My latest view is they will finish it...The premier League have the same amount of games as we have to finish, and are looking to complete by the end of June. The EFL will follow suit....
I’d bet against. The PL want to finish for financial reasons, but my guess is that they’ll come up against public health advisers at various meetings, and will withdraw their plan ‘with regret’.
If somehow they got the green light, then when one player tests positive, it’s all over.
My rather rather miserable feeling is football won’t restart until there’s a vaccine, or effective treatment at least. It’s a contact sport.
What happens if a couple of players from the same team dont want to play. Might not want to leave the family or the other half is pregnant
They will do what the club's tell them too...or else...
What is ridiculous is anybody proposing football restarts with fewer restrictions than those I have set out. And we are seeing the football authorities are looking seriously at this.
But there is a wider issue here. What about next season? There is a lot of evidence that crowds are virus spreaders so in the absence of a vaccine, it could be 18 months before we can start football again.
I would say blue sky thinking is an essential and is it acceptable not to apply any thought to solving this and just let many of our clubs die? If the limit was set as low as ball retrieval issues, it is a wonder how any problem could be solved.
I wonder what the refs and other officials feel about this, as unlike the players they don't get a massive salary (especially in the EFL) and most of them are older than the players too. Will THEY also have to isolate themselves in a "ref hotel" for the duration of the rest of the season?
Tested, then kept together for the month needed to complete the season - probably using the ground as their base. Sleeping, eating within the stadium and training on the pitch. With them a small tested staff of cleaners, chef, medical staff and coach driver. Away games they are driven to the ground and straight back. Changing and eating on the coach. There would need to be a similar arrangement in a few strategically placed hotels for officials.
Not great for the players and officials, but only for a month and many of them are probably itching to play. I think it could work. They would be like prisoners for a month, but the season would be finished and we would have loads of footy to watch.
I can't believe you haven't realised how mad this is while writing it.
To be fair to Mutley, this is the only way it could be done. A lot of people seem to think that if we just play matches behind closed doors and limit the number of people involved, everything will be fine. But you really need a closed loop quarantine of everyone involved in the system.
The problem is, that's basically impossible. You're just not going to be able to isolate everyone involved. And that means that if the tea lady or the groundsman goes home to their spouse, and their spouse has caught it at the grocery store and is an asymptomatic carrier, they can then pass it to said staff member, who could pass it to players, who could pass it amongst each other in training or in matches and you could have flare ups at multiple clubs within a week, potentially before anyone showed symptoms.
Now, I think there may come a point in our society when we start to accept this as a risk for certain things. We already are for a lot of frontline medical staff, as well as essential workers. But given that club doctors are being drafted by the NHS, starting football would literally require taking people away from the NHS. Not to mention testing, PPE, disinfection agents, etc. I just can't see us, as a society, being willing to tolerate that in the next two months. Come August/September, especially if the virus slows in the summer, I think it's quite possible we'd be willing to take on those risks to some degree. But not anytime soon.
I am glad you see what I was getting at. When you break it down, it is virtually impossible as you won't persuade players to lock themselves away for a month and a half. You would need to get all of them to agree and I can't see how that would happen. let alone everybody else you would need to lock away with them. But it is the only way it can be done. If you did it any other way, you risk the very real possibility that a player or players will catch the virus and if that happened with say five games to go it would be a disastrous mess.
What I found amusing is how many reasons given why it wouldn't work were ridiculous when really there are two massive ones. In fact, probably only one unachievable one as you can get round the pressure on the health service risk by donating a share of profits to health service charities. We are happy to encourage 90 plus year olds to climb stairs for charity when there are surely risks to that.
Can you tell me what pub you found open today mate?
There is no way the season will be completed and I doubt next season will start on time either - to be honest I'm past caring. Far more dreadful news to come I reckon. By the time football (or any sport) commences it's quite possible we may not even exist in our present form.
Do you mean that you think that we are going to mutate?
Hopefully, into a properly run Championship club with decent owners.
My latest view is they will finish it...The premier League have the same amount of games as we have to finish, and are looking to complete by the end of June. The EFL will follow suit....
I’d bet against. The PL want to finish for financial reasons, but my guess is that they’ll come up against public health advisers at various meetings, and will withdraw their plan ‘with regret’.
If somehow they got the green light, then when one player tests positive, it’s all over.
My rather rather miserable feeling is football won’t restart until there’s a vaccine, or effective treatment at least. It’s a contact sport.
What happens if a couple of players from the same team dont want to play. Might not want to leave the family or the other half is pregnant
They will do what the club's tell them too...or else...
That’ll look good in the press. The club would be slaughtered.
Some Premier league teams back in training but training individually. That should answer any questions as to whether the season should resume, if players can’t train together, have to drive to the training ground in training kit, how can they play together
Some Premier league teams back in training but training individually. That should answer any questions as to whether the season should resume, if players can’t train together, have to drive to the training ground in training kit, how can they play together
Italian clubs have set a date of June 14th as the latest possible date to restart the season, beyond that they will look to declare the season void instead.
Government have provisionally said they can return to training May 18th, but the clubs are requesting to start earlier.
I think the PL is banking on the Government banning any restart in the timescale they're proposing so they can claim on various insurances and/or get out of contract commitments by reason of "force majeure". In the meantime they have to act as if a restart is practicable.
I think the PL is banking on the Government banning any restart in the timescale they're proposing so they can claim on various insurances and/or get out of contract commitments by reason of "force majeure". In the meantime they have to act as if a restart is practicable.
I was wondering about that
"Sorry Sky and BT (and everyone else) we wanted to finish the season, and provide the contracted 2019/20 games, but the government prevented us. Not our fault. See you next season"
I think the PL is banking on the Government banning any restart in the timescale they're proposing so they can claim on various insurances and/or get out of contract commitments by reason of "force majeure". In the meantime they have to act as if a restart is practicable.
My Sunday league has been declared void now. However no reimbursement of season fees nor any incentive to reapply for next year.
Also the suggestion of the league returning monies collected from fines shot down even though all records are removed for this season.
Seems unfair, but predictable. The club I managed paid nearly £1k in fines last season (I know it was a bit on the high side). It is a nice little earner for the league though.
My Sunday league has been declared void now. However no reimbursement of season fees nor any incentive to reapply for next year.
Also the suggestion of the league returning monies collected from fines shot down even though all records are removed for this season.
Seems unfair, but predictable. The club I managed paid nearly £1k in fines last season (I know it was a bit on the high side). It is a nice little earner for the league though.
I think the PL is banking on the Government banning any restart in the timescale they're proposing so they can claim on various insurances and/or get out of contract commitments by reason of "force majeure". In the meantime they have to act as if a restart is practicable.
I was wondering about that
"Sorry Sky and BT (and everyone else) we wanted to finish the season, and provide the contracted 2019/20 games, but the government prevented us. Not our fault. See you next season"
I thought Sky and BT had already said they wouldn't want any refunds, just more games next year?
I think the PL is banking on the Government banning any restart in the timescale they're proposing so they can claim on various insurances and/or get out of contract commitments by reason of "force majeure". In the meantime they have to act as if a restart is practicable.
I was wondering about that
"Sorry Sky and BT (and everyone else) we wanted to finish the season, and provide the contracted 2019/20 games, but the government prevented us. Not our fault. See you next season"
I thought Sky and BT had already said they wouldn't want any refunds, just more games next year?
More Leeds games next year is more likely what they said!
There is a school of thought about life going on. We cant not just re-start people going back to work (be it a scaffolder or a footballer) just because people have died. Not saying its right, but the masses need something to focus on & to get back to normality. I hear today that the lockdown has started to crumble & there are more people out & about today. It won't take long for things to start getting rough if people are "locked up" for much longer.
I hear that the WHO are saying that it is very likely that anyone who has had Covid-19 might not be immune & could catch it again. If that is the case then things might as well start getting back to normal.
I totally disagree. Sod getting people back to work and things getting back to normal, whatever normal is. If getting back to work has to wait a few more months then so be it. If football doesn’t restart till January so be it. Sod the masses needing something to focus on. If they want something to focus on focus on this. You go back to normal now there is a real possibility you will die.
But you have been going to work, what is it, four days a week?
So you have been getting out of the house and earning money.
Some people, including myself, have been staying home and have earnt nothing since early March.
What are we supposed to be focusing on?
We can't go back to the old normal but we can make a new normal with preventative measures, just as we have made cars safer, rather than saying that we have to go back to the horse and carriage.
This season just cannot finish - Are the players going to be tested constantly? If one of them gets a persistent cough, do they then cancel the teams fixtures for the next 14 days? There would be so many matches cancelled, I just can't see it working, as much as I would love to have sport back in my life.
Lots of people have been discussing how exactly is best to finish the season, if at all possible. So it’s got me thinking, and I have came up with a way of finishing the season, without even having to play any of the games. People can shoot down this idea and that’s fine, but hear me out...
Take the results of the reverse fixtures that are remaining and add them to the current standings. For example, we would draw 2-2 with Hull, beat Reading 2-0 but lose 2-0 to Wigan etc.
I have worked this out for both the Premier League and for The Championship. The difference in current league positions are tiny. In fact, the current top 6 in The Championship remain exactly the same, just West Brom finish top whilst Leeds finish second.
To make this theory more reliable, I also took data of every single clubs league position in each game week of the season so far. I then performed a mean, median, and a mode of each club’s league position throughout the season. What I done next was to then take an overall average of the three averages. This was to get a true representation of where each club has spent the vast majority of the season.
What I done next was use statistical analysis tests to investigate the accuracy and reliability of comparing the overall average league positions to where each club would finish in the table if you took the results of the reverse fixtures.
In the Premier League, the ‘theoretical table’ against their averaged average league position was 97.38% correlated and the same. In The Championship, it was even closer with 98.26% correlated and the same.
I have all the data if people are actually interested further in what I am trying to explain.
I’ve emailed this proposal over to The EFL and am actually awaiting their reply.
You can think I am mad, and that’s fine. But it’s an idea that I’ve developed and statistically shows that it works. For this idea, it doesn’t have to include relegation as it wouldn’t be entirely fair for a club to be relegated on a statistical solution, even if their league position and form through the season has shown that’s where they should be.
Incidentally, we would survive and finish in 18th. But that’s not why I’ve done this.
For anyone arguing the idea, that’s good, debate is good. But this idea takes into account different periods of form throughout the season and takes into account an overall average league position of each club.
Comments
I would say blue sky thinking is an essential and is it acceptable not to apply any thought to solving this and just let many of our clubs die? If the limit was set as low as ball retrieval issues, it is a wonder how any problem could be solved.
Can you tell me what pub you found open today mate?
Also the suggestion of the league returning monies collected from fines shot down even though all records are removed for this season.
"Sorry Sky and BT (and everyone else) we wanted to finish the season, and provide the contracted 2019/20 games, but the government prevented us. Not our fault. See you next season"
I thought Sky and BT had already said they wouldn't want any refunds, just more games next year?
So you have been getting out of the house and earning money.
Some people, including myself, have been staying home and have earnt nothing since early March.
What are we supposed to be focusing on?
We can't go back to the old normal but we can make a new normal with preventative measures, just as we have made cars safer, rather than saying that we have to go back to the horse and carriage.
Take the results of the reverse fixtures that are remaining and add them to the current standings. For example, we would draw 2-2 with Hull, beat Reading 2-0 but lose 2-0 to Wigan etc.
I have worked this out for both the Premier League and for The Championship. The difference in current league positions are tiny. In fact, the current top 6 in The Championship remain exactly the same, just West Brom finish top whilst Leeds finish second.
To make this theory more reliable, I also took data of every single clubs league position in each game week of the season so far. I then performed a mean, median, and a mode of each club’s league position throughout the season. What I done next was to then take an overall average of the three averages. This was to get a true representation of where each club has spent the vast majority of the season.
What I done next was use statistical analysis tests to investigate the accuracy and reliability of comparing the overall average league positions to where each club would finish in the table if you took the results of the reverse fixtures.
In the Premier League, the ‘theoretical table’ against their averaged average league position was 97.38% correlated and the same. In The Championship, it was even closer with 98.26% correlated and the same.
I have all the data if people are actually interested further in what I am trying to explain.
I’ve emailed this proposal over to The EFL and am actually awaiting their reply.
You can think I am mad, and that’s fine. But it’s an idea that I’ve developed and statistically shows that it works. For this idea, it doesn’t have to include relegation as it wouldn’t be entirely fair for a club to be relegated on a statistical solution, even if their league position and form through the season has shown that’s where they should be.
Incidentally, we would survive and finish in 18th. But that’s not why I’ve done this.
For anyone arguing the idea, that’s good, debate is good. But this idea takes into account different periods of form throughout the season and takes into account an overall average league position of each club.