Decisions being made

[Adam29]

The service is already in place for EFL clubs with the iFollow setup that EFL clubs have to use.

It would be the only way to listen to Online commentary too because there is no online coverage for the football league because of league rules

[A.B.]

We will go up one way or another. To play when and where and in front of how many is a different consideration. Right around the world, with the cleverest brains on the planet working flat out, nearly 5 months in, no one really has a ******* clue what is what.
This is going to be a problem for a long time and we are in for the long haul. There are two major difficulties, the virus and the economy. As far as footy is concerned the virus will prevent people attending matches en masse everywhere for the foreseeable future. Simply, governments will not allow it as it is much too risky. Not a chance of 3500 at Holker St to watch a top of the table clash in League 2 for ages yet.The PL will be unrecognisable. Occasional games behind closed doors and streamed will be a very hollow substitute for the real thing.
The economy already is and will be perilous, globally. Footy may well have to go on the back burner for many who are involved currently and who have cash to spare. E.g already Emirates Airlines. Within a span of a few months, the travel, hospitality, entertainment, restaurant, and building industries have been practically annihilated worldwide. To say nothing of the effect on every sport. Sweden is not a model because the herd immunity argument can only work if it is proved that you can't catch the virus twice.
Im sorry to sound so pessimistic and I truly hope my predictions are wrong, but I'm not expecting to visit HS for a long long time yet, even in L2.

This.

I’ll be pleasantly surprised if everything is back to normal for the 2021-2022 season.

[Suffolk Blue]

Its only a couple of pages since there was a strongly held view that our promotion hopes were probably unrealistic. Now we are talking as if we will be promoted into a footballing abyss. Nothing has yet happened and we are still taking positions based on a couple of well placed stories (though I agree Ian Dennis is a pretty good source).

If the stories are true and there will be no vote at the NL then that tells me firstly they probably despair of ever reaching a consensus and secondly they have taken advice either legal and/or from the EFL and that advice clearly advocates staying locked to the EFL. If true it would appear that they have accepted the overriding need for promotion.

Strangely this opens up a possibility that I thought would be off limits - that is promotion without relegation or with a modified relegation. If you read the stories purporting to come from the EFL they suggest that the EFLs position is that they remain wedded to 2 up, 1 down. However if they failed to complete the season this would change to a 1 up 0 down outcome. So this will be clouding the views of the NL regarding play-offs because I think there will need to be play-offs to keep many EFL clubs onside. Fortunately for us that decision is unlikely to be made within the next week and the EFL do want to finish. But there is still room for a curved ball or two to be chucked in as the NL try to dovetail with what they believe will happen above.

As far as the "out of the frying pan into the fire" prophesy is concerned then we are all going to have to adapt to whatever the new normal conditions are. God knows like many of the older supporters I have that utter craving to be in the popular side on a warm August day when we run out as a proper League 2 club for the first time in half a century. I'm actually welling up just thinking about it. And it ain't gonna happen like that, promotion or no promotion. But it would still be one of the greatest days of my life.

We must try and think about how we take these constraints and turn them into opportunities and strengths. If we are promoted then its all about how we survive probably for the next 12 months. Then you get your afternoon in the sun - probably. We have a fantastic, solid, group of owners, staff players and supporters. We also have a debt that has been planned and managed. Some L2 clubs are utter basket cases by comparison. We have enough to stay ahead of at least two L2 clubs.

One step at a time. And keep believing.

[Pedro]

The irony is the government have actually started to properly ramp up testing this week (at least locally) but a lot of people have become very complacent this last week/10 days on the rules and have started going round to visit mates in the garden etc etc

Ramp up seems the in word you hear it every time a Member of the Government speaks ,suppose it's better than saying catching up.

I hope we get promoted ,but cannot see any football till 2021.
I also think of we do go up and no more games are played how lucky as the 3 match ban Scott Quigley would have caused us problem.

[Wintergreen]

Some EFL clubs sound like they could crash and burn over the interim and maybe some of our fellow NL title chasers could be joining us in L2 without a ball being kicked. Survival of the more prudent perhaps?

[Moribund]

The irony is the government have actually started to properly ramp up testing this week (at least locally) but a lot of people have become very complacent this last week/10 days on the rules and have started going round to visit mates in the garden etc etc

Ramp up seems the in word you hear it every time a Member of the Government speaks ,suppose it's better than saying catching up.

I hope we get promoted ,but cannot see any football till 2021.
I also think of we do go up and no more games are played how lucky as the 3 match ban Scott Quigley would have caused us problem.

If Scott Quigley hadn't got sent off, we'd be 7 points clear (plus goal difference) and nobody could really question us being promoted...

[barrowfan]

Survival of the more prudent perhaps?

Or those not so prudent with a sugar-daddy owner!

[russell_anderson]

If clubs outside of the Premier League are forced to play without spectators then there will be many who don't survive. The only thing that will stop that happening is a very large support commitment from the Premier League. They should be able to afford that if they receive there TV revenue by playing behind closed doors but whether they will do it is another matter.

[Adam29]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52456446

The latest statement which is basically just the statement they gave yesterday re-worded

[Suffolk Blue]

So here is the latest from the National League. And as previously suggested the NL now have identified this issue of how many promotion places to allocate to contend with.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52456446

In summary, it seems their process narrowed it down to 3 options. Void it, declare it as is on current positions or declare it based on a mathematical formula (e.g. PPG). No surprise there. As previously discussed the odd ones have been eliminated and we now have two declares and one void - but no vote allowed only views from the members.

The process does appear to be gearing itself to a declared outcome of some kind. If there was a real desire to void I'm not sure I'd use this process to get it - but who knows. The discussion taking place around play-offs now also suggests we might have moved on from void. If so the issue is now whether we get wrapped up in some half-assed play-off compromise or not. The EFL wont be able to guarantee to the NL that it will be two down yet but that would have to be their assumption.

[Paulmichael]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52456446

The latest statement which is basically just the statement they gave yesterday re-worded

That statement gives me hope that we have the trump card on all 3 scenarios, even if null and void we go up in place of bury,

[Jonty]

We will go up one way or another. To play when and where and in front of how many is a different consideration. Right around the world, with the cleverest brains on the planet working flat out, nearly 5 months in, no one really has a ******* clue what is what.
This is going to be a problem for a long time and we are in for the long haul. There are two major difficulties, the virus and the economy. As far as footy is concerned the virus will prevent people attending matches en masse everywhere for the foreseeable future. Simply, governments will not allow it as it is much too risky. Not a chance of 3500 at Holker St to watch a top of the table clash in League 2 for ages yet.The PL will be unrecognisable. Occasional games behind closed doors and streamed will be a very hollow substitute for the real thing.
The economy already is and will be perilous, globally. Footy may well have to go on the back burner for many who are involved currently and who have cash to spare. E.g already Emirates Airlines. Within a span of a few months, the travel, hospitality, entertainment, restaurant, and building industries have been practically annihilated worldwide. To say nothing of the effect on every sport. Sweden is not a model because the herd immunity argument can only work if it is proved that you can't catch the virus twice.
Im sorry to sound so pessimistic and I truly hope my predictions are wrong, but I'm not expecting to visit HS for a long long time yet, even in L2.

This is a very likely scenario, and unless cubs have a means in place to generate cash in a behind closed doors, restricted capacity scenario, then revenues for everyone outside the Prem is going to take a massive hit. Final table promotion / relegation issues are one thing, but the social distancing restrictions on crowds at football is going to have a far bigger hit on clubs.

[HenneysKnee]

Your only real income would be from streaming games......say our matches are £10 each to watch, how many would?

[blue nige]

https://twitter.com/Ollie_Bayliss/statu ... 65569?s=09

The number of promotion places in the National League across the three divisions could potentially be changed.

https://t.co/yAtsEChswt

#bbcfootball https://t.co/mSOFucC0k6

[Suffolk Blue]

Your only real income would be from streaming games......say our matches are £10 each to watch, how many would?

So this one of those questions to which there is no current acceptable answer. In fact I dont believe the EFL could continue exist on this basis. Completing their season behind closed doors and running next season this way are two very different things.

In order to complete their season they've each been bunged a few hundred grand by the Premiership. The fact that several of them are still in deep distress is all to do with historic debt. The only way this will work next season is if the EFL is in some way subsidised. If not the EFL will disintegrate. Even if it is, only the lean and mean will thrive. Some clubs are still likely to go to the wall.