Football and the Coronavirus

Exactly! I'm starting to like my mini group play-off idea the more I think about it.
  • CL qualification group of Chelsea, Utd, Sheffield Utd and Wolves. They each play each other once with Chelsea starting on 4 points, Utd 2, Sheffield Utd 1 and Wolves 0. Whoever wins the group takes 4th, second takes 5th and so on.
  • Relegation group of West Ham, Watford, Bournemouth and Villa. Villa start with 0 points and the others start with 2.
A deal could be struck with broadcasters to offset at least some of the lost broadcast revenue - there'd be less games shown but hopefully the added drama of these games would counter that at least slightly. It would allow the League to come to a conclusion and minimise any objections from clubs feeling hard done by.

The same approach could be applied to lower Leagues too although they'd still be at major financial risk without all that matchday revenue but ultimately would be better than nothing at all.
 
Purdy said:
That doesn't relegate West Ham so its a terrible idea
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I agree, it was purely for information purposes.

BaZ87 said:
Exactly! I'm starting to like my mini group play-off idea the more I think about it.
  • CL qualification group of Chelsea, Utd, Sheffield Utd and Wolves. They each play each other once with Chelsea starting on 4 points, Utd 2, Sheffield Utd 1 and Wolves 0. Whoever wins the group takes 4th, second takes 5th and so on.
  • Relegation group of West Ham, Watford, Bournemouth and Villa. Villa start with 0 points and the others start with 2.
A deal could be struck with broadcasters to offset at least some of the lost broadcast revenue - there'd be less games shown but hopefully the added drama of these games would counter that at least slightly. It would allow the League to come to a conclusion and minimise any objections from clubs feeling hard done by.

The same approach could be applied to lower Leagues too although they'd still be at major financial risk without all that matchday revenue but ultimately would be better than nothing at all.
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I like the idea, but Villa have played a game less than the others so it would be fairer to have them start on 1 rather than 2.
 
Well there's one thing for certain, Sky Sports channels are going to be a waste of money for the foreseeable future.

Wonder what consumer rights you have if you bought a package to watch football and they are no longer providing that service? If it's one or two games cancelled then they can get away with a line in the T&C's but this is on another level, your are talking many, many millions of pounds being handed over by consumers in return for nothing.
 
BaZ87 said:
Exactly! I'm starting to like my mini group play-off idea the more I think about it.
  • CL qualification group of Chelsea, Utd, Sheffield Utd and Wolves. They each play each other once with Chelsea starting on 4 points, Utd 2, Sheffield Utd 1 and Wolves 0. Whoever wins the group takes 4th, second takes 5th and so on.
  • Relegation group of West Ham, Watford, Bournemouth and Villa. Villa start with 0 points and the others start with 2.
A deal could be struck with broadcasters to offset at least some of the lost broadcast revenue - there'd be less games shown but hopefully the added drama of these games would counter that at least slightly. It would allow the League to come to a conclusion and minimise any objections from clubs feeling hard done by.

The same approach could be applied to lower Leagues too although they'd still be at major financial risk without all that matchday revenue but ultimately would be better than nothing at all.
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That's still not great because Leicesters recent form has been absolutely shocking. They were running the risk of dropping out the top 3 and the main pack has caught them up. Their last 3 games are against Sheff United, Spurs and United. In my opinion you have two options. Finish off the league somehow. Maybe behind closed doors or drop it altogether and start a fresh.
 
TomHark said:
I like the idea, but Villa have played a game less than the others so it would be fairer to have them start on 1 rather than 2.
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Good point re Villa, I didn't notice. They're averaging around 1 point per game so yea, they should start 1 point behind the other sides.
adam cool dude said:
That's still not great because Leicesters recent form has been absolutely shocking. They were running the risk of dropping out the top 3 and the main pack has caught them up. Their last 3 games are against Sheff United, Spurs and United. In my opinion you have two options. Finish off the league somehow. Maybe behind closed doors or drop it altogether and start a fresh.
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It's obviously not ideal but it's a compromise. They're 8 points clear of 5th making it very difficult or worthwhile including them in a little play-off - you'd have to give them a significant head start to include them meaning it's very difficult for them not to qualify and you're just adding more games that might not be possible to fit in.
 
Stumble Bum said:
Thank god they are meeting on thursday so we don't have to keep hearing all these nonsense theories about what will happen.
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I'm not sure what will change at Thursday's meeting. Until they have a clearer idea of if and when we can resume playing then everything will be up in the air. The word coming out of the PL, supposedly even from Spurs despite yesterday's reports that they were in agreement with West Ham re cancelling, is that they want to finish the season some how but we won't know if or when that could happen.
 
BaZ87 said:
I'm not sure what will change at Thursday's meeting. Until they have a clearer idea of if and when we can resume playing then everything will be up in the air. The word coming out of the PL, supposedly even from Spurs despite yesterday's reports that they were in agreement with West Ham re cancelling, is that they want to finish the season some how but we won't know if or when that could happen.
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The point is they can provide clarity on *if* they HAD to cancel the season, what would happen. i.e Liverpool declared champions, 22 team prem, champions league etc. At the moment there are a lot of bitter fans out there making silly calls on what should happen.
 
BaZ87 said:
Exactly! I'm starting to like my mini group play-off idea the more I think about it.
  • CL qualification group of Chelsea, Utd, Sheffield Utd and Wolves. They each play each other once with Chelsea starting on 4 points, Utd 2, Sheffield Utd 1 and Wolves 0. Whoever wins the group takes 4th, second takes 5th and so on.
  • Relegation group of West Ham, Watford, Bournemouth and Villa. Villa start with 0 points and the others start with 2.
A deal could be struck with broadcasters to offset at least some of the lost broadcast revenue - there'd be less games shown but hopefully the added drama of these games would counter that at least slightly. It would allow the League to come to a conclusion and minimise any objections from clubs feeling hard done by.

The same approach could be applied to lower Leagues too although they'd still be at major financial risk without all that matchday revenue but ultimately would be better than nothing at all.
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I would feel a bit hard done by with that tbh. We have a game in hand over wolves and a good win in it would take us above them. If we had all played the same amount of games I’d understand it, but it seems unfair when we haven’t had the same opportunity at gaining points as the others.
 
If they call this season null and void It will go absolutely mental in Leeds. They will either declare independance from the uk or invade the FA/EFL.
 
Brighton's CEO on Football Focus just now has discussed some of the issues and possibilities:
  • Intention is to finish the League.
  • If they can't finish the League, it would be incredibly unjust for Liverpool not to be crowned champions.
  • Would also be unjust to relegate sides without completing the season.
  • My play-off idea was an option but he didn't seem to suggest it was likely.
  • One idea he did seem to talk up was the possibility of a 22 team League with no relegations and 2 sides being promoted but didn't know how European spots would be decided.
Tranmere's CEO also interviewed. Tranmere themselves are in a position to ride out this storm but numerous other Football League clubs live hand to mouth and this could be a killer for them.
robfosters said:
I would feel a bit hard done by with that tbh. We have a game in hand over wolves and a good win in it would take us above them. If we had all played the same amount of games I’d understand it, but it seems unfair when we haven’t had the same opportunity at gaining points as the others.
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You can't assume you'd win that game though, especially as it's away to City. You're averaging less than 1.5 points per game so even adjusting things to factor in your game in hand you'd be 1.5 points behind Wolves, who are 5 points behind Chelsea. You cannot please everybody entirely but you have to look at those most directly effected and try to be as fair as possible. Anyway see above.
 
Average points or a mini playoff don't really take into account individual run-ins, this is the biggest differentiator in fairness for me. Looking at the race for top 4, some teams have already played teams fighting for those positions, others haven't.

Chelsea still have to play all of Leicester, Wolves and Sheffield United
Sheffield United still have to play Spurs, Wolves, Chelsea and Leicester
Leicester have to play Arsenal, Sheffield United, Spurs and Manchester United
Wolves have to play Arsenal, Sheffield United and Chelsea
Manchester United have to play Spurs and Leciester

Form against "the bottom half" aside, United have a pretty easy run in and have already played their games against 3 of the teams they would be in this playoff group with. Plus I can't face another game against bloody Wolves.

As an example, I think it's fair to assume that Leicester and Sheffield United's average points will be lower after they've played those 4 teams than say United, Chelsea and Wolves' will be.

I imagine the same is the case for the bottom teams facing relegation.
 
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BaZ87 said:
Brighton's CEO on Football Focus just now has discussed some of the issues and possibilities:
  • Intention is to finish the League.
  • If they can't finish the League, it would be incredibly unjust for Liverpool not to be crowned champions.
  • Would also be unjust to relegate sides without completing the season.
  • My play-off idea was an option but he didn't seem to suggest it was likely.
  • One idea he did seem to talk up was the possibility of a 22 team League with no relegations and 2 sides being promoted but didn't know how European spots would be decided.
Tranmere's CEO also interviewed. Tranmere themselves are in a position to ride out this storm but numerous other Football League clubs live hand to mouth and this could be a killer for them.

You can't assume you'd win that game though, especially as it's away to City. You're averaging less than 1.5 points per game so even adjusting things to factor in your game in hand you'd be 1.5 points behind Wolves, who are 5 points behind Chelsea. You cannot please everybody entirely but you have to look at those most directly effected and try to be as fair as possible. Anyway see above.
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It would sadden me to lose Auba because he wants champions league football when we haven’t had a chance to earn it.

Plus, why should Liverpool be awarded the title when they haven’t mathematically won it, but the likes of Arsenal and Spurs can be ruled out of the champions league despite it being well within their grasp?
 
Agree. Either the league continues if and when things calm down, the seasons cancelled and the positions stay as they are now or the season's completely void. You can't and shouldn't start making rules for different clubs imo.
 
The_One said:
https://news.sky.com/story/coronavi...ll-not-be-completed-says-club-source-11957415
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There is also an 81.6% chance that percentage chances are being made up on the spot.

md85 said:
Average points or a mini playoff don't really take into account individual run-ins, this is the biggest differentiator in fairness for me. Looking at the race for top 4, some teams have already played teams in and around the top 6-10 places, others haven't.

Chelsea still have to play all of Leicester, Wolves and Sheffield United
Sheffield United still have to play Spurs, Wolves, Chelsea and Leicester
Leicester have to play Arsenal, Sheffield United, Spurs and Manchester United
Wolves have to play Arsenal, Sheffield United and Chelsea
Manchester United have to play Spurs and Leciester

Form against "the bottom half" aside, United have a pretty easy run in and have already played their games against 3 of the teams they would be in this playoff group with. Plus I can't face another game against bloody Wolves.

As an example, I think it's fair to assume that Leicester and Sheffield United's average points will be lower after they've played those 4 teams than say United, Chelsea and Wolves will be.

I imagine the same is the case for the bottom teams facing relegation.
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That doesn't take into account home and away fixtures. Sheffield United have three of those fixtures at home, for example, and are also on a run of 10 wins and 3 draws from their last 16 games, with the only defeats being Liverpool and Man City twice. You could only assume that their average points would be lower if you continue to underestimate how good they are. Leicester are slightly different, as their form has been quite bad recently, but they did win 4-0 on Monday and look a much better side with Vardy and Ndidi back.

It would be possible, using some more complicated maths, to model a league table based on weighting points gained compared to the average points per game of the opposition, so you get more from beating Liverpool, Man City etc. than Norwich and Villa. I don't know what that would look like though.
 
The_One said:
Cannot see ANY way this season gets finished

even IF they can continue games in april AND euros gets put back till 2021

you cant ask teams to play through the summer to finish this season, then start the next and THEN go into the euros

the players will be in bits
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Yes you can, they get paid obscene amounts of money every week.
 
I think the only real option is to play the games behind closed doors with players being tested on a weekly basis. With the exception of Liverpool there is still so much to play for the other teams. Even wiping the slate clean and calling the league null and void is a farce. Spurs do not deserve to be anywhere near the champions league next year but might yet still get the chance if the league is written off.
 
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