Have Your Say: What’s The Fairest Way To End The Season For Spurs & Others

Tottenham Hotspur fans aren’t the only ones wondering ‘what next’ when it comes to the 2019/20 campaign following the suspension of football owing to the Coronavirus outbreak.

With plenty of talk in the media about whether this year will just be voided in the history books, or whether or not there’s a fair way to bring the year to a conclusion without another ball being kicked, Spurs also have one eye on what happens with the European places.

Here are some thoughts.

Writer: Loz

Null and void doesn’t guarantee us Champions League. The German league are considering voiding the year but saying no title winners, or relegation, but European football goes on positions teams are now in. If the Premier League follow suit, we won’t be in the CL next season.

Personally, I don’t think that’s a fair way to decide it, why should those in 1st place miss out on the title and those in the relegation places get away with not being relegated, but those in European places get European football? In my mind, if it’s voided then it has to be equal throughout, void and so we reset season. But I don’t trust the Football Association to do things fairly and if German league set precedence, it wouldn’t surprise me if other leagues follow.

It’s going to be a nightmare, legally as well, as well as financially. This is why PL will be doing everything in its power to finish the season. My guess is as the Euros haven’t started, I think they are likely to be cancelled and PL restarted and finished to avoid the financial and legal complications.

However, let’s face it, this is unknown territory and we don’t know what is going to happen with this coronavirus. The difficulty is the timeline and practicality.

If the PL resumes even later in the year, what happens if a player gets the virus, everyone has to self isolate, how can they train and field a team? If this virus peaks as expected, around 10-12 weeks, we are looking at May, then we need to see a decline, so I doubt it will be feasible to start playing until June at earliest. Then you have to consider getting fitness levels back up, and then still, what happens if players catch it. On top of that, the timeline is not foolproof, it could peak later and for longer.

All we can do is go along and see how the virus behaves and how it spreads. There is likely a point where the FA will consider it’s not practical to finish the league, so they will have to set an end date – but I expect they may not reveal it. They will also be looking at what approach to take if they call the season void. A lot of work and consideration needs to be discussed and clarified with clubs, and lawyers. The implications of voiding the season are massive financially and legally.

I expect a new rule will be written after this for future reference and agreed by clubs, sponsors, tv rights etc. As usual, these things happen after an event, reactive and not proactive.

The cancellation of the Euros also has ramifications on the timeline due to the Nations League and then preparations for World Cup. A lot to consider, but my guess at the moment again is the Euros will be cancelled.

It’s a mess and football is not that important in the vast scheme of things, but each club will be fighting for the best-case scenario for themselves as will everyone else.

May everyone stay safe, take responsibility and make sure we do what we need to do and look out for each other. Bless everyone and let’s sit tight and see what happens.

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