WISE WORDS!
FORMER SKY BLUES AND ENGLAND STAR SEARCHING FOR THE FIRST INDONESIAN WONDERKID FOOTBALLER
A RADICAL plan has emerged that would regionalise the Football League next season to cut down on travel and accommodation for clubs, following the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
With football’s finances being hit hard, the radical proposal would see each of the three divisions below the Premier League – the Championship, League One and League Two – divided into north and south sections.
It would see Coventry City, if not promoted, put into a southern League One division, away from the likes of Sunderland, Bolton Wanderers and Rotherham.
Instead, the Sky Blues would play in a truncated 12-team division featuring the likes of Burton Albion and Portsmouth.
According to speculation, the plans would entail a series of play-off matches between the top teams in the north and the top teams in the south to determine promotion to the divisions above.
The plan would, in theory, reduce the risk of the competition having to shut down in the wake of new COVID-19 outbreaks.
Each team would play only 11 home matches, compared to the 23 currently on the schedule, which would result in a huge decline in matchday revenue – although it’s also been suggested that it could be a year until fans will be allowed to be in attendance, so the matchday revenue argument would be redundant.
The proposal also has an eye on protecting the Carabao Cup, allowing the competition more space in the calendar to play the games because, at present, it looks as if it will be crowbarred into what is likely to be an extremely congested schedule next season.
Of course, this is just the latest of many suggestions pertaining to how the football landscape will be shaped when it eventually returns following the pandemic.
PROPOSED LEAGUE ONE NORTH: Accrington, Blackpool, Bolton, Doncaster, Fleetwood, Lincoln City, Rochdale, Rotherham, Shrewsbury, Sunderland, Tranmere. SOUTH: AFC Wimbledon, Bristol Rovers, Burton Albion, Coventry, Gillingham, Ipswich, MK Dons, Oxford Utd, Peterborough, Portsmouth, Southend, Wycombe.