Extended League One play-off system is option for Doncaster Rovers

The idea has been championed by former Hull City and Bradford City manager Phil Parkinson, now in charge at Sunderland.

With Premier League clubs due to vote on protocols which would allow their clubs to return to training in groups of five in the next 48 hours, third-tier clubs could decide to end their season at today’s meeting, but Parkinson has put forward an alternative.

Clubs in League One and Two had what was expected to be a decisive meeting on Friday but with no consensus, possible options and their consequences were outlined before reconvening today. With the fourth-tier agreeing it no longer made sense to go on, they had a separate meeting later.

The tightness of the League One promotion picture has added to the complications.

Six clubs went public on Thursday with their view the season should be played to a finish, and another is thought to have supported them on Friday.

Oxford United were third when coronavirus halted proceedings, but under the points-per-game formula proposed by League Two, eighth-placed Wycombe Wanderers would take that position.

The League Two clubs have asked that their regular season end, but the play-offs go ahead between the four teams in the qualifying positions of a points-per-game table.

Rotherham United and Coventry City are in League One’s top two, and it is unclear if they would be part of the proposed expanded play-offs or go up automatically. As seventh-placed Sunderland and tenth-placed Ipswich Town went on the record to call for a continuation of the season, it is probably safe to assume they will go down that far. The Tractor Boys would drop to 11th on points-per-game, and Doncaster are ninth in both tables.

“I think the fairest thing is, we would like to play the season to a finish, but another solution could be that teams who don’t want to play, and you can understand why teams in mid-table wouldn’t, don’t play,” said Parkinson.

“But teams who are vying for promotion, can we have an extended play-off scenario?

“League One has been so tight all season. You look at teams like ourselves and Wycombe Wanderers, not only do we think we can get in the play-offs, we think we can get it into the top two.

“Anything can happen in the last eight to ten games.

“I think it would be unfair to write promotion off, and the same in the relegation zone.

“It’s probably fair to give everyone a crack at getting up, whether it’s by finishing the regulation season or by some other format.”

Whatever the clubs agree will have to win the support of a majority of the league’s 71 clubs and be ratified by its board and the Football Association. Making League One a special case could cause problems for the other divisions, as could agreeing to League Two’s request that no clubs be relegated.

Meanwhile, the Premier League hopes its clubs can agree to move into the next phase of “project restart” today, despite the doubts of some high-profile players about the next step.

The plan is to resume non-contact training in groups of five later this week but Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling has said players need “four to five weeks” of training before they can be expected to play again.

Many Premier League players, including Sheffield United’s, have been allowed back into training grounds to work on an individual basis.

The Government’s “roadmap” for easing the lockdown says social distancing measures will not be lifted before June.

UEFA have asked all European leagues to tell them by May 25 if and when they plan to restart. They aim to complete the 2019-20 Europa League and Champions League by the end of August.

The Championship is also divided over what should happen next, with relegation-threatened Hull City, Huddersfield Town and Barnsley understood to be against resuming.

Derby County’s Wayne Rooney has been critical at the lack of consultation with players.

“Something that has surprised me is how little our opinions seem to count,” he said. “The Premier League engaged with players via the managers and captains. But as club captain at Derby, I have not received so much as a phone call from the EFL (Football League) or PFA (Professional Footballers’ Association) to ask how Derby’s players feel about returning.”

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