I'd love to be a solicitor involved with a pl club right now.
Guaranteed to make a fortune suing the fa/government etc if it's anything other than null and void.
Players that were unavailable for the original ties could now affect the outcome, which could lead to Europe/missing out, relegation etc.
Teams that lost away could argue the home tie could have swing their way etc based on previous years..
So much money at stake if they don't null and void and that's what really matters to these people
Exactly, I fully agree on finances driving a coach and horses through any semblance of common sense and what's right.
The logistics of cramming in so many games into a short timeframe gives no leeway for delay (re- the prem restart plan). Any official or squad player at a club found to have Covid-19 potentially puts a whole squad of 25 or more out for 14 days quarantine and makes it absolutely unworkable unless they play anyone at all in the team.
It could result in Watford for example playing five or six crucial relegation matches without 25 or more players, losing them all and thus being condemned to relegation?
Then the logistics of so much regular repeat retesting with every team that played (Watford) and every team that played that other team (whole squads and officials) - there are a myriad of other connected reasons, how can football, not just the prem but the EFL, commandeer so many tests that may be needed for healthcare workers and other workers, football isn't important at all.
Basically the artificiality of neutral grounds and isolation practically makes it a new tournament only tenuously connected with what went on before. It's a contrived ending via agreement from money driven boardrooms,, any subsequent legal consequences could drag on for years and probably wouldn't stand up in English law. Even if this imo being the least of the concerns.
It's been widely reported certain squads aren't exactly fully behind their official boardroom's official position and very unhappy at the prospect of being put at risk, this (Cologne business) could finish them.
Wait for all the fall out to settle in Germany, yes they're apparently asymptomstic and training continues but the start date already put back to May 16th has still not been ratified by Merkel's government. The media pressure and also from their coalition partners will now ratchet up and do nothing for continuation of the German plan, the media pressure to abort will be immense and I suspect too much to carry public opinion there.
Here it shouldn't even get off the ground but with the tunnel vision, gross irresponsibility, recklessness, head in the sand and determination to ignore any obstacles, who says they won't 'achieve' another Cheltenham with celebrating fans congregating, if not at the ground, then in each others living rooms, breaking all and any social distancing laws.
A second larger peak could easily be the result. Cheltenham mark II.
Besides that though it's all good to go.
www.theguardian.com
