We keep hearing the words: “We must preserve the integrity of the Premier League competition” but the reality is that is going to prove next door to impossible whatever the bosses and chairmen decide at their meeting on Friday.
So many ideas have been floated, and as reflected on this forum, most have been dismissed as unworkable in the present crisis.
Hope remains – given the coronavirus figures and trends worldwide – that the infection rate and death rate starts to improve after three months when maybe some restrictions can start to be carefully lifted.
However, the reality is that the various schemes being presented – neutral grounds, behind closed doors games, players quarantined in hotel rooms and the like – mean that the integrity of the competition cannot be maintained anyway. It’s an entirely unnatural way to end things.
Loss of home advantage is the big one and although it can be claimed that it’s the same for everyone, it’s not, because in the case of the Hammers, we have home games against relegation rivals Watford and Villa for example.
Playing those two games in front of 50,000 gives us a vital call in surviving and thus neutral ground games behind closed doors is no way forward.
I wrote yesterday that I understood the PL chairmen’s point of view in trying to keep their businesses going.
But I come to the conclusion that in conditions such as we have never known before, the only fair conclusion is to follow the Scottish example, go to law, and if we can’t find an answer it cancel the season.
Hard as I try, like so many others, I can see no other conclusion to this wretched situation.
It’s Mission Impossible and even Tom Cruise can’t save us!
Indeed! It is Mission Impossible. I wouldn’t like to be one of those that has to make a decision on which way the season should finish if the remaining games can’t be played. There’s always someone who isn’t going to be happy regardless of which decision is made. I would like to see the leagues frozen but then there’s the issue of relegation/promotion.
Although I am not a fan of Liverpool, they should get the title. I don’t think many people would argue with that.
Anyway, stay safe and healthy everyone!
I’d still favour just hitting the pause button; cancel *next* season, and allow the league completions to be rescheduled in the autumn or even into 2021, along with completing the 19/20 cup completions, running the 20/21 cups, and even finishing early enough to run the European Championship earlier than planned in ‘21.
Problem would be getting everybody to play nicely and spread the pain arising from the lost revenue…
As for lost revenue, I have just seen that Levy has cut the wages of the non playing staff.
This is a guy who earns 7M! Will the players take such a cut in wages? Barca players have taken 70% cut, and the top 4 German sides have given 20M to the rest of the teams in the top 2 divisions. I can’t see any of the Premier League sides doing anything like that.