Coronavirus: Football Discussion Thread

[BamberBridgeBlue]

The 'gargantuan floods of money' that you want to re-distribute are evaporating. Football needs to retain its broadcasting deal or clubs will go under hence the scrabbling around making all kinds of concessions to clubs under threat of relegation so that they can get the majority vote they need to return. I'm not interested in watching it either but I'm not going to condemn football from trying to sort its own problems out.

I've already had emails from my 'employer' making all kinds of dire forecasts and advising that absolutely everything in under review. Every commercial organisation in the country is carrying out some kind of review and many of us will be asked to exit the lockdown in the coming weeks. We all have more to worry about than football at the moment. I get that entirely but I don't get the moral objections to the measures the game is taking.

There are 92 professional clubs in England. There have been many predictions from experts that it would take 18 months to develop and deliver a vaccine. Add to that, that some form of social restrictions will remain in place for that period which would likely affect travel and large gatherings. Apply that to 92 clubs over 18 months. How many clubs would go to the wall? 10? 20? My guess would be half. There would also be some surprising big name clubs in there in my opinion.

Against that backdrop can you blame football clubs for looking at any and every alternative to get back playing and getting an income? Before we judge these clubs, ask yourself if you want a sport to come back to? We will all have our opportunity to judge whatever format happens when you decide on your TV subscriptions or even buy your season ticket.

 

[Marvin]

That is what Project Restart is about. Sorting out football's problems, which I think is a remarkable singular problem - one of money stream. They have come up with a solution, which I think is in the best American tradition of finding a solution (wasn't it the Americans who came up with the phrase 'collateral damage'?), and it's one which safeguards as much of the loot as possible. But with some solutions there are 'latent dysfunctions' and it is these that the football apparatchiks couldn't give a tuppenny toss about - the players, the fans (particularly those who would see their daily dose of exercise coinciding with their team playing at a neutral ground, and any further spread of contagion as a result of the 'Project'. Once the season's fixtures are complete they can breath a vast sigh of relief, and fuck any thing and anyone else.

It is about money-stream. Everyone else is doing the same thing. I realise there are some problems. Maybe it wont get the go-ahead but I am not going to get offended by football trying to figure it out whilst meat-factories house hundreds of sick workers, and Amazon fire workers right left and centre.

 

[shevtheblue]

I do love this whole take that football will lift spirits, what a load of shit. People who are directly affected by this (and i don't mean people who are stuck at home) won't have their spirits lifted by a football. There are people who have had loved ones pass away, who haven't been able to see those people in their last moments or since, there are people who haven't been able to see their spouse as they are key workers who are isolating form the rest of the family, people that have not seen their own children for over a month. This has got absolutely fuck all to do with raising the nations spirits, i wish they would just be fucking honest for once in their miserable lives.
On the flip side, can you imagine how many extra arguments this will cause when non-football loving wives are stuck indoors with their fellas who are just watching game after game after game, what with the format these guys are putting forwards. There are much more important parts of the economy who are completely fucked due to this, what makes football any more important to them? That's right, shit loads of powerful people losing money.

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

It is about money-stream. Everyone else is doing the same thing. I realise there are some problems. Maybe it wont get the go-ahead but I am not going to get offended by football trying to figure it out whilst meat-factories house hundreds of sick workers, and Amazon fire workers right left and centre.

Yer right, M, but those re=opening have some measure of control over what they are doing. Restart the season and no one has a clue what will happen, and the PL and FA haven't the slightest element of control over too many things. The French and Dutch have cancelled, admittedly they don't have the financial black hole that the PL would have but it gives the lie to the idea that the PL can keep a lid on things!

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

I do love this whole take that football will lift spirits, what a load of shit. People who are directly affected by this (and i don't mean people who are stuck at home) won't have their spirits lifted by a football. There are people who have had loved ones pass away, who haven't been able to see those people in their last moments or since, there are people who haven't been able to see their spouse as they are key workers who are isolating form the rest of the family, people that have not seen their own children for over a month. This has got absolutely fuck all to do with raising the nations spirits, i wish they would just be fucking honest for once in their miserable lives.
On the flip side, can you imagine how many extra arguments this will cause when non-football loving wives are stuck indoors with their fellas who are just watching game after game after game, what with the format these guys are putting forwards. There are much more important parts of the economy who are completely fucked due to this, what makes football any more important to them? That's right, shit loads of powerful people losing money.

It won't be a 'morale booster' - it will be nothing but a minor diversion.

 

[Wanderingwolf]

German football pushed back possible 29th may restart now.

 

[mosssideblue]

UK ha the advantage of being able to look and watch and see the effect. I think if families see that it has worked in other countries then they'll be 'relatively accepting' of it happening here.

This has been going on for 4 months now. It's going to be with us until there's a vaccine, or until we get immunity. Until then it affects everything including football. Fans aren't being asked to go to the games so why worry. I understand the indifference. I don't get why some get angry. Worry about sending your kids to school, or how you're going to get to work, or even whether you have work. Don't worry about City playing Bournemouth behind closed doors.

'Fans aren't being asked to go to the games, so why worry'
Marv, gen question, are you that naive to think fans will stay indoors when games are on?

Playing games bcd presents a host of issues that are not warranted.

Football, as you said is a business but it is an entertainment business and let's be honest, the release from lock down is not going to be a quick flash to bang, so a phased approach based on priorities for the country will be needed. Our differences seem to be you have football on the same level as many critical functions the country needs first.

 

[Churchlawtonblue]

If they start football this season, making an exception for it over other sports that would be a calamitous decision. Not just potentially from a health point of view but from a fan point of view. I pay for my season tickets to watch live football. Not to have them still take my money and play behind closed doors. Football without fans let's be honest isn't really football. I wonder will the game will ever recover. Not sure I will renew next season if this goes ahead. Pampered spoilt millionaires who won't take a pay cut while the rest of us struggle. Not impressed.

 

[shevtheblue]

It won't be a 'morale booster' - it will be nothing but a minor diversion.

Look, i myself would love to watch a game of live footy right now, fucking brilliant. But is it the right thing to do to push it to the front of the queue, endangering potentially thousands of people who would be involved in the final 90 odd games because there will be a 'financial black hole'? No, it's not. Everybody is fucked right now, are we pushing HMV to open their stores as they'll be in complete meltdown after this? No because it's not safe enough yet, without a safe exit strategy.

The UFC have planned an event called 'fight island' where they are bringing fighters onto an island like they did in bruce lee's Enter the Dragon. They are testing fighters on arrival to see if they have covid and that takes 24hrs for the results to comeback, but they are also doing anti-body blood tests where the results are instant. I assume they are telling every fighter to self-isolate on arrival, but this is absolutely mental to me. Imagine one small outbreak on an island, how quick it would spread like it did on cruise ships. I get people want to see fights, but it's just not worth the risk for the reward and that's the same with football.

Will clubs go bust? probably. Will people lose their jobs? Most def. But how's that different to the rest of the country? It's not.

 

[Churchlawtonblue]

Look, i myself would love to watch a game of live footy right now, fucking brilliant. But is it the right thing to do to push it to the front of the queue, endangering potentially thousands of people who would be involved in the final 90 odd games because there will be a 'financial black hole'? No, it's not. Everybody is fucked right now, are we pushing HMV to open their stores as they'll be in complete meltdown after this? No because it's not safe enough yet, without a safe exit strategy.

The UFC have planned an event called 'fight island' where they are bringing fighters onto an island like they did in bruce lee's Enter the Dragon. They are testing fighters on arrival to see if they have covid and that takes 24hrs for the results to comeback, but they are also doing anti-body blood tests where the results are instant. I assume they are telling every fighter to self-isolate on arrival, but this is absolutely mental to me. Imagine one small outbreak on an island, how quick it would spread like it did on cruise ships. I get people want to see fights, but it's just not worth the risk for the reward and that's the same with football.

Will clubs go bust? probably. Will people lose their jobs? Most def. But how's that different to the rest of the country? It's not.

Precisely! no bail out for millions of people or businesses but the rules are being bent to accommodate the richest sport in the land.