“Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it’s much more serious than that.” Today, in the unprecedented COVID-19 climate, those words ring true more so than ever before.
This post will raise three issues brought to light as a result of the global pandemic dominating our news feeds at the moment.
In terms of the logistics of the remainder of this season, what happens next? It has been universally recognised that the scheduled restart date of April 4th is a delaying tactic. This will inevitably be pushed back further given the worsening situation in the UK as a result of COVID-19, with an emergency meeting between the Premier League clubs on Thursday. Therefore, what are the solutions and how plausible are they?
Perhaps the most unlikely and most drastic course of action is the option of considering the current season null and void. This would cruelly deny Liverpool of their first league title in 30 years and would have huge repercussions on teams in the box seats for promotion in the lower leagues, notably Leeds United.
There are fundamental flaws in this debate, given the argument consists of the idea that ‘you can start afresh in August.’ Ultimately, we do not know how long the spread of the virus will reverberate in the UK, so there are no guarantees for a proposed starting date. Also, we believe that finishing an ongoing season is more important than starting the next season on time. With the summer months freed up by the postponement of the European Championships, there is room for potential completion with flexibility from the authorities.
However, it boils down to the state of the virus in the UK, with some scientists predicting a peak in June. How far can we go to complete a season? Is July a complete cut off point, or can you even extend to August or September? These are all unanswered questions at this point in time.
Other solutions have been put forward by chief executives and pundits alike. Brighton’s chief executive Paul Barber proposed a 22 team Premier League next season, with no relegation from the previous season (this current season) and the top two Championship clubs (Leeds and West Brom) coming up. Some have even suggested finishing the season with the current positions in the respective leagues. This is something that many (3-At-The-back included) are finding hard to get on board with.
In due course, important decisions need to be made. Although there is much more than football at stake here, the authorities need to protect the footballing interests and integrity of the English game. The meeting on Thursday between all Premier League clubs will provide yet another twist in the ever-changing developments of COVID-19. Perhaps drastic action is premature in these uncertain times. However, one thing is for certain and that is we are in uncharted waters.
Despite the lack of sporting activity available to tweet about, the Twittersphere is far from quiet yet. Official league accounts will be able to exhaust their extensive archives of goals, games and moments from over the years. The Premier League’s official twitter account began by running a poll to determine the goal of the season so far, while the LaLiga (English) page creatively wrote an acrostic poem about Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen to accompany a highlight reel of his from this season.
Perhaps we will see more imaginative means of communication on our screens in the near future, especially as accounts aim to keep their millions of followers entertained. In the long run, this will prove to be a tricky task. We follow these accounts for the football – at the moment there is no football, nor will there be any in the foreseeable future. However, similar to how to we all love to watch an episode of Premier League Years, maybe past events and highlight reels will be welcomed by the Twitter community.
With an even trickier task to remain relevant are the accounts of specific football clubs. They possess a much narrower pool of historic footage to bring to the fore, meaning these accounts may struggle to remain active and engaging. Light-hearted efforts have included a game of tic-tac-toe between Southampton and Man City, and a mundane virtual Connect Four match between Nottingham Forest and Wolfsburg. There are only so many footballing-terms-applied-to-non-footballing-entities that we can take, therefore we envisage that these such attempts to keep the Twitter feed invigorated may (thankfully) be over soon.
But this really is a time for the social media secretaries to earn their keep. The task of keeping us informed and entertained in these times is not an easy one. We are used to almost being drowned in contemporary footballing content, now we have to broaden our horizons and seek entertainment in other forms. An idea which has derived a lot of excitement is one from Leyton Orient, who proposed a 128-team FIFA 20 tournament. Subsequent to the draw taking place, many football-starved viewers (including us) are likely to keep a firm eye on the proceedings of the electronic version of our favourite sport.
This weekend, many people will have been scrolling through the sports channels too, hoping to find something to watch, only to find themselves bereft of options in terms of live sports. All football fans are affected, from those who like a casual bet on the weekend’s fixtures, to those for whom football is their only form of escapism.
Football, for us all, is more than just a result at the end of 90 minutes; it’s the passion, the camaraderie and the emotion. It’s the heartbeat of almost every conversation during the week whilst we wait desperately for the next game – and next round of conversation – to begin.
Sport is the most addictive drug in the world, and it seems we are all going cold turkey. Without it, what are we to do? Coronavirus may be dominating headlines, but it cannot sustain a two-hour conversation in a pub. It cannot divide opinion in the same manner as VAR, promotion chances and managerial sackings. Whilst we may be all fighting the same battle against the virus, it has not united us in the same way as football does day in, day out.
However, we put it to you that sport is immune from Coronavirus. Matches may be postponed, and leagues potentially considered null and void, but even this cannot kill football. No one may be kicking a ball, but discussion of the beautiful game is as alive as ever. Coronavirus may be dominating the news, but the talk in pubs up and down the country remains centred around sport. The goalposts of these debates may have shifted to answer the impossible question of how we proceed in these unprecedented times – but football is still as alive as ever. It seems Bill Shankly was right.
This post will raise three issues brought to light as a result of the global pandemic dominating our news feeds at the moment.
In terms of the logistics of the remainder of this season, what happens next? It has been universally recognised that the scheduled restart date of April 4th is a delaying tactic. This will inevitably be pushed back further given the worsening situation in the UK as a result of COVID-19, with an emergency meeting between the Premier League clubs on Thursday. Therefore, what are the solutions and how plausible are they?
Perhaps the most unlikely and most drastic course of action is the option of considering the current season null and void. This would cruelly deny Liverpool of their first league title in 30 years and would have huge repercussions on teams in the box seats for promotion in the lower leagues, notably Leeds United.
There are fundamental flaws in this debate, given the argument consists of the idea that ‘you can start afresh in August.’ Ultimately, we do not know how long the spread of the virus will reverberate in the UK, so there are no guarantees for a proposed starting date. Also, we believe that finishing an ongoing season is more important than starting the next season on time. With the summer months freed up by the postponement of the European Championships, there is room for potential completion with flexibility from the authorities.
However, it boils down to the state of the virus in the UK, with some scientists predicting a peak in June. How far can we go to complete a season? Is July a complete cut off point, or can you even extend to August or September? These are all unanswered questions at this point in time.
Other solutions have been put forward by chief executives and pundits alike. Brighton’s chief executive Paul Barber proposed a 22 team Premier League next season, with no relegation from the previous season (this current season) and the top two Championship clubs (Leeds and West Brom) coming up. Some have even suggested finishing the season with the current positions in the respective leagues. This is something that many (3-At-The-back included) are finding hard to get on board with.
In due course, important decisions need to be made. Although there is much more than football at stake here, the authorities need to protect the footballing interests and integrity of the English game. The meeting on Thursday between all Premier League clubs will provide yet another twist in the ever-changing developments of COVID-19. Perhaps drastic action is premature in these uncertain times. However, one thing is for certain and that is we are in uncharted waters.
Despite the lack of sporting activity available to tweet about, the Twittersphere is far from quiet yet. Official league accounts will be able to exhaust their extensive archives of goals, games and moments from over the years. The Premier League’s official twitter account began by running a poll to determine the goal of the season so far, while the LaLiga (English) page creatively wrote an acrostic poem about Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen to accompany a highlight reel of his from this season.
Perhaps we will see more imaginative means of communication on our screens in the near future, especially as accounts aim to keep their millions of followers entertained. In the long run, this will prove to be a tricky task. We follow these accounts for the football – at the moment there is no football, nor will there be any in the foreseeable future. However, similar to how to we all love to watch an episode of Premier League Years, maybe past events and highlight reels will be welcomed by the Twitter community.
With an even trickier task to remain relevant are the accounts of specific football clubs. They possess a much narrower pool of historic footage to bring to the fore, meaning these accounts may struggle to remain active and engaging. Light-hearted efforts have included a game of tic-tac-toe between Southampton and Man City, and a mundane virtual Connect Four match between Nottingham Forest and Wolfsburg. There are only so many footballing-terms-applied-to-non-footballing-entities that we can take, therefore we envisage that these such attempts to keep the Twitter feed invigorated may (thankfully) be over soon.
But this really is a time for the social media secretaries to earn their keep. The task of keeping us informed and entertained in these times is not an easy one. We are used to almost being drowned in contemporary footballing content, now we have to broaden our horizons and seek entertainment in other forms. An idea which has derived a lot of excitement is one from Leyton Orient, who proposed a 128-team FIFA 20 tournament. Subsequent to the draw taking place, many football-starved viewers (including us) are likely to keep a firm eye on the proceedings of the electronic version of our favourite sport.
This weekend, many people will have been scrolling through the sports channels too, hoping to find something to watch, only to find themselves bereft of options in terms of live sports. All football fans are affected, from those who like a casual bet on the weekend’s fixtures, to those for whom football is their only form of escapism.
Football, for us all, is more than just a result at the end of 90 minutes; it’s the passion, the camaraderie and the emotion. It’s the heartbeat of almost every conversation during the week whilst we wait desperately for the next game – and next round of conversation – to begin.
Sport is the most addictive drug in the world, and it seems we are all going cold turkey. Without it, what are we to do? Coronavirus may be dominating headlines, but it cannot sustain a two-hour conversation in a pub. It cannot divide opinion in the same manner as VAR, promotion chances and managerial sackings. Whilst we may be all fighting the same battle against the virus, it has not united us in the same way as football does day in, day out.
However, we put it to you that sport is immune from Coronavirus. Matches may be postponed, and leagues potentially considered null and void, but even this cannot kill football. No one may be kicking a ball, but discussion of the beautiful game is as alive as ever. Coronavirus may be dominating the news, but the talk in pubs up and down the country remains centred around sport. The goalposts of these debates may have shifted to answer the impossible question of how we proceed in these unprecedented times – but football is still as alive as ever. It seems Bill Shankly was right.
Written and edited by: 3-At-The-Back