection after objection to any other compromise solution that involved them playing out the season.

I always return to money. I am sorry but it is always about the money. After all it is a professional game. There was a time when fans might cocoon themselves in a boys own world where it was about the glory team spirit and love of the game and in more innocent times that might have been sustainable but not now.

Personally I retain enough sense of a community that I would happily forgo a questionable promotion if I thought that it would save a club any club further down the pyramid. Yet it won't and in the words of Bruce Springsteen "There are winners and losers down there and you don't want to be on the wrong side of that line"

My biggest fear is the Premier League season get's voided the broadcasters seek massive refunds and we get stuck for some of it because the parachute payments are part of it. Our position goes from one of relative comfort to one as least as hopeless as the most feckless gamblers in the division. We are talking about survival here.

 

[baggiejohn]

My biggest fear is the Premier League season get's voided the broadcasters seek massive refunds and we get stuck for some of it because the parachute payments are part of it. Our position goes from one of relative comfort to one as least as hopeless as the most feckless gamblers in the division. We are talking about survival here.

I share your fear, Rolls Royce have just announced massive redundancies, why would anyone think that football is shielded.
There were rumours around last week that even if the EPL is finished BCD, the broadcasters wouldn't pay the full amount, that would have massive implications for us.

[paulosull]

You’re missing my point - a lot can happen in 9 football matches that a excel spreadsheet cannot predict. Albion turning round an 11 point deficit or surviving on the final day. Had we relied on a mathematician then those events do not happen and we run the same possibility now.

Clubs are providing a stumbling block to playing behind closed doors and I do not see how that will work if clubs are refusing to play.

I'd prefer to play rest of our games this season as I believe we will beat Leeds to championship but football governing body have indicated that in prem PPG would be used if clubs refuse to compete fixtures.

[Standaman]

From Mark Ogden Senior Football writer on ESPN

Man Utd confirm in Q3 financial results that a £15m rebate is due from clubs to PL broadcasters due to schedule changes in fixtures amid COVID-19 shutdown.

This confirms the best case scenario outright voiding would obviously be worse a lot worse and yes as recipient of parachute payments that has an impact on us.

[baggiejohn]

From Mark Ogden Senior Football writer on ESPN

Man Utd confirm in Q3 financial results that a £15m rebate is due from clubs to PL broadcasters due to schedule changes in fixtures amid COVID-19 shutdown.

This confirms the best case scenario outright voiding would obviously be worse a lot worse and yes as recipient of parachute payments that has an impact on us.

Hopefully, the re-payments would be pro-rata for smaller clubs, but there's potential for a hole of at least circa £100 million.

[Standaman]

I think the £15m is flat rated from what I can make out.

Litterally breaking news from EFL

https://www.efl.com/news/2020/may/efl-statement-coronavirus-update2

In summary league positions by PPG if regular season not played out.
Play-offs to be played out I assume BCD.

Makes sense

[gazberg]

I think the £15m is flat rated from what I can make out.

Litterally breaking news from EFL

https://www.efl.com/news/2020/may/efl-statement-coronavirus-update2

In summary league positions by PPG if regular season not played out.
Play-offs to be played out I assume BCD.

Makes sense

Brilliant news. Clarity and confirmation is what was needed and is now what we have. EPL follow suit soon hopefuly.

[TheJacko2000]

I think the £15m is flat rated from what I can make out.

Litterally breaking news from EFL

https://www.efl.com/news/2020/may/efl-statement-coronavirus-update2

In summary league positions by PPG if regular season not played out.
Play-offs to be played out I assume BCD.

Makes sense

Only scanned it but point 4 you would think guarantees League One will now be curtailed.

[LiamTheBaggie]

A reasonable compromise is a BCD completion which while not ideal and fraught with issues but at least it tidies up the season. You cannot have BCD completion without promotion/relegation which is quite probably the worst of all worlds. The problem here is not all leagues can complete BCD. League 2 can't and wont' in truth League 1 probably shouldn't which means some sort of other mechanism being introduced to resolve the promotion or relegation issues.

This is one of the issues for me. I don’t agree with the possibility of different scenarios being played across the four divisions across the football league - we can hardly preach sporting integrity if one division is curtailed, one is done on points per game and the other is done behind closed doors.

It’s one scenario across them all, for me.

And nor is behind closed doors a reasonable long term solution to the issue either  as were 3 months away from the next headache.