How much will Coronavirus (COVID-19) impact Aston Villa's season?

[themossman]

Is see the Korean league starts today and streamed on BBC at 11am. That will give an idea of what it would look like I think.

No fans, handshakes, spitting, talking to teammates too closely etc.


My guess right now is that the government want the game to resume to distract half the population (morale), and for people to focus on football rather than the lack of PPE and the huge number of deaths we've had.

‘Let them watch football.’

[aev]

Maybe Newcastle will be the 7th club. If no resumption is going to financially hurt the top 6, then it makes it easier for them to catch up with their gazillions.

[VinnieChase84]

The Athletic reporting Leagues One and Two will be finished this week, with a weighted home/away points per game applied to the remaining fixtures to decide final standings. God knows what the calculation might be but as our home form is better and we have more home games left...

Seen someone say for us:
6 home games left (71% of points) = 12.78 (rounded to 13 points), 4 away games (29% of points) =3.48 (rounded down to 3 points). Total = 16 points from remaining 10 games.
Currently 25 points + 16 points = 41

That right?

[Lastfootstamper]

I can see trying to force it through having the opposite effect on the national morale level overall. It won't cheer that many people up, and you can tell that from looking at this forum. We're football fans, it's why we're all here, but plenty of our number are verging on angry about a contrived restart, many more ambivalent at best.
Then there's people who don't even actively dislike football, those just nonplussed about the whole thing normally. They'll be wondering why on earth us trogs get our game back, yet virtually every aspect of their lives remain prohibitively affected.
I think it's a massive stretch. It's not like we're all cheering on the national sides, they're expecting things like Crystal Palace vs Burnley to somehow lift the nation's spirits.

[Steve67]

The Athletic reporting Leagues One and Two will be finished this week, with a weighted home/away points per game applied to the remaining fixtures to decide final standings. God knows what the calculation might be but as our home form is better and we have more home games left...

Seen someone say for us:
6 home games left (71% of points) = 12.78 (rounded to 13 points), 4 away games (29% of points) =3.48 (rounded down to 3 points). Total = 16 points from remaining 10 games.
Currently 25 points + 16 points = 41

That right?

Looks good Vinnie, even if you round it down, it's still 40 points. 

[curiousorange]

The Athletic reporting Leagues One and Two will be finished this week, with a weighted home/away points per game applied to the remaining fixtures to decide final standings. God knows what the calculation might be but as our home form is better and we have more home games left...

Seen someone say for us:
6 home games left (71% of points) = 12.78 (rounded to 13 points), 4 away games (29% of points) =3.48 (rounded down to 3 points). Total = 16 points from remaining 10 games.
Currently 25 points + 16 points = 41

That right?

I can't say I know what method they're using, but if it takes us above 40 points, that one works for me.

[ChicagoLion]

What has been lacking right from the outset of this national catastrophe has been any sense of dignity, from government right through to sport.  It is as though we are not a nation any longer just a travelling circus to be kept on the road.

Sadly true.

[olaftab]

What has been lacking right from the outset of this national catastrophe has been any sense of dignity, from government right through to sport.  It is as though we are not a nation any longer just a travelling circus to be kept on the road.

Government twats one after another are piping up with “resumption of football will lift the national morale”. Totally shallow and vacuous idiots.  What will lift the morale is good leadership and COVID deaths down to zero or near zero. Yes get a grip.

[paul_e]

From Reuters via SKY...

"Premier League clubs opposed to the idea of playing their remaining matches at neutral venues once the competition restarts must realise people’s lives are at stake and football concerns should take a back seat, British police have said.

Mark Roberts, the national lead for football policing, told Sky he was concerned about some of the comments he had heard regarding the conditions for restarting the league, which was suspended in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brighton & Hove Albion chief executive Paul Barber said his team were opposed to surrendering home advantage and Christian Purslow, his counterpart at Aston Villa, said relegation would be a 200 million pounds catastrophe.

“The things that are starting to concern me a little as we get closer to a potential restart are comments we’re hearing on the margins by people involved in football,” Deputy Chief Constable Roberts said.

“... Comments such as ‘we might get relegated’, ‘we don’t want to play at neutral venues,’ ‘when we played them away there were fans in the stadium’, ‘we play at home without fans that’s a disadvantage’, ‘we want to get the trophy’.

“I get this in a football context that these are all a big deal. But in the context where 30,000 people have died (in the UK) and the total is still going up, then it’s not such a big deal.

“We want to work with football... get the season back going for the commercial reasons, for the morale reasons ... but we have to remind ourselves that cannot be at the risk of putting a single further life in jeopardy,” Roberts said."

Interesting editing by sky, make the article about how selfish Villa and Brighton are but completely gloss over the clear implication from the quote that Liverpool are just as big a problem.

[dave.woodhall]

I can see trying to force it through having the opposite effect on the national morale level overall. It won't cheer that many people up, and you can tell that from looking at this forum. We're football fans, it's why we're all here, but plenty of our number are verging on angry about a contrived restart, many more ambivalent at best.
Then there's people who don't even actively dislike football, those just nonplussed about the whole thing normally. They'll be wondering why on earth us trogs get our game back, yet virtually every aspect of their lives remain prohibitively affected.
I think it's a massive stretch. It's not like we're all cheering on the national sides, they're expecting things like Crystal Palace vs Burnley to somehow lift the nation's spirits.

Like reality TV and Downton Abbey, football is one of those pastimes that are supposed to grab the nation's attention when the majority of the population don't give a bugger about it one way or the other.

[dave.woodhall]

It's not really about us, but it seems good news anyway.

http://thebirminghampress.com/2020/05/new-grants-available-for-grassroots-football/

[olaftab]

Mark Roberts honestly it’s you who needs to get a grip. Just think about what you have said and do the right thing.

[OzVilla]

Sounds like the government are pouring some cold water on expectations of the lockdown being changed much on Sunday. Problem the PL might have is there’s not much road left to kick the can down now.

[old man villa fan]

I could understand the comments from the police if it was an event that had to be carried out for life or death or major political decision affecting the running of the country but not for a commercial activity.  Decisions on sporting events are not life changing and considering the manipulations going on to try and make the restart happen in light of what is happening around the virus is sickening.  Other sporting events are abandoned when a predetermined method of resolution has not been agreed, why not football.

If the police are saying some grounds could be used but not others, let those teams that can use their home ground use theirs for home games and everybody that can't can select where they want to play for their home games and have to 'suck it up'.  Let's see the complaints about fairness, then.

The argument about people travelling 10 miles to their home ground but will not travel 75 miles to another is rubbish.  People will travel, regardless of distance.  Do they still think football is local and people walk to home matches.  What is to stop Liverpool fans when they win the league, lining the route back from wherever to Liverpool.  Bear in mind that there will be relaxing of the current lockdown with more people going back to work by the time they are thinking the matches can be played.  There will be far more traffic on the roads.  Are the police going to commit resources to blockading areas around grounds.

The idea for a restart started weeks ago when people thought the spreading of the virus and deaths would be tailing off.  That is not happening to the extent required and does not look like happening quickly enough.  Last week it was reported that a vote would be taken after the Government was to decide a way forward today.  Then when the Government announced there would be a statement by the PM on Sunday, it was reported that the vote would be on Monday.  Now they are saying that they will not vote until after the captains have met to discuss it.  They keep on moving the goalposts on when the vote will happen.  What will it be next, the captains want further time to review and get advice on the doctors' report and discuss this with the players.  Time is running out but no firm proposals are being discussed ready for when a window of opportunity exists to train fully and play the matches.  They do not appear to want to put a firm date on a decision in case the situation is still not stable enough at that date and they do have to call it all off.  The only date I have seen is the UEFA date of completing by end of July.

[aev]

Sounds like the government are pouring some cold water on expectations of the lockdown being changed much on Sunday. Problem the PL might have is there’s not much road left to kick the can down now.

Well, cold water for everyone else but every time they are asked specifically about football they cant wait to tell us they are working to get it restarted. There is no caution expressed.

They wont be stopping it (at least initially).