Wearside’s week of EFL reckoning

AFTER WEEKS OF POLITICS AND POSTURING, TIME FOR CLUBS TO DECIDE FATE OF SEASON

SUNDERLAND are set to learn their fate this week as EFL clubs prepare to vote on rule changes and the future of the League One season.

The EFL has called an extraordinary general meeting for today at which all 71 member clubs will decide how the rules should be changed to cope with the prospect of the 2019-20 season being cut short due to the Covid-19 crisis.

The EFL board has recommended that each division decide on a majority basis whether to play on or curtail the season, and that if any division votes to stop playing the league will use an unweighted points-per-game formula to calculate finishing positions.

Clubs are able to make their own proposals and put forward amendments, with Tranmere Rovers – who would be relegated under the EFL system – among those who have submitted an alternative plan.

Any EFL rule change must be approved by not only a majority of all member clubs, but also a majority of the 24 Championship clubs, before it can take effect.

And the likelihood is that the clubs will ultimately vote through the EFL board’s proposal.

Once the rule changes have been decided, clubs will then vote on a divisional basis whether they wish to continue the season and it is thought that those votes will be held tomorrow.

There is already a consensus amongst Championship clubs that they will play on, while League Two clubs have indicated that they will vote to curtail the season.

League One is split, with Sunderland part of a group of clubs that wish to play out the season, however another group is in favour of ending the season now – either because settling the table on points-pergame works in their favour, or because they fear the financial consequences of completing the campaign behind closed doors.

There is a growing belief that League One clubs will decide to curtail the season, with any floating voters swayed by the long and drawnout process that has seen the EFL, chaired by former Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry (left), take almost three months even to reach a stage where it is ready to make a decision.

If the season is cut short, the focus will immediately switch to next season and when and on what terms Leagues One and Two can get back up and running.

Clubs in those two divisions will not want to play games behind closed doors because to do so without the revenue from gate receipts would be ruinous for many.

But they will also be conscious of the fact that it may be many months before restrictions on mass gatherings are eased, with some talk that they could stay in place for the remainder of 2020 and possibly into 2021.

Most clubs have furloughed staff and players to save money but they still have other overheads, and from August onwards the Government will begin to roll back the furlough scheme meaning that clubs will have to contribute more to their salaries.

One option they could explore is re-opening grounds but with a restricted capacities, although that would be easier for clubs such as Sunderland with an all-seater stadium than it would be for the majority of those in Leagues One and Two where some standing areas are still the norm.