Could they void the PL due to the Coronavirus? | No | Resuming June 17th

[villain]

Out of interest do you genuinely strict lockdown will remain once cases start rapidly going south, do you?

Yes considering no other country (including China) has actually stopped the growth of the virus.
Don't be fooled, the lockdown merely slows down the growth of the virus - it's not stopping it at all. There's no short-term end in sight.

If you stop the lockdown while there are people who a) are still infected or b) are carrying the virus but showing no symptoms - we'll just be back at square one.

Plus the reasons others have stated such as, if a footballer gets injured & needs to go to the hospital for treatment, he risks getting infected & thereby infecting others, as well as other reasons such as putting unnecessary strain on the NHS.

 

[Sandikan]

Lower national leagues have already been canceled and they are beginning to get sued as well by teams that are losing out a lot by having the season voided and not getting promoted, there are some that had mathematically confirmed promotion and those that were very close to it. So the lawyers thing is going to happen in any case, whether the season is voided or not. Sheffield are going to lose out on an opportunity to get into Europe since they will lose Henderson after this season ends so this is an opportunity they won't get back.

Awarding the placings based on the current standings is fair because a lot of the season has been played and teams should get the rewards for their performances, while those that have been poor should not get a respite for next season. This can be consistently applied to every level of leagues.



If Wycombe are going to suffer and you still feel that it should be voided then you're right I shouldn't lump you in with the rest. Can just agree to disagree. I still feel it's harsh to not reward teams for their effort this season but what bugs me more are teams that have clearly been piss getting a free pass for next season.

Yep, it can't be "fair" all in, as for every Liverpool, you have your Arsenal, who have had a dreary waste of a season and achieving nothing, yet could end up rewarded. Or those who could get away without a relegation
But it may not be possible to help.

And remember United are probably right at the top of the "would lose out" table, having a superb chance of both top 4 and/or the Europa to qualify.

There's plenty of issues with every option. But I think one angle that is overlooked, is that people are presuming that if we re-started in say August, that we'd still have all 91 clubs in the 4 divisions, all operating. (Bury being the 92nd who went bust before the season started).
If you have a number of clubs drop out, it makes It even less of a fair continuation to anything. Obviously this wouldn't affect the Premier league, which is where most eyes are, being the most high profile.

 

[Sandikan]

Is that the reason?

Im not gonna lie I will laugh my balls off if Liverpool are denied the title out of this. Absolutely I will. Its a comedic "benefit" of all of this if I can call it that.

But its by far the main reason for not continuing with the league. United are well placed to get a CL spot, why would we want the league called off now to deny ourselves that?

But the logistics of continuing, ensuring fairness for all clubs, safety of players, officials, and all associated with the game if it is to continue in my opinon (at this moment in time with and with the Government saying this could go on for six months) are pretty much insurmountable.

Thats why it should be called off.

You've totally contradicted yourself from one sentence to another

I think we can all agree that if Liverpool were denied in this way, they'd be utterly soul destroyed and think they'd never win it!

Especially if next season got massively eaten into/cancelled as well.
They'd have their absolute worst (football) case scenario of 2 potential league wins eaten from underneath them!

 

[bosnian_red]

Fairest thing would be to finish the season eventually, but feck knows how or when that will be done. Selfish reasons I would be okay with it being done behind closed doors, just so I can watch football for a period again. But every other logic goes against that notion as the fans are such a big part of it. Finishing the season would then just have to happen before a certain time, but how long do they go until they have to call it off? Because that would be the only other option. All future football events are then just offset by however long this one is delayed, and the world just adjusts to that.

Think ending the season as is is arguably the worst solution, as then it's not fair on clubs who had tougher fixtures and were going to go on a good run or others who climbed the table because of easier fixtures. Wouldnt be a realistic representation of the season.

 

[christinaa]

Don't be so fecking condescending.

Not one nerve it seems!

Seems someone needs a sanity check mate.

 

[Rooney24]

You've totally contradicted yourself from one sentence to another

I think we can all agree that if Liverpool were denied in this way, they'd be utterly soul destroyed and think they'd never win it!

Especially if next season got massively eaten into/cancelled as well.
They'd have their absolute worst (football) case scenario of 2 potential league wins eaten from underneath them!

Im not sure I have. I said I would find it funny. I would. Unlike some Im not gonna say I wont.

But I went on to outline the MAIN reasons the league shouldnt continue. Liverpool being denied a title isnt it.

 

[Ramshock]

Don't be so fecking condescending.

 

[Bojan11]

Wimbledon is going to be cancelled and that’s in late June.

I don’t see how it’s going to work.They need to find a place where they can fit all the prem teams in. Then you got producers, cameramen, ball boys etc. Then playing that many games in the space of days is going to increase the risk of injuries.

Just end it and restart in October.

 

[christinaa]

Are you percieving Liverpool fans here becoming more irritated with their comments because they are realising there may be a big chance of this season declared as null and void ?

 

[villain]

Don't be so fecking condescending.

You first hun

 

[hasanejaz88]

Yes considering no other country (including China) has actually stopped the growth of the virus.
Don't be fooled, the lockdown merely slows down the growth of the virus - it's not stopping it at all. There's no short-term end in sight.

If you stop the lockdown while there are people who a) are still infected or b) are carrying the virus but showing no symptoms - we'll just be back at square one.

Plus the reasons others have stated such as, if a footballer gets injured & needs to go to the hospital for treatment, he risks getting infected & thereby infecting others, as well as other reasons such as putting unnecessary strain on the NHS.

S.Koreas active cases have been steadily dropping for the past 3 weeks. It's about how vigilant a population and government can be in stopping the spread of the virus.

Whether this can be done in 2.5 months is another question. While I don't think it is likely that we'll have fans in the game but I do think having matches behind closed doors can be possible by then.

 

[Redcy]

It will be interesting to see what happens if they do try to start it up early. If we are still in any state of lockdown I think there might be something of a backlash. Utilising scarce resources, putting people at risk, etc, all for a game of football might not play out as well as many think on here in the public's eyes and even with politicians.

 

[Nou_Camp99]

As fun as it is to make the scousers squirm over all this......it's probably not in our interest for the season to be totally voided. If it was we'd end up back in the Europa League AGAIN and I don't think we get Sancho in that scenario either.

As things stand in the league we have every chance of getting 4th place (or 5th if City ban is upheld) and we even have a chance in Europa League if that still goes ahead (doubtful).

I think I'd rather be back in the big time and be able to get Sancho over seeing Liverpool end up with nothing. The fun of watching them miss out won't last that long but a full season in Europa will be a lot lot longer.

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

Don't be so fecking condescending.

that’s a very long word. Shift + F7 in MS Word?

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

Are you percieving Liverpool fans here becoming more irritated with their comments because they are realising there may be a big chance of this season declared as null and void ?

for some of them the reality is starting to become clear. For the others they have their heads buried under their duvets.

you would hope that they could understand the implications in respect of the bigger picture, but for many they just seem blinkered.

in a way, it must be refreshing to be oblivious to what is going on the world.

 

[Reynoldo]

As fun as it is to make the scousers squirm over all this......it's probably not in our interest for the season to be totally voided. If it was we'd end up back in the Europa League AGAIN and I don't think we get Sancho in that scenario either.

As things stand in the league we have every chance of getting 4th place (or 5th if City ban is upheld) and we even have a chance in Europa League if that still goes ahead (doubtful).

I think I'd rather be back in the big time and be able to get Sancho over seeing Liverpool end up with nothing. The fun of watching them miss out won't last that long but a full season in Europa will be a lot lot longer.

While I agree with you in that it should be about United first, I wouldn't be so sure about how this affects them going forward. Footballs a funny old game and if the season is voided and next one delayed or changed you don't know how this will play out. They are riding high now for sure but I didn't think they could sustain the form this season after going so close and missing out the previous one. Now they may well do it again and start back up where they left off but you never know, if they were denied the title this year that could be the thing that finally breaks their run. You factor in some injuries or players forms relapsing and all of a sudden they might not be sitting at the top any more.

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

While I agree with you in that it should be about United first, I wouldn't be so sure about how this affects them going forward. Footballs a funny old game and if the season is voided and next one delayed or changed you don't know how this will play out. They are riding high now for sure but I didn't think they could sustain the form this season after going so close and missing out the previous one. Now they may well do it again and start back up where they left off but you never know, if they were denied the title this year that could be the thing that finally breaks their run. You factor in some injuries or players forms relapsing and all of a sudden they might not be sitting at the top any more.

if Liverpool don’t win the league this season, it will break them. City with no champions league will concentrate on the league, and I don’t see Liverpool being able to sustain their form, it had already dropped off of a cliff the past few weeks. Liverpool have always been mentally weak, and this will expose their weaknesses.

 

[Nou_Camp99]

if Liverpool don’t win the league this season, it will break them. City with no champions league will concentrate on the league, and I don’t see Liverpool being able to sustain their form, it had already dropped off of a cliff the past few weeks. Liverpool have always been mentally weak, and this will expose their weaknesses.

This could well be proven to be right but that would mean another season in the EL for us and I doubt we get Sancho either. Is that worth it just to laugh at them lot? Is that what we've become?

That's like a Bolton fan I grew up with who once admitted to me that he was okay with them being relegated that particular season because United won nothing.

 

[Cloud7]

Out of interest do you genuinely strict lockdown will remain once cases start rapidly going south, do you?

There is no cure, nor even any promising treatments (Don't come at me with the hydroxycholoroquine + AZT, nor the Tocilizumab, no proper studies or evidence yet), for this condition, good sir. The whole purpose of the lockdown is to not overwhelm the health system, and try to buy time for an effective treatment to be discovered, or to give the health systems a chance to get the numbers under control via supportive treatment. Lockdown is not a treatment, it's an exercise in buying us time, and the second the lockdown ends, and people start going back to their lives as normal, the numbers are going to ramp up all over again.

 

[villain]

S.Koreas active cases have been steadily dropping for the past 3 weeks. It's about how vigilant a population and government can be in stopping the spread of the virus.

Whether this can be done in 2.5 months is another question. While I don't think it is likely that we'll have fans in the game but I do think having matches behind closed doors can be possible by then.

That's the sticking point here, the OP mentioned end of April being the beginning of cases dropping in the UK (hypothetically) which would indicate an end to lockdown in June.
I just don't see that happening as much as I'd want it to - and even if it did - the end of the lockdown would signal a slow reintegration for society first - probably in phases, that doesn't mean that professional sports will be given priority - add on to the fact that the players will need a period to get their fitness levels back.

Plus I don't think a lot of people have considered exactly how many people will be impacted by games being played BCD? It's not like 36 players, a couple managers and a referee will just have a kickabout for 2 hours.
Kit men, ground staff, security, medical staff, cleaners, nutritionists, ball boys, media, drivers, hotel workers will all have to be involved - there's probably a lot of others that i'm forgetting too. That's far too many moving parts to try and control in a situation like this, where you're trying to isolate infection rates.

As fun as it is to make the scousers squirm over all this......it's probably not in our interest for the season to be totally voided. If it was we'd end up back in the Europa League AGAIN and I don't think we get Sancho in that scenario either.

As things stand in the league we have every chance of getting 4th place (or 5th if City ban is upheld) and we even have a chance in Europa League if that still goes ahead (doubtful).

I think I'd rather be back in the big time and be able to get Sancho over seeing Liverpool end up with nothing. The fun of watching them miss out won't last that long but a full season in Europa will be a lot lot longer.

Pretty ambitious to think European football will take place next season. But I do agree, I'd prefer to see us in the CL even if it means Liverpool win the league.

 

[TheReligion]

Its looking likely it will peak (possibly badly) in April then start going down.

It's at that point the slow introduction back to society will be looked at and discussed.

It's almost cute that you think this is true.

Not as cute as you resorting to belitlement because you don't have the brain capacity to muster up a counter argument.

Shots fired! It seems quarantine is making people extra ratty. Ha ha

 

[Cloud7]

To put valuable public resources into something as trivial as football, during an ongoing pandemic, would be absolutely criminal. I can't see any politician short of Donald Trump actually being willing to take that risk, and quite rightly so. It would be political suicide.

 

[RobinLFC]

that’s a very long word. Shift + F7 in MS Word?

No idea what that's supposed to mean. If it's an attempt to be funny, please enlighten me about all the languages you speak apart form English.

 

[EwanI Ted]

Plus I don't think a lot of people have considered exactly how many people will be impacted by games being played BCD? It's not like 36 players, a couple managers and a referee will just have a kickabout for 2 hours.
Kit men, ground staff, security, medical staff, cleaners, nutritionists, ball boys, media, drivers, hotel workers will all have to be involved - there's probably a lot of others that i'm forgetting too. That's far too many moving parts to try and control in a situation like this, where you're trying to isolate infection rates.

Yeah I think people are overlooking this point. I'd say as a bare minimum 100 people are involved in playing a game behind closed doors, most of which will be in the ground at the time of the game. For a one off game, okay maybe it could be managed with care, but with 90-odd games remaining that's a huge amount of interactions.

 

[Paxi]

Wimbledon is going to be cancelled and that’s in late June.

I don’t see how it’s going to work.They need to find a place where they can fit all the prem teams in. Then you got producers, cameramen, ball boys etc. Then playing that many games in the space of days is going to increase the risk of injuries.

Just end it and restart in October.

Not to mention ambulances and police present at all games across all the leagues. I severely doubt that would be allowed to happen while there is still any danger to life. There would be an outrage after all that's happened.

 

[BusbyMalone]

Well if what Delaney is saying is true, hopefully this puts to bed any notion of “fairness” and “sporting integrity” that most in the media are parroting. Those words were absolutely meaningless in this current situation anyway, but even more so now if this idea comes to fruition. It was never about integrity. That was just a convenient word to throw around by some.

 

[Rooney24]

Well if what Delaney is saying is true, hopefully this puts to bed any notion of “fairness” and “sporting integrity” that most in the media are parroting. Those words were absolutely meaningless in this current situation anyway, but even more so now if this idea comes to fruition. It was never about integrity. That was just a convenient word to throw around by some.

Exactly. It totally eliminates any idea of fairness. Which is why it is a complete non runner.

On a very simple level how is it fair that Spurs come to play us at OT earlier this season but would now have to play us at a neutral venue behind closed doors in this scenario?

 

[Paxi]

Why couldn't they play the games behind closed doors at clubs respective training grounds? Clubs have been keeping training grounds open for players up until recently so it's plausible. I remember United playing friendly games behind closed doors. Basically have a skeleton crew to make the games go ahead. Team doctors. The security detail that's already there on a normal day. Match officials. And private ambulances in case of a serious injury. No media. No tv cameras. Basically as little people present as possible for an official game to go ahead.

Won't happen though because they'd still have to pay the money owed to broadcasters and therein is the real answer why they want to compete the season -- they don't want to give back the dosh. feck all to do with the integrity of finishing the league etc etc. Money grabbing greedy bastards -- the whole fecking lot of them.

 

[Sandikan]

Im not sure I have. I said I would find it funny. I would. Unlike some Im not gonna say I wont.

But I went on to outline the MAIN reasons the league shouldnt continue. Liverpool being denied a title isnt it.

Ah i think you missed a key word "not" out of your original reading it back.

You said about Liverpool and said it was "by far the. Biggest reason" but ive now re-read it with the missing "not" and i get your meaning now

 

[AlwaysRed66]

Exactly. It totally eliminates any idea of fairness. Which is why it is a complete non runner.

On a very simple level how is it fair that Spurs come to play us at OT earlier this season but would now have to play us at a neutral venue behind closed doors in this scenario?

It is not about fairness. It is how the PL can ensure they comply with their media contracts, so they don't miss out on their 100's of millions. They care not for the general public or their own players & match officials, but their utter greed.

 

[Sandikan]

Closed doors games are near farcical at the best of times.
Now imagine 1/4 of the season like that.
Really poor.

 

[Pexbo]

Its looking likely it will peak (possibly badly) in April then start going down.

It's at that point the slow introduction back to society will be looked at and discussed.

It will be a long, long time before we see any sport permitted, crowds or not. Hopes of champions league qualification are completely pointless as it will be even longer before the champions league is back and the idea that the qualifiers from this disjunctive season will take precedent over the next complete, legitimate domestic season’s qualifiers is daft at best.

 

[horsechoker]

Why couldn't they play the games behind closed doors at clubs respective training grounds? Clubs have been keeping training grounds open for players up until recently so it's plausible. I remember United playing friendly games behind closed doors. Basically have a skeleton crew to make the games go ahead. Team doctors. The security detail that's already there on a normal day. Match officials. And private ambulances in case of a serious injury. No media. No tv cameras. Basically as little people present as possible for an official game to go ahead.

Won't happen though because they'd still have to pay the money owed to broadcasters and therein is the real answer why they want to compete the season -- they don't want to give back the dosh. feck all to do with the integrity of finishing the league etc etc. Money grabbing greedy bastards -- the whole fecking lot of them.

You'd still need medical personnel and police which would take away resources from where they are needed. Plus social distancing is impossible in a football match, you'd have to be 100 per cent sure that nobody involved has the virus.

 

[Redcy]

There is no cure, nor even any promising treatments (Don't come at me with the hydroxycholoroquine + AZT, nor the Tocilizumab, no proper studies or evidence yet), for this condition, good sir. The whole purpose of the lockdown is to not overwhelm the health system, and try to buy time for an effective treatment to be discovered, or to give the health systems a chance to get the numbers under control via supportive treatment. Lockdown is not a treatment, it's an exercise in buying us time, and the second the lockdown ends, and people start going back to their lives as normal, the numbers are going to ramp up all over again.

This people misunderstand the purpose, or as I understand the purpose. The reading I have is that in effect we expect to slow down the spread and protect the most vulnerable. This is in the hope that it will somewhat burn out, and to ensure the NHS doesn't get swamped by people with a nasty virus. The expectation is that if we can slow down the spread enough then even if people get ill our NHS can cope with it.

 

[Flying high]

Closed doors games are near farcical at the best of times.
Now imagine 1/4 of the season like that.
Really poor.

Yeah this is a big issue for me.

Playing 2 or 3 games bcd to get it finished would make sense. But not with so many games left. It would be farcical.

 

[Cloud7]

This people misunderstand the purpose, or as I understand the purpose. The reading I have is that in effect we expect to slow down the spread and protect the most vulnerable. This is in the hope that it will somewhat burn out, and to ensure the NHS doesn't get swamped by people with a nasty virus. The expectation is that if we can slow down the spread enough then even if people get ill our NHS can cope with it.

No a lot of people are misunderstanding the purpose of the lockdown, and misunderstanding the situation as a whole. The end of this is a long, long way away. The mention of things returning to some kind of normalcy within a month or two is ludicrous.

 

[Paxi]

You'd still need medical personnel and police which would take away resources from where they are needed. Plus social distancing is impossible in a football match, you'd have to be 100 per cent sure that nobody involved has the virus.

Why do you need police in there if there is private security employed by the clubs? Police are at football games are because of large crowds and easy access to players and staff. Also you could hire ambulances I'm presuming, at least ones that are used in care homes to transfer old folk. It's a couple of kinks to iron out but still much better than playing in a stadium behind closed doors where much more people are needed.

And in any case I only brought it up to illustrate the point that even if you wanted to completely isolate the two playing teams it would still be damn near impossible. And even if the clubs did manage it, it wouldn't be worth their time as they'd still have to pay the money back. The leagues will get cancelled I'm absolutely certain of this unless we literally find the vaccine in the next week and start mass inoculation next week. Finishing the league, Champions league, Europa League is happy talk.

 

[horsechoker]

Why do you need police in there if there is private security employed by the clubs? Police are at football games are because of large crowds and easy access to players and staff. Also you could hire ambulances I'm presuming, at least ones that are used in care homes to transfer old folk. It's a couple of kinks to iron out but still much better than playing in a stadium behind closed doors where much more people are needed.

You'd still need security for anybody who decides to show up. Fans are stupid and will show up even if they can't watch the game, you'd need police to keep them out and under control. Also if you take away those ambulances then what if the people at the care homes need them?

You'd probably need just as many people if you hosted a match at Carrington as you would for Old Trafford.

 

[dumbo]

I'm not proud to admit it, and as stupid as it sound, I would definitely tune in for Premier League Virus Village to see the carnage day by day. They may actually have something here.

 

[Paxi]

You'd still need security for anybody who decides to show up. Fans are stupid and will show up even if they can't watch the game, you'd need police to keep them out and under control. Also if you take away those ambulances then what if the people at the care homes need them?

You'd probably need just as many people if you hosted a match at Carrington as you would for Old Trafford.

I'm not sure about other training grounds but Carrington is fairly secure and is a large area with many football pitches. Fans showing up outside -- that's obviously a problem but with a bit of common sense clubs could maybe persuade fans to stay away. Police wouldn't be needed as there is private security and those ambulances could be bought I suppose although they'd probably cost a fortune seeing as they cost a fortune at the best of times. In any case I was just illustrating a point of how they actually want the games to go ahead to be televised so the money doesn't have to be given back feck all to do with finishing the league for the supposed pl brand or integrity of it.