Today (Tuesday) all seventy-one member clubs of the EFL voted in an ‘Extraordinary General Meeting’ on how league positions will be determined if a vote is passed to curtail the current season due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
A majority of over 51%, including a minimum of 13 championship clubs, voted for the proposal submitted by the EFL. The proposal outlines that;
- 1. Final placings will be based on unweighted points per game (if required)
- 2. promotion and relegation should be retained
- 3. Play offs will be played in all circumstances, but will not be extended (beyond four teams)
The championship decided to carry on with league fixtures. The final placings will be determined by overall points and not points per games.
League Two assembled their member clubs and voted at roughly 2pm. The meeting was adjourned only minutes later as a huge majority of clubs voted to end the season. Only Forest Green Rovers voted to continue the season.
League One assembled their member clubs next and a vote was taken at roughly 3pm. A short while later voting was completed. 18 to 4 voted in favour of curtailing the season with one club abstaining.
It’s all well and good looking at the democracy involved in the vote, but how did it affect clubs at the summit and the base of the respective leagues?
Well start with League Two
- Champions: Swindon Town
- Promoted: Crewe Alexandra, Plymouth Argyle
- Play offs: Cheltenham Town, Exeter City, Colchester United, Northampton Town
- Relegated: Stevenage or Macclesfield Town
The winners in this league are Swindon who leapfrogged Crewe to clinch the title on points per game after being behind Crewe on Goal Difference beforehand. However, Crewe and Plymouth hold on to the automatic promotion places. Walsall are the biggest movers in League Two, jumping above Grimsby and Crawley Town. The main topic for debate on who could lose out the most in League Two is between Stevenage and Macclesfield. At present Stevenage are bottom of the league on both ppg and played season points. However, Macclesfield have been issued with a suspended three point deduction. An independent commission will decide on who is relegated to the national league. Minor changes came to Exeter City who moved below Cheltenham Town on ppg. Salford City moved below Forest Green Rovers to finish 11th instead of 10th. And finally, Grimsby dipped below Newport County, after being overtaken by Walsall.
Now let’s move on to League One
- Champion: Coventry City
- Promoted: Rotherham United
- Play Offs: Wycombe Wanderers, Oxford United, Portsmouth, Fleetwood Town
- Relegated: Tranmere Rover, Southend United, Bolton Wanderers
Wycombe are arguably the biggest winners via the points per game method. Their impressive start to the season helping massively by pushing them from eighth to third and the play off places. The other winners are Coventry City and Rotherham United, both in the automatic promotion places on points won in the playing season and after on points per game. Coventry get the title with a larger turn over of points throughout the season. Rotherham come a deserved second with the most wins in the division.
The biggest ‘losers’ are Peterborough United and Tranmere Rovers. Posh were occupying the last play off place before the Covid-19 pandemic halted football. But ppg has nudged them out after finishing level on points with Wycombe and Sunderland, with Posh having a superior Goal Difference they are very unfortunate to miss out. Tranmere were given 50/50 odds to survive should the season have continued. With a game in hand over Wimbledon and only three points behind, Tranmere could’ve survived and stayed up. Unfortunately they are condemned to League Two after being oh so close.
Lincoln City also dipped below Shrewsbury Town via ppg after getting one more point during the playing season and finished sixteenth. Their proposal of putting points deductions onto points per game was also considered by the EFL. Ipswich dipped below Gillingham under the same circumstances and finished eleventh. Their proposal was dismissed by the seventy one club vote.
Finally, let’s look at the Championship
Normal service will resume on June 20th, without the helping hand of fans in the stadiums. Barnsley have had their proposal of no relegation across the EFL rejected in favour of the EFL’s own proposal of keeping relegation as it is
It is unknown when football will start for the the 2020/21 season. We still have the Championship, Premier League, and FA Cup conclusions to look forward to.
The Wandering Yorkshireman 