On the weekend where the problem with the EFL’s failure to devise a plan to ease the financial burden on EFL clubs ready for introduction of mandatory testing below Premier League level was laid bare at Oxford where 2 positive COVID tests within the Crewe Alexandra team saw their game postponed at the Kassam half an hour before kick-off, it was another round of games without fans in attendance. With the cultural, financial and social damage being caused to EFL clubs, cornerstones of communities around the country, plain to see, all we can really do is urge you to sign this petition….

 1) To borrow the cliche, the managerial merry-go-round jilted into action on Tuesday as Sabri Lamouchi, having failed to nurse the hangover of last season’s play-off disaster at Nottingham Forest, was swiftly replaced by Chris Hughton at the City Ground, with the former Brighton man’s pragmatism favoured over the expansive style of Eddie Howe in the east midlands. Howe has instead been oddly linked with the job at Barnsley after Gerhard Struber departed to take over at the New York Red Bulls. In the aftermath of Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Middlesbrough, Struber questioned if the owners had the “same ambitions and goals like me” and it is unclear what would entice Howe to the perennial relegation on battle the outgoing German perceives life at Oakwell to be. Whoever does take charge will have to solve the lack of firepower, the Tykes are yet to win having netted just 1 goal as they adjust to life without Jacob Brown, a main source of creativity last term who left for Stoke last month. 

 2) Half an hour down the M1 and prospects don’t look too much brighter for Sheffield Wednesday who were frustrated by QPR in their latest quest to narrow the gap to the teams above caused by their 12 point deduction. A slice of fortune brought their opening goal as QPR defender Yoann Barbet turned an Adam Reach cross into this own net, but Garry Monk must have felt the Owls used up their quota of luck with that goal as Massimo Luongo struck the cross bar as they searched for a second, before centre-half Tom Lees added to a growing injury list that also now includes Liam Shaw and Liam Palmer who were both forced off in the first half. Lees’ injury left the Owls with 10 men, retreating into their own box during added time, holding out to the 6^th minute when Barbet made amends at the right end, crossing for Macauley Bonne, newly signed from Charlton, to head his first R’s goal. Monk will find respite in the international break as he seeks players to return from the treatment table and will particularly hold hope for Cheyenne Dunkley, the towering centre-half signed from Wigan, yet to make an appearance for his new club after suffering a double leg break back in February. 

 3) Having won their seventh home league game on the bounce, it is safe to say not many teams will emerge from Peterborough with many points this term, but Richie Wellens was in no mood for mild acceptance after seeing his team fall to a 3-1 defeat. The Robins’ boss singled out Mathieu Baudry for criticism following the loss and will be looking for more resilience from his team having conceded 9 in their last 3 games. Last season’s League Two champions have seen a number of players who were integral to their promotion depart over the summer and Wellens admits that one of them, Michael Doughty, has left a particularly significant hole in midfield. the lack of midfield numbers effected Wellens’s tactical plan at London Road on Saturday but Peterborough are beginning to reap the full benefit of their summer activity. New signings Jonson Clarke-Harris, who tops the shots per game chart, and Ryan Broom both netted their first goals for the Posh and Sammie Smzodics turned in another of the influential performances that convinced them to turn his loan from Bristol City into a permanent deal. 

 4) Harry Kewell became the 6^th appointment of Abdullah Lemsagam’s 20-month ownership at Oldham and was preaching about the need for stability when taking the reigns back in August. However the Australian must have been fearing the itchy trigger finger of his Morrocan chairman at half-time at Colchester. 2-0 down and heading for a fourth defeat in 4, Kewell altered his formation and introduced Dylan Bahamboula, a summer addition from the Bulgarian side Tsarsko Selo, to make an electric debut from the bench. It was a more familiar new signing who was equally as influential in the comeback, Conor McAleny, signed from Fleetwood Town, scoring two goals, including the 89^th minute equaliser, laid on for him by Bahamboula, to make it 3-3. Also making a full debut was Kewell’s compatriot, 23 year old George Blackwood, who will be aiming to provide effective support for Danny Rowe.

 

 5) A day before Ollie Watkins enjoyed a remarkable evening against reigning Premier League champions Liverpool, Exeter were busy showing there are plenty more to come from the club that helped forge the striker. Academy graduates Matt Jay and Joe Randall scored the goals that handed Cambridge United their first defeat of the season whilst another talent from the development squad, Archie Collins, was a bright spark on the right. With Randall Williams, who was felled for a 16^th minute converted by Jay, back to focusing on the football after turning down a move to League One, Matt Taylor’s hopes of banishing the memory of August’s play-off disappointment are rightly high. Striker Ryan Bowman, who scored 14 times last season for the Grecians is yet to score, but Taylor was quick to point out the selfless work the target-man does off the ball, to allow his supporting cast to thrive.

 If the talents of Randall and Jay aren’t enough, the production line that made Ethan Ampadu, Matt Grimes and Jordan Storey as well as Watkins was also in evidence on Tuesday as Harry Kite, Ben Seymour and Alex Hartridge all got their first senior goals in the 3-4 EFL Trophy win over Swindon. The category 3 academy is the jewel in Exeter’s crown and, after losing Ampadu as well as Jay Stansfield in recent years due to the injustices of the FA’s Elite Player Performance Plan, it remains to be seen how much of a disabling effect the lack of attending fans will have on those clubs who rely on youth systems to provide the lifeblood of their success. Seeing Watkins put Liverpool to the sword on Sunday spawned a fear that the hard-work and devotion of such clubs could be lost as the EFL faces financial peril. It also exposed the folly and the self-serving cultural ignorance of Manchester City’s Chief Executive Ferran Soriano who on Wednesday issued the latest tiresome calls for the EFL, who the Spaniard called “unsustainable”, to host ‘B’ teams. This page would like to point out City’s $180 million losses during Soriano’s first two years as CEO in Manchester are the very definition of unsustainable, that is of course you don’t have the backing of an Emirate state.