Hindsight isn't 2020 - The 2019-20 Season Thread [R]

If LPB were top of the Clasificación right now La Liga would have ended all proceedings and crowned them champions, Sergio Ramos would shout out for everyone to ignore the quarantine and meet up at Cibeles so he can do his whole bullfighting spiel with that matador’s cape, and Zidane would demand Pep’s Man City give them a pasillo before their Champions League tie whenever it’s played.

But they’re NOT top of the Clasificación, are they? [emoji846] So there went those plans.

 

Fans will take a hit. Not sure any of the footballing governing bodies care though...

But I don't see why they would cancel the Euros. Can be easily played in 2021.

 

Sorry by cancel I meant this year. It will be delayed for next year 100%.

And take a hit I mean a single host country preparing for something that doesn't happen. Look at Brazil for example. They took a hit even with WC 2014 happening. Imagine being delayed for one year. Total disaster

Honestly the reason I am against frozen standings is not due to the league race. It's due to the CL spots and the relegation spot. Maybe the league races too. Lazio had a big chance

Also A Madrid is one point away from 3rd place. They deserve to be in the CL next year

Wait a minute ... Espanyol is last... ok freeze La Liga don't give a champion just relegate only Espanyol

And LOL Liverpool's title will always be remembered as the Coronavirus year one while for the likes of Barca Juve Bayern PSG will be business as usual

 

The season should resume whenever that is. It doesn't feel right to just win the title now even if it's us who are on top.

 

Agree. Even if that's 3 months from now, so what?
Nor does it seem right to declare the season null and void. I know MLS does that every October (NHL and NBA too ), but that would be simply tragic to let happen in a serious sporting league. No Liverpool fan here, but you just can't do that to them. Not to mention all those clubs already primed for promotion.

 

It's weird how leagues nowhere seem to have a rule about what should happen in a case like this.

I mean, sure, Covid19 is this year's thing, but defined more generally - an external factor that forces the league to stop (a disease, a war, a natural catastrophe etc) - is not something we haven't seen in history. And it's not like a rule book of a major league is a one-pager. Football isn't a matter of life and death, but a lot is at stake still, and when there's is no rule, it's set up for a storm of subjective opinions / mess.

After this, I suppose the leagues make that rule.

*

As a sidenote, I wonder if Euro2020 moving to 2021 is that simple. They have the re-launch of Fifa Club World Cup that summer too, and in general moving major tournaments into another time isn't that simple. I'd guess that the chance of the tournament being cancelled (as opposed to postponed) isn't as small as some think.

 

It's not easy to plan around an 'unknown'.
And the storm of opinions is coming from fans and the media, which I feel is irrelevant.

As we stand now, La Liga has stated that the stoppage is for two weeks.
So once April 21-22 arrives they will likely assess the situation to see if play can continue immediately after.
If it cannot, then they'll issue an extension of the stoppage.
The only "rule" they can do at this very moment is cross their fingers and hope play resumes asap.
I'm sure they have a threshold of when the season is in danger of not having enough dates to complete the campaign and once things get close to that threshold they will likely issue a statement.
Until then, the best they can do is play things by ear.

UEFA's decision on Euro 2020 will surely weigh heavily on what La Liga decides.

I'm guessing the only certainty is that the season must end by June 30 because July 1 is when the new calendar begins and new contracts go into effect with players swapping clubs.

 

I agree it's not possible to plan and control everything always, but a simple rule of "if league is stopped for more than 4 weeks but less than 8 weeks, the play continues with the missed rounds annulled, if league stops for more than 8 weeks, the current table is final. Not exactly like that, but it's possible to have some sort of ruling possible. A chance of a pandemia is not "unknown" in a sense that they happen every now and then, have happened and will continue to happen, and league rules aren't meant for one season only, and not done by amateurs.

Storm is from amateurs and media, true, but also from pros. A famous example is Lyon and Marseille presidents arguing who gets a CL spot. Not to mention not every opinion and meeting league organizers and participants have is held in public.

I'm not really an expert on Liga specific rules, but league rules are public, and I don't think it has much there. That's my point basically. Of course they can make statements and so on, but the fact that they have to make their minds is the problem, there should be a rule in which everyone would know what happens in cases like these before the season even starts. Not that Liga organizers were especially weak in this sense, it's a problem everywhere. Rules should be able to answer as objectively as possible to all kinds of scenarios, bit like the law, even if the case was rare (and it's like season being stopped is THAT hard to predict: wars, epidemies, strikes of unions etc do happen).

Yeah, sounds likely to me too that Uefa decision has a big role.

 

I have no problem with league meetings not being public. Just as long as they make public their final decisions that they all agree and sign to.
But even then, as you reminded me with those club presidents in France, we still see challenges to the written rule.

When UEFA expanded the Champions League for the 1999-2000 season they explicitly stated in their regulations that no domestic league could send more that four clubs into the tournament and that defending champions were no longer guaranteed automatic entry into the competition.
This became an issue when Real Madrid won the 2000 UCL but finished out of the top four in La Liga.
UEFA regulations stated that in such a scenario it was up to the domestic FA which club gained into the tournament: The defending Champions League holders or the fourth placed club in La Liga.
The RFEF chose defending champs Real Madrid over fourth place Zaragoza, but I believe both Madrid and the RFEF financially compensated Zaragoza for the earnings lost by not playing in the tournament.
Well done.

Then came 2005 and the crybaby tactics of kicking and screaming put up by Liverpool, Everton and ultimately the English FA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverpool_F.C._2005–06_UEFA_Champions_League_qualification

So although things may be in the rule book, it's not always set in stone.

I place no blame on the footballing authorities on how they are handling the current COVID-19 situation.

 

I don't think the presidents (in France) challenge the written rule as much as they try to seek their own good in a situation the rules don't cover.

But in general, yeah I kind of agree, in that I think the authorities are doing well (but the authorities earlier could have done a little better).

 

Maybe with the tournament being played all over Europe, it makes rescheduling a bit easier(?). Its only a matter of hosting 3-4 games and each country has 15 months to prepare (again). If for whatever reason some country can't do it in 2021 I guess they can be swapped out for somewhere else.

There's alot of money in the 2021 CWC but surely that mickey-mouse, made-up event isn't a threat to the second biggest int'l tournament in football. They could also always push the CWC to 2022. Or even schedule it in the preseason of 2021 (August 2021). I'd argue that it makes more sense as a preseason tournament anyway.

 

Good point about the 30 June deadline. Yeah, no-way La Liga is resuming in early-April. At last check 5 Valencia players and coaches have the virus! Presumably they got it from playing Atalanta. Arsenal also infected, presumably due to their match against Olympiakos.

At first I thought they could start the league back up relatively early by playing in front of empty stadiums, but clearly that would just result in numerous footballers across Europe obtaining COVID-19. Its looking like they have to wait until the virus is completely gone. So even starting by mid-May seems optimistic at this stage (which is roughly the latest they can resume and still finish the season by June 30).

If Spain is able to slow the spread as successfully as Wuhan did (unlikely), we are still talking about mid-May to get Spain to where China is today (which is still a state of "not good").

 

Man this disease will hit hard some athletes. 20 to 30% reduced lung capacity?
Yikes

Good year ............

 

I mean, the number of reported cases in Spain, England and the U.S. has to be waaaay below the real number. Like by a factor of 20.
How can the # infected be in the low 4-digits yet we know of all these famous people that have COVID-19? I know that athletes, politicians and movie actors are somewhat more susceptible to get it, but still...

 

Yeah I agree, Europe should be easily ready to host Euros in 2021. As for teams and players, it's another matter, and depends on other competitions.

I half agree with CWC, but then again, it's a global thing whereas Euros is just Europe, and while it's Mickey Mouse now, FIFA might have different wishes for the future. I don't know how serious they are about it.

Either way, I'm sure they come up with something ok, even if whatever solution they end up with will have its problems.

 

Euro 2020 is now Euro 2021

 

Yup. But I'm worried that an extra month to finish the domestic leagues won't be enough. Then what to do? Is there flexibility around the July 1st deadline? Probably not.

 

They will try to finish it before July. If not FIFA wil make an exception for at least one more month

My best guess is that rest of the games will be played without spectators. Many teams will lose millions in revenues due to lack of ticket sales.... but hey extra tv watchers. TV money is still the biggest source of income.

Players and staff will be tested and retested. There won't be any public backlash because by the time there will be enough tests for the average Joe + people will enjoy something live for a change. The rivals of the teams that will win the leagues + CL and EL will claim the title won has no value. You will hear that certain players will not be able to play due to being quarantined. Due to that some teams they will play at half strength or worse. What I said is true for all sports and leagues
Fun fun fun

Only Liverpool and PSG's title will not be disputed...lol no Liverpool's win will be brought up for years to come ............. as being illegitimate

 

Pretty funny video from John Oliver on the Liverpool situation:
https://www.thebiglead.com/posts/la...udience-weird-but-good-liverpool-01e3hh5852pm

(you have to scroll down a bit for the video)

 

might have to delay the start of next season to squeeze it all in

 

I say if leagues don't resume by the first weekend of May, scrap the campaign and make sure next season is able to start on time. Especially with the Euro now set for the end of next season.
Vacate all titles except those where a club has a sizable lead and declare them champions. (Liverpool, PSG...)

 

This summer's Copa America is now moved to 2021, as well.

 

But I'm also thinking, do we really need a 2-month summer break if players are not playing all of March and April (at least)??

 

2021 CWC to be postponed, as well.

 

i dunno about that. being in quarantine is not the same as being on holiday. it's a highly stressful and scary situation. most athletes know they would be fine if they got it, but many of them will have loved ones who are vulnerable and that alone will have them on edge every minute until this is all over. it would be asking a lot of them to jump straight from that into competitive matches.