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

Talkradio news suggesting they could shorten the length of a match. 10 mins each way? We could finish the season in a weekend. The world has gone bonkers.
I know I just read this. Ridiculous. If cannot play a game of football within the confines of the rules it would be better to end the season on the current position or wait to play when it’s reasonably safe to do so
 
a new season isn’t going to be starting anytime soon, we aren’t under a time restraint to start the new season

so why cancel this current season that is 75% of the way through to prepare for the new season which is going to be disrupted anyway???

We absolutely are under a time constraint for next season because it impacts on every season after it for years to come. We have the Euros next summer don't forget. If we can't get this season finished by May, then we'll have to finish it after the Euros have finished. Which means not only will next season be disrupted, but the season after that will too.

Worse, the season after that we have the winter World Cup, which was already going to be disruptive because its in November/December. The original plan was to start the 2022-23 season early and finish it late, to allow a gap in the middle for the World Cup. However if the previous season ends two months late, that becomes impossible.

And then the season after that its the Euros all over again, which means yet another season with a gap in the middle of the season because we started it late.

Best case scenario, the football calendar ends up something like this
  • 2019-20 season - If last rounds take place in July/August, then
  • 2020-21 season - October to September (two month gap in the middle for the Euros in June 2021) followed by a player break
  • 2021-22 season - November to July
  • 2022-23 season - October to September (two month gap in the middle for the World Cup in Nov 2022) followed by a player break
  • 2023-24 season - November to October (two month gap in the middle for the Euros in June 2024) followed by a player break
  • 2024-25 season - December to November (back to sort-of normality thereafter)
If we can get the current season done and dusted by the start of July, we're okay because the players don't need a full two month break. But if we reach late June and we haven't even started playing, the knock effect is huge.
 
Talkradio news suggesting they could shorten the length of a match. 10 mins each way? We could finish the season in a weekend. The world has gone bonkers.

Certainly among the more hair brained ideas going. What difference is that going to make? If you can catch it in 45 minutes you're going to catch it in 30 minutes too.

I didn't expect much more from the PFA but at least they're saying players aren't happy about resuming.



a new season isn’t going to be starting anytime soon, we aren’t under a time restraint to start the new season

Yes we are. All European leagues need to run roughly to the same schedule for European and international competition, and transfer windows. Either all are disrupted together, or all start together. The PL can't be more than a few weeks out of sync at most.
 
With all these changes it’s pretty pointless bringing back a shell of a game. BCD is already a major factor why it won’t be the same and takes a huge amount of the game away but to shorten halves too- what’s the actual point in that?
 
Reuters are reporting that the German federal and state governments have agreed to restart the league on 15 May.

Odds rushing back blows up in the Bundesliga's face and that puts the kibosh on any other league starting as well?
 
Some of the ideas are getting silly and are surely only reported so the media can get clicks.

I really don't believe that under 45 minute halves are being considered. It would break the game if you changed the rules in such a way.
 
If neutral venues are the only option, then the 19/20 leagues should be terminated. It undermines the integrity of the competition too much to make such a major change three-quarters of the way through the season. I do think the domestic cups and European competitions could be concluded this way though, given far fewer games are required to complete them and we are at the stage where home advantage is a 50-50 shot anyway pre-draw and is therefore effectively played on neutral grounds accordingly.

There's a strong argument for modifying the following league system to account for the coronavirus, perhaps using neutral grounds for at least the first 19 games, then finding a fair way to schedule the latter 19 home and away based on positions in the table if the situation improves, but you can't dramatically undermine the integrity of a 3/4s completed league. It won't deliver a credible result. Liverpool might be accepted champions, but the relegated teams will naturally feel hard done by. There's no way to argue that it would be "the same for everyone" due to variance in the schedule so far, and there is nothing within the rules of league to suggest that teams signed up for this being a possibility.

You can't just wait indefinitely as contracts of staff, players and whatever else are all structured around league seasons, mostly end of June. It's increasingly difficult to see how the league can be completed within that reasonable timeframe with any credibility. Once that date passes, it is all over and life moves on with the focus surely having to be on the following season. It would be farcical to have a break of several months or years and then expect the league to just continue, because of cries of YOU CAN'T START ONE LEAGUE WITHOUT COMPLETING THE OTHER. Should Blackpool feel aggrieved for not being top after three games in 1946, as they were in 1939? Of course not, outside events dictated the 1939-1940 league couldn't be completed and everything moved on. If the Internet was around in 1946 though, we'd have people losing their minds at the thought of not completing the 1939-40 (or perhaps the 1939-1947) season!

Just to put any anti-Liverpool bias on the table, whilst my preferred option would be to void if the league cannot be completed with integrity by the end of June 2020, I'd rather Liverpool were awarded the title and the remainder of the league cancelled, rather than completely undermining the integrity of the competition through using neutral grounds or extending it past the contracted end of the season.
 
If there are rule changes then Liverpool stay on 18 no matter what for me. Even if the PL n FA declare them champions. If the rules change its not the same competition is it?

Jumpers for goalposts next suggestion?
 
It’s not though

I’m a Liverpool fan, and although I want us to win this seasons premier league, I can assure you I am way past being excited about being champions

yes ok I’d be happy but the “excitement” has gone for obvious reasons

but

a new season isn’t going to be starting anytime soon, we aren’t under a time restraint to start the new season

so why cancel this current season that is 75% of the way through to prepare for the new season which is going to be disrupted anyway???

that does not make sense, nor is it logical

finish this season when safe and suitable to do so, and then plan for the next season which is already massively disrupted. Our stadiums aren’t going to be crowed with fans for a long time yet

Because:

A) The longer it's left the more chance there is of the world resuming to a more normal and safer state (e.g hospitals not over capacity, travel allowed to some degree, businesses open, football clubs operating at some kind of normality. Potential for vaccine increases so less chance of a disruption. So, they can void this one then start properly when it's actually safe. The players have already said they don't want to put their families at risk for something as inconsequential as football. And why should they? To line other people's pockets is why.

B) The suggestions put in place to finish the season are literally changing the rules of football just to "get it done" because they're money hungry. So far they want to
  • Change the number of subs allowed
  • Play games at neutral grounds
  • Cancel all relegation
  • Shorten game times
You can't change the very rules of football when a season has already started, especially to such an extreme degree. It's simply not fair, you can't have three quarters of a season played using one set of rules then introduce another second bizarre set towards the end. I understand Liverpool's desperation to win a trophy and as much as a love the fact that you might be denied it there really isn't a fair and safe way to re-start the season anytime soon. I don't relish the thought of us playing EC football when it looked like we would be in the CL, and likely miss out on sancho because of it. But, it really really isn;t the right thing to do.
 
''Shorter games under consideration for football's return '' !!!

OMG - what next?!
Play tiddlywinks after 30 minutes and decide who wins the game?!
Unbelievable idiocy . :lol:
 
80 minutes instead of 90, i'm sure that's going to make a difference!
 
Honestly if it had been any other club top of the league, the season would be cancelled already. It’s like the entire focus is on trying to find a way for Liverpool to win the league and feck everything else

I agree with this and it's coming out as being so very obvious that this is happening only because it's Liverpool* .
I bet that if City, Arsenal, United or probably anyone else were up there than they would just stop the fecking league!

My opinion is that they will try to introduce these idiotic suggestions and play 2/3 rounds until Liverpool* win the league and then stop there.
It's NOT football any longer people. :lol:
 
sure feck it - just get all sides to do peno shoot outs. No problem socially distancing there. Sorted

This too would not be right and fair as it would all depend on those teams who have excellent peno shooters and peno goalstoppers.
 
This too would not be right and fair as it would all depend on those teams who have excellent peno shooters and peno goalstoppers.

That's like saying normal football isn't fair, cause some teams have better players :lol:
 
Its over, void it. Come back second half of 2021 and start it new. We're not going anywhere until then.
 
That's like saying normal football isn't fair, cause some teams have better players :lol:

Not at all as playing a normal football match under normal football rules MAY have one team win because it has the better players, but reducing it to penalties is ludicrous!
 
80 minutes instead of 90, i'm sure that's going to make a difference!

Actually this could make the world of difference.

There is little doubt that the virus has been keeping track of proposals to bring football back, and can't wait to imbed itself in as many players as possible.

To do this most effectively, it would need to strike when players are most vulnerable, in other words towards the end of a game.

By stopping 10 minutes early the virus will be outwitted and left to curse its procrastination.

Like most of these proposals, it's flawless.
 
I really have to question whether you're serious.

1) What your post suggests about MDs, supermarkets and matches is nothing short of waffle. The interactions are very different; more importantly, the expectation of interaction ARE different. MDs, supermarkets are expected to do everything possible to distance staff, FOOTBALL the expectation is that staff MUST minimise distance. To allow football needs a completely different set of rules.

2) Testing; Yes the PL is pushing clubs to get these machines. Having these machines and testing as proposed requires other equipment, manpower, and PPE for those extracting/testing the samples. That increases demand when there is short-supply. In other words, PL/football would affect the NHS directly and indirectly.

3) Money; You didn't want to go too deep. Where money goes is an important discussion. Resuming BCD wouldnt be for Joe public or the usual supply chain and additional services (Burgers served to supports etc). It is merely to pay players wages. This is very different than opening up most other businesses. whether or not MDs has huge revenue is irrelevant, they have a vast supply chain to decentralise that revenue rather than centralise. PL appears to be doing next to nothing to support the NHS.

What you don't seem to understand is that the plans are not only divergent from the rationale for other businesses, they DO have impact on the NHS, and more so if they cluster games at neutral locations (centralised NHS support at games, rather than distributed at home/away games). Those plans do the reverse of what you believe, they set a precedent for societal interactions.. If the PL can do it, so can we..

1) I didn't suggest anything about supermarkets. Supermarkets are essential, they have more space to be able to effectively socially distance, they pay their staff quite well. I don't think what I said about Mcd's is waffle. it's based on first hand experience of seeing how it works. Do you think a tightly congested kitchen area with multiple surfaces and employees (who aren't going to be tested) touching a number of items, their faces and surfaces in close proximity for between 12-18 hours a day is less likely to be a breeding ground for the virus then football with the measures they’re putting in place?
If your answer is yes then stop reading from here.....

It doesn’t matter how many lines McDonalds draw on their shop floors, by the nature of the work in McDonald’s, staff will break distancing and hygienic measures multiple times through their shift. They’re only human, they’re not robots.
You can make your qualms about believing football have different rules to it, I disagree but for arguments sake even if youre right what choice do they have? Until a vaccine this is how it would be. You literally cannot play football and not make contact with other players.

2) nobody actually knows the man power required for this. What I would say is it’s not gonna be a simple case of football taking busy nurses from covid wards or testing centres as seems to be the implication. We have no idea what pool their staff are coming from, it may not even be NHS employees. There is a massive world of private medical companies and staff outside the NHS (many of which aren’t currently working). Shortage of PPE? Really? I would think by this stage, worldwide we have enough PPE to last us some time.
And if there are still places not getting them then the issue lies at the fault of the government, not the football.

3) Well if we want to go deep into football, we can do that. Football have staff who aren’t footballers who will be attending these games, these people require wages. In order for the PL to financially secure the long term futures of EFL clubs who don’t get tv money and won’t be getting gate receipts they need more money. EFL clubs have to pay their players, at below Championship level, players really aren’t that wealthy and I’m sure nobody wants these community clubs being put out of business.

People like to make out as if football is just 22 multimillionaire PL players kicking a ball about but there is much more to it and as a football fan you should know that. But to be fair I’ve seen people on this forum state that the FA and league cup should be cancelled (before corona outbreak) which tells me these people have little understanding of the little man in football.

PL appears to be doing nothing to help out the NHS?

https://www.premierleague.com/news/1659199

Please read.... I’ve seen that statement batted about a lot. I think it’s really poor form.
 
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Not covering anything else specifically but this:
Shortage of PPE? Really? I would think by this stage, worldwide we have enough PPE to last us some time.

Apparently the PPE we have received is of poor quality/doesnt meet the basic standards needed. Not sure if this is a purchasing issue, or a delivery issue, however its clear we still cannot get appropriate PPE. NHS purchasing teams have been told they cannot buy PPE at the moment, it has to be all bought centrally to reduce the chance that there is "competing" requirements. It seems we are trying to buy kit, but what we are sent is not of suitable quality from the suppliers.

I have stayed quiet and been reading for a while, I have never been against a restart, I just couldn't see how it could be done in the timescale and safely. I am still not sure I have seen anything to suggest that isn't the case still. The fact they are coming up with more and more ridiculous suggestions shows they are desparate.

It does seem however:

1) Fast PCR (accurate to about 85-90%) can be achieved, but this ignores the dormancy issues. The only thing that might cause a problem with competing resources is that these kits still rely on elements that are needed by the NHS, and that they are struggling to purchase
2) I am still not convinced that even with testing that once one team has infections then it can be stopped from spreading to other players/teams.
3) BCD can be the only option until we have a more open policy in general. I think we will see normal games by October/November now. I still think that screws the EFL though.
 
Playing in neutral venues already ruins the integrity of the competition.
I was all for restarting the season but it's abundantly clear it isn't feasible.
This is a farce.
 
Playing in neutral venues already ruins the integrity of the competition.
I was all for restarting the season but it's abundantly clear it isn't feasible.
This is a farce.
Last post of the day (as do not have enough likes). But my thoughts are is a ‘neutral’ stadium really going to be much more safe than a ‘home/away’ game. Most normal people will follow guidance and stay away but you still going to get the idiots going to the outside of the selected neutral stadium. I say play the games at the stadiums they should be played at for 90mins. If that’s not possible then finish the season now on positions (if they think season 2020/21 has a better chance?) and award liverpool the title. Relegate the bottom three.

feels like the clubs or players want to have their cake and eat it to.
 
1) I didn't suggest anything about supermarkets. Supermarkets are essential, they have more space to be able to effectively socially distance, they pay their staff quite well. I don't think what I said about Mcd's is waffle. it's based on first hand experience of seeing how it works. Do you think a tightly congested kitchen area with multiple surfaces and employees (who aren't going to be tested) touching a number of items, their faces and surfaces in close proximity for between 12-18 hours a day is less likely to be a breeding ground for the virus then football with the measures they’re putting in place?
If your answer is yes then stop reading from here.....

It doesn’t matter how many lines McDonalds draw on their shop floors, by the nature of the work in McDonald’s, staff will break distancing and hygienic measures multiple times through their shift. They’re only human, they’re not robots.
You can make your qualms about believing football have different rules to it, I disagree but for arguments sake even if youre right what choice do they have? Until a vaccine this is how it would be. You literally cannot play football and not make contact with other players.

2) nobody actually knows the man power required for this. What I would say is it’s not gonna be a simple case of football taking busy nurses from covid wards or testing centres as seems to be the implication. We have no idea what pool their staff are coming from, it may not even be NHS employees. There is a massive world of private medical companies and staff outside the NHS (many of which aren’t currently working). Shortage of PPE? Really? I would think by this stage, worldwide we have enough PPE to last us some time.
And if there are still places not getting them then the issue lies at the fault of the government, not the football.

3) Well if we want to go deep into football, we can do that. Football have staff who aren’t footballers who will be attending these games, these people require wages. In order for the PL to financially secure the long term futures of EFL clubs who don’t get tv money and won’t be getting gate receipts they need more money. EFL clubs have to pay their players, at below Championship level, players really aren’t that wealthy and I’m sure nobody wants these community clubs being put out of business.

People like to make out as if football is just 22 multimillionaire PL players kicking a ball about but there is much more to it and as a football fan you should know that. But to be fair I’ve seen people on this forum state that the FA and league cup should be cancelled (before corona outbreak) which tells me these people have little understanding of the little man in football.

PL appears to be doing nothing to help out the NHS?

https://www.premierleague.com/news/1659199

Please read.... I’ve seen that statement batted about a lot. I think it’s really poor form.

1) I wait for the day that MDs staff challenge each other breathing in a colleagues face while grappling to flip a burger with bosses cheer them on, cleaners running a book, and academics at MDs University debating the reframing of McDonaldization. All for an extra Star.

2) You do know this machines need cartridges and swabs that are in short supply.

3) You do understand the Premiere League is a different social construct to football clubs?


Not covering anything else specifically but this:


Apparently the PPE we have received is of poor quality/doesnt meet the basic standards needed. Not sure if this is a purchasing issue, or a delivery issue, however its clear we still cannot get appropriate PPE. NHS purchasing teams have been told they cannot buy PPE at the moment, it has to be all bought centrally to reduce the chance that there is "competing" requirements. It seems we are trying to buy kit, but what we are sent is not of suitable quality from the suppliers.

I have stayed quiet and been reading for a while, I have never been against a restart, I just couldn't see how it could be done in the timescale and safely. I am still not sure I have seen anything to suggest that isn't the case still. The fact they are coming up with more and more ridiculous suggestions shows they are desparate.

It does seem however:

1) Fast PCR (accurate to about 85-90%) can be achieved, but this ignores the dormancy issues. The only thing that might cause a problem with competing resources is that these kits still rely on elements that are needed by the NHS, and that they are struggling to purchase
2) I am still not convinced that even with testing that once one team has infections then it can be stopped from spreading to other players/teams.
3) BCD can be the only option until we have a more open policy in general. I think we will see normal games by October/November now. I still think that screws the EFL though.

Having been asked if I can get PPE, I can assure you it's in short supply. 3.6$ per N95, 0.90$ per surgical FOB being quoted. Any supply is gone in minutes, backorder is really tough (Guangxi is important). It's more a case of take what there is when its available, be very quick or it's gone. If you go to distributers, 20 N95 £100 not valved.



shooters and goalstoppers = American Soccer Candy

I've corrected the post.. American Candy = Cheerleaders?


No more posts today...
 
Last post of the day (as do not have enough likes). But my thoughts are is a ‘neutral’ stadium really going to be much more safe than a ‘home/away’ game. Most normal people will follow guidance and stay away but you still going to get the idiots going to the outside of the selected neutral stadium. I say play the games at the stadiums they should be played at for 90mins. If that’s not possible then finish the season now on positions (if they think season 2020/21 has a better chance?) and award liverpool the title. Relegate the bottom three.

feels like the clubs or players want to have their cake and eat it to.
Or, do what they did in Holland and void it all with no winners and no losers. The fact your club has already rushed out a statement that the women's league should be voided (with your team facing relegation in that league) makes your club's conduct in this particular affair all the more transparent and selfish.
 
Or, do what they did in Holland and void it all with no winners and no losers. The fact your club has already rushed out a statement that the women's league should be voided (with your team facing relegation in that league) makes your club's conduct in this particular affair all the more transparent and selfish.

I think you've got this a bit mixed-up. I haven't seen any statement from Liverpool (on either the women's or men's season) but the Times article seems to suggest they want the season curtailed with the final table being final. So that is, the club is backing a decision in which they would be relegated. Hardly selfish.
 
Or, do what they did in Holland and void it all with no winners and no losers. The fact your club has already rushed out a statement that the women's league should be voided (with your team facing relegation in that league) makes your club's conduct in this particular affair all the more transparent and selfish.

They didn't void the league in Holland .

I genuinely can't believe the amount of people that think there is any chance that the Premier League will void the season. It would be financial suicide to do this!

in Holland they finished the season with the current table. Just as they did in France. The difference is one league had a clear leader and one didnt.

Liverpool ladies team haven't said they want to void the season.

One of the most staggering things to come out of this discussion over the last few weeks is the amount of people that don't understand the meaning and consequences of null and void.