Could they void the PL due to the Coronavirus? | No | Resuming June 17th

[Man of Steel]

This thread is horrible.

Surely it should be paused/temporarily locked until we get any further premier league news? Staff, Admins, what do you think?

All this round and round and ideas how to finish the season etc, with the nasty undercurrent which is nauseating to read at times, with some posters who seem to want the season to finish no matter what..

I thought the gaffer on here was banning all the Liverpool fans? What happened to that?

Yeah, I know, don't read the thread then...

 

[brian017]

This thread is horrible.

Surely it should be paused/temporarily locked until we get any further premier league news? Staff, Admins, what do you think?

All this round and round and ideas how to finish the season etc, with the nasty undercurrent which is nauseating to read at times, with some posters who seem to want the season to finish no matter what..

I thought the gaffer on here was banning all the Liverpool fans? What happened to that?

Yeah, I know, don't read the thread then...

They didn’t win the league

 

[AaronRedDevil]

This thread is horrible.

Surely it should be paused/temporarily locked until we get any further premier league news? Staff, Admins, what do you think?

All this round and round and ideas how to finish the season etc, with the nasty undercurrent which is nauseating to read at times, with some posters who seem to want the season to finish no matter what..

I thought the gaffer on here was banning all the Liverpool fans? What happened to that?

Yeah, I know, don't read the thread then...

Yeah talking none stop about this just seems insane. It's the same bloody conversation over and over again.

 

[TheReligion]

Yeah talking none stop about this just seems insane. It's the same bloody conversation over and over again.

I tend to agree. We keep getting the resident Scouse bumping the thread with articles from the media trying to convince everyone (and themselves) the league is back on.

Should be closed until we get something concrete.

 

[Random Task]

Not read anything of the sort from Liverpool fans. As one, I wouldn’t want football back until safe to do so. At that point, the best option should be explored.

Nothing like a global pandemic for folk to do the rival fan ‘outrage’ thing. Good work.

The thing that bothers me most of all is how selfish the Liverpool fanbase is acting in regards to this pandemic.

Look, we're all feeling the effects of the virus. What we could use right now is a damn good laugh, and there would be nothing funnier than seeing Liverpool denied a league title they richly deserve. It would be like a dream come true for some of us like a Jim'll Fix It moment or masturbating into a sock made entirely from Selena Gomez' vagina. Heaven.

Would you really deprive us of such pleasure, just to claim a worthless in the grand scheme of things league title that you could easily win next year?

 

[stevoc]

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I guess all Liverpool's non playing staff will have to walk alone, one of the biggest clubs in the world allowing the tax payer to pick up their employees wages. Wankers.

 

[Dave Smith]

Erm... I said ‘professional sportspeople’ in the post you quoted. Nothing at all to do with footballers, singling them out for abuse or having an issue with working-class people earning vast sums.

Quite a hot-take, though. Bloody hell!

Sorry, I missed the professional sportspeople part. However, it does grate with me that footballers are always prime targets and other more middle class sports where people earn even more money, Tennis, Golf, F1 etc, never have people saying that they should have wage cuts. I mean, when has anyone ever read articles that Rory or Federer should have their wages cut? Further, if this cut did happen, they money would only go to the owners like in NFL, not to the poorest in society.

 

[Cal?]

I'm not adamant, I think it may be foolish. What I am adamant about is the league positions are frozen like Belgium and no doubt other countries will be doing.

The fixtures, the number of games played, etc. You're literally suggesting the worst option out of everything. The legal cases of who should be in CL, EL places, relegations etc will drag on for years.

 

[Man of Steel]

The thing that bothers me most of all is how selfish the Liverpool fanbase is acting in regards to this pandemic.

Look, we're all feeling the effects of the virus. What we could use right now is a damn good laugh, and there would be nothing funnier than seeing Liverpool denied a league title they richly deserve. It would be like a dream come true for some of us like a Jim'll Fix It moment or masturbating into a sock made entirely from Selena Gomez' vagina. Heaven.

Would you really deprive us of such pleasure, just to claim a worthless in the grand scheme of things league title that you could easily win next year?

The Gomez sock got me there haha, classic.

You should apply for the rights to a "Selena sock" sex toy of some sort

 

[stevoc]

I'm not adamant, I think it may be foolish. What I am adamant about is the league positions are frozen like Belgium and no doubt other countries will be doing.

Massive difference between their league and the PL. Their league phase was almost finished only one game to play, the bottom 3 and the top 1 were already mathematically decided.

So despite the fact they have play-offs usually bar one game everyone had played each other home and away. The one round of matches that wasn't played wasn't going to affect the finishing places anywhere near as much as the last 9 games of the PL could.

If i were you i wouldn't hold out too much hope on the current PL positions being made final. There's more chance of the season actually being played out even if thats looking increasingly unlikely.

 

[royboy16]

That's the worst option out there because that's the one which will bankrupt football clubs, broadcasters & the league.

There aren't enough games left in this season to prioritise it over the next one. They'd rather sacrifice 9 games here than a potential 38 next season. And say for example, football can't get going until December next year they're not going to say we'll use half the year to finish 9 games. That would be stupid, they'll find a compromise to play as many games as possible from the next season as that will help them recover the most money.

I doubt the league and broadcasters would go bankrupt,the players and staff might feel the pinch but something could be worked out.
I dont see any football being played this year so why don’t they complete this season next year to give time to make it safe to return to normal and also rather than axe this season and have next seasons fixtures halved(if no more football is played this year).I doubt think they can squeeze a full season in next year if it doesn’t start in August so why should two seasons suffer as that seems more costly to me.

 

[redmeister]

Given how they are suggesting that mass sporting events, that bring people from all over the continent, added greatly to the spread, doesn't that make the likelihood of European competitions next season, much more unlikely than domestic? If European competitions were cancelled for next season, then that would make taking the current league standings much more palatable. We'd then just have to sort out the relegation/promotion situation, via some sort of playoff situation. In the grand scheme of things, league places don't mean much, if there isn't European football to fight for, unless you are 1st or in a relegation/promotion place.

Basically all over Europe, leagues could condense massively, by creating mini tournaments of teams that can realistically still win the league or be relegated, as long as there is no European football to qualify for. So in England, for example, only the teams from Brighton down really need to play.

Obviously this doesn't solve the financial issues which seem to be why clubs are so desperate to finish the season, but it at least brings some sort of sporting resolution.

 

[Dave Smith]

Given how they are suggesting that mass sporting events, that bring people from all over the continent, added greatly to the spread, doesn't that make the likelihood of European competitions next season, much more unlikely than domestic? If European competitions were cancelled for next season, then that would make taking the current league standings much more palatable. We'd then just have to sort out the relegation/promotion situation, via some sort of playoff situation. In the grand scheme of things, league places don't mean much, if there isn't European football to fight for, unless you are 1st or in a relegation/promotion place.

Basically all over Europe, leagues could condense massively, by creating mini tournaments of teams that can realistically still win the league or be relegated, as long as there is no European football to qualify for. So in England, for example, only the teams from Brighton down really need to play.

Obviously this doesn't solve the financial issues which seem to be why clubs are so desperate to finish the season, but it at least brings some sort of sporting resolution.

No chance they will cancel the CL next season. The CL is the biggest income stream for virtually all the major clubs in Europe that do not play in the PL. Further, it is UEFA's biggest earner, no way are they losing this year and next year on top.

Obviously, the travel is going to be an issue, however if they regionalise it then virtually every club could do the group stage via coach/train.

 

[Dancfc]

Sorry, I missed the professional sportspeople part. However, it does grate with me that footballers are always prime targets and other more middle class sports where people earn even more money, Tennis, Golf, F1 etc, never have people saying that they should have wage cuts. I mean, when has anyone ever read articles that Rory or Federer should have their wages cut? Further, if this cut did happen, they money would only go to the owners like in NFL, not to the poorest in society.

What people (especially ones who can't stand sport) don't realize is footballers get this money because of the audience they attract. People have come up to me more times than i can count asking "why don't surgeons get that much", and while i fully get the principal of it the simple answer is they don't have a 50k audience paying £60 a ticket to watch them in action nor does their operation table have a rich sponsor like Gazprom.

 

[TheLord]

Let us get pragmatic and less emotional about this whole football thing now.

It is clear to all that this season will not finish on time, at least not within the time-frame of what constitutes “a season”. You cannot have the 2019-2020 season continue endlessly. There has to be a stopping point.

What we also know is that there is no way this season can complete (if we are hellbent on doing that) without disrupting the next. We will have to make do with a truncated 2020/21 season in that case. From a pure economic perspective, that decision is a disaster.

You cannot change the rules midway in the game. That is simply not done. There’s no way someone can be declared the winner and teams promoted or relegated based on current standings. That is like starting a football match and ending it prematurely after the first 45 mins and declaring a winner. “Oh, there are weather reports that a huge storm is heading towards the stadium, so we won’t play the second half of this football match on safety grounds but because you were trailing 0-2 at the end of the first half, we will declare the other team as winners.” It is absurd and legal hassles will make any such plans futile.

Here is my suggestion.
1. Terminate this season because of exceptional circumstances. All records stand. I don’t see why goals and everything else should be voided.
2. Stop using the term “null and void.”
3. Start the next season whenever the government agencies give the nod. I am sure it won’t happen until August or September at best. And that is if we are lucky ! Health is more important than football money. Don’t rush.
4. Open the transfer window in its usual time and keep it open till the new season gets underway, whenever that is. You don’t even have to worry about contracts ending in June (like Willian and Pedro for Chelsea).
5. Put it in writing before the next season starts that if for any foreseen circumstance, any season is disrupted for any reason, epidemic, natural disasters, wars and whatever else, the League Table as it stands will be considered final. If a particular team has played less match(es) than others, the average points per match that team has collected over the course of that season will be added to the final tally. If less than 50% of the total matches have been played, the season will be considered null and there will be no winner, promotions or relegation.
6. If the new season starts very late (say after Christmas), play only one round of matches instead of two.

 

[BusbyMalone]

I was listening to a podcast yesterday, and they were talking about the meetings that the various football governing bodies have had recently and how none of them have even considered the possibility of the season being canceled. No contingency plan. Nothing.

That just seems incredibly reckless and stinks of how desperate they are to play this thing out regardless of the possible consequences, all because of money. Because that's all this is about, of course. Not sporting integrity. Money. I understand the financial impact on certain clubs if the season is canceled, but surely that something that should be discussed in these meetings. To have some sort of financial package, or whatever, just in case it can't be played out. It just seems careless.

 

[SirAnderson]

This thread is horrible.

Surely it should be paused/temporarily locked until we get any further premier league news? Staff, Admins, what do you think?

All this round and round and ideas how to finish the season etc, with the nasty undercurrent which is nauseating to read at times, with some posters who seem to want the season to finish no matter what..

I thought the gaffer on here was banning all the Liverpool fans? What happened to that?

Yeah, I know, don't read the thread then...

They haven't won the league yet. If this season gets voided, they may just leave on their own, and we will sign a petition for them to stay!

 

[Buchan]

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Shameful carry-on.

 

[Dumbstar]

Have Utd announced what they're doing yet? Just wondering.

 

[Dumbstar]

Massive difference between their league and the PL. Their league phase was almost finished only one game to play, the bottom 3 and the top 1 were already mathematically decided.

So despite the fact they have play-offs usually bar one game everyone had played each other home and away. The one round of matches that wasn't played wasn't going to affect the finishing places anywhere near as much as the last 9 games of the PL could.

If i were you i wouldn't hold out too much hope on the current PL positions being made final. There's more chance of the season actually being played out even if thats looking increasingly unlikely.

Are you claiming Brugge were mathematical champions of the Belgian league?

 

[dwd]

Have Utd announced what they're doing yet? Just wondering.

They have.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51967328

 

[SirAnderson]

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Shameful carry-on.

Net spend, la.

 

[SirAnderson]

They have.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51967328

That's some good news for a change.

 

[Random Task]

Have Utd announced what they're doing yet? Just wondering.

The United players are donating 30% of their wages to those in need.

 

[horsechoker]

Will Jurgen cry?

 

[Judas]

I hope this turns the media against them a bit, seriously disgusting and embarrassing from a club so rich.

 

[Greck]

By now we should be more worried about when it will be safe to start the next season. By now the Liverpool fans should have at least started the process of coming to terms with the high likelihood of this season's cancellation. It's just impossible to have so many people in a public location safely, even the olympic style village that's been suggested will be just as disastrous when one person brings it in. Under such an arrangement the players'accommodations and meals would still be maintained by staff who will go in and out of the place. It's just impossible to isolate them completely

 

[FlawlessThaw]

I hope this turns the media against them a bit, seriously disgusting and embarrassing from a club so rich.

Maybe they could stop the whole they "deserve the title" bollocks.

 

[VeevaVee]

Can't say i've seen too many Liverpool friendly journalists, pundits associated with Liverpool or Liverpool fans insist all the other competitions such as the CL, EL and FA Cup must be finished at all costs for sporting integrity to be sustained.

I keep hearing 9 games can be played in 3-4 weeks as if the Premier League is the only concern but United like many other teams are still in cup competitions. If United had went all the way in the FA Cup and Europa League then they would have had another 18 games to play. That can't all be played in the month of July, probably not even over two months.

You would hope Liverpool folk would be as equally concerned about all the other competitions being completed also.

Excellent point.

 

[SirAnderson]

Let us get pragmatic and less emotional about this whole football thing now.

It is clear to all that this season will not finish on time, at least not within the time-frame of what constitutes “a season”. You cannot have the 2019-2020 season continue endlessly. There has to be a stopping point.

What we also know is that there is no way this season can complete (if we are hellbent on doing that) without disrupting the next. We will have to make do with a truncated 2020/21 season in that case. From a pure economic perspective, that decision is a disaster.

You cannot change the rules midway in the game. That is simply not done. There’s no way someone can be declared the winner and teams promoted or relegated based on current standings. That is like starting a football match and ending it prematurely after the first 45 mins and declaring a winner. “Oh, there are weather reports that a huge storm is heading towards the stadium, so we won’t play the second half of this football match on safety grounds but because you were trailing 0-2 at the end of the first half, we will declare the other team as winners.” It is absurd and legal hassles will make any such plans futile.

Here is my suggestion.
1. Terminate this season because of exceptional circumstances. All records stand. I don’t see why goals and everything else should be voided.
2. Stop using the term “null and void.”
3. Start the next season whenever the government agencies give the nod. I am sure it won’t happen until August or September at best. And that is if we are lucky ! Health is more important than football money. Don’t rush.
4. Open the transfer window in its usual time and keep it open till the new season gets underway, whenever that is. You don’t even have to worry about contracts ending in June (like Willian and Pedro for Chelsea).
5. Put it in writing before the next season starts that if for any foreseen circumstance, any season is disrupted for any reason, epidemic, natural disasters, wars and whatever else, the League Table as it stands will be considered final. If a particular team has played less match(es) than others, the average points per match that team has collected over the course of that season will be added to the final tally. If less than 50% of the total matches have been played, the season will be considered null and there will be no winner, promotions or relegation.
6. If the new season starts very late (say after Christmas), play only one round of matches instead of two.

Now some Liverpool bloke to respond so the food chain of this thread is maintained.

 

[SirAnderson]

I hope this turns the media against them a bit, seriously disgusting and embarrassing from a club so rich.

Liverpool fans hoard media polls, they will have their voice heard. la.

 

[BobbyManc]

I was listening to a podcast yesterday, and they were talking about the meetings that the various football governing bodies have had recently and how none of them have even considered the possibility of the season being canceled. No contingency plan. Nothing.

That just seems incredibly reckless and stinks of how desperate they are to play this thing out regardless of the possible consequences, all because of money. Because that's all this is about, of course. Not sporting integrity. Money. I understand the financial impact on certain clubs if the season is canceled, but surely that something that should be discussed in these meetings. To have some sort of financial package, or whatever, just in case it can't be played out. It just seems careless.

Maybe it's easy to say in hindsight but I am quite shocked that the Premier League has no insurance or plans in the event that fixtures could not be fulfilled. Of course it was unlikely but I always assumed that contracts worth millions and millions of pound would automatically include clauses that covered either party in the event of freak occurrences. It was a virus this time but who knows, could have been civil unrest or something like that - very very unlikely but possible.

 

[SirAnderson]

Given how they are suggesting that mass sporting events, that bring people from all over the continent, added greatly to the spread, doesn't that make the likelihood of European competitions next season, much more unlikely than domestic? If European competitions were cancelled for next season, then that would make taking the current league standings much more palatable. We'd then just have to sort out the relegation/promotion situation, via some sort of playoff situation. In the grand scheme of things, league places don't mean much, if there isn't European football to fight for, unless you are 1st or in a relegation/promotion place.

Basically all over Europe, leagues could condense massively, by creating mini tournaments of teams that can realistically still win the league or be relegated, as long as there is no European football to qualify for. So in England, for example, only the teams from Brighton down really need to play.

Obviously this doesn't solve the financial issues which seem to be why clubs are so desperate to finish the season, but it at least brings some sort of sporting resolution.

Have no problem with taking the league standings as is, but not awarding a title, since no one has actually won it.

 

[BusbyMalone]

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How will these clubs be looked at and remembered when everything eventually goes back to normal? The likes of Liverpool, Spurs, et al. They seemed to have garnered a lot of pushback and vitriol over this move in what is a very emotive time. But will it be business as usual when things return? Or do you think this will have a lasting effect on their legacy?

 

[BusbyMalone]

Maybe it's easy to say in hindsight but I am quite shocked that the Premier League has no insurance or plans in the event that fixtures could not be fulfilled. Of course it was unlikely but I always assumed that contracts worth millions and millions of pound would automatically include clauses that covered either party in the event of freak occurrences. It was a virus this time but who knows, could have been civil unrest or something like that - very very unlikely but possible.

I was just baffled by the seeming arrogance of them. To not even consider the possibility of the season being canceled just seems absurd.

 

[TheReligion]

Wonder how many of the top table will vote to finish the league now? Good will lost by Liverpool (and let's not forget Spurs). There will be repercussions from this for them as clubs no doubt. Everyone else isn't going to sit there and ignore it.

 

[Finn MacCool]

Wonder how many of the top table will vote to finish the league now? Good will lost by Liverpool (and let's not forget Spurs). There will be repercussions from this for them as clubs no doubt. Everyone else isn't going to sit there and ignore it.

From a PR perspective it’s disastrous. Morally it’s disgusting. I’m baffled that no-one at the club or FSG couldn’t foresee this reaction. FSG took a long time to build trust with the fan base and were now quite well thought of not only by LFC fans but other fans (as much as owners can be). This move has just shredded that.

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

By now the Liverpool fans should have at least started the process of coming to terms with the high likelihood of this season's cancellation.

I wouldn’t count on it, everyone of them
In this thread are the village idiot.

 

[Dumbstar]

They have.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51967328

That's really good. I'm disappointed we haven't to be fair. Really wasn't expecting that from us considering the owners we have.

 

[Klopper76]

That's really good. I'm disappointed we haven't to be fair. Really wasn't expecting that from us considering the owners we have.

This has really put them in a bad light.