Thetownend.com

Swindon Town host Accrington Stanley on Tuesday 27th October at the County Ground which will now kick-off at 7pm.


 it's a  trek back North, so makes sense

https://www.swindontownfc.co.uk/news/2020/october/kick-off-time-change-against-accrington-stanley/ (https://www.swindontownfc.co.uk/news/2020/october/kick-off-time-change-against-accrington-stanley/)

I'll make sure I get there early.

Quite a strange decision. if crowds were allowed and Accrington brought 50-100 fans or Carlisle maybe 200-300 would they have still changed the kick off time and ssme if it was an away fixture for us

Makes perfect sense, I imagine the historical kick off times of 7.30/45 were implemented with the view that home supporters could get home from work, have their tea, go for a pint and then attend, no home fans, may as well make it earlier.

In some ways it would make even more sense to play the game at 3pm, embargo the result and then run the stream as live at 7pm, save a few quid on overnight stays for away club and floodlight costs for the home club.

I agree it makes more sense and imagine teams like Plymouth and Carlisle would be happy if the kick off times were brought forward during the week. I vaguely remember it was changed from 7.30 to 7.45 during Macari's time to give home fans more time to get to the ground etc.

People are at work at 3pm on a Tuesday. ratchet a recording, no way. I'd see the result one way or another ;)


7pm is no real difference from 7:45 for watching it, you'd need to be parked up close to 7 to get to the ground on time

Or is it...

https://www.accringtonstanley.co.uk/news/2020/october/eight-players-test-positive-for-covid-19/

group

HAVE THEIR TEA???!!!

Oh my word! Do you wear slippers too?

Not everyone works 9am - 5pm btw.

Cannot see this game going ahead .....

Another unnamed L1 club has 6 players sidelined with Covid. Another postponement imminent.

Rumours it is us...

Honestly, bin the season now. Start again when fans are allowed.

Best idea I've heard yet.

Just posted in the Oxford thread, I think the season is hanging on by a thread right now anyway.  The football is just off and it seems impossible to avoid infection given the entire Country is fucking it up.  This is going to slowly descend into farce before the EFL will simply be left with no choice.

Ive not really been able to get into the season for precisely these reasons.  I just cant really see it going on without a hitch.  I just feel that we're destined for a season beset by cancellations and breaks before it finally gets cancelled.

How we looking on PPG, we outside the relegation places?

I wondered that earlier, but then thought it would be highly unlikely they'd determine a season based on 7 games.  Maybe we can just add last seasons to this.

It'll be beyond a farce soon.  Unless they operated the league in an entire bubble, it's impossible for what is happening around us to not impact  the teams.  You can sort of achieve that over here in sports such as Basketball, but not a 10 month long football season.  It's not just the positive cases either, it's the having to get on with life and the impact that is having on the game itself.  I'm not saying they can't play (plenty of people have to carry on making a living and keeping the country running without expectation of complaining), but you cannot expect the output to be the same in the current environment.

I guess it was tongue in cheek, but there's no way they'd do PPG at this stage in the season.

I noticed that you often post prior to your paper round.

Officially off now

https://www.swindontownfc.co.uk/news/2020/october/swindon-town-v-accrington-stanley-suspended/

This game being called off has really depressed me - not the game per se but the feeling that along side everything else that is happening, it is all going tits up (again)

I can see the leagues just being cancelled altogether. It's going to get worse before it gets any better.

Are leagues in other European countries equally as affected as ours?

'The circumstances surrounding the postponement will now be the subject of investigation in accordance with EFL Regulations.'

I assume this just means they will check we have been following the covid rules etc?

At our request or Accrington’s? Not that it makes much difference, I suppose.

They said the same about the Oxford game. My guess is that it's just a standard procedure.

Accrington’s, club knew about this before Friday according to Wellens.

Are the 'non-infected' players still training or is that not permitted as part of the isolation period?

i know the premier league confirmed a percentage of games had to played before confirming a season nulll and void. I assume that efl have done the same

Surely the other way round?

Yes all the players are in training still with isolation in place, so I have been told.

So who’s taking training?

I will enquire, apparently all the rest of the players have taken the test again and all have come back negative though.

Apparantly Wellens himself is taking the training, hes tested negative.

Should mean that Saturday's game is good to go as it stands?

Of the playing staff, Wellens said that it was Toby Holland who tested positive with Jordan Stevens having to self isolate, unless he has since tested negative.

Do we know who tested positive, I know in cycling there was at least one rider who tested positive and left the Giro, he then had two tests the day after and the day after that and both came back negative?

https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/18820808.richie-wellens-confirms-town-players-staff-tested-positive-coronavirus/

Strange considering he said on Friday he had to self isolate, which means he should have been able to take the game Saturday?

I think the self isolation was a precaution as all his staff had the "vid" but has since tested negative.

Don't you have to self isolate even if you have tested negative if someone in your bubble tested positive?

Possibly, probably, maybe, best ask Mr Wellens his take on things.

You do flash. It's in the close contact guidelines.

You'd think they'd check with phe, maybe they have special dispensation

Ask Karl Robinson he seems to have all the answers 😁

Why would one have to self isolate if you've been tested negative? Excuse the ignorance

No idea, but know a friend of mine tested negative but her son tested positive and she had to self isolate for 14 days, him for 10?

There's an incubation period, in the very early stages the standard test isn't sensitive enough to pick it up.

So test again 3 days later?

That's being proposed. Not 3 days later, but that the isolation period could be reduced to 7 (or 10) days if there's a negative test after that period

Sorry if missed but are we likely to play on Saturday now then if tests have come back negative?

I have heard the game vs Hull is definately going ahead.

Cheers. Good news.

Well, at the moment its going ahead, as long as Hull FC now don't go into a Covid lockdown!

Excuse the confusion here, but if Northern England clubs are in Tier 3, can they travel anywhere outside of the ‘patch’? Similarly, would our players be allowed to enter it? What is today’s guidance?

A good question, surely there must be some special dispensation for football clubs?

Travelling to a place of work.