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Coronavirus could prevent Liverpool from winning the Premier League title


Baltar
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2 hours ago, TheHowieLama said:

Olympics have been canceled, that was to run July-Aug.

They are set to cancel Wimbledon, which would be very easy to run without crowds. That is in late June.

 

Not sure it is realistic to think the league will be running in any form before those dates.

 

 

 

 

Think the difference between those is that the qualifying for those two events especially the Olympics have to be completed. If given the go ahead football could start in almost a heartbeat.

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2 hours ago, TheDrowningMan said:

Interesting to read in the Independent today that the top half of the table remain determined if not desperate to finish, while the dissenters are in the bottom half.

 

My belief is that there’s almost zero chance of a void when Liverpool and Manchester United are against it. Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal make it a complete impossibility. Even if 12 teams wanted to void, it just wouldn’t be put to a vote as long as the clubs that actually contribute to the league in a tangible financial way are against it. Too much leverage from great clubs who could break away and create a competition that effectively kills the PL as a saleable asset.

 

 

If 12 PL teams want it void, although I doubt that many do, I expect it's maybe 1 or 2, then fuck 'em and this European Super League cannot come soon enough for me.

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2 hours ago, TheDrowningMan said:

Interesting to read in the Independent today that the top half of the table remain determined if not desperate to finish, while the dissenters are in the bottom half.

It will be those teams in danger of relegation who are in favour of voiding it, obviously.

 

Imagine you're in charge of Norwich or Villa. Norwich especially are virtually certain to go down. To them, the idea of voiding the season and starting over must feel like Kate Beckinsale phoning you up out of the blue to say she's tired of her husband and wants a go with you. It's an absolute get-out-of-jail-free card that you never expected.

 

Expecting them to be opposed to it is ridiculous. It's the "95% of teams in the pyramid are in favour of finishing the season" bit that has me pleasantly surprised. That must mean that the financial penalties for not playing out the season are gargantuan, which means they'll be played by hook or by crook, somehow.

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3 hours ago, TheHowieLama said:

Olympics have been canceled, that was to run July-Aug.

They are set to cancel Wimbledon, which would be very easy to run without crowds. That is in late June.

 

Not sure it is realistic to think the league will be running in any form before those dates.

 

 

 

Yeah, but both of these sports bring people from around the globe into where the event is happening, the footballers are all here at least and all we need to rely on is what is happening withing this island. The Olympics was fucked the second countries started pulling out. I don't know why Wimbledon has gone so early, but I suspect there'll be a money related reason. 

1 hour ago, Captain Turdseye said:

If the likes of Sky and BT are demanding their money back, it could leave a sour taste and speed up the process of footy moving to cheaper club-by-club streaming services which is no bad thing. 

Why shouldn't sky stream to their paying customers? Many have taken payment holidays right now and where football is concerned sky have already paid out for this year. I think they'd be well within their rights to get paid. With everyone sat at home and such a shortage of other sports, there may be a financial argument to do it free to air for advertising revenues - and again, it will need advertising to pick up, as it's rock bottom now. 

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21 minutes ago, Barry Wom said:

Why shouldn't sky stream to their paying customers? Many have taken payment holidays right now and where football is concerned sky have already paid out for this year. I think they'd be well within their rights to get paid. With everyone sat at home and such a shortage of other sports, there may be a financial argument to do it free to air for advertising revenues - and again, it will need advertising to pick up, as it's rock bottom now. 


What I mean is, there’s talk of Sky demanding the money back which they’ve already paid to the PL this season. If it does get voided and that is the case, I can see a situation where the relationship between Sky and the PL breaks down. If the PL isn’t shown on Sky or BT anymore then the alternative, hopefully streaming only the games/clubs you want, should be cheaper for the customers than it is now. 

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They should come out and say what their plan is and how they intend to finish the season. This behind closed doors football fest sounds good but equally daft and potentially dangerous. Just play the remaining games at the start of next season cancel the league cup and international friendlies and use them extra free two weeks in  to rest the players and have a mini pre-season. then next season start in end sept / start October.

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3 hours ago, Captain Turdseye said:


What I mean is, there’s talk of Sky demanding the money back which they’ve already paid to the PL this season. If it does get voided and that is the case, I can see a situation where the relationship between Sky and the PL breaks down. If the PL isn’t shown on Sky or BT anymore then the alternative, hopefully streaming only the games/clubs you want, should be cheaper for the customers than it is now. 

Maybe it would breakdown. But football will be the loser. It isn't just sky either. There's all the PL sponsors. And I would imagine some club sponsors as well. I think Miguel Delaney was saying the PL stands to lose 1.2bn if they cancel the league. And there's all new contracts for following years already signed. They may want to move towards their own ppv, but they don't have the technology and they don't have the skills in terms of cameramen, editors etc. I'd have thought even if the PL wanted to go alone (which I doubt as part of its appeal is it's exposure to both fans and sponsors), they'd need a production partner (which I believe is currently sky for international distribution) and I'd have thought many parts of the world a distribution partner as I can't see them going for ppv globally. 

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3 hours ago, Mathewbet1 said:

They should come out and say what their plan is and how they intend to finish the season. This behind closed doors football fest sounds good but equally daft and potentially dangerous. Just play the remaining games at the start of next season cancel the league cup and international friendlies and use them extra free two weeks in  to rest the players and have a mini pre-season. then next season start in end sept / start October.

It's a moving target though isn't it. The plan 3 weeks ago was to carry on playing. Then from confirming that, onside 24 hours they said they needed to delay for 3 weeks. Then a week or so later till the end of April. But they have confirmed a desire to finish one way or another and the fa have said take as long as it takes. They can't plan for anything because they don't know. It'd be like saying you need to announce when you're out on the ale next. 

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3 minutes ago, Barry Wom said:

Maybe it would breakdown. But football will be the loser. It isn't just sky either. There's all the PL sponsors. And I would imagine some club sponsors as well. I think Miguel Delaney was saying the PL stands to lose 1.2bn if they cancel the league. And there's all new contracts for following years already signed. They may want to move towards their own ppv, but they don't have the technology and they don't have the skills in terms of cameramen, editors etc. I'd have thought even if the PL wanted to go alone (which I doubt as part of its appeal is it's exposure to both fans and sponsors), they'd need a production partner (which I believe is currently sky for international distribution) and I'd have thought many parts of the world a distribution partner as I can't see them going for ppv globally. 


You’ll have to forgive me, Wom. I’m shit at getting my point across. Obviously none of that will happen overnight but what I was trying to say in my initial post is that this could be the beginning of the end as things turn a bit sour between all involved. It’ll all be streaming eventually, this could speed up the process. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking but perhaps at least some good can come out of all this. 

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3 minutes ago, Captain Turdseye said:


You’ll have to forgive me, Wom. I’m shit at getting my point across. Obviously none of that will happen overnight but what I was trying to say in my initial post is that this could be the beginning of the end as things turn a bit sour between all involved. It’ll all be streaming eventually, this could speed up the process. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking but perhaps at least some good can come out of all this. 

I get it (I think!). I think sky and the PL probably row all the time. I think the PL won't have been even a little surprised sky want to play it. It may sour the relationship, but to me it would show some immaturity from the PL if it did. I think people are used to taking opposite points of view in business and when it's done, you just have to move forward. There's nothing to be gained by looking back. And as I say, if there is any doubt in any of the boards at PL clubs that sky are right here, it's the fact it's not just sky, it's all the sponsors. I reckon once they acknowledge they have to play the games (which I think they already have), their only focus will be getting 19/20 done so they can start 20/21 and get the next tranche of TV and sponsorship money. They know they're not in control of when fans come through the gates, so the closest thing they can control is finding a way to get games on TV and get the cash rolling. 

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Coronavirus: Premier League plan to restart season branded unworkable as clubs eye solution

 

Plans to put players under lockdown for a month to get the season finished have been branded unworkable – because clubs are too picky.

The hotel quarantine plan is one idea mooted for Friday's next round of talks between the Premier League, EFL, Football Association and the Professional Footballers’ Association.

 

In a bid to conclude the season, one proposal is to squeeze remaining games into a condensed time frame in June, behind-closed-doors, with players kept in isolation to protect them from the risk of contracting coronavirus.

Stadiums, hotels and training facilities would undergo a “deep clean”, with the players under strict quarantine, to enable the season to be completed by mid-July.

 

But Christian Machowski, whose company ESEM specialises in travel management for top clubs across Europe, believes the plan is unrealistic, because of the particular demands of the elite teams when it comes to hotels and training facilities.

 

“There are so many factors that come into play," said Machowski.

“When clubs are looking to book hotels, one of the chief issues is what is an acceptable time to drive to a stadium?

"Teams don't want to be stuck on a bus for 45 minutes to an hour, travelling to a game.

“Everybody wants the best for their team, but there's only a small number of elite hotels that are suitable.

“For example, there are two or three hotels in London where all the teams tend to stay when they play there.

“To find a venue where 20 teams can find facilities up to the required standard is just not workable."

 

“In terms of training facilities, teams would also want to be as a close as possible, so that would present problems.

“Then you would have to quarantine the same hotel staff for three or four weeks.

“And if one team picked up an infection, whether it's a player or member of staff, that's the end of the tournament.

 

“It's not about teams staying in luxury, it's complicated because the infrastructure is so finely tuned for clubs in terms of what they need.”

 

Brighton have voiced their opposition to the proposal for a single-city Premier League finale.

Officials at the club have major reservations due to concerns over hotel accommodation, the number of pitches required and the intense fixture schedule.

 

Chief executive Paul Barber also has concerns about even discussing a return to football while the coronavirus casualty rate around the country soars.

“As creative as we want to be, people are losing their lives,” said Barber.

“This is a serious, serious situation. We're totally driven towards completing the season but, at the moment, it is tough to talk about it.”

 

Machowski, whose company has handled almost 500 European games and training camps for top clubs over the past 24 years, reckons the number of teams involved also makes the plan impossible to pull off.

 

“You could maybe get away with it in the Champions League, for example, with a mini-tournament, because you're dealing with fewer teams,” said Machowski.

 

“But here you're talking about 20 teams and there's so much at stake. It's not like a pre-season tournament where there's a trophy at the end.

“This is about titles, about relegation, qualification for the Champions League and Europa League, so no-one should be able to complain that they missed out because maybe the hotel, training facilities, travel or food wasn't right.

“So it's not really workable, for so many different reasons.”

 

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/coronavirus-premier-league-plan-restart-21789901

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That article just sounds like 'shit we need to write sonething'. Teams will know this isn't a proper training camp and just a necessity to get the season complete, the TV companies off their back and get the players paid again. 

 

Brighton 'intense schedule' fuck off its 9 games over 4 to 6 weeks. You could wrap it up in 3/4 weeks if you had to and it would be no more intense than our schedule over Dec-Jan the last few years. We played 12 games in 37 days this year, yet Brighton are moaning at playing 9 in between 28 and 42 days

 

 

Think Brighton might be more on the let's void the season being 2pts outside the relegation zone

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14 hours ago, Captain Turdseye said:

If the likes of Sky and BT are demanding their money back, it could leave a sour taste and speed up the process of footy moving to cheaper club-by-club streaming services which is no bad thing. 

That would be a horrifically bad thing and would be the final nail in the coffin for competition in this country.

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9 hours ago, Captain Turdseye said:


You’ll have to forgive me, Wom. I’m shit at getting my point across. Obviously none of that will happen overnight but what I was trying to say in my initial post is that this could be the beginning of the end as things turn a bit sour between all involved. It’ll all be streaming eventually, this could speed up the process. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking but perhaps at least some good can come out of all this. 

Problem is that the streaming stuff means even more money will go to the big boys than is already happening now. Football is becoming predictable enough without filling the coffers of big clubs even more. Streaming will do this unless there is a collective agreement,which I doubt once the Sky bubble bursts.

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I'm sure they could fucking slum it in a lower class hotel for a bit. When I worked in Cambridge I did an Alan Partidge and lived in the Menzies hotel on the A14.

 

Whenever teams would play Peterborough or Cambridge they would stay there. Wasn't a Premier Inn or Travelodge but it did the job. Plus they would be likely to have the place to themselves now and not stuck in rush hour traffic.

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5 minutes ago, Doctor Troy said:

I'm sure they could fucking slum it in a lower class hotel for a bit. When I worked in Cambridge I did an Alan Partidge and lived in the Menzies hotel on the A14.

 

Whenever teams would play Peterborough or Cambridge they would stay there. Wasn't a Premier Inn or Travelodge but it did the job. Plus they would be likely to have the place to themselves now and not stuck in rush hour traffic.


Up until the last few months, the A14 around Cambridge was in permanent ‘rush hour traffic’ mode for about four years. Smart motorways indeed.

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