By Dan Wood
It’s no secret that the Championship and wider football league seasons have been up in the air since the onset of COVID-19.
There’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding the future of English football this season after it was announced earlier this week that the French football leagues (Ligue 1 and 2) will end immediately, following the orders of the French Prime Minister, Edouard Philippe.
He stated: “The big sporting affairs cannot occur before September; the 2019-20 professional football season cannot return.”
Philippe added that the same would apply to any “events that bring together more than 5,000 participants.”
The Dutch FA also announced that their Eredivisie league campaign would be declared null and void with no champions being crowned.
Following the announcements, it has left other countries football fans worried that the same fate may occur with their respective leagues.
English football leagues across the country are currently suspended due to the Coronavirus pandemic, however discussions are ongoing around plans to resume the campaign when it is deemed safe enough.
Despite these talks, it is feared that the Championship could follow in the footsteps of the Eredivisie and French Leagues.
Former England and Tottenham striker Gary Lineker has expressed his concern that the 2019/20 Championship campaign may be unable to be completed.
He posted on social media: “May well prove to be the only way. Hardly the fairest way, though?”
On the other hand, Germany’s Bundesliga looks set to resume in two weeks’ time behind closed doors. This could give English fans some hope that their football leagues could return soon.
Where would Huddersfield Town finish if EFL canceled the Championship?
If the EFL looked to follow in the footballs of the French leagues, they could face an option to take the mid-point table, based on each club’s first game against each other.
If that option were taken, the final league table could look like this:
West Brom and Leeds United fans will still be happy, as they would both be promoted to the Premier League.
A big surprise comes from Sheffield Wednesday, who would finish third in the halfway table despite being 15th in the current standings after a horrible second half of the season.
This would be extremely controversial if the third-place team was handed automatic promotion instead of going through the playoffs.
Luton and Charlton would survive relegation despite being in the relegation zone in the current standings.
The midway table would be very harsh on Stoke City who would be relegated to League One despite climbing out of the relegation zone and currently sitting 17thin the current table.
Wigan would also be unfairly punished, as they would be relegated despite being 20th in the current standings.
However, Huddersfield Town fans should be content with the halfway table, as it is only one place further back than they are right now and they would survive relegation.
