Black Cats braced for decision on season as Fry calls for resumption
Sunderland and their fellow League One promotion rivals are bracing themselves for the outcome of crunch meetings early this week over the future of the 2019-20 campaign.
AndPeterboroughUnited’s director of football Barry Fry refuses to believe clubs will vote in favour of declaring the current League One campaign null and void.
Fixtures in the EFL have been suspended since midMarch due to the coronavirus pandemic.
And with clubs yet to returntotraining,theEFLarereportedly set to call time on the League One and League Two campaignsthisweek–withreportsclubswillvotefortheseason to be ended immediately.
Promotion and relegation would then be decided using a ‘weighted points-per-game’ formula, it has been claimed.
That would see Coventry City, RotherhamUnitedandOxford United promoted.
EFL chair Rick Parry told a Department for Digital, Culture,MediaandSportcommittee last week that the season would have to be completed by July 31 owing to contractual issues,andthisisnowpresenting logistical difficulties.
Posh are sixth and occupy the final play-off spot, with Sunderland seventh, having slippedoutofthetopsixfollowing a four-game winless streak before the shutdown.
Fry,speakingonPoshchairman Darragh MacAnthony’s ‘HardTruth’podcast,said:“We can’t give in. EFL clubs should be sticking together and making sure we finish what we started and determine promotions and relegations on the field.
“I can’t believe clubs will vote for what I’ve heard about today. I speak to loads of managers,ownersandclubofficials and 9/10ths of them tell me they want the season to finish.
“In our case our owners got together last summer and put together the biggest budget in the club’s history. We had one aimandthatwastowinpromotion and we are on track to do that with nine matches to go.
“To have the chance to fulfilthatambitionsnatchedaway becausesomeclubsdon’twant to play any more would be a disgrace. It would also be a disgrace if the Championship is allowed to finish, but Leagues One and Two are called off.
“I know the Championship clubs fancy the £160 million they can make from reaching the Premier League, promotions are just as important to clubs in the lower divisions. If it does happen I can see many rich lawyers. You can’t just change the goalposts.”