Just now on SSN, that smug twat Brian Swanson was talking about what happens next. It seems some or all of the above options will be put to the 20 Premier League clubs and a majority of 14 will be needed to vote for any outcome. That means we need seven to go the other way.
Now, Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Norwich City are hardly likely to vote for the season to be finished as it stands. They'd be voting for their own relegation. There's three.
Tottenham are in 8th place after a disappointing season. Maureen is in the middle of an injury crisis at Spurs. If this season started over in August or September, he'd have his squad back and would be given Champions League football again. Daniel Levy won't even ask the question when there's money on the table. That's four.
Arsenal are in 9th place. They started so poorly under Emery but have looked a bit smarter under Mikel Arteta. If the season finished now and the table stood, they'd miss out on European football altogether. Alternatively, they could regroup, reinvest and have a serious tilt at the top 4 AND the Europa League next season and try to get into the Champions League. No European football could be the difference between Aubameyang staying or going. They'd surely go for the option of restarting the league over. That's five.
Now United are interesting. They currently sit in a Europa League place which is what they had this season. Voting for the current placings to stand now could benefit them but only if City's ban stands. Do they stick or twist? We can't be certain how they'd go so we still need two more.
The rest are much of a muchness. The majority of the teams in 10th to 17th wouldn't be arsed either way. Indeed, 15th, 16th and 17th placed Brighton, West Ham and Watford would probably be delighted to avoid the drop and wouldn't give two fucks about the fairness of those below them going down without completing the fixture list.
Wolves would qualify again for Europe so could be pleased with leaving things as they stand. Sheffield United's fate would likely depend on City, UEFA and CAS. Still we need that elusive two.
I'd hope that after the past few years, the coach attack, the computer hacking, the collusion with G14 and UEFA, the constant sniping from the biased media, the decisions that have gone against us time and time again in matches with Liverpool, that we'd tell them to go and fuck themselves. We'll keep hold of your Holy Grail thank you very much.
That leaves Everton.
Now imagine if the best period of your history was cut short because fans of your neighbours saw to it that you were banned from European competition. Imagine that the best manager in your history couldn't face 5 years of being unable to pit his wits against the continent's finest so ups and leaves for Athletic Bilbao. Imagine that you lost the best English striker of the generation to Barcelona because he wanted to have a crack at Europe. Imagine that you lost a few of your star players to Glasgow Rangers where they'd be guaranteed European football. Imagine that this lead to 35 years in which you became a mediocre club with a single FA Cup to shout about. Imagine that despite watching your best ever squad decimated because of the actions of your rival's fans, that you decide you're bigger than being resentful and stood shoulder to shoulder with them in their darkest hour. Imagine their fans then throwing all of this in your face some 25 years afterwards by holding up a banner with the words "Steaua Bucharest 1986" - the team that took the European trophy that you missed out on challenging for all those years ago.
If Everton voted to press the reset button on the 2019/20 season and showed two fingers to their nearest and not so dearest, who could blame them.
What goes around, comes back around.
