excessbee wrote: December 17th, 2021, 8:59 am Well, the EFL has stated that if a club has fourteen available players including a goalkeeper, they should play the fixture. My immediate reaction was that would make postponements less likely, but immediately there were three announced. The cynic in me was not surprised Port Vale's game was amongst them. A team which has a few key players infected merely has to declare both their goalkeepers have tested positive and they don't have to play.

UPTHEPORT wrote: December 17th, 2021, 9:26 am

excessbee wrote: December 17th, 2021, 8:59 am Well, the EFL has stated that if a club has fourteen available players including a goalkeeper, they should play the fixture. My immediate reaction was that would make postponements less likely, but immediately there were three announced. The cynic in me was not surprised Port Vale's game was amongst them. A team which has a few key players infected merely has to declare both their goalkeepers have tested positive and they don't have to play.

Would they have to show pcr test results to FL because we know the flow test are really easy to manipulate

pembsexile wrote: December 17th, 2021, 9:05 am Four games postponed in League 2 tomorrow at the moment.

CathedralCounty wrote: December 17th, 2021, 10:00 am I get that obviously 1 person whatever their status/age can spread covid if infected but at the same time it seems grossly unfair and odd cancelling games involving squads of young fit & healthy men and [mainly] younger coaching/ancillary staff (‘County’s staff is relatively young I believe) when in the main they will be statistically unlikely to get seriously ill or die from covid – it actually seems grossly unfair really to prevent these people from working and putting themselves out there to get moves to bigger clubs or international call ups and win honours in what is a very short career (I cry no tears for well-paid footballers but most players in National leagues & League 1 & 2 are not that well paid – sure they get a fair wedge but not vast sums – they have if they are decent and stay fit likely at most 20 years as players and most do not go onto lucrative careers in coaching nor punditry – I’ve seen a few ex County players in Morrison’s café [nowt wrong with that but hardly suggests a lavish lifestyle] and know of at least one who is if anything in financial difficulty) – leaving aside whether spectators are allowed in or not does seems odd that games will be being cancelled due positive tests for a virus which will be [virtually] harmless to the cohort involved (i.e., young fit men) – perverse really

excessbee wrote: December 17th, 2021, 6:08 pm Are there really seven clubs that can't manage to name a squad of 14 available players. I'm not convinced the EFL is monitoring the rule they put forward yesterday. Less than fourteen players must mean something like eighteen positive cases. I suspect that if three or four key players test positive, loads more come out in sympathy. If a weakened team loses a match then their ppg standing is reduced. I'd be more convinced if I heard that one, just one, team was being instructed to put out a team of 14 or 15.

excessbee wrote: December 18th, 2021, 11:58 am Looking at the BBC Football fixtures page, only two of 31 FA Trophy matches have been postponed. Perhaps they are not as up to date with information further down the Pyramid. Surely can't be that lower league players are not as likely to contract COVID.