Clubs pressing to play matches at their own grounds

When the time is right which is when it's safe and science and medicine have a better understanding of Covid-19.

It's pointless to even think about resuming things under any format as this situation with Covid-19 will not be resolved anytime soon as it would be too risky and even with a vaccine it could be a long time before they can be sure there is no danger.

Given that if there was televised football, in many places, there is likely to be many groups watching football together in a social environment whilst consuming alcohol. That would happen in any City where a team is likely to win the league but it is likely all fans will herd in some way to follow their team.

I read that, with the relaxation of social distancing in South Korea, 1 person attending a club infected 40 confirmed persons, further 1,900 at risk. Is it really responsible for the government to risk this in multiple sites in a country that has been far less successful in managing the outbreak?

Anything to give the RS a title.

I can see a lot of legal challenges from the relegated clubs though.

Common sense said the season should have been declared null and void a long while ago but when does commonsense enter a collection of billionaires playground.

When it's safe enough to sit shoulder to shoulder and the loud mouth behind you spraying the back of your head, shouting at this lazy player or that one is only an annoyance, not a potential death sentence... then it is safe to play.

The whole reasoning for neutral venues was to prevent supporters gathering outside grounds so, if clubs won't play at neutral venues, then games can't be played.

The season needs to be voided now, playing behind closed doors anywhere will only put people's lives at risk.

Teams fighting for survival. Do they really expect nobody to turn up outside their home games to show support.

Yes, most people won't but there's a lot of halfwits out there.

Every defender just has to put the ball into 'Row Z' and who's going to go fetch it?? Or will they have an unlimited supply of balls? What if they run out?

A striker shoots and misses and the goalie says, 'Well I'm not going to get it'! Or will they put ballboys lives at risk???

It will be like watching The Keystone Kops!!

I'm not advocating getting going again, but if clubs are to use their own stadiums, then surely this will be the next logical question, given the most recent provisions.

Like this virus itself, getting football started is creating a lot more questions, than answers.

You are right sadly there are many many halfwit people out there that simply won't comply with advice being given and I know for a fact that, if Liverpool are allowed to wrap the title up, scores of bellends will be in the streets gathering pissed up.

We keep hearing about bringing football back when it's safe to do so, basically that means two years time, let's be brutally honest.

We are told that mass gatherings are ruled out until a vaccine is ready and in the community, so it's virtually impossible to see how people can attend football matches, a place if we are truthful that's generally more difficult to control a person's behaviour at the best of times.

I'm becoming accustomed to the idea that match going days are pretty much gone now for a long time, whether or not many fans of a certain age or physical condition will even want to return again after this period is obviously a thing of personal choice, lots will feel the risk now is just too great.

Actually I might volunteer – running around in the outdoors while watching the match sounds pretty good to me. Give me a pair of gloves and I'm there.

The idea of letting fans attend is undermined by the demands made on transport and the logistics of such simple things as going to the toilet. Gwladys St toilets and social distancing? Where would the smokers hide?

I think that it is not this season that we should be worried about. I cannot envisage the return to football as we knew it for many seasons. I don't care if the RS are awarded the title or the season is scrapped.

I do worry that future events could pre-empt a further loss of life. I miss going. However, I'd be devastated if acting too soon brought about the deaths of any fans. Stay safe all.

And how many ball retrievers?

It's going to be comical.

Just saw an old article quoting Richard Masters (CEO of the Premier League) declaring that the RS success this season has been good for viewing figures. So, they are not going to give up the possible financial bonanza spawned by the RS taking the title – lockdown or no lockdown.

The RS are reported to have 800 million supporters worldwide – well somebody claimed it – so at least they will have a 'morale boost', eh? The rest of us are irrelevant. I would argue that a bigger morale boost would be for the supporters of other teams to see the RS lose their lead entirely.

A couple of other things...

Matches behind closed doors? Has anyone had the misfortune of seeing an episode of 'Have I Got News For You?' during the lockdown? Execrable, forced and a pale shadow of itself when an audience is present. Matches behind closed doors will be a non-spectacle.

The FA Cup? Anyone heard a mention of it. The oldest footballing competition in the world. Ignored. Why? No RS.

I think a big issue is the infrastructure that would be needed to support a match day. So it would involve pulling in stewards, police, medical staff etc just to make it safe to go ahead. Also, the amount of people who will be forced onto that public transport to get to the ground – even at 1/5th capacity – would represent a spike in demand that seems on the face of it to be a completely unnecessary risk.

Maybe some clubs are going round in circles, coming up with proposals that are just not logical, especially because cancelling the Premier League was brought up for the first time. And the longer this goes on, then surely clubs will begin to start thinking about next season, especially if it really is all about the money.

I just wonder how many clubs have given the lower leagues a thought during this process?

The remaining games would not be truly representative and it would be unfair to relegate teams whose players might need the presence of spectators in order to perform properly.

All that is before you get to the question of safety with the virus still active. Some fans would be bound to gather when there was a game, either outside the ground or at someone's house to watch on TV and have a few beers.

Footballers spit and they won't be able to control the habit once they get into the game. What about sweat – can the virus be transmitted via sweat?

The only reason to continue the season is financial and I can't figure out why playing behind closed doors would satisfy sponsors as they would not be getting the same exposure without a full stadium.

I couldn't give a toss about giving RS the title as we all know that they have been by far the best team this season and not to give it would just give them something else to whinge about. If the season continues, they will win it anyway, so I'd prefer to give it to them and we can remind them that they didn't really win it!

For me, lives are the only important thing here so cancel the season, no relegation, if teams are promoted then start next season early if the virus permits so the extra games created by a bigger league can be accommodated.

If the Bundesliga has to abandon, Project Restart will be dead in the water and the season then surely has to be cancelled and voided as the alternative options are running out.

I wouldn't go to Southport's ground to watch the U23 if it weren't for the fact I live in spitting distance – and now I can't even spit!

The spike in coronavirus cases on Merseyside following the Liverpool vs Atletico game is more than the "interesting hypothesis" it has been dismissed as. Whether they admit it or not, LFC bear a heavy responsibility for that. We need Joe Anderson to speak up again to prevent a repeat of that "criminal act".

Will the forthcoming isolation of all people coming into the country (except France) put paid to European Competitions?

Meanwhile, new data from YouGov showed 73% of 2,098 British adults would not see the return of football as a boost to their morale, with 19% saying it would.

This highlights for me a total lack of leadership within football. Surely, in a situation like this, one of the first things to consider is the worst-case scenario: the possibility that the season cannot be completed without being seriously compromised?

Take our own CEO, Denise Barrett-Baxendale. She gets a bad press from some on here, but way back in January when the first reports of a new virus were emerging from Wuhan in China, to her credit she put in place a pandemic contigency plan for the club.

Three months on, why haven't other clubs and the league's ruling bodies not done likewise?

The most bandied-about word used in relation to re-commencing the season is 'integrity'. The way it is being applied makes it an oxymoron.

All the focus about a return of football is on the 20 Premier League clubs. What about the other 72 clubs of the other 3 divisions?

The 'cost' to the Premier League clubs – even if the season was completed behind closed doors – was given a number yesterday: 𧸌 million.

Is that ALL?! That works out at 㾽 million per club – the price of a bad buy in the transfer market, like Oumar Niasse.

Take the hit! Do what other federations have already done and terminate the season. Reset and recalibrate with a clean slate and start working towards a return to a normal football calendar for the 2020-21 season.

And then we have Boris Johnson and the government flipping a coin and saying a return of elite sport would be a 'morale boost' to the country. So let's all hang out the bunting and shout 'Horray!' And let's forget that the government tried to deflect attention from itself early doors by stigmatising footballers for not doing more to support the NHS.

A morale boost to the country? Not according to a recent poll on YouGov which says close to 80% would NOT regard a return of professional football in the UK as a 'morale boost'.

If the government and the football authorities are genuine in wishing to give the nation a 'morale boost', how about setting aside a 'soft loan scheme' for all 92 clubs in England's top four divisions? It's pennies to the national treasury.

They should start from the bottom up, securing the futures of the most vulnerable lower league clubs first BEFORE giving the Premier League clubs a bail-out.

That would give many a community in every geo-location in England a tremendous lift, knowing that the future and well-being of their local club has been secured.

Finally, there are clearly concerns from high-profile footballers about returning to play at this time. Chris Wilder at Sheffield United came out last week saying he would not insist on playing a player who didn't want to risk playing at this time.

'Integrity?!' The whole thing is a farce.

I am deeply disappointed to hear that the Premier League is making plans to restart the season. The potential risk to the lives of those involved in the preparation and playing of the game far outweighs the benefits of a so-called "morale boost". Also, the waste of testing kits and protective equipment for the game is just inexcusable in my eyes. I hope that they come to their senses before it's too late.

I miss watching football and I miss my beloved Toffees. Despite that, I have no doubt whatsoever that restarting the season to appease the money-hungry millionaires is absurd and irresponsible. I don't care if they decide to hand the title to the RS without playing anymore games. Just come to your senses and call off the rest of the season!

Therefore there's no point. Cancel the thing now and just send them the trophy by second class post to stick in their cupboard.

Reading all these posts, I'm proud to be a Blue. It's not often as Everton fans, never mind footie fans in general, that we get such a consensus. I assume that in forums up and down the country opinions like these are being expressed. (Probably not on sites connected with the RS and Leeds.)

So the only question is: Why the hell do the FA and the clubs not read them and realise the massive PR own-goal they are scoring?

The only issue they really have to debate is whether 2019_20 season is null and void and we start again when we can with the same teams as they were, or to promote and relegate on the basis of where we were at lockdown. There will be winners and losers either way. But isn't that always the case?

Keep safe guys. See you in the new dawn.

Surely a 23 year old on £100k a week with 10 years more of his career ahead of him can lose six month's salary for the good of the game.

Although a 'moral boost' might be what some need more than anything, I think you'll find what people were voting on at YouGov was a 'morale boost' — being a somewhat different animal, I hope you can agree.

[In the interests of accuracy, I fixed your post, btw. ]

When she went to collect it, she saw that it had been incorrectly Inscribed with “God, he was thin“.

“‘Ere”, she says in a Yorkshire accent, “you've missed off the “e'”.

“Sorry missus, the new lad did it. I'll have it done properly for you for next week”, says the stone mason, likewise in a Yorkshire accent.

She goes back the following week, only to see the headstone with the inscription “E, God, he was thin”.

Mind, some players will have trouble keeping up with their car payments on 2,500 Quid a month, nevermind rent and mortgages.

Hope you and your family are doing okay during this unique and terrible time, take care.

Actually, my son and his partner live in Portsmouth. Her dad lost his partner to C-19 two weeks ago. I guess we're all probably no more than two or three steps away from somebody who has been hit by this.

The sad part, besides the loss of friends and relatives, are the funerals of the deceased, with just a very few going into crematoriums, or just some small service at the graveside. Although these funerals are done with dignity, the families are deprived of giving their loved ones the proper send off they deserved.

Dave #57, what's even worse is that so many of those victims are dying alone, unable to have their family members around them. What could be worse than that.

I've read there are different degrees of this virus, (with some being more potent) but what I don't understand is how it goes deeper into the lungs, in certain people.

Working out will expand the lungs, (shouldn't Joel be resting?) and if the lungs are expanded, then would it not help the virus spread further down the lungs? This is Something I've been trying to work out, since I first heard how it attacks the body.

With LFC that risk will be even more as they have many supporters who travel. They will have to put more security on which means more ordinary people at risk. In this climate no way can football restart, lives will be lost. This ain't anti LFC post it's a pro-living post.

Regarding the lungs and the virus, people who are able to get more air in deeper just tend to do better. Doctors tell sick patients to take the deepest breaths they can. Bedridden patients in the US are now being turned on their stomachs to get the weight of other organs off the lungs and allow deeper breaths. It seems to help keep people off the ventilators.

Apparently one reason older people are at higher risk of mortality is because they have less lung capacity, fewer healthy lung cells, less lung flexibility.

I've been told as a rule of thumb it's ok to workout if your symptoms are the neck and above. That's in general not specific to corona. With regards to this, some doctors have said exercising with mild symptoms boosts your immune system

Even when I was really sick, I would pop out of bed in intensive care and take a walk around the corridors. Drove the nurses nuts. And I kept playing league footy right through the chemo treatments, though sometimes 20 minutes in goal was all I could manage.

Around 1978, he appeared in an Everton home football programe, spinning the ball on his finger if memory serves me right.

As most are having a rummage through stuff, if anyone comes across the photo in the programe, can you please let me know the game and date he appeared in it.

I was made up to be home and training with my mates, I started getting fitter and stronger, because I had not been on a good level. My football was poor, I came off the pitch a few times because of these “dreadful attacks” and I was worried.

Then I played a game and everything was back: two yards quicker, five yards sharper, it was a great feeling being able to run free, so I must have put a lot more work in during the game. I did.

Anyway, that's when it hit me. I remember being absolutely exhausted in the bar after the game, didn't even want a soft drink never mind a pint, and that's when I finally had to go and see a doctor.

I know the TB was already in my body (they said to have a cavity, it must have been in my system for around a year) but it was definitely that hard workout that took it right out of me in the end.

And that's why I'm puzzled how a hard workout would be good for anyone whilst this virus is in their system?

I would be interested to know from our American cousins if this classic comedy transferred to the USA (and Australia, New Zealand, anywhere!) like Monty Python and Fawlty Towers amongst many other British comedy classics that did.

It is always worth remembering that Leonard Rossiter was in 2001 a Space Odyssey by the great Stanley Kubrick!! It makes me proud to know he was a Scouser and an Evertonian. A true comedy great.

Then there was the episode were of Steptoe & Son were Leonard Rossiter appears as an escaped convict on the run with his arl fella, And they turn up at Steptoe & Son's house!!

It's not the best but still good, I think everyone remembers the episode where they split the house in half?? Remember them watching Match of the Day? Bringing us nicely back to football.

Still funny as fuck today as it was back then.

Not surprisingly it appears our friends at Spirit of Shankly are mortified at the thought that some people – the majority of the population – would consider that supporters would congregate at grounds.

Supporters are really just ordinary people and would follow all guidelines and agreements, apparently.

Maybe I'm wrong but I think they are talking shite!

Yes exactly, what was it Cinzano Bianco or something?? All I remember is them unlikely 2,

Alan @81,

I never understood or appreciated Reggie Perrin because of my age but again it was another legacy he left.

Walking into the sea bollocko "doing a Reggie Perrin".

I'm sure the series had more to it than that like!!

WW1 had already broken out but the 1914-15 season still got played with you know who lifting the title. The real interest is in the shenanigans going on at the other end of the table (it is still galling to hear Gooners claiming our record as the longest-serving club in the top flight when they didn't deserve to be in it in the first place:

When football played on during world war one and inflamed a London derby

In WW2, the season was only three games old when war was declared and it was no hardship to abandon it – Blackpool, the only team with a 100% record at the time, could hardly claim they had been robbed of the title but the story still makes interesting reading:

When English football was last suspended – how the league was left during the war

That should keep you busy.

I've no idea if Leonard had any influence over the scripts, but I like to think he did. On that occasion at least!!!

Brian @71 cheers for that, will have a look through my footy programmes, see if I can find it, will it have been around the year before the Andy King derby?

His father, a volunteer ambulance driver, was killed in an air raid which put paid to any thoughts of his ambition of going to university and he had to turn down the offer of a place at Liverpool University.

He was a talented – and fiercely competitive – sportsman who loved cricket (playing for Lancashire Colts), tennis and football (scoring 11 goals in a schoolboy match once) and had a lifelong affection for Everton FC with Tommy Lawton being his idol.

Anyway glad a class actor like Leonard Rossiter a blue. Ditto believe or not John Hurt of Alien, I Claudius and the brilliant Midnight Express – true story.

I always had this thing he was from Norris Green, *?*??? Anyways he was one of us and more, from Wavertree!! – even better,
Ohhh Vienna!

Billy #73, weren't there some allegations against LR that tarnish his image a bit?

Meanwhile, Everton full-back Jonjoe Kenny told BBC World Service he feels "comfortable" about playing again with loan club Schalke.

The 23-year-old has made 23 Bundesliga starts since moving to Germany on a season-long loan last summer.

"Schalke have made me feel really comfortable about going out and playing," said Kenny, whose side sit sixth in the table before their derby at Borussia Dortmund.

Robert #95, whippersnapper!

By the way, Brian # 88, another great film John Hurt appeared in Was The Elephant Man. Was released in 1980 but made in black and white, probably to make it look a bit more gruesome and give it that old Victorian feeling.

strange that he should die so young and also Alan Beckinsale at only 32.

maybe it was all that damp and mold in the house.

Maybe I was thinking of Alan Bleasdale.

It supposed to have happened twice, the second occasion, Leonard was standing to the side and although was not involved, he had a knuckle shuffle while watching.

No charges have been made against the allegations 7 years ago.

Government opens the door to football resuming. Looks like the effing RS will get their title after all.

There's not a cat in hells chance for Project Restart if the Germans have to abandon.

On 21 April 2020, Rhyl FC entered administration after failing to find a £175,000 investment which would have saved the club. The club's directors cited the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic as a reason for entering administration.

Particularly sad when you look at the date they were established:

1878

Daily soccer predictions