Coronavirus: Football Discussion Thread

[urban genie]

I should be in a cafe in brighton having a hangover fry up waiting for the pubs to open.

First time I have missed the football missi g out on a sunny weekend away trip to brighton

 

[tonea2003]

You can also point out many on here who seemingly would be prepared to see football collapse rather than Liverpool winning the title.

Many on here seem to be judging football by different standards to any other business. All are desperate to reopen as if they can't at some point there won't be a business. What would be left of the PL & the rest of football if it couldn't restart before next year say? A handful of clubs I would suggest with nowhere near enough to form one viable league.

that doesn't make any sense to me, its cutting your nose off to spite your face
the harsh reality is we are guided by government advice, football clubs are like any other business they have to make money to survive and have to use the government schemes to survive if they need to
where i'm coming from they would get it back up and running behind close doors etc which would mean financial ruin for many a club as they would be paying out with nothing coming in and they don't care about that
i want this season back as i think we have a great chance of another treble but not at the expense of clubs folding en masse
and there is no point without crowds

 

[Ardwick Green Blue]

Everyone wants football back when it’s safe don’t forget we are in a position to win a cup treble I want it back when the fa cup and champions league can be played! Is it fair that it comes back and they fuck if the fa cup and champions league but it’s fine to play the leagues game where there is a lot more games to Be played! I would of settled for Liverpool winning the tile by record points win the champions league if I can flick my fingers and this virus never happened.

One of my concerns was that the FA Cup wouldn't be completed but there is a commitment to finish it if league games are played. UEFA clearly intend to complete the CL.

 

[Ardwick Green Blue]

that doesn't make any sense to me, its cutting your nose off to spite your face
the harsh reality is we are guided by government advice, football clubs are like any other business they have to make money to survive and have to use the government schemes to survive if they need to
where i'm coming from they would get it back up and running behind close doors etc which would mean financial ruin for many a club as they would be paying out with nothing coming in and they don't care about that
i want this season back as i think we have a great chance of another treble but not at the expense of clubs folding en masse
and there is no point without crowds

From a business point of view there is every point in playing games, even without crowds. Currently all clubs have no income and vast outgoings in terms of player wages. Some, like us, have the financial backing to survive but most don't. TV & sponsorship money will keep clubs afloat (maybe) but not playing any games until crowds are allowed would finish most clubs off.

 

[tonea2003]

From a business point of view there is every point in playing games, even without crowds. Currently all clubs have no income and vast outgoings in terms of player wages. Some, like us, have the financial backing to survive but most don't. TV & sponsorship money will keep clubs afloat (maybe) but not playing any games until crowds are allowed would finish most clubs off.

depends how long furlough last i suppose, but neither is good for lower league clubs

this is interesting from the accrington manager

 

[TueartsOHK]

This is very significant. Any far from trivial. It's not just a case of shipping out testing kits. Every medical expert agrees we are nowhere close to having a remotely definitive antibody test. There are way too many false positives and false negatives. COVID-19 is one of a group of so-called Corona Viruses, one of which is the common cold. So someone can test positive for Corona antibodies as a result of having had a common cold. But has no resistance to COVID-19. Also no way to determine reliably the population of asymptomatic individuals who can carry and spread the virus - some of whom could be professional footballers!

This. The whole thing could be a logistical nightmare. You can test the players but the surfaces within the stadium would have to be disinfected - what about ground staff preparing the environment (would they need testing)? What happens if one of the teams has too many key players testing positive- is the game abandoned?
I can’t see how this will work without there still being an element of risk. If the government sees fit to lift the lock down and open businesses then fair enough but before then I can’t see it happening.

 

[Easy]

In all honesty if football can restart than so can my life , I will be out in my mazda roof down enjoying a drive around the country lanes. It will send the wrong message to the public if after months of lockdown if it's ok for football to ignore the two meters rule it's ok for the general public. The government will lose control of the lockdown.

exactly this. How can you push social distancing so much then allow a full contact sport with 22 players for 90 minutes to be played??

It just sends the wrong message, the government needs to step in and say all sports are banned until August for example and that’s that. This is true leadership.

 

[Cheadle_hulmeBlue]

From a business point of view there is every point in playing games, even without crowds. Currently all clubs have no income and vast outgoings in terms of player wages. Some, like us, have the financial backing to survive but most don't. TV & sponsorship money will keep clubs afloat (maybe) but not playing any games until crowds are allowed would finish most clubs off.

for the premier league maybe, but for many lower league teams it wouldn’t make any sense. Most of their income is from crowds/ corporate.if they had to play games behind closed doors they’d go bust

 

[Akpowell]

It's not hard is it, the government just needs to say there will be no more sports games until the beginning of next year.
Not difficult is it

 

[I'm With Stupid]

for the premier league maybe, but for many lower league teams it wouldn’t make any sense. Most of their income is from crowds/ corporate.if they had to play games behind closed doors they’d go bust

In theory you could get the BBC or ITV to broadcast some of the games, but I don't know if anyone would watch and whether therefore whether than would make money for them.

I'm sure the Championship would bring in a fair few viewers, but would anyone watch a League 2 game if they don't support either team?