| Blackpool FC great Brett Ormerod's column: 23:25 - Mar 30 with 92 views | BringBackTheRedRoom |
The football authorities have got to complete the season in the Premier League and EFL as far as I’m concerned. They have to find a way.
Whether they complete the games behind closed doors I don’t know, but they have to get them played.
For football to have any integrity and carry on, the season has to be completed, no matter what.
If that takes the season into June, then so be it. They’ve put the Euros back, which helps, and the Olympics have been delayed as well.
But there’s not a chance on the planet you can’t complete the season.
Hopefully in a few weeks’ time the situation will be a lot better but it’s looking increasingly likely that games will have to be played behind closed doors.
But at the end of the day, there are too many big games coming up and too many key parts of the game that still need deciding.
There’s Leeds in the Championship, there’s Liverpool at the top of the Premier League and those are just two quick examples.
How can you possibly scrap the league when Liverpool are so far clear? It’s not as if they’re only three or four points in front — they’re 25 in front.
We’re over three-quarters of the way through. It’s not as if we’ve just started the season, so you can’t scrap it and declare the season null and void. They’ve got to find a way of completing it.
Obviously the safety of everyone is first and foremost, but if clubs can prove their players have tested negative and they are able to put a team out, then I see no reason why the season can’t be completed.
Blackpool obviously aren’t affected too much as they weren’t going to be relegated and they weren’t going to finish in the play-offs.
The new manager will be a bit frustrated as it was a nice breaking-in period for him, when he could really learn about his squad and decide what he needed for next season.
A luxury like that is rare in football. You don’t get that sort of opportunity often. But with the club being ambitious, he would welcome a few more games this season to assess his options.
He’ll probably have an idea of what he wants and needs anyway, but he could have tried different formations and given other players a chance. Hopefully he’ll still be able to capitalise on that extra time to work out what he wants.
Looking at the bigger picture, it’s a scary time for a number of clubs who will be struggling financially.
I’ve no idea what the answer is as this situation really is unprecedented.
I fear for lower league and non-league clubs, so I really hope this blows over as quickly as possible for the sake of every team.
There were a few clubs looking over their shoulder already — just look what happened to Bury not so long ago. And you heard a few whispers about one or two other teams that were maybe on the verge of something similar. So the current shutdown could be the final nail for some clubs.
But hopefully it won’t come to that. It’s just a matter of hoping we can get back to some sort of normality as quickly as possible.
This week we saw the news that AFC Fylde have told their players and staff to take a 50 per cent pay cut.
You have to do whatever you can to survive. If you have to defer your wages, then so be it.
Every club has a different financial situation and they will all do whatever they can to keep their head above the water.
It’s a 50 per cent pay cut at Fylde but elsewhere it might be 75. I’ve heard some clubs in the Championship might be looking to defer their wages totally.
The Premier League boys have a lot more leeway, so they do have the ability to defer wages without the consequences being too serious.
They are not as reliant on match-day revenue as clubs lower down the chain.
Players at the top end aren’t going to miss a couple of weeks’ wages — but other clubs aren’t lucky enough to be in that situation, I’m afraid. I think it’s up to each individual club to do what they have to to survive.
https://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/sport/football/blackpool-fc/blackpool-fc-grea | |
| ‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’ |
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| Blackpool FC great Brett Ormerod's column: on 00:18 - Mar 31 with 85 views | spell_chekker |
The season may well have to be abandoned.
Not least because the players won't be match fit if it doesn't start up again pretty soon.
Finishing this season late, in mid June for example, would lead to other knock on problems. | |
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