Ways To End The Season Fairly

Unless Sky/BT give subscription credits to customers, they should not get a penny from the football authorities.

 

I support any proposal that stops Liverpool winning the title, and also saves us from relegation.

 

The thing with that though is that even if the peak is 10-14 weeks away you’re still going to be getting **** loads of cases of it anyway. Viruses spread exponentially, so we’re going to see cases pretty much doubling and doubling to the point that at the peak we hit several thousand cases a day. The peak means the number of new cases will start to reduce each day but we will still be seeing them on big numbers for a while.

Seeing as we’ve seen them shut up shop and quarantine themselves as soon as they’ve got a couple of cases, what are they going to do after the peak when it’s still about? They’ll be just as susceptible to it then, and there will still be chance of infection... so what happens as soon as even one player or manager inevitably gets it? Pull the shutters down again?

 

Exactly. If these teams are really as good as they say they are, they will win enough matches to get promoted again over 46 matches.

 

We also know that after our experience in the cup final, getting over an extremely disappointing outcome is not always as simple as that.

 

Still can’t see it happening. With TV money divided equally in the PL I’d guesstimate increasing from 20 to 22 even for one season would cost each PL club £10m in lost cash.

Plus, although the Championship top 2 have a healthy gap to 3rd, the same can’t be said in League 1 where I presume their replacements will have to come from.

 

I’m pretty sure the PL clubs all vote on things don’t they? And the Brighton chap seemed to suggest it was an idea they’d come up with and seemed happy with. Also no parachute payments to pay out to three relegated clubs for a few years, so they may even be better off.

 

For me there are only three options.

Option one, is the one everyone wants. Play out all remaining games, probably behind closed doors. I think there will be a lot of pressure for this to do this.

Option two, if it becomes too difficult to finish the season, then it ends as it is. No promotions and no relegations.

Option two comes with a bucket load of questions though. Who qualifies for European competitions, league placement payments, and complaints from promotion chasing sides are the obvious ones.

But if England cannot complete their season, then I suspect it will be the same story for every European country. Maybe European competition would be suspended next season?

Or they could just consider this season didn't take place, therefore last season's qualified sides would be reinstated next season.

If the season is frozen, then I cannot see how you could make Liverpool champions. You cannot freeze it with no relegations, but then do something else at the other end of the table.

It's clear, if the season does not complete then whatever happens will be hugely controversial.

Option three. Whenever we get back to normal, even if it's in August, we continue this season. But clearly you cannot relegate clubs after those 9/10 games have played out, because of the logistics of that. Transfer windows, contracts, fixture lists etc. Football needs stability. TV companies need to have certainties. The only answer would be to merge two season's into one gigantic season.

This would stop any shouts of unfair. The teams at the top of the Championship will not lose their advantage. All teams would carry over what they've achieved from this season into next. This is the most controversial, but to my mind is the fairest, especially if they cancel next season's European competitions.

 

This article talks a bit about the issue from a legal perspective:

https://www.sportslawbulletin.org/coronavirus-sport-law-frustration-and-force-majeure/

 

It’s so weird that given our season, if the season is scrapped the history books will show that we avoided relegation on merit based our goal difference being a solitary goal better.

 

I don’t see that there is a problem with European qualification if this season is voided. Exactly the same teams should play in Europe next season as this. It’s as if this season never happened - nothing in it counts.

 

Which is what I suggested in option two.

However, if there was no European competition next season, then it would allow for those extra games to be played during the course of next season without fixture congestion.

 

This has to be the solution - a 76 game double season ending in May 2021. It maintains advantages already earned (obviously in a diluted way) and gives some flexibility around the resumption date. It will probably mean amending the cup competitions and the PL having to endure playing 2 games per week for many of the weeks, but compared to the social dislocation we are likely to see in the coming months it is small beer.

 

Give me strength.

There's not going to be any double season or super season. This season will be void. Simple as.

 

We absolutely have to avoid Leeds and WBA being "appointed" to the PL. Such a move would be the thin end of a very nasty wedge. I think that within a few years there would be calls for a change from the current system of relegation/promotion between the EFL and the PL. You can imagine that a "re-election" vote would be very attractive to clubs like Newcastle and Villa! Over time the PL could cease to be the pinnacle of a meritocracy. I seem to remember the Bolton chairman being a strong advocate of pulling up the drawbridge in the past - whatever happened to them?

 

Well I hope you are right!!

 

The only fair way for Villa, would be to allow them special dispensation to play their game in hand behind closed doors and also any other teams that have with games in hand.

 

If the PL thought it safe for Villa to play a game behind closed doors, then the PL would have thought it safe to continue the season behind closed doors.

 

Most likely imo:
The season will be voided as will the FA Cup
Liverpool will be given the title
The European spots will be a stitch up
Next season will be a normal season
Weeds and WBA might be let in

 

That would also be unfair as they would know that they win and they stay up, playing a team that has nothing to play for and couldn't care about the result. Might as well just give them the 3 points.

 

Depends what you mean by safe though. If you mean safe from any player or member of the coaching staff being 100% safe from catching the virus, then we won’t be seeing football played in this country closed does it otherwise for a very very long time.

 

I totally agree and if I'd expanded my thoughts it would have included all the above.

People seem to forget or ignore the fact matches were called off this weekend, not to protect fans but because players had it. The risk of that situation is likely to continue for months. The only way it doesn't is if all players and coaches self isolated completely but then as I say no training...

 

Not only that, but they would also have played a different selection of teams in their 29 games to everyone else which is also unfair. The whole point of a league system is that everyone plays everyone home and away.

 

Thats actually not fair at all. One game against uninterested opponents. Its why final day matches all kick off at the same time.

 

I agree. Any decision to end the season and decide issues of relegation, should revert to the point where every team had reached the same stage of the competition when the games were operating normally. That would be to stop the season at match 28. I know that works to our advantage, but it would be unfair to simply award 3 points to Aston Villa or indeed to have them play a match in different circumstances. Who would be their match 29 opponents be? Arsenal, Chelsea, Sheef Utd have also only played 28 games. But Arsenal have already played Sheffield Utd twice? You still don't overcome the fact that teams will have played different combinations of opponents as the league was not completed.

The more you think about it. If the season has not restarted by end of April, then the only practicable solution is to simply void it, and restart it in August. Once Euro 2020 is cancelled for this summer, then all the European and domestic leagues will follow.

 

There doesnt seem to be any way of ending it fairly but it's only football so who gives a toss.

 

I sort of don’t care really, in pretty much all circumstances apart from awarding villa three points we don’t get relegated, the biggest risks to us is having to complete our fixtures which I just can’t see happening. This isn’t a period of extreme weather with an rough end date, this virus will likely be around until there is a vaccine and that’s at least a year away. If the league won’t tolerate even one player or club staff member getting it then we won’t see football played in this country for a very long time.

Obviously a lot of people don’t agree on this, but the most sensible thing to do is protect the over seventies as much as we possibly can and try and get on with life as much as possible. Unless they think they can all hide from the virus for year they’d be better off trying to carry on, take all the usual precautions and if they get it go into isolation then get on with their lives. There is is clearly absolutely no appetite for them to approach it that way though.

 

It would be less. Remember parachute payments that wouldn't be paid. Last seasons 3 relegated clubs received £128 m between them.

 

There won't be any sport, (or anything else), until a vaccine is created and distributed to those at risk. This thing will return in waves to those not getting it now, are you honestly telling me it won't spread like wildfire again when China, Italy, Spain etc relax restrictions and movement? Behave.

 

I phoned them yesterday and unfortunately I’m locked in to a contract so would have to pay £60 to get out. They also said that that football matches were only cancelled and would be played at some point!! I said you might be right but I’m paying for March currently and there is no sport. I suggested that all the money they get in for sky sports should be given to clubs in the bottom two divisions or charity. He laughed

 

Cancel the season, it’s the only option and I appreciate some clubs would be unhappy about that but it’s way better than a super season, going back to where he had all played 28 games, allowing teams to play their games in hand etc. Unless the games start again in no more than a month then I don’t really see how this season can finish without messing about with contracts, leagues and so on

 

There’s no way the whole country will be in lockdown for 3+ months like some are suggesting.

Basic laws of economics suggest that each person is valued at £1m and every decision the government makes refers to this. For example, if are considering installing a new set of traffic lights at a junction, they predict how many lives it would save and therefore the value to the economy.

I think it will reach a stage with corona virus where they state that it’s safe enough to go back to normal knowing that they will be sacrificing people because the damage to the economy will be far greater if everyone stays in quarantine for an extended period of time than it would if a few thousand people die.

 

Yes, the parachute payments amount to £90m per club over three years, so they’d actually be quids in.

 

It’s impossible for a country to run if every single person stays at home for three months (obviously). So clearly we have to carry on at some point. I guess that goes for football like the rest of us. Protecting those most at risk is the priority