SPFL and Covid ( Leagues 1 and 2 to restart )

[jamboozy]

1 minute ago, jonnothejambo said:

I wonder what today's panel of 'experts' on Sportsound will make if all this today. 

 

Sense from Tom English.

Some legal shite with a few big words thrown in from Michael Stewart.

Inane drivel from others.

Utter shite from Willie Woodentop Miller.

 

Giggles from Dick Gordon.

 

Think I'll cut the grass again.

😂 tie yer hat on Jonno.

[Mikey1874]

10 hours ago, downunder jambo said:

When a date to re-commence playing has finally been decided a roll call of all 42 clubs should be taken to see who will be able to play as of that date. Any team who decides they won't be able to play should be replaced by another team, even from a lower division. Once we know who is still standing and how many teams are left, the composition of the  leagues can be determined - eg number of leagues, number of teams in each league etc.

 

9 hours ago, weegie jambo said:

If the Premiership is given the green light then I don't see why, if it's safe, the Championship and L1 & 2 cant start too. The lower league teams should be made to play even if it means pulling 11 guys out of The Dog & Duck pub team to represent Dunfermline or QOS. I'm not into this opinion that only teams who can field their strongest team should compete, that smacks of the unfair rules we have been campaigning against all along. The well run and fiscally prudent clubs will soon rise to the top.

 

It's unclear who will decide. 3 Championship teams not wanting to play is just talk. 

 

Where do the SPFL rules stand? I assumed the proposals to start would come from through the Joint Response Group. There might be consultation with clubs but Dunfermline don't get to decide when the league starts.

 

Same as saying Hearts refuse to be relegated. 

[wavydavy]

8 minutes ago, 1874robbo said:

I imagine if he was still around he would have bankrolled the best legal time you could find.

 

I sure he would have . But he still left them in a sound financial position to his credit.

[husref musemic]

 

well put.

[wavydavy]

2 minutes ago, Mikey1874 said:

 

 

It's unclear who will decide. 3 Championship teams not wanting to play is just talk. 

 

Where do the SPFL rules stand? I assumed the proposals to start would come from through the Joint Response Group. There might be consultation with clubs but Dunfermline don't get to decide when the league starts.

 

Same as saying Hearts refuse to be relegated. 

 

 

I doubt there will be a rule that covers something such as Covid 19 however that will not stop them doing what they usually do and make it up as they go along with a bit of help from Celtic.

Edited May 23, 2020 by wavydavy

[Fozzyonthefence]

8 minutes ago, John Findlay said:

You are the most pessimistic person I've ever seen post on here. BT covered the last Edinburgh derby. Do your homework and stop spouting total Tom Kite.

What does it matter who covered it?  I was commenting on the viewing figures not who broadcast it and repeating a post from yesterday or the day before.  Did you shoot that poster down in flames too or is it just my posts you jump over?

 

This is from 2018 but shows viewing figures for different games.  50,000 and 127,000 for 2 Edinburgh derbies, the latter being the same as Aberdeen v Celtic. 

[EIEIO]

5 minutes ago, jonnothejambo said:

I wonder what today's panel of 'experts' on Sportsound will make if all this today. 

 

Sense from Tom English.

Some legal shite with a few big words thrown in from Michael Stewart.

Inane drivel from others.

Utter shite from Willie Woodentop Miller.

 

Giggles from Dick Gordon.

 

Think I'll cut the grass again.

Hold on to your hat @jonnothejambo 50 mph winds forecast for today.

[colinmaroon]

12 minutes ago, jonnothejambo said:

 

Meanwhile he pockets £390k per annum.

 

You couldn't make it up.

 

Reconstruction has little or no effect on Celtic so why should he get involved in actually doing the job he's supposed to be doing.

 

PS I don't think he has the ability to do it anyway.  He's a glorified clerk.  See the Hobbit for a perfect metaphor of Llawell and Doncaster.

 

 

[IronJambo]

44 minutes ago, John Findlay said:

You know even Neil McCann's opinion can be wrong. Sky know their market and yes 4 OF games is desirable, but Sky also know that the Edinburgh derby and Hearts against any of the OF and Aberdeen are big draws. Their viewing figures tell them that. 

Sky in turn let their potential advertisers know this. 

Heart of Midlothian are a big draw for Sky.

Their viewing figures tell them that Scottish football isn't worth it to them without the ugly sisters. Hearts aren't a big deal to them at all.

[DETTY29]

6 minutes ago, jonnothejambo said:

I wonder what today's panel of 'experts' on Sportsound will make if all this today. 

 

Sense from Tom English.

Some legal shite with a few big words thrown in from Michael Stewart.

Inane drivel from others.

Utter shite from Willie Woodentop Miller.

 

Giggles from Dick Gordon.

 

Think I'll cut the grass again.

Tip for Sportsound if Miller must be on.

 

Give him 2 minutes at start, then cut him off.

[Selkirkhmfc1874]

5 minutes ago, Worthing Jambo said:

Just a tiny, tiny wee hint then.

Go on, you know you want to.

😁

A do want to your right but a don't want to step on sughtons toes ! All I'll say is if true all is Hearts supporters will be happy 

[Ethan Hunt]

9 hours ago, ToqueJambo said:

 

It's a global pandemic and we've just been unfairly demoted with 8 games to go. We've got every justification for cutting costs and will be able to find a way. Many players have relegation clauses. No player is going to expect to get his full Premiership salary with us in these conditions. 

The wage cuts already taken by the players were to a level that would be their championship wage. No player - without further agreement from them - will be taking a further cut. We’ve been a few weeks ahead of the curve but we have cut all we can on player wages. Clause 12 is the way to go unfortunately.

[Fozzyonthefence]

3 minutes ago, IronJambo said:

Their viewing figures tell them that Scottish football isn't worth it to them without the ugly sisters. Hearts aren't a big deal to them at all.

Careful, you’ll get accused of being the most pessimistic poster for talking sense like that!

[Marvin]

 

I see hibs were first to start social distancing. Hopefully I have embedded from the correct point if not you want to start from 0:42. 

[Jamboelite]

Just to put into context for those that say we are in a better position than most.

 

Our operating costs were £800k a month, even with wage cuts and stripping back everything do we actually believe £135k from FOH and what £100k a month equivalent in ST sales (3000*£300/12) is going to cover that ?

 

We are going to be running at a loss and a significant one I'm not sure how long we could do that for before we are in trouble.

 

Yes there will be a parachute payment and merchandise sales but that wont be alot of cash.

 

Make no mistake we are in the shit at present.

[Anything2]

I remember an article from the Setanta days, viewing figures have obviously changed since then, but the jist of it was that Sky had something like 600,000 for the OF game and about 450,000 for an English championship game while Setanta has over 100,000 for the Edinburgh Derby. However the point of the article was that when you look at the volume of prescriptions, the majority of Setanta subscribers watched the Edinburgh Derby where as something like 20% of Sky subscribers watched the OF game or championship game. The moral of the story was that if you sell the Scottish game as a premier reason for taking a subscription then people are interested and will watch. Whereas if it is tagged on as a bonus feature to the EPL, the perception is that it's not a main event and only some customers watch even though they have already paid for the match as part of the subscription. 

[Pilmuir]

35 minutes ago, SectionDJambo said:

It's hard to argue against the belief that the SPFL is run by Celtic, for the benefit of Celtic,  with a few crumbs thrown around for clubs like St Mirren and Hibs,  to keep them onside.

This whole current scenario of clubs not being able to operate behind closed doors, should have been part of a wide ranging discussion, hosted by the SPFL board, at the time of the Good Friday vote fiasco. Instead, awarding Celtic the title, and looking after the self interest of a few board friendly clubs, took precidence over trying to protect the whole entity of the SPFL. Doncaster has been shown up to be nothing but a Lawwell puppet, with no initiative or drive to help the member clubs he gets paid handsomely to represent. He should be the subject of a vote of no confidence by the clubs, but the Celtic cabal will prevent this.

For any faults that Ann Budge may have had in her overseeing of the football at Tynecastle, she is the only person with the courage, and necessary thick skin, to try to show some leadership by actually communicating with the clubs to try to find a solution to the dire straits Scottish football is in. Yet, some clubs have the brass neck to accuse her of only having self interest at heart, when they have been happy to expose other clubs to financial ruin in an attempt to gain an advantage.

We haven't heard a peep from Dempster, or her task force, since the "hub" nonsense, which only catered for her club and the rest of the Premiership, when we were told it would be seeking a solution for all the clubs. 

The SPFL, and those of it's member clubs who blindly or fearfully follow them, are certainly the laughing stock in this.

Very much agree with all of that.

 

Sadly, it seems that the outcome will be Budge/Hearts getting blamed for everything. Convenient.

[wavydavy]

3 minutes ago, Ethan Hunt said:

The wage cuts already taken by the players were to a level that would be their championship wage. No player - without further agreement from them - will be taking a further cut. We’ve been a few weeks ahead of the curve but we have cut all we can on player wages. Clause 12 is the way to go unfortunately.

 

There are a number of players coming to the end of their contracts as well not to mention Levein and McPhee with John Murray possibly about to retire.

 

Add to that the usual cull of out of favour or fringe players and we could be saving a large chunk of money every month. Bauer and Mason are examples and I am sure there could be quite a few more.

Edited May 23, 2020 by wavydavy

[Guess The Crowd]

13 minutes ago, jonnothejambo said:

I wonder what today's panel of 'experts' on Sportsound will make if all this today. 

 

Sense from Tom English.

Some legal shite with a few big words thrown in from Michael Stewart.

Inane drivel from others.

Utter shite from Willie Woodentop Miller.

 

Giggles from Dick Gordon.

 

Think I'll cut the grass again.

 

😀 Nailed it, as ever. 

[AlimOzturk]

3 minutes ago, Jamboelite said:

Just to put into context for those that say we are in a better position than most.

 

Our operating costs were £800k a month, even with wage cuts and stripping back everything do we actually believe £135k from FOH and what £100k a month equivalent in ST sales (3000*£300/12) is going to cover that ?

 

We are going to be running at a loss and a significant one I'm not sure how long we could do that for before we are in trouble.

 

Yes there will be a parachute payment and merchandise sales but that wont be alot of cash.

 

Make no mistake we are in the shit at present.

 

Think if we are in trouble the fans will bail the club out - again. There is simply no comparison in football when it comes to the loyality Hearts fans show when this club is in jeopardy. I have zero doubts that once again we would step like we have always done. 

 

We also have benefactors as well. 

Edited May 23, 2020 by AlimOzturk

[Tokyo Drifter]

1 hour ago, chrisyboy7 said:

Sky are very short sighted then as the Edinburgh derby is a hugely watched game.  They would surely want to maximise advertising revenue when shoeing these games. 

 

I just wonder if Sky's intervention might be the thing that ends up helping us. The SPFL  are so brazenly  biased towards the needs of the Ugly Sisters that it wouldn't surprise me if they were willing to let reconstruction go ahead to please Sky, i.e. to ensure Edinburgh derbies to run alongside the Glasgow ones.  

[Ethan Hunt]

9 hours ago, Last Laff said:

It will be a major concern if AB doesn’t rubbish this by tomorrow.  The paper has literally got us in a begging position based on sources from other clubs.  This must be rectified and get the record to **** forever.  There has to be clarification from Ann tomorrow regardless as silenced has been deafening.

 

****ing fantasyland opinion of getting millions and clubs going down the tubes to pay us random money has to stop too.  Everyone has got it wrong since this whole shit happened, same fantasising over Levein getttinf more time to get the squad right and a wonderful youth side of things about to bear fruit 2 years ago. 
 

Get ****ing real.  Who the **** is to say we will win any lawsuit? It’s grim as **** and fantasy lawyers don’t make it any better.

 

If Ann is pleading with the other clubs to save us through reconstruction I hope loads of you on here stop acting like jumped up huns also.  
 

I’m sick of all this shit.  Nobody is doing this directly because it’s hearts apart from maybe the vermin.  Nobody else cares what club is bottom of the league. 

It’s all just noise. AB will ignore it and so should every other jambo.

[Marvin]

Just now, AlimOzturk said:

 

Think if we are in trouble the fans will bail the club out - again. There is simply no comparison in football when it comes to the loyality Hearts fans show when this club is in jeopardy. I have zero doubts that once again we would step like we have always done. 

 

Absolutely this.

[Pilmuir]

14 minutes ago, jonnothejambo said:

I wonder what today's panel of 'experts' on Sportsound will make if all this today. 

 

Sense from Tom English.

Some legal shite with a few big words thrown in from Michael Stewart.

Inane drivel from others.

Utter shite from Willie Woodentop Miller.

 

Giggles from Dick Gordon.

 

Think I'll cut the grass again.

 

BBC Sport referring repeatedly this morning to "Hearts proposal" as if it was just about us. It's either a deliberate campaign to isolate the club or incredibly sloppy reporting. Or maybe both.

[Paint the town maroon]

1 hour ago, Deevers said:

Sorry it’s not only unfair, it’s also unlawful. They have voted to expel us from the league before all the seasons fixtures could be completed and now put us in a position where our ability to operate commercially is under threat. It’s a clear case of unlawful restriction of trade. It would be a totally different matter if the season had been completed and we had been bottom and in the relegation position. That was not the case. That position I think is going to be hammered home to them shortly.

Its not unlawful. Please. The clubs voted for it. It’s a members organisation.

[Jamboelite]

8 minutes ago, AlimOzturk said:

 

Think if we are in trouble the fans will bail the club out - again. There is simply no comparison in football when it comes to the loyality Hearts fans show when this club is in jeopardy. I have zero doubts that once again we would step like we have always done. 

 

We also have benefactors as well. 

Alot of fans may not have the cash this time round.

 

The same could be said for the benefactors.

 

its not going to be easy....

 

 

[Seymour M Hersh]

12 minutes ago, Marvin said:

 

I see hibs were first to start social distancing. Hopefully I have embedded from the correct point if not you want to start from 0:42. 

 

Just another mythical "first" for them. 

[braveheart]

5 minutes ago, AlimOzturk said:

 

Think if we are in trouble the fans will bail the club out - again. There is simply no comparison in football when it comes to the loyality Hearts fans show when this club is in jeopardy. I have zero doubts that once again we would step like we have always done. 

 

We also have benefactors as well. 

For me the club has to show some backbone if reconstruction talks fail.by taking it to court for compensation it will unite the majority of hearts fans and hopefully keep the club afloat.

[David Black]

8 minutes ago, Ethan Hunt said:

It’s all just noise. AB will ignore it and so should every other jambo.

Exactly, why people bother with the DR is beyond me. They clearly have an agenda against Hearts and as such should be banned from Tynecastle.

[jock _turd]

6 minutes ago, Pilmuir said:

 

BBC Sport referring repeatedly this morning to "Hearts proposal" as if it was just about us. It's either a deliberate campaign to isolate the club or incredibly sloppy reporting. Or maybe both.

 

I think you nailed it with the first option. I don't need to tell anybody on here that the media have singled us out to be the whipping boy for the shambles that the board of the SPFL and Celtic have handed Scottish football. It annoys me that the panel on the BBC are getting away with it but there is not one, with the possible exception of TE, that have the bottle to come out and say " hold on a minute this a problem that is not of Hearts making and they stand to lose a huge sum of earning because of it".

 

edit

Although I have to say we are not doing ourselves any favours by continuing to do ND's bidding. AB should have told him to shove it and that we would see him in court! This league reconstruction is simply not going to get passed the voting system is very heavily weighted against it being passed. 

Edited May 23, 2020 by jock _turd

[Ethan Hunt]

1 minute ago, wavydavy said:

 

There are a number of players coming to the end of their contracts as well not to mention Levein and McPhee with John Murray possibly about to retire.

 

Add to that the usual cull of out of favour or fringe players and we could be saving a large chunk of money every month. Bauer and Mason are examples and I am sure there could be quite a few more.

I meant in terms of the staff we have left. It was interesting to read that Jamie Brandon and Lewis Moore have both been offered new contracts. Hardly the decision of a club who is going to go to the wall according to the DR article. As far as the wages of the players who will be remaining with us go, they have already been cut to Championship level. There won’t be further courts there unless the players agree.

 

I agree we will be making savings by losing some players. None of those are high earners though but everything counts. CL and AMcP leaving saves us effectively 2 and 1/2 months FOH money.

 

In my opinion the Hearts board have shown to be creative thinkers in terms of finding ways to increase income streams. I am confident they will come up with innovative ways to bring in more income as we move forward.

 

 

 

 

[rogers]

8 minutes ago, Paint the town maroon said:

Its not unlawful. Please. The clubs voted for it. It’s a members organisation.

It is unlawful. I think you have missed the plot. Give you a clue..the resolution and Dundee's vote...

[Psychedelicropcircle]

The championship should KO when the prem KO’s. If you want to mothball your club for the long term then it should simply be your willing opponent be rewarded a 3-0 victory. No ill will towards any bar Dundee in that league, but January may come & go without fans returning. It’s about getting through the nomark league ASAP.

[Koolkeith]

11 minutes ago, Pilmuir said:

 

BBC Sport referring repeatedly this morning to "Hearts proposal" as if it was just about us. It's either a deliberate campaign to isolate the club or incredibly sloppy reporting. Or maybe both.

That’s my bug bear. The original proposals were from a group of about 17 different clubs. Ann is only heading it up on behalf of working group. No one is going on about Hibs’s proposals for getting the season started etc.

[Boof]

7 minutes ago, Pilmuir said:

 

BBC Sport referring repeatedly this morning to "Hearts proposal" as if it was just about us. It's either a deliberate campaign to isolate the club or incredibly sloppy reporting. Or maybe both.

 

Both, I'd imagine.

 

A question I'd like answered is why does it have to be Ann Budge who has to put together a reconstruction proposal? Is she doing this as part of an SPFL group this time or just by herself (and by herself I mean her own team).

 

Surely, SURELY it must be the job of  an overpaid administrative type to find a workable solution to a scenario that, as it currently stands, does not treat every club fairly...not the CEO of one if the clubs most likely to be harmed by the overpaid administrator's actions.

 

 

 

And if there's some Championship clubs claiming that they can't play - **** off oot the road and let some in who can. SPFL should draw up a fixture list, determine a start date (when that's possible to do so under government advice) and give clubs a week to decide aye or nay as to whether or not they can fulfil it. Fixture list can easily be drawn up as Team 1 v Team 2 to avoid naming clubs.

[kila]

31 minutes ago, Worthing Jambo said:

The BT coverage was far superior to Sky.

In the current economic climate I can only see Sky looking to cut costs rather than invest.

As the Sky insider on here says, they are gaining more subscribers per month than they lose, so there is no incentive for them to invest any more resources into Scottish football.

As long as they have their OF tv they are happy.

 

BBC Alba put more effort in for the whole game than Sky - cost isn't the issue just people who care and try.

 

Using the viewing figures post from the previous page, here's some rough averages/guestimates (assuming all top 6 of course!). OF (home) v Hearts is rarely shown on TV, so I won't count them. Also this isn't including Hearts v St Mirren/Hamilton etc as I imagine they'll vary between 20k - 50k.

 

4 x Old Firm games

= 2 million viewers

 

2 x Hearts v Celtic (160,000 per game)

2 x Hearts v Rangers (160,000 per game)

4 x Hearts v Hibs  (110,00 per game)

3 x Hearts v Aberdeen (60,000 per game)

= 1.5 million viewers

 

 

OK these figures are somewhat pulled out of the air but the point is the OF derby viewing figures are not the sole earner for broadcaster with more obviously watching non-OF derbies in total.

 

 

[Homme]

Tell you what for all ABs faults I don't think we could have a better person in charge to get us through this financially. 

[Riccarton3]

5 minutes ago, David Black said:

Exactly, why people bother with the DR is beyond me. They clearly have an agenda against Hearts and as such should be banned from Tynecastle.

Do folk think their spin is ever going to be positive towards Hearts?  A complete waste of time.

[Gambo]

24 minutes ago, Pilmuir said:

 

. It's either a deliberate campaign to isolate the club

It is from all in the game, the written media, radio and tv.

 

What have we done to deserve this?

 

There is no one out there fighting our corner but very very many fighting for our demise.

 

🤬 the lot of them.

 

Take them down!

 

 

Edited May 23, 2020 by Gambo

[rory78]

26 minutes ago, Fozzyonthefence said:

What does it matter who covered it?  I was commenting on the viewing figures not who broadcast it and repeating a post from yesterday or the day before.  Did you shoot that poster down in flames too or is it just my posts you jump over?

 

This is from 2018 but shows viewing figures for different games.  50,000 and 127,000 for 2 Edinburgh derbies, the latter being the same as Aberdeen v Celtic. 

It also depends on the English game live at the same time - if we're up against Liverpool v Utd the numbers are ONLY going to really include Hearts or Hibs fans but if we're only game on the numbers are bound to be significantly higher

[Beni]

6 minutes ago, jock _turd said:

 

I think you nailed it with the first option. I don't need to tell anybody on here that the media have singled us out to be the whipping boy for the shambles that the board of the SPFL and Celtic have handed Scottish football. It annoys me that the panel on the BBC are getting away with it but there is not one, with the possible exception of TE, that have the bottle to come out and say " hold on a minute this a problem that is not of Hearts making and they stand to lose a huge sum of earning because of it".

 

edit

Although I have to say we are not doing ourselves any favours by continuing to do ND's bidding. AB should have told him to shove it and that we would see him in court! This league reconstruction is simply not going to get passed the voting system is very heavily weighted against it being passed. 

Agree with your last paragraph, Ann took the first reconstruction talks at face value, but it was rejected before she even got the chance to do her presentation. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice, shame in me.

[John Findlay]

28 minutes ago, IronJambo said:

Their viewing figures tell them that Scottish football isn't worth it to them without the ugly sisters. Hearts aren't a big deal to them at all.

I disagree.

[Fozzyonthefence]

13 minutes ago, Paint the town maroon said:

Its not unlawful. Please. The clubs voted for it. It’s a members organisation.

The Dundee vote and, therefore, the result of the resolution was unlawful.  That’s not my opinion but the opinion of a senior QC.  What’s so hard to understand?  Why are you so determined for a legal challenge to fail?  Christ, to think I get accused of being the most pessimistic poster as well!  I’ll admit to being a glass half empty guy but I’m not in the same league as some of you guys!

 

[Mikey1874]

4 minutes ago, Psychedelicropcircle said:

The championship should KO when the prem KO’s. If you want to mothball your club for the long term then it should simply be your willing opponent be rewarded a 3-0 victory. No ill will towards any bar Dundee in that league, but January may come & go without fans returning. It’s about getting through the nomark league ASAP.

 

They should be doing everything to play the games. 

 

That has always been the first principle. Play the games. 

 

A few clubs sounding off shouldn't be taken as any indication of what will happen.

[SectionDJambo]

13 minutes ago, Pilmuir said:

 

BBC Sport referring repeatedly this morning to "Hearts proposal" as if it was just about us. It's either a deliberate campaign to isolate the club or incredibly sloppy reporting. Or maybe both.

Once again though, it shows that Hearts are trying to provide alternatives to watching clubs go bust.

Where is the “Celtic proposal”? Or the Hibs one. Or, for that matter, the Rangers one. It’s all gone very quiet from clubs who seem to have got what they want and are happy to sit back.

Rangers, in particular, want to reclaim some of their power base within the SPFL. How about they show some positive leadership instead of rocking the boat, even though the boat needs rocking. An ideal opportunity for them to show up Celtic’s lack of concern for the rest of the clubs.

[Riccarton3]

29 minutes ago, Marvin said:

 

I see hibs were first to start social distancing. Hopefully I have embedded from the correct point if not you want to start from 0:42. 

That was a good watch, seeing some extended highlights. Hartley was a bit unlucky not to score about six

[IronJambo]

24 minutes ago, Pilmuir said:

 

BBC Sport referring repeatedly this morning to "Hearts proposal" as if it was just about us. It's either a deliberate campaign to isolate the club or incredibly sloppy reporting. Or maybe both.

It is Hearts proposal though. Nobody else is doing the work. Neil Doncaster's sat on his arse with his feet up.

[Newton51]

EXCLUSIVE: Lower league SPFL divide opening up with a full mothballed season a possibility for some

 Eric Nicolson

12 hours ago

A “carve-up” of the lower leagues in Scottish football could be on the cards, with a divide widening between clubs wanting to mothball and those ready to take a gamble on closed-doors resumption.

The end result could be an expanded Championship in a temporary two-league set-up, with sides not willing to wager their existence left with no option but to write-off the whole of the 2020/21 campaign.

That the Premiership will try to get going again next season with no supporters in the grounds – and with the TV deal behind it to make the finances stack up – is certain.

Courier Sport also understands that the Championship is likely to begin at roughly the same time.

The ‘Pixellot’ automated camera system will help second tier sides tap into the in-game betting world, while doubling up as a streaming service for fans willing to pay around £7 per game to watch their team play.

The SFA will waive the rule that prohibits live Saturday afternoon broadcasts.

However, none of the above will help part-time clubs in Leagues One and Two, where the streaming of games has limited revenue potential given small supporter-bases, and doesn’t get anywhere close to covering the costs of testing, wages and the loss of matchday income.

Clubs have been told to budget for between £3,500 and £4,000-a-week on £100 coronavirus tests that will need to be conducted twice weekly. That adds up to around £12,000 a month.

A source told the Courier: “You might as well make it £50,000 for all the difference it would make.”

Well-run clubs in the bottom two divisions have calculated that around 50% of their income comes from hospitality and events, which will be lost.

Meanwhile, travelling expenses for training (social distancing regulations mean there could only be two players per car, rather than four) and matches would double.

Despite these difficulties, Courier Sport understands there are a handful of League One and League Two clubs who spoke of their desire to “give it a go” on a recent conference call.

Others, though, were left in “utter bewilderment” that it could even be contemplated.

“It is one hell of a mess,” a source said. “I have never shaken my head so much in a meeting in my life.”

Fear of embarking upon the bold strategy of trying to make closed-doors football work in the lower leagues is not only stoked by the losses that owners already know they’ll incur. It’s the additional ones that will arrive if Covid-19 forces another curtailment, with a squad of players having been signed for a season.

“We would be jeopardising our very future,” Courier Sport was told.

The more palatable and prudent alternative is mothballing while in a financial position that is “a million miles away from trouble,” potentially for a full season and returning when it is safe.

At that point, after a reorganisational “carve-up”, it is possible that some current League One clubs who opt to mothball will find themselves in the bottom tier of Scottish football. But that is deemed to be by far the lesser of two evils for them.

And for next season, with only a very small number of League One clubs in a position to play, there will be “overwhelming pressure” to not deny those clubs that opportunity.

That could trigger moves to bring them into a reconstructed Championship, whilst also seeing Hearts and Inverness Caledonian Thistle going into the top flight.

[DETTY29]

Brian McLaughlin gave a breakdown of what 'might' be due back to Sky and BT.

 

It was a scary amount for Sky because of the 2 non OF games not being televised and ran into millions.

 

 

 

[Shanks]

36 minutes ago, wavydavy said:

 

There are a number of players coming to the end of their contracts as well not to mention Levein and McPhee with John Murray possibly about to retire.

 

Add to that the usual cull of out of favour or fringe players and we could be saving a large chunk of money every month. Bauer and Mason are examples and I am sure there could be quite a few more.

How do we cull players that still have contracts with the club?