There are are only two ways a Premier League team should avoid relegation when what will eventually pass for this season comes to a conclusion.
And that is by the season being declared null and void or – call me old-fashioned – earning enough points to finish 17th or better.
The idea the Premier League could resume but that relegation is taken off the table is preposterous. Watching football being played out in some sort of bio-secure bubble will be weird enough.
Watching meaningless football being played out in some sort of bio-secure bubble would be an utter waste of time.
Sky and BT sport may be desperate for football to return, but would surely not pay top dollar for pointless kickabouts.
Well over half the 92 fixtures remaining would have not one iota of jeopardy about them.
The argument from the bottom-six clubs revolves around neutral venues and the change in conditions for the remaining fixtures, which according to Brighton’s chief executive Paul Barber, would affect the “integrity of the competition”.
Playing without fans affects the “integrity of the competition”, but it is now the only option. Teams will not have home advantage, but neither will they have the disadvantage of being away.
Neutral. The clue is in the word.
Suggesting a no-relegation clause if matches are played at neutral venues is just a ruse to escape the consequences of finishing in the bottom three.
It cannot be allowed to happen.
