COWDENBEATH FC last played on March 10 and there is a real prospect of the club not kicking a ball again for many months as will every other team in Scotland.

However, the speculation of the pundits about what will happen as the coronavirus issue continues to stop play, about how league positions are finalised surely will not lead to what happened to Cowden in 1946.

The Blues had won promotion and started the 1939-40 season in the First Division but the outbreak of the Second World War saw play ended and when football returned in 1946 Cowden thought they would be in the top division..ah no!

The Cowden club historian, director David Allan said looked back at some of the issues raised then and after: "Blue Brazil fans are already having withdrawal symptoms and going ‘cold turkey’.

"Football has become a 24/7, all year round sport. However, it wasn’t so long ago when the season ended every year on April 30 and we had a 3-month close season break. Now it’s nearer a 3 week close season!

"This is not the first time Cowden have had a hiatus. Cowdenbeath played through most of World War 1. They were in the Eastern League in 1917/18 as Division 2 had been shut down. That season ended with a match v Raith Rovers to raise funds for the Soldiers and Sailors Comforts Fund.

"Cowdenbeath then closed down, as they had had their fill of Wartime football, to await the end of the Great War – which in fact was just six months later. Cowden then re-emerged after being shut down for 10 months in March 1919 and warmed up with a 6-0 win over HMS Conqueror at Central Park.

"This HMS Conqueror, of course, was not the submarine that later sank the Belgrano. The original Conqueror was a dreadnought battleship and was present at Rosyth when the German High Seas Fleet surrendered there on November 21. Competitive football was then resumed in August 1919 after 15 months inactivity.

"The Second World War had a much bigger impact on Cowdenbeath FC as the club went into abeyance for five and a half years. Cowden had just been promoted to the top flight but only played 5 games before the League was stopped.

"A wartime league was set up but Cowdenbeath had very few local players. Many of their players found it awkward to get off work or travel. "Cowden were mid-table with 15 points from 15 games and poor weather then saw some matches cancelled. It was announced that a shareholders’ meeting was to be held at Central Park on 8th February. Cowden had been losing on average £30 per week and had lost hundreds of pounds since the start of the season.

"At the meeting, the club decided to shut down for the duration of the war. The Scottish League, trying to avoid other clubs following this example, promptly fined Cowden £400 (the £50 guarantee that would have been paid to the visiting clubs in each of the remaining 8 home games of the season).

"Bill Hodge resigned as Chairman whilst a skeleton staff, headed by trainer Davie Stewart, was kept on at the ground primarily to oversee the greyhound racing and that was that, Cowden were ‘out of action’ – no-one knew when the Miners would ever again take the field. And, of course, to add insult to injury, Cowden were put into the Second Division when peacetime football resumed!"

Looking at other lenghty breaks in a season David added: "Since then most breaks in play have been weather related in the years when we had really harsh winters. 1947 saw Scotland in the grip of one of the worst winters in living memory and Cowden went 10 weeks without playing a League game.

"One club official suggested, 'The whole position is becoming so fantastic that I can easily visualise the abandonment of either the Scottish Cup or the League Cup.'

"Cowden’s third round Scottish Cup tie at Tynecastle was delayed for many weeks and did not take place until March 8. The SFA did not wish any replays so the game went straight into extra time and Hearts hit the winner in 118 minutes!

"Many still recall the big freeze of winter of 1962/63 – this was when the Pools Panel was introduced to guess the results so folks could still do their football coupons. After December 29th 1962, Cowden didn’t play a League match for 10 weeks once more.

"The season was exceptionally extended into May. Cowden played 14 league games in the last 7 weeks of the campaign. Then there was 1980/81 when Andy Rolland’s team missed promotion on the last day of the season. That no doubt was largely due to having to play 16 matches in the last 53 days."

What will happen in 2020?

days of the season. Most recently Jimmy Nicholl’s team in 2010/11 went 97 days without a home game that winter,