Covid and Football

alderz

Fortuneseeker said:

buffy, It’s as fair as Spurs playing Liverpool on Sunday when we had the weekend off. Regrettably we saw how much good it did us last night. ☹️

Not completely though, as Spurs had had a big rest before the Liverpool game. So while it was less rest for then since the prior match, they’d played once in 2 weeks and we’d played three times (or something like that)

IronHerb

Southampton hasn't sold out so the Ticket Exchange won't come into play.

mike

IronHerb said:

Southampton hasn't sold out so the Ticket Exchange won't come into play.

Thanks IronHerb
Doh!

Fortuneseeker

I see there is an argument within the EPL teams on whether injuries should be included in the number of players missing resulting in a postponement due to Covid. Here is what DM has said -

West Ham boss David Moyes said his club would find it 'nearly impossible' to have a game called off as they have so many academy players with first-team experience, which he feels is unfair. He also cast doubt on the motivation of some clubs in requesting postponements.

'I hope nobody is getting their games called off for injuries, because we would have called a few of ours off if that were the case,' he said.

MrsGrey

Injuries have always been included....

What are they talking about?

MrsGrey

https://www.premierleague.com/news/2426753

Rules are 'if they can't field 13 outfield players and GK' the match can be postponed. The outfield players include any U21 players with 'appropriate experience' .. essentially 1st team experience, not just in the PL.

This has been the case season after season, and it's always included illness and injuries.

Fortuneseeker

Having looked at a few newspaper websites there appears to be a growing feeling that injuries shouldn't be included & it should be based purely on Covid issues? Leicester & West Ham have played matches recently with most of their best back four missing. Saint Eddie even said the other week he thought teams shouldn't have games postponed as when they are rearranged Newcastle will be playing against stronger line ups as their opposition will probably have got new players in or any injuries cleared up. I think he completely missed the point that he could have the same benefits.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/59830127

MrsGrey

Just doing a bit of reading around this subject. And spotted this (in an article on the BBC).

But there are a further eight games postponed in the EFL over the new year period - with the league deciding to remove the need for Covid-19 testing of players and staff on matchdays in an effort to prevent late decisions impacting fans' travel.

So, am I reading it right? They aren't going to test on certain days so they don't have to cancel the game?

Take that logic one step further ... why bother testing at all unless someone is actually ill? ;doh

#ignoranceisbliss

IronHerb

Money over lives. Just following this Governments lead.

Yeoldhammer

Fantasy Premier League has our rescheduled Norwich game down for the 12th Jan

yoyo

Women's game called off due to covid outbreak within team and staff. I don't whether their paths meet with the men's team?

IronHerb

The women train at Chadwell Heath and the men at Rush Green so unlikely their paths meet.

thornburyiron

I see the FA have said PL teams must fulfil their 3rd round ties even if it means using their academies.
I bet they change that if one of the big ones objects.

yoyo

IronHerb

Petr Check has complained that the Prem have rearranged the Brighton v Chelsea game for next week due to the slippage of the World Club Championship quoting player welfare. He forgot to mention that Chelsea played a full strength team against Chesterfield yesterday when they had ample opportunity to consider player welfare.

If he had said that they didn't want to play in the midweek before facing Man City I could have understood but he decided to hide it in the player welfare conversation.

Absolute joke.

OutcastLondoner

Liverpool's outbreak that delayed their cup game was apparently almost all false positives, so I guess they can all play now? A bit convenient that everyone's test went wrong at the same time...

IronHerb

OutcastLondoner said:

Liverpool's outbreak that delayed their cup game was apparently almost all false positives, so I guess they can all play now? A bit convenient that everyone's test went wrong at the same time...

You do get bad batches of the test kit. We have a box of tests where nothing shows up at all. 😱

Jorderz_Moyes_will_be_Moyes

Surely they're doing PCRs, though?

OutcastLondoner

IronHerb said:

OutcastLondoner said:

Liverpool's outbreak that delayed their cup game was apparently almost all false positives, so I guess they can all play now? A bit convenient that everyone's test went wrong at the same time...

You do get bad batches of the test kit. We have a box of tests where nothing shows up at all. 😱

I guess. I just sense conspiracy everywhere with these teams right now.

Jorderz, I assume they do lateral flows first…though when I’ve taken PCRs for travel I’ve had the results in about 3/4 hours so I assume they have access to equally fast results so they shouldn’t have to be calling off games without being certain.

Jorderz_Moyes_will_be_Moyes

LFTs are surely too hit and miss. I imagined that Premier League clubs were doing regular PCRs and getting fast-tracked results.

MrsGrey

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/dec/14/premier-league-clubs-step-up-covid-measures-in-push-to-avoid-more-call-offs-daily-tests

Daily lateral flows, then positives validated by PCR.

Slacker

Just as an aside , which manager has been the most proactive on promoting a winter break?

Clue- He’s German.

PrestonHammer

Does he have a beard?
Does he have blue eyes?
Is it Jurgen?

ASLEFshrugged

Sir Alex Ferguson repeatedly called for a winter break

Arsene Wenger, Steve Bruce, Martin O'Neil, Louis van Gaal and many others supported the idea

Sven Goren-Eriksson, Fabio Capello and Roy Hodgson all said we needed one when they were England manager

steve

Well i dont want one,Does my vote not count

claretandbluesky

I would be happy to have one if they stopped having so may pointless international breaks. In my view International football isn't so important as it once was and is more of a celebration of football than a big deal. We all love a tournament when it comes around but the rest of it is of little interest.

I think the World Cup and Euro's should be treated like the FA cup in which unseeded nations go through preliminary knock out rounds to gain a place in the tournament proper. We don't need watch the Faroe Islands or San Marino get beat 10-0, It is like making Man City enter the FA cup in round one and playing Wealdstone. They have qualifying in the Champions league and Europa league so surely it must be incorporated in International football soon.

Then we can have a winter break

While we are at it all FA and League cup ties to be decided on the day up until two legged semi finals.

ASLEFshrugged

Spain has a winter break, Italy, Germany and France have winter breaks, even Scotland has a winter break but somehow they have no problem fitting in domestic and international football.

International football is beyond the control of the Premier League, FA or Football League, it is clear that neither UEFA or FIFA are going to cut the amount of international football so it is pointless even discussing it

To repeat what I have said many times before England is the only major country that has two major cup competitions involving the top flight. France cancelled the Coupe de la Ligue in 2020, Scotland still has a League Cup but the winner doesn't get a Europa League place

Every other country has just one major cup competition. We should ditch the League Cup and have a winter break like the rest of Europe

alderz

I have slightly different radical suggestions than ASLEF.

1. If you're in Europe you can choose to opt out of the EFL Cup. That way the football league still gets the tournament they say they want, and we don't have to watch collections of school children getting beaten by League One teams in October. If a club chooses to be in it then they can have no complaints about congestion.

2. Cut the Premier League to 18 teams. France and Germany have both got an 18 team top division, and just cutting the league by 4 games will immediately give space for a winter break.

3. Winter break. Doesn't need to be over Christmas, but maybe just the first 2 or 3 weeks of January the players get a couple of weeks off to recuperate. I'd make a rule that players must be given at least half of that time actually off work. Teams can have friendlies in the week before the games return to build up sharpness, but they have to take place in the UK (no jetting off to America)

MrsGrey

All sensible ideas.
The stumbling block would be loss of filthy lucre.

thornburyiron

I can’t see many, if any, of Aslef’s points actually happening.

1. Not many of the clubs in European comps will give up the opportunity to compete, even with a mixture of academy and experienced players, in the EFL cup because if they get through the early rounds then they get closer to reaching a final. Also if they opt out they could be eliminated from Europe fairly early and then rue opting out.

2. Money rules football and cutting the PL to 18 teams cuts 74 fixtures off the calendar and that would be a huge chunk of money the TV companies won’t be paying for. match receipts also would be a factor.

3. When would you have a break. The first 3 weeks of January include 2 rounds of the cup which most of the big clubs play weakened teams anyway. Is it just a break for the PL because in the championship they play 8 more league games a season anyway. I can see the PL saying that clubs have squads of 25 players and as only somewhere in the region of 14-16 play most weeks the others are resting anyway.