Club Statement: Coronavirus

[blueblue]

Season 19/20 has been completely disrupted now( not the worst thing in the world to happen). It is simply an exercise now of how to minimise financial losses and if they could play those games in Siberia over a weekend they would do so. There will be no celebrations, no open top bus tour because the country is in mourning over those who have already died and those who are yet to die. It is simply a statistic that needs to be clarified or simply scrubbed.

I don't see how ruining season 20/21 by trying to finish season 19/20 is going to help matters and I think with each passing week the focus will shift. I think the new season(whenever it starts) will be seen as a beacon of hope for the future, something for people to look forward to in difficult times

There isn't an urgency yet to make hard and fast decisions and I think everybody is waiting to see how the progress of the virus is curbed over the next number of weeks because that is what really will influence the decision.
I have said before that the very high death levels in England and the level of criticism that the current government will face when this crisis passes(maybe temporarily) will mean they will be extremely cautious with any decisions being made.

 

[blueblue]

Finish the season by awarding them the title. It's tainted now anyway.

Not really bothered, more serious issues regarding the economy and how we get back to normal again.

That isn't the problem. Who finishes top four, gets Europa league, gets relegated, gets promoted ?
Those are the questions to be answered.

 

[Brisan123]

If games are played behind closed doors,.at neutral venues ,at St Georges park ,do the Government really believe that thousands of the [Phrase removed] will not turn up to witness the scum lifting their first ever PL trophy with their flares and pyrotechnics being wielded by hordes of FKW resplendent with shin pads and captains armbands ,because this means more
Crowds will gather for the first game as they all emerge from their mams boxrooms and that will be that

 

[BNJ1878]

That isn't the problem. Who finishes top four, gets Europa league, gets relegated, gets promoted ?
Those are the questions to be answered.

Which is exactly why the only realistic solution is null and void the whole thing.

Reset the leagues to August 2019 and start again when it's safe to do so.

UEFA are dreaming if they think Europa/CL can be completed, as is FA for the ridiculous 'festival of football' plan to complete the leagues.

Hundreds of thousands of people are going to die. Any meaningful football before Autumn is a pipe dream.

Oh well.

 

[Stan Lee Park]

Well, yes. If they can get back to it in safety, then crack on. If it gets to September though, and there's still no football, then I'm not sure there will be any choice. There is a need for a pre-season, an opportunity for new players to bed into their new teams, adaptation periods of clubs etc, that may take a Month at the minimum, likely August, which may be allowed to happen with relaxation of gathering restrictions in order for them to be allowed to train together. In order for that to happen, this league season will need to be done by July 31st. Uefa and FA are wanting to complete European competitions through the month of July, so anybody competing in those will likely require the PL to be finished in order to compete effectively. That means the final 9 games of the season will bedone over 3.5 weeks on a Saturday - Wednesday schedule, starting mid May. Seems unlikely to me.

In terms of European games and teams competing in both competitions, they will need to play Saturday Wednesday in both Euro and PL, and other countries leagues, so to have both comps on going at the same time would give an unfair advantage to those not in it, and effectively make all results pointless anyway.

A precedent has been set in the past.. In the case of a worldwide event making football unable to be completed, the league was cancelled. Twice.

However this pans out it won't be fair on everybody.
The fastest possible way to finish this season would mean resuming training in 11th May; allowing three weeks for training/organising fixtures would mean that the season could restart on Wednesday 3rd June and finish five weeks later on Wednesday 8th July. This is a supremely optimistic schedule and takes no account of FA Cup, Champions League and Europa League fixtures being shoehorned in somehow. With a great deal of luck and plus a degree of planning and organisation, for which neither the FA, PL or UEFA are noted, all competitions just might be completed by early September.
All that means that the 2020/2021 season would be delayed by at least six weeks. Any delay in that schedule would mean that the current season would be very unlikely to be completed.

 

[Death]

This nonsense what has the government to do with LFC? Whree did they say about completing two games? Also what about the promotion and relgation issues?

Boris was trying to pass kopite legislation for them to get tax payer subsidies for thier transfer kitty. Open your eyes.

 

[Brisan123]

Which is exactly why the only realistic solution is null and void the whole thing.

Reset the leagues to August 2019 and start again when it's safe to do so.

UEFA are dreaming if they think Europa/CL can be completed, as is FA for the ridiculous 'festival of football' plan to complete the leagues.

Hundreds of thousands of people are going to die. Any meaningful football before Autumn is a pipe dream.

Oh well.

View attachment 84249

EXactly
Games will be played behind closed doors with thousands outside the doors

 

[Toffeelover]

Boris was trying to pass kopite legislation for them to get tax payer subsidies for thier transfer kitty. Open your eyes.

Give over, where was that and it would have applied to all clubs if true.

 

[willo30]

That isn't the problem. Who finishes top four, gets Europa league, gets relegated, gets promoted ?
Those are the questions to be answered.

Relegation and promotion an issue yes.
Cant see top 4 or Europa being an issue as I don't think there will be any overseas games going on next season.

 

[blueblue]

Relegation and promotion an issue yes.
Cant see top 4 or Europa being an issue as I don't think there will be any overseas games going on next season.

The last rounds of this seasons CL are scheduled for August. I really doubt that a competition which generates so much money will be scrapped, moreso as it won't even be starting for several months yet.

 

[willo30]

The last rounds of this seasons CL are scheduled for August. I really doubt that a competition which generates so much money will be scrapped, moreso as it won't even be starting for several months yet.

I suppose if you could get a country to take all teams for a tournament to finish off this seasons then that may be possible.

Next season to get around it they could make the groups the teams from their own countries.
So for example RS, City, Leicester and Chelsea all make up a group and hope it's ok to play abroad in Feb when the knockouts start.
Could even send them all to a single country for a tournament to finish it again for the knockouts.

 

[Jayefc19]

However this pans out it won't be fair on everybody.
The fastest possible way to finish this season would mean resuming training in 11th May; allowing three weeks for training/organising fixtures would mean that the season could restart on Wednesday 3rd June and finish five weeks later on Wednesday 8th July. This is a supremely optimistic schedule and takes no account of FA Cup, Champions League and Europa League fixtures being shoehorned in somehow. With a great deal of luck and plus a degree of planning and organisation, for which neither the FA, PL or UEFA are noted, all competitions just might be completed by early September.
All that means that the 2020/2021 season would be delayed by at least six weeks. Any delay in that schedule would mean that the current season would be very unlikely to be completed.

3 weeks training?? - More like 8-10 weeks considering they’ve all been training in their back garden since the start of March.

Season completed in 5 weeks?? - They’re footy players it’s not FIFA or champ man. Think how many injuries would happen. Like Rooney said they’re not guinea pigs, they’ll refuse to be treated inhumanly (especially bearing in mind it’s a deadly respiratory disease)

 

[jamieni]

There is going to be a ‘new normal’ for the next 18-24 months. I think the chances of this season being finished over the summer are very slim indeed. We need to have the transmission of the virus under serious control and be carrying out test and trace before even behind closed doors games are played.

 

[James Roberts]

Something that I still can't get an answer on is.. say we start June 1st Liverpool win 2 games win the league. By June 15th. They can play reserves till the end of the season giving their players a full rest before the season starts in September? How is that fair?

 

[Eggsyblueskin]

After listening to the comments by the chief scientist tonight it is increasingly obvious that no major football competitions will take place for at least 12 months. Footballs major headache now is not how to complete this current season but how to survive relatively intact until such time as a vaccine can be found.