It has been two months now since I last wrote. And reading back on it, not much has changed beyond the sad fact a lot of people have died. Lockdown has remained in place, football has remained on hold and the debate over what should happen for both rages on.
Well, kind of. As I write this, some restrictions are starting to lift in a slow reopening of society, the German league returned to action this past weekend, and hope remains that the Premier League might well begin again in mid-June with teams getting the go-ahead to have players return to training in reduced numbers. It is right to take things slow and there is no doubt that things could change again in a week never mind a month, so it is hard to get too optimistic about anything right now when the virus continues to spread and people still die.
Sport has well and truly been put in its place these past few months. But it is not wrong to look forward to its return either. Sport remains the ultimate distraction from the real world and these past few months we have had little way to escape from the realities of real life. Everywhere we have turned, the harsh truth and fear over this virus has been in our faces. Everyone chiming in with an opinion, a suggestion, an idea or an assumption. Expert advice has been out there, but often hidden behind the noise of everyone else saying what they think, what they read, or what someone told them.
How nice it will be when some element of normality comes back and football returns. At this stage I will even celebrate the first time VAR rules out a goal. It may be in front of an empty stadium (at least the authorities won’t have to listen to fans chant “F**k VAR” for a while), but so be it. Empty stadiums are not ideal, but no football at all is worse. And if anything, a spell of no fans might remind the money people running the game how vital the fans in the stands are. That while TV revenue dictates most things, in particular when it comes to kick-off times, there is little substitute for the fan in the ground.
But football will return and thank goodness for that. The noisy minority of people calling for them to ‘null and void’ the season have not been heard. Those making the decisions and pulling the strings, for all their faults, do not turn to Twitter to gauge the public perception. Long many that last.
There was never any real common sense argument to scrapping the season; not at the highest levels where they could afford to wait it out, play behind closed doors, and even play at a reduced number of neutral venues to see it through. Like I have said before, how can you start a new season when there is one 75% complete and unfinished. New seasons only start in August because old ones finish in May. Without that happening, there is no need to start a new season on time. And besides, if we’re not able to finish the current season in June, July or August, then we won’t be able to start a new one anyway. Therefore why scrap this one only to try start another that doesn’t start on time either.
Yesterday the Scottish FA decided to abandon their season and award the title to Celtic on points-per-game, with Hearts being relegated. It seemed a decision taken sooner than it needed to be. Why not wait it out and see where things go in the months ahead? Some said it is because many Scottish teams cannot afford to play behind closed doors. But do they think stadiums will be open to fans as soon as August again? I doubt that. So if next season won’t be ready to start as normal on time, why abandon this one?
Liverpool fans can take some comfort in the knowledge that should the Premier League decide to go down the same path, the likelihood would be that Liverpool would still get their title. It isn’t the way Liverpool fans want to win it, but one way or the other, they will win their 19th crown. That is unless they resume play and Liverpool make a massive hash of it and don’t win the handful of games they need to secure the championship.
Winning it on a points-per-game basis would not be ideal, but champions Liverpool would be, and deserving champions at that. It isn’t as though Liverpool lead by four or five points and the whole thing is still in the balance. With a 25 point advantage, Liverpool deserving the title is not in doubt and you could not doubt the validity of the win. The issue is more around how to deal with the Champions League places, and more so, the relegation battle. That is a lot tighter than the top of the table. It is little wonder then that clubs a few points outside the relegation zone are wanting the season cancelled and current standings as final, while clubs in the bottom three want the season voided. Nothing like self-serving interests. You could say Liverpool fans are no different, but we have a right to argue against voiding a season in place of rewarding positions, or better, finishing it, given the massive 25 point advantage the club have worked hard and played superb football to earn.
Plus there is the little matter of the teams fighting to get promoted too. A big mess to sort out should they try halt it where it is which is why it makes no sense. Too many teams have invested too much in what has been played and it deserves to be finalised. Not to mention the financial impact of not getting the rest of the TV money either. We can be critical of how much influence money has on the game, but that is a reality. And a lot of teams could be in dire straits should a season be voided.
Whichever way Liverpool win the title, it won’t quite be the same. Being handed it on the cancellation of the rest of the season would be a bit of a downer, despite the long drought coming to an end. Winning it behind closed doors would take away a lot of the fun and celebration that fans have dreamed of for so long. But to many, having waited this long, getting the trophy and getting our names on it again will do fine. This isn’t a fluke season. Liverpool look like a team on the up and set to contend for the next number of years. There is a belief among the fanbase that this won’t be a one-off title anyway.
And for all that is lost from not having an old fashion title party and open-top bus tour, you cannot deny that this will be one of the most historic title wins of all time. And not only because of how bloody good Liverpool have been this season. Win their next few matches back and Liverpool could win the league with the fewest number of games played but also over the longest amount of days for a season. When you think of the thirty year wait, all the hopes for next year and all the blown chances, it seems fitting almost that it wouldn’t quite go as smooth as it does for anyone else. That we get this close, then the prize gets pulled back a little. Almost cantering to the title, with the knowledge that Liverpool would win it as far back as Christmas, came a massive unseen twist in the tail, of ‘Usual Suspects’ standards, that ensured it wouldn’t quite be so tranquil a finish. So much for winning it with ease and almost missing a bit of late drama to make the moment of glory that little bit more special; Liverpool have got the most unusual, iconic and historic turn of events to swing the direction from an early and easy win, to a late and suspense filled dramatic conclusion that will be remembered for years to come when people talk about the football season during the Coronavirus pandemic.
None of which, when it comes to the impact of the virus, is something to celebrate, of course. What has halted a title that should already be won by now, is nothing short of tragic, terrible and impactful in ways well beyond any faux drama of a football season, but on a football level when you look away from the grand scheme of things for a moment because that is what sport is there to let us do, there will be a title celebrated by Liverpool fans and remembered forever by everyone.
Always Next Year 