Report: Premier League players set to revolt over plan to play games behind closed doors

I wonder where this ends, because it seems as though the risk will be there to some extent for the next year.
 

I think the sensible option would be to put next season on indefinite hiatus so that this one can be completed and plan for a half-length campaign in which you draw straws for home or away in any given match. Drop domestic cup competitions entirely and have a straight knockout CL / Europa from the start, entirely behind closed doors in one or two locations to stop further spread.

Of course, government restrictions at the time the season is due to restart could play a considerable role - if the lockdown has been eased and non “key workers” are back in, there would be solid grounds to continually fine players who refused to turn out. It’s all up in the air.

Gordon Taylor has shown their hand a bit there.

Bunch of fannies don't know how lucky they have it. Point 3 is valid but everything else is just cry-arsing. At least they are guaranteed hundreds of thousands every week for sitting it out in their mansions whilst people are on the front line helping others aren't even guaranteed a basic wage.

David Ornstein wrote something in the Athletic with quotes from the deputy chief executive of the PFA saying the opposite. I don't think anybody really knows.

Don't get it, why wouldn't they want to play, they should all be self-isolating at home anyway, they can all be tested regularly, they are supposed to be the healthiest people around so even if they get it, there is extremely low risk, if they have vulnerable people at home, they should be isolated from them anyway.

Good luck with that as if they refuse they will be in breach of contract. 

No tackling or marking and they should be fine. 

28 minutes ago, easytoslip said:

No tackling or marking and they should be fine. 

Same as every weekend for Bournemouth.

1 minute ago, lifetime fan said:

 

Same as every weekend for Bournemouth.

Haha. 

Doesn’t surprise me. Who can blame them. Anyway, bollocks to football, get yourselves over to the GF.

6 hours ago, easytoslip said:

No tackling or marking and they should be fine. 

Lovren will be OK then.

1 hour ago, Tony Moanero said:

Doesn’t surprise me. Who can blame them. Anyway, bollocks to football, get yourselves over to the GF.

 

Is that the Speak and Spell that Boris Johnson used?

14 hours ago, TheDrowningMan said:

I think the sensible option would be to put next season on indefinite hiatus so that this one can be completed and plan for a half-length campaign in which you draw straws for home or away in any given match.

Drawing straws in 2020 to play a version of the league that has never existed in 130+ years is the 'sensible option'? This must be variation #1001 punter-on-the-street has tried to wrap as creatively & far-fetchedly as possible. The league will finish in the summer and the next league will be pushed back a bit into autumn. Quote me later. There's no need for these endlessly crazy simulations - citing yours here but so many 'sensible options' have been forthcoming - I guess people are bored.

6 hours ago, Shooter in the Motor said:

Lovren will be OK then.

Haha yes

Can't wait to see Hendo lift the trophy in an empty stadium. 

As long as they stop spitting it will be fine.

1 hour ago, Aventus said:

Can't wait to see Hendo lift the trophy in an empty stadium. 

Possible even if we were champions when the games are still behind closed doors, they will delay trophy lifting until later when there may be supporters in the stadium. 

I honestly believe that this season will be scrapped, this is going to go on for many months and I don’t see how they are going to get around scrapping it. The fallout will go on for ages with legal challenges etc but I don’t see a way out, the only way would be to scrap the next season and I don’t see that happening. I do think they may award us the title but it would be the ultimate asterix season.

I think it'll be finished. If any legal challenge rolled into a new season, the potential fallout for damages would escalate, as the ability to unpick things would be nigh on impossible. 

We're due a few months of lockdown, followed by an alleviation of the measures, then lockdown again as the virus re-emerges. That window of activity is when the season will probably be concluded.

Next season can be streamlined, as broadcasters have paid for rights, but have no say over the format of competitions. The league cup is easily scrapped, as it's cheap. The FA Cup could lose replays (or even be shelved as well), and CL could become a one-off straightforward knockout competition. 

You could probably reduce next season by a month by cutting out international friendlies as well. You could also gain the best part of a month just  by finishing it in  early June. 

There's no reason at all why you couldn't have a meaningful season starting in October. The CL and EL could make up lost time out of their winter break. 

On 25/03/2020 at 15:33, aws said:

You could probably reduce next season by a month by cutting out international friendlies as well. You could also gain the best part of a month just  by finishing it in  early June. 

 

There's no reason at all why you couldn't have a meaningful season starting in October. The CL and EL could make up lost time out of their winter break. 

With champions League qualifiers starting in June,  you've four months to make up there. 

Only way I see around this is changing the football calendar completely. 

19 minutes ago, Grinch said:

 

With champions League qualifiers starting in June,  you've four months to make up there. 

 

Only way I see around this is changing the football calendar completely. 

Bin the League Cup, Bin International friendlies, don't have three fucking international breaks before Christmas - play all the games in one slightly lengthier break. Finish the season three or four weeks later.

Could easily do this starting in October.

Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures. You could draw ballots to settle any CL qualifiers there was no time to play. 

As mentioned above, no internationals before Christmas. Have the March friendlies, then 2 or 3 pre-tournament  warm-ups in a slightly longer break. 

Fuck off the League Cup, if only for a season. No FA Cup replays. Have the FA Cup semi-finals back-to-back on a stand-alone Saturday. This would mean both games couldn't be played at the same venue and it wouldn't be fair to give two teams the advantage of seeing Wembley early, so make them both neutral grounds. 

Treat the CL like a tennis draw. Being seeded still means you avoid the other bigger teams until later in the tournament. Start home and away knockout ties from 64 teams. No Manchester City. 

So the league wouldn't be affected, you still get the 'magic' of the Cup, the CL would be far more exciting far earlier and even international teams would have sufficient games to settle their squads and tactics before major tournaments. And all this having saved a good 6-8 weeks. What's the problem?

It seems far fetched to think that the powers that be (many of whom do not share the same interests) would choose to make an incredibly complex problem instead of just chalking one season off.

Sky isn't going anywhere - they probably need the PL more than the league needs them.

Any settlement will come in the form of reduced rates over the course of their contract.