At last the Premier League’s no win situation has been put on the line – if clubs don’t agree to neutral grounds the season will be cancelled.
After days of strangled news stories on the situation we reach the nitty gritty – wasn’t hard was it? The game is about survival in the Premier League and no club in the world is going to vote for it’s own possible death.
And that is what’s beckoning if clubs slip into the English Football League as a result of agreeing to an entirely false ending to this season of despair. We are talking a footballing Armageddon!
Why oh why, the bosses of any club which has the remotest chance of going down would wand to cast such a vote takes us almost into areas of insanity.
At the end of the day, for virtually every reason you can think of, this season has to be cancelled. Are we to believe that people who look after football Leagues can overcome problems that are defeating the best scientific brains in the world.
And finally to League Managers’ Association chief executive Richard Bevan says the decision on neutral grounds simply has to be made and pronto! .
Bevan has stressed ahead of Monday’s vote on proposals for a return to football that ‘time isn’t on our side’ and the alternative is the 2019-20 season being called off.
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.’
All the remaining games will be played behind closed doors for fear of spreading Covid-19 but there are fears fans may congregate outside if teams play in their own stadiums.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce a plan for easing lock down measures on Sunday and Premier League stakeholders’ will take a vote on resuming the season on Monday.
All 20 clubs are committed to playing out the season when it is safe to do so but some, like Brighton, have said they are ‘not in favour’ of using neutral grounds because it may affect the ‘integrity’ of the competition.
The neutral stadium proposal will need the approval of 14 out of the 20 teams to be adopted.
The Premier League season must be declared null and void . If teams are forced to play the final games behind closed doors and at neutral grounds , some club somewhere is going to be disadvantaged by the season being changed three quarters of the way through . The level playing field will have been removed .
The answer is to cancel the league , not have any relegation or champions , unless the clubs vote to declare Liverpool champions . I know that the championship clubs would probably instigate some sort of legal action , but with the Premier league being fairly flush with cash , I feel certain that some sort of compensation over and above parachute payments can be arranged .
To satisfy the government’s wish to have football , and to slake the Tv companies thirst for cash and exposure , why not instigate a tournament behind closed doors and at neutral grounds . There could be a trophy at stake and some sponsors etc . This would be for clubs that wanted to take part . I realise that it wouldn’t be the same but it is a fair compromise , maybe ?
What the heck is going on ? . Cancel the season and declare it a non-event ffs .
Time to be non-monyfied and think about human lives .
I agree Kevin – here in SA where we have 7,500 cases and 150 deaths people are only allowed to jog / walk / cycle between 6 am and 9 am with a mask on and keeping social distancing
The UK now has the second highest death toll in the world – talk of playing a contact sport is crazy