Premier League 2019/20

[Colly]

Tottenham non playing staff have been put on leave with 80% pay, a move so shitty not even Mike Ashley has done it.

Yet.

[Gazz]

We did it yesterday...

[Colly]

Still paying staff in full for at least the next month. Stupid Guardian.

[Baddar]

Eddie Howe has taken a "significant" voluntary pay cut - the first PL manager to do so.

Also, one for @Jimmy

[Jimmy]

27 minutes ago, Baddar said:

Eddie Howe has taken a "significant" voluntary pay cut - the first PL manager to do so.

Also, one for @Jimmy

oh fuck off Raphael 

[MDK]

 

[DavidMarrio]

46 minutes ago, MDK said:

 

One plays in the Champions League and has a swanky new stadium

One is owned by Mike Ashley 

One is a newly promoted club  

 

Shocking really. I know a lot of teams have already said they would pay their staff as normal. Ashley you would have thought would have learnt his lesson P.R wise but its Mike Ashley. 

Curious as to why Tottenham and Norwich also felt the need to. Levy is definitely not playing a blinder here... 

[Gazz]

Levy furloughed the staff on the same day he was paid a £3m bonus.

I think it's safe to say to days of mugging teams in the transfer market are long over...

[Rich]

1 hour ago, MDK said:

 

Revenues don't equal profits Sam Cunningham you misleading Sol Campbell

[FestiveJack]

The three clubs that asked for handouts all made profits that year though. 

[Rich]

6 hours ago, Mad Jack Frost said:

The three clubs that asked for handouts all made profits that year though. 

Newcastle are in a net retained loss position, they made £18m of profit last year, lost £40m the year before and have a history of losing money.

Norwich made a profit only because they sold players rather than their overall operations being profitable

Tottenham have no excuse.

[Gazz]

I think we can all agree though that Mike Ashley, Delia Smith and Daniel Levy are all cunts though.

[TCO]

Agreed.

The way Levy does business/plays blinders is going to come back and bite him so hard, it shouldn't be praised at all. He seems like a prick of the highest order both personally and professionally. At least with Ashley, you know you're getting a massive cunt up front.

 

[Colly]

1 hour ago, TCO said:

Agreed.

The way Levy does business/plays blinders is going to come back and bite him so hard, it shouldn't be praised at all. He seems like a prick of the highest order both personally and professionally. At least with Ashley, you know you're getting a massive cunt up front.

 

I know Joelinton's underperformed for his price tag, but this feels harsh.

[Lineker]

Season suspended indefinitely. 

Players will be asked by their clubs to take a 30% wage cut.

[Baddar]

If it gets cancelled and City are denied the chance to make the greatest PL comeback ever, it'll be so harsh on them.

[MDK]

If the table is left as it is I will be gutted for Bournemouth.

[DavidMarrio]

Quote

 

Jordan Henderson is organising a Premier League coronavirus crisis fund for the NHS that will run into millions of pounds.

The Times understands that the Liverpool captain has spent the last few days contacting the captains of other Premier League clubs to pitch the idea.

The initiative being led by the England international pre-dates the scathing comments made by Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who called upon top-flight footballers to “play their part” during Thursday’s government crisis briefing.

Talks with Premier League captains were continuing today and the initial reaction has been wholly positive, with players determined to raise cash for those on the frontline. Indeed the players are happy to engage with Hancock and his department despite the criticism they have received. They will seek NHS and government guidance on how best the money can be distributed to combat the global pandemic.

Contact has already been made with banks to set up the fund, which footballers will simply be asked to contribute to on the understanding that there is a wide variation of salaries across the Premier League.

The prospect of players from all 20 club making a contribution could raise millions of pounds, with public donations also welcome.

This initiative will be kept separate from any potential decisions clubs have to make on wage deferrals or even cuts, depending on how long football remains suspended.

Henderson is not looking to take any credit for this. Indeed he was said to be frustrated that news of the plans had emerged prior to the fund being created. Sources close to the player insist he simply wants to use what influence he has to support NHS workers and the wider community.

Premier League clubs remain hopeful of reaching an agreement on player wage deferrals today despite an apparent impasse with the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA).

Top-flight players are coming under increasing pressure from the government after four Premier League clubs — Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Norwich City and Bournemouth — moved to place non-playing staff on furlough.

“Given the sacrifices many people are making, the first thing Premier League footballers can do is make a contribution,” Matt Hancock, the health secretary, said yesterday.

But after days of discussions between the Premier League, the Football League and the PFA to find a resolution regarding player contracts during the crisis, the players’ union issued a statement that failed to even acknowledge the calls from politicians or declare any desire to make a contribution. Instead there was an accusation that clubs are trying to pressure players into contributing towards the wages of non-playing staff for the benefit of shareholders.

The source of the problem remains Tottenham’s decision to place 550 staff members on furlough on the day they announced £173 million in profits and £7 million in salary and bonus payments for their chairman, Daniel Levy.

But the PFA statement did say that they had not blocked possible wage deferrals for players and there remains a desire to work towards a solution at a shareholders meeting for the 20 Premier League clubs today that could lead to players accepting a deferral of their wages for a certain period.

Only if the economic impact of the pandemic worsens could it become necessary to consider wage cuts for players with watertight employment contracts.

The statement from a union that is still being run by Gordon Taylor did the players no favours last night. Taylor announced 12 months ago that he would stand down once an independent review into his organisation, which is also being investigated by the Charity Commission, had been concluded.

“Contrary to some press reports the PFA has never stated that it will block all wage deferrals,” the statement said. “What we have sought to put in place is a structured and unified approach to ensure a fair response across the leagues.

“Each club’s financial standing will vary. We are aware of the public sentiment that the players should pay non-playing staff’s salaries. However, our current position is that, as businesses, if clubs can afford to pay their players and staff, they should. Any use of the government’s support schemes without genuine financial need is detrimental to the wider society.

“We fully accept that players will have to be flexible and share the financial burden of the Covid-19 outbreak in order to secure the long-term future of their own club and indeed the wider game.”

A number of Championship clubs are considering placing their players on furlough amid concerns that they could soon be struggling to pay their wage bills. One chief executive from the Championship fears as many as “18 of the 24” clubs in English football’s second tier could be in serious financial trouble within weeks.

 

 

[Colly]

I bet it was Milners idea though. 

[Lineker]

Forgive the weird formatting...

Quote

Broadcasters will be able to screen Premier League games kicking off at 3pm
live for the remainder of the season after UEFA lifted restrictions.
The English and Scottish Football Associations have been granted permission to
remove the traditional 3pm blackout by European football's governing body.
The move would appear to be another step towards matches being played behind
closed doors in order to complete the season after the coronavirus pandemic
caused mass postponements across league and cup competitions.
A UEFA statement read: "Taking into account the current exceptional
circumstances, UEFA has lifted the 'blocked hours' protection granted to the
UEFA Member Associations for England and Scotland for the remainder of the
2019/20 football season, following requests from the relevant National
Associations as a result of measures taken in relation to the COVID-19
pandemic."
It was confirmed on Friday that professional football would not return at the
start of May, with a restart date being kept under constant review.
The Premier League and EFL remain committed to completing the 2019-20 season,
with UEFA having warned that clubs in competitions which it deems have been
cancelled prematurely may not be eligible to play in next season's Champions
League or Europa League.
Premier League clubs are also conscious of the financial impact that the
failure to complete the season would have. It has been reported that clubs stand
to lose around £750million if no further matches are played.
It was reported on Monday that a World Cup-style camp is one solution being
considered by Premier League clubs as a means to complete the current campaign.
Clubs could gather in a neutral location to play out the remainder of the
season behind closed doors, with only those personnel essential to staging and
broadcasting the games allowed to attend to minimise the chance of a coronavirus
infection.
The clubs remain committed to completing the season and are keen to avoid
facing any financial penalties from broadcasters for failing to fulfil
fixtures.
It has been reported that if no further matches were played, it could cost
clubs £750million.
There are a number of difficulties with the idea, not least how to deal with
the necessity to have medical staff on hand during a public health crisis, and
how the format could survive even one positive Covid-19 test.
But the idea of multiple matches being televised on a daily basis throughout
June and July, if the infection curve has flattened by then, could have some
merit.