Plus, the PL's reasoning is that it'd still be behind closed doors. Must be hoping the "no social gatherings of more than two people not in your household" rule gets lifted. No way things will be back to normal in two months, but the lockdown might not be so strict by then if there's been a reduction in the number of daily fatalities.
I really don't think it can be allowed to start until the general population are allowed to socialise in such a way that allows them to play football together.
I really don't think it can be allowed to start until the general population are allowed to socialise in such a way that allows them to play football together.
That's why I pushed it till May for full training, and June for matches. It seems likely given the figures released over the weekend and today, together with the notable announcement from Austria that their restrictions are to be eased shortly, that 'normalised' contact will be allowed in the UK if not in large numbers within four or five weeks. I could of course be out on this. To me Austria's announcement is by far the most optimistic we've had bearing it's location between Germany and the Northern Italian epicentre.
Both Austria & Germany appear to be handling this outbreak much better than the UK, certainly in terms of widespread testing. The situation in the UK appears much more aligned to Italy & Spain. Any news on resumption of football leagues in those countries?
I'd estimate that the German League should be back on 16th May or 23rd May. Allowing time for the situation to stabilise and for training to ramp up to pre-season levels. The Bundesliga move today is very telling.
I just don't see how the sort of interaction football requires, even without crowds, can be allowed whilst those in the shielded vulnerable category are still in their 12 week lockdown.
And as we're still supposed two weeks behind Italy and Spain we've got to be even at the most optimistic at least 3-4 weeks from any easing of restrictions.
Yeah, they said they'd review it after three weeks, which means next Monday. I expect the current restrictions to be extended for another three weeks. Italy's seeing a drop in fatalities, so by then, the end of April, so should we.
And yet the Premier League are still acting like they can resume at the beginning of June.
I think this is a bit unfair, the obvious difference between the Premier League (and the Football League and the Champions League) and most of the other sporting events that have been cancelled is that the Premier League had already started - and indeed was nearly complete - so it's clearly going to be a high priority to start it again as soon as possible.
I don't think the Premier League have said anything concrete about wanting to start in June, it's clear it's an incredibly fluid situation. It's certainly not exclusive to them anyway because Serie A the other week were making noises about trying to get underway in May.
I see in the papers today that the various golf tournaments have already pencilled in new dates so there has to be some kind of forward planning. And I don't begrudge the Premier League trying to get something started as soon as they can, because in terms of finances and public interest it absolutely dwarfs all the other sports, and it's a going concern. It's probably the worst possible time for it to have been suspended too, too close to the end of the season not to write the whole thing off but not close enough to suggest the current standings should be final. I don't envy them trying to work out how to continue it.