Premier League’s innovative plans to restart the season – report
While the long-term future of English football is shrouded in doubt, there are still plenty of questions over the short-term plans of the game.
The Premier League will meet again on Friday to discuss the next steps of Project Restart, with the hope being to put a plan in place for a return to action in June.
As leagues, clubs and authorities try to find a way to get football up and running again, new innovative measures are being taken into consideration.
“We don’t know the future but we do know what propositions have been put, what ideas have been put – the possibility of having more substitutes, games possibly not being the full 45 minutes each way, talks of neutral stadiums,” the chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), Graham Taylor, told the BBC.
“Ideally, you want to keep the integrity of the competition, and of course, that was about playing home and away and having the same squad of players as before it was suspended.
“So, it remains in process and we shall just have to wait and see, and look at it on a day by day basis and see if it’s achievable. But if we don’t try, then it’s never going to be achievable.”
FIFA are expected to give the green light for five substitutions to be allowed during games in order to relieve the strain on players.
“I am absolutely in favour of cutting down on the maximum effort of players,” Doctor Pedro Luis Ripoll told MARCA.
“A greater recovery time and lesser effort is going to help reduce the rate of injuries.”
Neutral venues
Pako Ayestaran, the former Valencia and Las Palmas coach who also worked as Rafa Benitez’s assistant at Liverpool, likes the idea of planning at neutral venues.
“We have to have an open and adaptive mind,” he told MARCA.
“In this situation, everyone has to come out of their comfort zone.”
However, the Premier League’s proposal of playing the remaining fixtures in eight to 10 neutral venues isn’t pleasing everyone.
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“At this critical point in the season playing matches in neutral venues has, in our view, potential to have a material effect on the integrity of the competition,” Brighton chief executive Paul Barber said on the club’s website.
“It’s the least-worst option,” said Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish.
Various teams have already begun individual training ahead of a possible return while the Premier League is working hard to complete the season and fulfil their TV contracts.