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

[mr underhill]

the better players will find a club but on (hopefully) more realistic and sustainable wages. If all this results in a less EPL- centrist football pyramid, with less money going to players and agents, and a better distribution of funds throughout the leagues, then so much the better.

[VinnieChase84]

I will share what ive been told - its come 3rd hand but who it came from was interesting so ill share.

Leagues Plan A - They really want to finish the season behind closed doors but it HAS to be done by august. With the euros next year they cant shoe horn in a full season any later than an october restart.

Plan A unlikely as we all know and reasons why

The interesting part was the plan B -
- Leagues finish as they are now
- no relegations
- top 3 come up
- larger leagues

[andyh]

Not contradicting you Sid, but isn’t it SKY that’s gets the foreign TV money from selling the rights that they own. The clubs get their TV revenue mainly from SKY and the smaller side deals they have with BT etc.

I may be wrong but that’s how I thought it worked.

[Lastfootstamper]

Agreed. I think sport has got much more chance of restarting behind closed doors than other forms of entertainment.

Basically anything broadcastable will get special dispensation to open up for TV/morale purposes before stuff like cinemas, theatres, etc do.

Have you seen how much stuff's available on the telly right now? There's a new Tiger King for starters.
And I can't see any kind of numbers of people watching it after even just the second game of footballers trying to pretend that playing in front of nobody is anywhere near the same. Televised sport's all about the spectacle, the emotion, the interplay between actors and audience winging its way through the ether and down a bit of copper. I can't see it doing anything for morale.

[andyh]

I will share what ive been told - its come 3rd hand but who it came from was interesting so ill share.

Leagues Plan A - They really want to finish the season behind closed doors but it HAS to be done by august. With the euros next year they cant shoe horn in a full season any later than an october restart.

Plan A unlikely as we all know and reasons why

The interesting part was the plan B -
- Leagues finish as they are now
- no relegations
- top 3 come up
- larger leagues

Plan B works for me.
I’m guessing that means Liverpool will be declared champions if that were to happen.

[Lastfootstamper]

So it's only the PL that'll be bigger.

[luke:lamf]

Have you seen how much stuff's available on the telly right now? There's a new Tiger King for starters.
And I can't see any kind of numbers of people watching it after even just the second game of footballers trying to pretend that playing in front of nobody is anywhere near the same. Televised sport's all about the spectacle, the emotion, the interplay between actors and audience winging its way through the ether and down a bit of copper. I can't see it doing anything for morale.

Agree with this. I tried to watch the Juve game that was on right before Italy locked down. Empty stadium, you could hear everything the players were saying. Turned it off after 5 minutes as without the crowd it's like watching a training session.

[LeeB]

I started off thinking that relegation was too close to 'predict', regardless of our position, but that awarding Liverpool the title was only fair.

For what it's worth, I have always thought we'd scrape 17th this year. Not based on evidence or performances, but a general feeling that we'd just about have enough.

But reading a bullshit article on Fourfourtwo about players who 'should've played for the Big Six but didn't', going all the way back to the 90s, when there wasn't a 'top four', let alone a 'big six', I remembered everything I hate about modern football. Not the players, or even the money, but the way it is constructed. This groupthink that the rich clubs have always been the biggest and the best. That this is the status quo. It is all manufactured and utterly false.

Chelsea are giants of the game because they were bought by a dodgy billionaire. Man City because they're sponsored by an entire state's oil money. Tottenham because they are based in North London. Newcastle because they have high attendances in a one-club city. Liverpool's history is a selling point but Villa's is a desperate plea for relevance. The fact we're expected to support English clubs in European competition because of the notion that we're all investors in the product that is the PL. The suggestion that we should all be delighted to see the best players in the world playing in the division, even if it means they're tearing Villa a new arsehole.

I haven't felt like I'm a part of PL football for a long time, and have disliked what it stands for for even longer. I know it continues to matter to me because Villa still have the power to make or ruin my weekends. The only authentic thing about top level football is what it means to the thousands who turn up every week.

To me, the scramble to finish this season at all costs so that Liverpool can win a pot is nothing to do with integrity. It's part of that fabric of nonsense, the PR narrative that has established football as a product and a cultural institution that has been perverted to represent commercial interests and returns for the most viable investors, rather than a sport.

Continuing the season without fans is the latest but, for me, the most significant detachment of the game from the people who are its neglected soul - the supporters.

(In summary, bollocks to Liverpool.)

Great post sir, and bollocks to Liverpool!

[Chipsticks]

I started off thinking that relegation was too close to 'predict', regardless of our position, but that awarding Liverpool the title was only fair.

For what it's worth, I have always thought we'd scrape 17th this year. Not based on evidence or performances, but a general feeling that we'd just about have enough.

But reading a bullshit article on Fourfourtwo about players who 'should've played for the Big Six but didn't', going all the way back to the 90s, when there wasn't a 'top four', let alone a 'big six', I remembered everything I hate about modern football. Not the players, or even the money, but the way it is constructed. This groupthink that the rich clubs have always been the biggest and the best. That this is the status quo. It is all manufactured and utterly false.

Chelsea are giants of the game because they were bought by a dodgy billionaire. Man City because they're sponsored by an entire state's oil money. Tottenham because they are based in North London. Newcastle because they have high attendances in a one-club city. Liverpool's history is a selling point but Villa's is a desperate plea for relevance. The fact we're expected to support English clubs in European competition because of the notion that we're all investors in the product that is the PL. The suggestion that we should all be delighted to see the best players in the world playing in the division, even if it means they're tearing Villa a new arsehole.

I haven't felt like I'm a part of PL football for a long time, and have disliked what it stands for for even longer. I know it continues to matter to me because Villa still have the power to make or ruin my weekends. The only authentic thing about top level football is what it means to the thousands who turn up every week.

To me, the scramble to finish this season at all costs so that Liverpool can win a pot is nothing to do with integrity. It's part of that fabric of nonsense, the PR narrative that has established football as a product and a cultural institution that has been perverted to represent commercial interests and returns for the most viable investors, rather than a sport.

Continuing the season without fans is the latest but, for me, the most significant detachment of the game from the people who are its neglected soul - the supporters.

(In summary, bollocks to Liverpool.)

Fantastic post.

[Brassneck]

It is not only SKY money for the Premier League it is the revenue they get from overseas TV coverage and other areas of the business.

The Burnley chairman has already stated that they will run out of money in August if there is no resumption in football this season.

The clubs will do everything that they can to play the final games of the season - on the BBC sport website - Champions League final for this season could be last weekend of August

Hopefully all clubs will now seriously look at what ridiculous wages that they are playing these players and start to take control of them, this may mean that instead of the players having all the power, the clubs will now have the upper hand.

If you are player out of contract on June 30th - you must be wondering if you will get another club.

The Sky money will probably be salvaged whatever the outcome.

The foreign TV money (which is quite substantial) will probably be lost.

With a bigger league next season, Sky will be able to cover more games, which will enable them to get alue for the money they put in this season. The same will probably apply to BT & Amazon.

[VinnieChase84]

Not sure if they would be more go down next season etc. Just a snippet - wish they would sort instead of this dragging it on and false ideas of a restart

[in exile]

The EFL's Rick Parry has written a letter to supporters saying that if the season resumes it will be without supporters.
I fully expect something pretty similar in a statement from Premier League today

[Brassneck]

I will share what ive been told - its come 3rd hand but who it came from was interesting so ill share.

Leagues Plan A - They really want to finish the season behind closed doors but it HAS to be done by august. With the euros next year they cant shoe horn in a full season any later than an october restart.

Plan A unlikely as we all know and reasons why

The interesting part was the plan B -
- Leagues finish as they are now
- no relegations
- top 3 come up
- larger leagues

If 3 come up, that means the Championship will have to promote 3 and so on.  League 1 is a nightmare, where 8th place can jump to 3rd if they win their game in hand.

Surely promoting 2 from each division makes more sense?

[Brassneck]

Not sure if they would be more go down next season etc. Just a snippet - wish they would sort instead of this dragging it on and false ideas of a restart

The current rules state that a maximum of 20 members per season.  It would certainly mean more teams down for 1 or 2 seasons.  I still think that only 2 should come up as 3rd wasn't guaranteed promotion anyway.

They can't sort it because like everyone else, they don't know what the immediate future holds.  As you said previously, they had hoped to play out behind closed doors but this is looking less likely now.

[VinnieChase84]

I will share what ive been told - its come 3rd hand but who it came from was interesting so ill share.

Leagues Plan A - They really want to finish the season behind closed doors but it HAS to be done by august. With the euros next year they cant shoe horn in a full season any later than an october restart.

Plan A unlikely as we all know and reasons why

The interesting part was the plan B -
- Leagues finish as they are now
- no relegations
- top 3 come up
- larger leagues

If 3 come up, that means the Championship will have to promote 3 and so on.  League 1 is a nightmare, where 8th place can jump to 3rd if they win their game in hand.

Surely promoting 2 from each division makes more sense?

i agree. No matter which way this is sliced its going to be strange. Null and void for me is the only true INTEGRITY keeping result across the board.