Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown has accused clubs of greed as the proposal of scrapping relegation was brought up at the Premier League meeting.
The government and the FA are believed to be in continual talks as they look to put a plan together which would allow the Premier League, and possibly the lower professional football leagues, to complete their current campaigns.
Some teams who are at risk of losing their PL status are said to have put forward that teams should not be at risk of losing their place in England’s elite division under a new scheme which could have a detrimental effect on teams.
The prospect of playing in neutral venues to see out the season, paired with the fact that no fans would be allowed into stadiums would no doubt benefit some teams much the more than others, with West Ham and Brighton on the worst end of things considering they lose home advantage over a number of top teams, and both hold slender leads over the drop zone.
Keown claims however that the only reason to finish the season would be in order to assure that relegations were to be decided fairly, and for champions to be named.
“Scrapping relegation would be farcical and it stinks of greed,” He said.
“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.”
He added: “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.”
I’m yet to be convinced that the current campaign can go ahead and return to action, despite the continued positive planning that is supposedly going on behind the scenes, especially as I’m not hearing any current players talking about a need to return to play.
Does the PL season have to be completed? Is there a way that the division can be played out, or decided without being completed that will be deemed for everybody?
Patrick
