Extending the season? It's a reasonable request...

A New Year; a new start... only many football clubs can't actually start their 2021 fixtures!

Problems linked to Covid continue to play havoc with football schedules up and down the country and discussions in regards to 'extending the season' have already surfaced - something which, in my opinion, is a perfectly reasonable request.

Salford City. EFL Trophy finalists who still don't know when (or where) they'll play their final.

As things stand, Accrington Stanley are the club struggling the most to play 'catch up' having completed just 16 of their scheduled 46 games in League One. Their meeting with Portsmouth this weekend was postponed due to a frozen pitch and, added to five other league games which they've got to re-arrange, they've also got a pointless EFL Trophy trip to Lincoln City set for later this month.

To be on schedule to complete their fixtures 'on time' by Saturday 8th May (which, barring no extension, will be the last day of the League One campaign), they'll need to have played at least 22 matches by Friday 19th February and also be out of every cup competition by that date. Should they achieve the '22' figure in time, it'd still mean a game every midweek thereafter, including either side of Easter and also on international weekend (currently set for Saturday 27th March). There also simply wouldn't be scope for any further postponements whether it be for Covid, poor weather or other reasons.

I'm not altogether convinced by the idea a 'circuit-breaker' would work because if there's a gap now and there's subsequently poor weather in February/March (as has sometimes happened in the past) we're back to 'Square One' and there'll be talk of extending the season once again.

However, with Covid issues prevalent at so many clubs, plus bad winter weather causing problems, then the Football League (or The EFL or whatever they want to call themselves) need to step in and make a decision pretty damn soon!

As it stands, their 'leadership' (or rather, lack of it) has been, quite frankly, a complete and utter shambles and it's led to ridiculous situations where clubs have been forced into playing games against their wishes - the latest being AFC Wimbledon vs Lincoln City this afternoon which went ahead despite Covid issues at both clubs. Similar things have also occurred at Sunderland and Rotherham United in recent weeks; both wanted to postpone but feared they could be reprimanded and have points docked if they did so!

My view is that if any games can genuinely be played at present then they ought to be as it's one game less to be concerned with later on in the season, but if there are problems then games simply shouldn't be happening - if you knowingly owned a car with faulty brakes, you wouldn't go out for a drive in it and Covid, ultimately, can be a life or death issue!

Whilst I can sympathise with the Football League for the unprecedented challenges they've faced over the past nine months, when they force games to be played against club's wishes (and maybe even medical advice), it constitutes unacceptable conduct - if not gross misconduct, complete negligence on their behalf and people should be sacked for coercive behaviour.

In my own humble opinion, the Football League's 'leadership' is worse now than at any other point since 22 clubs ditched them to form the Premier League in the early 1990s. This was apparent even before the pandemic considering the way in which the financial problems at Bolton Wanderers, Bury and Macclesfield Town were handled and whenever this pandemic does come to an end and 'normal' life resumes, a massive overhaul of their organisation needs to happen!

To give another poor example of the Football League's judgement; why does the EFL Trophy actually exist this season? Seriously? Why is it happening?

The Papa John's Trophy - but who actually cares about this competition this season?

Portsmouth and Salford City still haven't completed last season's final - nor has a date actually been set for that game at present. The competition didn't even have a sponsor when it began in September and, even though Papa John's Pizzas have since gobbled up the naming rights, there's little appetite for the competition - whether it be amongst clubs or supporters!

If one competition should have been forfeited for this season, it needed to be this one. I know the Premier League have provided monies (specific amounts I'm unsure of) to have their Under 21s teams participate but even in the current climate with fans prevented from attending - not that they'd turn out in huge numbers anyway, it's doubtful that a financial incentive actually exists once you factor in things such as appearance monies, bonuses, matchday costs, etc, just to get the game played.

In a season where FA Cup replays have been scrapped, when UEFA (the biggest body in European club football) made qualifying ties for their competitions 'one-legged' affairs and when even obscure leagues such as the Northern Counties East League (operating at Steps 5/6 of the non-league pyramid) have scrapped their cup competitions altogether, it seems even more mind-boggling that the Football League have wasted four midweek slots on pointless games in the Papa John's Trophy.

Those games don't need to happen and, even now - midway through the season, if this year's competition was scrapped altogether, it's doubtful that there'd be many complaints.

In any case, what I'd like to see happen (or what I feel is the best solution) with regards to the rest of the 'proper' season is the following:

For both footballing and financial reasons, the Football League should put every effort into ensuring The Championship season is completed 'on time' in May. As many squads at that level have international players (many of whom will play in the European Championship in the summer), plus the fact they're already a few games further ahead in their schedules than League One and League Two clubs, it should take priority and I can't see any reason why anyone would disagree. I suspect the Premier League will finish 'on time' so The Championship needs to be as closely aligned to the top flight as is realistically possible.

After that, it would be perfectly understandable if the seasons for League One and League Two are extended by some weeks, although certainly not beyond Wednesday 30th June otherwise it would cause numerous issues with players' contracts as has already been pointed out by Accrington boss John Coleman.

For reasons of sporting integrity, it's important that the divisions are actually completed this year and not finalised again using a calculated 'Points Per Game' method or, the other alternative, which is forcing some clubs to potentially play Saturday-Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday in order to meet the current end date. 

If PPG is used, it's integrity would be questionable when there's already a large discrepancy in the number of games played between various clubs. Furthermore, if clubs are forced to play three or four times a week because they've had games postponed through no fault of their own - sometimes because the opposition have had issues, it's completely unfair and unjust and risks sporting integrity.

Viewed from my eyes, an extension to the season to grant several clubs the proper time to complete their games seems a 'no-brainer' and, even though we've been in this predicament previously, it's possible that with a vaccination roll-out some fans might actually be back in stadiums by May/June.

If an extension was granted, the Play-Offs could still take place as normal. The finals don't need to be at Wembley; the fact it's where the finals usually take place is just a needless 'gimmick' by the Football League. Nowadays, there are various stadiums across the country which won't be in use at the European Championships which would still be more than fitting to stage a Play-Off Final.

This solution wouldn't suit everyone and there'd no doubt be complaints from international players at League One/Two clubs who have a genuine chance of competing at Euro 2020 and may have to choose between one or the other. Or, whoever wins promotion from League One, might bemoan the fact they'd have less time to prepare for a Championship campaign than every other club at that level.

The important thing is to compromise, to understand, be respectful, to gather opinions and to ultimately come up with a solution which works best for as many possible.

I doubt anyone from the Football League will read this blog post or even care. Ultimately, when they're showing such contempt for their own member clubs in forcing them to play games against their will, why are they going to listen to what a mere outsider thinks - even if the outsider is perhaps talking sense?

We'll see what happens!