WHEN it was about cash, the clubs were not impressed.
But when it is about health, about safety, about whether they should be expected to go back on the pitch while the world is fighting a pandemic, the clubs are willing to listen to Premier League superstars.
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Sergio Aguero admitting he feels scared has made it easier for other top players to reveal their own reservations about returning to actionCredit: Getty – Contributor
Players have turned to calm, respected figures like England skipper Harry KaneCredit: PA:Press Association
Sergio Aguero’s admission to feeling “scared” of the prospect of returning to the Manchester City training ground opened the door for other Prem aces to concede their concerns.
They turned to their captains, their union and even to England skipper Harry Kane, Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson and West Ham armband-wearer Mark Noble — calm and respected heads amid the crisis.
Crucially, though, the clubs who — in some cases quite begrudgingly, after the salary-cut stand-off — pay their wages DO recognise this is not whingeing but real.
As one club executive told SunSport: “The Government say they will back us as long as it is safe to play and that’s right. But the players have legitimate concerns.
“What if they don’t want to play because they have a pregnant wife, a young baby, or if their partners or families are at risk for other reasons? We have to bring them with us on this.”
Those concerns are why more than half of yesterday’s 3½-hour video meeting of the 20 Prem clubs was taken up with debate and discussion about the health, safety and wellbeing aspects of a potential return to training and matches.
Here’s how every Prem season would have finished at this stage – if each team had failed to play their final nine games
And here’s how it would have looked in the relegation places if those seasons had been forced to end at this stage
The clubs listened to a presentation from League medical advisor Mark Gillett, which outlined the scale of measures that will have to be taken for the game to come back even behind closed doors.
Clubs are looking at some 40,000 coronavirus tests from the planned return to training on May 18 until the end of the season, with players expected to provide swabs twice per week.
Some clubs wondered, during the lengthy discussions, whether the scale of testing was a good look, leaving football open to the accusation of taking up precious resources that could be utilised instead by the NHS.
As another executive revealed: “We have to carry the public with us on this.
“But at the same time it is absolutely right we take care of the players and get them involved in all aspects of the process. We cannot just present them with a set of protocols and expect them to agree. They need to know why we are doing what we are doing.”
Prem chiefs understand and acknowledge the importance of returning as part of a united front.
While the clubs were discussing resumption plans with League director of football Richard Garlick and chief executive Richard Masters, executive director Bill Bush was part of a separate video conference headed by Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden.
Players will never have had a break as long, unless injured. It’s an alien situation – equally fair, or maybe that should be equally unfair.
Premier League chief executive
A Government spokesman said: “We are stepping up planning on what may need to be done so that athletes could return to training, when it is deemed safe to do so.
“This would be ahead of any return to top-level sport which would only happen when experts advise it can be done safely.”
And the clubs, who were also informed how the use of neutral stadiums would reduce the travelling teams were expected to do, also understand the non-virus complications that a return to action will mean.
Setting aside issues about the “sporting integrity” of a league that started with full stadiums ending with empty ones and whether that might fundamentally change the nature of the competition, things have completely altered since the last Prem ball was kicked.
Leicester’s 4-0 thumping of Aston Villa on March 9 was the last game completed in the competition.
Even if the new June 12 target is met, that will be more than three MONTHS after the previous game.
As one of the executives conceded: “There was a lot of concern, among everybody, about whether there will be enough time to prepare for the resumption.
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“Players will never have had a break as long as this, unless they are injured.
“In one way, because it is such an alien situation, it will be equally fair — or maybe that should be equally unfair.
“But we also have to be aware that we don’t risk players’ health in terms of injury.”
That explains the determination to be guided by the Government-backed medical group and why the preparation studies conducted by Garlick and Masters were warmly welcomed by the clubs.
English football cannot ignore realities elsewhere.
French football has been mothballed until next season and Germany’s planned Bundesliga restart has been delayed, although Italy’s Serie A clubs have “unanimously” backed plans to restart.
Yet Spanish secretary of state for sport Irene Lozano admitted: “On Monday players can resume what we have called basic, individual training.
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“But there will be different phases and at this time it is impossible to set a date on the return of the competition.”
If players fear for their safety, it would be wrong to demand they risk their health. The clubs know it.
It is why there must be unity of the whole game, or we will be waiting for months and months to see a ball kicked in anger again.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
