haha I meant on tv you scamp if im watching Burnley vs Bournemouth the crowds not doing much for me tbh
I watch games with small/almost no crowds most weeks with womens football, its OK but takes some getting used to.
That said I am in no rush for football to come back. It should be one of the last things to return to normal.
Couple of comments on the things that have come out
- It's clear we'll see a Sheffield United + Tevez amount of aggro from whoever goes down this year. The idea of nulling the season and denying promotion seems mad. The idea of having 23 teams in the league next year sounds even worse. God knows how they think they'll work that with european cups etc. Brighton are setting their stall out already about losing home advantage which just sounds odd
- Thought of playing football in Perth or Iceland or wherever is pretty interesting. If they went soon they could quarantine as groups for weeks in hotels
It's an impossible task isn't it, because the 29 games played already are different for everybody. I was reading one of the struggling teams had 2-3 of the traditional "top 6" at home still to play (might have been Brighton, actually), how do you take at least a fraction of that homefield advantage off the table when the other teams have had a full stadium of fans to cheer the boys on against said teams? Neutral isn't neutral when it's universally accepted that a buoyant homefield advantage increases a team's chances of winning, and 10 teams will play 1 less game at home if the season gets finished compared to the other 10 teams. For me, you have to void the leagues. The logistics of taking players from sitting on the sofa for 3 months and playing a condensed 9 match schedule through the peak of British summertime in front of no fans just doesn't work. Why not wait until August, get the players a pre-season in, none of the contract ambiguity, and stick to that schedule. At a push, come back 3 weeks earlier and promote Leeds and West Brom to make a 22 team league, with Sky and BT getting sorted out with a 3pm game every week considering the lack of fans in the stadiums to sort those contracts out. Give Liverpool the league if they want, they've earned it, though part of me would find it the peak of comedy to rob them of it.
One of the things for me is that the Champions League just can't happen next year. Forget about that, so the current top 4 and deciding that is irrelevant. Just extend the TV contracts by a year and forget about it for a year. Put more league games on in midweek considering it will be a 42 game season. Get rid of the League Cup unless the prize money goes up, as without the live gates they are just completely irrelevant for the lower teams now. 4 relegated, 2 promoted (league winner and a now 8 team playoff format), then hopefully back to normal for 21/22. Forget about fans next year, but all lower league teams should be allowed the infrastructure to stream their games online for a subscription fee - obviously not quite the same financially as the money through the turnstiles, but it would help, and maybe wouldn't be all bad as maybe a part timer would happily pay £10 a month to watch 7-8 games of their local team but would only go and see them live once a season because there's little value for money. Less security, less maintenance, etc. The goal of the next year should be to protecting the long term viability of our football teams, not about who wins what during the period.
I see four PL doctors have raised concerns and apparently asked how they can approve something where there is a legitimate and proven risk of death. Equally how can players be forced to play, there would be justifiable contract disputes if they are forced, nevermind ethical and even human rights issues.
It seems mad that the champions league will be possible this year. If it was me I’d call off all European competition until season 21/22. I’d also call off all domestic seasons for 20/21. Commit to finishing the leagues which have already been started, however long it takes. Realistically in this country it’s not going to be until the end of the year at the earliest but it does seem possible that it could be done ahead of May next year, in time for the Euros. If things are better than expected and that leaves a big space, do a UK tournament or something. Every club at every level. Something different.
None of that is ideal of course, but the idea of playing in another country, quarantining players for months, playing European football this year, all of that just seems mad and dangerous.