How League Two clubs reacted to the curtailment of the 2019/20 season

Clubs at both ends of League Two have been reacting to the early curtailment of the 2019/20 season that was formally confirmed on Tuesday.

After giving their indicative view nearly a month ago, League Two clubs were finally able to make it official when only Forest Green Rovers voted against curtailing the season and adopting the EFL's framework, with tables decided by points-per-game.

Swindon are champions and will be joined in League One next season by Crewe and Plymouth, while Colchester, Cheltenham, Exeter and Northampton face one another in the play-offs.

The third tier went the same way at a later vote on Tuesday, which meant Peterborough United narrowly missed out on the play-offs and Coventry and Rotherham were automatically promoted.

"I've been in the game 60 years and it's the biggest disappointment I've ever had," Posh director of football Barry Fry told BBC Look East. "I feel my club has been cheated for the chance of promotion.

"Your form at home, your form away, they took nothing into consideration, I think it's been a disgrace the way it's been handled from day one. The governing bodies have let the football family down, I'm so annoyed."

Meanwhile, here's how clubs in League Two reacted...

Swindon - Champions

"We wanted to win it on the pitch because we were the best team in the league," said Robins boss Richie Wellens. "But I'm so proud of all the players. And the supporters should be very proud too because the connection between players and fans has been great.

"The atmosphere at home games was fantastic, the away games sold out and that feel-good factor the fans created has made this happen."

Exeter City - Play-offs

President Julian Tagg said: "There were so many diverse positions and opinions from each of the three EFL Leagues; depending on finance, league positions and a number of other factors. So, while there has been significant criticism, I think it is only fair to say that the EFL, and the clubs within it, have reached this decision under difficult and frustrating circumstances.

"At Exeter City, despite this immediate certainty only just being confirmed, the team, and the team behind the team, have already been working towards preparation for yet another play-off battle, albeit under very different circumstances to those in 2017 and 2018.

"Matt Taylor, his team and the players are working very hard towards what we hope will be a rewarding end to this season."

Crewe - Promoted

"It's a bit of a relief," admtted manager David Artell. "It's given me a rest from digging the garden, which has been my life for the last eight weeks.

"But it's not about me, it's about the players. They deserve huge credit. I don't think anyone would begrudge us promotion. It's nine games earlier than we'd have liked but we've done it fairly comfortably. And the way we were playing when the season stopped, I was fancying us to go on and win the league.

"I was always quietly confident that we were going to have a good season. There are very few games in which we haven't given a good account of ourselves. And we've worked hard for it. I'm a great believer that hard work will always get your rewards in the end.

"But make no bones about it, this is the easiest part of our journey. Now we've got to go again. We're better than it being about just staying up and that's got to be the aim in League One next season."

Stevenage - Bottom

"It's definitely not the end for us," chairman Phil Wallace told BBC Radio 5 Live. "It's a process. We are 24th but it is subject to the disciplinary procedures against Macclesfield.

"They have a charge to answer for not paying players on time. That's the sixth time this season. There is a definite competitive advantage gained by doing that.

"There should be consequences, there always has been in the past so I assume there will be a points deduction."

Despite expecting to avoid the drop though, Wallace does not feel PPG is a fair way to settle the season.

"The fairer way would have been for one or two clubs to come up from the National League and go to 25 clubs for one season," he added. "Then put that right next season in terms of balancing the numbers again.

"I just can't see the downside to that. And I'm disappointed that we couldn't see through the woods to use it as a solution.

"We were keen to put our proposal across. The FA and EFL would have probably approved it so it's disappointing that this hasn't been adopted. But we live in a democratic world and we've all had our say."

Macclesfield - Could still be relegated pending FA charges

"We feel the EFL are trying their best to throw Macclesfield out of the league," a player statement said. "We are a small club, who are always fighting against the odds, but that's what makes us such a great story.

"The fans deserve happier days, so I hope that common sense will prevail at the EFL, in terms of the current 'unfair' PPG calculations."

Plymouth - Promoted

"We're now just looking forward to testing ourselves against stronger opposition," Lowe said. "But we have to do it right. We know a lot of things are going to change in football over the next 12 months.

"It's what we set out to achieve, but it's still something special, especially for the fans after a turbulent season last year being relegated.

"It's nice to have back to back promotions in only my second full season. I know there's managers who have been going 20 years and not had a promotion. But the only thing were thinking about right now is getting this club back in League One. And that's what we've done."

Colchester - Play-offs

"We have been preparing for these play-off matches for a while now, but it's great news, and a little bit of a relief, to have it all confirmed with the vote," admitted U's boss John McGreal.

"Actually, we've been geared up to trying to win promotion all season, so this gives us the opportunity to fulfil that ambition we all had back in August.

"I'm gutted for the fans as they won't be able to come to the games and cheer us on as a reward for their support all season.

"I know that they'll be watching on TV though - willing us to get the positive results against Exeter that get us to the final and then hopefully promotion."

Bradford City - Missed out on play-offs

Director of communications Ryan Sparks said “Today has clearly been historic and the build-up to it has been long and winding.

“But, at the very least, we have been able to finally make some much-needed progress and edge further towards the definitive end of this season.

“Other than the proposal provided by Lincoln City, which was entirely fair, selfless and understandable, we believe the remaining suggestions were not designed to benefit the game as a whole.

“The EFL have been more than fair in allowing clubs to have a say and, this afternoon, we reached a sensible outcome - which protects member clubs as far as possible while maintaining a level of integrity.

“The play-offs can now take place and a formal conclusion will be reached before the end of June, which is important for clubs going forward.

“In terms of the future, which remains somewhat unclear, it is now crucial we look towards a start date for the 2020/21 campaign.

“This will allow clubs to best prepare themselves for what lies ahead. We understand the Premier League would like to begin next season around September but this will be dependent on a host of outside factors, including the UEFA Champions League.

“Hopefully, by July, we will have received a framework which we can work towards. From there, with a bit of luck, the transfer market will kick into gear and we can begin work in that area as well.”

Carlisle - Mid-table

Chief executive Nigel Clibbens said: “At the EFL League Two meeting this afternoon, the season was officially brought to an end.

"We previously indicated we backed this approach when it was first debated and unanimously supported by all League Two clubs a few weeks ago.

"Again we supported the proposal today, so we are pleased to finally have certainty over the remaining games of the 19/20 season.

"Not finishing the season is extraordinary, but at least we can now start to focus on next season.

"Next for us is the reopening of the Blues Store, which we have taken steps towards with the opening of our online shop service.

"More announcements will be made shortly on the way forward, so watch this space."

Cambridge United - Mid-table

CEO Ian Mather commented: “The football club are satisfied with the outcome of today’s vote and curtailment of the 2019/20 League Two season, which allows us all to focus our efforts on ensuring Cambridge United’s stability and longevity moving forward beyond the current campaign.

“We are keen to engage in the EFL discussions which now turn towards the 2020/21 season; specifically around when that campaign can begin, as well as when the re-introduction of supporters into football stadiums is likely to happen.

"These will of course be significant decisions and play an important role in the football club’s continued management of the situation caused by the Covid-19 outbreak.

“We thank our supporters again for their continued and unwavering support during this period, and remain positive that together the Football Club can come through this.”

Cheltenham - Play-offs

"People are looking forward to it now," said manager Michael Duff. "Everyone just wants to finish the job. We reported for pre-season nearly a year ago - we were in I think 25 or 26 June. We're in June again now. There's a lot of hard work that's gone into this season.

"I'm sure we're exactly the same as the other three teams, we'll be doing everything we can, preparing the best we can, in not ideal circumstances. The situation is the situation and we're trying to finish the job off. Ultimately there's going to be one team that are going to get promoted out of League Two and we want to make sure it is us."