League Suspended.

[Steve_Guppy_Left_Foot]

1 hour ago, Gravel said:

Watford, West Ham and Wolves. Very happy if West Ham went south.

 

Talk was a month or so ago to have no relegation from Prem and promote top 2 from Championship to run with a 22 team league next season. Relegate 5 the season after and take a points per game average this season to settle positions at the top. 

 

Less likely to cause loads of legal issues this way and we still get Champions League. Gets my vote.

 

 

 

I was thinking arsenal, villa and Bournemouth, get 'em down! 

[Super_horns]

1 hour ago, Shram said:

Whilst it would work for the top two of the championship you'd still have those in the play offs challenge it, arguable there's enough games for the top two to be caught, 

Even more so as one is Leeds United!

 

Even teams in mid-table in the Premier league will claim they could have got into Europe like Arsenal etc.

Edited 29 April 2020 by Super_horns

[purpleronnie]

It's typical (and some would say amusing) that the one time it looked like Liverpool and Leeds weren't fecking it up themselves along comes covid-19 to feck it up for them.

[stripeyfox]

I don't see any way this season will be completed. It's done.

The only issue is what to do about deciding placings, champions etc

 

Personally I'd average the points per game and finish it like that. If you get relegated or miss out on promotion then tough shit! 

 

Then with a bit of luck we can resume again in September, but I wouldn't even bank on that at the moment!
 

[sacreblueits442]

On 22/04/2020 at 11:23, ClaphamFox said:

This isn't quite right. The Sun story says that the UEFA will ask each FA to present their own list of teams, and that the UEFA president is in favour of using this season's positions to determine qualification. However, "some FAs" (the story does not specify which) have said that the coefficient scores should be used instead because they're too chicken to make the decision themselves. The story makes it clear that UEFA is not in favour of this, and neither is the FA. If it did decide to go down the coefficient route, UEFA would be swamped by legal action for years to come.

..i am not sure on this premise, but is really possible to take UEFA to court!!!

I believed (possible erroneously) that as the individual clubs have signed, to enter and participate in their tournament, the clubs are unable to sue them as it is part of the agreement which they had signed up to.

[fox in the sox]

13 hours ago, Lambert09 said:

It would result in the 3rd best team being promoted, so yes. If anything that’s fairer than the play-off system 😂

 

The only reason there are so many league 1 teams playing is because the 2nd to 7th is separated by 2 points 

I agree it is fairer, but it was not the rule put in place at the start of the season.

[Lambert09]

32 minutes ago, fox in the sox said:

I agree it is fairer, but it was not the rule put in place at the start of the season.

I would get that if perhaps there was a reason to not try as hard. But the motivation to catch the top 2 has always been there. Its not like the gap was huge so the team in 3rd would have stopped trying. 

 

I think the only legitimate argument for all of these situations is that Team A had easier fixtures than Team B. I think we have 3 options to analyse. Finish the season- obviously the fairest option, if its possible then do it. But lets face it, one person involved contracts symptoms (almost definitely would) and its over. So the more you actually look at it, the less likely it is to happen. 

 

Option 2- Points per game  and  option 3- void.    Of the last 2 options PPG is by far the fairest option. Teams will argue about what might happen, but the facts are that you are in the place that you are in. Its a little harsh, but thats life sometimes. You cant argue that the league has been biast, its not put you there. Its a shame and of all the teams to feel for, its Sheffield United that Im genuinely gutted for. As who knows when they will have a chance like this again. 

 

Why we dont already have laws in the game that your standing will remain in the event of a cancellation I have no idea. 

 

In cricket, if the rain doesnt stop and the game has to be finished, they dont void whats happened. They use the duckworth lewis method... which is basically PPG. Its not ideal but shi* happens. 

 

 

Edited 29 April 2020 by Lambert09

[fox in the sox]

23 minutes ago, Lambert09 said:

I would get that if perhaps there was a reason to not try as hard. But the motivation to catch the top 2 has always been there. Its not like the gap was huge so the team in 3rd would have stopped trying. 

 

I think the only legitimate argument for all of these situations is that Team A had easier fixtures than Team B. I think we have 3 options to analyse. Finish the season- obviously the fairest option, if its possible then do it. But lets face it, one person involved contracts symptoms (almost definitely would) and its over. So the more you actually look at it, the less likely it is to happen. 

 

Option 2- Points per game  and  option 3- void.    Of the last 2 options PPG is by far the fairest option. Teams will argue about what might happen, but the facts are that you are in the place that you are in. Its a little harsh, but thats life sometimes. You cant argue that the league has been biast, its not put you there. Its a shame and of all the teams to feel for, its Sheffield United that Im genuinely gutted for. As who knows when they will have a chance like this again. 

 

Why we dont already have laws in the game that your standing will remain in the event of a cancellation I have no idea. 

 

In cricket, if the rain doesnt stop and the game has to be finished, they dont void whats happened. They use the duckworth lewis method... which is basically PPG. Its not ideal but shi* happens. 

 

 

I agree that you are where you are and if a team is relegated I don't have a problem because they knew the bottom 3 would be relegated at the start of the season. However I think other teams in a play-off place have a good argument because of the rule at the start of the season and the third place team does not always go up.

[Trav Le Bleu]

11 hours ago, Steve_Guppy_Left_Foot said:

Relegation should be alphabetical its the only fair way, which 3 teams would that cause upset for? 

And once again we'd be consigned to mid-table mediocrity.

[tickler28]

Seasons done....Premier League don't want to admit that and will try everything to get it going again but it is just NOT going to happen....common sense will tell you that allowing Liverpool to win their first title in 30 years and hundreds if not millions of people descend on Anfield and the streets breaking social distancing rules faster than you can say Klippety Klopp... impossible

[Tuna]

What do we make of this then.

 

Premier League's seven-page document of coronavirus training rules that all clubs must follow

 

These include:

• All footballs, GPS units, cones, corner flags, goalposts and other equipment to be disinfected before and after use by staff wearing PPE
• Players to wear snood/masks at all times
• Cars to be parked three spaces apart
• No massages unless approved by club doctor
• Fluids to be left at designated pick-up points
• Only visit training block to use toilet
• Initially only five players per training group
• Players to be given designated time slots and 15 minutes to prepare
• 75 minutes of small group training
• 15 minutes recovery
• Players and staff will be banned from spitting at the Training Ground

 

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/premier-league-draw-up-seven-21949358

[st albans fox]

5 hours ago, tickler28 said:

Seasons done....Premier League don't want to admit that and will try everything to get it going again but it is just NOT going to happen....common sense will tell you that allowing Liverpool to win their first title in 30 years and hundreds if not millions of people descend on Anfield and the streets breaking social distancing rules faster than you can say Klippety Klopp... impossible

It’s probably one of the main things that’s possibly going to prevent this from happening - the idea that the scousers can’t be trusted not to congregate en masse when they win it in June or even July. Mass gatherings are simply a big no no ...... 

 

however it’s concluded (and even if it isn’t), they will still be declared champions - so what happens then ?   Surely they will descend on anfield or Stanley park to celebrate ??????

[AshbyBlue]

Just have a penalty shoot out.All players take a shot and who scores the most wins.Self distancing will not be a problem.Shoot outs home and away they can practise for an hour before shoot out commences.Be good fun and every body on the same footing.

[Reg Vardy]

It doesn’t really matter where or how the games will be played, if any one player subsequently tests positive with Covid, before, during or after any game,the whole club (both of them) go into isolation for two weeks......that scuppers the whole league....

[Lionator]

3 minutes ago, Reg Vardy said:

It doesn’t really matter where or how the games will be played, if any one player subsequently tests positive with Covid, before, during or after any game,the whole club (both of them) go into isolation for two weeks......that scuppers the whole league....

Nope, it won’t work like that provided they have testing sorted. If you test negative then you’ll be free to continue, even after being in contact with someone. 

[FoxFossil]

Spain and Italy are publishing ideas on how to move to the 'new normal' which will be with us until a vaccine can be produced. So from other sectors, to reduce risk, restaurants etc to open at much reduced capacity after initial phase of take away only. So a risk management strategy for footy might look similar; phase 1 behind closed doors, phase 2 significant reduced capacity to enable social distancing, for next season? So King Power capacity 10-15,000, no over 65s, drive in large screen televising?? Thoughts? Impact on increasing capacity- threat or opportunity during next year?

[Lionator]

1 hour ago, FoxFossil said:

Spain and Italy are publishing ideas on how to move to the 'new normal' which will be with us until a vaccine can be produced. So from other sectors, to reduce risk, restaurants etc to open at much reduced capacity after initial phase of take away only. So a risk management strategy for footy might look similar; phase 1 behind closed doors, phase 2 significant reduced capacity to enable social distancing, for next season? So King Power capacity 10-15,000, no over 65s, drive in large screen televising?? Thoughts? Impact on increasing capacity- threat or opportunity during next year?

It depends on which way the research goes really. It appears that it transmits a lot more indoors than outdoors, however that Valencia v Atalanta game may have proven otherwise. It's going to have to be a wait and see job I'm afraid.

[Ricey]

56 minutes ago, Lionator said:

It depends on which way the research goes really. It appears that it transmits a lot more indoors than outdoors, however that Valencia v Atalanta game may have proven otherwise. It's going to have to be a wait and see job I'm afraid.

The likelihood is that it was the away fans travelling, visiting pubs and bars and staying in hotels that caused the spread, rather than the match itself, but as that can't be proven I can imagine there is going to serious reservations to having fans back in stadiums for a long long time. Even though a lot can be done in regards to social distancing and generally reducing the risk of spread on match day.

Edited 30 April 2020 by Ricey

[Guest MattP]

5 minutes ago, Ricey said:

The likelihood is that it was the away fans travelling, visiting pubs and bars and staying in hotels that caused the spread, rather than the match itself, but the as that can't be proven I can imagine there is going to serious reservations to having fans back in stadiums for a long long time, even though a lot can be done in regards to social distancing and generally reducing the risk of spread on match day.

And the problem with Atalanta v Valencia was you effectively had 40,000 away fans with the trip from Bergamo to Milan.

 

It's scary to think just how many lives were shortened by that match.

[Jimbo]

The only reason the league has not been cancelled is because of money. Sky and BT etc have invested a lot into the premier league.

France, Holland etc don't get the money we get in this country for TV rights. Cancelling their seasons means nothing to them apart from a few upset clubs and I have no doubt they will basically be told to suck it up.

 

I can't see any european football happening next season, might even be for a couple of years. The euros, although postponed until next year, are still a doubt, as things stand. World cup qualification alone means the world cup may be a doubt.

 

Because of this, the only teams to truly miss out on anything will be the promoted teams from the championship (and Liverpool obviously) with the current tv deals and the injection of cash. But everyone would take a massive hit if the season were cancelled. Clubs, including us, would have to pay back 100's of millions and receive no prize money because of a breach in contract. Although, surely an act of God could be put forward as an argument? Works for insuramce companies...

 

[brucey]

18 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Clubs, including us, would have to pay back 100's of millions and receive no prize money because of a breach in contract. Although, surely an act of God could be put forward as an argument? Works for insuramce companies...

A lot of our funds have been brought forward by borrowing from that Australian bank. We borrowed many tens of millions against future seasons' TV money and future Mahrez instalments, and the PL and Man C were meant to pay the bank directly on our behalf. I wonder what that means in practice, if the bank is unable to obtain the money from those sources, and can't get it from us either because we've spent it? 

[dsr-burnley]

3 hours ago, Reg Vardy said:

It doesn’t really matter where or how the games will be played, if any one player subsequently tests positive with Covid, before, during or after any game,the whole club (both of them) go into isolation for two weeks......that scuppers the whole league....

The rule is that if someone in your household tests positive then the whole household goes into isolation for 2 weeks.  That does not apply to businesses - if one worker in a factory gets coronavirus, they don't close the factory for a fortnight.

[StriderHiryu]

A lot of people are understandably against the League resuming but if very carefully controlled I think it *could* be a good thing. It's inevitable that quite a few people (players, key staff, match officials) will end up getting infected but I do think there is merit to giving the average man in the street something to root for and follow in these crazy times. I also think it would be unrealistic to start a new season without some sort of dry run with social distancing / heavy precautions so maybe the last 10 or 11 games run with such measures can help with that.

 

Will be interesting to see what happens, but it seems pretty set in stone it's happening now.

 

 

 

 

[fox_up_north]

The other option is to only play a proportion of the remaining games. There's 9 left for most teams. No way we get through all nine games with UEFA breathing down necks to get CL going. I do think dominoes are starting to fall with most of Europe ending their seasons and we surely can't be far behind. 

 

If the players were to report back to training on 1 June, they'd need at least 2 weeks to warm back up. That then puts you into June 14 and teams could do 3 games over the space of a week, in neutral grounds and perhaps be stationed in one part of the country. They could also each play a team above and below them. 

 

Take us for example - base ourselves in London and play Watford, Chelsea and Palace on Monday, Weds and Saturday - all at Charlton's ground. 

 

There could then be a group of Bournemouth, Wolves, Southampton and Spurs all based at Swindon's ground. So on and so on. 

In theory, you can have five "groups" of four. Is it perfect? Far from it but if all teams go into it knowing what they're getting into, all players currently with the club (and not on loan) can be used then the TV companies can be happy, you're minimising the risk. It also takes VAR out of the equation if you use lower league stadiums. 

At the moment - I do not see the season ending and this is as creative as I can get. 

[Leicester_Loyal]

2 hours ago, StriderHiryu said:

A lot of people are understandably against the League resuming but if very carefully controlled I think it *could* be a good thing. It's inevitable that quite a few people (players, key staff, match officials) will end up getting infected but I do think there is merit to giving the average man in the street something to root for and follow in these crazy times. I also think it would be unrealistic to start a new season without some sort of dry run with social distancing / heavy precautions so maybe the last 10 or 11 games run with such measures can help with that.

 

Will be interesting to see what happens, but it seems pretty set in stone it's happening now.

 

 

 

 

If they put it on tv too, one game at a time, it'll give millions of people something to watch, hopefully resisting the urge to go outside and risk the spread.