Football

Amid the coronavirus chaos, get everyone to 29 games, give Liverpool the title and bin relegation


Before we even get started, let me make one thing clear.

It wouldn’t matter if we were talking about Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City, Derby County or Birmingham City here, I’d still be ­saying the same thing.

That it would be an absurdity, even in these exceptional circumstances, if the season were to be voided.

And a club that have a 25-point lead and need just two wins from their remaining nine games were ­denied the right to be determined champions of England.

Liverpool have quite obviously been the best team in the country this season by miles and they deserve to be Recognised as such for the first time in 30 years.

A general view of a locked gate at Anfield, Liverpool

So wherever this season goes after the coronavirus pandemic has wreaked its havoc, whether we now finish the ­campaign or complete it down the line, nothing should deny them their title. As things stand, football in England is scheduled to be back from April 3.

But I just can’t possibly see that a grave ­situation will have improved ­sufficiently in three weeks for a full resumption of our game.

We’re still some way from the virus reaching its peak, according to the experts.

And the fact football dressing rooms and pitches are basically Petri dishes for germs and bacteria means it’s folly to think we’ll be ready to start again so quickly.

If I was calling the shots at the top of the English game, I’d have ­announced – much earlier than Friday – that all football was suspended until May 3… rather than April 3.

Liverpool are on the brink of winning the Premier League title

And if in seven weeks, if the sound advice from around the world, and not just the chief medical officer of England, led us to agree that we weren’t going to get the season ­finished, I’d be calling all the clubs and all the leagues together for a grown-up conversation about what to do next.

My solution for the Premier League would be to get all 20 teams to 29 games as quickly as possible.

It would take just two matches – Sheffield United versus Aston Villa and Manchester City versus Arsenal.

The Blades and the Villans could even have played behind closed doors this weekend, given that no one from either side has tested positive for COVID-19.

And while City versus Arsenal is the tricky one given Mikel Arteta’s health, we could get that game done and dusted as soon as everyone from both camps is declared fit.

Jurgen Klopp has overseen a remarkable campaign so far this season

Then, at least, everyone would have played the same number of fixtures and we could say that whatever ­position each team was in after 29 games was the position they had finished in.

Now, I know that would lead to ­problems with relegation.

Because teams will say, ‘Well, hang on, look at our run-in, it’s easier than theirs and we think we’d have got out of trouble’.

So to avoid any complaints or even litigation, the best thing would be to not relegate anyone.

On the face of it, that would have ramifications on promotion as well.

Fans wear facemasks due to Coronavirus concerns during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Bournemouth

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And I don’t want to detract from the success Leeds, West Brom, Coventry, Rotherham, Crewe and Swindon have enjoyed this season. So to keep things fair, I’d promote them all and play with two extra teams in each division next season.

The key to that working would then be for five teams to go down in a year’s time to reduce the numbers in each division to what they traditionally are.

This would be the fairest solution, as far as I can tell, because simply ­restarting the leagues when the World Health Organisation says it’s OK would probably delay next season… and that comes with its own set of problems.

So let’s get everyone to the 29-game mark and if the pandemic doesn’t show signs of abating any time soon, then let’s just call it – and hand Liverpool the trophy they so richly deserve.





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