Lockdown League: What Covid-19 Means for English Football

Lockdown League: What does COVID-19 mean for English Football?

It honestly pains me to say that the last Super Sunday I watched was on the 8 th of March. It’s been 10 weeks

of no football. Just let that sink in… Then again, the 8 th of March was the day of Manchester City’s 2-0 loss to

Manchester United, so it wasn’t that bad of a day after all. Other than this

beautiful Manchester Derby, one of the final games of football played before the postponement announcement on the 13 th of March, was the MNF game, held at the King Power Stadium, where home team Leicester City destroyed relegation zone team, Aston Villa, 4-0.

This abruptness certainly wasn’t the ending to the Prem that any of the players, managers, nor fans wanted – especially anyone who associated themselves with Liverpool FC, but we’ll come to that later.

Logistically, the Premier League has to finish, somehow. If this season were to end, right now, how would next season work? Which teams would be relegated, and which would be promoted from the Championship? Would Liverpool be given the title? Would Jamie Vardy be awarded with the Golden Boot as top goal scorer for this season? These are only a few of the many questions that are pushing football fanatics overboard – we need answers, and we need them now.

Thankfully, the FA seems to be

making some sort of progress. As I’m writing this, the 20 top-flight teams are holding a vote to determine when they are able to restart training. Should the vote pull through, players are said to

be able to return to training on Tuesday 19 th May. However, this is dependant on certain medical protocols, such

as a maximum group of five players training at one time, as well as social distancing rules being adhered to. For this plan to go ahead, at least 14 of the 20 clubs present at the meeting must agree that these safety protocols are sufficient.

As of last week, the

Government have announced that football is aiming to return in June.

The Premier League itself is initiating ‘Project Restart’, with the hope that matches can be played behind closed doors on June 12 th . With this in mind, widening access to view the live

fixtures will be implemented, so that fans can still access their weekly dosage of footy. This, however, is an issue in itself: Premier League clubs are due to gain a total of roughly £9.2 billion from broadcasters for the 2019-22 cycle, and this has undoubtedly been halted. Evidently, broadcasting provides a large income for the clubs, and so, they’re bound to be financially challenged (hardly though – they’re literally ballers) when they’re expected to repay an estimated £340 million to both domestic and international broadcasters – even if the season resumes behind closed doors. Additionally, there was speculation regarding the potential for the season’s remaining fixtures to be played on neutral ground, yet this has recently been shot down, to put it bluntly, and honestly, I agree. It would seem unfair, especially for those facing relegation, to not be able to play their scheduled home game at their stadium: whether the club’s supporters are in the stand or not, home grounds have a special feel to them, and they can certainly make all the difference in a match.

Now, I think we should lightly touch on Liverpool FC. As Mr Carr, Mr Morris and Mr Atherton will tell you, Liverpool has been, by far, the greatest Premier League team this season. Being at the top of the table with 82 points – 25 points clear of second-place team Man City – just proves that this season is one that will never be forgotten, aside from all of this COVID-19 madness. Jürgen Klopp has worked wonders with a talented, and rather youthful, squad this season, leading to Liverpool’s inevitable success. With that said, however, I really wouldn’t put it past Liverpool to somehow not win the league, but, yet again, it would just be a classic move from us, wouldn’t it? If Liverpool were to lift the trophy, it would be the first time since the competition was named the ‘Premier League’, considering the team’s last league win was in the 1989- 90 season, when it was still named the ‘First Division’. This would make it all the more iconic should we never take this season’s title… classic.

Finally, since I have a few inside contacts into the world of football, I thought that I should make you all aware of what UEFA are currently thinking with regards to this season: it looks as though the FA Cup may be cancelled for this season, with total focus on the Premier League, the Championship, and then the Champions League. Football is likely to continue over the Summer, to catch up on what was missed during the postponement of the season. If these prospective ideas should go according to plan, football will be back to normal by next season. Do take these preliminary ideas as exactly that – preliminary – because the football world is ever-changing.

Anyway, should “Project Restart” be successful, we will all be able to return to the comfort of watching Gillette Soccer Saturday, Super Sunday, and MNF from our sofas, and personally, that’s what I really need to keep me going through this lockdown. Fingers crossed.

Monet Stuckey, Ag, L6 th