DangerousSausage

How did we get on @KB1862? Did we win this time?

I wouldn't personally request a refund, but neither would I judge anyone else who did. There are people out there who are struggling financially, so I wouldn't blame them for getting a refund on matches they can't attend. I've got a season ticket at Mannheim and had the same option. The season was stopped with a third of matches still to play. The club offered fans three options - a refund, to put the money towards next season's ticket, or to waive the refund. With option three, the club pledged to donate a share of the money to charity - a nice move.

Good stuff. The Stasi had a massive networks of spies and informants - nearly 2% of East Germany's population! And on top of that they played at Dynamo Berlin, the Stasi's favourite club that won 10 championships in a row up to 1988, so they really were under the noses of the secret police. Other recent players who played in the GDR include Uwe Rösler (Magdeburg) and Michael Ballack (FC Karl-Marx-Stadt, now Chemnitzer FC).

Jerome Boateng had a high-profile brush with racism a few years ago when a far-right politician stated he wouldn't want to live next door to him. The man responded with class and dignity, but no-one should have to listen to rubbish like that. I'd say Germany is about 20 years behind the UK when it comes to racism. Jokes are made at the expense of ethnic minorities that would never be acceptable in Britain, even in the mainstream media. And if you're a person with Turkish name and you're applying for jobs, good luck - you're far less likely to be invited to an interview

Update: Lok have been crowned champions of the Regionalliga Nordost and will play a two-legged play-off against SC Verl for a place in the third division. The matches will be played behind closed doors, but the club has had a great idea. Fans can buy toy pigs (which are considered lucky) for €15 a pop, which will then be seated in the stadium for the first leg (see below for an artist's impression). For the second leg, the animals will then make the journey to Verl to hopefully witness a promotion triumph. I feel an email coming on...

Oh crumbs, I forgot to reply to this. I hope you gently asked him what it was like to work with our former chairman...

So, the play-offs are happening. The semi-final is to be played by 18 July, and the final by 31 July. We are two wins away from the promised land of League Two.

As far as I'm aware, Notts and Yeovil are the only clubs in the division where player contracts end at the end of June. At all the others it's the end of April. I don't know what state Barnet are in, but some clubs will be better equipped to play the play-offs than others. Tinpot league...

I agree with this. Usually, we'd have a few extra days to recuperate while our semi-final opponent runs themselves ragged. But in this case it'll be our first competitive game for three months. I wonder if it would be possible to play a friendly before this? Or even the FA Trophy semi? The system is design to give the teams in second and third an advantage, but now it seems to do the opposite. We had a similar case in the German cup this week - Saarbrücken (just promoted to the third division) played Leverkusen in the semi-final. Saarbrücken hadn't played a competitive match since early March, Leverkusen already had four or five Bundesliga matches under their belt. It was a farce and totally unfair.

With the news that League One has also ended, it's time to bring this season's prediction league to a close. And the winner is.... drum roll... @ARLukomski rose to the top of the table for the first time on the very last weekend before the season was stopped, nicking it from under the noses of @Dan and @weymouthPIE. So he's the champon for the second season running - congratulations! Congratulations also go to @barnet11uk, @super_ram and @4everapie, who had a very strong season. Thank you to everyone for playing, and especially for @Chris for providing a platform! The prediction league will be back as soon as league football returns. To be continued...

Interesting. Some thoughts: - If we are going to be in the play-offs, the players need to be in training. But how? According to the rules, six people from different households can exercise together, so that'll permit training in small groups. But what about playing? The rules are there to protect people after all, and footballers should be no exception. I assume there'll be a similar testing/quarantine system in place as in Germany to prevent infection. - How lucky are Wycombe? They've jumped from 8th to 3rd, basically because they had a game in hand! - I hope the games are streamed somehow, as I can't get BT Sport over here... - But most importantly of all, this has consequences for the PON prediction league. I'll be in touch

Nothing earth-shatteringly new, but it gave me a nice, fuzzy feeling that the club is in good hands and the owners see themselves as being accountable to the fans.

@hissingdwarf Just to clarify, my comment wasn't meant as criticism of the NEU's line, they're exactly right (I know a number of people involved in that union myself). The countries where schools are reopening are far ahead of the UK in lowering the number of infections. Safety should be the only consideration here, and not getting the parents back to work ASAP, as seems to be the case.

@Chris It must be a difficult one for parents. Kids do seem to be at lower risk themselves, but there's still a risk of them spreading it to teachers and older relatives. The schools will have to reopen at some stage, when that will be depends on the level of risk you're willing to accept. Schools are open in Germany and Denmerk, but the number of infections in those countries is far, far lower than in Britain (in my state there were 30 new infections yesterday, out of a population of 6.5 million). The NEU's line is "only when it's safe" - obviously nothing in this life is 100% safe, but when the government's own advisers have gone on record as saying it's too early, then it's too early. The school my sister teaches at has been open for children of key workers and vulnerable families throughout, but the handful of kids that have been going in is manageable compared to what would happen if whole year groups went in. They haven't reopened fully yet and she's relieved about it.

Newcastle were the only English side to win the "original" Anglo-Italian Cup, in 1973. Hmm... how did we get on in the Notts Senior Cup?