Friday 8 May 2020

Play or be relegated threat to bottom three

I wondered how long it would take to arguments to really get going, rather than polite suggestions from the Premier League. It appears a number of clubs, Aston Villa, Norwich and Brighton, for example, have been less than keen on playing the remaining matches of this season at neutral venues, which I think is understandable as teams in the bottom half have found points hard to come by. Home advantage is a big help with familiarity of stadiums. But the Daily Mail reports that the Premier League has said if the bottom clubs vote against their dream 'Project Restart' they'll relegate the bottom three with a vote by the other clubs.

Home advantage means everything for bottom clubs.
It's getting childish and petty. The Premier League is stamping its feet and is lobbying the government to get them onside, so it can make its money and get worldwide coverage of the remaining games as a big spectacle, raising the profile of the league even higher. It doesn't care about the fans not being able to attend the games. It doesn't care which teams are relegated, as all the big clubs are well and truly safe. It just wants to see Liverpool gain the title that they deserve and tie up all the loose ends, on relegation and European places, so that their precious league is able to be completed.

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I'd like to be a fly on the wall for the meeting next year to see how AFCB respond. I imagine they will be quite timid and go along with whatever is agreed as good little boys, but there may be more of a protest from the likes of Watford, Brighton and West Ham who are currently above the bottom three and I still think that can scupper the 'Project Restart'. West Ham have constantly taken a stance of 'null and void' as proposed by Karren Brady and I haven't heard any different noises coming from the London stadium since. Brighton's Chairman has been quite vocal about wanting to play at the Amex for Brighton's home games and Watford are going to be fighting tooth and nail to stay up, after getting out of the bottom three.
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In the end it may come down to the club's medical staff making the final decision on 'Project Restart'. If the medics say it's really not on for the players safety, what will the Premier League do? I get the impression that they will follow the example set by France, end the season and take the positions as they stand now, which would mean relegation by a goal difference of one for the Cherries.

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