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Coronavirus could prevent Liverpool from winning the Premier League title


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Guest Alex_K
4 hours ago, Ronnie Whelan said:

They don't care about us winning the league etc.

What they do care about is their product forever dead in the water and countless lawsuits and big companies looking to get their money back and being bankrupted into oblivion.

Already the chairman of one of the clubs impacted by yesterday's decision is talking about a legal challenge (south shields). Can you imagaine when it's liverpool, leeds, bt, sky, etc knocking on their door.

 

The big leagues all seem to want to complete their seasons. Uefa have helped by cancelling euro 2020. 

 

It will be completed.

 

Yup. Money talks. TV/Ad revenue pays the bills: the clubs are still paying wages, and have budgets based on TV income. If the league pulls the plug and broadcasters come for the outstanding money there'll be clubs going into freefall all over the shop. Think it through.

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9 minutes ago, Barnesey said:

Doesn't matter how much you space out the games the same resources will be needed. At times like these needs must. I'm not saying it will happen next week but once some semblance of normality is resumed this is likely to happen to fulfil contractual obligations and clear the decks for next season.


It does matter, lose hundreds of medical people every 2 days for 2 1/2 weeks, even if that would happen, the games wouldnt be simultaneous, they’d probably be staggered so there’d be games on every day, losing vital resources every day for those 17-18 days. Even without that, to play a game every 2 days until it’s conclusion, it maybe alright for us as we have it won, but there’s more than just us. To do what you’ve suggested, just from the players POV is totally unworkable, 9 games in 2.5 weeks? You say it’s quite likely, I’d say it’s impossible. If it were to happen, it’ll be over 4 or 5 weeks. 

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41 minutes ago, LFC 6 Times said:

If this fucking null and void bollix gains any traction. I want the club to pull out all the stops, take them to every single court available . Refuse to participate in future leagues push for European super league. These fucking cunts claiming “football is not important and it’s not right to even talk about it” are the same cunts celebrating this virus is stopping us from winning, absolute weapons.

Absolutely. Also, if there’s some sort of stipulation that we ‘have’ to continue in the Premier League, treat it like the essentially meaningless frippery it would have become and field a shadow side, with the first team reserved for the CL and any marque games we can arrange to play against Europe’s elite during the course of the season.

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1 hour ago, LFC 6 Times said:

If this fucking null and void bollix gains any traction. I want the club to pull out all the stops, take them to every single court available . Refuse to participate in future leagues push for European super league. These fucking cunts claiming “football is not important and it’s not right to even talk about it” are the same cunts celebrating this virus is stopping us from winning, absolute weapons.

The Daily Wail is stepping up the campaign to void it, it seems. In another article today, it's using an Italian vision of cancelling the Serie A while medical staff have insufficient protective equipment. The inference is clear, if the sentiment is there in Italy, why is the PL looking to re start the league?

 

It's clear the FA fucking off clubs below National League North & South has opened pandora's box.

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18 minutes ago, Mark M said:

“Difficult decisions will have to be taken”

that line right there has me concerned 

“in order to mitigate the economic impact of the current suspension of professional football in England and agreed to work together to arrive at shared solutions.”


Scrapping the season doesn’t mitigate the economic impact.

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Null and void means we take last season's standings as the final positioning. The league needs 14 teams to agree on any decision. 

 

We would vote against it for sure, so would Leicester and Man Utd (sponsorship reasons alone of no CL football). After that I'm struggling to see who would 100% vote against, Sheff Utd and Wolves you would guess still fancy getting 4th or 5th, Burnley were among the 8 teams that wrote to CAS for City to be banned so you would think they still think 5th is possible. Arsenal would get CL football if City are banned and Everton would get EL if they needed any extra incentive. 

 

Looks like we be more reliant on Sky and BT than we will be on the other clubs. Fuck me after everything we have achieved our 2 greatest allies look like Man Utd and Sky.

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41 minutes ago, Leyton388 said:

Yeah let's see them make that difficult decision in the face of endless legal challenges. 

And the club has now released a full – and frank – statement with several questions for the FA to answer. The FA and Leagues at Steps 3 to 6 of the non-league pyramid reached the hugely controversial decision to end the 2019-20 season with immediate effect with all results expunged. It comes after all football was suspended as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

 

Shields are top of the BetVictor Premier Division table and lead nearest rivals FC United of Manchester by 12 points but their promotion hopes are now in tatters following the controversial decision.The club say they ‘do not understand the rush there has been among many quarters of the non-league game to conclude the season so quickly’.

 

This is the South Shields FC statement in full:

“Over recent weeks the coronavirus outbreak has reminded us all - as if we needed it - that football is just a game.

 

Health must always take priority over sport and this is a virus which does not discriminate. It has affected us all and there is rightly huge worry over health and livelihoods across the world.

 

Our strong belief is that football will have a key part to play when life eventually returns to normal, whenever that will be.

 

Football binds so many of us together and is important to so many lives. Not important in the grand scheme of life and health, but important nonetheless. It provides a release to so many people once or twice a week and individuals the world over dedicate much of their lives to following their team and striving for every ounce of joy it brings. At its best it is a simply joyful game.

 

For that reason, we make no apology for making our feelings regarding the FA's decision to declare the 2019-20 season null and void from step three of the non-league system downwards known.

 

As has been well-documented, ahead of the season being paused as a result of the coronavirus outbreak just 10 days ago South Shields sat top of the BetVictor Northern Premier Division, 12 points clear of our nearest rivals with nine games to play.

 

We will now never know how the remainder of the campaign would have played out but we have full confidence that our outstanding players and management would have completed the job and sealed promotion to National League North.

To have that prospect snatched away so quickly is something all players and staff at the club are finding understandably difficult to comprehend.

 

We do not understand the rush there has been among many quarters of the non-league game to conclude the season so quickly.

 

We recognise that many clubs simply do not have the resources to continue paying players and staff during an enforced lay-off such as this, with so much uncertainty over when football will return. But would it not have been more prudent to keep the season suspended until it is safe to return, end contracts as they would usually end following the completion of the season, allow clubs to re-assemble squads when the situation is more clear and then complete this campaign when the opportunity arises?

 

The FA's decision has effectively punished those clubs further down the non-league system which have strived tirelessly over the last six months to progress up the pyramid. We stand alongside the many other clubs which find themselves in a similar situation and have already opened dialogue with some of them regarding the best way forward. We will write to the FA in the strongest possible terms so they are left in no uncertainty as to our feelings, and will seek to appeal if there is a mechanism to do so. If the response does not satisfy us we will seek legal advice.

 

We will seek clarification over whether, with all of the results of the 2019-20 season now annulled, all fines paid to the FA as a result of players picking up yellow and red cards in those matches will now be reimbursed. We will seek clarification over whether the FA will now refund all tickets bought by supporters for those annulled games. We will seek clarification over whether the FA will reimburse the costs accrued by clubs over the last six months for coach travel to away fixtures, which in our case equates to approximately £20,000. We have several other questions and look forward to the FA's reply.

 

A further concern of ours is that, should coronavirus be 'beaten' over the summer months only to return in a frightening second wave next winter, results next season will also be annulled. It is our strong suggestion that the FA rule book is amended now so that such injustices do not occur again in the future. If seasons cannot be completed, we strongly disagree that they should be consigned to the history books. There are fairer ways to draw a line under things, including applying a points per game ratio to the standings and potentially promoting those in promotion positions and sparing those in relegation spots, leading to some leagues being slightly larger in number the following campaign.

 
 

We look forward with interest to see which way the National League season is finalised. What is the reason the FA has allowed step three of the non-league system downwards to be cut off from the pyramid in this way?

 

We also look ahead with interest to see which way other leagues higher up the pyramid - particularly the Premier League - are concluded should no more football be possible. Will the Premier League also be null and void should this happen?

The 2019-20 season taught us plenty, on and off the pitch. We would like to pay a huge tribute to everyone who played a part in it, from our players and staff to our outstanding supporters, sponsors and volunteers. Your backing is incredible and we are sorry the conclusion to the season is not the one you all deserved. We are even more determined to go again next season and give it absolutely everything we have got to secure promotion in 2020-21, so please keep the faith.

We face huge challenges financially over the summer months and hugely appreciate all those who have shown incredible commitment to the club over recent weeks by purchasing early bird season tickets, merchandise and making donations. You will all get the opportunity to buy shares in the club once the current uncertain situation becomes more clear, as we have promised previously.

 

We do not know when the 2020-21 season will begin. That will be determined by how the current worldwide health crisis develops over the coming months.

We are hugely looking forward to the day football returns to Mariners Park and we are able to see our supporters again. The next few months are going to be very long for more than one reason but we will be back, and are confident you will be too.

 

Please continue to abide by Government advice and stay at home as much as you possibly can. There will be a day when this virus is an awful memory but there are, of course, many difficult days ahead.

 

Thank you once again for your continued support and please, please stay safe. We wish you and your families the very best of health. There are much better days ahead.”

 

https://www.shieldsgazette.com/sport/football/south-shields-fc-release-damning-statement-demanding-answers-fa-after-devastating-promotion-blow-2519821

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49 minutes ago, No2 said:

Null and void means we take last season's standings as the final positioning. The league needs 14 teams to agree on any decision. 

 

We would vote against it for sure, so would Leicester and Man Utd (sponsorship reasons alone of no CL football). After that I'm struggling to see who would 100% vote against, Sheff Utd and Wolves you would guess still fancy getting 4th or 5th, Burnley were among the 8 teams that wrote to CAS for City to be banned so you would think they still think 5th is possible. Arsenal would get CL football if City are banned and Everton would get EL if they needed any extra incentive. 

 

Looks like we be more reliant on Sky and BT than we will be on the other clubs. Fuck me after everything we have achieved our 2 greatest allies look like Man Utd and Sky.

That Liverpool and Man Utd would be voting against could be enough to stop voiding from even being floated as an option given the repercussions of such a vote. One of those clubs threatening a revolt would damage the Premier League, both throwing their weight around could conceivably kill it. There’s a reason that the two clubs were afforded the luxury of vetting candidates for the position of Premier League chief executive and West Ham and Tottenham weren’t. 

 

I don’t think the “throw it out” people understand that the league as a marketable commodity is instantly much closer in stature to the Championship than the Champions League if Liverpool and Manchester United decide that a European Super League is the way forward.

 

 

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If they were going to do what they did to to the poor lower league teams, they would have already done it imo. At the very worst for us, they recognise that this is not a decision that can be made easily. Money talks and while I hate that aspect of the modern game, we have money and power.

 

Essentially fucking over one of the biggest clubs in the world, another if we include United and a very big club like Leeds is a very unlikely move. Throw in bt, sky and all the other huge businesses that sponsor the league. Then clubs like Wolves, Sheffield United etc who stand to lose a lot from such a decision. Then the midtable clubs who will want to complete the season when it can be completed so they are not hit with a massive bill. 

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1 hour ago, TheDrowningMan said:

Nike would also have excellent reason to sue - massive loss of revenue by not being able to market and sell kits and merchandise branding us as Premier League champions. So there’s another multi-national with a diminished investment and a massive chip on its shoulder. 

Not certain that would hold up. Nike might have thought we were going to be champions but they didnt make a deal based on that.

 

Like I say, the PL season wont be scrapped unless La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and other European league start to do so. Serie A might be the first to give up though especially as they had another shocking rise in deaths in the last 24 hours.

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Guest Alex_K
51 minutes ago, dockers_strike said:

Not certain that would hold up. Nike might have thought we were going to be champions but they didnt make a deal based on that.

You don't know that. In fact, its actually highly probable it is the complete opposite -- bookmakers had us at 1000-to-1-on (yes, you read that right - corona virus halted a 1000-to-1-on certainty to win the league .. what the actual fuck) so it is nigh-on-certain that any deals that the club has undertaken over the past months (incl. Nike sponsorship) were budgeted on the basis of those parties sponsoring the English champions - and in marketing terms the most significant English champions since Utd. won their first again in 93. These are multi, multi million £ decisions - every factor counts.

 

I think I mentioned it in another thread last week but over the past month people have been falling over themselves to construct ever more convoluted ways by which the league won't be played out - but without going full occam's razor the simplest solution by a country mile is to finish this season at some point, and to figure out subsequent scheduling thereafter.

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27 minutes ago, Alex_K said:

You don't know that. In fact, its actually highly probable it is the complete opposite -- bookmakers had us at 1000-to-1-on (yes, you read that right - corona virus halted a 1000-to-1-on certainty to win the league .. what the actual fuck) so it is nigh-on-certain that any deals that the club has undertaken over the past months (incl. Nike sponsorship) were budgeted on the basis of those parties sponsoring the English champions - and in marketing terms the most significant English champions since Utd. won their first again in 93. These are multi, multi million £ decisions - every factor counts.

 

I think I mentioned it in another thread last week but over the past month people have been falling over themselves to construct ever more convoluted ways by which the league won't be played out - but without going full occam's razor the simplest solution by a country mile is to finish this season at some point, and to figure out subsequent scheduling thereafter.

Are you serious? Read what I posted please because you clearly or deliberately havent.

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Guest Alex_K
21 minutes ago, dockers_strike said:

Are you serious? Read what I posted please because you clearly or deliberately havent.

I’m confused - did you not write that Nike won’t have made their offer in part on the assumption that we will be Champions? “Nike might have thought we would be champions b they didn’t make a deal on that”.

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6 hours ago, The Golden Eel said:

My gut remains that it'll not be finished but we'll get awarded the title anyway

I did think that, but what do they do with all the other teams like Leeds? What do they do with the Mancs who were looking good for the champions league? How do they pay back sky,bt and all the other global companies that invest in the league who will expect their money back?

 

The likelihood remaims imo that they will finish the season.

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I don't think it will be finished. This pandemic will go on longer than expected. 

 

All these people saying football isn't important right now we should void it. Why actually is voiding it the right thing to do rather than finishing it when it's safe to. If it's so unimportant why are United and Everton fans so passionate in saying that it should be voided, it seems incredibly important to them that it's voided, they shouldn't be thinking about it at all those morality kings and queens. All these other sides doing shite saying just end it. Yet we are the ones being distasteful talking about football, we've earned our position, we won't be gifted anything unlike the shite gifted a second chance at the expense of others who have earned the right.

 

Voiding it is the worst most difficult solution, it's a minefield not just for sporting reasons but business ones and ultimately it's unjust. Just playing 9 games when the opportunity comes is a piece of piss solution. It's the only valid solution.  I honestly just can't think of one single reason why voiding it is considered some kind of moral thing to do.... Why? You finish one season before you start the next.

 

 

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