[Albion] Paul Barber Opposes PL Restart Plan

[AmexGold]

Let’s face it, as a club it’s in our favour to have this season voided and dodge a strong chance of relegation. Mr Barber knows that as much as anyone. It might be gamesmanship, but so it goes...

As for being shocked that the PL want to finish this season for the money... Well, without money there’s no pro football. They’re not doing it for fun.

They could certainly arrange a Corona-free, behind closed doors conclusion, but football with no crowds is bloody awful. When it comes to the match-day crowd or the viewers at home, the PL always pander to the latter as that’s where the money is. The irony is that football without TV cameras still feels like football, whereas football without a crowd doesn’t.

Exactly. The only reason Barber is opening his trap. I don’t blame him or Brady or Howe, but please don’t dress it up as an altruistic act.

 

[Sorrel]

The sensible thing to do is to just cancel this season, leave every team in the league they are currently in, and instead concentrate on working out what they can do to try to try and salvage something of next season.

 

[The Lemming Stomper]

It's utterly farcical.

What if it was to actually go ahead and a player gets a serious case of it/viral load and is hospitalised to an ICU? What happens to him when or if he recovers from pneumonia to his lungs and the ability to play at that level in the future? A top player who cost close to £100m when he was bought.

I'd love to be his lawyer, because I'd retiring after that court case.

Everyone involved is being tested beforehand? Where/who are they catching it from ?

 

[The Wizard]

Exactly. The only reason Barber is opening his trap. I don’t blame him or Brady or Howe, but please don’t dress it up as an altruistic act.

No it isn’t. Don’t you see how ridiculous it is? I couldn’t care less about football tbh, do I want to watch football on TV right now with no fans? Nope not really there’s far bigger problems going on and the pure logistics behind this whole idea are so mind numbingly bad and ill thought through it’s difficult to fathom.

ONE player from what 1000+ PL squad players/staff ect gets the virus and that’s it, testing isn’t an answer because research has said you can be asymptomatic and test negative early on in the virus, so essentially one player at any team gets it, that team can’t play and then you have a massive farce on your hands.

 

[WATFORD zero]

It’s dumb, one person gets it at any team and spreads it to the some of the rest of the team and you’ve got a total shambles. It’s utter nonsense, it should not even be being discussed to restart until the virus is well under control. It’s farcical, when I read the article about players training and playing in masks I genuinely thought it was April fools.

There’s only one thing driving the PL bosses and we all know what that is.

20 squads of 25 players plus support staff. I reckon they would have to test North of 700 - 800 people, (daily?) and the moment one tests positive, it's all off again.

Farcical

 

[Seasider78]

...........meanwhile up the road


https://apple.news/A9YmPuow3T-qt5Cxf__kC3Q

 

[RossyG]

It could be done. Every team has a sealed off hotel. Team, staff, coach drivers and hotel staff aren’t allowed outside contact. Squad train and are ferried to the grounds for the games.

It’s doable. And if a staff member sneaks out and back in, then the chances of them bringing back the virus are small anyway. But make it worth their while. Every chef or cleaner gets £10k for one months work, but break quarantine and return and you get nothing and are sued.

Whether all this is desirable for a string of soulless games is another matter

 

[nickbrighton]

There is only one fair way to finish the season, and that is to wait until we can all go back to normal and attend games as before. Anything else will give either an advantage or disadvantage to someone. There will always be a "what if" train of thought. Titles and Promotion spots will be tainted, even Liverpools title which everyone knows is theirs, rightly earned . Given that the next two years entire sporting calendar is FUBAR why not just come out and say that we will finish this season when its safe and appropriate. After which we will have a short break to allow for the admin and logistics required to prepare for the next. We will then spend two years to get the whole thing back on track. It will probably mean binning the League Cup,and if necessary the FA Cup in order to resolve fixture congestion. This process can be applied right down the pyramid . Realistically that will mean a restart at the earliest towards the end of the year, but at least everyone will know what is happening, there will be no adding to the pressure on the emergency services, and those stadia that are being used in various capacities for the COVID outbreak can continue until no longer required. (some are being used as staging posts, others for testing centres, others providing other services I believe.

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

No it isn’t. Don’t you see how ridiculous it is? I couldn’t care less about football tbh, do I want to watch football on TV right now with no fans? Nope not really there’s far bigger problems going on and the pure logistics behind this whole idea are so mind numbingly bad and ill thought through it’s difficult to fathom.

ONE player from what 1000+ PL squad players/staff ect gets the virus and that’s it, testing isn’t an answer because research has said you can be asymptomatic and test negative early on in the virus, so essentially one player at any team gets it, that team can’t play and then you have a massive farce on your hands.

Agree but Wizard I’ve pulled you up on this before it’s etc not ect.

 

[RossyG]

Given that the next two years entire sporting calendar is FUBAR...

I’d say that was far from given.

 

[GT49er]

Don't misquote Barber and misrepresent the Albion. BHA have always stated that they wanted to finish the season. Barber has highlighted that given we have 5 home games from 9, we would be unfairly penalised by playing all our remaining games away from home and that would affect the remaining integrity accordingly.

This. Barber has come out against neutral venues, but sadly he's gone on to make it very clear that he wants the season to be completed. I'm usually pro-Barber, but not on this.

 

[GT49er]

It’s doable. And if a staff member [or a Grealish - sorry, player] sneaks out and back in, then the chances of them bringing back the virus are small anyway. But make it worth their while. Every chef or cleaner gets £10k for one months work, but break quarantine and return and you get nothing and are sued.

And that is exactly why it isn't doable!

 

[GT49er]

To keep clubs afloat money needs to be made. It's the same argument re lockdown, health risk from covid vs the economy.

So I'm now in favour that all the professional leagues Prem to Div 2 somehow complete/renegotiate tv deals/pass money through the leagues to keep these clubs afloat. I don't really care about the integrity of this one season, in the bigger picture. Do a bodge that keeps football for all those fans for future seasons. Imo.

So the PL will want to get the season finished so they (and the EFL teams) so they can pass the money down the football pyramid? Yeh, right!

Besides, what money? Most of the 92 clubs (and virtually all 72 EFL clubs) would actually lose even more money putting on and playing games behind closed doors.

 

[Psychobilly freakout]

It could be done. Every team has a sealed off hotel. Team, staff, coach drivers and hotel staff aren’t allowed outside contact. Squad train and are ferried to the grounds for the games.

If I was a player, I would feel like a performing monkey and that my health and safety were secondary to the money involved in trying to finish the league. Fact is probably only a handful of clubs want to finish the season, and all of those clubs have a possibility of promotion or wining a title, which ultimately boils down to £££££££££

Do the right thing and void the season, the same outcome then applies to everyone, no one has preferential treatment.

Safety is paramount surely.

I can’t see next season starting in August, and forget about international travel and the Champions poxy league.

 

[ManOfSussex]

Everyone involved is being tested beforehand? Where/who are they catching it from ?

Why are masks being suggested as being worn when they go onto the pitch then?

Are they being tested right before they go on the pitch, or a day before, a week before, 2 weeks before? You can be asymptomatic and test negative early on, can't you? If I'm a manager, when do I pick my team? When will I know for sure who is available?

It's a farce.

 

[nickbrighton]

I’d say that was far from given.

well next years are already changed with the Olympics and Euros already moved from this to next, which will have major consequences for any events planned for next summer and autumn, that in itself will cause knock on throughout sports as training schedules and other competitions will have to be moved to accommodate them. Even if this miraculously all goes away by June (which it aint) next years calendar is completely changed. Large scale sporting events will be one of the last things to get back to normal, and with the Commonwealth Games coming in 2022 its not too much of a stretch to see that any "second peak" causing a reintroduction of restrictions will have organisers getting extremely nervous about that. I really cant see things getting back to the normal schedule till late 2022 at the earliest

 

[The Wizard]

Another problem, if Liverpool inevitably are awarded/win the league, how do you stop the numbskulls mobbing the streets of Liverpool? Don’t get me wrong I personally think Liverpool deserve the title but it’s a major issue that will concern the government, probably not the PL bosses though

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

Yeah, it is not like there is a deadly virus with a highly infectious transmission rate that has killed tens of thousands of our people. I am sure the clubs and players, not to mention all the extra workers involved, are all thinking about self interest.

Well fine, yeah, agree with you. In which case I'm pretty annoyed at Barber and our board for stating that they want to finish the season

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

Brings back the age old argument of wage caps which I would take even further.

The bank (not top 4) I work for hasn’t furloughed anybody based on the vast amount of capital we must hold not only to protect repayment of deposits (FSCS) but also the business operation (good for a lot least 3-4 years of the darkest times)

I don’t see why a business with such a high cost wage ratio shouldn’t be required to hold additional capital to maintain their BAU operation for 12-24 months.

No doubt some clubs will come up stuck during these times but previously haven’t played on a level playing field.

The argument simply as that’s football, doesn’t wash.

Edit:

To also add, who’s to say this capital is held and it’s sufficient, however why aren’t we hearing about it?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[essbee1]

Everyone involved is being tested beforehand? Where/who are they catching it from ?

Perhaps you should ask staff at FC Koln the same question. It could and has happened.