It’s way past time to wrap the prem up, but given the prevailing mood in the UK I can understand the reticence to do so. But Arteta testing positive for the CV should finally be the catalyst for sense to prevail. Prem league meeting tomorrow to decide on the weekends’s fixtures.

Mikel Arteta has Covid-19.

Wow!!

Just award the trophy to Liverpool now and can the thing.

Looks like Villa v Chelsea is off, which is good for Villa as it gives us time to get our best defender (Super John McGinn) back from injury. If they stopped the season now we’d be relegated as we’re in the bottom 3

Just award the trophy to Liverpool now and can the thing.

Absolutely not! They’ve not won owt yet!

Technically they can still be beaten. And seeing as its been thirty years since they won it anyway, what difference is another one going to make? I’m sure that the fans of Liverpoolshire will take that with their traditional good grace and happily make this sacrifice for the greater good.

Therefore, I think it’s only reasonable to just call the whole thing off, we can all retire to the Winchester while all this blows over, then we’ll start again later in the year with the next season and a clean slate 😀

I believe they’ve put forward another proposal

On a serious note though, Surely they’ve no option but to suspend all competitions now?

Arsenal, City, Chelski and Leicester have all got players self-isolating already. Theres bound to be loads more confirmed, given that.

And surely to go ahead with Champions League, Europa League and Euro 2020 would be absolute madness, especially as Euro 2020 is taking place in how many countries this time round?

I couldn’t believe it that only yesterday that they were saying matches would carry on as planned. That just seemed like madness. I’ve got tickets for next weeks Europa League game at OT and had just taken it as read that it wouldn’t be going ahead

I dont see how it is avoidable. Euro 2021 it is.

The season will now be canned …. Liverpool will be awards the title . But it will always be a “lesser” title – even though they were the best side by a mile and good friends with the VAR operators.

I wonder what will happen with Leeds and WBA – who are destined to go up. Will the current bottom two in the Premiership be relegated?

Just award the trophy to Liverpool now and can the thing.

Can’t really be done Martin – Shall we just relegate Bournemouth, Villa, and Norwich as well? You can see how this wouldn’t stand up.

Glad to see UEFA are staying strong – no urgent conference call to agree what needs to be done. No – they are having a full blown, face to face meeting on Tuesday – got to make sure they get their kickbacks and bachanders whilst the football world burns!

The BBC are reporting that all elite football is shut down until 4th April.

They included Women’s Premier League in the list of elite football. Fake News!

They included Women’s Premier League in the list of elite football. Fake News!

Not even remotely amusing

I wonder what will happen with Leeds and WBA – who are destined to go up. Will the current bottom two in the Premiership be relegated?

Shall we just relegate Bournemouth, Villa, and Norwich as well? You can see how this wouldn’t stand up.

It really is a hard to know what will be done. As a lifelong Leeds supporter, I read through the EFL rules earlier this week and couldn’t find any reference to what would happen in the event of a season being entirely cancelled. But at the end of the day, the present positions each team is on is all they have to go on. If they cancel it and don’t award anything then it as equally unfair on the teams doing well such as Leeds and Liverpool as it would be beneficial to the teams not doing well.

If they cancel it and don’t award anything then it as equally unfair on the teams doing well such as Leeds and Liverpool

Can you imagine? We’d never, ever hear the end of it!

It would be absolutely ****ing hilarious!! 😂

Can you imagine? We’d never, ever hear the end of it!

It would be absolutely ****ing hilarious!!

There would be a very small part of me that might think it was broadly amusing, but not this year. I can imagine there are quite a few Man U fans that have recently found god and are praying twice daily for such an outcome.

MOT

Worth posting again…

Manchester United fans wondering if a global Coronavirus pandemic could prevent Liverpool winning league

So another season out of the Champions League for United? Unless City do end up thrown out?

Call off Euro 2020 to get the leagues done in the summer seems the best option to me. Money talks and the clubs will want this outcome.

I’d be very surprised if we are starting again in April. If the peak is meant to be in May/June then that means maybe they will be back playing in June/July with 9 games to play in the PL and Championship plus the playoffs. They’d have to delay the start of next season then you are also going to be late into the potential 2021 euros which would mean another late start in 2022 when there’s meant to be a winter World Cup.
Just can’t see it happening. My money is on the season being abandoned. I guess it’ll all depend on what happens in the U.K. over the next month or 2.

Think it’s done myself. Way, way too complex to try and re-start in summer – players fitness, logistics, legal ramifications of contracts, integrity of the competition etc etc.

Some folk suggesting 22 teams in the prem next year to accommodate Leeds and West Brom situation – sounds like an idea that would have a lot of fan support, but no doubt brings its own legal issues.

I can imagine that with the huge amounts of money involved in promotion to the Premiership, Champions League places, TV rights etc that it’s going to get messy, whatever happens. I would reckon a lot of expensive lawyers will be very busy through the summer

Whats going to be interesting is how clubs like Oldham, who are already in serious financial trouble are going to be able to weather this? Or not?

Good point Binners. Only the big clubs have owners who can bail them out with no gate receipts – I’m concerned for many of the Scottish teams out with the old firm.

Some folk suggesting 22 teams in the prem next year to accommodate Leeds and West Brom situation

But surely if they recognised Leeds and West Brom in the positions they are in now, the same would have to be the same for all other teams in promotion/relegation places as well as play-offs.

But I want them to complete the season and see Leeds promoted as Championship winners – I had already started to plan around seeing the victory parade!

I had already started to plan around seeing the victory parade!

Marching on Together in groups of less than 100, please.

Marching on Together in groups of less than 100, please.

LOL!

22 teams in the PL doesn’t really work though. What happens to the teams that would be in playoff contention? What happens the following season? 5 teams relegated?
They either have to figure out a way to play the remaining games for every league in the pyramid or it’s null and void.

Marching on Together in groups of less than 100, please.

Good work 😀

Albion would have won the Championship, V*lla would have come down.

Leeds? They would have **** it up like always.

down.

Leeds? They would have **** it up like always.

Like once really?

Leeds would have ‘done a Leeds’ anyway, as per, like Arsenal under Wenger always ‘did an Arsenal’

Anyway, stopping Leeds coming up and stopping Liverpool winning the premiership – all in one go – has got to be something that pretty much everyone is agreed would be the perfect end to a season.

Let’s face it. It would be so absolutely bloody hilarious! 😂

I don’t get the ‘done a Leeds’ especially as you say ‘as always’. Other than last season, when have Leeds ‘done a Leeds’?

Ignore Binners, most followers of Salford’s biggest team have cloudy recollections of the past.

Salford?

The premier league will have to be played out behind closed doors IMO, the financial hit from ticket sales might be bad, but not as bad as having to reimburse sky and foreign distribution deals with the television money they have already spent, a lot of sponsorship deals might also have television time and success bonuses built in, calling the season now would destroy half the teams finances.

Interesting that most players are contracted for the season to end by June, if the league overuns then the extensions are negotiable, wonder how much good will they will be in those negotiations.

Good on Wolves by the way, announcing all the ground and shop staff etc that have been sent home will remain on full pay, I hope that the rest of the PL teams do likewise, not trying to avoid their responsibilities to their employees like some businesses are already doing..

I think the lower leagues rely much more on gate receipts, so their problem is different, they really need to be able to open the grounds.

Behind closed doors sounds reasonable on the face of it, but reality is it’s not credible. Been done in a couple of the European leagues these past couple of weeks and the players have said it’s a charade – feels like a training ground kick about.

You could have the odd one played like this in extremis, but ten games? No chance – would make the league a laughing stock.

With TV money you could play to empty stadia but not for the lower leagues.
I’d say abandon cups and internationals and play when the covid bell curve flattens out. July?
What did they do during the bubonic plague?

Whatever happens, the lawyers are going to be very very busy. Unpicking the money for TV rights, sponsorship deals, players contracts, relegation, promotion, champions league qualification etc

From a personal point of view I, like millions of others, are asking ‘why am I paying for a Sky Sports subscription when there’s no sport going to be played for (let’s get real here) the next 6 months, minimum

Good point. But insurance companies might use their act of God clause?
I’m pretty sure most footballers won’t be too affected as their age group seem to be fit enough to survive.
Totally unpresedented times.

Behind closed doors sounds reasonable on the face of it, but reality is it’s not credible. Been done in a couple of the European leagues these past couple of weeks and the players have said it’s a charade – feels like a training ground kick about.

Oh I absolutely agree that playing behind closed doors would be crap, but I think they will be struggling to start the next season on time, never mind complete this one if they want to open the grounds. But there is no good solution, they just have to hope they select the least worse, and frankly every major league is likely to end up doing the same thing, they will all be laughing stocks.

As an Ipswich fan, trying to remember a Sunday morning I’ve woken up and not dreaded looking at our slide down the table

I can’t see it restarting, the season will be declared null and void. It’ll suck for Liverpool as they wont be able to match Leicester in Premier League titles but every cloud and all that