Coronavirus could prevent Liverpool from winning the Premier League title

[LFC 6 Times]

What’s the logic of the 3 in the relegation zone, they’re going down if the season isn’t finished. Surely they’ll want to give themselves a fighting chance?

[Dr Nowt]

38 minutes ago, Manny said:

It is a bit unfair that they've lost a bigger proportion of their home fixtures to empty stadiums than some of the other relegation rivals, but I just don't get the opposition to neutral stadiums specifically (apart from to be awkward). If CockPiss wants to wait until they can try and survive by playing in front of a full, bouncing Villa Park, his club will go bust before they open the turnstiles.

 

If you want to complete the season you're doing it in front of empty stands either at your own ground or somewhere else - CockPiss doesn't want that. You could just bin off football for the season and leave the table as is, I'm sure CockPiss doesn't want that. If you just say "fuck it, 19/20 is a clusterfuck and a write-off" then Sky will demand another 75% of a season free of charge and Villa will have a fuck off hole in their accounts. I bet CockPiss doesn't want that either. So what does CockPiss fucking want?

Premier League should just announce that anyone refusing to take part is automatically relegated. 

[Dr Nowt]

38 minutes ago, Manny said:

It is a bit unfair that they've lost a bigger proportion of their home fixtures to empty stadiums than some of the other relegation rivals, but I just don't get the opposition to neutral stadiums specifically (apart from to be awkward). If CockPiss wants to wait until they can try and survive by playing in front of a full, bouncing Villa Park, his club will go bust before they open the turnstiles.

 

If you want to complete the season you're doing it in front of empty stands either at your own ground or somewhere else - CockPiss doesn't want that. You could just bin off football for the season and leave the table as is, I'm sure CockPiss doesn't want that. If you just say "fuck it, 19/20 is a clusterfuck and a write-off" then Sky will demand another 75% of a season free of charge and Villa will have a fuck off hole in their accounts. I bet CockPiss doesn't want that either. So what does CockPiss fucking want?

Premier League should just announce that anyone refusing to take part is automatically relegated. 

[Dr Nowt]

They should announce it twice. Really drive the message home.

[Scott_M]

I think all this is just a game of poker. 
 

Whether sides like it or not, although obviously not preferable, 14 of the clubs won’t be overly fussed about neutral ground. 

As Parish said, to finish the season, this is the least bad option. To finish it on the pitch, it is the only option. 

 

Southampton are 14th, they are 5 points ahead of Brighton, Southampton aren’t going to be relegated. Ultimately, Southampton up to Burnley in 10th will just want to finish the season, get their TV money and ensure they get their 20/21 TV money ASAP.

 

Everybody above Burnley, have aspirations of Europe. With Man City’s CL dilemma, 10th upwards will fancy themselves of getting the 5 points needed to 5th or higher. 
 

Also, if those teams don’t qualify for the CL, they will have a good chance of the EL.

 

I could see 17 clubs agreeing to curtailment. I could see 3 clubs agreeing to null and void. 
 

If push comes to shove, the sides in the relegation zone will blink and agree to neutral venues - realistically, to stay up, they have no other option. 
 

And if any club doesn’t agree, if 14+ clubs vote to agree how the remainder of the season will be completed, anybody who refuses to play should lose each game they refuse to play 3-0 and receive a 3 point penalty each match. 

[Scott_M]

8 minutes ago, Dr Nowt said:

They should announce it twice. Really drive the message home.

Anyone refusing to take part is automatically relegated, automatically relegated. 

[Barrington Womble]

1 hour ago, Manny said:

Cock Piss Purslow piping up now that Villa pride themselves on their home form so don't want to play at neutral grounds.

 

WHAT FUCKING DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE PLAYING IN FRONT OF AN EMPTY VILLA PARK OR AN EMPTY LONDON STADIUM?

 

So I was listening to a podcast today (maybe BBC MNC) and the Brighton chairman was on. His argument is in the whole idea of making marginal gains/advantage, they have set up their training complex to mirror the stadium, so it's the same pitches and sizes, same changing rooms etc, absolutely everything they can do to make their players feel "at home". I have sympathy with that point of view and it absolutely has to be a thing and I think it's reasonable not to discount it. 

 

What I don't understand is the need to make games be at neutral venues. The previous argument to this was you couldn't play in built up areas because of social distancing rules. That just makes no sense to me and I do not understand the argument. However, the claim on the podcast was to keep fans away from the grounds. This "if they're playing, the fans will turn up" nonsense. I don't really understand this point of view either, but so many fans seem convinced this is a thing, perhaps I'm just not a big enough dickhead to understand it. Either way, it shouldn't be an issue and if required, just lock the bellends up if they're breaking social distancing rules and perhaps give some sort of football ban too (akin to footy violence bans), including losing your ST etc. But surely any normal fan (assuming pubs are still closed) will be at home watching it. 

[an tha]

Showing us the way again.

I bet there is no bollocks about neutral venues etc either

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52557699

[dockers_strike]

37 minutes ago, Scott_M said:

I think all this is just a game of poker. 
 

Whether sides like it or not, although obviously not preferable, 14 of the clubs won’t be overly fussed about neutral ground. 

As Parish said, to finish the season, this is the least bad option. To finish it on the pitch, it is the only option. 

 

Southampton are 14th, they are 5 points ahead of Brighton, Southampton aren’t going to be relegated. Ultimately, Southampton up to Burnley in 10th will just want to finish the season, get their TV money and ensure they get their 20/21 TV money ASAP.

 

Everybody above Burnley, have aspirations of Europe. With Man City’s CL dilemma, 10th upwards will fancy themselves of getting the 5 points needed to 5th or higher. 
 

Also, if those teams don’t qualify for the CL, they will have a good chance of the EL.

 

I could see 17 clubs agreeing to curtailment. I could see 3 clubs agreeing to null and void. 
 

If push comes to shove, the sides in the relegation zone will blink and agree to neutral venues - realistically, to stay up, they have no other option. 
 

And if any club doesn’t agree, if 14+ clubs vote to agree how the remainder of the season will be completed, anybody who refuses to play should lose each game they refuse to play 3-0 and receive a 3 point penalty each match. 

Two of the alleged 6 clubs objecting to neutral grounds or, only playing at neutral grounds if there is no relegation, only got promoted to the PL at the end of last season. Talk about tail wagging the dog!

 

I dont know how you address that going forward but Id be surprised if the PL doesnt move to somehow shore this up for future disagreements.

 

[Jimmy Hills Chin]

1 hour ago, LFC 6 Times said:

What’s the logic of the 3 in the relegation zone, they’re going down if the season isn’t finished. Surely they’ll want to give themselves a fighting chance?

Think they are hoping for the ‘no relegation’ idea that was mooted if it was curtailed and not voided.

[VERBAL DIARRHEA]

By absolutely no means should clubs not be relegated however it ends.

[Supremolad]

14 minutes ago, Barry Wom said:

So I was listening to a podcast today (maybe BBC MNC) and the Brighton chairman was on. His argument is in the whole idea of making marginal gains/advantage, they have set up their training complex to mirror the stadium, so it's the same pitches and sizes, same changing rooms etc, absolutely everything they can do to make their players feel "at home". I have sympathy with that point of view and it absolutely has to be a thing and I think it's reasonable not to discount it. 

 

What I don't understand is the need to make games be at neutral venues. The previous argument to this was you couldn't play in built up areas because of social distancing rules. That just makes no sense to me and I do not understand the argument. However, the claim on the podcast was to keep fans away from the grounds. This "if they're playing, the fans will turn up" nonsense. I don't really understand this point of view either, but so many fans seem convinced this is a thing, perhaps I'm just not a big enough dickhead to understand it. Either way, it shouldn't be an issue and if required, just lock the bellends up if they're breaking social distancing rules and perhaps give some sort of football ban too (akin to footy violence bans), including losing your ST etc. But surely any normal fan (assuming pubs are still closed) will be at home watching it. 

It's not really a "nonsense" to say fans would turn up outside the stadium at home games even when they know it's against social distancing guidelines.

 

A very large majority of football fans are smart and law abiding. But a small percentage are not. And that small percentage is significant enough to cause issues. For example, maybe Villa have a crucial game at home and 5% of their 100,000 fans who live in the Midlands stupidly decide to show up outside the stadium (for moral support). That's 5,000 people congregating and needing intervention of police. And also bringing the risk of further spread. So it really isn't insignificant at all.

 

There was a similar example with PSG in the champions league when they played behind closed doors just before the lockdown. A large crowd of their fans still showed up despite warnings not to. Neutral venues is really a sensible solution for the PL. The relegation threatened clubs are just clutching at any straw available. If it wasn't neutral venues, they would find other excuses regarding player welfare or them being at a disadvantage because of their smaller squads etc

[Bobby Hundreds]

They're fucking Shysters. Tell them "these are uncertain times, we must all pull our weight" you either play or your opposition gets the 3 points. Better to give yourself a chance than no chance at all.

[Jennings]

Why is it the bottom six who are against it? In a neutral stadium aren't both teams at the same disadvantage.

 

There isn't really a 'fairness' argument there at all.

[Scott_M]

19 minutes ago, Bobby Hundreds said:

They're fucking Shysters. Tell them "these are uncertain times, we must all pull our weight" you either play or your opposition gets the 3 points. Better to give yourself a chance than no chance at all.

 

I think that’ll mean it gets votes though on Monday. 
 

Premiership money flows significantly downhill. Sides in lower leagues need the money. 
 

Which club would want the closure of another club on their conscious? Clubs being closed could quite easily have been most of the bottom 6 over the past few years, especially Brighton & Bournemouth. 
 

No matter who which clubs asked about the medical grounds / questions, I actually agree with them doing so. If any club has any question, experts need to answer it

fully and ensure players safety.
 

Undoubtedly, some players / staff will test positive between training resuming and the season finishing, but it’s better them getting testing positive, assumingly early, rather than being asymptotic and infecting the rest of the squad / staff. 
 

As long as it’s safe, or as safe as it can be / is to the general public, then clubs need to play. End of discussion. Everything else is white noise. 

[dockers_strike]

21 minutes ago, Jennings said:

Why is it the bottom six who are against it? In a neutral stadium aren't both teams at the same disadvantage.

 

There isn't really a 'fairness' argument there at all.

It amazes me how many people seem to think losing home advantage and playing at neutral grounds only affects the bottom 6. What about Leicester, pushing for a CL place, Sheffield United and Wolves pushing for an EL spot and, every club is fighting for more PL prize money based on their final league placing, arent they?

 

Nope, apparently not!

[Scott_M]

2 hours ago, Manny said:

 

Villa away. My favourite day out of this season. Some pub early doors to laugh at England losing in the Rugby. Early to the away pub at Villa. Laughed at the mancs losing at Bournemouth. Bang in line with Mane’s header, knew it was going in as soon as he glanced it. Significant beers in the car coming home. 
 

87 mins in, Citeh could have been a point or so behind. Come the 94th minute, we’d grabbed the points, pissed on Villa & Citeh’s bonfire and gave us the momentum into the Citeh game the next week. 
 

I’d kill for a day like that again at the moment. 
 

Fuck Villaaaaaarrrrrr. 

[Anubis]

1 hour ago, Barry Wom said:

...perhaps I'm just not a big enough dickhead to understand it.

Don’t go putting yourself down, Barry.

[Harry Squatter]

One of the original neutral venues was the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

 

Apart from it being slap bang in the middle of the city centre, with shops, a main train station, bus routes, waterway to the bay and next to the Castle it really is in the middle of nowhere.

[TheHowieLama]

It should be at one ground and run like a youth tournament - game at 9, one at 11:30 then 2, 5:30 and 8:00 - teams can gather behind the goals for a quick chat and warm up along the sidelines.

 

To save money use the same officiating team the entire day.

[Mathewbet1]

The Germans are better than everything than us, apart from wars obvs.

[Ronnie Whelan]

16 minutes ago, Mathewbet1 said:

The Germans are better than everything than us, apart from wars obvs.

The thing is regarding the wars. They generally treated their soldiers better than we did. They had a brilliantly trained army. Thank god they invaded Russia because it outstretched them and with the Yanks in the war, it turned the tide. I'm watching that show the man in the high castle so it's unthinkable what a nazi world would have looked like. Horrendously dystopian. 

 

Back to the football, you just know that they will do this and do it well. They might have hiccups along the way, but they will deal with them calmly. The big thing about this for us is that the premier league and the clubs are so money orientated, there isn't a hope they don't complete the season especially if the Germans can do it. The rebel clubs will get in line imo. They might get some benefits of doing so but the pressure from 13-14 clubs will be gigantic.

[Barrington Womble]

1 hour ago, Supremolad said:

It's not really a "nonsense" to say fans would turn up outside the stadium at home games even when they know it's against social distancing guidelines.

 

A very large majority of football fans are smart and law abiding. But a small percentage are not. And that small percentage is significant enough to cause issues. For example, maybe Villa have a crucial game at home and 5% of their 100,000 fans who live in the Midlands stupidly decide to show up outside the stadium (for moral support). That's 5,000 people congregating and needing intervention of police. And also bringing the risk of further spread. So it really isn't insignificant at all.

 

There was a similar example with PSG in the champions league when they played behind closed doors just before the lockdown. A large crowd of their fans still showed up despite warnings not to. Neutral venues is really a sensible solution for the PL. The relegation threatened clubs are just clutching at any straw available. If it wasn't neutral venues, they would find other excuses regarding player welfare or them being at a disadvantage because of their smaller squads etc

The psg thing was before all this happened. I think we live in a different world now and after weeks and weeks of being told to stay in, people in the main have learnt to do so. I just can't see 5000 people turning up to a football stadium for "moral support". What moral support does it provide? The players won't know you are there and if they did, they'd think they were a cunt and it would probably have the opposite effect. With the correct messaging from the clubs, government and police, I don't think it will be an issue at all, especially if no pubs are open. 

1 hour ago, Jennings said:

Why is it the bottom six who are against it? In a neutral stadium aren't both teams at the same disadvantage.

 

There isn't really a 'fairness' argument there at all.

The Brighton chairman was pretty clear about it on the podcast I was listening to. He said his job is to do his best for Brighton and not football as a whole. If they can apply enough pressure to either get a "no relegation" season finish or delay enough the league cannot make the uefa imposed deadline, then they perhaps stave off relegation. I don't think it should be a shock all 20 clubs will have nothing but self interest. 

[Bjornebye]

36 minutes ago, Mathewbet1 said:

The Germans are better than everything than us, apart from wars obvs.

They're better at wars too. We needed America 

[Jennings]

5 minutes ago, Barry Wom said:

...

The Brighton chairman was pretty clear about it on the podcast I was listening to. He said his job is to do his best for Brighton and not football as a whole. If they can apply enough pressure to either get a "no relegation" season finish or delay enough the league cannot make the uefa imposed deadline, then they perhaps stave off relegation. I don't think it should be a shock all 20 clubs will have nothing but self interest. 

 

...but they also have a common interest. Money.