Year of the asterisk. So what?

Published 6th Apr 2020

The two youngest grandchildren are still getting on their scooters and coming round to see us.

We open the window and throw out a couple of bags of goodies. They think it's great fun and the highlight of their day.

But it's horrible.

Isolation is soul destroying for grandparents who are no longer allowed to hug their grandchildren or even get too close to them.

We speak from behind a window frame and try to pretend it's the most normal thing in the world.

It's life, but not as we knew it.

What we are all being asked to do, though, is take responsibility for ourselves as we attempt to come to terms with, and negotiate, a pandemic.

It's odd watching football attempt to do the same thing as the foundations of the game visibly and audibly creak beneath our feet.

This will eventually be the year of the asterisk.

There'll be one put beside the names of those made champions or those demoted to denote the fact that these decisions were taken in light of the fact that football was unable to continue under normal circumstances.

Or else there'll be one placed at the head of every league table to betoken the fact that this season was declared null and void as a result of it being acknowledged that any football being played for the foreseeable future was impossible.

The latter plan seems unlikely since finance has over-ruled any course of action which is likely to come at a cost which adds to the fiscal chaos presently engulfing the British game.

The SPFL Board will meet tomorrow for the latest round of discussion over a situation which was none of their making and has so far taxed the imagination of its nine members when it comes to taking a hard and fast decision.

They are waitng for a helping hand, like the government proclaiming football is officially over for this season, at which point the major issues are decided by who stands where in whichever league you look at.

Or else they're waiting for UEFA to take a step back from their currently intransigent stance and allowing domestic leagues to be called to a halt without there being the threat of expulsion from European competition.

UEFA are intent on protecting the money they have from broadcasters throughout the continent and not being forced into a re-payment that would amount to astronomical sums being lost.

The consequence of that standpoint being taken is that Scottish football is forced to hold its breath while clubs here move closer to extinction because outgoings with no income equals disaster.

We could always take unilateral action and admit normal life is impossible.

We could always call our leagues over and distribute prize money on where clubs are at present in the league tables, thereby staving off the day when grounds are padlocked and a line is drawn under history.

There will be an asterisk against 2020, it being the worst year any of us have known in our lifetime.

Would it be made any worse if reality was observed and clubs were made title holders or relegated?

Would a proper sense of perspective be that, in the grand scheme of things, who wins what or who suffers what where football is concerned is becoming less important with the announcement of each day's death total from the coronavirus.

When the dead are numbered in tens of thousands do UEFA seriously think anybody is likely to be completing this season's European competitions any time soon?

When ordinary life has come to a halt and with no sign of when everything will get back to normal is it more important that we campaign to make sure we get a resolution to the Scottish season that suits our argument?

I think we have arrived at that juncture where we concede there are things more important than football.

When life is restored to normal service then we can point to the asterisks and argue that the outcome determined in April will forever cast a shadow over what was decided.

When life is back to normal that might even seem like good fun after months of misery and loss of life.

But right now?

We need to take responsibility for ourselves. Clubs need to protect their existence. Players who can afford to take a pay cut should take one.

We can get back to the petty squabbling with renewed vigour when this dark cloud passes.

Survival is more important than anything else at the moment. Survival of the species and survival of the football clubs who will once again become an enjoyable addition to everyday life when the game returns.

An addition to life, not more important than life.

The year of the asterisk. So what?