Re: coronavirus and sport ? : Thu Apr 02, 2020 8:44 pm  

sally cinnamon wrote:

Arsenal fan here...

I would award Liverpool the title, it will always have an asterisk to this season but they are clearly ahead and deserve it. If it was a situation where say they were 3 pts ahead of Man City who had a game in hand and superior goal difference then I'd just say nobody wins.

I wouldn't have promotion or relegation. Effectively run the 2021 competitions on the same team lists as 2020, so Champions League / Europa League in 2021 would be based on qualification from the 2019 season.

Liverpool have won the title, no asterisk required, we won it months ago.

The problem is the final standings of the rest, ultimately it will come xown to £££££, I hope we can finish the season, butI'd swap nomore professional sportof any kind for no more COVID-19.

[Mild Rover]

Re: coronavirus and sport ? : Thu Apr 02, 2020 9:15 pm  

sally cinnamon wrote:

Arsenal fan here...

I would award Liverpool the title, it will always have an asterisk to this season but they are clearly ahead and deserve it. If it was a situation where say they were 3 pts ahead of Man City who had a game in hand and superior goal difference then I'd just say nobody wins.

I wouldn't have promotion or relegation. Effectively run the 2021 competitions on the same team lists as 2020, so Champions League / Europa League in 2021 would be based on qualification from the 2019 season.

IR80 wrote:

Liverpool have won the title, no asterisk required, we won it months ago.

The problem is the final standings of the rest, ultimately it will come xown to £££££, I hope we can finish the season, butI'd swap nomore professional sportof any kind for no more COVID-19.

I don’t really have a horse in this race. My wife supports Manchester United, being from that part of the world, and I have a bit of a soft spot (that I try not to remind her of) for Manchester City, having gone to a few games at Maine Road as a student in the 90s and early 00s, before I met her.

For me it is just a tidiness issue. I’ll really feel for Liverpool fans and the team if they aren’t awarded it because they have won it near as dammit. I don’t want to overdo the sympathy for the 30 year wait because for fans of most clubs that is nothing and Liverpool had two Euro Big Cups during that time, but it’d be less of a choker if they’d won it in ‘18-‘19. ‘Giving’ them it feels like it is an insult, as they’re so close to taking it, but if they can’t take it because the season is abandoned, whose is it to give anyway? Teams had only played three games in the 1939-40 season, so that isn’t sensible precedent.

I’d be happy for this season to be extended well into 2020, if necessary, delay the start of the next and use an abbreviated format for it. But there’s not guarantee that’ll be workable, of course.

Re: coronavirus and sport ? : Thu Apr 02, 2020 10:16 pm  

It would be utterly embarassing if the title was just handed to Liverpool because..they haven’t won it yet.

Re: coronavirus and sport ? : Thu Apr 02, 2020 10:35 pm  

Steph Curry wrote:

It would be utterly embarassing if the title was just handed to Liverpool because..they haven’t won it yet.

2 wins, mathematically the best City can do is 87 points IF they win every game, Liverpool have won it.

[Mild Rover]

Re: coronavirus and sport ? : Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:29 am  

Steph Curry wrote:

It would be utterly embarassing if the title was just handed to Liverpool because..they haven’t won it yet.

IR80 wrote:

2 wins, mathematically the best City can do is 87 points IF they win every game, Liverpool have won it.

I think the difficulty is that there’s truth in both of those. They’re so far ahead of the only team that could theoretically stop them, it obvious they are/were going to win it, but the fact is they haven’t yet.

If it comes to it, it isn’t obvious how the decision should be made, never mind what it should be. You can’t even really just leave it ambiguous - at some point the trophy has to presented or not.

It’s a fudge, but I think Champions* would be the fairest and most honest option overall, under these very unusual circumstances.

Re: coronavirus and sport ? : Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:35 am  

Mild Rover wrote:

I think the difficulty is that there’s truth in both of those. They’re so far ahead of the only team that could theoretically stop them, it obvious they are/were going to win it, but the fact is they haven’t yet.

If it comes to it, it isn’t obvious how the decision should be made, never mind what it should be. You can’t even really just leave it ambiguous - at some point the trophy has to presented or not.

It’s a fudge, but I think Champions* would be the fairest and most honest option overall, under these very unusual circumstances.

Whatever the history book say, it will always be remembered as the most muted PL win ever, there can be no public gathering when it is awarded, Lime Street, St George's, Bold Street, Pier Head... all would have been totally rammed under "normal" circumstances, as it is they may as well hand over the cup in Knutsford services on the qt.

Re: coronavirus and sport ? : Fri Apr 03, 2020 8:02 am  

Perhaps Pep and Klopp could play FIFA for it - broadcast live on Twitch of course, with lucrative sponsorship by unsavoury gambling companies, and 3 hours of pointless punditry before and after the game?

Re: coronavirus and sport ? : Fri Apr 03, 2020 8:04 am  

Mild Rover wrote:

I think the difficulty is that there’s truth in both of those. They’re so far ahead of the only team that could theoretically stop them, it obvious they are/were going to win it, but the fact is they haven’t yet.

If it comes to it, it isn’t obvious how the decision should be made, never mind what it should be. You can’t even really just leave it ambiguous - at some point the trophy has to presented or not.

It’s a fudge, but I think Champions* would be the fairest and most honest option overall, under these very unusual circumstances.

If no further games are played, the title would always be tainted - even though it's an absolute foregone conclusion that they would/win
The real difficulties come further down the table and in the lower leagues.
Champions League spots are huge, both in terms of kudos but, also in terms of cash and then there is the relegation issue.
It would be cruel to relegate any side unless it's mathematically impossible for them to avoid the drop and then, who do you promote ?

The only sensible option is to keep the season on hold, until the fixtures can be completed and then decide a start date for the new season at thet point.
If it has to start a few months later than usual, so be it - the same should apply for rugby league too, although Toronto may end up not being to play a "proper" home fixture.

Failing that, scrap the season altogether and start a new season when we can but, this just seems wrong.

Re: coronavirus and sport ? : Fri Apr 03, 2020 8:58 am  

wrencat1873 wrote:

If no further games are played, the title would always be tainted - even though it's an absolute foregone conclusion that they would/win
The real difficulties come further down the table and in the lower leagues.
Champions League spots are huge, both in terms of kudos but, also in terms of cash and then there is the relegation issue.
It would be cruel to relegate any side unless it's mathematically impossible for them to avoid the drop and then, who do you promote ?

The only sensible option is to keep the season on hold, until the fixtures can be completed and then decide a start date for the new season at thet point.
If it has to start a few months later than usual, so be it - the same should apply for rugby league too, although Toronto may end up not being to play a "proper" home fixture.

Failing that, scrap the season altogether and start a new season when we can but, this just seems wrong.

And that is how the decision will be made, IF sides are relegated without the full season being played out (and they still had a mathematic chance of staying up) the legal ramifications would be huge, equally, IF sides were in a position where they should have been promoted they too will seek redress through the courts. It is, as you suggest, a minefield.

I can't see beyond finishing the season at all levels when we can, and making adjustments to the next few seasons to "catch up". Althpugh unpalettable to many, I'd just cancel the Euro's in 2021, there isn't one single country that misses out, 12 nations will take whatever 'hit' there is, the majority of which the football watching population would rather see domestic football and Champions League being played.

Bin Quatar and the USA in 2022/2026 respectively and play the World Cup across many nations in 2026, use the Olympics in Paris 2024 to relaunch world sport, by then we will understand a lot more about how we need to change/improve global travel etc. to prevent (as far as possible) a repeat pandemic like this.

Re: coronavirus and sport ? : Fri Apr 03, 2020 10:17 am  

sally cinnamon wrote:

I wouldn't have promotion or relegation. Effectively run the 2021 competitions on the same team lists as 2020, so Champions League / Europa League in 2021 would be based on qualification from the 2019 season.

I'm sure the likes of Leeds, West Brom, Fulham, Brentford and Forest etc would have something to say about that.