With the positive tests of a further two players, our withdrawal from the FA Cup and the postponement of our next two league matches, our hopes of going through the season relatively unscathed by The Sickness seem to be over. First of all, I hope all involved come through it quickly and are well again soon. Health comes first. And the actions of our owners in doing everything in their power to keep everyone safe, including paying for a testing regime even at the expense of our chances on the field, are absolutely commendable and correct.

However, I can't help but wonder what kind of season is going to be possible under these circumstances. We won't be the last club to put its season on hold, and winter hasn't even started yet. I suspect more clubs will be forced to follow Merthyr Town and mothball this season entirely. And if that starts to happen, at what point does it become impossible to continue the season at all? It's depressing. I wonder what football (and the world) will look like when we come out of this.

Also, I've got a trivia question. When was the last time Notts didn't compete in the FA Cup?

I read about it the other night, it's 1868 or at least in the 1800s.

It will happen again, I suspect but if the league manages to get completed safely than that's the main thing.

It almost feels like we’re being punished for doing the right thing with testing not currently being mandatory, Neal Ardley’s interview was pretty spot on (it’s on the official site for those who missed it). He spoke about how the disruption will only continue if a portion of the funding isn’t used for testing.

It just doesn’t seem right that we are testing all our players, whilst other clubs will just test the one player who gets symptoms but then it’s almost too little too late. There’s no way just us Barnet and Altrincham have players with Covid-19. There could easily be 50 players/staff with it in the league right now and it’s probably got even worse after this weekend with all the different clubs and leagues mixing.

We can’t just be the only club testing, it’s only going to disrupt our season whilst others are just allowed to get on with it, it’s irresponsible and potentially very harmful. Ignorance is not bliss.

As for the last time we didn’t compete in the cup errm, they mentioned it on TV yesterday… 1874?

Does postponing games give us an advantage or disadvantage over the teams that continue to play?

Its a sucker punch for Notts, as I do believe the players fell ill due to playing Altrincham.

I don't know what impact it will have, but Pfizer say they will be rolling out a vaccination at the end of November. 100 million doses. It's not a silver bullet but it will certainly improve things. Should be a semblance of normality in Spring. I hope. 

We've played in every FA Cup since 1877-78, when we were dumped out in the first round by our old rivals Sheffield. The likes of Old Wykehamists, Panthers and 1st Surrey Rifles also took part.

56 minutes ago, Dripsey3 said:

I don't know what impact it will have, but Pfizer say they will be rolling out a vaccination at the end of November. 100 million doses. It's not a silver bullet but it will certainly improve things. Should be a semblance of normality in Spring. I hope. 

They want to submit it for acceptance by the end of November, but it's still in trials. Even if all goes to plan, distributing and administering the vaccine will be a huge logistical task, and footballers - as fit young people - will be close to the back of the queue. By the time any players get vaccinated (if at all this season), a good part of the season will already be gone. I hope I'm wrong as I'm sick of it too.

4 hours ago, allardyces tash said:

Does postponing games give us an advantage or disadvantage over the teams that continue to play?

After not training for a couple of weeks and will probably still a number of players unavailable for selection, our first game back will be against promotion favourites Stockport. Can't see it being an advantage

It won't be the last defeat to the coronavirus this season I believe, I expect another break after Christmas - possibly mid-January.

Well, to put a positive spin on it: We're building up herd-immunity, ready for a big November and December. 

@menzinho i agree, it does seem like we are being punished for doing the right thing. losing out on the fa cup might hurt the club come the end of the season but at least we protected the kings lynn players and our own from further possible exposure.