Season Ended.

[nw6pie]

I agree, good statement, and I think for Notts fans this is the key point:

"our stance has always been that the National League should operate in tandem with the EFL due to the intrinsic link between the two leagues"

If by taking this decision the National League jeopardises promotion/relegation between it and the EFL then this decision could prove very costly. Besides the argument over player contracts why nullify this season? Why start another season which is then itself at the mercy of coronavirus? As other posters have said surely it's better to conclude this season when possible before embarking on the next one.

"We have written to the National League on a number of occasions over the past month with detailed, constructive and well-considered options for how we believe the league can be concluded, thus giving clubs involved at both ends of the table a fair opportunity to compete for what they deserve"

This makes sense so what on earth are the National league thinking?

I’m guessing that the majority of clubs in the National League and leagues North and South are like Accrington owner Andy Holt and want to go into “hibernation” (his word) until football can be played again with fans in the ground. That’s the cheapest option for them; otherwise they will have expenses but no income. The sooner they can go into hibernation, the more money they will save/the greater their chances of surviving.

Elsewhere, I see the Dutch top division season is likely to be unfinished, after the government there banned sports events until Sept. 1 at the earliest.

[Old_pie]

I’m guessing that the majority of clubs in the National League and leagues North and South are like Accrington owner Andy Holt and want to go into “hibernation” (his word) until football can be played again with fans in the ground. That’s the cheapest option for them; otherwise they will have expenses but no income. The sooner they can go into hibernation, the more money they will save/the greater their chances of surviving.

Elsewhere, I see the Dutch top division season is likely to be unfinished, after the government there banned sports events until Sept. 1 at the earliest.

If as the BBC is reporting some form of Social Restrictions are likely to remain for the rest of the year then it makes sense to me to simply freeze the season and restart it in 2021. There's little chance a season starting in Sep 2020 is going to run unaffected. Gaps in the schedule can be sorted with a number of smaller competitions if necessary.

Rubbing out the efforts of this season is wrong.

[MAD_MAGPIE]

This is the post I agree with the most.

If their competition is so worthless to them I'm going to think long and hard about investing my time and money in something that can be scrubbed out so casually. They're sports clubs first and businesses second. If they're not sure about that, they can ask the fans and nobody supports them as a business.
It was the 2019/20 season and we've still got 8 months 1 week of 2020 to go. We can already count the 2020/21 season out. There won't be a vaccine til deep into 2021, the last quarter of this year at the earliest.

They should have valued and honoured their season

These two posts sum it up for me.

The National League Board have proven they have not got the balls (pardon the pun) between them to make a decision, or not so left the clubs to decide by vote. They’ve been itiching to do something for weeks since they scrubbed the other lower leagues out.

It’s been done in haste as well in my opinion and it now means technically the regular season will finish this Saturday as scheduled. Maybe that’s why they were getting twitchy because the end of the season was coming and wanted an outcome. The only problem is that come this Saturday not everyone will have played 46 games.

So the question is what will happen to those teams in the promotion, playoffs or relegation places? As those planned games will be coming up.

Also what sense does it make to deny clubs the income they so desperately needed because there will certainly be no more home games for the 20/21 season for anyone.

Nine months of this season scrubbed out and thrown away just like that. Yet there is still no certainty as nobody knows how much of next season will suffer a similar fate.

Just imagine the irony if we don’t get fans back in grounds until next year. That period until the start of the 2021/22 season could have been used to complete this season and the entire 2020/21 season cancelled. That will not be an option now.

Wrong decision.

[Notts78]

Until a final decision about promotion and relegation is decided there is not much to get worked up about. We can’t control what’s happening and we can’t influence it.
Freezing the season indefinitely is not in the best interests of the game and certainly wouldn’t provide a better reflection of who finishes where. Notts and the other clubs are not going to be retaining the services of all the players in the current squads so would need to sign a new squad. This could and I assume would be to Notts advantage. But, there could also be a chairman whose sides sits just outside the playoffs who splash the cash to secure a play off spot. The integrity of the game would certainly come under scrutiny if a league decided to pick up where it left, regardless of when that is.
Look it’s a ****ter. The options are limited. There are so many permutations that could impact on what happens. Prem and EFL decisions. Any clubs that go under, and this is a real possibility.

[Woodypie]

Until a final decision about promotion and relegation is decided there is not much to get worked up about. We can’t control what’s happening and we can’t influence it.
Freezing the season indefinitely is not in the best interests of the game and certainly wouldn’t provide a better reflection of who finishes where. Notts and the other clubs are not going to be retaining the services of all the players in the current squads so would need to sign a new squad. This could and I assume would be to Notts advantage. But, there could also be a chairman whose sides sits just outside the playoffs who splash the cash to secure a play off spot. The integrity of the game would certainly come under scrutiny if a league decided to pick up where it left, regardless of when that is.
Look it’s a ****ter. The options are limited. There are so many permutations that could impact on what happens. Prem and EFL decisions. Any clubs that go under, and this is a real possibility.

The season is null and void. We are back to the end of the 2018/19 season. 2019/20 hasn't happened. We should not be relegated. Whenever the next season does start, Notts should be a League 2 team, because of the Bury situation.

[queenslandpie]

The season is null and void. We are back to the end of the 2018/19 season. 2019/20 hasn't happened. We should not be relegated. Whenever the next season does start, Notts should be a League 2 team, because of the Bury situation.

Does that mean we get Kevin Nolan and Alan Hardy back as well?

[legs77]

Does that mean we get Kevin Nolan and Alan Hardy back as well?

Thats if we can find AH he is too busy kissing the Accrington chairmans ar*e on twitter.

I have seen one journo say no National League football until at least Jan 2021 as clubs don't want to play BCD not sure where he has got that from but if true then things will change dramatically unless clubs get lots of financial help.

[Pies4u]

As others have said, this seems to be an ill thought out strategy given that there is no certainty or clarity about what might happen during "next" season.

The sensible and practical option is to finish this season first before contemplating what happens after that. It is 90% complete anyway and wouldn't unduly delay future proceedings.

It would be the honourable thing for fans who have paid out money in advance, players who have achieved appearance or scoring milestones and Clubs who have striven for success (or even mediocrity or worse) - they all deserve to see the outcome of their efforts, not have them erased from memory & history.

The logistics and practicalities of dealing with a season that "never happened" are actually quite complex. Plus, it doesn't matter to clubs or fans which games are played, or which season they are attributed to - fans pay to watch and games/hospitality etc get played, so get one season finished properly before contemplating starting another which may also be disrupted! There may have to be a season or two where the typical Aug- May calendar goes out the window - so what?

It is the only logical and reasonable solution tbh.

[Elite_Pie]

As others have said, this seems to be an ill thought out strategy given that there is no certainty or clarity about what might happen during "next" season.

The sensible and practical option is to finish this season first before contemplating what happens after that. It is 90% complete anyway and wouldn't unduly delay future proceedings.

It would be the honourable thing for fans who have paid out money in advance, players who have achieved appearance or scoring milestones and Clubs who have striven for success (or even mediocrity or worse) - they all deserve to see the outcome of their efforts, not have them erased from memory & history.

The logistics and practicalities of dealing with a season that "never happened" are actually quite complex. Plus, it doesn't matter to clubs or fans which games are played, or which season they are attributed to - fans pay to watch and games/hospitality etc get played, so get one season finished properly before contemplating starting another which may also be disrupted! There may have to be a season or two where the typical Aug- May calendar goes out the window - so what?

It is the only logical and reasonable solution tbh.

Fully agree. If it turns out that we can't play games until next February / March, this is going to look a very stupid decision.

[upthemaggies]

Let the clubs who don't want to play BCD skip next season and go into hibernation until July 2021 to survive, but on the condition they accept that they will likely be playing at a lower level when they return. Those who do want to play next season can be moved up a division if need be. If we've got 80 clubs who want to carry on, let's have 4 divisions of 20 for 2020/21.
For the rest, being relegated would be better than going bust.