Jury is still out on the cup gamble

ONCE it became clear the season was going to kick off much later than usual, you wondered how the football authorities would react. Would they try to jam everything in or would they try to cut down on the number of games? If they were going to do the latter, then you could only really do it by axing a cup competition or two.

The EFL Trophy could have been put in mothballs for a year without too many complaints from supporters. Likewise, it may have made sense for the League Cup to take a season off.

But, as we all know now, the EFL and their clubs decided to press ahead with everything as usual. Of course, a major reason is the financial aspect. There are television deals to comply with, particularly in terms of the Carabao Cup. Prize money may also be precious at a time when incomes streams have largely dried up.

Yet it is a gamble to try to fit a 46-game league season plus cup competitions, including the FA Cup, into this season when there is so much uncertainty.

With coronavirus cases on the rise, local lockdowns increasing and the potential for greater national restrictions, it may take a great deal of fortune for the 2020-21 season to continue unimpeded, albeit with matches currently being played behind closed doors.

Of course, clubs are under extreme pressure. On page nine, Accrington Stanley chairman Andy Holt says he fears for everyone in the EFL if the Covid-19 crisis can’t be brought under control.

EFL chairman Rick Parry is desperately searching for a financial rescue package for his clubs and there is hope the Premier League will stump up £200m, no doubt with strings attached.

He says ‘we need solutions really very quickly’ and let’s hope they are found.

In the meantime, we might as well make the most of all the football being played – including all the cups.