Voiding season fairer than PPG, says Rovers boss
DONCASTER ROVERS manager Darren Moore insists that using points per game to decide final tables if the English Football League is cut short would be grossly unfair.
The EFL board met on Wednesday to discuss options on finishing the season with there being a general acceptance among League One and League Two clubs that resuming the 2019-20 campaign is impossible.
A vote among clubs in the EFL’s third and fourth tiers is set to be held tomorrow and is expected to see the season aborted.
Both points per game and ‘promotion on merit’ proposals are being considered by clubs to determine the final placings, but Moore – whose side retain an outside chance of finishing in a playoff slot in League One – believes that declaring the season as null and void is the only fair option.
Doubts also remain as to whether the Championship will be played out to a full conclusion owing to the Coronavirus pandemic, with the EFL having delayed all member clubs returning to training until at least a week on Monday (May 25).
While there is a public intent to finish the Premier League season behind closed doors, top-flight officials discussed the option of curtailing the campaign for the first time in their shareholders meeting on Monday.
The controversial topic of ‘points per game’ is something that is provoking strong opinions across football.
Salford City owner Gary Neville has stressed that the method is unfair, while Charlton manager Lee Bowyer – whose side dropped into the bottom three of the Championship for the first time this season on March 7 – has gone further and described it as ‘scandalous’.
Meanwhile, Peterborough United owner Darragh MacAnthony – whose side are three points away from an automatic promotion spot in League One – has threatened a “legal battle of
epic proportions” if a decision is taken to the detriment of his club. Offering his take, Moore told
The Yorkshire Post: “I heard Lee Bowyer speak on Sky Sports and I am absolutely in his camp. You cannot say this team could have beaten that team.
“I don’t care if it is the team at the top who is 20 points clear or the team at the bottom 17 points from safety. It has been proven and is fact that at this stage of the season there are some unpredictable results and that is why we love the game so much.
“To hear that, I cannot understand how we’d get to that [points per game].
“I’d feel really sorry for everyone connected with it for the sport. I am sitting in a position at Doncaster Rovers where we could potentially have a great chance of getting in the play-offs. Who knows, we have worked hard and fought all season.
“But if the season cannot be started, it has to be a null and void because how can you surmise and mentally say on a points per game basis that one team would have beaten another team? It is impossible.
“I am not interested in that really, to be honest. I am not interested in someone saying where they think Doncaster could have finished this season. What gives them the right? There’s surely no chance.”
You cannot say this team could have beaten that team.
Doncaster Rovers manager Darren Moore is strongly opposed to the PPG way of deciding.
Financial concerns are being widely cited as the chief reason for lower-division clubs wanting to end the season – with the total lack of match-day income and costs involved in staging games behind closed doors being seen as the equivalent of a double whammy.
For Moore, his sole concern in any decision-making process is governed by health and safety.
He added: “I am in a neutral zone at the moment. If they call us to come back, I am happy to do so.
“If they decide to cancel, I am happy to as it will not be safe enough to play – simple as that.
“If they turn around and say: ‘the reason why is because we cannot get paramedics to cover it’ that is easy for me – it is not safe enough to do so.
“Whatever they want to use, then for me, it is a null and void for all and we are all in the same boat. We know this week is a big one.”
While there is a pragmatic realisation in most League One and League Two circles that the seasons is all but over, fresh doubts have been raised over the prospect of finishing the Championship campaign after the EFL informed all its member clubs that a return to training should not take place until a week on Monday at the earliest.
The news followed a meeting of the EFL board on Wednesday as the league continues to wrestle with the logistical, safety and financial issues caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
A statement read: “Clubs have been issued with the latest draft of the EFL’s ‘Return to Training Protocols’, so that they can prepare appropriately.
“However, until all outstanding matters are concluded, including finalising a comprehensive testing programme on matchdays and non-matchdays, the EFL board has informed its clubs that a return to training should not take place until 25 May at the earliest.
“Dialogue continues with our colleagues across the footballing and political landscape regarding these and other issues, and the EFL is committed to keeping all relevant parties updated on key decisions and developments as they occur.”