Dale set to vote on season next week
ROCHDALE are set to vote on the fate of the League One season next week following an EFL board meeting on Wednesday.
EFL chief executive Rick Parry met virtually with EFL board members to discuss a range of topics.
He is said to have concluded the meeting by sending his finalised proposal for how his board members believe the campaign should finish to all 71 EFL clubs who are now set to vote to approve or decline the framework.
His plan will promise to honour promotion and relegation across all three EFL divisions using standard points-per-game to finalise the table – a decision that will anger a number of clubs.
Clubs in League One are set to vote early next week on how the season should be finished – with the majority of clubs appearing to sway towards finishing immediately on a points-per-game basis.
Such a decision would see Dale rise one place in the division. Brian BarryMurphy’s
side are currently 19th in the table, but with a game in hand on 18th-placed MK Dons and just one point behind.
With an average pointsper-game of 1.059 this season, Dale will finish the League One season in 18th if the vote to end the season is passed.
If clubs vote to end the season, Coventry and Rotherham would be promoted automatically while Oxford United, Portsmouth, Fleetwood and Wycombe would make up the play-offs.
Sunderland, Peterborough and Ipswich Town would miss out on the play-offs. At the bottom end of the table, Bolton, Southend and Tranmere Rovers would be relegated to League Two.
However, MPs of Wirral have written to the EFL to voice their disapproval with the points-per-game method – which would send local club Tranmere Rovers down.
Tranmere are currently just one place and three points from safety with a game in-hand.
And a group of MPs feel it would be unfair if they were to be relegated without the remaining games being played.
“We are writing to you to ask that you do not take any hasty decisions to move with relegation that would be unfair to supporters of a club that has done so much to help,” the letter read.
After acknowledging the difficulty of the situation, it continued: “This is why we believe the right thing to do would be to find a solution that helps all supporters, even if it means taking time to listen to all parties, assess fully whether the league can or cannot play on.”
Regardless of how the clubs decide to finish the current season, the likelihood of fans being back in stadiums any time soon is looking very low.
Now, Peterborough owner Barry Fry has called on Premier League clubs to bail out their EFL counterparts with financial aid to prevent them from going bust due to the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’m very frustrated, disappointed and amazed that the Premier League haven’t come in with the financial package to help all teams in the EFL,” Fry told Sky Sports.
“The big problem... why most clubs don’t want to play is because the testing will cost a fortune, putting up games in empty stadiums will cost a fortune.
“That’s why I plead, I beg and I pray the Premier League will come and help us out in some way, shape or form, by donation.”
Meanwhile, Blackburn captain Elliott Bennett and two unnamed Fulham players have tested positive for coronavirus in the latest round of testing in the Championship.
The EFL confirmed 1,030 samples from players and staff were gathered at second-tier clubs between Monday and Wednesday of this week, with three positive results coming from two clubs.
Blackburn confirmed Bennett had been tested on Monday and was found to have Covid-19, but was asymptomatic.
He will now isolate for seven days and will return to training on June 5 if he does not go on to develop symptoms, the club said.