Football & Coronavirus [READ MOD NOTE IN FIRST POST - updated 06-05-20]

brinty

Iused2likebusts wrote:

The peak will have passed when they restart behind closed doors so it wont be a drain on the emergency services. We arent talking about restarting it in the next 2 or 3 weeks you have to try visualise the situation in a few months time. You are also guessing that there will be thousands outside a ground. People are much more aware of the issues now compared to when thousands gathered outside that psg game. If football cant restart business in general cant restart. The money isnt there to let everyone sit at home till a vaccine is found so solutions will have to be found. All businesses will need to be creative once the surge has passed. We as a society will have to make things work as best we can. Do you see us in July looking at hundreds of deaths a day in the UK. Massive restrictions in place and governments around the world still paying out all the money they are.

Potentially thousands of deaths a day more like.

Chuck Noland

Iused2likebusts wrote: »

The peak will have passed when they restart behind closed doors so it wont be a drain on the emergency services. We arent talking about restarting it in the next 2 or 3 weeks you have to try visualise the situation in a few months time. You are also guessing that there will be thousands outside a ground. People are much more aware of the issues now compared to when thousands gathered outside that psg game. If football cant restart business in general cant restart. The money isnt there to let everyone sit at home till a vaccine is found so solutions will have to be found. All businesses will need to be creative once the surge has passed. We as a society will have to make things work as best we can. Do you see us in July looking at hundreds of deaths a day in the UK. Massive restrictions in place and governments around the world still paying out all the money they are.

But the UKs peak isn’t expected for 10-14 weeks. That’s around June 21st. The measures will not be immediately lifted once the peak is passed or we will see a massive spike again in cases...in the current climate, if the peak is mid June and that’s the mid point that’s 4 months to peak from the start of the emergency measures. Could well take 4 months after that before bars and things look to reopen and life goes back to normal and football won’t return till that time either and rightfully so imo

giveitholly

brinty wrote: »

Potentially thousands of deaths a day more like.

Can you see thousands of deaths a day in July/August? If that does happen then football will be the last thing on any of our minds,it will be all about survival

brinty

giveitholly wrote:

Can you see thousands of deaths a day in July/August? If that does happen then football will be the last thing on any of our minds,it will be all about survival

They're not taking this seriously yet so unfortunately yes I think we could see thousands of deaths yet.

If the peak in the UK isn't for another 10-12 weeks and they're already at 600+ deaths a day it's easy to see this going into the thousands

RasTa

Chuck Noland wrote: »

On the flip side it’s heat and good weather kill the virus faster

Tell that to Ethiopia

giveitholly

brinty wrote: »

They're not taking this seriously yet so unfortunately yes I think we could see thousands of deaths yet.

If the peak in the UK isn't for another 10-12 weeks and they're already at 600+ deaths a day it's easy to see this going into the thousands

With the way they are carrying on over there would they nearly have herd immunity by then? At the cost of thousands and thousands of deaths

RasTa

Also bars and stuff in Sweden are still open

citytillidie

ricero wrote: »

Hahaha did you fall for the picture circulating the other week of Dan Blizerian (a Las Vegas playboy type) in bed with four women and a caption saying it was Liverpool's goalkeeper Alisson who bares a somewhat striking resemblance?

Is that the one that has been going about for a few years?

citytillidie

So is the BBC a good source now when it was not a few days ago when UEFA said it prefers all leagues to be finished?

Iused2likebusts

Chuck Noland wrote: »

But the UKs peak isn’t expected for 10-14 weeks. That’s around June 21st. The measures will not be immediately lifted once the peak is passed or we will see a massive spike again in cases...in the current climate, if the peak is mid June and that’s the mid point that’s 4 months to peak from the start of the emergency measures. Could well take 4 months after that before bars and things look to reopen and life goes back to normal and football won’t return till that time either and rightfully so imo

Anything ive read says the peak is in the next 2 weeks. If the peak is when you say we are going to have tens of thousands of deaths a day as the virus keeps growing and doubling every few days.

brinty

citytillidie wrote:

So is the BBC a good source now when it was not a few days ago when UEFA said it prefers all leagues to be finished?

Knew this would be brought out, good to know you're so predictable.

According to you and most of the Liverpool fans y'all said BBC is reliable. So is it still reliable for you all and that there's a possibility the season won't be finished?

Zebra3

This thread seems to be mostly devoted to concerns about a return to football in Britain.

Judging by the news today, normal life there seems a long way off.

A sizable minority seem to be ignoring government guidelines/laws and it looks like they are heading for a more stringent lockdown as the death toll rises.

It's hard to see football returning any time soon, even behind closed doors. After all, why should the players risk their lives?

When everything restarts will have a lot to do with the PFA and when they want players back playing with regard to their fitness.

This side of the start of July looks highly unlikely.

noodler

brinty wrote: »

Good job we didn't implement Harry's suggestion of infecting all players with it and seeing who survives so isn't it

Like.. clockwork?

Crazy Harry infection reference no.27

The_Kew_Tour

Zebra3 wrote: »

This thread seems to be mostly devoted to concerns about a return to football in Britain.

Judging by the news today, normal life there seems a long way off.

A sizable minority seem to be ignoring government guidelines/laws and it looks like they are heading for a more stringent lockdown as the death toll rises.

It's hard to see football returning any time soon, even behind closed doors. After all, why should the players risk their lives?

When everything restarts will have a lot to do with the PFA and when they want players back playing with regard to their fitness.

This side of the start of July looks highly unlikely.

Sadly you're going be right.

I really wish it was going go away in month or 2 but it's going be long road way UK are going about things

The_Kew_Tour

https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2020/0405/1128678-bayern-munich-to-return-training/

Will be interesting how this plays out

yermandan

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2020/0405/1128678-bayern-munich-to-return-training/

Will be interesting how this plays out

Not just Munich either, seems they are all returning to training.

https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2020/0406/1128725-german-clubs-to-resume-training-today/

grumpymunster

Germany are in a much different space than the UK though, they in general have a lot more cases per day (possibly because they test more....) and they have significantly less deaths (possibly because they test more and acted much faster than the UK).

Germany could possibly be back behind closed doors by the end of the month but whilst their cases by day seem to be getting under control the death rate sadly is still not (though indications seem to be it is levelling off there). That being the case the German hospitals and security forces may be in a position to resume some form of normality sooner rather than later. But I would doubt PL will be even training by then as surely the NHS or security forces will still be too stretched by the Coronavirus as deaths there are still going up on a daily basis and are far far higher than anything experienced in Germany.

ricero

yermandan wrote: »

Not just Munich either, seems they are all returning to training.

https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2020/0406/1128725-german-clubs-to-resume-training-today/

Great to see. In these bleak times we need some sport to try lift our spirits.

grumpymunster

Interesting that Austria who are way ahead of the curve do not envisage any "events" until late June at the earliest, below is from the Guardian's live feed today. If that trend is followed will be lucky to see PL footie by August.

Austria announces plans to end lockdown
The Austrian Chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, has said the country is planning to let smaller shops reopen next week, with the aim of reopening all shops and malls from 1 May.

From then onwards, hotels and restaurants will open step-by-step from mid-May at the earliest, but a decision on that will come in late April. No events will be held until at least late June.

Kurz told a news conference that since Austria had acted earlier than most countries, that gave it the ability to reopen shops sooner as well.

If all goes well, it will reopen non-essential shops of less than 400 square metres and DIY shops on April 14, followed by all shops and malls on May 1, he said.

Meanwhile general lockdown measures will be extended until the end of April, and schools will remain closed until at least mid-May.

Kurz also announced that from Monday, face masks will be compulsory on public transport.

brinty

ricero wrote:

Great to see. In these bleak times we need some sport to try lift our spirits.

You're aware that Boris Johnson is in hospital, things in UK haven't even kicked off properly

Drumpot

grumpymunster wrote: »

Germany are in a much different space than the UK though, they in general have a lot more cases per day (possibly because they test more....) and they have significantly less deaths (possibly because they test more and acted much faster than the UK).

Germany could possibly be back behind closed doors by the end of the month but whilst their cases by day seem to be getting under control the death rate sadly is still not (though indications seem to be it is levelling off there). That being the case the German hospitals and security forces may be in a position to resume some form of normality sooner rather than later. But I would doubt PL will be even training by then as surely the NHS or security forces will still be too stretched by the Coronavirus as deaths there are still going up on a daily basis and are far far higher than anything experienced in Germany.

I wonder if the UK was continuing to be a problem, particularly availability of healthcare workers, would they consider playing EPL games in Germany or another country (south Korea?). If it was bad enough and the only way to get the fixtures done they might, if it’s behind closed doors what does it matter where it is played? Would also solve the fans outside stadiums concerns as there will always be muppets who ignore warnings and will Goto the ground.

Fitz*

Just to talk about actual football here and not British politics or the source of who is paying the wages of the man who sells match day programmes at Anfield.

FIFA are going to extend the 2019-2020 season indefinitely.


https://theathletic.com/1724322/2020/04/06/fifa-football-coronavirus-season-indefinitely/?source=shared-article

FIFA is to confirm an indefinite extension to the 2019-20 season across the globe, allowing each country’s football authority to determine when campaigns can finish.

The game’s world governing body will also alter the dates of the summer transfer window and permit contract extensions for players whose deals run out on June 30.

While the decision from the highest authority in football does not take null and void off the table, it considerably reduces the chances of seasons being cancelled altogether.

https://twitter.com/talkSPORT/status/1247097716410388480?s=08

brinty

FitzShane wrote:

FIFA are going to extend the 2019-2020 season indefinitely.

What about the last paragraph?

FitzShane

FitzShane wrote: »

Just to talk about actual football here and not British politics or the source of who is paying the wages of the man who sells match day programmes at Anfield.

FIFA are going to extend the 2019-2020 season indefinitely.


https://theathletic.com/1724322/2020/04/06/fifa-football-coronavirus-season-indefinitely/?source=shared-article

Boom!

Thank you, great news :cool:

Zebra3

Drumpot wrote: »

I wonder if the UK was continuing to be a problem, particularly availability of healthcare workers, would they consider playing EPL games in Germany or another country (south Korea?). If it was bad enough and the only way to get the fixtures done they might, if it’s behind closed doors what does it matter where it is played? Would also solve the fans outside stadiums concerns as there will always be muppets who ignore warnings and will Goto the ground.

Would defy logic for countries who have dealt with the situation to allow people to arrive in from countries that haven't.

ricero

Great footballing news from FIFA. No agendas there by them. They just want to see a return and conclusion to the beautiful game

8-10

brinty wrote: »

What about the last paragraph?

That's about the 30% pay cut.

I think that will cause issues for sure. Players could go on strike if they are forced to take a hit then play in summer

jacool

Deleted User wrote: »

https://twitter.com/talkSPORT/status/1247097716410388480?s=08

Good news from Man Utd there if that decision is true.

The article itself is a joke. Manchester City have come to the same decision and that is reported as follows "On Sunday, noisy neighbours Manchester City announced they would be honouring the wages of their non-playing out of their own pockets."
Then it says "it is claimed United are set to follow suit and resist the urge to use taxpayers’ money to help pay their staff during this crisis."

Balanced, not.

Drumpot

Zebra3 wrote: »

Would defy logic for countries who have dealt with the situation to allow people to arrive in from countries that haven't.

Not if the price is right and it’s a trusted controlled environment. That’s not comparable with the UK governments response. You make up the criteria and the league enforces it rigorously.

It’s not like bringing in a couple of thousand piss heads for Cheltenham.

Mitch Connor

Uefa President quoted as saying we can't play out the season in September/October.

https://twitter.com/ZDFsport/status/1246044396161773570/photo/1

Collie D

8-10 wrote: »

That's about the 30% pay cut.

I think that will cause issues for sure. Players could go on strike if they are forced to take a hit then play in summer

I’m sure any strike by players would get massive public support

PhilipsR

FitzShane wrote: »

Just to talk about actual football here and not British politics or the source of who is paying the wages of the man who sells match day programmes at Anfield.

FIFA are going to extend the 2019-2020 season indefinitely.


https://theathletic.com/1724322/2020/04/06/fifa-football-coronavirus-season-indefinitely/?source=shared-article

Would love to know how FIFA are gonna extend contracts past 30 June. If any player is moving to a club on a better wage on 1 July, he’s hardly going to want to stick around at the old club (Unless trophy bonuses permitting), on a lesser wage with the possibility of picking up an injury also.

grumpymunster

FitzShane wrote: »

Just to talk about actual football here and not British politics or the source of who is paying the wages of the man who sells match day programmes at Anfield.

FIFA are going to extend the 2019-2020 season indefinitely.


https://theathletic.com/1724322/2020/04/06/fifa-football-coronavirus-season-indefinitely/?source=shared-article

I would have thought that is full of contradictions and quite likely the onset of a whole raft of legal questions. Take Chelsea as an example legally Hakim Ziyech is a Chelsea player from 1st July and Pedro and Willian are not. From the 10th June clubs can sign players though not contracted until 01st July.
There is nothing to stop Willian signing for Spurs shall we say who are battling with us for a CL place - could he realistically be selected to play for Chelsea known he is going to Spurs under these conditions?
What happens if he does play for Chelsea after his legal contract has finished and gets an injury which takes him out of the game for a season is insurance in place to protect him?
Will Chelsea put pressure on Ziyech not to play any games that may be scheduled as part of the 19/20 season for Ajax after 01st July?

The only way to avoid this surely is have the season complete by 10th June or extend the window until 30 June and call a halt at that time. Aleksander Ceferin has mentioned this on a few occasions if the season cannot resume in June it will most likely be lost.

No easy answer to that one I think.

Rayne Wooney

There will be no games being closed doors, they won’t be allowed to, that would cause its own problems, I think there won’t be a ball kicked until July looking at the mayhem across the water.

The question is will it be possible to schedule 9 games without messing up next season, English cups can be cancelled but UEFA won’t cancel the 20/21 CL and the euros will more than likely go ahead next year so the league needs to start on time.

They are saying that the 9 will be played, but that tune will change as it gets closer to summer and the prospect of next season being effected increases.

Collie D

Finishing a season that only had two months left has to be a priority over starting another 9/10 month one.

Much easier to set a new schedule for something that hasn't started eg don't bother with certain competitions, one legged ties where two were usually played, straight knockouts in Europe, even just one game against each league team

Fitz*

grumpymunster wrote: »

I would have thought that is full of contradictions and quite likely the onset of a whole raft of legal questions. Take Chelsea as an example legally Hakim Ziyech is a Chelsea player from 1st July and Pedro and Willian are not. From the 10th June clubs can sign players though not contracted until 01st July.
There is nothing to stop Willian signing for Spurs shall we say who are battling with us for a CL place - could he realistically be selected to play for Chelsea known he is going to Spurs under these conditions?
What happens if he does play for Chelsea after his legal contract has finished and gets an injury which takes him out of the game for a season is insurance in place to protect him?
Will Chelsea put pressure on Ziyech not to play any games that may be scheduled as part of the 19/20 season for Ajax after 01st July?

The only way to avoid this surely is have the season complete by 10th June or extend the window until 30 June and call a halt at that time. Aleksander Ceferin has mentioned this on a few occasions if the season cannot resume in June it will most likely be lost.

No easy answer to that one I think.

Ziyech is not a Chelsea player until FIFA transfer his registration fom Ajax -> Chelsea when the registration window opens. Normally that would be July 1st but it will probably be moved this year.

There is something to stop Willian moving to Spurs, well actually 2 things. The Premier League registration window for this season closed on February 5th so no new players can be registered to play for a club after this date. That includes all transfers, and also includes free agents. And also the main obstacle - the FIFA transfer window is not open and probably won't open until after the current season ends.

IMO clubs will be given the opportunity to extend contracts, at current wages, until the season ends. Call it a 3 month extension if you want. It's available in all normal employment, so why not football? If a club wants to release a player because of financial issues, then they can as the contract is finished. If players want to be released from their contracts, then they can but they won't be able to play for any other club as they won't be able to sign for any other team until the registration window opens.

And also, if any player is refusing to play after this because of a contract issue then it just shows what kind of character they are. And it's not a good one either. A player refusing to play a game which could affect his clubs season after the club paid his wages all year and during the pandemic just because they can get more money somewhere else? what a pr1ck.

Rayne Wooney

How much revenue is lost if there are half of the games played let alone half of the big money games?

If 750 million is lost by not playing 9 games the financial impact of that would be colossal.

Things are not clear cut by any means, the PL don’t have a clue what they are going to do at the minute and it’ll be months before a decision can be made, so I wouldn’t believe what they are putting out now.

Drumpot

Collie D wrote: »

Finishing a season that only had two months left has to be a priority over starting another 9/10 month one.

Much easier to set a new schedule for something that hasn't started eg don't bother with certain competitions, one legged ties where two were usually played, straight knockouts in Europe, even just one game against each league team

The big question is when can football start back. Everybody can talk about what makes sense but until we know that it’s all irrelevant.

If football fan start back in September, is it worth delaying an entire season for 2-3 months to finish off less then a quarter of another? Of course not. What if football is gonna have to stop again for a few months In November/December because of a second wave? Interesting times ahead but UEFA, football Associations and fifa can say what they want but until matches are played it’s all pie in the sky stuff

Fitz*

Rayne Wooney wrote: »

There will be no games being closed doors, they won’t be allowed to, that would cause its own problems, I think there won’t be a ball kicked until July looking at the mayhem across the water.

The question is will it be possible to schedule 9 games without messing up next season, English cups can be cancelled but UEFA won’t cancel the 20/21 CL and the euros will more than likely go ahead next year so the league needs to start on time.

They are saying that the 9 will be played, but that tune will change as it gets closer to summer and the prospect of next season being effected increases.

Currently the 1st CL knockout stage take place over 4 different weeks & the first 2 EL knockout stages take place over the same 4 weeks. Its done so, to align both competitions into the same numbers but also ensure all games, with 2 legs, are all on TV.

If UEFA change the 1st knockout round of the CL, and the first 2 knockout rounds of the EL a single tie round, either with home leg based on group ranking or neutral venue, then there is about 3 weeks worth of games saved already. This saving of 3 weeks would allow leagues to schedule midweek games to make up the time. If national leagues get rid of cup replays, there is a further number of free gameweeks available for use.

Both would still keep the integrity of the competitions as teams are still getting a fair chance.

citytillidie

10 league games is the max any team in the PL have left to play (in the League), 5 weeks are needed to finish the league, Saturday/Wednesday

Mitch Connor

citytillidie wrote: »

10 league games is the max any team in the PL have left to play (in the League), 5 weeks are needed to finish the league, Saturday/Wednesday

But it isn't just league games.

It is FA Cup as well, never mind the Uefa matches.

And with the long break before it kicks up again, playing every 3/4 days for 5/6/7 weeks will see a bunch of players injured. Though that is something that will just have to be accepted, I think.

IMO you are looking at 8 weeks, minimum, to complete the season

Mitch Connor

FitzShane wrote: »

Ziyech is not a Chelsea player until FIFA transfer his registration fom Ajax -> Chelsea when the registration window opens. Normally that would be July 1st but it will probably be moved this year.

There is something to stop Willian moving to Spurs, well actually 2 things. The Premier League registration window for this season closed on February 5th so no new players can be registered to play for a club after this date. That includes all transfers, and also includes free agents. And also the main obstacle - the FIFA transfer window is not open and probably won't open until after the current season ends.

IMO clubs will be given the opportunity to extend contracts, at current wages, until the season ends. Call it a 3 month extension if you want. It's available in all normal employment, so why not football? If a club wants to release a player because of financial issues, then they can as the contract is finished. If players want to be released from their contracts, then they can but they won't be able to play for any other club as they won't be able to sign for any other team until the registration window opens.

And also, if any player is refusing to play after this because of a contract issue then it just shows what kind of character they are. And it's not a good one either. A player refusing to play a game which could affect his clubs season after the club paid his wages all year and during the pandemic just because they can get more money somewhere else? what a pr1ck.

He will become a chelsea employee, if not player, on June 1st or whatever the start date of his contract is. Yes, his registration can be held, but he would still be (scheduled to be) a chelsea employee in line with the contract he has signed.

Similar to Arda Turan signing for, and training with, Barcelona prior to the transfer of his registration when Barca were banned.

As for your last comment, players have to look after themselves.

Look at what happened to Valdes - signed for Monaco on a free but picked up a serious injury. Monaco basically told him to feck off and refused to honor the contract - he ended up signing for United.

Willian could chose to play on for Chelsea (if whatever club he has agreed to sign for allows it) but if he gets seriously injured his future could be cast into serious doubt. Would chelsea offer him a big new contract because he got injured playing for them? Would his new club look to pull a Monaco?

citytillidie

Mitch Connor wrote: »

But it isn't just league games.

It is FA Cup as well, never mind the Uefa matches.

And with the long break before it kicks up again, playing every 3/4 days for 5/6/7 weeks will see a bunch of players injured. Though that is something that will just have to be accepted, I think.

IMO you are looking at 8 weeks, minimum, to complete the season

Getting domestic league and cup would be easier to get completed than UEFA comps since there is not as much travelling around the continent

Mitch Connor

citytillidie wrote: »

Getting domestic league and cup would be easier to get completed than UEFA comps since there is not as much travelling around the continent

I agree.

But it still has to be done and accounted for.

(Royal) You can't just say 5 weeks to complete the league and consider that the end of the logistical nightmare!

citytillidie

If games are behind closed doors you could finish the FA cup off in 2 weeks

Mitch Connor

citytillidie wrote: »

If games are behind closed doors you could finish the FA cup off in 2 weeks

so that is now 5 weeks for the league and 2 for the FA Cup, up to 7 from 5. And there is still Uefa CL and EL.

And the EFL Playoffs on top of finishing their league campaign. Thats about 13 league games and 3 playoff match days.

citytillidie

Mitch Connor wrote: »

so that is now 5 weeks for the league and 2 for the FA Cup, up to 7 from 5. And there is still Uefa CL and EL.

And the EFL Playoffs on top of finishing their league campaign. Thats about 13 league games and 3 playoff match days.

Can't play CL or EL if travel is still banned across Europe get the domestic season finished 1st and go from there

There is 9 league games left in the Football league too, so you have those league games played same time as the PL and then you have the play-offs played same weeks you are finishing off the FA and have a bumper weekend then of play-off and FA Cup finals

Iused2likebusts

You could finish the PL in 31 days.
Jul 1
Jul 4
Jul 8
Jul 11
Jul 15
Jul 18
Jul 22
Jul 25
Jul 28
JUL 31
Thats 10 gameweeks only a few teams have 10 games most only have 9. Nearly all PL teams coped with this schedule over the xmas period. One of those midweeks could be used for most of the Fa cup Qfinals.

citytillidie

Iused2likebusts wrote: »

You could finish the PL in 31 days.
Jul 1
Jul 4
Jul 8
Jul 11
Jul 15
Jul 18
Jul 22
Jul 25
Jul 28
JUL 31
Thats 10 gameweeks only a few teams have 10 games most only have 9. Nearly all PL teams coped with this schedule over the xmas period.

Man City, Arsenal, Villa and Sheff Utd are the teams with 10 to play