Coronavirus has cut a devastating swathe across the world and is projected to do so for the foreseeable future. Football is on a hiatus until April 30 at least, many expecting that date to be a deadline extended the closer we approach it.
We are living in such unprecedented times, no-one really knows what is going on or what will happen. There’s been talk of games behind closed doors and some observers are even saying that the season should be scratched and started again. Meetings have been held and the news coming out is that there is a genuine desire to complete the 2019/20 campaign to a successful, if late, conclusion.
Behind-closed-doors or on the pitch, football fans are just wanting to get this season kickstarted into action, games sorted out and final table placings decided. Frustration is building and will continue to do so the longer that lockdowns are enforced.
One radical idea is that the season could be ended and that the final tables decided by some form of points-per-game (ppg) applied to what games each club has left to fulfil.
Bearing that idea in mind, here’s a look at how the Sky Bet Championship table would look if the worst came t othe worst and the EFL said that they were ending the season forthwith and applying a ‘long-form’ (12-game) ppg total for all the games that Championship sides had left.
12-game ppg total – The Sky Bet Championship table
- Leeds United – 86 points
- West Bromwich Albion – 84 points
- Fulham – 81 points
- Brentford – 75 points
- Nottingham Forest – 73 points
- Preston North End – 69 points
- Bristol City – 68 points
- Blackburn – 66 points
- Millwall – 67 points
- Cardiff City – 67 points
- Derby County – 67 points
- Swansea City – 64 points
- Queens Park Rangers – 63 points
- Birmingham – 60 points
- Reading – 58 points
- Stoke City – 58 points
- Wigan Athletic – 57 points
- Sheffield Wednesday – 55 points
- Huddersfield Town – 52 points
- Middlesbrough – 49 points
- Luton Town – 49 points
- Charlton Athletic – 47 points
- Hull City – 45 points
- Barnsley – 44 points
The verdict
The imposition of a 12-match ppg solution would, of course, be an arbitrary exercise and would lead to complaints from almost every angle and direction. Its use would recognise sides going into, involved in and coming out of dips in form. What it does show is that the top of the table would pretty much end as it is now with Fulham’s current form edging them agonisingly close to taking that second spot from West Bromwich Albion but failing to catch champions Leeds United.
Long-form would also account for some shuffling in mid-table with Blackburn climbing above Millwall and Birmingham making a climb of two places above their current 16th place to finish 14th on 60 points. It’s at the other end of the table, the relegation mire where there is the most change.
Luton Town’s current form would see them lifted from their current 23rd place to 21st and they would escape relegation by just two points. Losers in that respect would be Charlton Athletic and Hull City whose form would likely see them gather just 8 and 4 points respectively over their remaining nine games of this COVID-19 struck season.
