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

[aev]

The government obviously believes that social distancing rules will be relaxed by June, surely?
I mean, it’s not like people will congregate at each other houses to watch is it?
Or better still, lock ins down the local or at private clubs.

I think there will be some relaxation, perhaps friends and family but at the same time i cant imagine they will lift the 2m rule.

If this is still in place, it really does seem as though they are making a special case for certain sports, which as mallo says above pretty unfair on lots of other businesses that may not get the special dispensation to resume.

[DrGonzo]

If it restarts I, for one, will refuse to go to the matches.

[OzVilla]

If it restarts you can bet social media will be full of twats from flouting the rules in pubs and homes. That’ll really give the authorities a problem all of their own making. I’m 99.9999% certain of it.

[Nev]

I had a conversation with a colleague about the TV coverage if the games are behind closed doors yesterday.

If it's not free to air then you have the issues raised above, a tacit encouragement for people to gather to watch the games, football is a community activity anyway so to steer people away from this is going to be difficult. And if you're a struggling landlord how about drawing the curtains, opening the back door and making yourself some easy money while you show the match?

If it is free to air then that will impact on the revenue of the broadcasters, is this where the government offer compensation and is this a justifiable use of funds?

Football is still deep in the maze, and there remains, at the moment, just one route out.

[Towser]

Germany talking about resuming footbal but not relegating any team https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2020/04/27/bundesliga-clubs-debate-whether-relegation-should-scrapped-even/

Premier League clubs have been made aware of a debate within the German Bundesliga over whether or not relegation should be scrapped even if the season restarts and is played to a finish.

Telegraph Sport understands that some managers of top-flight German teams are debating with their clubs whether or not to argue that there should be no relegation at the end of this season because the sporting integrity has already been lost.

[peckvillajunior]

The social distancing angle is a bit of a red herring I think. The 2 metre rule is a very crude rule of thumb when transmission of disease also depends on the time spent in proximity and whether the area is open/enclosed.

We could end up in a daft situation where a football match can't take place but two people can sit 3 metres apart on an aeroplane for 10 hours!

[john2710]

The PL are purely looking at this as a financial issue. It'll be interesting what the PFA stance will be.

I have no doubt that Football, behind closed doors, will be back by early / mid June & that it'll be absolutely shite.

The Govt couldn't care less about a few rich footballers. They'll use football to spin some positivity. Cue another Tory 3 word slogan - "Football's coming back".

[Clark W Griswold]

I had a conversation with a colleague about the TV coverage if the games are behind closed doors yesterday.

If it's not free to air then you have the issues raised above, a tacit encouragement for people to gather to watch the games, football is a community activity anyway so to steer people away from this is going to be difficult. And if you're a struggling landlord how about drawing the curtains, opening the back door and making yourself some easy money while you show the match?

If it is free to air then that will impact on the revenue of the broadcasters, is this where the government offer compensation and is this a justifiable use of funds?

Football is still deep in the maze, and there remains, at the moment, just one route out.

You would guess that games not currently covered by Sky or BT could be made free to air on BBC and ITV for example, and the pay subscriptions will keep their exclusive games. That is just my guess though. Whether or not it results in people breaking rules and getting together particularly if some games are still on sky is debateable. I think it may do, but then again i also think that as people get more bored with the whole situation as time goes on and the weather continues to improve they may do for other things anyway. I would be surprised if people gathered outside games knowing that they can't go in, i can't get my head around why anyone would but i suppose you never cease to be amazed or dumbfounded by peoples behaviour.

[sid1964]

I would not be surprised to see people outside grounds - if Liverpool needed to beat us to win the League, I can imagine lots of their lot gathering in the streets and outside the ground.

If people are stupid enough to want to drive to snowdownia and then go for a walk then nothing would surprise me.

[Drummond]

I had a conversation with a colleague about the TV coverage if the games are behind closed doors yesterday.

If it's not free to air then you have the issues raised above, a tacit encouragement for people to gather to watch the games, football is a community activity anyway so to steer people away from this is going to be difficult. And if you're a struggling landlord how about drawing the curtains, opening the back door and making yourself some easy money while you show the match?

If it is free to air then that will impact on the revenue of the broadcasters, is this where the government offer compensation and is this a justifiable use of funds?

Football is still deep in the maze, and there remains, at the moment, just one route out.

Stop it, all your virtue-signalling bollocks Nev. Of course people can be trusted, and the show must go on. Where there's a will, there's a way, fuck everyone else.

[The Edge]

If it restarts I, for one, will refuse to go to the matches.

Ever?

[in exile]

If it restarts I, for one, will refuse to go to the matches.

I don't blame you

[Nii Lamptey]

This whole closed doors things is tosh. Tried watching a couple of those games before the lockdown and it was painful - Turned off after 10 minutes.

Can't see how it can be a solution - Teams we've faced away and lost to had the advantage of home crowd... When we face them in the return, WE should have that same advantage. The opposition are the team gaining a second advantage by playing behind closed doors.

You could argue that every team is in the same boat, but the difference is that some teams will be facing more formidable opponents without the support of their home fans to cheer them on, whilst teams in and around Villa's WERE able to take points off those same teams with the added advantage of home crowd.

I say just put a stop on it all till the end of this year, then play out the last 9/10 games at the beginning of 2021, thus taking 2 seasons to complete 1 season. Would take us nicely into Euro 2021 then.

It's the money side of things that stinks - It's purely the tv contracts that are pushing things to get moving again, and the fact that finances are so top heavy in British football, the smaller clubs will implode if it goes on for much longer.

Balls to it. It's not football any more - More important things in life.

[Somniloquism]

The social distancing angle is a bit of a red herring I think. The 2 metre rule is a very crude rule of thumb when transmission of disease also depends on the time spent in proximity and whether the area is open/enclosed.

We could end up in a daft situation where a football match can't take place but two people can sit 3 metres apart on an aeroplane for 10 hours!

However there is evidence of sweating, heavy breathing / shouting can create more potentially infectious droplets in areas larger then 2 meters.

[peckvillajunior]

Oh it's not risk-free by any means, I just think if there's a priority list of risks football is being placed lower down than it should be.

I'm probably just biased as I want to be able to play amateur football next season! Far less fussed about premier league in all honesty