Ways To End The Season Fairly

While these measures are in place it wouldn’t be viable to have games behind closed doors, you cannot have a situation where high profile sports stars are not maintaining a distance of 2 metres from each other.

And as somebody else has said, would they risk putting on these camps when if one member of any club got corona the whole thing would have to be cancelled?

I would imagine a lot of the players feel a lot like we do, given the circumstances general enthusiasm for finishing the season must be quite low. Certainly for clubs like us fighting relegation, after such a long lay off and with any restart of the season going into the summer, it’s going to be very hard for a lot of players to mentally switch back on again. For the top players there are now no Euros to aim for either.

It should be written off, it’s done with. We need a fresh start whenever that might be possible again next season.

 

I still think starting next season with all teams in the same divisions and league positions as they are now with the points and GD that they have now from this season, then playing out the season as normal from that point is the fairest solution.

Any teams that have games in hand this season, would play those matches during next season to catch up probably as midweek games as they would have had they been able to play them this season.

The only slight drawback to this could be that some teams may gain an advantage by having already played weaker teams this season and not the stronger teams. However, there is no real way around this so it would have to be accepted as a swings and roundabouts situation.

I really think this could work and is possibly the fairest way for all concerned.

 

Do you really think the Premier League would countenance the new season starting with one team streets ahead of anyone else?

 

Of course the team that would benefit from a neutral venue end to the season would be West Ham - they wouldn’t have to play their remaining home games in the poisonous atmosphere of the ‘London’ Stadium.

 

Yes why not? As the points have been fairly earned and it has to be fairer than just cancelling this season completely along with it all the points that teams have earned fair and square.

The only other fair way would be to finish this seasons fixtures as soon as is possible and before we start next season. Then for next season to start late and continue as long as is needed to complete it.

 

I think it’s one of those ideas that sounds clever but is actually terrible. Why would you want to start a season with teams miles ahead and teams miles behind? This season is already ruined, why mess up the next season if it can be avoided?

 

I don't get the logic that says lets voluntarily wreck next season too.

 

I see the non league clubs are getting their mps involved.

What will it take for football clubs to realise no one other than the pundits really cares at the current time? The death of a manager or player?

 

No no, it sounds terrible too.

 

Yeah actually you’re right. Let’s take us as an example. We’ve had a bad season, but in theory we’re only 9 games away from the end of it and a clean slate. So why should we be punished for one bad season for another 38 games? We’d have to start a 38 games season 12 points behind Burnley and Palace. Norwich have clearly struggled all season, I know what will be fun, let’s give them another 38 games but this time with a huge points disadvantage, that will work well.

Once a season ends a team can change their manager, their players, their motivation can change, their fitness, their tactics. This can be for better or worse, but a previous season should have absolutely no bearing on how they start the next. Leicester went from the great escape to winning the league. Two separate seasons for good reason.

 

Wonder if Fitz Hall is fit again yet ?

 

I think football has reared it’s ugly head.

There’s literally thousands of people dying, seriously ill and isolated from anyone else for the next 3 months minimum yet all some people care about is finishing off 9 games of football at all costs. It’s so irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.

Everyone should be focussed on helping others.

 

Afternoon all, thought I’d pop back on, needed some football(ish) chat with my fellow Hornet fans. Hope everyone is safe and well.

2 things

Firstly, clubs are starting to announce cost cutting measures, Barcelona doing it the correct way in my opinion- players taking a 75% pay cut during these times and making sure all non playing staff get their pay. Other clubs hitting the non playing staff first - Newcastle and Spurs the first 2 I’ve read about. If you were a premier league player on premier league money, how the hell could you sit there and know those people were now going to have financial difficulties?

Second thing, the subject of this thread. I think they should plan now amongst all the leagues to get this season finished by Christmas. Then the next season is you just play each team once. TV companies can show twice the amount of games per week to get their quota. Seems fair to me. Players contracts can be extended until Christmas if they wish, but if they choose not to, they can’t play for their new team until the new season. Not many would do that.

Means promotions and relegations done fairly this season and everyone in the same boat next season. There are minor issues to this, such as 19 games equals 10 home 9 away or vice versa. But wouldn’t take much to sort that out somehow. Could have 1 game each at a neutral venue. Wembley maybe.

 

I think this is a good solution, but even with the idea of one game at Wembley the season would still be unbalanced because everybody would not be playing the same selection of teams at home and away. So I would not have any promotion or relegation.

An alternative would be to have a variation of what happened in 1946 when there was no league football but just the FA Cup. You could have large, perhaps regionalised, qualifying groups - 10 teams would provide 18 games - with the qualifiers going into a knockout phase in the spring, say last 16 onwards.

 

I think some of these proposed ideas and solutions are too elaborate. The best thing to do will be to void the season immediately without further procrastination. Not only will this be good for Watford, it will be also be good for humanity.

 

I agree, but I think the football authorities will bumble along in denial discussing hypothetical notions to finish the season, until the decision is taken out of their hands. Give everyone time to get past this, and hope teams can resume a reasonable pre-season.

 

Yep. The public need to have hope that we'll come out the other side of this. To end the season now would be counterproductive to that. Give it til near the end of the month when things are hopefully looking brighter and the PL can bin off the season with a little protest from Liverpool and Leeds fans only.

I would imagine the decision is already made and it's a case of soft landing it to the public. They've started with the lower leagues and their slowly making their way up.

 

So they get a *** instead, not all bad then!

 

I see football is on the news and PL clubs are being slapped around for how they are behaving.

I think football is now in a no win situation , best bet for clubs now is to essentially: close down, accept that football is not important, vote to end the season in whatever way causes the least disruption , pay their none football playing staff and not be drain on society, offer their facilities to the NHS and then keep their heads down until it’s all over

However rather than do the above, the PL could follow that bastion of business acumen that is Mike Ashley and stumble from one PR disaster to another

 

You have to finish this season, whenever we are able to. Next season will then have to be shorter depending on how much time we have left. different ways of doing this, i'm sure all the teams could agree on one way before the season starts

 

Why do we have to finish this season?

The only reason I can see is for ‘sporting integrity’ reasons. But if doing that impacts on next season, then your just moving the issue of ‘sporting integrity’ from season to season.

As many have said, I suspect the scale of this when it’s all over will mean that voiding a football season will seem very very insignificant. If clubs start launching legal cases, I suspect it will be seen to be extremely tasteless.

Void the season and move the focus to keeping all teams afloat. Should be as simple as that.

 

If you define the season as originally conceived. A completion playing all other teams in the league at your home and their away stadiums to a predefined schedule of matches, over a ten month period. Accepting all the positives and negatives over that time period of form, injury, health, weather, changes to squad ages, etc.

For me if the season is to be completed, then the only acceptable variable is the time frame. From ten months to say 14 months. There are basically ten rounds of games to go. Played over say ten weeks. If the season started at the end of June that takes you to mid September. For me though that must be based on playing games in front of crowds at club stadiums.

At the conclusion of the season, there would be play offs to complete in the Football League. That takes you to early October. A two month pre season. Start a new season in January 2021 (or Christmas if you like).

To me you have to separate out the two issues. Which are, how to fairly complete the Current season and when to start next season. If completing this season is the priority, then you have to do it as fairly as possible, even if it means a substatntial change to the schedule to start the next season.

if you want to start next season at the end of summer 2020, then you have no choice but to now null and void this season. With huge events across the late spring and summer cancelled. From iconic sporting competitions like Wimbledon and cultural events like the Edinburgh festival. Can anyone see football restarting before September?
If you can realistically play football matches behind closed doors you could run a tennis tournament under those conditions too. But no other sport is considering it (as far as I know).

 

Have a 5 a side tournament at lilleshall. Could fit it into one weekend. Sky and bt broadcast all matches.

Foster, Mariappa, Doucoure, Capoue, Deeney.

 

Probably because it football is the only real sport that could cause riots on the streets because of its cancellation. Let's be honest, no-one really cares about athletics, rugby or tennis. They are fun to watch and all but you wouldn't really miss them. Football is this country's national sport - it raises billions for the economy and is, in a lot of people's cases, the only thing people live for week to week.

Cancelling it mid-season has to be done at the right time. That time is soon but not while there's no light at the end of the tunnel.

The season feels like it's over. I can't see all of the teams agreeing to some tournament style situation behind closed doors at massive stadiums. Whilst league football in the summer sun would be lovely and of huge benefit to us, with our mercenary 'hate the cold' heavy squad, it just doesn't feel like it would happen.

 

Void the season and televise more games next season to compensate the TV companies. Play a Premier game on a Friday night AND a Monday night each week plus games on Saturday and Sunday evenings to make up this season's shortfall of televised matches.

 

Strikers would still manage to get in behind Mariappa, even on a 5-a-side pitch.

 

It's 9 games for each club. Nearly a quarter of the season, so it's quite a chunk of the season not played out if it's void.

What I would say to the TV companies is, you need our product just as much as we need your money. The two go hand-in-hand. I don't see an issue, similar to what you're suggesting, to offer more games to TV companies for no extra money, or to reduce fees over the next couple of seasons, just so they can recoup lost revenue.

After coronavirus is over, and it will be over, there will be a boom in attendance and TV viewing. People have been starved of what they like doing, so it's inevitable, certainly initially, to be a bigger than normal appetite for games. People will want to rejoice in things being "normal" again, and Sky, Amazon, BT Sport can all benefit from that.

I think some sensible common ground can be reached, even if this season is cancelled. The Premier League, EFL and TV companies all need each other, so it's in nobodies interest to start suing if the season is voided.

 

The slapping around is really about 3 EPL clubs using tax payers money to furlough their non playing staff rather than paying them 80% wages themselves.
Tottenham and Mr Levy in particular singled out.
And highlighting EPL players high wages and not voluntarily taking pay cuts which could help clubs pay their non playing staff.
Not good PR

 

Maybe just me, but wouldn't it be a good time for the PL to be letting the TV companies know that their is plenty of interest elsewhere in picking up broadcast rights. Amazon, Netflix, Facebook - all these have been interested before. Moreover, it was mentioned only a few months ago that the PL were looking at doing their own thing, similar to what the NFL do in America and have their own streaming platform solely for football.

I think if Sky, BT and overseas broadcasters got a sense that the PL would walk away from them, then they'd maybe think twice about pursuing losses from this season.

 

So we are going to start mucking about with next season as well then. Less games will mean less TV money. There is absolutely no need currently to do anything with next season. This season for me should be voided. There is no way we are going to be in a position to play the last 9 games by the end of June without making it a complete farce. 3 games a week, players getting injured because they're not match fit, probably played behind closed doors and then how many people are involved on match day? Players, coaches, refs, medical staff, kit people. It's just not worth the risk and if you wanted another reason, it will upset Leeds and Liverpool fans.

 

Surely it'd be like a reverse auction though in the current climate? I can't see any of the streaming broadcasters would be looking to outbid traditional tv when they know traditional tv already has the PL in a corner due to Covid-19.

 

All I know is that in 4 months time Boro v Barnsley on TV on a Friday night will be the most anticipated event since the 1996 England V Germany semi final.