Topic: The Impact of COVID 19 on Sport...

[slaphead]

You don't even need to go away from the premier league to illustrate that point either.

Imagine this happened in 2016 with Leicester 2 wins away from the title? Can you remember the general feeling of nearly everyone wanting their 'faerytale' to be realised.

The null and void agenda is completely and utterly and absolutely based around us being denied our first title.

You mean our 19th right ? 

[Dim Glas]

Voiding is the most ridiculous, most knee-jerk, most gutless, most panic-stricken suggestion put forward by anyone in the game.

It's simply a pathetic, agenda-driven mantra for losers.

Now let's just alter the scenario a bit for a moment. Imagine it wasn't the league in progress and it was the World Cup that was almost complete. Imagine it was an in-form England rampaging into the semi finals. This virus strikes and the competition is placed on his or until circumstances change.

Ok, what would the media and the football fans stance on voiding be then?

Yes, we ALL know full well that voiding would never cross their minds. If anyone mentioned it they'd be shot down in flames.

The reason these idiots don't get called out on their gutless agenda is because stirring shit gets clicks and sells papers. It's as simple as that, really.

If it was England, then the entire country would be behind "soldiering on and getting the job done in the face of adversity". It's not though, it's Liverpool, Leeds, Celtic etc who look like winning things, so the agendas are out in force.

oh yeah absolutely right SoP!

It's just the follow up of 'so we can start again in the new season' bit that drives me to do this - 

And no bugger doing the interviews will ever pick them up on it. Oh for one sodding journalist or interviewer to follow up with these idiot present and former players who trot this out: 'but what does voiding this season and starting a new season solve'.

[Son of Spion]

oh yeah absolutely right SoP!

It's just the follow up of 'so we can start again in the new season' bit that drives me to do this - 

And no bugger doing the interviews will ever pick them up on it. Oh for one sodding journalist or interviewer to follow up with these idiot present and former players who trot this out: 'but what does voiding this season and starting a new season solve'.

Yes, that's very frustrating.

The very idea that any new season could run through to the end anyway is highly debatable. If we go round voiding seasons every time we panic then we could be voiding this one, the next one, and possibly the one after, until there is a vaccine that beats this virus.

Despite that, we see clowns eager to end this season in order to start another one that might not be able to start anyway. Even if it did start, there's no guarantee it would run for long if a second wave of the virus hits.

It's all shortsighted nonsense and self interested agenda at work. Oh, and mischief making from a sports media desperate for content.

[Legs]

You mean our 19th right ? 

We have already won 18 ?

When nobody told me this football started in 1992 yeah ?

[Red_Rich]

You mean our 19th right ? 

😂😂 Meant to read "our first title in 30 years" 😋😉

[Samie]

There's still 5 clubs who did this Furlough before us and haven't reversed it.  I await the condemnation of those teams like they did to us.

[Something Worse]

There's still 5 clubs who did this Furlough before us and haven't reversed it.  I await the condemnation of those teams like they did to us.

Lower standards. Nobdky expects better of Ashley, and even though Spurs fans have hammered Levy, he fucking jerks off to that shit.

[sinnermichael]

Be interesting to see if Spurs reverse their decision and pay non-playing staff such as Hugo Lloris, Eric Dier and Serge Aurier.

[rafathegaffa83]

The void crowd won't like this #taintedtitle

Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin says he "cannot imagine" Liverpool being denied the Premier League title by the coronavirus pandemic.

[...]

However, Uefa chief Ceferin has now rubbished claims that Jurgen Klopp's team would miss out on the title, whether the campaign is completed properly or not.

He told Slovenian publication EkipaSN: "I can't see a way Liverpool could be left without a title.

If the Premier League resumes play, Liverpool will almost certainly win the title. Theoretically it's not all over, but practically Liverpool are on the verge of it.

"If by any chance the play will not resume, we still have to find a way to declare final results, to declare champions.

"And again I cannot see, I cannot imagine a scenario, in which the champions would not be Liverpool.

"I understand the fans will be disappointed if it happens in an empty stadium or even in the league offices, but I believe, they will get the title one way or another."
http://Https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/liverpool-crowned-premier-league-champions-confirmed-uefa-a4408261.html?

[LFCEmpire]

I have limited respect for UEFA but I have to say they have been dealing with the situation pretty well imo.

The void crowd won't like this #taintedtitle

Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin says he "cannot imagine" Liverpool being denied the Premier League title by the coronavirus pandemic.

[...]

However, Uefa chief Ceferin has now rubbished claims that Jurgen Klopp's team would miss out on the title, whether the campaign is completed properly or not.

He told Slovenian publication EkipaSN: "I can't see a way Liverpool could be left without a title.

If the Premier League resumes play, Liverpool will almost certainly win the title. Theoretically it's not all over, but practically Liverpool are on the verge of it.

"If by any chance the play will not resume, we still have to find a way to declare final results, to declare champions.

"And again I cannot see, I cannot imagine a scenario, in which the champions would not be Liverpool.

"I understand the fans will be disappointed if it happens in an empty stadium or even in the league offices, but I believe, they will get the title one way or another."
http://Https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/liverpool-crowned-premier-league-champions-confirmed-uefa-a4408261.html?

[thejbs]

So if we void the season, all January transfers should be ineligible to play for their clubs til January then? And Utd have another season in the europa league when they’re a handful of points off fourth (and 5th might be enough)? Am I doing this right?

[Son of Spion]

So if we void the season, all January transfers should be ineligible to play for their clubs til January then? And Utd have another season in the europa league when they’re a handful of points off fourth (and 5th might be enough)? Am I doing this right?

Nope, you are doing it all wrong.

If we void the season, everything will be perfect once more. The pesky virus will simply disappear from the face of the earth. Football will just reset, the new season will start as normal and will run without a hitch. Voiding solves all problems and might even usher in world peace too.

Oh, and it would piss off those nasty Scousers, affect only the Scousers and will be brilliant for everyone else.

[El Lobo]

So if we void the season, all January transfers should be ineligible to play for their clubs til January then? And Utd have another season in the europa league when they’re a handful of points off fourth (and 5th might be enough)? Am I doing this right?

And Luke Shaw has to get back to the weight he was before the season started....which probably means United forking out for a shuttle to the moon

[Tesco tearaway]

Oh, and it would piss off those proper Scousers, ( the ones who support LFC ) affect only the proper Scousers and will be brilliant for everyone else.

The Evercunions don't count as proper Scousers anymore 

[Son of Spion]

The Evercunions don't count as proper Scousers anymore 

Wise Tesco. Speaker of truth. 

[Ghost Town]

Shaw is so desperate to be loved by Utd fans. Only last season he openly said he hopes City win the league rather than us. You'd not only think that's a poor thing for a current player to say, but he said it before they played Man City.
You'd love to give him an almighty boot up his almighty arse

Chief Brody: ''We're gonna need a bigger boot"

[BER]

Let's cancel the season because we don't know when we can start next season.

[Number 7]

Luke Shaw wants the season void and no title to LFC. Rather LFC didn't get the title than him playing UCL football.

I said in this very thread that the next player after De Bruyne to come out and say the season should be voided would be a United player. Called it about a week so.

[Number 7]

PL: There is a combined effort for all remaining domestic and Cup matches to be played enabling us to maintain the integrity of each competition

UEFA: Uefa and the collective European leagues are committed to completing the 2019/20 domestic and continental seasons before 2020/21 begins, and are now actively planning for the major showpiece finals to be played behind closed doors, with voiding the campaign “off the table”.

FIFA: 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.

NON-LIVERPOOL FANS: Cancel the season

[Geezer08]

The PM, here in Denmark, just announced that all festivals, markets, major events, will be closed at least until the end of august. Doubt any football will happen in Europe until atleast September.

[LovelyCushionedHeader]

The PM, here in Denmark, just announced that all festivals, markets, major events, will be closed at least until the end of august. Doubt any football will happen in Europe until atleast September.

No disrespect, but I don't think decisions in Denmark will have any influence on what happens with the Premier League and other top divisions. Also, a behind closed door match isn't any of those things that have been closed.

[kaesarsosei]

The PM, here in Denmark, just announced that all festivals, markets, major events, will be closed at least until the end of august. Doubt any football will happen in Europe until atleast September.

Why has nearly every country in the world been so slow? This should have been the case a month ago. End of derail.

[Geezer08]

No disrespect, but I don't think decisions in Denmark will have any influence on what happens with the Premier League and other top divisions. Also, a behind closed door match isn't any of those things that have been closed.

Why has nearly every country in the world been so slow? This should have been the case a month ago. End of derail.

To be fair, Denmark has been closed down for a month now. So the announcement was just that the ban is being prolonged till end of august. Denmark has been pretty efficient in the shutdown and so far we have been impacted less than expected.

What we do in Denmark will of course not have any influence what they do in England and other European countries. But in Denmark we are slowing beginning to open up again, as one of the first countries in Europe and major events are still shut down till the end of august. So this might be a sign of how other might manage the reopening of the countries.

[Lush is the best medicine...]

I said in this very thread that the next player after De Bruyne to come out and say the season should be voided would be a United player. Called it about a week so.

de bruyne didn’t call for it to be voided unlike tubby

[24/7]

snip

Hi Amatt - just so you know, we don't recognise links from the Daily Mail on RAWK - as well as the other obvious 'newspaper', this one's banned here. Ta.

[UntouchableLuis]

La Liga looking to resume end of May or early June.

I think the pinch is being felt now around Europe and closed doors finishes are looking increasingly likely by the end of May (unless there's a severe worsening around Europe by then). Bayern back in training yesterday is another sign that teams might be preparing for football next month.

[rafathegaffa83]

MLB talking about possibility of returning next month

- Games would be played in empty stadiums in Arizona
- Electronic strike zone would be used
- Players would sit in the stands rather than the dugout
- Players could be isolated for 4 1/2 months from their families
- Expanded rosters to account for heat and the potential for players testing positive

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/29004498/mlb-union-focused-plan-allow-season-start-early-arizona?

[whiteboots]

No disrespect, but I don't think decisions in Denmark will have any influence on what happens with the Premier League and other top divisions. Also, a behind closed door match isn't any of those things that have been closed.

The European Football Family will have to have a coherent, collective, approach. It is inevitable that individual national leagues will have different restart dates, all of which will have an impact on the transfer window. European football can only restart when the slowest return, not the quickest.

I do not think that it is the country, or size of the country, that counts, but why they take the decisions they do.

Players and clubs are not insured against players/staff contracting the Virus, or dying from it. Where is the incentive for players, who are being paid, to return prematurely?

The case for games behind closed doors has not been explored in the media. Firstly no-one wants it. Secondly the, in extremis, argument for doing it is tortuous.
 In order to do so, you would have to be able to test all the players, and staff, on the day, which is not possible at the moment. Is it reasonable to make that available to football clubs when it is still not possible in the NHS? How many players would need to test positive for a game to be called off? How long would all associated have to isolate before they could play again? How many games would have to be cancelled before you postponed the season again?

Is the country crying out for a return of PL football? No. It is crying out for an end to the Virus and a return to work. At what point is games behind closed doors practicable? When 1000  a day are dying? When 500 a day are dying? When only 100 are dying? “ The headlines today are that 100 people have died from Corona virus and Jurgen Klopp is worried that Van Dijk’s groin strain could rule him out from the Everton game”.

The PL have said that the game will return when it is safe and practicable to do so – not when we can return to lining the pockets of satellite TV companies.

We will be able to return to play out the rest of the season. That should be in front of fans. Accept nothing else.

[Jookie]

La Liga looking to resume end of May or early June.

I think the pinch is being felt now around Europe and closed doors finishes are looking increasingly likely by the end of May (unless there's a severe worsening around Europe by then). Bayern back in training yesterday is another sign that teams might be preparing for football next month.

On the optimistic side, you'd hope that another 4-5 weeks of 'lockdown' across Europe would be sufficient to flatten the curve with regards to Covid19 transmissions. If, and when, that happens it'll bring back the possibility of a slow return to a more 'normal' life. Part of that normality over the summer months might be the return of football in a behind closed doors scenario. That might allow for this season to finish.

I I had to guess I think fans at games, parades, pubs being open to celebrate a title win won't be part on any of the 1st few phases of returning back to normality. I suspect it's much more likely that the 2019/20 season will have finished and the 2020/21 season started before anyone is able to attend a game again.

[Jookie]

We will be able to return to play out the rest of the season. That should be in front of fans. Accept nothing else.

Can clubs really wait for this?

It's arguable that mass gatherings, including attending football games, might not become appropriate until there is either (a) a vaccine for Covid19 available and administered to the vast majority of the population and/or (b) a availability of a serology test that can determine whether a large proportion has had covid19 and potentially developed a level of immunity (assuming the virus can't mutate and cause 2nd infections).

Both those things aren't available at the moment. To generate a vaccine, test it clinically and then manufacture it in sufficient demand (i.e for most of the World) is not going to be a short term thing. You are talking 9-12 months at the very minimum (though that clock has already started). From what we hear the development of serology tests are on-going. This might be quicker but is still going to take time to develop and subsequently turn into large scale manufacture and test millions/billions of people.

By the time this all happens can all clubs have survived the finical meltdown of 6-12 months without ny incomings? There may be a necessity that goes beyond the logistics of the sporting calendar, to get football and other sports back up and running before it's appropriate for life to return back to normality. The same may apply to things beyond sport too. One way football in particular can get things moving is by playing behind closed doors when the time is appropriate and it's safe to do this. This will generate TV money and hopefully some of that can trickle down to the lower league clubs to help them survive.

Talk of not accepting the season starting without fans, may not be realistic in the current situation.

[killer-heels]

Whether we like it or not, clubs cant afford to return the TV cash. If it needs to play out the season behind closed doors then really thats what it will need.

[UntouchableLuis]

I would say it's impossible to have fans at any sporting event in Europe before 2021 as it stands.

Behind closed doors is very possible but would require strict testing and isolation strategies and the possibility of players being separated from their families for weeks and months.

[rafathegaffa83]

The other issue with sports returning that is being often overlooked are players and staff with underlying conditions. How do you protect them?

[UntouchableLuis]

The other issue with sports returning that is being often overlooked are players and staff with underlying conditions. How do you protect them?

In the same way those people would be protected when we start going back to work before a vaccine is produced. Testing to enable them to know If they would be near anyone who has not been infected, potentially the non playing staff could work from home if possible or in smaller groups (such as coaches in small groups in training)

There wouldn't be many players with underlying issues you'd imagine giving they all need to pass medicals.

[Welshred]

There'll probably be a fair few players with conditions such as asthma, diabetes and the like. Players don't pass medicals anyway, they undertake them and then the club decides whether it is worth the risk or not to sign them. Someone having asthma or diabetes wouldn't be too much of a risk as they can be managed medically, but does put them in the vulnerably category.

[Charlie Adams fried egg]

Given that the largest outgoing for football teams is player salaries, and the contracts that underpin those salaries are based on expected revenue flows, if clubs cannot earn revenue, then surely player salaries must at some point come under threat.

[Jookie]

I would say it's impossible to have fans at any sporting event in Europe before 2021 as it stands.

Behind closed doors is very possible but would require strict testing and isolation strategies and the possibility of players being separated from their families for weeks and months.

I agree with this. My personal prediction would be possibly this time next year before we have fans at football games again. Some people may see that as idle speculation or doom mongering but based on my scientific background I fell that's a good possibility since it'll take that long for a vaccine or wide spread immunity (that we'd know about through testing). I don't think you see fans at football matches until we know it's safe.

Players playing behind closed door is hugely different since the number of people involved is so much smaller. My guess is if we are 'over the peak' with the current wave of covid19 infection by early May then that could pave the way for football behind closed doors in late May/early June. Think you'd need testing f players and staff for covid19 and you'd need anyone associated with those games to be isolated from others during this period (including TV company staff, caterers etc..). I don't think home and away games would be possible and I see a likely scenario were games are played in a handful of neutral venues over a 3-4 week period. Maybe 2 or 3 venues per league (from Premier League down to League 2 in England).

This will allow the current season to finish and football authorities to take stock and plan for the 2020-21 season whilst monitoring the dynamics of the current situation. Likely that if testing procedures have improved by Autumn that domestic leagues may be able to start again. My expectation would be behind closed doors again but possibly without the need for neutral venues and self-isolation of full squads etc..

That would be my best guess at the moment. Based on basic science the above, or a version of the above, are significantly more likely to happen than football returning with full crowds in the next 3-6 months. The above scenario does allow for football to complete this season but more importantly allows teams to survive since TV revenue would potentially be avilbe quicker than if football stopped completely for another 6-9 months.

[sinnermichael]

Transfer window moved and player contracts that were set to expire this summer will be extended until the end of the season.

[surfer. Fuck you generator.]

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/apr/06/pfa-chief-executive-gordon-taylor-says-he-will-not-take-wage-cut

Looks like cost-cutting (most pertinently player wages) could be done on a club by club basis, rather than collectively. Once this starts coming into effect club by club, there should be far more clarity on the sustainability of the clubs, seeing that this is the biggest cost of all by a wide margin. I doubt any party is foolish enough to ignore the fact that long term, the collective health of the game depends on all players taking significant pay cuts / deferrals for now before we even worry about supporting other organisations / lower levels of the game. 

I keep an eye on the Italian league and their wage reduction / deferral negotiations were badly planned and messy, with unilateral pronouncements, clashes. Let's hope the English league does it better.

[Motty]

If we come out of lockdown and people start getting it again, then a repeat a third time, there then might be enough people who have had it to fill the stadium up a decent amount if they give them the 'recovered from Covid' passport/bracelets they have promised [emoji6]