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

[sparkie]

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport...ixtures-dates-suspension-latest-a9432961.html

Argus, today :

"But a suggestion to play all matches in London or Birmingham, behind closed doors and with players in quarantined bases, looks a fanciful non-starter.

The Argus understands there is considerable opposition to the scheme among the 20 top-tier clubs, details of which emerged via a report in The Independent late on Sunday."

 

[LamieRobertson]

One silver lining is that the pitch should be in better nick next time its played on

 

[dazzer6666]

Argus, today :

"But a suggestion to play all matches in London or Birmingham, behind closed doors and with players in quarantined bases, looks a fanciful non-starter.

The Argus understands there is considerable opposition to the scheme among the 20 top-tier clubs, details of which emerged via a report in The Independent late on Sunday."

We're one of the clubs dead against it apparently...............

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

We're one of the clubs dead against it apparently...............

Good, the whole idea is daft but to make one of the bases the city at the epicenter of the virus perhaps illustrates the surreal world that is lived in by football administrators.

 

[GT49er]

We're one of the clubs dead against it apparently...............

Good! Bl**dy stupid idea.

 

[Springal]

We're one of the clubs dead against it apparently...............

Good. All it needs is a decorum of clubs against it and to refuse to take part and the whole thing falls apart anyway

 

[GT49er]

Which says to me, write of the 20/21 season, and use that time to finish off the 19/20 season

Which says to me, write off (void) the 2019/20 season, and use the time to play the 20/21 season - possibly a shortened version - 19 matches, perhaps?. Not ideal, but all clubs would know what the situation was from the start - which certainly does not apply to the 19/20 season!

 

[Stumpy Tim]

Which says to me, write off (void) the 2019/20 season, and use the time to play the 20/21 season - possibly a shortened version - 19 matches, perhaps?. Not ideal, but all clubs would know what the situation was from the start - which certainly does not apply to the 19/20 season!

So you're in favour of ruining 2 seasons, not 1. Makes sense

 

[wellquickwoody]

Liverpool and Leeds fans.

Reason enough to write it off, imo.

In normal times I would agree for comedy value.

In these surreal times, just call football off because it really does not matter.

 

[sparkie]

So you're in favour of ruining 2 seasons, not 1. Makes sense

The current season is already ruined unless they can play the remaining games with crowds before June 30th when the player contract problems start. They can't do this, so best concentrate on not having next season ruined as well.

 

[GT49er]

So you're in favour of ruining 2 seasons, not 1. Makes sense

No. This season is done for, dead in the water, no matter how much an ever-decreasing number of die-hards think it can be completed and all will be wonderful. It won't it is fatally compromised already.
I'd like next season to be played in full (probably without cups) - if we can start it in something like the right time, which is highly unlikely. If we can't, half a season is better than none.

 

[nwgull]

We're one of the clubs dead against it apparently...............

Good. It's a ridiculous idea that considers the Premier League in isolation from the rest of the Pyramid. All very well finishing the PL, but it wouldn't be able to start next season without the Championship being concluded as well. This has additional considerations for BHA as we currently have 4 players on loan at Championship clubs that we may well want back in our squad next season.

 

[dazzer6666]

No. This season is done for, dead in the water, no matter how much an ever-decreasing number of die-hards think it can be completed and all will be wonderful. It won't it is fatally compromised already.
I'd like next season to be played in full (probably without cups) - if we can start it in something like the right time, which is highly unlikely. If we can't, half a season is better than none.

As every day passes this is becoming more and more obvious.........the PL will cling on to 'options' for as long as they can, but with lockdown poised to go into several more weeks than the initial 3 trying to complete the season against a backdrop of people dying etc is completely untenable. They should confirm it's scrapped now, and start planning contingency arrangements for starting next season late too.

 

[Sarisbury Seagull]

This season is over, void. It’s not ideal at all but there really is no better, viable option.

The only reason I can think that the authorities won’t announce it for a while is that they’re hoping the longer it drags on, the softer the blow to the teams who will be disappointed.

 

[mxs_harrow]

In normal times I would agree for comedy value.

In these surreal times, just call football off because it really does not matter.

Agreed. Football can start again when people stop dying.

Some of these plans are almost as fanciful, selfish ( and dangerous) as dusting off the Anglo-Italian Cup.....

 

[Gwylan]

I've just done some counting back.

UEFA want to start the EC on 11 June. That means that the season ends with the CL Final on 22 May

That means that if the PL don't play in the FA Cup, the FL and have no breaks for international football (but keep the CL) they would have to start on the 28 November to get the fixtures in (providing they play two every week, including European games and internationals). But the championship would need longer as they have eight more fixtures and would need three weeks to sort out play offs. Let's say they have to start on 21st

Allowing a four week gap, that would mean the previous season has to end by 24 October - three weeks for play-offs and six weeks to finish league would mean that the current season would have to re-start by 29 August.

That's obviously a very tight schedule, I'm not sure that the FA would be happy about no FA cup, GAreth Southgate would really want some international break and there's no downtime for players in that - the PFA may have words. I think that, in reality, the period would be several weeks longer and would have to re-start by 1 August at the latest - but even that would still mean international players playing twice a week for nearly a year, with perhaps just a week off.

So, a lockdown of three months mean that we could complete the season... just. But any longer and we'd have to write if off, the logistics just don't allow it

 

[hans kraay fan club]

I've just done some counting back.

UEFA want to start the EC on 11 June. That means that the season ends with the CL Final on 22 May

That means that if the PL don't play in the FA Cup, the FL and have no breaks for international football (but keep the CL) they would have to start on the 28 November to get the fixtures in (providing they play two every week, including European games and internationals). But the championship would need longer as they have eight more fixtures and would need three weeks to sort out play offs. Let's say they have to start on 21st

Allowing a four week gap, that would mean the previous season has to end by 24 October - three weeks for play-offs and six weeks to finish league would mean that the current season would have to re-start by 29 August.

That's obviously a very tight schedule, I'm not sure that the FA would be happy about no FA cup, GAreth Southgate would really want some international break and there's no downtime for players in that - the PFA may have words. I think that, in reality, the period would be several weeks longer and would have to re-start by 1 August at the latest - but even that would still mean international players playing twice a week for nearly a year, with perhaps just a week off.

So, a lockdown of three months mean that we could complete the season... just. But any longer and we'd have to write if off, the logistics just don't allow it

I follow all this apart from the bolded bit. Couldn't the Championship clubs just play their 8 additional fixtures, on the same mid-week slots as the CL fixtures?

 

[beorhthelm]

...
Allowing a four week gap, that would mean the previous season has to end by 24 October - three weeks for play-offs and six weeks to finish league would mean that the current season would have to re-start by 29 August.

that sounds like a realisitic target for next season to start.

 

[Martlet]

I've just done some counting back.

UEFA want to start the EC on 11 June. That means that the season ends with the CL Final on 22 May

That means that if the PL don't play in the FA Cup, the FL and have no breaks for international football (but keep the CL) they would have to start on the 28 November to get the fixtures in (providing they play two every week, including European games and internationals). But the championship would need longer as they have eight more fixtures and would need three weeks to sort out play offs. Let's say they have to start on 21st

Allowing a four week gap, that would mean the previous season has to end by 24 October - three weeks for play-offs and six weeks to finish league would mean that the current season would have to re-start by 29 August.

That's obviously a very tight schedule, I'm not sure that the FA would be happy about no FA cup, GAreth Southgate would really want some international break and there's no downtime for players in that - the PFA may have words. I think that, in reality, the period would be several weeks longer and would have to re-start by 1 August at the latest - but even that would still mean international players playing twice a week for nearly a year, with perhaps just a week off.

So, a lockdown of three months mean that we could complete the season... just. But any longer and we'd have to write if off, the logistics just don't allow it

Have you factored in the "pre season" the players will need to get back to top-flight fitness after three months in lockdown?

 

[Gwylan]

I follow all this apart from the bolded bit. Couldn't the Championship clubs just play their 8 additional fixtures, on the same mid-week slots as the CL fixtures?

Yes, they could but there also has to be three weeks for the play-offs to happen - it would take that long to get tickets for Wembley organised.

The only way to shave time off this would be to have the final as a one-off game at the home of the club that finished higher.

The other option would be to dispense with play-offs for a season and promote the top three (or just the top two)