Premier League 2019/20

[Adam]

I really don't understand why they would move the Man Utd v Sheff Utd game.

The games in question are:

• Manchester City v Liverpool
• Manchester City v Newcastle
• Manchester United v Sheffield United
• Newcastle v Liverpool
• Everton v Liverpool
• The game in which Liverpool could secure the title

So yes, all northern clubs involved there for some reason.

[The Lusophone]

They'll want to move our games further south to be closer to our fans. 

[Colly]

It'll be interesting to see if Newcastle v Man City in the cup goes neutral too, can't think of a reason why that league game would.

[Gazz]

We've just had the grass cut at Long Lane. Seating capacity: however many chairs are in the club lounge.

[TCO]

I miss the neutral venue FA Cup semi finals that weren't at Wembley. Used to love watching a good cup tie at Villa Park back in the day and Wembley used to feel proper special.

[DavidMarrio]

3 hours ago, Adam said:

I really don't understand why they would move the Man Utd v Sheff Utd game.

The games in question are:

• Manchester City v Liverpool
• Manchester City v Newcastle
• Manchester United v Sheffield United
• Newcastle v Liverpool
• Everton v Liverpool
• The game in which Liverpool could secure the title

So yes, all northern clubs involved there for some reason.

I sense a theme other than northerners in half of them games being moved.... 

It's sound to do conga lines for VE day though and have street parties 

[Colly]

The thing is though where are they going to move Newcastle v Liverpool to? Most places up to London are probably as quick to get to as Newcastle from Liverpool due to shitty Transpennine train routes, and playing in Norwich or Bournemouth just feels irresponsible. Whole things daft, what are the police basing this on?

[DavidMarrio]

36 minutes ago, Colly said:

The thing is though where are they going to move Newcastle v Liverpool to? Most places up to London are probably as quick to get to as Newcastle from Liverpool due to shitty Transpennine train routes, and playing in Norwich or Bournemouth just feels irresponsible. Whole things daft, what are the police basing this on?

Basically means that all our games are gonna be at neutral venues till we actually win the league. I think it's a big bang on really given the bottom teams kicked up a fuss and wanted the league voiding because of home advantage and yet our games are sound to be moved with the idea being "oh them scousers and Liverpool fans are gonna all congregate"

Yet when we see all across the news of idiots mass gathering in parks and beaches or being able to drive to Durham for someone's mother's birthday and drive to beauty spots to test their eyes. It's a bit hypocritical. 

Who is to say move the City game to somewhere like I don't know Wigan...what is to stop people from going there. Are they gonna keep neutral game venues too secret until it's on TV and then you start to recognise the ground it's at? Oh look it's that stand with the half naked players on it so it's at the Vitality

[Colly]

 

[Baddar]

Ighalo is staying with United until January 31st 2021.

[Sam]

Well that's the Champions League place sewn up now... on a serious note I doubt he'll get much game time with Rashford back, he had really kicked on this season.

[Lineker]

Quote

The Premier League is close to presenting a provisional fixture list for the remainder of the season to its clubs, with the unlucky ones facing a sequence of three matches in seven days.

The league’s football operations team are working to finalise a schedule that features full match rounds on six long weekends beginning with Friday 19 June to Monday 22 June and three midweek slots incorporating games on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. The intention is for the midweek rounds to be 23-25 June, 7-9 July and 14-16 July.

There are two additional fixtures which are the games in hand from when the season was stopped – Manchester City v Arsenal and Aston Villa v Sheffield United – which will be the first to be played on Wednesday 17 June. The hope is to finish the league season on the weekend of 25-26 July, with the FA Cup final on Saturday 1 August.

It was agreed by the clubs that this was the preferred framework and, before a meeting on Thursday, the league’s operations team have sought to allocate fixtures to specific dates. It has been a stressful task with various interested parties to align, including broadcasters and safety advisory groups.

The operations team have prioritised the league’s guidance that teams should not play twice in 48 hours. It remains to be seen whether they can spare each club this unwanted scenario. However it is inevitable that, in a best-case scenario, some clubs will play three times in seven days. For example, after some Monday games, the clubs involved would have to play on Thursday and then at least one of them on Sunday, as both could not play again in the lone slot the following Monday.

The FA Cup quarter-finals are slated for the weekend of 27-28 June and the semi-finals for 18-19 July. The only two free midweek slots follow the Cup weekends, allowing for league games displaced by these ties to be staged. With the original running order of the league match rounds set to be respected, the games that stand to be bumped into midweek by the quarter-finals are Bournemouth v Newcastle, Arsenal v Norwich, Brighton v Manchester United, Everton v Leicester, Manchester City v Liverpool, Sheffield United v Tottenham and West Ham v Chelsea.

The provisional fixture list will be debated at Thursday’s meeting and there are sure to be complaints from those who feel that the spacing is against them. The hope is the schedule can be finessed and signed off, however.

Teams will ramp up preparations for the restart after the league gave the green light for friendlies as long as strict guidelines around hygiene are followed, with instructions including players travelling in their own cars, possibly in their kit.

These games will enable clubs to build match fitness and will be played at stadiums or training grounds. Clubs, who were sent a guidance note by the league on Tuesday, will need to ensure they adhere to physical distancing measures. Players involved will need to have recordeda negative coronavirus test in the most recent checks.

Risk assessments of stadiums and training grounds, are also required and teams will not be allowed to travel more than 90 minutes. It is understood Newcastle will be granted dispensation to travel further to find opponents. 

Chief among other matters to be discussed on Thursday are scenarios in the event the season cannot be finished – with an unweighted points-per-game system favoured. Also on the agenda will be the issue of neutral venues for a small number of high-risk games, the continued use of VAR, matchday safety protocols, broadcast requirements, amendments to the 25-man squads submitted in February and whether five substitutes are to be allowed. Chelsea have proposed that the number of substitutes on the bench be increased from seven to nine.

The Football Association will adopt “a commonsense approach” if Premier League players heed the call from the chairman of Kick It Out to take a knee in protest at the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis.

Fifa has urged national associations to be understanding about the context of Floyd’s death and, with players from Chelsea and Newcastle following their Liverpool counterparts by going down on one knee at training, the FA has indicated its reluctance to discipline individuals who stand against racism when the Premier League season resumes on 17 June.

Sanjay Bhandari, the chairman of Kick It Out, said on Monday the FA must show leniency if players call for social change and said there was no breach of rules around political messaging when Marcus Thuram went down on one knee after scoring for Borussia Mönchengladbach against Hertha Berlin on Sunday. The German FA is investigating Thuram’s protest and those of Jadon Sancho, Achraf Hakimi and Weston McKennie, who displayed “Justice for George Floyd” messages.

It is doubtful players in England will face punishment if they take a knee – a symbolic protest against racial inequality and police brutality that the NFL player Colin Kaepernick used in 2016.

Similarly, players are unlikely to face retrospective action if they display Justice for George Floyd messages, with disciplinary measures expected only if an action is deemed offensive or provocative. A player who takes off his shirt could still expect a booking.

An FA spokesperson said: “The FA strongly condemns discrimination of any kind and has endeavoured to ensure football in England is both diverse and inclusive in recent years. Where any behaviours or gestures on the pitch that may constitute a breach of the Laws of the Game have to be assessed, they would be reviewed on a case-by-case basis with a commonsense approach and understanding of their context.

“The power of football can break down barriers across communities and we remain deeply committed to removing all forms of discrimination from across the game we all love.”

Liverpool’s players went down on one knee in the Anfield centre circle on Monday and Chelsea and Newcastle players followed suit at their training grounds on Tuesday. 

“We want to use our position to express that we are living in a world where we have to try to improve it for the future, to be a better world with more love, without hate,” the Chelsea captain, César Azpilicueta, said. “We have seen recently the result of racism and we see every day that that kind of hate has to be eradicated from society, and we have to play our part.

“There is every day the possibility to lead by example, to behave, to educate the children into a better world because we know that education is key for the future.

“We know the young generation is coming behind us and we want to leave them in a better world with more possibilities without any kind of discrimination or racism, so everything matters and it is time to speak up and to face up to the attitudes we are seeing. There is no place for all of this.”

[Colly]

If poppies aren't political taking a fucking knee certainly isn't.

[stokeriño]

Quote

the FA has indicated its reluctance to discipline individuals who stand against racism

I literally cannot imagine a weaker way of wording this.

[FLiam]

Sky Sports are saying Udinese have offered Matty Longstaff a huge 5-year contract to join them in the summer.

[The Lusophone]

36 minutes ago, Liam Mk2 said:

Sky Sports are saying Udinese have offered Matty Longstaff a huge 5-year contract to join them in the summer.

Well it's a way to get him to sign for Watford without them paying Newcastle compensation I guess.

[Colly]

The games on Amazon Prime are going to be shown for free. Woo.

[TCO]

Premier Sports have the Amazon games here. Which means we have to pay for a 3rd premium channel to see all the Premier League games they bother to broadcast!

[Colly]

On 28/05/2020 at 16:32, Colly said:

I'm fairly resigned to Newcastle being the last club to refund supporters, if they do at all.

Quelle fucking surprise.

 

[Baddar]

Spurs v Man Utd is expected to be on Fri 19th June.

The fixture list is being released soon.