Thoughts on where this situation will go for football.

[northnorfolkwolf]

I've been very impressed by the knowledge and wisdom and sheer common sense shown by many on here when discussing coronavirus and whilst I realise that football is not a major issue right now this is a football forum and views would be interesting. Most of the discussions on the Mix have been on the here and now but I do wonder where our game will go in the next 6 - 9 months. With no vaccine in sight for perhaps the rest of this year and confirmed cases and deaths rising across Europe I think the next big football thing here may be games with home fans only followed closely by games behind closed doors; hopefully this will get us to the end of the season? I'm not too sure how the authorities will arrange the big Cup finals, both here and in Europe? Possibly played at a later date? This leads me on to the start of the new season in August (just 5 months away) and pre season training - if things have not dramatically improved could the season feasibly be pushed back? I'm sure the Clubs and the FA, the Prem, UEFA et al are already in (behind closed doors) discussions right now about these issues as the reality bites home. In the greater scheme of things I know Wolves are not that important but isn't it ironic that in our greatest season in 40 years we may not even be able to see our team live?

 

[ShropshireLad]

We’ll get smaller crowds and eventually games will take place behind closed doors if it continues to take grip.

 

[Deak77]

I'd have thought there would be a big doubt over the Euro's as well.

 

[SBDJ]

IWith no vaccine in sight for perhaps the rest of this year and confirmed cases and deaths rising across Europe I think the next big football thing here may be games with home fans only

Why would they have matches with home fans only? I cant see why that would be a logical step

 

[VancouverWolf]

Too many variables at this point, although the best outcome is that it can be contained. Everybody is watching Italy to see if their measures are working. If the cases in Italy have peaked then other countries have a template to follow and although I don’t think this virus will disappear anytime soon, hopefully our daily lives won’t be disrupted too much.
I hope the games will continue, even if behind closed doors, although Series A has cancelled til early April.
Am I being naive in thinking that it surely can’t it really get really bad to the point that our way of life changes in a huge way for a year or two, with large numbers of deaths and patients exhausting doctors and nurses, not to mention managing the situation.
Apart from UEFA, the PL or the clubs, if things get serious enough, the players may not want to travel to games in a hot spot if they have to stay overnight in a hotel because no one can guarantee that cleaners making minimum wage have cleaned that room thoroughly. Raul, eg, wouldn’t want to risk their unborn baby.
I think it’s safe to say that our players and Nuno and the club have had discussions about this trip to Greece and I’m sure there was some very polite but blunt questions to the mgt regarding safety.
Nuno’s mantra of one game at a time might very well have a new meaning.

In the words of Donald Rumsfeld.....
“.......because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don't know we don't know.”

 

[Alex Rae The Substitute]

Money will win. So Liverpool will probably be awarded the title, whereas those at the bottom will just be told to suck it up if/ when they’re deemed to be relegated.

 

[Monketron]

Euro 2020 and the Olympics are going to be bigger concerns before the start of the next football season. The amount of money lost is going to hurt those organisations / FAs who aren't self sufficient and rely on the money from those events to keep going. Same with none Premier League clubs. The % of revenue made up by TV money is so high in the Premier league it wont make much difference to Wolves or the other EPL clubs, but those teams in the Champ/Scotland where match day revenue is basically the only thing keeping them afloat are in serious trouble if this drags into next season. Be very interesting if the FA/Premier League help out those clubs further down the pyramid financially or agree to relax FFP rules for a few years.

 

[WolvTown]

Typical, Wolves decide not to develop a stand because of the dip in attendance and this could force there hand to take a hit in attendance, albeit for possibly a few weeks only.

 

[YamYamWolf]

If I'm being totally honest, I'm fully expecting that I've watched the last home game at molineux this season.

I know the media do hype things up but it is pretty serious. I know someone who works at new cross and they have been advised that if they have 20 new cases across the next 48 hours all doctors and nurses will need to be the tested and will be forced to self isolate.

It's no joke. Would I rather the wolves play behind closed doors leading to fans and players having more of a chance of being healthy? Absolutely.

The euros will be cancelled as a precaution but I think by july we may start to see the decline of the virus.

We all love the Wolves and theres nothing better than spending a matchday with me mates but coronavirus could have implications on my family. If it gets worse, why risk it?

 

[GateWolf]

What strikes me and offers some hope for our domestic games carrying on, is that we do seem to be controlling the virus at the moment, we have about 300 cases and sadly 5 deaths since the 31st of Jan. Spain had its first case just before we played Espanyol (2 weeks ago) and they have 1200 cases and 30 deaths already France and Germany both have over a 1000 cases so perhaps been an island rather than having land borders may limit the cases for us.
Convinced the Euros will go ahead as UEFA is a cash driven organisation, worst case for the Euros is they get delayed a year
Fingers crossed things don’t get any worse and we keep on top of things after the Easter School holidays as that will be a time that lots of people travel

 

[JadeWolf]

I think it’s inevitable that some games will be played behind closed doors. We had a meeting at work last night and by the sounds of it it’s gonna be when not if the government closes the schools. Whether you think the virus is serious or not the government does.

 

[clivewolves]

I said on another thread I wouldn't mind if football administrations delay domestic and European football and play the games later. I would cancel the Euros in the summer to free up the calendar. The Euros can always be played next summer. Playing games behind closed doors is bad for everyone in football. I understand why the governmental authorities might want to close grounds given the current situation. I don't know if it would be feasible to delay the season but I think it would be better than closing grounds.

 

[Mutchy]

Football related only on this thread please. There is still one of the older ones for more general discussion.

 

[Ponty]

Think it’s a case of when not if some form of control on crowds is imposed. Given the number of vulnerable people that need hospital treatment it is imperative that everything is done to slow the spread to prevent hospitals being overwhelmed. I actually think our Government are letting other countries introduce measures and then following as the UK population gets used to the idea of huge restrictions.

 

[waggys left foot]

EFL ,particularly League one and two ,have warned that some clubs may not survive or they won't be able to pay wages as they depend on gate receipts which dip anyway at the end of the season unless they are involved in the business end.Prem and Chump more dependent on TV money so should be able to ride it out.

 

[oldgoldheart]

i wrote about this on the mix in January. it is inevitable we will follow the italians but i expect a "behind closed doors" approach to start with. the euros may get cancelled and next season (which is only 4 months away for teams like us) may get postponed or continue behind closed doors. life is about to change for all of us massively. the economic impact will be gigantic too

 

[waggys left foot]

BBCs take on it .


Coronavirus and Premier League: Key questions about what lies ahead

 

[oldgoldheart]

Too many variables at this point, although the best outcome is that it can be contained. Everybody is watching Italy to see if their measures are working. If the cases in Italy have peaked then other countries have a template to follow and although I don’t think this virus will disappear anytime soon, hopefully our daily lives won’t be disrupted too much.
I hope the games will continue, even if behind closed doors, although Series A has cancelled til early April.
Am I being naive in thinking that it surely can’t it really get really bad to the point that our way of life changes in a huge way for a year or two, with large numbers of deaths and patients exhausting doctors and nurses, not to mention managing the situation.
Apart from UEFA, the PL or the clubs, if things get serious enough, the players may not want to travel to games in a hot spot if they have to stay overnight in a hotel because no one can guarantee that cleaners making minimum wage have cleaned that room thoroughly. Raul, eg, wouldn’t want to risk their unborn baby.
I think it’s safe to say that our players and Nuno and the club have had discussions about this trip to Greece and I’m sure there was some very polite but blunt questions to the mgt regarding safety.
Nuno’s mantra of one game at a time might very well have a new meaning.

In the words of Donald Rumsfeld.....
“.......because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don't know we don't know.”

i think you may be a bit naive, yes. and wolverhampton may be a "hot spot". we will find out in a few days/weeks

 

[WW1963]

Far too many games to complete in the leagues, let alone European competition, for this season to be finished even if done behind closed doors.

Looking at the statistics we are allowed to see, I really cannot see how next season can even go ahead. Sure, UEFA and other sporting gatekeepers are only concerned about money but they have to operate under higher authorities such as governments.

 

[ShropshireLad]

Far too many games to complete in the leagues, let alone European competition, for this season to be finished even if done behind closed doors.

Looking at the statistics we are allowed to see, I really cannot see how next season can even go ahead. Sure, UEFA and other sporting gatekeepers are only concerned about money but they have to operate under higher authorities such as governments.

There are two possibilities:
a) the league positions stand as they are when the moratorium hits the fixture lists
b) the league positions are all cancelled and we start again next season but Liverpool are granted the Championship

Either way either Villa or Albion are ****ed so we’re amongst the real winners.

 

[Bankswolf The Third]

I am curious to the answer to this question
What is financially more of a disaster. Cancelling the premier league/La Liga/Serie A/Bundesliga or the Euros.
For me if your going to go down the Italy route then one of those scenarios has to happen

 

[The Runner]

i wrote about this on the mix in January. it is inevitable we will follow the italians but i expect a "behind closed doors" approach to start with. the euros may get cancelled and next season (which is only 4 months away for teams like us) may get postponed or continue behind closed doors. life is about to change for all of us massively. the economic impact will be gigantic too

Deputy Chief Medical Officer saying 'cancelling big outdoor events like football matches would not necessarily be a decision supported by science.'
UK virus tactics defended as cases expected to rise

 

[oldgoldheart]

Deputy Chief Medical Officer saying 'cancelling big outdoor events like football matches would not necessarily be a decision supported by science.'
UK virus tactics defended as cases expected to rise

i know. but they will change their mind

 

[oldgoldheart]

I am curious to the answer to this question
What is financially more of a disaster. Cancelling the premier league/La Liga/Serie A/Bundesliga or the Euros.
For me if your going to go down the Italy route then one of those scenarios has to happen

frankly who cares about the euros?

 

[The Runner]

i know. but they will change their mind

Is this just your opinion or are you qualified in an appropriate medical area to know this?

 

[Hot Fuss]

frankly who cares about the euros?

Millions of people.

 

[sc91]

Millions of people.

It's the one thing that can be shunted to next year though.

 

[Hot Fuss]

It's the one thing that can be shunted to next year though.

Agreed.

 

[AndyWolves]

Cancel the euros, extend the season into the summer to give time to catch up any postponed games.

Restricted to behind closed doors to start with and then allow small amounts of fans to start attending again once we know where we are (i.e. we aren't seeing a huge spike in new cases) drawn by lottery.

Teams will need regular testing but the question will be should test kits be used in this way or would test kits be better used for the wider population.

You'd almost want to declare a month break and for clubs to get purposefully infected so that all staff & players can get an immunity built up - they're all in very good physical shape so there shouldn't be many issues. Obviously they'd have to be isolated during the recovery phase and then some time getting fitness back.

Two things will stop this virus, either a jab or a built up immunity. A jab is quite some way off

 

[Black Country Wanderer]

Its inevitable that closed doors will happen in the next few weeks,possibly even stopping the football altogether within a month
Positions will be as they are then,and promotion and relegation will go ahead on that basis im pretty sure on that,cant see them just ignoring the two thirds of the season played so far
Very doubtful the Euros will go ahead,just to be played in empty stadiums imo
Its common sense really,and although we all love the game,lives are more important

 

[northnorfolkwolf]

Interesting to see some of the thoughts on this; obviously views will change as the thing evolves over time. I'm interested to read that some on here think that if the Prem is 'postponed'/ cancelled at some time the league placings will stand as they are. Therefore we need to stay in the top 6 but I bet the bottom 3 will argue for another week of fixtures to see if they can get into 17th!?
Finally, I can already see some aggro on here. Please, please respect each others comments as there is such a lot of knowledge on here it is good to hear all the different views.

 

[Hrothgar]

Deputy Chief Medical Officer saying 'cancelling big outdoor events like football matches would not necessarily be a decision supported by science.'
UK virus tactics defended as cases expected to rise

True - but surely it is supported by common sense! The only actual issue is timing. Our Government are clearly trying to hold back on such decisions for as long as they feel they can but the situation is changing by the hour now and it will almost certainly have to happen. And as more people fall victim to the virus inevitably some players, staff, officials will too. One option would be to suspend the season entirely and work out some points allocation scheme for next season - so that team’s efforts thus far are not entirely unrewarded. The Euros can be held next year and the final stages of the European Cup and Europa could take place later this year.

 

[oldgoldheart]

Millions of people.

Nah

irrelevant. Most fans care about club football. The euros are a side show. I wouldnt care if they didnt bother

 

[Hot Fuss]

Nah

irrelevant. Most fans care about club football. The euros are a side show. I wouldnt care if they didnt bother

Each to there own.

England's last match in a tournament got nearly 27 million viewers in this country alone.

There will be millions of people all over Europe gutted if the euros don’t happen, I was certainly looking forward to them.

 

[VancouverWolf]

Well I woke up to the news about Olympiacos’s owner and reading the various threads and reliable media, I feel deflated and resigned to a lousy end to this season as a Wolves fan. It’s all a mess....I bet UEFA, the PL, the FA are all scratching their heads trying to figure out what to do, with lots of disagreements between themselves. Possibly some convoluted, idiotic, ‘square peg/round hole’ trash decisions that suits or satisfies no one.
Our best team in decades, last 16 with a decent chance and possibly snagging a CL spot for next season......well, that just sucks.
I now have little enthusiasm or optimism for the season to be saved in any meaningful way.

However, I’m not unmindful that’s people are getting sick and some dying and that more important of course, not to mention some people may lose out on badly needed wages if their jobs are impacted.
If suspending or cancelling soccer competitions will help to contain this bug and give health officials some breathing room and time to manage this crisis, then by all means we all support that.
But I’m not happy

 

[The Wolf In The North]

There is no ideal solution. You can't just stop the season and declare it finished as things stands, legal action would rip the sport apart. The fairest option would be to void everything and start again when it's safe, but again, clubs at the top of their leagues will then go the legal route.

Press the pause button then recommence some time next year, instead of next year's competitions? Again, fair, but loss of revenue for clubs already out of cups would cause kicking and screaming. Just a nightmare.

By far the most sensible thing would be to stop now, cancel the Euros, and if there's a chance to reconvene domestic leagues and cups in the summer instead, just get it done.

There is this weird, sci-fi type feeling at the back of the mind, though, that the virus is not something that's going to be all swept away neatly by June anyhow. We could be looking at public events and businesses being affected for a hell of a long time.

 

[TooMutchBull]

Zorb football would reduce the potential for the virus to spread amongst the players and allow the season to be concluded.

 

[northnorfolkwolf]

Zorb football would reduce the potential for the virus to spread amongst the players and allow the season to be concluded.

I'm old, what does 'Zorb football' mean?
I see that, if you believe the figures from China, the new cases in Wuhan are almost single figures now, which if replicated in Europe means that the virus surges (as in Italy) then falls back quite dramatically as the Gov't initiates take hold. I like the idea of putting everything on hold asap (we all know where we are then), binning the Euros and hopefully sometime in the summer the leagues across Europe can be concluded as per the fixture list and also the CL and EL can work through too. The impact on next season would be big as there would still need to be a shortish break and perhaps the new season could kick off again in say October through to June with the following season pretty much back to normality. My big concern is that there are just too many people/organisations/vested interests involved so that a decision on what to do now is just delayed and delayed. I'd put Nuno or Pep in charge of things - they'd get it sorted.

 

[Black Country Wanderer]

I'm old, what does 'Zorb football' mean?
I see that, if you believe the figures from China, the new cases in Wuhan are almost single figures now, which if replicated in Europe means that the virus surges (as in Italy) then falls back quite dramatically as the Gov't initiates take hold. I like the idea of putting everything on hold asap (we all know where we are then), binning the Euros and hopefully sometime in the summer the leagues across Europe can be concluded as per the fixture list and also the CL and EL can work through too. The impact on next season would be big as there would still need to be a shortish break and perhaps the new season could kick off again in say October through to June with the following season pretty much back to normality. My big concern is that there are just too many people/organisations/vested interests involved so that a decision on what to do now is just delayed and delayed. I'd put Nuno or Pep in charge of things - they'd get it sorted.

Yeah just postpone it till all my players are fit lol

 

[Scallywolf]

Ok so we now have a situation where the Coronavirus is having a significant effect on football and the knock on it will have on Clubs finances.

Matches in Europe are going to be played behind closed doors and some may be postponed due to the virus. There are rumours the Italian Serie A could be cancelled as well. Our own Premier League could be affected.

Is it really going to be that bad?

There has been serious talk of Clubs suffering from loss of revenue due to the empty stadiums but surely there are clauses in insurance policies to cover this eventuallity. Yes I admit it may be extreme in nature but insurance policies should cover all eventualities

Any insurance experts out there?