As the situation with the Coronavirus and it’s following lockdown descended, to call a halt on the football season, without realising what it’s wider implications were, we were frustrated with the football situation.
Although the teams in my lad’s division had played varying amounts of games due to the bad weather over the previous winter months, his team had managed to play 14 out of their 18 league games. Although not realistically in with a chance of winning the league, they were in their best form of the season and hoping to chase down the three teams above them. The final four fixtures were: at home against the team second bottom, away against the team fourth bottom and both home and away versus the team in second place, who they would go level on points with if they beat them in both games.
Their last four games had seen them pick up 10 points from a possible 12.
A pair of 4-1 wins, followed by back to back games against last season’s treble winners, which resulted in a 3-2 win and a 0-0 draw. Reasons to be optimistic going into the final few weeks of the season.
But as the virus made it’s way to Europe, it became apparent that the season wouldn’t be concluded as usual and that other matters were far more important than football.
Initially, the season was suspended with the authorities unsure as to how things would unfold. As the days without football turned into weeks, it looked increasingly likely that football bodies all the way from the professional leagues right down to grassroots would have to make difficult decisions on how the season could be concluded. With various possibilities being touted of how the season would be completed, it also became clear that you can’t please all the people, all the time.
At the time of writing, the Premier League and EFL are in the process of making decisions and it’s rumoured the outcomes will soon be made public.
All leagues between steps 3-7 of the National Pyramid have had their results expunged and their clubs seasons are null and void. Any leagues below step 7 of the National Pyramid – which includes grassroots – have been given 2 options.
Option 1 – competition is brought to an immediate end with all results expunged and without any promotion and relegation.
Option 2 – league positions and promotions and relegations are resolved by points per game (PPG) calculation.
My preference would be option 2. To go through what has been a difficult season for many teams, what with the struggles through Winter just trying to get games played and come out with nothing to show for it, I think would be a great shame. Teams started preparing for this season just over 11 months ago, so to say it just didn’t happen would be a real kick in the teeth for teams, especially those in promotion places.
As previously stated, my lad’s team currently sit fourth in the league. If you use option 2’s PPG calculation, they will still be in fourth position. The three teams in the relegation places would also all remain in their current positions. Either scenario is not ideal and certainly far from normal but a decision will be made one way or the other.
Each club gets 1 vote. I may well be wrong but I think the majority will go with option 2 because within each club, it is likely that one or more of their different age groups will have the chance of getting promoted or becoming champions.
Time will tell.
The Coronavirus outbreak not only meant the suspension of the season but also an abrupt end to training. My lad hasn’t trained or played since. Not even a kickabout in the garden. I haven’t done any keeper coaching since that point. And sadly I didn’t get the chance to say thanks and well done to all the young keepers that I’ve had the pleasure of coaching this season.
Don’t get me wrong, my lad has been doing plenty of exercise, whether it be walks (long walks), running or weight training but nothing football related. This is partly because all the kids are still having to do school work, so he’s (sometimes) busy with that but also because I’m fortunate enough to have so far worked through the lockdown, so can’t put him through his paces in the space we have at home.
Over the last few weeks I’ve seen loads of challenges on Twitter and Facebook, either football, or specifically goalkeeping but he hasn’t been interested. I haven’t pushed it either. During this season he had a wobble and seemed to be falling out with his football, so I’ve been careful with how I’ve approached things and not wanted to come across as pushy or telling him he needs to do this, that, or the other.
Throughout the season, I try to film him in action on my phone. With sometimes fairly limited success. I thought it would be good to look through what footage I had, so sat down and trawled through what clips I have. I ended up putting them together and with a couple of training clips added in, it was about 7 minutes long. There are some really good bits of keeping, although two of his best saves, I didn’t get on film, they’re just stored in my head.
I wandered past him while I was watching it and his ears pricked up. “What’s that?” So I showed him. I’d already seen the saves, so I watched his expression instead of the screen. He smiled from start to finish and it was obvious he’d forgotten about some of the saves he’d made. At the end he sighed and said “God I miss football.”
So it’s great that he’s missing it but he’s also missing his team mates as hasn’t seen any of them since the 0-0 draw in their last game. Although looking on the bright side, he’s now not conceded a goal in a long, long time!
So with everything that’s going on, keep safe and keep the faith.
Keeper of the faith 