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

[cjd]

I think this is the most realistic option. If a player tests positive there is only the need to isolate that one player for 7 days and keep testing the others regularly- they can all continue unless they test positive.

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Are you aware that this virus is highly contagious and if one player tests positive, then whoever he has been in contact with has to self-isolate too...? ( for 14 days )

Do you think that when the players are training etc that defenders and midfielders (and probably the forwards) that NONE of them will have gone within 2 metres of another player...? Are you suggesting that the Lewis Dunks of our club should trot out on a match day having not tackled ANYONE for the last, what will be a minimum of 3 months ?

Your previous postings have consistently shown that you don't understand the magnitude of the problem.

I want football to re-start, but I cannot see yet, that we are even close apart from idiotic suggestions.

 

[cjd]

Yes and that's why football and other things have been suspended and rightly so. When football does return those numbers will be significantly lower.

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The figures (hopefully) will be lower. That's because most of the country self-isolated. Once the lock down ends ( and to be honest, it appears large numbers are quietly ending it already ) then there is every possibilty the 'numbers' will increase again.

However, I do understand that for some poor souls, Premier league football in empty stadiums, watched on TV with a fag in one hand and a can of Fosters in the other is there only enjoyment in life.

 

[Marty___Mcfly]

But you can't just isolate one player. Anyone he has come into contact with also needs to be isolated. Current guidelines are that when you have symptoms, you have to isolate for 7 days but anyone who lives with you has to isolate for 14 days! Effectively, the whole team/staff need to go into isolation as do any team you have played in the last 7 days!

On that basis I don't think it will work but if they do proceed, I do agree that you can bin most of the media other than the technicians although I would suggest you need more than 10 to put a game live on tv.

Seems to me there are thousands of people being asked to live in a bubble for over a month just so Liverpool can say they've won the EPL!!!

This is incorrect. If one player tests positive, that player need to self-isolate for 7 days. The people they live with have to self isolate for 14 days but testing can reduce this.

There is no requirement for work colleagues to self-isolate. I do not know where this has come from- complete fiction.

 

[Marty___Mcfly]

Are you aware that this virus is highly contagious and if one player tests positive, then whoever he has been in contact with has to self-isolate too...? ( for 14 days )

Do you think that when the players are training etc that defenders and midfielders (and probably the forwards) that NONE of them will have gone within 2 metres of another player...? Are you suggesting that the Lewis Dunks of our club should trot out on a match day having not tackled ANYONE for the last, what will be a minimum of 3 months ?

Your previous postings have consistently shown that you don't understand the magnitude of the problem.

I want football to re-start, but I cannot see yet, that we are even close apart from idiotic suggestions.

I am not sure at what point you would deem it acceptable to play football? If you want to wait for a zero-risk scenario this is not going to happen. If you accept there will be some risk at the point of re-start then the magnitude of the risk requires assessment. The risk is June is likely to be proportionately similar to August, September, and quite possibly into 2021. At what point to you feel comfortable with football being played?

 

[Papa Lazarou]

This is incorrect. If one player tests positive, that player need to self-isolate for 7 days. The people they live with have to self isolate for 14 days but testing can reduce this.

There is no requirement for work colleagues to self-isolate. I do not know where this has come from- complete fiction.

I guess it depends if you've come into close contact with them surely? If you were to, for example, play a game of football with the infected person, would you possibly break the social distancing rules at times?

 

[cjd]

I am not sure at what point you would deem it acceptable to play football?

Fortunately it won't be my decision.

At the moment there is no 'cure'.

At the moment, the numbers are far too high to 'take the risk'. Or should I say far too high to ask players to risk their and their families lives for a game football....( and I use the term 'football' very lightly )/

There may well be a much better way of testing, isolating and just being 'safe' long before a vaccine is discovered/invented, but there isn't one yet.

I'm ever hopeful there will be eventually be a way out, but I'm not a scientist or an epidemiologist.

 

[Weststander]

In my view it is immoral to pay people to play football (contact sport) when everyone else is in some kind of lockdown. You know, people who have been furloughed, or worse, who are struggling for money and cannot even have a hug with their loved ones.

Meanwhile top level sport thinks it is somehow better than everyone else and should be able to carry on receiving obscene amounts of money for doing something pretty much irrelevant to the existence of life. And that is just the organisers. The participants, whilst somewhat reluctant to expose themselves to risk, think that they should still receive ridiculous wages for not actually doing their job, whilst many of their greatest fans may be getting absolutely fxxk all.

Professional sport is a blight upon the planet right now.

The lockdown would've been partly lifted by the time PL football starts, with countless non-essential trades, retailers, takeaways, beauty salons, barbers open. No one's talking about football starting now.

As Paul Barber and Steve Parish have pointed out this week, football is a business and yes this is about the money. 100,000 jobs rely on football, countless thousands of small business too. It won't be ManC, Spurs and ManU going bust, it'll be clubs all the way down the pyramid.

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

I guess it depends if you've come into close contact with them surely? If you were to, for example, play a game of football with the infected person, would you possibly break the social distancing rules at times?

Specially if the players are together as a squad with the managers and other staff for a long period. They would be like a large family group, therefore if one has the virus, the rest should self-isolate.

 

[wellquickwoody]

The lockdown would've been partly lifted by the time PL football starts, with countless non-essential trades, retailers, takeaways, beauty salons, barbers open. No one's talking about football starting now.

As Paul Barber and Steve Parish have pointed out this week, football is a business and yes this is about the money. 100,000 jobs rely on football, countless thousands of small business too. It won't be ManC, Spurs and ManU going bust, it'll be clubs all the way down the pyramid.

Fair comment IF that is the route the UK takes. Over here a team from NZ has been allowed to fly in whilst borders are closed, then they isolate before starting training and then begin playing. Even if restrictions are lifted by then, why are they allowed in whilst I cannot even leave? Utter double standards.

 

[Lincoln Imp]

Nothing will be normal about football's return. Therefore the huge boost will be largely in the eyes of the TV companies and press.

Agree. If anything, the sight of footballers running around in deserted stadiums possessing all the atmosphere of the moon will emphasise just how far we now are from normality.

 

[dazzer6666]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52558225

The 2019-20 Premier League season could be cancelled if clubs do not agree to play in neutral venues, says League Managers Association chief executive Richard Bevan.

A vote is set to take place on Monday on proposals for a return to football.

The Premier League has been suspended since 13 March because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Bevan says "time isn't on our side and training needs to be in place very soon" for a return by 12 June.

All 20 clubs are committed to playing the 92 remaining fixtures of the 2019-20 season if and when it is safe to do so.

However, Brighton have said they are "not in favour" of using neutral venues because it may affect the "integrity" of the league.

The neutral stadium proposal needs 14 out of the 20 clubs to vote in favour for it to be adopted.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to update the UK's position on lockdown and the plan for easing measures on Sunday.

Asked if a vote against neutral venues would lead to the season's cancellation, Bevan told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Yes, I think that probably is correct."

He added: "The government, if they haven't already, will be making it clear that home matches with densely populated stadia, really puts into question whether social distancing rules can be adhered to."

'Hard to see fans returning to football any time soon'
Sport's £700m black hole - the key questions
What are the plans for a return?
The Premier League's plans - dubbed Project Restart - involve a return to action in June in order to complete the season at the end of July to fit in with Uefa's European competition plans.

This would require full training to begin by 18 May.

The league would also need up to 40,000 tests for players and staff if plans to play the outstanding games behind closed doors are pursued.

On Friday, after their most recent meeting by video conference, Premier League clubs reiterated a commitment to resuming the season "when safe and appropriate to do so".

Who has concerns about a restart?
A number of Premier League club doctors have raised a range of concerns with league bosses over plans to resume the season.

One issue that the senior medics have sought assurances over includes their own liability and insurance cover if players contract the virus.

The 20 club doctors have been holding their own discussions about Project Restart with a view to feeding their thoughts over medical protocols, testing and player welfare.

"The medical and operational protocols are going to be presented to the managers on calls, and indeed the players," Bevan added.

"Hopefully, there will be solutions that create this safe environment.

"Football must not occupy any NHS resources, it must not impinge on the capacity of the health and emergency services. But it covers testing, tracking, PPE available, clear guidelines on social distancing, and obviously a safe environment to train and play.

"There will be guidance on cardiology, mental and emotional well-being. And I think the message really is that health is a guiding principle to any decision-making."

What about safety concerns among players?
Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has spoken out to say players are "scared" about returning to action amid the coronavirus outbreak.

On returning to training, players will be tested for the virus twice a week and would be screened for symptoms every day.

There will also be extra precautions for players at training, including wearing protective equipment and not showering or eating on premises.

Bevan says no players would be forced into playing when it is not safe to do so.

"I think as long as we have maximum information and good protocol documents, players will make their own decisions and same for managers. And they'll be looking at best practice," he added.

"If we do get that information clearly and well-presented and governments are clear as well, there'll be some good decision-making - from a manager perspective. I don't think that would be coercing players at all."

More complication for the Premier League - analysis
Simon Stone, BBC Sport

The reluctance of some clubs to play at neutral grounds presents the Premier League with a headache.

In pure numbers terms, 14 of the 20 need to vote in favour of a proposal for it to be carried.

However, all the way through the Covid-19 outbreak, the Premier League have tried to remain united - as they still are in an overall desire to complete the season.

Given the six clubs at the bottom of the table are the ones most resistant to the neutral games idea, if the rest vote in favour, it will happen.

But that would open up grievances that would not easily be settled - and given three of these clubs, Aston Villa, Brighton and West Ham, play at grounds that fulfil the criteria around accessibility the Premier League is looking for in the eight to 10 stadiums that they use, it would mean some very awkward conversations having to take place.

As has happened so often over the past couple of months, what seems a straightforward situation becomes complicated very quickly.

 

[Clive Walker]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52558225

The 2019-20 Premier League season could be cancelled if clubs do not agree to play in neutral venues, says League Managers Association chief executive Richard Bevan.

A vote is set to take place on Monday on proposals for a return to football.

The Premier League has been suspended since 13 March because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Bevan says "time isn't on our side and training needs to be in place very soon" for a return by 12 June.

All 20 clubs are committed to playing the 92 remaining fixtures of the 2019-20 season if and when it is safe to do so.

However, Brighton have said they are "not in favour" of using neutral venues because it may affect the "integrity" of the league.

The neutral stadium proposal needs 14 out of the 20 clubs to vote in favour for it to be adopted.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to update the UK's position on lockdown and the plan for easing measures on Sunday.

Asked if a vote against neutral venues would lead to the season's cancellation, Bevan told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Yes, I think that probably is correct."

He added: "The government, if they haven't already, will be making it clear that home matches with densely populated stadia, really puts into question whether social distancing rules can be adhered to."

'Hard to see fans returning to football any time soon'
Sport's £700m black hole - the key questions
What are the plans for a return?
The Premier League's plans - dubbed Project Restart - involve a return to action in June in order to complete the season at the end of July to fit in with Uefa's European competition plans.

This would require full training to begin by 18 May.

The league would also need up to 40,000 tests for players and staff if plans to play the outstanding games behind closed doors are pursued.

On Friday, after their most recent meeting by video conference, Premier League clubs reiterated a commitment to resuming the season "when safe and appropriate to do so".

Who has concerns about a restart?
A number of Premier League club doctors have raised a range of concerns with league bosses over plans to resume the season.

One issue that the senior medics have sought assurances over includes their own liability and insurance cover if players contract the virus.

The 20 club doctors have been holding their own discussions about Project Restart with a view to feeding their thoughts over medical protocols, testing and player welfare.

"The medical and operational protocols are going to be presented to the managers on calls, and indeed the players," Bevan added.

"Hopefully, there will be solutions that create this safe environment.

"Football must not occupy any NHS resources, it must not impinge on the capacity of the health and emergency services. But it covers testing, tracking, PPE available, clear guidelines on social distancing, and obviously a safe environment to train and play.

"There will be guidance on cardiology, mental and emotional well-being. And I think the message really is that health is a guiding principle to any decision-making."

What about safety concerns among players?
Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has spoken out to say players are "scared" about returning to action amid the coronavirus outbreak.

On returning to training, players will be tested for the virus twice a week and would be screened for symptoms every day.

There will also be extra precautions for players at training, including wearing protective equipment and not showering or eating on premises.

Bevan says no players would be forced into playing when it is not safe to do so.

"I think as long as we have maximum information and good protocol documents, players will make their own decisions and same for managers. And they'll be looking at best practice," he added.

"If we do get that information clearly and well-presented and governments are clear as well, there'll be some good decision-making - from a manager perspective. I don't think that would be coercing players at all."

More complication for the Premier League - analysis
Simon Stone, BBC Sport

The reluctance of some clubs to play at neutral grounds presents the Premier League with a headache.

In pure numbers terms, 14 of the 20 need to vote in favour of a proposal for it to be carried.

However, all the way through the Covid-19 outbreak, the Premier League have tried to remain united - as they still are in an overall desire to complete the season.

Given the six clubs at the bottom of the table are the ones most resistant to the neutral games idea, if the rest vote in favour, it will happen.

But that would open up grievances that would not easily be settled - and given three of these clubs, Aston Villa, Brighton and West Ham, play at grounds that fulfil the criteria around accessibility the Premier League is looking for in the eight to 10 stadiums that they use, it would mean some very awkward conversations having to take place.

As has happened so often over the past couple of months, what seems a straightforward situation becomes complicated very quickly.

so who are the 6 clubs voting against this?

 

[Marty___Mcfly]

Specially if the players are together as a squad with the managers and other staff for a long period. They would be like a large family group, therefore if one has the virus, the rest should self-isolate.

This is not what is proposed. The idea that one player leads to an entire squad in self-isolation has not been mentioned in any official reports I have seen. That approach would render football unworkable.

All the European countries who are already back in training and have re-starts in June planned, would not be doing so if that were the case. Because it wouldn't work. I would say there is zero chance of football re-starting on those terms.

One player tests positive, one player isolates. The remaining players continue to be tested.

 

[dazzer6666]

so who are the 6 clubs voting against this?

There's only one that has publicly suggested they would at the moment, and 7 would be needed to vote against to stop it happening.

 

[dazzer6666]

This is not what is proposed. The idea that one player leads to an entire squad in self-isolation has not been mentioned in any official reports I have seen. That approach would render football unworkable.

All the European countries who are already back in training and have re-starts in June planned, would not be doing so if that were the case. Because it wouldn't work. I would say there is zero chance of football re-starting on those terms.

One player tests positive, one player isolates. The remaining players continue to be tested.

The German players that have tested positive were tested and found positive before they rejoined training so have self-isolated before coming into contact with the rest of the squad/opposition/physio etc. The problem will come when a player tests negative, plays, and is then tested positive before the next game as they won't know when he became positive.

What happens if a squad has, say 3 or 4 (key) players testing positive ? Is the game called off or do they have to suck it up ? What if it's the 3 keepers (because one was infected and trained with the others) ? There are so many ifs and buts and things that could happen - rules will have to be agreed to cover all these eventualities, but something will still happen to cause the schedule to get thrown out, or made even more farcical than it's gong to be anyway. . Restarts may be planned, but I don't think they'll finish their seasons. We'll see.

 

[Jim in the West]

We're obviously focussing on the EPL, but what is happening in the FL? If the government wants games played in neutral venues for safety reasons (to avoid fans congregating outside) surely the Championship must play its remaining fixtures at neutral venues, too? And what about the Play-offs? These are pretty much the most highly charged matches of the whole football calendar - it seems inconceivable that you can keep people away from such matches. And what happens if people DO congregate outside a ground? Would a game be abandoned? Would everyone be arrested? I can see that the Amex is almost an ideal venue for this sort of thing, as it's relatively easy to cordon off the areas around the ground and keep people away, but other venues may not lend themselves so easily - Villa Park for example would require a huge number of stewards/police, I would have thought, to keep people away.

I'm also intrigued to know what happens at the end of July, assuming the season IS finished by then. Do the players go on holiday? When does the 2020/21 season start (normally it would have been just a week or so in to August). What happens to the transfer window? What happens to all the players out of contract on 30th June (or earlier in the Football League)?

Surely the logical way to address this is to spend the time between now and late July agreeing the basis on which NEXT season is played, and trying to prepare properly for football from early August. Given the potential for disruption (say, due to a second Covid-19 spike, or players becoming infected), surely it makes sense to start the 2020/21 season slightly earlier? If we're SO desperate to get football underway again, let's bring the start of next season forward. If we're not careful we're going to completely ruin the 20/21 season as part of a crazed attempt to finish the 19/20 season!

 

[Jim in the West]

There's only one that has publicly suggested they would at the moment, and 7 would be needed to vote against to stop it happening.

Apparently Spurs haven't made up their mind yet, but the other 19 clubs have - 13 for, 6 against.

 

[ForestRowSeagull]

Bundesliga has got the green light. Deciding tomorrow on a start date

 

[Marty___Mcfly]

We're obviously focussing on the EPL, but what is happening in the FL? If the government wants games played in neutral venues for safety reasons (to avoid fans congregating outside) surely the Championship must play its remaining fixtures at neutral venues, too? And what about the Play-offs? These are pretty much the most highly charged matches of the whole football calendar - it seems inconceivable that you can keep people away from such matches. And what happens if people DO congregate outside a ground? Would a game be abandoned? Would everyone be arrested? I can see that the Amex is almost an ideal venue for this sort of thing, as it's relatively easy to cordon off the areas around the ground and keep people away, but other venues may not lend themselves so easily - Villa Park for example would require a huge number of stewards/police, I would have thought, to keep people away.

I'm also intrigued to know what happens at the end of July, assuming the season IS finished by then. Do the players go on holiday? When does the 2020/21 season start (normally it would have been just a week or so in to August). What happens to the transfer window? What happens to all the players out of contract on 30th June (or earlier in the Football League)?

Surely the logical way to address this is to spend the time between now and late July agreeing the basis on which NEXT season is played, and trying to prepare properly for football from early August. Given the potential for disruption (say, due to a second Covid-19 spike, or players becoming infected), surely it makes sense to start the 2020/21 season slightly earlier? If we're SO desperate to get football underway again, let's bring the start of next season forward. If we're not careful we're going to completely ruin the 20/21 season as part of a crazed attempt to finish the 19/20 season!

The 19/20 league runs until the end of August because UEFA want to play out the remaining Europa League and Champs League games in August. Hence the 31 July deadline for all the domestic leagues to conclude. So I guess 20/21 may start a bit late- in Sept- to give a short break after the European games conclude.

 

[Marty___Mcfly]

The German players that have tested positive were tested and found positive before they rejoined training so have self-isolated before coming into contact with the rest of the squad/opposition/physio etc. The problem will come when a player tests negative, plays, and is then tested positive before the next game as they won't know when he became positive.

What happens if a squad has, say 3 or 4 (key) players testing positive ? Is the game called off or do they have to suck it up ? What if it's the 3 keepers (because one was infected and trained with the others) ? There are so many ifs and buts and things that could happen - rules will have to be agreed to cover all these eventualities, but something will still happen to cause the schedule to get thrown out, or made even more farcical than it's gong to be anyway. . Restarts may be planned, but I don't think they'll finish their seasons. We'll see.

Will be tougher for Formula 1 - that's re-starting at the beginning of July. If a driver tests positive and misses a race / races that will really impact the Championship.