Players won't be in the shape or the mood to play football

AFC Bournemouth still have a directive for players to return to the club for training on 6 April. It seems pretty improbable that that suggestion wont be abandoned in the next few days. Players like David Brooks and Diego Rico have spoken out to the Bournemouth Echo about their stories and in Rico's case it seems that his hardest problem could just be getting a flight back to the UK from Spain.

David Brooks just wants the club to stay up.

For David Brooks it was always going to be a bit of an uphill battle to be fit for games in April, but the whole squad has similarly not been able to train, and it is hard to see how any player could be match fit for the end of April. In Scotland it is starting to dawn on clubs that they need to pack things up now to protect the TV rights for the 2020-21 season. I can only assume similar thoughts will have to be taken on board in England soon.

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The players have also mentally gone through as difficult a time as the rest of us. This is not normal living and being confined to your house is already something that some of us deal better with than others. A young football player is energetic and full of inquisitive thoughts, and being cooped in a confined space is hardly conducive to being in a great mindset for going to play football at the highest level, even if you live in a footballer's mansion.

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I liked the honesty though of David Brooks when asked about whether he would rather play out the season or stay up by seeing the league made null and void. Replying to the Bournemouth Echo he said, "the satisfaction levels would be there to do it on the pitch," but he wasn't against "just staying up". He's right of course, the fans want to stay up just like the players, and if it comes by way of a defaulted season we'd take it, because it gives the club a whole season to do better than last time.

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Previous post on Cherry Chimes - What has Eddie Howe learned from this season?

Chimes Newsletter - out today!
Cherry Chimes' April Newsletter brings you the best stories on the blog and the thoughts behind them from last month. The newsletter has a special story - What will it be like when play is resumed?

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