Played out in front of empty stadiums, there was a overwhelmingly odd feel to the opening week of the 20/21 EFL season, but the court verdict on Macclesfield produced another instance of disheartening familiarity for its clubs. If some defenders haven't got quite got the memo the season has started yet, we have. Some talking points from the opening week and a half;

1) Derby County’s annual surge to make the play-offs last season was curtailed by only one win in their last 6 games and the Rams seem to have carried on a similar sluggishness into this campaign. Having built a cult-following since his appointment last July, Phillip Cocu must now motivate a side that have slumped to disappointing home defeats to Reading in the league and Preston in the Carabao Cup. Derby saw the opposition dominate proceedings in both games and Cocu, in the market for a striker after losing Chris Martin to Bristol City in the summer, has doused any possible excitement of Melvyn Morris putting his hand in his pocket by saying there may have to be further outgoings, having seen Max Lowe and Jayden Bogle move to Sheffield United, when asked of a possible link to free-agent Jordan Ibe. Polish winger Kamil Jozwiak has been brought in however, the 22 year old arrives from Lech Poznan for just over £2million after impressing with 8 goals in 35 games last season.

 

2) Already waiting urgently for the chance to watch their team play League football for the first time in their 106 year history, Covid-19 restrictions would have been especially frustrating to supporters of Harrogate Town, denied their opportunity to visit the Hawthornes to see them take on Premier League West Brom in the League Cup on Wednesday night. There was no shame in the 3-0 defeat to a side that featured Hal Robson-Kanu, Kamil Grosicki and Charlie Austin, whilst manager Simon Weaver is unlikely to stew over it for too long after watching his side demolish Southend 0-4 at Roots Hall on Saturday. The Sulphurites are unlikely to encounter many opponents as obliging as they did at the weekend, but it certainly was an encouraging introduction to league football. Weaver has already stated his desire to embark on the journey with a large number of the players who took them up from the National League and one of those, Jack Muldoon, last season’s top scorer with 18 goals, showed his quality with 2 on the opening day.

 

3) Stuart McCall was left seething with Bradford’s defending in their 0-5 thrashing by Lincoln in the league cup on Tuesday night. The Bantams managed a clean sheet in the 0-0 season opener with Colchester, but McCall was quick to slam the“cheap”defending that hindered them badly against the Imps.“The third one was the 'game-over' goal and that was the hardest to take, because we then gave another cheap free-kick for the fourth” raged the Scot.“For their lad to score with a volley for the third goal - and not even a header - is just embarrassing, considering the size of the boys we had at the back.” The third goal McCall was referring to was netted by Lewis Monstma, the towering centre-half who scored a similar goal from a set-piece in the last round vs Crewe.

 

4) Some eyebrows have been raised by Birmingham's £2.5 million link with Kayden Jackson, but one can understand why Aitor Karanka is keen on the 26 year old. The Ipswich man struggled the last time he played in the second tier but there was a suggestion he can return stronger after netting 11 goals and registering 7 assists last season in League One. The former Accrington forward offers threat with electric pace and quick thought around the box and could be an astute way of investing a portion of the money recouped on the sale of Jude Bellingham. The Blues do need to find a regular source of goals to supplement Lukas Jutkiewicz as they drew a blank in the League Cup exit to Cambridge and the winner vs Brentford coming from a source unlikely to produce too many more times in this campaign; 5ft 7inch Jeremie Bela rising highest to head home a Ivan Sanchez corner.

 

5) It is a topic likely to be revisited many times in this corner of the internet but after Macclesfield Town, relegated from League Two in August following the CAS decision to impose a 6 point deduction for failure to pay players on time, were wound up in the High Court after racking up debts of over £500,000, the calls for the authorities to do more to protect our clubs must get even louder. It is disheartening to learn of Macclesfield;s fate on the same day as Gareth Bale and his £600,00 weekly wage edge close to a mover back to Spurs, but fiscal responsibility of clubs in the lower echelons of the pyramid should render that irrelevant. They can only do this with the assistance of a league structure that is fit for purpose however and there has been a certain amount of ambivalence to Macclesfied's plight under Almar Alkhadi and a palpable powerlessness to do anything about it.Southend have been given a further chance to attempt to clear their debts, but following the dramatic falls of Bury, Bolton and Wigan, the EFL, FA and Premier League, all have to come together to formulate a plan to prevent more clubs from stumbling off the precipice.

 

6) Empty stadiums (and resourceful use of step-ladders) will form the abiding memories of the opening week and a half of the 20/21 domestic season, but from this weekend many grounds will host pilot events in the aim of getting fans back to stadiums from October 1^st. The sudden desire to seemingly fast-track this programme, following a spike in Covid cases pushing back the initially mooted dates for pilot games, has come against a background of warnings of how much continuing to play without fans will cost EFL clubs; around £200 million in total is the projected total bill for September. Why this issue wasn;t enough to urge the responsible parties to devise a safe and coherent plan back in August so no games were played behind closed doors is unclear and symptomatic of a deeply confusing message. It will be great to have some fans being allowed back in, though.