The world, not just football, has come to a stand still because of the coronavirus pandemic. Lockdown has been enforced in the UK so people can only leave the house for essentials. Football is not a necessity, and all leagues have been halted for around a month now. These are unprecedented times but there are still many questions that remain as to what will happen to the 2019/20 season.
Many ideas have been suggested to find a solution: voiding the 2019/20 season, indefinitely suspending and finishing when available, and - the Premier League only way - to have no relegation but promote West Brom and Leeds from the Championship. I'm a fan of the second option, certainly not the latter.
First and foremost, it should be said that football itself has provided a great response to the outbreak. Barcelona players have taken a 70% wage reduction to allow non-playing staff to continue to be paid their full wage. Juventus' players have waved four months pay for the same reason. Daniel Levy, on the other hand, has placed all non-playing staff on furlough while players will receive full pay. The government scheme was not set up for a billionaire like Levy to exploit. It's a disgrace and he should be ashamed of himself. The players are millionaires and should recognise Levy's misjudgement and offer to do the same as Barcelona. Nothing has happened yet.
Football, though, finds itself in a tricky situation. From the National League North/South upwards, the seasons have been indefinitely suspended with officials using the time to figure out the best way forward. Voiding the season, especially at Premier League level, comes with a number of legal issues. The current broadcasting deal was worth over £1.6 billion and it is expected by BT Sport and Sky Sports that this deal must be completed, otherwise there will be court cases worth hundreds of millions against the Premier League if they are not shown. This is the main case against voiding the season from the League's point of view.
Voiding the season has already caused problems below National League level. Jersey Bulls, in the Combined Counties Division One, had won all 27 matches and gained a 20 point gap to second place. They deserved to be promoted to the league above but their season was voided. That is completely unfair, and makes all the work done throughout that season redundant. As with Liverpool, 25 points clear with 27 remaining and on course for a first title in 30 years, it is ridiculous that they should not be given the chance to try and finish the season and become champions. Why there is a greater desire to start a new season when one is 75% done is beyond me?
UEFA has also said that any league that is voided will find it difficult to gain representation into the Champions League and Europa League for the 2020/21 season. With the riches the Champions League brings, it is another factor in the big clubs' opposition to voiding the season as qualification is not a certainty for anyone but Liverpool.
Declaring the end of the season now is also a non-starter for me. The champions may well be decided but the Champions League and relegation places are still open to many clubs. Teams have also not played the same amount of games as each other, with a win for Sheffield United putting them 5th instead of 7th - a huge difference given Manchester City's potential ban from European competition. It is not right to relegate any clubs as it is still mathematically possible for Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Norwich to get out of the drop zone. Again, simply suspending the season until it can be completed seems the best option.
The other option to promote West Brom and Leeds, have no relegation but not award Liverpool the title is the worst proposal. Promoting those two from the Championship legitimises their efforts for the season so the same should go for Liverpool, no? It's a stupid idea and one that should not go through.
The initial suspension until April 3rd was to give them more time to think about the situation, to April 30th the same and then the season indefinitely suspended. Premier League clubs have the luxury of a broadcast deal that gives them financial security, but clubs lower down the division rely on matchday income for survival. Barnet had to allow all staff, playing and non-playing, to leave for free as a means of keeping the club afloat. The financial disparity between the Premier League and the rest of England needs combating, and a situation like this which finds many clubs at the threat of liquidation should see the elite trying to help them out with financial support. It's unlikely to happen, though.
And with the UK coronavirus peak projected to be in June/July, the latest proposal of a Premier League "World Cup" schedule to finish the season also seems unlikely. Camps would be set up in the midlands and London to isolate players and keep them away from ordinary citizens. All matches would be broadcast on television, making BT and Sky get their wish, but it is a logistical nightmare. At the height of the peak, taking resources away from the already underfunded NHS is not practical. Football is not a necessity and should not be accommodated to in a time like this.
Competitions in all sports are being suspended or cancelled. The Grand National, Wimbledon and others are not going ahead but these are one-off events. They have largely no bearing on what happens in the next horse racing or tennis season. Football is bigger with domestic competitions leading onto continental competitions of a larger scale.
This is the greatest crisis the world has faced since World War Two. Even then, that broke out in September so voiding the season with such little matches played made sense. This is also the modern world and the power of broadcasting companies is massive, and they will demand that their deals be completed. Football at the moment is not important, and never is in times like this, but is still a big issue. Whenever we can start playing again, the 2019/20 season must be completed before the next season starts.
Many ideas have been suggested to find a solution: voiding the 2019/20 season, indefinitely suspending and finishing when available, and - the Premier League only way - to have no relegation but promote West Brom and Leeds from the Championship. I'm a fan of the second option, certainly not the latter.
First and foremost, it should be said that football itself has provided a great response to the outbreak. Barcelona players have taken a 70% wage reduction to allow non-playing staff to continue to be paid their full wage. Juventus' players have waved four months pay for the same reason. Daniel Levy, on the other hand, has placed all non-playing staff on furlough while players will receive full pay. The government scheme was not set up for a billionaire like Levy to exploit. It's a disgrace and he should be ashamed of himself. The players are millionaires and should recognise Levy's misjudgement and offer to do the same as Barcelona. Nothing has happened yet.
Football, though, finds itself in a tricky situation. From the National League North/South upwards, the seasons have been indefinitely suspended with officials using the time to figure out the best way forward. Voiding the season, especially at Premier League level, comes with a number of legal issues. The current broadcasting deal was worth over £1.6 billion and it is expected by BT Sport and Sky Sports that this deal must be completed, otherwise there will be court cases worth hundreds of millions against the Premier League if they are not shown. This is the main case against voiding the season from the League's point of view.
Voiding the season has already caused problems below National League level. Jersey Bulls, in the Combined Counties Division One, had won all 27 matches and gained a 20 point gap to second place. They deserved to be promoted to the league above but their season was voided. That is completely unfair, and makes all the work done throughout that season redundant. As with Liverpool, 25 points clear with 27 remaining and on course for a first title in 30 years, it is ridiculous that they should not be given the chance to try and finish the season and become champions. Why there is a greater desire to start a new season when one is 75% done is beyond me?
UEFA has also said that any league that is voided will find it difficult to gain representation into the Champions League and Europa League for the 2020/21 season. With the riches the Champions League brings, it is another factor in the big clubs' opposition to voiding the season as qualification is not a certainty for anyone but Liverpool.
Declaring the end of the season now is also a non-starter for me. The champions may well be decided but the Champions League and relegation places are still open to many clubs. Teams have also not played the same amount of games as each other, with a win for Sheffield United putting them 5th instead of 7th - a huge difference given Manchester City's potential ban from European competition. It is not right to relegate any clubs as it is still mathematically possible for Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Norwich to get out of the drop zone. Again, simply suspending the season until it can be completed seems the best option.
The other option to promote West Brom and Leeds, have no relegation but not award Liverpool the title is the worst proposal. Promoting those two from the Championship legitimises their efforts for the season so the same should go for Liverpool, no? It's a stupid idea and one that should not go through.
The initial suspension until April 3rd was to give them more time to think about the situation, to April 30th the same and then the season indefinitely suspended. Premier League clubs have the luxury of a broadcast deal that gives them financial security, but clubs lower down the division rely on matchday income for survival. Barnet had to allow all staff, playing and non-playing, to leave for free as a means of keeping the club afloat. The financial disparity between the Premier League and the rest of England needs combating, and a situation like this which finds many clubs at the threat of liquidation should see the elite trying to help them out with financial support. It's unlikely to happen, though.
And with the UK coronavirus peak projected to be in June/July, the latest proposal of a Premier League "World Cup" schedule to finish the season also seems unlikely. Camps would be set up in the midlands and London to isolate players and keep them away from ordinary citizens. All matches would be broadcast on television, making BT and Sky get their wish, but it is a logistical nightmare. At the height of the peak, taking resources away from the already underfunded NHS is not practical. Football is not a necessity and should not be accommodated to in a time like this.
Competitions in all sports are being suspended or cancelled. The Grand National, Wimbledon and others are not going ahead but these are one-off events. They have largely no bearing on what happens in the next horse racing or tennis season. Football is bigger with domestic competitions leading onto continental competitions of a larger scale.
This is the greatest crisis the world has faced since World War Two. Even then, that broke out in September so voiding the season with such little matches played made sense. This is also the modern world and the power of broadcasting companies is massive, and they will demand that their deals be completed. Football at the moment is not important, and never is in times like this, but is still a big issue. Whenever we can start playing again, the 2019/20 season must be completed before the next season starts.
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