EFL chairman Rick Parry says halting the League One and Two seasons is the last resort, despite not expecting fans to be back in stadia until March.

Last week, Government the planned October return was scrapped following the rise in Covid-19 cases and Parry now doesn’t expect crowds to be at Portman Road and other grounds for another six months.

However, he played down the suggestion that the season might be brought to an early end.

“I’m not saying that dialogue isn’t happening within clubs or amongst clubs but, from our perspective, it’s absolutely the last resort,” he told Radio Five Live.

“We need League One and League Two to remain relevant - if we go into hibernation, we might not come out of it, quite frankly.

“League One and League Two matter, they’re the heart of their communities, we need them playing football and coming out of this stronger.”

He admitted the decision to pause the return of supporters was a big blow with a number of pilot events with 1,000 fans present having taken place prior to last week's developments. Town had been given the go-ahead for 1,000 supporters to attend Saturday's game against Rochdale.

“Clearly we’re incredibly disappointed,” he said. “We’ve been carrying out pilots, which were immensely successful last weekend, so in a sense the only evidence the government had to consider were the pilot projects and they appear to have ignored that evidence.

“Clearly we recognise that infection rates are rising, the virus is a huge challenge for everybody.

“We get that health and safety must come first but everybody was gearing up for a gradual return in October.

“We really thought we could be an example to the country and show how to bring people into top-class entertainment safely, sensibly and securely.

“It’s not happening, it’s probably now going to be March, so we’ll have to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves down and find some money.”

Regarding the financial impact, Parry continued: “The challenge for us is that, certainly at League One and League Two level, more than 30 per cent of the revenues come from gate receipts.

“We’re much less dependent on TV revenues than the Premier League or even the Championship.

“So it’s going to be really tough. Clubs have been really responsible, they’ve introduced salary caps at that level and are trying to control the costs.

“They’re doing their bit but, without an input, injection or rescue package then it’s going to be really tough to get through this season and, frankly, getting through this season, keeping clubs alive and the competition alive is a huge priority for us.”

He added: “We’ve consistently said that we need up to £250 million - that figure hasn’t changed, we’ve been saying it since May.

“To be honest, that was based on the losses from last season and the assumption we’d play the whole of this season without crowds, which we thought was pessimistic at the time.

“So we’re not saying we now have to recalculate and come up with a completely different figure, it just means we’ll be getting onto the upper end of that figure.

“It’s something we’ve been working night and day on, we’re in dialogue with the Premier League, which is constructive, but we’re exploring other sources as well.

“It might take a package of different measures, we’re still hopeful we can get some support from the government.

“The Department of Culture, Media and Sport have been incredibly helpful to us throughout the end of last season and this season.

“So we remain confident that we will have a package but we do need specifics. Clubs need answers and reassurance very, very soon. We’re talking not very many weeks before we know where we’re heading.

“Some will run into difficulty sooner than others, they’re all different with different resources.

“Some will run into problems in October, some in November, some will be okay until March, but many of them would absolutely have difficulty in finishing the season.

“I don’t want to overplay it or be too sensationalist about it as we’re doing our utmost to make sure everybody comes through it if we can.

“But some are on the brink, some would have been on the brink without Covid. We’ve kept all of them intact so far but, yes, absolutely, some will be very worried.

“Of course there’s a prospect that, if we can’t put a package in place, some will go to the wall.”

Over the weekend, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said he hoped the Premier League, whose clubs are set to meet on Tuesday, would agree a deal which would help out League One and Two clubs this week, however that timescale is now thought to be ambitious.

Photo: Matchday Images

TractorRoyNo1 added 11:04 - Sep 29 It's time for capitalism not hand outs. EFL clubs need to show they have money to finish season, then they form a league(s).
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Europablue added 11:24 - Sep 29 Steve_ITFC_Sweden It's not up to us to respect the fears of others. Just think back to school and wonder how effective class detention ever was. People who follow the rules just get demotivated when they are punished alongside everyone else. Instead of building solidarity we are growing decent and encouraging people to dob each other into the authorities. Group responsibility is hardly if ever, effective. People next to you that have an elderly relative have to make their own risk assesment as to whether it is a good idea for them to go to a football match. Having said that, of course we should respect people's boundaries by not going close to them if the aren't comfortable with that.

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Nazemariner added 11:27 - Sep 29 Absolute balls up from start to finish! Last season should have been played to a conclusion with the absence of supporters, and this season should not of been allowed to start with the cloud of Co-Vid hanging over it.
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Europablue added 11:27 - Sep 29 TractorRoyNo1 it kind of depends on what you mean. If football clubs were allowed to open at full capacity, maybe capitalism could work. At the same time football is not really a business, more of a plaything of the rich and for speculative investment, etc. Name me a proper business where you can spend more on wages than you have coming in.
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Razor added 12:13 - Sep 29 If we were able to let 1000 in these would be season ticket holders who have already paid so we would not actually make any money (apart from refreshment sales). The Fat Cats in the Premier League should contibute a percentage of their annual turnover to a SAVE OUR FOOTBALL FUND and should do it willingly and proudly (I would suggest o,5%) but I am no accountant.No doubt they will have to shamed in to actually doing anything as usual.

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runningout added 13:19 - Sep 29 Noteworthy thing to do would be. If ALL supporters of NON premier league clubs cancelled their Sky subscription, it would hurt them a bit
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Bert added 13:27 - Sep 29 Wow, some controversial postings on here. It's ok to have differing viewpoints but please don't let this become a young v elderly debate. We already have division in the UK caused by a little Englander approach to European co-operation and trade but the facts are clear, millions of people with respiratory problems are at real risk of death if they get COVID. How Government determines its approach to restrictions is baffling but when or if we return to PR we must act responsibly and with respect to each other. Common sense matters .

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Theonlywayisup added 14:20 - Sep 29 There was 25,000 at the Super Cup a few days ago and in many countries they have 1/4 full stadiums. Unfortunately this country is way behind many others in terms of everything with a government that have absolutely no idea.
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dirtydingusmagee added 14:57 - Sep 29 AndrewPC Sorry i marked you down [once] i'd liked to have marked you down for a few more. You are one of the ''im alright Jacks'' that are not helping in the fight against the virus .obviously.
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Ipswichbusiness added 16:03 - Sep 29 Bert, I don't know if you are referring to my post, but if so then you have misunderstood my argument. This is not, or should not be, young v old or “I'm alright Jack” but about risk; high risk, low risk and how to manage it. For example, Inam 56 years old and fit. I can walk up Peak District hills. There are people in my village who are half my age and can't do what I do. The reason is that they are obese (obesity being an acknowledged risk factor for COVID). Yes, we could go into another lockdown, this time for six months. When the survivors emerge, what will they emerge to? A totally destroyed economy? My objections to the Government approach (as a Conservative voter) are 1) the blanket approach does not differentiate between the different risk groups, 2) they are adopting really quite silly scare stories to justify their restrictions. To give but one example when the Chief Scientific Officer and the Chief Medical Officer appeared together recently at a press conference they using a graph of exponential growth in infections going through to October. The next day the Government introduced new restrictions. A Professor (I don't know what of) wrote into The Daily Telegraph asking why stop at October? If they had carried on at the same rate then by the end of November we would have one million infections per day and by Christmas everyone in the population would be infected four times per day. By the way there are 66 million people in this country and, rounded up, there have been 42,000 deaths; do the maths.

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GatesofDelirium added 17:17 - Sep 29 Surely 6 foot separation could be maintained inside stadiums with up to 20% capacity? The clubs could mark the permitted seats to ensure the appropriate separation distance. Make the wearing of masks mandatory inside the stadium so we can cheer and shout without adding to the risk of virus transmission.
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runningout added 18:21 - Sep 29 Just had the record daily number of positive covid results. This is more serious than a lot of people think it is. Restrictions are a must!
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Bert added 19:09 - Sep 29 @ ipswichbusiness, no I wasn't picking up on your particular post but some posts on here are becoming a young V elderly narrative. I get it that different sections of the community are affected in different ways which is why we should all exercise common sense. Can't agree though with your view that if someone can't do hill walking it's because they are obese. There are many unobserved reasons why people are unfit, respiratory conditions is one. Blanket restrictions are discriminatory by their nature and whilst I fly no flag for this excuse of a Government I do understand the difficulties in implementing social policy that is totally fair.

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TractorRoyNo1 added 23:28 - Sep 29 Europablue - the NHS for one - again may not be a proper business, but certainly cannot pay it's way, and personally I would rather more money go to that organisation than to Kickabout Rovers.
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Europablue added 07:13 - Sep 30 TractorRoyNo1- It's preferable if the government didn't destroy businesses in the first place. When they take away livelihoods they bear some responsibility to compensate them. The point is business is what creates the wealth that makes healthcare funding possible. The NHS is a total disaster, one of the worst healthcare services in the whole of Europe, but it's like a national religion. If we could be at least a little bit rational about the NHS, we might be able to make improvements to it. Football brings a lot of joy to people, it is good for the community and clubs also do a lot of charity work. In addition football clubs support local businesses. The problem with football is that we have let people own clubs who don't care about the community, because you can run a business ethically and still make money even though you could probably make more if you only consider it an investment.

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Northstandveteran added 09:04 - Sep 30 It's very rare that I down vote Europablue but your comment really has riled me. The NHS is without doubt the finest healthcare system in the world. Should anyone who works at Ipswich hospital be reading this, I send my utmost thanks and respect for the three years you gave me saving my life with three days a week treatment for over two years and the amazing after care that is still given despite the overwhelming difficulties you face in these difficult times. Football might bring joy but you can't compare that to the happiness and elation of recovering from near death experiences due to the dedication of the professionals that work in hospitals. Still, let's expect the government to bail out footballers on thousands of pounds a week while NHS staff work 12 hour shifts in life threatening circumstances on a fraction of their pay. Quite possibly the most ridiculous comment I have read on this forum.

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Bert added 11:52 - Sep 30 Funding for the NHS v football ? Football should finance itself from within the world of football and spread the wealth that has been created to the grassroots. The NHS is a free at the point of need service with spending decisions based on priorities. In reality, because of political decisions, the NHS has to ration what it provides within the cumbersome commissioning system. That's why mental health services are so patchy. The NHS is revered across the world particularly in countries like the USA where personal income dictates whether you get a service. If we want an even better NHS we should pay for it through increased taxation or national insurance contributions but alas this Government won't do that because ideologically it would prefer the private sector to run things. Did the NHS respond well to the virus ? Yes, it did with staff putting their own lives at risk. How often do the wealth generating private sector companies do that ? Football needs to put its own house in order so to slag off the NHS is rather sad and unwelcome at this particular point in time.

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runningout added 22:04 - Sep 30 The country and communities can't expect any priority or handouts even if it means us or other clubs folding. It's going to be bleak if we survive or not!! The NHS is fantastic. The people employed in it make it special. They would agree there is always room for improvement. Europablue may have had a bad experience with it. Some do! With football I think begging the top league is going nowhere and I don't like the idea personally. It stinks. We don't need patronising either from clubs concerned. If we were there I think we'd be the only genuine football club there. I don't watch any football if ITFC aren't playing, that's the way I roll.

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Europablue added 07:51 - Oct 1 Northstandveteran I think you proved my point. I dared to be even slightly negative about the sacred cow and people flipped out not really considering what I actually said. The NHS is the system, and that is entirely separate from the people working in it. The idea of healthcare that is free at the point of access is great, but the implementation is terrible. Of course, there are a lot of caring people who have provided more public service than I ever have, but it wouldn't be rational to say that the NHS is unique for that. What experience have you had of any other healthcare systems? Japan, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Germany are all infinitely better in my experience. America gets a lot of stick, but you get a better standard of care there if you have reasonable cover. I personally prefer the concept of free at the point of access and I find it an affront to personal freedom to have health insurance linked to your job. The key problem with the NHS is the N part. The centralized nature is the problem as far as I can tell. The other huge problem is that the NHS is conflated with healthcare much like the EU is conflated with Europe, and LGBT is conflated with gay people. All those things are not synonyms, the former is the political entity. People see criticism of the NHS system as an attack on doctors and nurses My family and I have had some really bad experiences with the NHS, but we've also had a lot of good ones. No one is questioning the effort of the vast majority of people working in the NHS, and you shouldn't take offense at me not agreeing with the management structure. Mental health is the hardest sector of healthcare to deal with and is the least cost-effective and often treatment doesn't have clear-cut outcomes. Locking up the country has created a ticking time bomb on mental health and it's only going to get worse the longer the lockdown continues, and when we eventually do come out of the lockdown, our resources will be so depleted that we won't be able to meet the extra demand that the lockdown has created.

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Northstandveteran added 08:34 - Oct 1 Good points Europablue. I can assure you that I wasn't jumping on the bandwagon regarding our new found love of our health system. I'm sorry to hear that you have had some bad experiences with the NHS and hope these haven't been too detrimental to you and your family long term. I know that the NHS has it's problems but have personally found that when the chips are down the treatment and care has been phenomenal. Although I do appreciate others may have not have found this to be the case. Have a great day. N.S.V

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Northstandveteran added 08:37 - Oct 1 Feel free to ignore one of the 'have's' in my last sentence! 😁
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