Coronavirus - Season on hold

[+Fraz]

Scottish Championship: Clubs asked if they want to continue playing -

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/55684189#click=https://t.co/e1j9gev4bF

[Yngwie]

Are they expected to answer this without knowing what happens next eg season delayed or abandoned, season void, current places apply or is it points per game, no play offs etc?

[IBM]

Whatever they say it's guaranteed that Dundee will change their minds at the last minute!

[Row S]

2 hours ago, snorbens_caleyman said:

And then they wouldn't be able to promote anyone, so no one would be relegated from the Premiership.

So County would be saved again? Hearts will no doubt consult their legal team too.

[Robert]

If it is correct that we are the team that has started this, I support the stance being taken.

Our players have journeys of up to 5 hours after games without being able to shower. That is not good for physical or mental wellbeing.

There are part time clubs in our league, so their players are doing day jobs out with their club bubbles.

We have been relatively lucky here with lower infection rates but they are now pretty high, and the players, officials and their families are at higher risk when travelling to areas where rates are even higher.

With the lower leagues on hold, voiding this season seems a sensible action, or alternatively suspending it and possibly reducing it to 18 games could be an option.

If we need to write the 20/21 season off and start again next season, so be it if it keeps people safe. 

[Stirling Observer]

We are probably in a more unique situation where the majority of players have moved up here from other areas of the country and are relatively in isolation from their families and friends. 

The players are in a demographic that is very low risk.

They are now in a position of getting tested weekly which is an extra layer of protection.

There has been no evidence of cross contamination from playing other teams. Therefore the travelling across the country and bringing back the virus isn't particularly high risk. 

The shower thing is exaggerated I think. Towel down, change of clothes and into a heated bus/car. However many have questioned my hygiene levels before!

Essentially it should be down to choice. Players/coaches/staff vote and the club returns the majority decision on Monday to the SFA.

Personally I feel Maxwell is a bit peeved off that Robbo (if it was him that was referred to) has spoken about welfare of players publicly and kinda slated the SFA. He is probably very confident most clubs will return a verdict to carry on so if basically publically calling robbos bluff, especially if all 10 clubs want to continue. 

 

[CELTIC1CALEY3]

Bear in mind that the punishments dished out to St Mirren and Kilmarnock were severely reduced yesterday, then a distraction is needed.....plus Dubai.

[+snorbens_caleyman]

11 hours ago, Yngwie said:

Are they expected to answer this without knowing what happens next eg season delayed or abandoned, season void, current places apply or is it points per game, no play offs etc?

The thing to do first of all is find out what the mood is. 

If 7, 8 or 9 say "play on", then play on,  if deemed safe to do so.

If it's less than that, then invite the clubs to say what they think should happen - eg temporary suspension, or abandon the league completely - and then get everyone "together" to talk and thrash out the details.

[WYNESS101]

I wouldn't mind having a 3 week break at the moment and then playing the games later on if it's safe to do so. Give everyone a break and let the NHS and GOVT do what needs to be done to help those needing help.

[Kingsmills]

The football authorities, both north and south of the border, have been reminded by their respective governments to limit contact between players especially for goal and victory celebrations.

I was interested to hear Derek Mcinnes among others responding by suggesting that it was unfair to expect players to do that as it was 'normal' and 'instinctive' for players for players to want to celebrate together after a goal or securing a win.

Well, it's both normal and instictive for me to want to embrace my nearly 90 year old mother when I see her but I have managed to refrain from doing so for nearly a year.

Millions of people have changed to way we live our lives to try to limit the spread of this dreadful disease. Is it really too much to expect footballers to set an example by still enthusiastically celebrating a goal but by doing so staying six feet apart ?

[Satan]

14 hours ago, Robert said:

If it is correct that we are the team that has started this, I support the stance being taken.

Our players have journeys of up to 5 hours after games without being able to shower. That is not good for physical or mental wellbeing.

There are part time clubs in our league, so their players are doing day jobs out with their club bubbles.

We have been relatively lucky here with lower infection rates but they are now pretty high, and the players, officials and their families are at higher risk when travelling to areas where rates are even higher.

With the lower leagues on hold, voiding this season seems a sensible action, or alternatively suspending it and possibly reducing it to 18 games could be an option.

If we need to write the 20/21 season off and start again next season, so be it if it keeps people safe. 

So, it turns out that a misinterpretation has occurred and we didn't intentionally start this, and in fact we are against pausing the season at the moment. 

Still support it?

[Satan]

Don't understand why the focus on goal celebrations now - as soon as the first few rounds of games resumed last year after lockdown the elbow touches soon gave way to high fives and the doggie pile celebrations...the majority of EPL players will actually be the least likely to have the virus without knowing as they are the most tested group of people in the country.

[Kingsmills]

29 minutes ago, Satan said:

Don't understand why the focus on goal celebrations now - as soon as the first few rounds of games resumed last year after lockdown the elbow touches soon gave way to high fives and the doggie pile celebrations...the majority of EPL players will actually be the least likely to have the virus without knowing as they are the most tested group of people in the country.

Like much else, the focus has changed because the nature of the virus has changed.

These celebrations were ill advised in the Autumn they are downright dangerous now and easily avoidable.

[Robert]

52 minutes ago, Satan said:

So, it turns out that a misinterpretation has occurred and we didn't intentionally start this, and in fact we are against pausing the season at the moment. 

Still support it?

I’m happy to support the stance the club sees as being most appropriate for us and the players. If they are happy with the measures in place, they are best placed to judge and I will go along with that.

Equally if they believe there are risks to safety and want a pause or suspension, I will go along with that too.

I just long for being able to spend Saturday afternoons watching live football in the stadium, enjoying the banter and, hopefully, a winning ICT. I’m happy with whatever measures are required to enable that to happen. The sooner the better!

This is the article that set the whole thing off:

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/john-robertson-slams-sfa-inverness-23321758.amp

[Satan]

7 minutes ago, Kingsmills said:

Like much else, the focus has changed because the nature of the virus has changed.

These celebrations were ill advised in the Autumn they are downright dangerous now and easily avoidable.

Aside from goal celebrations its a contact sport - bodies come together , players are continually holding at free kicks & corners - no different from the antics after scoring ...Maybe they should ban spitting next...or touching the grass without ppe

Has the nature of the virus changed? I dont think so , it's still infecting in the same manner as before , although a bit more transmissible. 

[+snorbens_caleyman]

41 minutes ago, Kingsmills said:

These celebrations were ill advised in the Autumn they are downright dangerous now and easily avoidable.

They are dangerous in that they set a bad example to the rest of us.  Well, not us, of course, but to others!

The players train together, share a dressing room, and there is very close contact with other players during a game.

The additional risk to them by a few huddles in a game - very few, if you don't score much! - is minimal.

And I'm afraid that looking for footballers as a whole - there are exceptions - to set a good example to society is a lost cause.

[Yngwie]

It would seem a bit strange to permit contact and close proximity for 90 minutes except when a goal is scored, but I guess the aim is to minimise non-essential contact. But then when you think about it, football is entirely non-essential to start with.

And on the subject of contact in sport, there can’t be anything worse than rugby scrums, still happening!

[+DoofersDad]

Jason Leitch has been asked about this and the explanation he gives is that assessments of risk consider the total exposure and not whether one aspect of one sport is greater than that in another.  It is then about avoiding additional aspects of risk which are not essential to the game as these would add to the total exposure to risk.   

We also need to understand the significance of the new variant being around 50% more infectious.  The maths of this are really quite scary.  If the previously dominant variant had an R number of 1, that means that on average, each person catching Covid would infect 1 other person.  So if 2,000 people in Scotland tested positive today, you would expect around 2,000 to test positive in 5 days times after the incubation period.  After another 5 days another 2,000 would be infected and so on.

But with the new variant being 50% more infectious the R number rises to 1.5 and and instead of another 2,000 cases 5 days later, we would have 3,000.  Then after another  5 days we would have those 3,000 people infecting another 4,500.  If we didn't adopt rigorous measure to reduce infections, then after a month we would have nearly 23,000 cases a day!

That is why restrictions have been significantly tightened recently.  I'm actually quite surprised that the Scottish government is allowing the continuation of football at all just now.  What it does mean is that beyond the unavoidable contact during a game, everything possible to avoid unnecessary additional exposure needs to be done.

[Jack Waddington]

Oh I see, the SFA are trying to postpone the league because of ROBBO!

Utter pish man, talking out of their arse...

https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/football/6545777/sfa-maxwell-championship-inverness-robertson/amp/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter&__twitter_impression=true

[tm4tj]

Keep up Jack, thats old news now. Not trying to postpone because of Robbo, but they listened to what he said. Inverness/Robbo have said they have misinterpreted what was said. Needs to be taken in the context it was written.

Who buys the Sun anyway.

 

[The Mantis]

18 minutes ago, tm4tj said:

Keep up Jack, thats old news now. Not trying to postpone because of Robbo, but they listened to what he said. Inverness/Robbo have said they have misinterpreted what was said. Needs to be taken in the context it was written.

Who buys goes near the Sun's clickbait anyway.

 

 

[Kingsmills]

After Peter Lawwell's half hearted and belated apology for Celtic's ill considered trip to Dubai, Neil Lennon has undone any good and lost any goodwill created by his latest outburst suggesting that one of the two most privileged clubs in the land is being discriminated against.

A little self reflection and a bit of humility would not go amiss.

[Row S]

Absolutely. Lennon being a fanny yet again.

It is understood that the second Celtic player with the virus is Shane Duffy and now several more players have to self isolate. There are  positive tests in the Hibs and Livi squads too. There is also breaking news that the Scottish Government is to meet the SPFL tomorrow to discuss shutting down all football until March.

[+DoofersDad]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/55708298

You can read a report on Lennon's rant here.  He's totally out of order.  Not only does he seem to not understand the seriousness of the situation, but he also seems to be directly contradicting his Chairman.  

Football has been given a chance to continue and this has required all clubs to strictly adhere to the protocols.  Many clubs have gone to great lengths to keep their staff and the wider public safe, but it is folk like Lennon who's failure to properly understand what's involved is going to lead to a further shut down of football in Scotland. 

 

[old caley girl]

1 hour ago, Row S said:

Absolutely. Lennon being a fanny yet again.

It is understood that the second Celtic player with the virus is Shane Duffy and now several more players have to self isolate. There are  positive tests in the Hibs and Livi squads too. There is also breaking news that the Scottish Government is to meet the SPFL tomorrow to discuss shutting down all football until March.

I wonder if that was what Lennon wanted here?