KopTalk.com Forums Football Liverpool FC Forum PL Season will have to be suspended, no games this weekend

I agree with last two comments I did not agree with klopps Mary poppins statement. Yes safety comes first but the interests of the club and fans was worth a mention

I think Klopp did the right thing by not mentioning football, Lennon is getting backlash from his comments because he is only thinking about his club and not the people who attend their games and the wider society as Klopp put it.

I hate the idea of The PL just handing over the title to us.
The Club, Players and Fans won't be able to celebrate it in the manner all Champions get to celebrate it.

No fans hugging complete random strangers next to them at the final whistle when it's confirmed we are Champions.

No fans running on to the pitch in delight and hugging the players.

No Presentation in front of the fans watching Hendo lift the trophy in the air, with the players and staff behind him, bouncing up and down in delight, whilst the air turns red with ticker tape.

No Parade around The City where thousands of fans line the streets in a sea of red and white, following the open top buses with the Players taking turns to hold aloft the trophy and waving at the fans.

Ironic in the 1st season of VAR, we get a decision Trophy with the Celebration sucked out of it, pretty much like the trauma of waiting for a VAR decision!

Coronavirus: Premier League 4 April return hard to imagine - Brighton chief executive

Brighton's chief executive says it would be 'unjust' if Liverpool are not awarded the title.

Brighton's chief executive Paul Barber says it is "really hard to imagine" the Premier League resuming 4 April, as is currently hoped.

The Premier League has said "conditions at the time" will determine whether fixtures can return on that date after they were suspended due to coronavirus.

But Barber told Football Focus that date was already looking unlikely.

"We've got several teams in self isolation, which makes it difficult to think about that date," he said.

"Those players have not just got to self-isolate for 14 days, they've got to get themselves close to match fitness again, which could take another seven to 14 days. So we've got a number of complexities here, which go way beyond thinking of the finances."

BBC sports editor Dan Roan says playing on 4 April is privately deemed "almost impossible" and FA chairman Greg Clarke is known to have already expressed fears that the season may have to be abandoned.

On Thursday, England's chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty said the peak of the UK outbreak is most likely 10 to 14 weeks away, which would be late May or early June.

Premier League clubs are set to meet on Thursday, two days after Uefa discuss the fate of Euro 2020.


Paul Barber has suggested expanding the Premier League next season.

"Every league starts with an expectation of completing all 38 fixtures, as it is in the Premier League, and we want to be able to do that," Barber added.

"Our intention must be to play the fixtures, but it's really hard to imagine putting on a football game in the Premier League in two or three weeks' time given the scenario we are in.

"If we were to freeze the league it would be incredibly unjust for Liverpool to not be awarded the title, because everybody in the game appreciates what a fantastic season they have had. Equally it would be unjust for teams to be relegated with nine or 10 games to go in the Premier League.

"I think it's a possible option to leave the 20 teams in the league as it is but bring the top two in the Championship up.

"It gives us a larger league, with four relegation places next season and then two teams coming up again. It has some merit but there are a lot of issues to be worked through.

"If we can't complete the season we have to look at radical solutions to get over a short-term hump, as it is."

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/51889682

The report didn’t show what he said about the wider problem if anything. But also Celtic are only 13 points clear not 22 so is a lot more conceivable that they COULD be caught so maybe why he’s getting stick.

I’ve no problem with what Klopp said and as usual it made perfect sense. Hopefully he’s thinking like Lennon if not saying it.

Agree with Klopp's statement. If he had said anything about the title at that particular moment it would have come across as quite bad - a football person living in his own bubble, thinking of his own interests etc. I'm sure that at the appropriate time and place he and the club will be conveying the full message.

.

Yes on reflection I think you are right

Just to add, see how Karen Brady's premature comments come across... Neil Lennon's too.

The footballing concern though is that in a few weeks time the spread of the virus and resulting deaths is likely to be at quite a high level. If they declare the season VOID at that point, the public mood at that time will probably be even worse in terms of caring about alternative view points. That doesn't mean it's the right thing to do.

I'm hoping that there are enough sane, reasonable and football minded people involved in the current discussion who are saying that it would not be fair, right or even desirable to declare such a wonderful achievement as NULL & VOID. The football purists, romantics will all share the same view.

People like Karen Brady come from purely a business perspective. Look how they handled the move from West Ham's beloved Boleyn Ground to the Olympic stadium. The fans were not consulted seriously and the priority was simply to exploit the financial advantages. These kind of people are ruining the game. Hopefully saner voices like that of the chief executive from Brighton will prevail.

It will also lift the spirits of the country if we are declared champions. The national sport can't let even something like this virus throw nearly 3/4th of the season down the drain.

They should resolve it somehow such that promotion/relegation/European qualification issues are resolved and that we are declared champions. We can then all celebrate a wonderful achievement and look forward to next season whilst also collectively fighting the virus.

If the season is declared VOID, that should mean the top 4 from last season qualify for CL. i.e. Spurs & Arsenal would be in. Leicester City would be out. Just doesn't seem right.

If on the other hand they work out CL qualification based on this season's table as it is then it follows that champions should also be declared based on this seasons table as t is.

The peak of this in the UK is predicted to be May/June, sport will be used as one of the methods to distract/entertain the population.

I can see games being played behind closed doors, with the teams all tested and kept isolated in their own hotels, playing like a mini world cup with the remaining fixtures being played Saturday --- Wednesday --- Sunday broadcast on TV, so the games can be played over a month until the end of the season.