I’m sick of Liverpool title talk, our focus has to be on saving the smaller clubs

I AM sick and tired of people talking about whether Liverpool should be given the title.

It keeps being said the most important issue is ensuring the league is completed, to determine promotion and relegation.

⚠️ Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates

Liverpool are chasing their first-ever Premier League crownCredit: Getty Images – Getty

But if we talk about the football family, this is far from the most pressing concern.

Without a doubt, the biggest priority has to be making sure we don’t see smaller clubs throughout the football pyramid going bust, through no fault of their own.

For me, the talk is far too weighted in terms of what is going to happen in the Premier League.

But if we are not careful, a whole host of clubs up and down the country will no longer be with us when football is eventually back up and running.

With this at stake, is it really worth arguing over trivial matters as to who should finish in the top-four?

While top-flight clubs stand to lose TV revenues if the season is not completed, is their existence on the line? Further down the leagues, that is exactly where we’re at.

The Premier League and the England national team owe so much to the lower leagues — and now is the time to ensure their survival.

In terms of the national side, numerous players either grew up in the Football League or were shaped during their experiences on loan there.

Think Harry Maguire, John Stones, Dele Alli and James Maddison, to name a few.

Think Jamie Vardy, who would never be where he is without what the lower divisions gave him.

So it is really no exaggeration to say that if we do not get our response to the coronavirus right, we could be missing out on England’s next star.

JOIN THE CLUB

The EFL is to release a £50million short-term relief to help those in crisis, which will no doubt help, but only last summer we saw former Football League star Maguire move to Manchester United for £85m.

More can and has to be done to save those threatened with closing their doors.

What we need is to get a plan in place so that EVERY football club can get through this.

If football cannot resume on April 30, which looks highly unlikely, we need to draw a line under this season.

As a United fan, that would mean us missing out on the Champions League. But right now there are more important things, though I have no problem with Liverpool being handed the title.

What we cannot have is delay after delay, throwing up far more questions than answers.

Lower league clubs — some of who have already had to lay off staff — rely so heavily on match- day revenues and everything has to be done to help them.

We need to cancel relegation in every league, promoting those in automatic positions. Next season will be over-inflated but we can even it out over time.

In the Prem, those bottom three teams will earn huge sums from another season in the top-flight and should therefore be made to give up a set percentage of it.

We can then start to drip feed that money down.

There is an argument to say that Sheffield United could get fifth with their game in hand, while Aston Villa could get out of the drop zone.

In that case, those are the only games I would consider playing (across the other leagues, no teams with games in hand can affect automatic promotion).

We cannot continue to delay hoping an outcome can be reached — the most important thing is saving those clubs most in need.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk