| EFL letter - is it good news? 23:16 - Apr 9 with 530 views | durham_exile |
EFL letter gives vital update on rest of Colchester United season
COLCHESTER United could begin playing games behind closed doors at some point in June, after the EFL sent a letter to all clubs.
EFL chairman Rick Parry has sent a letter to all Championship, League One and League Two teams, telling him that their expectation is that it will take just 56 days to finish the current 2019-20 season which is currently suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The letter also says players should take any holidays now to fulfil annual leave obligations, as there will be no time for them to have a break between the end of the season and the beginning of the 2020-21 campaign.
Colchester's players are currently training as individuals in according to government guidance, with clubs old not to begin training as usual until May 16 at the earliest.
Colchester have nine games left to play in the scheduled League Two season, although they may well also have a maximum of three play-off games to play on top of that, too.
The letter states that the EFL are planning for play-offs to go ahead as normal but that Wembley may not be used to host the respective finals.
It also tells clubs that the £125m of funds advanced by the Premier League to EFL and National League clubs will be put on hold 'while additional clarity is sought on other financial matters, particularly in respect to player wages'.
I know that there are far more important matters than football, but the prospect of behind closed doors games in June is not an exciting prospect.
UTU's
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| EFL letter - is it good news? on 07:20 - Apr 10 with 516 views | noah4x4 |
Given the Taylor Report regulations, if a crowd exceeds (I think) 5,500 there is a huge step up in required resources; namely Police, St John's Ambulane etc. Given that these resources are currently committed to other far more urgent matters than football, I think it unlikely that football can restart early except behind closed doors.
I had to laugh when the EFL letter suggested players should "take their holidays now". How out of touch is that? Under lock-down, they are even prohibited from visiting a beach hut on Canvey Island!
In wartime, we had multiple cancelled seasons. Frankly, I would recommence 2019-20 properly when possible. If this is a (say) more realistic September 2020, then finish that and structure 2020-21 based on merely 23 fixtures with each team playing the other only once (home/away drawn by computer). |  | | |
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