Premier League 2021/22

[Colly]

Didn't Klopp make a big thing of liking the Christmas football tradition when he came in? Like it or not he's in the entertainment industry, and everyone's in the same position. You don't hear Biggins whinging about working all December...

[DavidMarrio]

1 minute ago, Colly said:

Didn't Klopp make a big thing of liking the Christmas football tradition when he came in? Like it or not he's in the entertainment industry, and everyone's in the same position. You don't hear Biggins whinging about working all December...

Tbf it's the only work Biggins is getting 

[Colly]

That's my point, it's seasonal work. Yes the Christmas fixture list is hard, but it's there to entertain the fans both in grounds and on TV that fund the whole industry. If they didn't play the extra games now they'd find a way to whinge about where they got stuck, and it's beyond obvious that if they did give all clubs two weeks off they'd be off to the States or the far east for friendlies.

Plus that's ignoring the fact we now have that staggered break in January(?) anyway now.

[Hobo]

1 hour ago, Colly said:

Didn't Klopp make a big thing of liking the Christmas football tradition when he came in? Like it or not he's in the entertainment industry, and everyone's in the same position. You don't hear Biggins whinging about working all December...

It is the opposite. Jurgen Klopp very much doesn't like the Christmas fixtures list.

[The Lusophone]

It's one of the few things grumpy Klopp is right about.

[Matt]

Yeah it's shit that millionaire footballers have to play an extra game or two at the time that most of their paying customers have the most time to go see them. Absolute twaddle.

[The Lusophone]

[Colly]

The league have ruled out a blanket postponement of week 20. I think it'll be interesting to see if there'll be fans in the grounds by then though.

[9 to 5]

2 hours ago, MadJack said:

It's one of the few things grumpy Klopp is right about.

Christmas fixtures are a big source of income for smaller clubs in England and seeing it removed for good (this year might be a good idea) would damage the smaller teams more so. Not everything should be set up for just the 20 clubs in Premiership, think about the 72 other league clubs and all the rest in the non-leagues.

[Baddar]

Talking of impact on lower league clubs, FA Cup 3rd and 4th round replays have been scrapped for this season.

[Hobo]

it can be both true that Christmas fixtures are a good source of income for smaller clubs (probably moreso further down the pyramid than at Premier League level) and that the high frequency of games over a short period of time is not ideal for managing player fitness.

It's also this is an issue fairly unique to English football AFAIK?

[Matt]

Maybe clubs should forfeit their places in European competitions if they don't want to play twice a week.

[Colly]

23 minutes ago, Hobo said:

it can be both true that Christmas fixtures are a good source of income for smaller clubs (probably moreso further down the pyramid than at Premier League level) and that the high frequency of games over a short period of time is not ideal for managing player fitness.

It's also this is an issue fairly unique to English football AFAIK?

There's a handful of others, Belgium I guess are the biggest outside of the UK (love your dismissal of the other home nations...).

[Baddar]

The league has confirmed that things will be continuing as normal for now. Also...

Quote

The League also confirmed to its clubs today that 92 per cent of players and club staff have received one, two or three COVID-19 vaccination doses, with 84 per cent of players on the vaccination journey.

That makes better reading than what was quoted the other day.

[Adam]

42 minutes ago, Baddar said:

Talking of impact on lower league clubs, FA Cup 3rd and 4th round replays have been scrapped for this season.

Good. Not that if affects Rovers this season as we are out already but replays should he scrapped for good. They add extra games at 10 days notice to settle something that can be settled on the day. Yes, it's nice that some small clubs get a draw and take a big club back to their ground, but it's pot luck really and no less so than just drawing them at home in the first place.

Replays are really outdated in my opinion.

[Hobo]

17 minutes ago, Colly said:

There's a handful of others, Belgium I guess are the biggest outside of the UK (love your dismissal of the other home nations...).

tbf I did say "as far as I know". Feels like it's mostly talked about within an English football context
 

 

[The Lusophone]

4 hours ago, 9 to 5 said:

Christmas fixtures are a big source of income for smaller clubs in England and seeing it removed for good (this year might be a good idea) would damage the smaller teams more so. Not everything should be set up for just the 20 clubs in Premiership, think about the 72 other league clubs and all the rest in the non-leagues.

A winter break benefits the well being of all players, not just those who play in the highest league. Whilst the financial benefit of Christmas fixtures is a thing, I'm not sure that should come before player welfare which is negatively effected by the incredibly busy schedule.

That's my complaint with the Christmas schedule, nothing to do with big clubs vs small clubs.

[Lineker]

Quote

Premier League clubs have discussed driving up vaccination rates in their squads by creating separate rules for players yet to get a Covid-19 jab. On a day when it emerged that 16% of top-flight players are unvaccinated and a record 90 positive tests had been recorded among players and staff in the week up to last Sunday, a two-tier system was raised at an emergency meeting.

Proposals include unvaccinated players travelling separately to games, facing an additional check to get into stadiums and having meals away from vaccinated teammates. The moves are designed to guard against more fixtures being cancelled as the clubs decided to press on with the season.

A complication for the league is that under government guidelines unvaccinated players must isolate for 10 days if deemed a close contact of anyone who has tested positive, even if they produce negative results. This increases the likelihood of postponements by reducing the pool of players available to a club.

On Monday the league said that 77% of its players were double-jabbed and that 84% had received one, two or three vaccinations. On Friday Serie A said that 98% of its players had received two jabs.

The plans discussed by the Premier League’s clubs remain under consideration but it is expected that some form of differentiation for unvaccinated players will come into effect. The league has said it will publish updates on its vaccination figures each month from the end of January.

The 90 positive cases dwarf the previous high of 42 recorded a week earlier. Ten Premier League matches were cancelled because of Covid during the seven days in question, across which 12,345 tests were administered. There were 41 positives from Friday to Sunday alone. Players and club staff do daily lateral flow and twice-weekly PCR tests.

The issue of unvaccinated players is also a concern for managers as they approach the January transfer window. Jürgen Klopp has said Liverpool would not sign an unvaccinated player and Steven Gerrard and Mikel Arteta have said it will be taken into consideration at Aston Villa and Arsenal. Klopp has said it would be complicated to create separate areas for vaccinated and unvaccinated squad members.

The top-flight clubs decided to press on with the season after talking through three options with regard to the calendar: to carry on playing; to defer one fixture per club from the three rounds scheduled to be played from 26 December to 3 January; and to stop playing entirely while the outbreak gripped.

A handful of clubs favoured option two, with one of them understood to be Liverpool, who took their lead from Klopp. He feels that it is irresponsible to make the players play twice from Boxing Day to 28 December when squads are stretched because of Covid issues. Liverpool have four players in isolation because of positive tests.

The vast majority of clubs, mindful – principally – of the potential for a horrendous fixture pile-up that could derail the season, indicated a readiness to play on. It was also acknowledged that it would be problematic to fairly postpone specific fixtures or rounds with some, plainly, easier for certain clubs than others.

No clubs wanted to pause the season and Brentford and Chelsea, who have publicly raised concerns in recent days, were among those who voted to continue. “It is the league’s collective intention to continue the current fixture schedule where safely possible,” the Premier League said.

In an attempt to reduce or eliminate the number of last-minute postponements, clubs have been asked to update the league every day on the availability of their players. Aston Villa v Burnley on Saturday was the latest match called off about two hours before kick-off. It is understood the league is paying for more PCR labs to help speed up daily testing.

The EFL has said it will press on with its league and Carabao Cup fixtures. The Football Association has scrapped replays in the third and fourth rounds of this season’s FA Cup to try to help ease potential congestion, with extra time and penalties used if necessary.

 

Quote

Brighton have given Dan Ashworth permission to speak to Newcastle about the vacancy for a director of football at St James’ Park.

Although Brighton hope to retain their technical director, they have decided it would be counterproductive to prevent the 50-year-old from talking to Amanda Staveley and her fellow Newcastle directors.

Ashworth, previously the Football Association’s technical director, is highly regarded. While at the FA he was credited with developing the so called “England DNA” and oversaw assorted men’s junior teams enjoying considerable tournament success before his departure in 2018.

It was also on Ashworth’s six-year FA watch that England women won a bronze medal at the 2015 World Cup in Canada and reached the final four of Euro 2017 in the Netherlands.

Although Newcastle are keen to overhaul the club’s academy and women’s team, their overriding priority is to keep their struggling side in the Premier League.

Given Newcastle are second bottom and have won one game, successful shopping in next month’s transfer window seems imperative if they are to defy the odds and survive.

Staveley has recruited Nicky Hammond, the former Reading director of football, on a temporary basis to help with January recruitment, but Ashworth’s arrival could further bolster Eddie Howe’s hopes of turning this season around.

Despite Nolan Partners, the recruitment specialist engaged by Newcastle to fill their vacancy, speaking to different candidates, the search could end swiftly if Ashworth were to decide to cut short his rolling contract with Brighton.

 

[stokeriño]

I remain astonished that Premier League clubs can't/won't force their players to get the jab.

[Moses Julep]

20 minutes ago, stokeriño said:

I remain astonished that Premier League clubs can't/won't force their players to get the jab.

It is baffling; probably one of the worst vaccinated sports league in the world at this point.