So, ‘Project Restart’! Is it realistic? Or does season curtailment grow closer with every passing week?
Probably not is the answer to both those questions.
‘Project Restart’ is certainly laudable of course, but do we really expect Premier League footballers to be back in action a month from now? I certainly don’t!
That’s not for the want of trying. Even as I pen this, a meeting has just concluded updating the pros and cons of the proposal.
The government has published a 50-page guidance document detailing how England will begin to ease lockdown measures.
Yet it still seems too soon for the top flight – which has been suspended since March 13 because of the coronavirus pandemic – to resume in June, with 92 of its 380 fixtures left to play.
Yes, we miss it dreadfully. Anyone who watched the exciting Manchester derby during the last weekend of competitive action will testify to that.
I have even used this break to reminisce about some of my personal favourite memories, which just goes to show how captivating the Premier League is.
But given the risks, a return to action seems just too soon.
The prospect of fans returning to live games remains even more distant so, regardless of when we see Premier League action again, it’s almost certain it will be without spectators.
That is probably the only certainty at a time of high uncertainty.
That and the fact that more than half of the Premier League clubs are unhappy with a suggestion the remaining fixtures be played on neutral grounds.
As far as Premier League news is concerned right now, ‘Project Restart’ is all there is to talk about.
Normally by on or around this stage, the champions would have been crowned; the European places all but decided and we would know which three teams had slipped out of the top flight.
What’s more, there would be great excitement building at the reopening of the transfer window. Not this time.
In 2020 though, the only question in town is how to resume while ensuring the health and safety of players, spectators, officials etc.
By contrast, should the season be declared null and void? A recent BBC poll suggested so.
Later this week, the Premier League will hold talks with the Professional Footballers Association and the League Managers Association after they have digested the medical protocols needed for a return to firstly phased training and then full competition.
The news today that the FA will not entertain the season being vetoed is encouraging for fans generally. FA chairman Greg Clarke told Premier League clubs it will block any attempt to void the campaign or scrap relegation
However, that is no guarantee
He went onto urge club chairmen to draw up a plan for if the season cannot be completed.
The FA has wide-ranging powers as a “special shareholder” as part of the agreement when the Premier League was created, and that includes being able to veto any proposed changes to promotion and relegation.
It surely must be all or nothing. Play the remaining games or call the whole thing off and start again.
Who can decide key issues such as titles, European qualification, relegation spots based on points per game basis?
It’s as farcical as tossing a coin. Something, remarkably, that actually decided a European Cup tie once. Such a system would not take into account injuries, suspensions, the likelihood of some sides having (on paper) more straightforward fixtures than their rivals remaining.
It’s also highly unfair and will almost certainly lead to massive legal challenges which football can do without.
Look at Stoke, at Sunderland, at Charlton, at Bolton – relegation has the potential to ruin
Of course, the longer the absence of football continues, the harder it may be to restart 2019/20.
Yet it if goes on well beyond current expectations, it may again become easier as the chances of a whole 2020/21 season being completed recede and there may be a window to complete 2019/20.
Each club will have its own stance and some compromise will be required.
As seasoned journalist Martin Samuel said earlier this month: ‘It is easy to accuse clubs at the bottom of self-interest but the elite are not promoting completion for purely altruistic reasons’.
He is correct. The option is simple.
We don’t want some fandangled scheme to estimate how many points a club may or may not gain.
We don’t want the awarding of any titles or deciding European places or relegating any sides without the games being concluded.
It must be all or nothing.
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