I don't know man, I think you don't want it to finish. The people at the top though, they want it to finish and they will be doing everything they can to make it finish.
Could they void the PL due to the Coronavirus? | No | Resuming June 17th
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I don't know man, I think you don't want it to finish. The people at the top though, they want it to finish and they will be doing everything they can to make it finish.
Ok, it's guaranteed if it makes you feel better!!
The problem is, it could be the cause of the second wave.Don't mean to downplay the seriousness of this virus, so many lives lost already.But the remaining games are a much smaller subset that could (I'm not saying should) be done in a controlled manner/environment which a full season may not. Plus it could probably be before any second wave comes but past the peak of the first wave.
Exactly.
The ‘moral’ arguments (which are often agenda-driven based on who one supports) about how to finish the season are probably a footnote in comparison to the financial ‘nightmare’ motivations - the clubs need to finish this season...as outlined very well in this Athletic podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-ornstein-chapman-podcast/id1488521447?i=1000470363019
If the death rate continues to rise 600+ deaths yesterday and its true that covid-19 is airborne then they can forget this season. The need to preserve life (including the life of their staff and players) trumps their finances
The people at the top can do whatever they want to finish the season, just a shame it's not In their hands.
I can't see how football can start anytime in the next 3 months. After that, depending on where we are, it will take some real balls to authorise to start any football. The last thing people want is to have another lockdown at the end of the year.
Saving lives is a bit more than having moral values.
Starting the season again, possibly during a second wave with teams being quarentined randomly for 2 weeks at a time is impossible quite frankly.
Its all well and good using this seasons finances as an excuse but there will come a time that the value of starting and finishing next year overrides 9 games.
I agree with this, but what if it's only safe to play again in October or November? What would you suggest in that case?
Sssssshhhhhhh... you’ll have pretentious ‘football-supporting’, Scouse-sympathising whoppers on your case accusing you of being ‘bitter’ and making ‘clown-posts’ if you’re not careful.
Defending those vacuous, vainglorious bastards down the East Lancs Road > a global humanitarian crisis, after all.
I’m not making excuses. I’m not particularly advocating for the season to restart. I’m pointing out that the key actors within football world appear content to wait to restart based on the financial meltdown that would emerge if the season was cancelled. They seem happy to wait.
If it does happen, the ‘restart’ would obviously happen at a time when the virus has waned based on scientific advice. I don’t think anybody’s suggesting football be played during peak contamination. The same goes for a start date to a new season, which is far less importance to the clubs in monetary terms compared to the completion of this season
Just on this, the financial implications on cancellation aren’t an excuse. At some point football will resume. For that resumption to be successful the financial health of the sport is imperative for the sustainability of dozens and dozens of football clubs and their employees.
Based on the Athletic podcast there are two obvious options:
- Restart current season when it’s safe which would avoid financial and legal chaos;
- Start a brand new season when it’s safe which would bring about financial and legal chaos.
Which option will the authorities go for?
This season would be a right off. I dont know what they do next season. But this one would he done
Why would it be done?
is there a date you have in mind?
for those advocating the season is finished BCD, what happens when a portion of your players and staff refuse to cooperate because of safety concerns? What happens if a bunch of them get infected from another player? What’s the legal come back on that if it finishes their careers?
the best thing to do is to dish out the prizes, so flip the league upside down, top 4 becomes relegated and bottom 4 the winners. Seems fair to me
the best thing to do is to dish out the prizes, so flip the league upside down, top 4 becomes relegated and bottom 4 the winners. Seems fair to me
I'd say that next season is impacted no matter what so might as well finish this one first and avoid having to think about relegations/promotions/European places and all that stuff. If you need to shorten next season from November to May, may as well shorten it a bit more from January to May and finish this one first.
Obviously that's a very simplistic reasoning without acknowledging TV deals, player contracts, probably other stuff as well, so I just don't know how realistic that is and if it can be done.
I think you’re confusing content and happy with powerless to do anything else.
What else can they do but wait and hope the situation changes dramatically for the better and this all blows over in time for them to finish this season?
Restarting this season depending on how and when/if that happens could also lead to potential financial and legal chaos.
But, as outlined in The Athletic, not comparable to the chaos of abandonment. Clubs have spent money based on 19/20 tv money. That’s the key point. They’ve not invested money from next season which makes next season far less important to clubs right now.
Next season can wait.
This thread is just going around in circles with our resident LFC fans desperate to make out this season has to be completed at all costs or else football will cease to exist forever more..
It's utter nonsense. There will be financial and legal implications in any scenario you suggest. That includes waiting for an indefinite amount of time to shoe horn the last few games in, trying to do it BCD or simply cancelling it and preparing for a new one. What you don't seem to consider though is there simply has to be a cut off point. You can't keep waiting and waiting to get this done. UEFA has muted they want things completed by the end of June and have also stressed the importance of uniformity within European football. The thought the PL will keep waiting and waiting and waiting is naive as a time will arise when every team needs absolute clarity so they get ensure their club is financially secure and plan and prepare for the start of a new, safe season.
You can post as many articles saying this season must be done in the hope that's the case but if you look at the whole thing objectively it really doesn't have to be in the grander scheme of things.
It's utter nonsense. There will be financial and legal implications in any scenario you suggest. That includes waiting for an indefinite amount of time to shoe horn the last few games in, trying to do it BCD or simply cancelling it and preparing for a new one. What you don't seem to consider though is there simply has to be a cut off point. You can't keep waiting and waiting to get this done. UEFA has muted they want things completed by the end of June and have also stressed the importance of uniformity within European football. The thought the PL will keep waiting and waiting and waiting is naive as a time will arise when every team needs absolute clarity so they get ensure their club is financially secure and plan and prepare for the start of a new, safe season.
You can post as many articles saying this season must be done in the hope that's the case but if you look at the whole thing objectively it really doesn't have to be in the grander scheme of things.
This season can be scrapped. As per my post. It doesn't matter what the clubs or the PL want. You don't seem to follow. You don't always get what you want and circumstances around the world will dictate what's possible and what isn't.
This keeps getting bandied about. Whilst it could be somewhat true, it’s not like clubs have to refund all monies received for the entire season. If that route is ever taken (null and void), then clubs should only have to refund circa. 25% of this season’s money as that is all that’s left to complete.
The knock-on effect comes into play, then: should broadcasters receive refunds, refunds should be passed on to customers in return. Would broadcasters end up with any profit after all this?
You go with the first option if the season can be started in a few months or if this ban on public gatherings goes up to early next year.
You go with the second option if ban on public gatherings is lifted around September.
I am guessing the premier league has got guidelines of what should happen in the case of a force majeure to take care of the legal issues.
It's the Scouse blanket refusal to consider the prospect of a cancelled season that makes me laugh. As if it's not possible at all and football will fold across the world if that happened.
These are odd times and everything is on the table. They need to realise that.
What if this pandemic carries on until March next year and football doesn't or can't restart until then?
Will the league just continue on this season next year? Or will the season have already been declared null and void by that point?
Will the league just continue on this season next year? Or will the season have already been declared null and void by that point?
The fact of the matter is that somewhere a serious financial hit is going to have to be taken and there are also going to be some seriously unhappy clubs, no way around it.
That then leaves the following real questions, which are;
1) When does saving this season cost more than saving next season.
And;
2) Which option(s) will satisfy the majority.
At this moment in time, I think the football authorities are still clinging to the hope that they do not have to lose this season. I say this, because they are notorious for living in a bubble and they are working in an industry that is underpinned by very tight margins. Thus, the lack of decision is money motivated because the financial impacts of any stoppage is huge. For instance, how the hell are Barca going to even cover their £480m player wage bill that represents 70%+ of their turnover alone if they even take a 5% hit to finances?
However, at some point they need to realise that are going to have to compromise because the reality is that football is going to have to make some sort of decision. This then becomes a question of what decision causes the least pain. The least convoluted of these seems to be;
A) Finish this season and cut parts of next season with domestic cups being the least painful.
Or;
B) Cancel this season and save as much of next season as possible.
In my opinion, option A is at this moment in time probably the one that still carries the lower financial hit, however this balance in its favour is decreasing steadily every day. Where the point option B becomes less financially hard is open to question but it will come.
As for teams perspective, lets be honest and say that around 60% do not really have anything riding on this season (no chance of a cup/league/relegation etc), so they will just make a decision on what is financially best. After that you have 40% that have skin in the game so to speak. The problem here however, is that for every club that would financially benefit from an extension (teams with a chance of silverware) there is another who is running the risk of financially suffering (relegation). This then makes around a 80%/20% split on teams when the saving of this season will cost more than going to next season and that is when a voiding will happen. The saving the season option has a limited shelf life that is quickly expiring.
If you bothered to pay attention you will have known that the June 30th is off the table. It's no longer realistic and UEFA are planning on games being played in July and August. And likewise you can keep countering arguments in the hope that the league is cancelled but let's not act like you know for sure that the league won't resume. You have no idea what the situation will be like in a few months time and neither do I for that matter.
A Premier League footballer’s perspective on the wage cut debate:
https://www.football365.com/news/feature-premier-league-player-wage-cut-matt-hancock
I suspect this guy is in the tiny minority when it comes to philanthropy within the game, but it’s interesting nonetheless that he acknowledges the batshit crazy notion that he ‘earns’ tenfold (and more, perhaps) what a world-class consultant neurosurgeon would ordinarily earn. I mentioned this a few times in this thread to date, but if one positive comes from this pandemic it’ll be that once-feted, overpaid professions like professional sportspeople are knocked down a peg or two and frontline staff working away during this period, under intense pressure and risk of illness, are appreciated far more instead.
https://www.football365.com/news/feature-premier-league-player-wage-cut-matt-hancock
I suspect this guy is in the tiny minority when it comes to philanthropy within the game, but it’s interesting nonetheless that he acknowledges the batshit crazy notion that he ‘earns’ tenfold (and more, perhaps) what a world-class consultant neurosurgeon would ordinarily earn. I mentioned this a few times in this thread to date, but if one positive comes from this pandemic it’ll be that once-feted, overpaid professions like professional sportspeople are knocked down a peg or two and frontline staff working away during this period, under intense pressure and risk of illness, are appreciated far more instead.
Absolutely. I would not disagree with this for a second. But it doesn’t necessarily disqualify the completion of the season if it’s eventually safe to do so as that’s the least complicated option.
These are the very questions that lawyers will be gearing up for. It’s a mess which is why completion is the favoured option for the clubs.
The only problem I have when people talk about players wages is who do people want to have the money? I ask because, if players take a cut in wages, it will then go to Billionaire owners like it does in the NFL.
Further, why do people have such a problem with footballers earning this sort of money but not golfers, F1 drivers, Hollywood stars etc? Why are they immune to having to take cuts but not footballers?
In the end, it is all to do with class. There are other similar industries where people earn even more money than footballers and do even less work, however footballers get hammered because the sport is a working class sport that has a large proportion of its stars hail from working class backgrounds and/or poverty.
I am not saying that footballers are more worthwhile than a doctor but the fact of the matter is that they work in an industry that generates more money. Further, if there wages do get cut, it will only be Billionaire owners that benefit.
Lastly, just so people do not get the wrong end of the stick with me, I am a Tory so I do not play the class card easily, but you have to call BS when BS is obvious.
I’ve not refused this at all. I’m just highlighting what is driving the clubs’ desire to complete the season - which is that it’s the least complicated option. Don’t you agree?
I think they should postpone this season til sometime next year and cancel the 2021 season.Push the euros out to later next year.
Erm... I said ‘professional sportspeople’ in the post you quoted. Nothing at all to do with footballers, singling them out for abuse or having an issue with working-class people earning vast sums.
Quite a hot-take, though. Bloody hell!
it’s got nothing to do with class. It’s to do with the fact that it’s the most popular sport in the country.
the big issue for me is when I see clubs cutting the pay of the non playing staff and not cutting the pay of their players. Man Utd are paying everyone 100% so don’t have a problem with their players getting their full pay. However, it should be encouraged that someone earning millions a year makes a contribution to this crisis.
clubs like Spurms and Newcastle are pretty disgusting in that they are not paying their staff 100% of their pay, but then you have two particularly odious chairman at those clubs where money is the only thing that matters to them. They are called cnuts.
I agree; it is the most sensible option now. This, however, changes the longer this situation goes on. As others have pointed out, will it be the most sensible option if sport can only resume in September? This time next year? In summer 2021? That’s the bit that a lot of the ‘This season must be completed’ brigade aren’t grasping or refusing to acknowledge.
That's the worst option out there because that's the one which will bankrupt football clubs, broadcasters & the league.
There aren't enough games left in this season to prioritise it over the next one. They'd rather sacrifice 9 games here than a potential 38 next season. And say for example, football can't get going until December next year they're not going to say we'll use half the year to finish 9 games. That would be stupid, they'll find a compromise to play as many games as possible from the next season as that will help them recover the most money.
No I don't agree. I think whichever way will be equally as complicated however given the noise coming out of football recently I feel we have moved nearer to a cancel than what you're advocating.
As I said, the line must be drawn somewhere and we can't be in this same position hanging on with no clarification rolling month after month. That's even worse.