Well, well, well… fan DISGUST still holds strong in the boardroom, even if that location sits in Boston. Liverpool dropped a 180 at breakneck speed and have now decided that it’s probably not the best look to furlough part-time workers when you’re spending £310m on front office wages and bragging about £31m in profit.
I’d congratulate Liverpool on the pivot, but to be honest, it’s still shocking to me that a club with a marketing slogan of ‘This Means More’ would hoover up a government furlough within 16 seconds of it being announced. Someone laid out the counter to this point in the comments, namely that the football clubs have dropped £3b in tax, they should be able to draw from the fund. It’s a fair point, but only if you look at football as a normal business, which it is not.
Clubs are expected to behave ethically, to think of the community first, to lead from the front. There’s an unspoken contract between fans and owners. Namely, we don’t behave with our football teams like we do with normal products. If my car performed as badly as Arsenal have over the last decade, I’d have upgraded. Fans stick it out with the inflated prices and offer up unyielding support regardless of what goes on. The exchange is that we expect the clubs to behave well in the community, we hope our players donate to charity (which they do) and we look to them in times of need.
The credit you can give Liverpool is that they acted. It’s hard to admit you’re wrong, especially in a moment so loaded with bear traps.
My hope is that Arsenal hasn’t considered any other course of action. We have a big cash position, we’re run by people that do a lot for the community already, and our owner’s heir said he wanted to make the fans proud. I have a lot more faith in Arsenal’s conscience than I do in their ability to make us an elite outfit on the pitch. Time after time we over-deliver. Whether it’s help for explayers falling off the wagon, support for local hospitals, giving kids fun experiences at the stadium, or letting Bobby Pires use the gym… we’re always there for people. Let’s hope they hold strong.
It’s interesting reading up about the Barcelona debacle in a little more detail (The Athletic). Their directors immediately applied for the furlough, then the players stepped in and said that they’d pay for the non-sport staff for as long as needed. Led by Lio Messi, who was pissed that they went straight for the government option. Their staff count is huge, it sits at 1300. So good on him. The deeper worry for them is that their business model is very aggressively about putting player salaries first. They were on course to make a billion euros this year, now that’s dried up, they are in trouble. They pay out a staggering £9.8m, that’s about £190k a week! They had to borrow the entirety of the £105m for Griezmann, which they’ll need to shift this summer to make ends meet… good to know that even a club as elite as Barca can run into trouble. I mean, no good, but you get what I mean.
Problem for football is no one ever envisioned a disaster this all-encompassing. Same for most businesses. Good job there’s so many mega-rich owners ready to dip into their deep pockets to bail out the clubs, right?
In other news, PFA lead Gordon Taylor has said there’s no chance he’ll take a pay cut. I mean, he doesn’t have to, does he? Not like he’s out of work at the minute. Watching his behaviour is quite something. He’s myopic, seems to have little consideration for the culture is negotiating in, and he’s making his members look cold and greedy. Hard to really feel pangs of the proles when you’re rocking £2m a year, so it’s no surprise.
We need the players to lead. If Jordan Henderson is the anointed god of altruism, he should step up his action. He should reprimand the union, take a stand and shift the news cycle to golfers. This inaction is killing any goodwill people had post-Hancock. The players look like they’re locked in delaying tactics, which grates normal folk because most of us had no choice. We took the deal, ANY DEAL that was offered.
At least the United players are going to war. They’re donating to local trusts. Marcus Rashford is making personal donations. The club is doing the right thing on every level. Great to see.
Everyone else that can afford to do so should follow suit.
Right, that’s me done, see you in the comments. x
Here
Still here
Here and still waiting
Helloooooo
Unreal
End of the world happened?
Getting bored
Calling but no answers
Number 9 (Beatles)
10 Bo Derek
11
Dozen
Baker’s dozen
Ok I give up
Ok
Did I win?
Don’t believe this
Hi
19
20
21
22
23
Fucks sake
25 Adele
If I carry on on I will get to my age, 68, sorry I’m done 🤪
Ok, 27
28
29
30…. enough ffs!
‘Is anybody else bored absolutely shitless with all of this?Just play all the games behind closed doors already ffs.”
There can’t be football so long as some clubs have furloughed non-playing staff. There are lots of staff required to prepare teams for games, even is they are held behind closed doors.
Yesterday , I saw the video of Bayern players training together with social distancing, They might as well have been training from home and communicating via web cams.
Yes that was definitely enough.
Colney Gooner
Did you read the post before you started your best impression of the ‘count’ on sesame street.?
Dissenter
I can’t see anyway this season can be finished – we’re not going to be in any position for matches to take place even behind closed doors for a couple of months and that’s taking a really optimistic view.
Better to get this sorted and plan for next season.
Trust them to do the right thing? Not sure I’d go that far, more hopeful than actually trusting.
I even read the article first. Anyway, even games behind closed doors need distancing, support staff, an ambulance standing by? Also, how many fans will be outside the stadium? Can’t happen, won’t happen.
The season is dead.
Sorry Colney and you other guys that play the game but my god it’s dire for everyone else to have to scroll through. Please consider giving it a break. DM, you’re good at it, we get it. Please stop and when u don’t win please at least stop the follow up excuse post.
Marc I agree with you This season is done, the league does not have to crown Liverpool but most fair pundits and fans will credit them for this season because their lead was unassailable. The relegation bound clubs just caught a good break – I honestly don’t have an answer to what to do with relegation. These are the tough questions the league needs to be grappling with. They do have to shake off that delusion that this season can still be concluded safely. There’s also the concept of maintaining the quality of the product and whether sponsors would pay… Read more »
This season is done. CL is done. All football is done.
There is no way this can reopen in any event. Unless COVID 19 vaccine is out in the next few weeks, I cannot see the world re-opening let alone sports.
This season is over.
Who is the champ? DO we nullify this season? Would love that idea and re-start next season with last seasons standings.
Sorry Pool
Hey Dissenter, I misread count for c*nt, but yes I read it thoroughly and slowly.😜
Sorry Stefan, never got involved before and agree it’s stupid but there it was to be done and I done it 🤪
Colney Gooner
It’s all in good fun. What else can a man do when forced to leave under covid-19?
Liverpool should not be champs. Maybe in the peoples minds for this season, but if the season is voided, they simply cannot be champs for that reason officially.
Guns of SF
No one club will have it all. They wont be champs of England but they can keep the title of UEFA CL champs and world champs for another season.
I am a bit surprised to have not
heard of any donations from Arsenal or
our players….just “stay at home”.
Yea that makes sense.
I would love it if next season they don’t win it. I can see injuries finally setting in on their stars- 3 years is a long time to go without one of them getting a major one…
I would love to rub this in my bosses face
What a burn!
on to arsenal news
IF this true, I would take it and bite the hand off..
Bite Gazidis other hand off just because too.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-8196871/AC-Milan-lining-35m-deal-sign-Arsenal-star-Lucas-Torreira.html
“30…. enough ffs!”
Still better reading than ES or marc.
The FA are clinging onto the fact that it’s possible to play the remaining games over say six weeks. But they have to factor in the time to get players fit to play which is probably 4weeks.
So even from next week it would be late June minimum.
They want Liverpool to win it, simple.If it was anybody else they would have called it off.
dave
I’d make the exception of ManU as well but you’re right on the principle. If it’s turned in to a coronation precession it’ll turn fans off rather than get them turning up to matches next season.
Cancel season, award Liverpool league title that they going to win anyways. Not giving scousers league title will be much worse than giving it to them, they will never shut up about how they were robbed.
I am Canadian who still has to listen to Montreal Expos fans who are convinced world series was stolen from them during baseballs labour strike in 1994.
Scousers bragging about winning the league will be nirvana compared to listening them complaining about how league was stolen from them.
jwl
You don’t know real Scousers – if you did you’d know they are always the victim and are always moaning anyway.
There’s an old saying – what’s the difference between a cow and a tragedy – a Scouser can’t milk a cow.
Not getting it will kill them and at least listening to them moan will be funny.
The FA would only need to play two games before it is mathematically impossible for Liverpool to be caught.
Hate to point this out but there’s more at stake than just the PL title – European places, relegation and promotion across all the divisions.
You can’t play out two matches to call a season for the benefit of one team and not resolve the other issues. A PL title is won over 38 matches – we had 10 left it’s either all or nothing.
I mean, I would love to banter Liverpool as much as the next man but not awarding them the PL title with a 25 point lead with 30 left to play for would be ridiculous and pretty farcical.
WE
That’s what makes it so much fun.
There is a serious point here though – the Football God’s have spoken and sent Corona as a warning – do you really want to see what they’ll do if we ignore the warning?
“You don’t know real Scousers …”
My paternal grandmother was born/raised in toxteth before she emigrate to Canada and I keep in touch with my british family. I 100% agree scoursers are complainers but it will be much worse to listen to them about stolen league than winning league due to pandemic thirty years from now.
Scousers are not a group who have the odd whinge – they are scum for your sake I hope that you were adopted.
Marc Ha, in all seriousness though this were us we’d be sick beyond belief, to the point I’d likely quit watching the PL. How on they just supposed to dust themselves off and go again next season? Most spectacular PL season of all time with records shattered ending a 30 year drought just voided and erased from record. And why is everyone so hell bent on starting next season as normal? Like you say title aside, there’s no resolution to the CL spots or relegation/promotion places. It’s likely that we won’t restart the new season in August with the situation… Read more »
No way you can play multiple games over a short period with players who aren’t match fit. Half of them would be out or carrying injuries come next season. Season is dead, done, over.
WE There’s one small problem – there will be players who’s contacts are up in June and who can leave on a free, are down to a year left and are sold etc so it’s not just a case of picking up where we left off. If it can’t be finished off by the end of June (and that’s being generous) then it can’t be finished at all. Ultimately as far as I’m concerned it’s Karma – the Scousers got English teams banned from European competition and we missed out on season in the European Cup because of it –… Read more »
Hey Pedro:
I’m self-isolating and have had a couple of glasses of wine, but what is so staggering about Barcelona paying “190k per month”, that’s either an “OZ” or an “IL”
enjoy your stuff so I’m obviously missing something here…tell me what
Cheers Ray
Ray
Hope you’re OK and just not being unsociable!
I figured the “190k” a month was some sort of interest on bank loans or similar – you need to be careful with marketing types they get precious when you pull them up on their work!
Ray, 190k each for a squad of 25 is outrageous cash!
Here’s what should happen cancel the FA cup and League Cups along with international friendlies and play the remaining games at the start of next season. All that assuming the games can’t resume in June. 10 games can be played over 2 months. There just won’t be a preseason or start the new season a month later in September. All this nonsense about players not being fit or getting injuries are lame excuses. Roll out the under 23s to play out the remaining games if that is an issue. The season has to be completed. All this void it excuses… Read more »
Pedro, 190kpw on average for the squad does not means that a lot of players are very well paid. It is more that Messi, Griezman and Suarez’s salary are outrageous. When you are earning 42 millions per year, you can afford to take a 70% pay cut/deferment. The really big issue for Barcelona is cashflow even if at least they have moved away from that ridiculous situation of paying players’ salary on a semi-annually basis instead of monthly. They were banking on selling players this summer to cover the Griezman fee and releasing some high salary to free some wage… Read more »
Burnley has announced that if football does not restart, they will run out of cash by August. One year ago, Burnley was hailed as the shining example of prudent management. Due to the extend of the crisis both geographically and in the wider business sectors, football won’t be able to escape adapting to the new reality. The Football authorities will have to step in and temporally relax FFP, while reinstating a much stringent version later. Because if they don’t, the only clubs that will thrive in such environment will be the plaything of billionaires: ManCity, PSG, Chelsea, maybe Newcastle, etc.… Read more »
Valentin, an average spend per player at 9.8m a year makes Barca the richest payers on the planet. Obvs they aren’t all paid the same, but part of the problem Barca have is that the lower players pitch at Messi’s 70m a year. So everyone earns more than they should
I knew Barcelona was poorly run but not to this extent. Coutinho is a Brazilian Jack Grealish. Can take long shots but not so creeative. Doesn’t have pace. Not even so good at dribbling and more worrying is he isn’t consistently World Class. Then Griezmann issue also. So many ageing players on mega contract. Suarez, Messi. Why Busquet is still starting? Football has been in a bubble of spending n overspending to make more money. Now it’s obvious most of them overspend. Anyways, as someone said ONCE football starts the infection would spread cos of asymptomatic people. So it’s greed… Read more »
Liverpool – The people’s champions. Has a good ring about it! No one can be crowned champions if the season is not finished. No one can be relegated or promoted. There are no rules or regulations in place regarding this current catastrophic scenario, ergo common sense must prevail. If the remaining games can not be played within a reasonable/legal time frame then the season has to be written off and everything starts again from scratch next year. Anything else would make a mockery of the EPL, FA, UEFA, FIFA etc and keep lawyers in business for the next 10 years!… Read more »
Typical – already lining up the cheaper alternatve! Not even a regular first teamer at Bilbao!
“The publication says Nunez has caught the attention of Arteta, despite the fact he has been in and out of the Bilbao team this season.
The defender would likely cost around £25million and could be a cheaper alternative to Upamecano.”
No update on BJ? I thought this will be hot news here
Jose caught training 3 Tottenham players is one of the dumbest things I’ve heard.
Was it jose being deliberately stupid..possibly.
He would know the embarrassment it would cause Tottenham if he was caught..
This is too much for BJ to handle. He doesn’t know what to do so he’s gone into hiding.
There no way the next season can start late as the Euros have to be played out and qualifications for the next World Cup are due to be played. A fixture pile up would be a mess to organize to everyone’s satisfaction. All other Sports have cancelled major events well in advance of them happening. There’s nothing Liverpool can do, except moan which just proves what they are like, no class. This is a one off situation unprecedented in modern world history so make the decision and move on. In all probability the league will finish next year with the… Read more »
Izzo: Play the U23’s if players aren’t fit? Lol, in case you haven’t noticed the U23’s aren’t exempt from the lockdown and will be just as unfit as senior players. And then you go on to say no pre-season? What are you actively looking to ruin players’ careers?
It’s nothing to do with our bad form, the only reason they want to conclude the season is money, absolutely nothing to do with sporting reasons, just cold hard cash.
Then there are the practicalities. What are the odds that over that 2 month period not a single member of the playing staff at every club (or their families) contract COVID-19? Or the coaches and their families? Because when they do the club has to shut down, cancel fixtures, just like the first time around. Be realistic, this season is done.
andy
Right now I think there are thousands of football fans (probably millions) who would love to have a bit of football to offer a distraction but as you say there’s no way the season restarting can even be considered.
To even try and have the conversation at the moment is pointless, the only ones having it are either driven by money or Scousers worried that they’re going to miss out on the title.
OTD 19 years ago (19!!) we beat Spurs at Old Trafford in the cup semi final.
If I remember rightly it was a week or so after George had been dismissed from the Spurs job.
I have very hazy memories of the Adams winner against Spurs in the 93 semi final (I was 8). Might dig out the ‘Classic victories over Spurs’ dvd later!
This virus may bring back sanity to the transfer market and wages…
Clubs may cap wages if they don’t get there way in covid.
RSPC
The wages are intrinsically linked to the TV money – how the relationship between the PL, Sky and to a lesser extent BT comes out of this will be telling with Amazon etc ready to challenge the current broadcasters.
No,the season does not have to be completed.Wishful thinking from those who want to gift the title to the whinging scousers.may I remind you all…almost a quarter of the season is still left to play ,anything can happen however unlikely.anything.They,the scousers do not have the required six points or more to claim it.unlike for ex a side that already has it but league interupted.it is a huge difference.And as Marc rightfully pointed out( which many of you have conveniently dismissed/ forgotten) our “ delightful scouse rogues” got English clubs kicked out of Europe for FIVE seasons because of their antics.consder… Read more »
Uwot Someone suggested yesterday we only needed 2 more matches so they could get the 6 points they need to “claim” the title – firstly what happens if they draw or lose one of those 2 matches? Keep playing matches until they get the points they need? Secondly how would you decide relegation etc? Villa have a game in hand so would they play 3 matches? Who else gets an extra match? It’s a stupid discussion, there’s no easy or obvious fix to this other than complete the season when all this is over – not practical or workable or… Read more »
You’re right Marc-opens up a hornets nest!.just to please the mickey mousers .Dont think so.They will be screaming about injustice for years.wonderful.
Twitter boss to give 28% of his wealth towards a corona virus
cure.
1 billion pounds?
Come on Stan you can’t take it with you..?
Uwot
It’ll be a source of banter for decades – imagine if City get their shit together and win it next season denying the Scousers!
I’d actually support Arsenal throwing a result to make it happen!
Liverpool have only got one home grown player in
their first team squad Ben Curtis who is not exactly
a starter.?
The person who posts on Le Grove under the name of China1 did warn us time and time again a few months back of what to expect from Covid-19…..and he was right. My question is , if China1 knew what was coming then why didn’t the government know what was coming. We keep hearing that the slow reaction was due to expert advice and the government was following that advice but if a member of the Chinese public (china1) could predict the spread of the disease then why didn’t anyone else see it coming. These so called experts that we… Read more »
Pierre
“Restrictions could and should have been put in place as early as February as to who we allowed into the country.”
There’s more than a few people out there who would say that should apply during “normal” times!
Pierre
The “experts” are paid to tell their masters what they want to hear. It was a political decision but it is the “experts” that will cop most of the flack as can be seen by your comment.
It’ll be a source of banter for decades – imagine if City get their shit together and win it next season denying the Scousers!I’d actually support Arsenal throwing a result to make it happen!
Agree 100% anything that stops those child-eating bastards from winning the title is good with me. I would also sell Auba to Man City if necessary.
Reality check! A mismanaged industry built on a bubble finds some of it’s leading protagonists crying to the government because it cannot afford to pay it’s non-playing staff while they continue to fund the non-playing players. The irony. I fell out of love with “the game” a long time ago, when the total cost of taking my son and I to a game was more than the total cost of a full weekend break in Wales, Cornwall or even France for the whole family. Sure, others are prepared to fund the madness and good for them. I still love the… Read more »
Pierre, Bojangles is absolutely correct, Chief Scientific Adviser and Chief Medical Officer and pure political appointments. Governments don’t appoint anyone who isn’t going to fall into line with their decisions. They may well offer alternative approaches but ultimately the politicians decide and their ‘experts’ job is to back that decision. The old ‘herd immunity’ chestnut is a great example. No serious scientist or clinician would have proposed that. The maths are simple even for Joe public, tens of millions would have needed to get infected and hundreds of thousands die for that to be achieved. Yet their so called ‘experts’… Read more »
Andy, that’s not true, Holland has implemented herd immunity. The Government did let experts inform their approach and it was the wrong one.
Merciless “””Le Grove is still fun but some of the commentators are evidently in denial. Someone posted a link to a story about Lucas T being sold for £30M! “””” Great post yes- we have an array of delusional posters on here. harmless but lets just say – a bit on the naive side. And some just plain dim. We have Bellerin going to Barca for £35 000 000 ( Walt) We have Genduzi going to PSG for £ 40 000 000 ( PedRo) now Little Legs going to Milan for £ 30 000 000 ? the game is up:… Read more »
CG, the only thing that’ll fuck football is people stop watching it.
Big clubs never die. They have their moments, but they never die.
Pedro, depends on which ‘expert’ you listen to. The Dutch government simply listened to the argument that was most agreeable to their view. My brother has lived in Holland for 30 years and says that they will have to step back on that eventually just as we did.
Andy, realistically, herd immunity is where we’ll end up. There won’t be a vaccine any time soon and there’s only so long you can shut down the world.
As has been previously pointed out,Pedro I think.Into the breach will prob step Amazon & blow sky & Bt out of the water with online season tickets for the prem so saving the day & insure our overpaid prima donnas & rip off board & agents live to fight another day or is that season or two?
Not that I am defending the decision. It was a crazy path to take considering all the science and data that was available. However, it can’t be denied, he did listen to experts… because I initially thought he’d just gone the politics route.
The big critique of the gov from the science perspective is their experts are from a small pot (Imperial I think).