Coronavirus and the Scottish Championship

[Thereisalight..]

Just now, Mr. Alli said:

There will be a few boys on here that see that and assume their screen just turned into a mirror I reckon. 

No doubt! Thankfully I’m not a baldy and have a few less chins than that fella

[Parttimesupporter]

31 minutes ago, Mr. Alli said:

Jim Traynor's better looking brother?

[johnnydun]

1 hour ago, da_no_1 said:

submit a claim then join the queue

It's 6 days for payment after submitting a claim.

[da_no_1]

It's 6 days for payment after submitting a claim.

If that's the case for every single claim then it does seem harsh to punt them all.

[rb123!]

Get a feeling it won't be far off that

[Paisley Ton]

1 hour ago, rb123! said:

Get a feeling it won't be far off that

Feck someone suggested Jan 2021 and got put down .

Let it be Jan a new year start please, much better than Feb or might as well just finish last season off.

[RossBFaeDundee]

Perhaps a more detailed idea of next season's plan, with the possibility of an expanded Championship and only 2 leagues being played, along with how games would be streamed. Still largely hypothetical of course.

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/sport/football/scottish-league-1/1326449/exclusive-lower-league-spfl-divide-opening-up-with-a-full-mothballed-season-a-possibility-for-some/

Edited May 23, 2020 by RossBFaeDundee

[Dunning1874]

5 hours ago, RossBFaeDundee said:

Perhaps a more detailed idea of next season's plan, with the possibility of an expanded Championship and only 2 leagues being played, along with how games would be streamed. Still largely hypothetical of course.

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/sport/football/scottish-league-1/1326449/exclusive-lower-league-spfl-divide-opening-up-with-a-full-mothballed-season-a-possibility-for-some/

If those figures are accurate, I don't see how Championship clubs are going to find £12K a month for testing either while playing behind closed doors, on top of paying players, staff and all their other running costs. That's the kind of money that would need to be funded centrally by the SPFL or SFA to make this remotely achievable, and where they'd be able to find that kind of money I don't know.

[renton]

4 minutes ago, Dunning1874 said:

If those figures are accurate, I don't see how Championship clubs are going to find £12K a month for testing either while playing behind closed doors, on top of paying players, staff and all their other running costs. That's the kind of money that would need to be funded centrally by the SPFL or SFA to make this remotely achievable, and where they'd be able to find that kind of money I don't know.

Would some of those costs be conditional dependent on what phase of lockdown exit Scotland happened to be in? 

[Rob1885]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-8350061/Dunfermline-chairman-Ross-McArthur-says-axe-17-players.html

[SpoonTon]

Budge will be smelling blood here. A chance to reconstruct to get Hearts in the top flight while getting rid of a number of League One/Two clubs. That's her dream scenario. 

[Homer Thompson]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-8350061/Dunfermline-chairman-Ross-McArthur-says-axe-17-players.html

Odd that he mentions furlough but doesn't actually explain why they couldn't extend it.

Took the manager off furlough to make him tell the players... stay classy Dunfermline

[Derry Alli]

39 minutes ago, Mr X said:

Took the manager off furlough to make him tell the players... stay classy Dunfermline

A move that will actually cost the club money as they'll have to repay his 'furlough' wages back to the government as he returned early. 

[DeeTillEhDeh]

Budge will be smelling blood here. A chance to reconstruct to get Hearts in the top flight while getting rid of a number of League One/Two clubs. That's her dream scenario. 

Hearts might be one of those clubs in financial trouble by all accounts.

[DA Baracus]

1 hour ago, Mr X said:

Odd that he mentions furlough but doesn't actually explain why they couldn't extend it.

Took the manager off furlough to make him tell the players... stay classy Dunfermline

That might be a shite move.

Or perhaps the manager wanted to tell the players so asked to be able to do it and you're twisting it to make out that he was forced to do it. The manager will know the players and have a closer relationship with them than the chairman.

No idea either way. And neither do you. If it is as you say then it's very poor indeed and questions about the chairman's position need to be asked.

This isn't a defence of the decision to not extend the contracts and furlough the players though. That needs to be explained as soon as possible. It's looking really bad and, worse, is a shite way to treat the players. If there's no reasonable explanation for not doing it then questions need to be asked about the chairman and board's positions. 

[San Starko Rover]

Don’t get how this regional Hubs with a crowd will work. Any team playing at home every match is getting a huge advantage over teams playing away. How’s it going to work with a crowd, again the teams at home could pull up to their current support (depends on limit set) but a team playing away will have a much reduced support as only a % of their support will make the trip and how would that work anyway? So we say maximum of 500 fans (as an example) great for teams at home but how do the 500 fans from other towns get there as I’m assuming we’re not using coaches or public transport. What about the Bigot Brothers, there fans are from all over the place are they limited to Glasgow based fans?

Hub teams

Home advantage
Bigger crowd potential
No travel costs for fans (assuming SPFL cover team)

Away teams

Always away
Reduced support
Travel costs to fans
Reduced travel options for fans

Basically every Hub team will have a huge advantage over the away teams and unless the gate money is divided fairly the away teams will be at a massive disadvantage and that’s before we get to teams always playing at home, how often do teams lose at home compared to away?

[da_no_1]

That might be a shite move.
Or perhaps the manager wanted to tell the players so asked to be able to do it and you're twisting it to make out that he was forced to do it. The manager will know the players and have a closer relationship with them than the chairman.
No idea either way. And neither do you. If it is as you say then it's very poor indeed and questions about the chairman's position need to be asked.
This isn't a defence of the decision to not extend the contracts and furlough the players though. That needs to be explained as soon as possible. It's looking really bad and, worse, is a shite way to treat the players. If there's no reasonable explanation for not doing it then questions need to be asked about the chairman and board's positions. 

Probably similar to Countys likely position. Will you be calling for their chairman to be punted?

"Having advice on the matter, MacGregor feels it would be “dishonest” to exploit the furlough scheme for players the Staggies would otherwise not retain.
MacGregor said: “We have had some advice from authorities, legal advice and also some HMRC advice.
“We think it’s challenging because keeping players on that you’re not going to sign in many ways is dishonest and that’s not why the scheme was set up.
“Keeping people on furlough when maybe the rest of the people in the club are training is not a scenario I think is right either.
“I do sympathise because there will be a lot of players who fall out of contract in June and if there was a way legally, or a way supported by the government we might take a different view on it.
“At the moment we don’t see that as correct and it would be dishonest for the club.

“That’s where our legal advice comes from and until someone from HMRC or a higher authority reassures us that’s not the case, that’s probably where we stand.”

[Rob1885]

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/sport/football/ross-county/2209884/staggies-will-not-exploit-furlough-scheme-for-out-of-contract-players-says-macgregor/

[SueSue]

2 minutes ago, da_no_1 said:

Probably similar to Countys likely position. Will you be calling for their chairman to be punted?

"Having advice on the matter, MacGregor feels it would be “dishonest” to exploit the furlough scheme for players the Staggies would otherwise not retain.
MacGregor said: “We have had some advice from authorities, legal advice and also some HMRC advice.
“We think it’s challenging because keeping players on that you’re not going to sign in many ways is dishonest and that’s not why the scheme was set up.
“Keeping people on furlough when maybe the rest of the people in the club are training is not a scenario I think is right either.
“I do sympathise because there will be a lot of players who fall out of contract in June and if there was a way legally, or a way supported by the government we might take a different view on it.
“At the moment we don’t see that as correct and it would be dishonest for the club.

“That’s where our legal advice comes from and until someone from HMRC or a higher authority reassures us that’s not the case, that’s probably where we stand.”

The furlough system is to prevent making staff unemployed. Normally players are released with options or clubs to potentially move to. That is not the case at present. 
So clubs are entitled to use the furlough system to keep all employees paid........ IF THEY WISH TO DO SO.

Not sure where Dunfermline are saving any money,  as a Furlouged employee costs a business nothing.

 

[DA Baracus]

6 minutes ago, da_no_1 said:

Probably similar to Countys likely position. Will you be calling for their chairman to be punted?

"Having advice on the matter, MacGregor feels it would be “dishonest” to exploit the furlough scheme for players the Staggies would otherwise not retain.
MacGregor said: “We have had some advice from authorities, legal advice and also some HMRC advice.
“We think it’s challenging because keeping players on that you’re not going to sign in many ways is dishonest and that’s not why the scheme was set up.
“Keeping people on furlough when maybe the rest of the people in the club are training is not a scenario I think is right either.
“I do sympathise because there will be a lot of players who fall out of contract in June and if there was a way legally, or a way supported by the government we might take a different view on it.
“At the moment we don’t see that as correct and it would be dishonest for the club.

“That’s where our legal advice comes from and until someone from HMRC or a higher authority reassures us that’s not the case, that’s probably where we stand.”

I don't care who runs Ross County, so no.

I completely disagree with him too. This is one of the things the furlough scheme was set up for.