Rugby method is surely worth a try?
I HAVE read through many scenarios as to how the football season should be completed, but with no end in sight for the pandemic it’s time to draw the line on its conclusion at all levels of the pyramid.
Firstly, I suggest awarding points for all outstanding fixtures (similar to the RFU) on an average points for home games, added to the average points for away games for each team. This would finalise the league tables throughout the pyramid with teams promoted or relegated accordingly.
We then resume with a Festival of Football in July or August, whereby all the clubs remaining in cup competitions, from the FA Cup, Trophy and Vase, down to league and county cups, along with all the play-off qualifying fixtures could be completed.
Those clubs not involved, especially the elite Premier League clubs, could send their first teams, youth and academy teams throughout the lower leagues in pre-season fixtures.
This would in turn benefit the lower leagues and smaller clubs and could either raise monies for charities (both local and national) or those lower level clubs who are currently in financial difficulty.
This would also benefit fitness levels for players of Non-League clubs.
Hopefully by July, social distancing will be relaxed and we are winning the war against Coronavirus, league fixture could then be prepared to allow playoff winners their rightful place (some having already won their leagues) for the new season starting in September.
Should a new season not commence in September, then all leagues could apply the NRL system of “byes” to truncate the season’s fixtures to accommodate a shortfall of available match days, with no cup replays (for one season only) and some minor competitions that may not need to take place.
There would also be complications with players’ contracts but that is also the case with the country’s workforce.
NORMAN ADAMS Walton-on-Thames