OPINION: EFL will have to step in soon to end and sort out the League One season

Blackpools League One season remains up in the air yet Morecambe and their fellow League Two sides voted to end their campaign

Quelle surprise then, that no definite conclusion on how the 2019/20 season should be completed was reached during Friday’s crunch talks between the 23 League One clubs.

In the EFL’s defence, the clubs, who have been left to their own devices, have been unable to reach any sort of consensus.

But it’s been clear for some time now that was always going to be the case, so Friday’s indecisiveness really didn’t come as a surprise.

Clubs in and around the top echelons of the division and still in with a chance of promotion will want the campaign to continue – and that’s what we saw with the six ‘rebels’ joining together on Thursday evening.

Meanwhile those at the bottom will sway towards declaring the season null and void. Those in the middle with nothing at stake will inevitably go along with the majority.

Self-serving clubs will vote whichever way benefits them most. Such is human nature, I suppose.

With clubs unable to agree on a way forward, the responsibility surely lies with the EFL to take the tough decisions.

Some clubs might not like what they decide, in fact that’s pretty much a foregone conclusion, but at some point the EFL are going to have to step up and do what is required. Otherwise this sorry saga will just drag on and on.

Imagine the confusion if three divisions, all under the same governing body, end up being decided in three different ways – which is looking increasingly likely. It would be mindboggling.

In the absence of leadership, it’s resulted in club chairmen airing their dirty linen in public. As much as it’s made for good copy and entertaining listening, all it’s achieved is increase the divisions among the various owners.

The EFL just need to set out the various permutations, hold a vote and move forward, finally, for the good of everyone involved.

To me, it appears increasingly likely that League One will go the same way as League Two, whose clubs decided unanimously to end the season on Friday.

On a side note, how southern is League One going to be next season should it ever get underway?

Crewe Alexandra, Swindon Town and Plymouth Argyle are likely to finish in the top three thanks to the points-per-game average, while Cheltenham Town, Exeter City, Colchester United and Northampton Town are likely to be the four to battle it out in the play-offs.

Back to those clubs in League One, instead of reaching their eventual end goal with minimal fuss, they’ll make hard work of it and sling mud in every direction. Nothing is simple after all.

However persuasive some chairmen might be, I highly doubt we’ll ever see all 23 clubs – or even a majority of them, for that matter – coming to an agreement on how we should proceed.

The EFL, meanwhile, in their wisdom will continue to kick the can down the road until they’re given clear direction from the government and/or the FA.

League One clubs are due to reconvene on Monday, but what’s the likelihood of anything changing over the course of a weekend?

EFL chairman Rick Parry has shown some impressive leadership since taking charge in September of last year; there’s certainly some encouraging signs.

But the first major challenge of his tenureship is rapidly approaching and he must get it right.

The main sticking point, as usual, relates to money. But for good reason.

It’s estimated it will cost clubs in League One £140,000 to buy the testing to ensure it’s safe for their players to take to the field – behind closed doors or not.

In a letter sent to all clubs, the EFL confirmed that it would be the clubs that would be liable for the cost of testing – which would be done at independent test hubs at each team’s training ground.

The amount of testing at each club would vary, depending on squad size and other factors such as how many home games each club has left and required staff and media on the day of the games.

The costs are based on each club carrying out two tests per week on 25 players and approximately 82 further personnel who would need to attend League One games.

And in the absence of gate receipts, there’s no other way for clubs to make money – other than charging £10 or so to fans to watch their games on iFollow.

When clubs are already struggling to get by as it is, can they really afford to fork out even more money?

These are hurdles most sensible onlookers deem insurmountable.