Leeds blow: LMA chief slams EFL plan – managers will only re-start season if one thing happens
Leeds United fans were given fresh hope that the 19/20 Championship would be played out after a letter from EFL chairman Rick Parry this week.
In the letter to clubs, Parry re-iterated the EFL’s commitment to play the remaining fixtures and unveiled a plan to play all games – including the play-offs – behind closed doors in 56 days.
He also said that clubs should not get players back into training before May 16, which suggested the fixtures would be played out in June and July.
However, chief executive of the League Managers’ Association (LMA) Richard Bevan has slammed the plan and said this timetable is “amazingly tight”.
He also said that managers do not want to play the fixtures, even behind closed doors, until all players have been tested.
As quoted on the BBC, Bevan said, “You’re going to have to get the support of the coaches and managers. You do not do that by not talking to them. You do not get the end-product or working together if you just send a letter out without actually taking their advice or thoughts.
“Our managers do not want to be back on the pitch unless the players have been tested. But at the same time the government must confirm that is okay, because the tests must be made available first – if there’s a shortage – to care workers, patients, NHS staff and their families.”
Season re-start – Our view
There are plenty of logistics to work through before football can resume.
Before we even consider it, the plan would have to get full approval from the government and the strain on the NHS would have to be lessened considerably before any medical infrastructure was released.
Testing players would seem to be a necessary step to safeguard the season and ensure that there are no further outbreaks – as soon as that happened you imagine the season would be called off.
Despite the amount of money in the game and on the line, we can’t see a situation where football players will get priority testing before NHS workers. The backlash from the public would be massive.
However, the EFL plan is for games to start no earlier than June and possibly midway through that month.
We hope that the landscape has changed considerably in the UK by that time and that the Championship can resume.
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