The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
End game nears for Posh
Fears are growing that the 2019-20 EFL season will be called to a halt before promotion and relegation issues are decided on the field.
Promotion-chasing Posh are among those who want the League One campaign to finish naturally, no matter how long it takes.
But EFL chairman Rick Parry’s comments to a parliamentary select committee this week appeared to suggest a workable plan is becoming increasingly unlikely.
Parry believes time is now short to complete the remaining fixtures. His organisation has imposed a tight deadline on finishing the current campaign.
“July 31 is our cut-off point,” Parry told the commitee in a hearing at the House of Commons.
“We cannot go beyond that date because of issues with players’ contracts.”
The EFL and the Premier League are due to meet with UK Government officials in the next few days when new lockdown protocols will be discussed.
It’s thought a delay in players returning to training beyond the current date of May 15 will lead to the EFL trying to find alternative ways to determine promotions or abandoning the season altogether.
Null and voiding the campaign is sure to trigger lawsuits from clubs with Posh expected to lead the way.
“We must finish the season,” MacAnthony insisted. “There is no other way.”
MacAnthony claimed last weekend he would walk away from football if the season is voided, but he has since diluted the strength of those comments.
Peterborough United will release six players at the end of the 2019-20 season.
Central defender Rhys Bennett, midfielders Alex Woodyard and Callum Cooke and goalkeepers Aaron Chapman and Conor O’Malley are all out of contract and won’t be offered new ones.
Maverick winger Marcus Maddison will also formally be released at the end of his contract.
Woodyard and Cooke will leave London Road on June 30 as Posh have decided against taking up the extra year option on their current deals, while O’Malley will quit professional football on that date to start a career in finance in his native Ireland.
Bennett and Chapman are still members of the first-team squad and will be asked to extend their existing deals until the end of the season. They are expected to agree.
The contracts of players in their final season at a club are a thorny issue for League One clubs as they expire on June 30 and there is no chance of the current campaign finishing before then because of the coronavirus crisis.
The EFL have recommended clubs must make decisions on those players before June 23. They have three options...
Offer a new playing contract.
Offer an extension to the current contract that will expire on midnight of the final day of the season
Tell the player that they will not be offered either of the above. These players will be released on June 30, 2020 and be free to join another club. However, the EFL is proposing they will not be eligible for their new club until the start of a new campaign.
Posh director of football Barry Fry insists this is only a small issue for his club compared to others who have several first-team regulars nearing the end of their contracts.
Fry said: “We are not in a bad position contract-wise. Certainly a lot of clubs are in a far worse position with six or seven regular first-teamers in their last year.
“Rhys and Aaron are our main concerns, but we will try and keep them and I expect them to stay as there won’t be anywhere else for them to go. Clubs won’t be signing any new players until the season is officially over.
“Aaron and Rhys are both good professionals so their commitment won’t be in doubt even though they won’t be here next season.
“We were happy to let Alex (Tranmere), Callum (Bradord City)and Marcus (Hull City) stay out on loan until the season ends as they wouldn’t be returning next season. Bradford have now sent Callum back anyway. Conor wants to leave then so he is not a problem.
“Normally we have to make contract offers by the third Saturday in May or at the end of play-offs to players who are in their final year, but this year it’s been extended.”