The Dutch league has done the right thing. Football is unimportant with everything going on and trying to squeeze this season in messes up the next one, then the next one etc.

Null and void.

I have no problem ending the season now, and giving the title to Liverpool, with a HUGE ASTERISK next to their name.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52439018

So some clubs have started training in small numbers and a meeting is planned for later this week about how to restart this season. Could be irrelevant as the Government could extend the lockdown beyond 7 May.

Much has already been said about playing games behind closed doors and the risks that will entail but the thought occurred to me this morning: victory parades for titles and promotions will not go ahead as the Government does not want mass gatherings but there is a strong possibility that fans will turn up a stadium to mark the event and that will cause problems e.g. taking police and ambulance crews away from more important tasks. Another reason to scrap this season.

 

11 minutes ago, Boyne said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52439018

So some clubs have started training in small numbers and a meeting is planned for later this week about how to restart this season. Could be irrelevant as the Government could extend the lockdown beyond 7 May.

Much has already been said about playing games behind closed doors and the risks that will entail but the thought occurred to me this morning: victory parades for titles and promotions will not go ahead as the Government does not want mass gatherings but there is a strong possibility that fans will turn up a stadium to mark the event and that will cause problems e.g. taking police and ambulance crews away from more important tasks. Another reason to scrap this season.

 

Surely all players/officials/staff would need to be tested first, and even that would have to be after all the care homes have had everyone tested. Or maybe i'm getting it wrong and the government actually dont mind this huge death toll in our care homes, Boris and his government have probably all been tested, where as my Mrs and every other care worker and resident in her care home have not been tested. Selfish f**king bastards the lot of them, Johnson's infection being described as a near death experience by some on the TV. I say put him in a care home and let him taste real fear of death.

17 minutes ago, coco said:

Surely all players/officials/staff would need to be tested first, and even that would have to be after all the care homes have had everyone tested. Or maybe i'm getting it wrong and the government actually dont mind this huge death toll in our care homes, Boris and his government have probably all been tested, where as my Mrs and every other care worker and resident in her care home have not been tested. Selfish f**king bastards the lot of them, Johnson's infection being described as a near death experience by some on the TV. I say put him in a care home and let him taste real fear of death.

Yes, players etc will have to be tested and absolutely no way should they be tested before those in the medical and care professions and other key services. There are goodness knows how many key workers struggling to be tested. 

I  wish the football authorities had the balls to say that this season should be scrapped and tell the broadcasters, sponsors, shirt suppliers, agents etc to f**k off. But to quote a line from a Bob Dylan song: money doesn't talk, it swears. If football is allowed to play behind closed doors other sports will ask for events to be played without fans and putting even more strain on the police and medical professions.

I saw a report that said there would need to be around 500 people per game involved to make it work, thats 500 x 10 games per round for the premiership alone. So there will need to be at least 5000 tests done, plus the risk of injured players needing medical help/hospitalisation etc. It just isn't possible without having an impact on the hospitals.

48 minutes ago, dkw said:

I saw a report that said there would need to be around 500 people per game involved to make it work, thats 500 x 10 games per round for the premiership alone. So there will need to be at least 5000 tests done, plus the risk of injured players needing medical help/hospitalisation etc. It just isn't possible without having an impact on the hospitals.

Bloody hell, that's a lot of people but guess with coaches, stewards, broadcasters, medical staff etc it makes sense. If all four top divisions need 500 people at each game that's 46x500 i.e. 23,000 people. Although it may not be 23,000 if games are staggered but still a lot. If you include other sports i.e. football, rugby (both codes) and cricket etc we could be approaching 100,000 people at events. An incredible and unnecessary strain on services.

I despair of footballing authorities sometimes. Living in cloud cuckoo land.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52456304

European leagues have until 25 May to tell Uefa whether they want to complete or cancel their seasons.

Football is suspended in all European countries apart from Belarus because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Premier League has this week stepped up its plans to resume the season in what has been labelled 'Project Restart'.

Arsenal, Tottenham, Brighton and West Ham have opened their training grounds to players for individual work.

The Premier League league is hopeful of a potential 8 June restart and finishing at the end of July to fit in with Uefa's European competition plans. This would require full training to begin by 18 May.

Top-flight clubs will meet on Friday to discuss options for the restart.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said he had been in contact with clubs about restarting the Premier League "as soon as possible".

Professional Footballers' Association deputy chief executive Bobby Barnes said: "We have been assured of the intentions of all that there would be no resumption unless guarantees of safety could be given to the players.

"The overriding principle for all parties is the health and safety of all participants on and off the field, and of course the wider public."

The deadline set by Uefa is referred to in a set of guidelines on 'eligibility principles' for European competitions that the governing body's president and general secretary have sent out to football bodies.

"Given the unforeseen and unprecedented situation [...] national associations and leagues are facing a situation whereby the completion of their domestic competitions may be at risk," they write.

Stakeholders are told they "should be in a position to communicate to Uefa by 25 May the planned restart of their domestic competitions, including the date of restart and the relevant competition format".

It adds: "In the event that a domestic competition is to be prematurely terminated for legitimate reasons […] Uefa would require the national association to explain by 25 May."

Uefa is understood to have set the date because of its next executive committee meeting two days later, when decisions on the restarting of the Champions League and Europa League may be reached. It is viewed as flexible guidance, rather than a rigid deadline.

Last week, after a video call meeting of all 55 national associations, Uefa made clear it wants on-field performance to determine which clubs make up next season's European club competitions, despite the current shutdown.

Uefa urged clubs to "explore all possible options" to finish their seasons.

It accepted that in "special cases" some could be cancelled, but asked authorities to use "a different format" if needed in order for teams to qualify for European competitions.

If league seasons cannot be finished, it said national associations would need to select clubs to qualify for Europe.

Uefa said it could "refuse or evaluate" selected teams if necessary.

LIGUE 1 has been forced to CANCEL the 2019/20 campaign due to the coronavirus pandemic.

French football bosses will reportedly meet in May to determine whether to enact promotion and relegation as well as which teams can qualify for next season's European competitions.

Well thats the first big league gone, the rest will all follow suit now I expect.

28 minutes ago, dkw said:

LIGUE 1 has been forced to CANCEL the 2019/20 campaign due to the coronavirus pandemic.

French football bosses will reportedly meet in May to determine whether to enact promotion and relegation as well as which teams can qualify for next season's European competitions.

Well thats the first big league gone, the rest will all follow suit now I expect.

PSG are officially champions as well I believe.

1 minute ago, Gol15 said:

PSG are officially champions as well I believe.

Doesnt sound like any decisions have been made yet:-

 

The league’s governing body, the Ligue de Football Professionnel, is expected to meet next month to discuss how to end the season and resolve issues such as Champions League qualification, promotion and relegation.

4 minutes ago, dkw said:

Doesnt sound like any decisions have been made yet:-

 

The league’s governing body, the Ligue de Football Professionnel, is expected to meet next month to discuss how to end the season and resolve issues such as Champions League qualification, promotion and relegation.

PSG champions was decided in September

The Guardian had an article the other day warning clubs not to make a decision on restarting the season because of pressure from sponsors.

This is an opportunity now for our clubs to take back control of our game from sponsors. If it means less money for clubs and ultimately players, then so be it. 

Don't think it's gonna happen, and if we try to restart this season it would be a shameful decision based on greed.

FIFA's chief doctor has now joined the debate about whether or not to restart the season. He has warned against restarting it.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52462233

1 hour ago, Boyne said:

FIFA's chief doctor has now joined the debate about whether or not to restart the season. He has warned against restarting it.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52462233

Reality is starting to kick in. Whilst social distancing is required, football can't take place safely. Imagine the fallout it just one player/ staff member/ referee etc contacted the disease and lost their life because of re-starting the season. 

Just seen this title 'Project Restart' who the f**k thought that up?, once again football authorities completely out of touch, there we were doing a minute's silence for all the health care workers who have died doing their job and keeping us safe, and many more will sadly pass, and football is thinking up stupid names to re start the season again. Can they not understand football fans aren't interested or have the stomach yet, let us concentrate on keeping loved ones safe and other people, and see if we have jobs still in the coming weeks, football can start a fresh at the appropriate time, hopefully in August/September all being well.

4 hours ago, charierre said:

Reality is starting to kick in. Whilst social distancing is required, football can't take place safely. Imagine the fallout it just one player/ staff member/ referee etc contacted the disease and lost their life because of re-starting the season. 

Some people would have "the show must go on" mentality, they would tell all the puppets to do a 1 min silence and move on...the world is a bit of a sad place.

This sort of evidence could impact whether sports can return. Training facilities, dressing rooms etc all a risk.

https://eu.detroitnews.com/story/life/wellness/2020/04/27/coronavirus-airborne-particles-aerosols-research/111629814/

Watching from afar it seems interesting that there are such different approachs in countries who seem to be in similar situations around the virus.

Germany are getting going again. Spain are keen to do the same but France and Netherlands have cancelled. 

What is different across countries other than risk tolerance?

7 hours ago, Spiller86 said:

Watching from afar it seems interesting that there are such different approachs in countries who seem to be in similar situations around the virus.

Germany are getting going again. Spain are keen to do the same but France and Netherlands have cancelled. 

What is different across countries other than risk tolerance?

Not sure, but there is a correlation with the value of those leagues. German and Spanish leagues are worth more than the French and Dutch. I'd hate to ever suggest that football puts money before health but...  there's a pattern emerging.

I'll be amazed if any european leagues get back underway and actually finish though. Given that the Germans lifted their lockdown restrictions and cases rocketed again, seems like that'll put a bit of caution into anyone else thinking about it.

7 hours ago, Spiller86 said:

Watching from afar it seems interesting that there are such different approachs in countries who seem to be in similar situations around the virus.

Germany are getting going again. Spain are keen to do the same but France and Netherlands have cancelled. 

What is different across countries other than risk tolerance?

Money.

23 hours ago, The Rising Sun said:

The Guardian had an article the other day warning clubs not to make a decision on restarting the season because of pressure from sponsors.

This is an opportunity now for our clubs to take back control of our game from sponsors. If it means less money for clubs and ultimately players, then so be it. 

Don't think it's gonna happen, and if we try to restart this season it would be a shameful decision based on greed.

Owners that have monetized every aspect of their club (Glazers) will be more inclined to listen to their myriad sponsors than others I suppose. Ours is worth something in the region of £600 million (including broadcast and match day income) but the debt is roughly £500 million. The FT reported that our value dropped by 22% with some reported gains thereafter. Adidas will cut back if we don't get a CL and Chevrolet are gone in 2022. Share prices could plummet leaving the club open to another takeover, or maybe the debt will be significantly increased to keep the club operating at where we are. I don't know and people far cleverer than I about financial matters and sport have floated this as a possibility. I'd like to think we supporters could come out of this with a degree of control, but I have my doubts.

 

 

 

9 minutes ago, Stretford Ender said:

Owners that have monetized every aspect of their club (Glazers) will be more inclined to listen to their myriad sponsors than others I suppose. Ours is worth something in the region of £600 million (including broadcast and match day income) but the debt is roughly £500 million. The FT reported that our value dropped by 22% with some reported gains thereafter. Adidas will cut back if we don't get a CL and Chevrolet are gone in 2022. Share prices could plummet leaving the club open to another takeover, or maybe the debt will be significantly increased to keep the club operating at where we are. I don't know and people far cleverer than I about financial matters and sport have floated this as a possibility. I'd like to think we supporters could come out of this with a degree of control, but I have my doubts.

 

 

 

I've never understood hos you can buy a debt free club then force it to pay interest on the loans you've taken out in order to buy the club.

I might buy the house next door and force the householders to pay the interest on the loans I've taken out, and saddle them with my debt. 

 

 

 

The website below quotes the Daily Mail but other papers have also announced that Premier League clubs face a loss of £177 million through lost ticket sales. I guess that the bulk of that is down to ST refunds. @Stretford Enderthe article states that Man United makes a £100 million on match day. Do you think that is an accurate figure for your club? Cheers.

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/season-ticket-holders-set-refund-18086951

 

 

38 minutes ago, Boyne said:

The website below quotes the Daily Mail but other papers have also announced that Premier League clubs face a loss of £177 million through lost ticket sales. I guess that the bulk of that is down to ST refunds. @Stretford Enderthe article states that Man United makes a £100 million on match day. Do you think that is an accurate figure for your club? Cheers.

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/season-ticket-holders-set-refund-18086951

 

 

Inaccurate. Matchday revenue amount to £111 per season, not per match. The club breaks it down between sponsorship money, broadcasting money, and matchday revenues over a season. https://ir.manutd.com/company-information/business-model.aspx