mozo

Yeah and I'm not having a go at you. Read what you want. I personally don't touch those papers, but you won't find much media that isn't tainted in some way.

To be fair though the behaviour of the Sun newspaper throughout the past 24 years has been dreadful. It's not like the Hillsborough issue was unique. It was just the worst example.

I think the outlook for lower league and top two divisions will be different. Only the Prem and Champ can sustain a resumption in my opinion.

We should all take interest in this because it will be a case study in how a league can transition from lockdown to resumption. If any nation is able to do this in a sensible and reasonable fashion, it is Germany.

I don't think we want City to be in the middle, we want to be the best, the shining example of how clubs can get their priorities right, and how players can be realistic about their extraordinary wealth.

Well teams in Spain will be training soon. Some primary schools opening in France. Italy likely to ease business restrictions in early May. I'm not saying we're over the worst of it, but there's a trend among the countries affected earlier than UK of relaxation of lockdown. I still think football goes ahead this summer, maybe as early as June.

You probably feel a lot better about it than Swindon Town fans! They were a certainty for promotion, managed to get goal machine Doyle back off Bradford, probably for a hefty fee, and now this. Now now, don't laugh...

Just think about the atmosphere of that first game back with crowds at Ashton Gate. Phwoar.

I think you have to remember there is a priority list of concern with one's self at the top, household second, then family, neighbourhood, broader community, and eventually our own nation and continent. Rightly or wrongly, Africa's problems are way down on our list. Death on our doorstep hurts more than death in the Middle East. Covid 19 was barely a concern when it ravaged Wuhan, but now we care about it deeply (so much so, we're willing to adjust our way of life). Caring about sport is a weird one because it really shouldn't matter at all. I've often forgiven my wife for watching mindless crap on TV because, after all, I'm supposedly a grown man and yet I let my mood be dictated by a bunch of lads in red shirts who kick a ball around every few days. Objectively, it's a total waste of time, but subjectively we feel like Bristol City is integral to our community and our identity. It keeps us ticking over as we spend our time working jobs, many of which seem equally meaningless at times. To bring those two paragraphs together, I should be far more concerned with the big problems in the world than whether Lee Johnson has what it takes to take City forward, and yet far more of my thinking time goes on the latter. And that feels perfectly normal. I don't think there's any shame in lamenting the loss of football or sport in general. It's the kind of distraction we on this forum could all do with so that we don't spend all of our time worrying about family and friends and watching the death toll continue to rise.

I think there will be distancing rules off the pitch and testing prior to kick off. I fully expect this to be too difficult for L1 and 2 to resume which makes the Bury and Bolton situations a bit ironic. PL and Champ could resume though. At the moment. That needs to be figured out prior to resumption. It'll be weird and half as entertaining. But better than nowt and a means to an end (literally!) Will be a bigger shock for Leeds than us to be fair. It's not like the Gate is rocking every week! I'm not disagreeing with you. But the closure of a season is pretty important. We were witnessing history with Liverpool, and plenty of clubs have a huge amount to play for. In the current economic climate, promotion and relegation matters even more. It would be huge for Coventry or Preston.

No, that suggestion today really surprised me. Fair enough it might work for the economy but it won't help the NHS or the vulnerable if people start pouring into pubs again. Football behind closed doors I find more rational, but even then the process would have to be very well executed. I would expect work from home to be prevalent until at least the end of the year, with social distancing etiquette in place for the duration. I know restaurant and pub owners won't like the sound of that, but I just don't see how sharing those spaces can be justified. Sports events, cinema, concerts etc shouldn't have crowds either. And of those, only sport can exist with a crowd.

What's the summary Mr P for those of us who refuse to click on that site?

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/premier-league-plan-includes-rolling-21843326?utm_source=linkCopy&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebar

So does that mean players receive their weekly wage for a longer period than initially contracted? I guess some players whose future was uncertain will take that as a bonus (a stay of execution for some). It means Afobe could be involved in all our remaining fixtures

Would've been City v Cardiff today... we would've smashed them...

Yes but if Liverpool have the stark choice of celebrating their title win in an empty ground or not winning the title at all, it's an easy choice. Welcome to capitalism! Rightly or wrongly, money will dictate everything. Well they're talking about waves of the virus. So when the NHS can cope, we relax from lockdown to social distancing for a few months. The next wave of virus then overwhelms NHS again so we go back into lockdown. By now, most citizens have had the virus and we can ride it out til the vaccine comes. 3 lock downs would surely do the job, but they might just do 2.

Having taken so long for these clubs and players to part with their ludicrous reserves of cash, it feels like it is a reluctant gesture more than anything. Maybe that's just my cynical mind.

I completely agree, but the season will always be tarnished. Say we beat Preston to 6th place, with a fit and firing Afobe playing in each of our remaining games. There would always be the claim that we'd benefitted from a pandemic. Some clubs would benefit from the extended break more than others. More controversial than that will be the contract situation. Imagine a team become weakened by losing a loanee before the season resumes, or even an out of contract first teamer. Could departing players resume the season elsewhere? I'm guessing there will be an agreement made by clubs to adhere to a particular code of conduct which safeguards the status quo until the season has been completed, but who knows. Another curiosity is that there were probably managers out there on the verge of the sack, who have had the most dramatic stay of execution you could imagine. For tons of reasons, this season, if it finishes, will be a complete anomaly. Even Liverpool's almost perfect season will forever be caveated by the pandemic.

You had me convinced right up to the point where you said Dr Who was behind the whole thing. Surely the good doctor is the one trying to solve the virus mystery?! Great post though and you're always welcome on my conspiracy theories/dystopia thread!

Thanks for sharing. Well it's interesting that Germany still only have 2 dozen in serious/critical condition when France and Spain have 2,500!

So no trades?

It is pretty rare, but these are strange times we're living in!

So if you have a hole in your roof, can someone repair it? If you have a car issue can you get it seen at a garage?

I'm thinking they'll go for a lockdown lite of some description.

If life was fair you're due a year where the most unbelievable good fortune comes your way