Re: Bits & Bobs
 

unfair. check everyone or nobody. would be a nightmare for someone like me who arrived at the ground a few times with his season ticket still at home.

Re: Bits & Bobs
 

Reading twitter of which Andy Holt is a regular contributor after this £7000 Covid fine and other things reads like he is getting increasingly frustrated at being in charge of a football club, can't say I blame him.

Re: Bits & Bobs
 

was talking to him yesterday i got that impression also.:eek:

Re: Bits & Bobs
 

I am absolutely disgusted about this fine.

I have just sent this email to the EFL.

I encourage others to do the same - I've removed my personal details for the purposes of Accy Web:

"EFL Query – sent 11 August

Firstly PLEASE can you ensure my query goes straight to the apporopriate policy/decision maker, and ensure my query is acknowledged directly to my email

To whom it may concern

Over the last eighteen months or more the world has been in the grip of a pandemic . Whilst it did not initially seem to discriminate in terms of income, class, location, ethnic background or profession, it has since emerged that there were in fact obvious disparities in some of these regards. Many low income clubs, like my own, Accrington Stanley, struggled desperately to stay afloat during this period, and at the back end of 2020 almost our entire playing and coaching staff were stricken by this dreadful illness (I have had it too - it was easily the most unpleasant health issue I have faced in my 59 years). in common with other clubs in this unfortunate, maybe even tragic predicament, they took the steps laid down in law (and observed the necessary common sense) in mitigating the risks as best they could. Four matches were thus postponed.

Our Chairman has today shared the news that all the clubs faced with these impossible circumstances have been fined by the EFL - in our case to the tune of £7000, a sum which may seem insignificant in a profession when the likes of Lionel Messi can earn 67 euros per second, but which our club can ill afford. Nor does the right of appeal seem to me, on the face of it, to be particularly fair or transparent.

My serious, polite question is this:
Why? In these exceptional circumstances, when smaller clubs are under the threat of imminent demise, when our club did absolutely everything they could to mitigate against the chaos caused by an impossible situation, why has this fine been imposed? The postponements were a health and safety necessity - everyone involved in running the League will have been well aware that these situations would be absolutely unavoidable.

So WHY are we, and other clubs being punished in this way? My wife and I buy season tickets every year; as an interested and concerned individual (ie A FAN), I have an interest in my club, and I want to know and understand EXACTLY what my club DID WRONG to receive this apparently absurd sanction.

I also want you to know that were it not for the my club's extraordinary efforts last season, both on and off the pitch, and the empathy and selflessness of the chairman, staff and players with the vulnerable among our local community, many of us would have endured an even more unbearable experience than the one we did face. The club kept going, and largely because of this, so did we.

I therefore respectfully request that your organisation withdraw what seems to be a completely unreasonable sanction.

Much of my income finds its way into the EFL coffers directly and indirectly; as a customer and stakeholder therefore, I insist that the relevant parties explain the rationale behind this fine URGENTLY.

I look forward to reading your response.

Thank you, XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, Darwen, Lancs".

Re: Bits & Bobs
 

Yes Messi,s crocodile tears at leaving Barcelona have soon been replaced with huge waves and smiles as he received a £25 million pound signing on fee and wages of £650 thousand pounds a week for the next 2 seasons with an option of a third, the EFL and football authority,s in general should be looking at controling this out of control spending at the top, not fining the minnions before it ruins the game completely.

Re: Bits & Bobs
 

can all the clubs fined by these IDIOTS, get together and refuse to pay this idiotic fine? NO they can not cos these IDIOTS are keeping it back from the money the E.F.L. pay to the clubs, talk about BARSTEWARDS.:mad::mad::mad::mad: to my mind the clubs were following GOVERNMENT GUIDELINES SURELY?

Re: Bits & Bobs
 

Apparently we have been fined £5700 for naming an illegible player in our squad in the final game against Pompey last season, the player in question was Paul Smyth because he was an unused substitute we have avoided a points deduction. How has that been allowed to happen?

Re: Bits & Bobs
 

Paul Smyth was only registered until May the 8th the game was moved to the 9th May presumably for sky coverage so the paperwork should have been amended and it wasn't so probably guilty as charged. This is only what I have read in the local rag for Portsmouth so presumably it has an element of truth to it.

Re: Bits & Bobs
 

the authorities just love these fines and flex their muscles usually against the smaller clubs. probebly the worst incidence of lack of common sense was the banning of polish players in the craven and district league. a bottom rung of a saturday afternoon parks league where the only person paid is the ref. the reason was that they did not receive international clearance. i give up and could understand anyone else feeling and doing the same.

Re: Bits & Bobs
 

you can understand his position though. must be hard for someone like andy holt who seems to have a lot of common sense having to deal with these sort of people on a regular basis. he stands out a mile and head and shoulders above the others for me. one of the reasons i make an effort to attend when i can. at least i can feel proud of supporting stanley and everything about the club from top to bottom.

Re: Bits & Bobs
 

Does anyone seriously believe these fines result from breaches of rules? Or, are they just a cynical attempt to hang on to the moolah?
34 clubs fined £7k for being guilty of becoming infected by covid. You do the maths!
Well, money doesn't grow on trees & I suppose someone's got to maintain the lifestyle of the EFL fatcats during these difficult times.

Re: Bits & Bobs
 

they,ll be fining clubs for allowing their players to get injured in games next. one day they,ll actually do something that really benefits ALL clubs and fans. however i,m too old now to see it happening.

Re: Bits & Bobs
 

Having to understand all the nonsensical rules of the EFL and must be difficult for the management of the smaller clubs especially, you can understand why so many of them including their supporters lose interest. To me it appears that the EFL itself is one of the main reasons that league football is in such a demoralised state.
We are lucky to have an owner who has a common sense approach to running a club and I just pray that he isn't getting tired of it all and would like to assure him that he has the support of every single one of the fans.

Re: Bits & Bobs
 

It is probably the same way all the other similar mistakes have happened. The COVID fine seems harsh but this one is entirely self inflicted and hopefully a turning point. I would expect Holt is fuming about this more than the COVID fine, but can't say as it would be a HR matter.

Re: Bits & Bobs
 

No chance.