End season now insists Dale chief
ROCHDALE chief executive David Bottomley believes League One clubs should follow the example of their League Two counterparts and end the 2019/20 campaign on a points-per-game basis immediately.
However, Dale and the clubs in favour of deciding on points-per-game are facing increasing oppositon from a number of clubs who want to play out the fixtures.
Peterborough United, Sunderland, Portsmouth, Fleetwood Town, Oxford United and Ipswich Town, are all in favour of playing out the season and, should the English Football League take it to a vote, they are expected to be joined by now expected to be joined by Bristol Rovers, Gillingham and Lincoln City in their desire to complete the campaign on the pitch.
All three clubs still mathematically stand a chance of sneaking into the play-off places at the end of the season but would miss out entirely if PPG (weighted or unweighted) was used.
Coventry City, Rotherham United and Wycombe Wanderers, along with Burton Albion, Shrewsbury Town, Accrington Stanley and Dale are all in favour of ending now with six other clubs yet to decide.
Dale remain firmly behind the EFL collective and will abide by the majority decision.
The EFL advised its 71 clubs last week that they should not return to training until May 25 at the earliest.
Bottomley believes that rules out the possibility of getting the season finished by July 31, after which out-of-contract players will simply leave and “integrity goes out of the window”.
“Our view now is that you have to end the season,” he said.
“The key date all along for the last five weeks has been May 18.
“If players could return matches behind closed to training by then, there doors as things stand. was a chance to conclude He does believe though the season by the end of that it is feasible from a July, which is what the financial point of view to EFL wanted to do to avoid start next season behind the issues of players out of closed doors, certainly if a contract. way can be found to derive
“Even that was going to more revenue from be difficult because a streaming. players’ contracts end at “If the funding remains the end of June, but the in place from the EFL - the case has always been that solidarity payment and unless that player finds the basic award - I think another club you have to we would have to accept pay them to the end of that the season would kick July. off without crowds,” Bottomley
“So the last four weeks admitted. is almost like a redundancy “Only 15 per cent of our payment effectively. income is from gate receipts but every other
“The word that has been single source of income, bandied from the start by in main terms - sponsorship, (EFL chairman) Rick executive boxes, Parry is integrity of the hospitality - all come as a competition. direct result of us playing.
“I think integrity goes “Whilst we only play to out the window on August average crowds of 3,500 at 1 because all the players Rochdale, the reason we are gone. are a £6million turnover
“And how can football business is because we get possibly, from a moral about £1.7m from the point of view, even consider Football League, the rest returning to training we derive ourselves.” and playing right now Bottomley points to the when we’re still not adequately club’s proud record of testing people developing players and who have got much more selling them on at profit, importance in life, like such as Dan Adshead to NHS workers?” Norwich last summer and
Bottomley said his club Luke Matheson to Wolves were the first of the 71 to in January. The club will propose ending the season also receive £500,000 in on a points-per-game September and the same basis. amount 12 months later
“It’s easy for us to (propose) as part of a sell-on clause that - either on the from Craig Dawson’s points-per-game or the move from West Brom to other more complicated Watford. formula we will just avoid It is that careful planning, relegation to League Two, Bottomley feels, so it’s easier for us to say, which will ensure the club and we’re not in the playoff is still standing to celebrate frame,” he added. 100 years in the
“We think you should Football League in August we have, as a club, what we believe to be is season by 31 July (for just award automatic promotion 2021. fully earned the right to the right thing during this player contract reasons) and relegation, “We will get through it compete in the same current crisis. diminishes. and forget the play-offs, so but it’s increasingly league as many more “We will act as a fully “We also believe that effectively you’ve got two tough,” he said. illustrious and historically responsible member of the potential excessive up to the Championship “We will get through it successful clubs who for that collective group, costs of testing staff and and two down. only because of the prudent various reasons are now and act with what we see players twice per week,
“We would want the way that we’ve plying their trade in the as the best interests of the ability to travel to season to end, (because) always run the club and third tier of the greatest our national sport and away games whilst what we should be putting some fortuitous circumstances league competition in the not decisions that observing social distancing all our planning behind in terms of transfer world,” he said. potentially are made and the very and our thinking is ‘how fees.” “Therefore, we have stemming from financial clear moral issue of why do we start next season, And the chief executive also earned the right to be greed. can the football industry even if it has to be behind reiterated his comments part of group debates and “With every day that be tested at a time when closed doors, whether in a statement on the planning at the same slips by the likelihood of clearly those tests are that’s September or October?’” club’s website at the weekend. level. As a club, we will allowing players a threeweek not available to all key ensure on behalf of all our mini pre-season workers, make it even
He said his club would “While we do remain loyal and wonderful supporters (EFL view) and then more difficult to lose money on staging very much behind the collective, that we will do resumption and finish of resume.”
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