Phil Hay shares what he’s heard about ‘overwhelming view’ from PL & EFL clubs over suspension
The Athletic journalist Phil Hay has reported that there is an “overwhelming view” among Premier League and EFL clubs that the current season must be completed with Leeds United seeing their promotion bid put on hold.
Last Friday, the Premier League and EFL took the decision to suspend all fixtures until early April due to the outbreak of coronavirus in the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe.
However many believe that, with the disease still spreading across the nation, that football is unlikely to restart on the planned date.
In the last few days we have seen a number of suggestions about how football’s governing bodies should deal with the likelihood that matches cannot be played for a matter of months.
West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady has advocated nulling and voiding the entire campaign while a plan for a 22-team Premier League, with Leeds and West Brom handed promotion, has also been brought up.
However, according to what The Athletic’s Hay has heard, the majority of teams in elite-level football in England want the remaining fixtures to be played at some point.
“You’re right about April 4 — literally nobody believes the season will restart then but from what I hear, the overwhelming view among Premier League and EFL clubs is that the fixtures must be completed, however that happens. To a large degree, it’s pointless trying to second-guess the solution. This will go step by step — the next being tomorrow’s Premier League talks,” said the former Yorkshire Evening Post journalist on The Athletic website.
This is definitely good to know.
On Tuesday, the 24 Championship clubs met to discuss what action they would like to see taken with them all agreeing they want the remaining fixtures to be completed [Ian Dennis].
However now that most of the clubs in the Premier League and the rest of the EFL all agree, it seems that this plan should gain traction.
In other Leeds United news, Graham Smyth says this Leeds star has a future in punditry after his latest interview.