[Football] Premier League / Football League attempts to finish the season

[nwgull]

Has the conclusion of the Championship in parallel been properly considered? It's one thing getting the PL done and dusted in an extravagant isolated behind-closed-doors scenario, but next season's PL can't start until they know which 3 teams are going to replace the 3 relegated ones, and even then it'd be unfair not to give them a good 5-6 weeks to enhance their squads to something approaching PL standard.

 

[Papa Lazarou]

Has the conclusion of the Championship in parallel been properly considered? It's one thing getting the PL done and dusted in an extravagant isolated behind-closed-doors scenario, but next season's PL can't start until they know which 3 teams are going to replace the 3 relegated ones, and even then it'd be unfair not to give them a good 5-6 weeks to enhance their squads to something approaching PL standard.

Just promote Leeds, Sheff Wednesday (Massive!) and Forest. Everyone will be happy.

 

[schmunk]

Just promote Leeds, Sheff Wednesday (Massive!) and Forest. Everyone will be happy.

But what about Chelsea's Frank Lampard's Derby County ft. Wazza!!!...?

 

[Napper]

get it back first chance even if its behind closed doors.

Looking forward to games , reading about games , watching games would be a massive improvement to reading about Covid non stop

Even if we do go down

 

[A1X]

It's nothing to do with Liverpool (except in the mind of Liverpool haters). It's all about money, and the PL thinking it's more important than anything else, including lower league clubs and .... err ...... coronavirus.

Nothing to do with Liverpool as a club, it was more the point that there isn't anyone who is champions (realistically this is only likely to be Liverpool.

 

[blue-shifted]

Behind closed doors just doesn't seem right, rather wait till we are back to some sort of normality. Football without the crowd isn't football....

I agree with the sentiment. But how long will it be realistically before we can congregate in a football crowd again? In my opinion, a very, very long time. The length of time you could get a closed doors game on could be far shorter. Given that at the top level, the majority of people watch on TV anyway, and it's be far the main driver of income, I can see a time, in a month or so when the death rate is down, and clubs are starting to be unable to pay their players that the pressure to get games back on will be huge.

I could see a situation where players train on their own, come to the ground in their kit, play the game ad go straight home and won't see each other for the rest of the week.

It would look very weird at first, but lots of unthinkable things have happened in the last month, so I wouldn't rule it out.

Just say, as a total guess, we could get football back on behind closed doors in June, but not get crowds in stadia until a vaccine is developed and distributed (again a guess) in 18 months. How many clubs could survive this? I'm sure not as many as half of football league clubs. But if we were playing behind closed doors games, they're at least getting some income and more could survive. I don't think we can afford to be too principled about unattended games in these incredible circumstances

 

[blue-shifted]

I've lost motivation in general for the circus that surrounds elite (and Crystal Palace) football i.e. transfer rumours, the hype about the PL.

Yes, life without football, unbelievably, seems to have gone better than expected. I wonder how many will relish the extra time and money that not obsessing about and attending regular football gives you and won't go back

 

[Weststander]

Yes, life without football, unbelievably, seems to have gone better than expected. I wonder how many will relish the extra time and money that not obsessing about and attending regular football gives you and won't go back

We just went for a long walk up to Devils Dyke. The same as with all recent bike bikes and walks, so many parents out with their kids.

There is life away from PL on the box and SSN.

 

[sparkie]

Has the conclusion of the Championship in parallel been properly considered? It's one thing getting the PL done and dusted in an extravagant isolated behind-closed-doors scenario, but next season's PL can't start until they know which 3 teams are going to replace the 3 relegated ones, and even then it'd be unfair not to give them a good 5-6 weeks to enhance their squads to something approaching PL standard.

No.

The EFL have a proposed plan, but whether League 1 or League 2 clubs will vote for the financial hardship of implementing it remains to be seen.

The EFL plan is financial suicide for most League 1 or League 2 clubs, as they would have to un-furlough their staff whilst getting only trivial I-Follow income.

I mean you get guys like the Accrington chairman saying he simply won't do it - seemingly whatever the sanction imposed.

 

[jimhigham]

I could see a situation where players train on their own, come to the ground in their kit, play the game ad go straight home and won't see each other for the rest of the week.

It would look very weird at first, but lots of unthinkable things have happened in the last month, so I wouldn't rule it out.

As you say, a lot of unthinkable stuff has come to pass lately but it's still hard to see the situation you describe coming to pass. Social distancing and football matches simply aren't compatible. Think of tackling, the amount of grappling that goes on at corners, the defensive wall lined up for a free kick, the cluster of players angrily shouting in Mike Dean's face after another farcical decision...

 

[mwrpoole]

As you say, a lot of unthinkable stuff has come to pass lately but it's still hard to see the situation you describe coming to pass. Social distancing and football matches simply aren't compatible. Think of tackling, the amount of grappling that goes on at corners, the defensive wall lined up for a free kick, the cluster of players angrily shouting in The Complete And Utter Shyster's face after another farcical decision...

I think it will happen if only because the clubs want/need the TV money. Sky & BT are probably creaming themselves right now just thinking about screening every single match. I suspect every match will be at a different time and likely to be a match every day for 5-6 weeks.

In Italy & France crowds congregated outside stadiums for the couple of closed matches before everything was locked down. Could we see that in the UK? If we had a home game would a crowd turn up outside watching it on phones and singing/cheering/moaning

 

[Milano]

I’ll go back, however I’m a lot less bothered about this now than a I was 2 weeks ago.

 

[Guinness Boy]

As you say, a lot of unthinkable stuff has come to pass lately but it's still hard to see the situation you describe coming to pass. Social distancing and football matches simply aren't compatible. Think of tackling, the amount of grappling that goes on at corners, the defensive wall lined up for a free kick, the cluster of players angrily shouting in Mike Dean's face after another farcical decision...

…...the spitting...….

 

[Guinness Boy]

I've lost motivation in general for the circus that surrounds elite (and Crystal Palace) football i.e. transfer rumours, the hype about the PL.

It's a difficult one.

Football has been put into perspective. With any luck the obscene money, outrageous hubris and wall to wall transfer coverage will take a back seat for a while. It's certainly the end of that Bill Shankly quote. Personally I expect I will waste a lot less time on here moaning about the pies, queues and performances after a home defeat and I expect many others will.

On the other hand life without its pleasures is largely meaningless to me. I'm glad I've got kids because otherwise it would be get up, shower, work, eat, sleep and repeat. All inside the same four walls. Prison basically. With the kids at least I'm breaking up work to help with their education and play games with them. I've been self isolating for two weeks with a cough anyway but my son has already said he doesn't want to go out when I'm better. He says "I don't like the social distancing. It's annoying when people stop or slow down and I'm scared when they cross the road". I can't answer that.

So, the return to football will mean freedom. It will mean this shizzle is largely or totally over. That I can see friends again. Get on a packed train without picturing a ventilator. I've realised how much I love it and how much, however selfish, hedonism means to me. Standing there, half pissed yelling at a millionaire to punt a bag of wind into a net so I can flick some v's at Palace fans. Hell yeah. Can't wait.

 

[East Staffs Gull]

If PL matches restart behind closed doors, within a week or two Liverpool will have secured the Premier League title. Do the authorities expect that tens of thousands of Merseysiders will just crack open a can of beer in their front rooms and offer a toast to their TV set? IMHO social distancing will completely go out of the window. The same will happen across the UK in subsequent weeks.

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

If PL matches restart behind closed doors, within a week or two Liverpool will have secured the Premier League title. Do the authorities expect that tens of thousands of Merseysiders will just crack open a can of beer in their front rooms and offer a toast to their TV set? IMHO social distancing will completely go out of the window. The same will happen across the UK in subsequent weeks.

This. And this is why (the biggest reason) that the current season will be abandoned.

 

[LamieRobertson]

We just went for a long walk up to Devils Dyke. The same as with all recent bike bikes and walks, so many parents out with their kids.

There is life away from PL on the box and SSN.

I knew your job was cushy ....I need my football fix for some escapism...although not sure I’d get that watching it played in an empty stadium..but if it helps clubs survive then maybe

 

[East Staffs Gull]

This. And this is why (the biggest reason) that the current season will be abandoned.

Or, as someone else said, when the scousers win the Premier League the wheels will come off social distancing.

 

[LamieRobertson]

It's a difficult one.

Football has been put into perspective. With any luck the obscene money, outrageous hubris and wall to wall transfer coverage will take a back seat for a while. It's certainly the end of that Bill Shankly quote. Personally I expect I will waste a lot less time on here moaning about the pies, queues and performances after a home defeat and I expect many others will.

On the other hand life without its pleasures is largely meaningless to me. I'm glad I've got kids because otherwise it would be get up, shower, work, eat, sleep and repeat. All inside the same four walls. Prison basically. With the kids at least I'm breaking up work to help with their education and play games with them. I've been self isolating for two weeks with a cough anyway but my son has already said he doesn't want to go out when I'm better. He says "I don't like the social distancing. It's annoying when people stop or slow down and I'm scared when they cross the road". I can't answer that.

So, the return to football will mean freedom. It will mean this shizzle is largely or totally over. That I can see friends again. Get on a packed train without picturing a ventilator. I've realised how much I love it and how much, however selfish, hedonism means to me. Standing there, half pissed yelling at a millionaire to punt a bag of wind into a net so I can flick some v's at Palace fans. Hell yeah. Can't wait.

That’s so sad....

 

[Guinness Boy]

If PL matches restart behind closed doors, within a week or two Liverpool will have secured the Premier League title. Do the authorities expect that tens of thousands of Merseysiders will just crack open a can of beer in their front rooms and offer a toast to their TV set? IMHO social distancing will completely go out of the window. The same will happen across the UK in subsequent weeks.

On the other hand, when it finally gets canned without them winning it the police will have to stop the celebrations on the streets in every other town and city EXCEPT Liverpool