Questions on Project Restart answered.

On the 17th March 2012, and before Bolton Wanderers kicked off their match against Toots, Fabrice Muamba probably had no idea how his day would unfold. All he probably hoped for was a victory and a place in the next round of the FA Cup. However, 78 minutes into the match, he suffered a cardiac arrest. Thankfully he lived to tell the tale but his professional football career was over. He’s still involved in the game as a coach for Rochdale. Cheick Tiote, who you’ll all remember from his years at Newcastle Utd, also suffered a cardiac arrest whilst training in China with his then teammates of Beijing Enterprises. Sadly for him, his family and other loved ones, he wasn’t as fortunate as Muamba.

I know it’s only two examples of high profile footballers who have had unknown underlying health problems but if you check Wikipedia, you’ll see less familiar names playing for unfamiliar clubs who have suffered the same outcome as Cheick Tiote yet before they turned up for a match or training, I strongly suspect they believed they were in top condition and good health.

Football can test who it likes for the Coronavirus, (although I believe there are others who should have access to the number of tests the game will require before footballers) but if a player has underlying unknown health issues, should he show symptoms of this virus, he could very well suffer serious health problems. This virus doesn’t only take the lives of vulnerable people and any player returns home to his family, possibly still unaware the virus is in him, they too could become ill.

Of course there’s a chance that any return to the game will go smoothly and once the remaining fixtures have been completed, not one player or any other person employed on a match day has showed symptoms of Covid-19 but it my opinion, English football is rolling a dice.

Think about it for a few minutes or more before deciding. If you played for a club in one of Europe’s countries which has been hit hard by Coronavirus, would you want to return to football in a few weeks time?

The Daily Mail have asked Jamie Redknapp, Martin Keown, Chris Sutton and Marc Clattenburg the same question.

JR: Players want to play and most would do as they are told, me included. But do not underestimate the pressure that will be put on players and managers by their families. My dad is 73. If he was managing in the Premier League now, I would be telling him not to go back to work. I wouldn’t want him putting himself at risk. Likewise players do not want to put their families at risk. Players themselves are naturally healthy, but it’s your mum, your dad, your grandparents, your relative with underlying health issues. That is what would worry you.

MK: I’m being paid by my club to play football. If they told me it was time to get the show back on the road, I would listen. But the safety of players has to be paramount. If I agree to stay in a hotel for six weeks, away from my family, I would expect every other player to be doing the same. There would be a moral obligation to do that. I would not want to see anyone flouting those rules. Otherwise, when I step on that pitch a week later and mark you closely, there is a possibility you could pass it over to me. Then the entire process would have been a waste of time.

CS: I would have serious concerns about going back to training and playing games. It would feel wrong while so many are still dying on a daily basis. So right now, if I was a player, I’m not sure I’d go back. If I did, I would want to stay in a hotel and away from my family. I wouldn’t want to place them in harm’s way and you would be doing that if you played a game then came home to them. Players have to be given the option of deciding for themselves.

MC: If it does start — emphasis on the word ‘if’ — then match officials have to be treated the same as the players. From the referees to the VAR, they would need to be isolated and tested regularly. They would need to be in a controlled environment. Because just like if a player tests positive, the moment one official contracts coronavirus, it’s game over. I would agree to take part, though I know how difficult it would be to have to stay away from my family for weeks on end.

What about neutral locations being used? Same people give their view.

MK: Such is the danger of this virus, the proposal to play at neutral grounds should not be opposed by anybody. It’s all the other issues which require detailed discussions: What players do between games? Where they stay? Who they come into contact with and so on.

CS: Relegation-threatened clubs are said to be the ones most opposed. Norwich are bottom and of their remaining nine fixtures, five are at home, with three of those against sides sitting 14th or lower in the Premier League. So on the one hand, I can see why they might be moaning about Carrow Road being taken away from them. On the other hand, Daniel Farke’s side have the 19th worst home record ahead of only Southampton. They have not made their home advantage count for much this season.

This can be said for all of those clubs towards the foot of the table. The bottom line is they have all been poor, at home and away. That’s why they are where they are. Norwich took seven points from the reverse fixtures of the games they have to go — two wins against Manchester City and Everton, and a draw with Arsenal. Will they be worse off in neutral venues? If that is how the season is finished, then they have to suck it up and agree to it. All clubs should do that.

JR: The problem is every club has its own agenda. Everyone is thinking about themselves right now. But to play devil’s advocate, some players will embrace neutral venues. Some get strangled by the fear of playing at home. Monday to Friday on the training ground, they can be terrific. Come Saturday, they give the ball away, 50,000 fans scream and shout at them, and they go into their shell. Some players might enjoy playing at neutral venues without the pressure of supporter

MC: I’ve refereed behind closed doors and, believe me, it’s dreadful. It was a European qualifier between Romania and Greece in 2014, and the game seemed to be played at a slower pace. The players missed the adrenaline of supporters in the stands. Everything echoed, too. If this goes ahead, then television companies will need to turn their pitchside mics down unless they want a lot of swearing pumped into living rooms. The Premier League is built on excitement and atmosphere and the product will be damaged with no fans in the ground, but it’s hard to see a way around it.

The idea of relegation places being scrapped?

CS: Ludicrous. Any clubs who will only play if the threat of relegation is removed are in the wrong. Does this not prove that, to them, it is more about money and what they have to lose than wanting to play to lift morale or for sporting integrity? I say again: ludicrous. For me, calling the season now and deciding it on points per game is the way to go. I’d love to see football return safely but there doesn’t seem to be a hope in hell of starting in the next few months. How can France, just over the water, call for sport to be suspended until September and we get going again? The French seem to be putting health first. It’s hard to argue that we are.

JR: I agree with Chris, the idea of scrapping relegation is ridiculous. But it is only right that the season is finished, even if it curtails the 2020-21 campaign. You cannot get to within nine games of completion and say: ‘We’re done.’ Imagine the legal backlash if, like in France, we relegated three teams before the season is finished. Liverpool, who were being debated as one of the greatest Premier League sides a few months ago, deserve the chance to be crowned champions without an asterisk next to their name. Norwich and the rest towards the bottom deserve the chance to claw their way to safety.

MK: Scrapping relegation would be farcical and it stinks of greed. How would we then package and sell those remaining rounds of fixtures which would essentially become dead rubbers? The reason we want to restart and finish this season is to establish relegations and promotions. Otherwise it is no longer a competition.

It will be a logistical nightmare and I do not envy the decision-makers. They need direction from the Government and, in truth, I’m not sure it is feasible right now. There is also a moral dilemma regarding testing, whether footballers should be tested before key workers. But whenever it is, in six months, 12 months, whenever, I want to see this season completed, with relegations included.

Finally, the most important question in my opinion. Do the ex players and a current referee think the Premier League have the health of players at heart?

JR: We have to hope that players’ health is prioritised above everything else, even if astronomical sums of money are involved. But I spoke to one Premier League manager over the weekend who told me how uneasy he felt about having his players tested weekly, when there is not enough for NHS staff or key workers. It doesn’t sit right with him and he will only agree to testing if it can be proven it does not compromise the need of the public.

MK: The Premier League need to speak to their players. Do they want to take part in Project Restart? Are they happy to make these sacrifices to see out the season? If a player says he does not want to play, you have got to respect that. That’s his choice. Of course there is a lot of money involved, and clubs are already making significant losses.

In 2017-18, for example, Arsenal made £99million from matchday income. With no fans at the Emirates Stadium, that will be taking a hit. But money cannot take precedence over safety. Two things will decide when the Premier League comes back — coronavirus and the players.

Whether you like the ex players or Marc Clattenburg or not, I think hearing their views is interesting because they know what a match day entails. Clattenburg knows what it’s like to be involved when there are no fans. Soulless. This is simply a money making process, a view enhanced should relegation places be scrapped. Just because many people support clubs in the Premier League, there are still a large number of football fans who enjoy watching a relegation deciding fixture as a neutral. Winner takes all fixtures can make great viewing on a rainy day in May. Same goes for the playoffs throughout the other leagues, will they be cancelled too if relegation is scrapped? Promoting clubs from the Championship will be impossible unless the number of clubs in the Premiership is increased. Let’s not go there I say as the season is long enough already.

Football has years to come up with VAR and the way it’s used, yet still it raises questions. Expecting the PL and FA to work out a safe way to restart the game in such a short time is a fantasy.

By the way, Bolton Wanderers lost the replay…

Stay safe guys…