Football & Covid-19

Coronavirus, Covid-19

These are frightening times indeed for the whole World.  We have a virus that does not care where you live, who you are, your race, your religion, whether you are rich or poor nor if you are a man or a women.  It also does not care what football team you support.

The situation we find ourselves in as a World is unprecedented in our live time.  I think we all realise this is not going to just go away and the decisions taken by the Premier League and the EFL were the right decisions.  

Will the season re-start again at the beginning of April?  No.

We all realise that Covid-19 will change all of our lives in someway forever but we also know that humanity will come through the other side at some point and life will to some degree revert back.  

The question then is what will the Premier League and the EFL decide to do when it comes to ending the 2019/2020 campaigns?

The options.....

1. Extend the season
2. Void the season
3. End the season as it stands

Lets look at those options and what that could mean.  Also we will put our view on how we think this will play out.

Extend the season

• Could it be completed before the beginning of next season? (August 2020)
• What about loans and player contracts?  These tend to end in June.  What would happen to these if the extended season was not finished before the end of June?
• What about EURO 2020?
• Could next season start at a later date?
  
  

Void the season

• This would mean all teams remain in the league they started and begin next season back on zero.
• Winners here would include teams like Norwich and Bolton.  Losers would for sure include Liverpool, Leicester, Leeds, Coventry.
  
  

End the season as it stands

• A happy Liverpool, Chelsea, Leicester, Leeds, West Brom etc
• What about play offs?
• What about legal challenges?  Clubs like Bournemouth might have something to say to challenge this decision.

What we have not covered with the above is what happens to the cup competitions?  If the season ends, do they end?  If the season is voided are they voided? If the season ends where it stands....what about the cup?

We believe that the only viable option is to extend the season and delay the start of next season.  We also feel that this is the fairest solution for all clubs, whether you are fighting relegation or over 20 pts ahead in the Premier League.  We do not see how the extended season would finish before August 2020.  We believe the extended season will end September 2020 and the new season will start November 2020.  The issue will be reaching a sensible solution on player contract extensions, player loan extensions etc.

For the above to work EURO 2020 would have to fall.  We are all in uncharted territory and none of us really know what tomorrow may bring let alone how the 2019/2020 football season will end.