Match Threads Spurs vs Fulham - Match Thread - Day 16 - GAME POSTPONED

[stormfly]

Just got back. Shit atmosphere today, boos at FT.

TBF once we got to 17-0 we just sat back and didn’t even try to attack. The fans pay good money so they have every right to moan.

 

[Dr Know]

Hope we do the right thing and follow through on this maverick’s suggestion...

Have you seen some of the stuff this guy has on Twitter? He certainly giving Trump a run for his money...........self centered prat!

 

[buckley]

My problem with this is we have not been told how many of their players cannot play my question is why ?
Clubs sometimes have six or seven players injured as in Liverpools recent history they still had to play !
Just say we go further in the league cup and in Europe plus the cup and Fulham only have the league to worry about the powers that be would not have a problem with us playing 3 games in seven days and Fulham playing once in seven days thus giving them a massive advantage . As I say we should be informed of the amount of players Fulham cannot call upon .
A couple of years ago when we had a massive injury list there was no relief for us .
Now I know this is different but if players do not have covid they should play .
West Ham had some players with covid and had to play .
Man City had some players with covid and the game was rearranged .
My point in all this is how many players have to be infected before a game is called off it should be made clear .
Other games are going ahead because the clubs have the testing down to a fine art and any infected player is isolated with immediate effect
.
..

 

[FibreOpticJesus]

Sadly, you’re right. Money triumphs over player safety.

Funny how it is the players who are catching the virus. I think it is they that are putting others at risk by breaking the bubble rules.

 

[buckley]

After writing that above I have tuned into Mr McCawber " in short " lets have a level playing field and a set number that must be infected for a game to be called off then we would all be playing on a level field of play .

 

[yankspurs]

Funny how it is the players who are catching the virus. I think it is they that are putting others at risk by breaking the bubble rules.

Well the positives are coming from both staff & players. But yes, from the outside looking in, I think we can be reasonably assume that there are players in the league flouting protocol. I do think it’s time that protocol rules are made more stringent & penalties are put in place in case anyone breaks the rules. Its the least the league can do, really. Especially if they won’t shut down for a few weeks.

 

[Athenspur]

Wtf is overtime?

Sorry, basketball terminology for extra time. Basketball is big here in Greece.

 

[DiVaio]

 

[HodisGawd]

My problem with this is we have not been told how many of their players cannot play my question is why ?
Clubs sometimes have six or seven players injured as in Liverpools recent history they still had to play !
Just say we go further in the league cup and in Europe plus the cup and Fulham only have the league to worry about the powers that be would not have a problem with us playing 3 games in seven days and Fulham playing once in seven days thus giving them a massive advantage . As I say we should be informed of the amount of players Fulham cannot call upon .
A couple of years ago when we had a massive injury list there was no relief for us .
Now I know this is different but if players do not have covid they should play .
West Ham had some players with covid and had to play .
Man City had some players with covid and the game was rearranged .
My point in all this is how many players have to be infected before a game is called off it should be made clear .
Other games are going ahead because the clubs have the testing down to a fine art and any infected player is isolated with immediate effect
.
..

The decision is not about the effect players being out has on the Fulham team, it's about the danger of the virus spreading among both clubs' playing staff as a result of the match taking place.

I would have thought that was obvious.

You can test negative because the virus hasn't shown up on you yet but an hour later walk onto a pitch and transmit coronavirus. So a decision on the wider safety has to be made, not just "players who don't have Covid should play". That would be an utterly stupid and irresponsible way of doing things. Thankfully the Prem aren't as ignorant and are dealing with this in the right way.

 

[Rubespur]

I'm gutted the match was called off as I booked off a half day from work here in the US to kick off the New Year's holiday and watch the match. But, the health of everyone is most important.

Out of curiosity, does anyone know if there is a Covid-19 policy regarding this type of scenario? I'm reading in this thread there are some regulations or guidance in place from the start of the season, so I'm curious to get my eyes on anything official that can shed light on what the outcome is supposed to be (e.g., postpone now, try to reschedule, if not possible then award the 3 points to the team that could field players). I checked premierleague.com and the FA's website, but am unable to locate anything.

Also, is the uptick in cases in the UK this new Covid-strain-variant? I'm reading it is much more contagious so that makes me think we might have to short-circuit the season or do something else creative... 2020, what a year!

Hopefully the postponement is a blessing - time will tell.

 

[nailsy]

That’s a solution but the major obstacle to that is you’re requiring 4 (if you include the FA re the FA Cup as well) different organisations to liaise and work together to accommodate issues that at least one of those organisations (FIFA) will take no responsibility for. FIFA will have no appetite for moving the World Cup and UEFA would rather shift everything back a month or two than defer the Euros by another year.

I really can't see the Euros going ahead as currently planned with games being played in various locations around Europe. The only way it goes ahead will be if they move the tournament to a single country - probably England as that's where the final is scheduled to be played. I can't see how they could shift the dates back either. Clubs wouldn't agree to it and would refuse to release their players.

Of course there are two weeks of international games at end of March. Where we play San Marino, Albania and Poland.

If the league wants to start postponing games then this season is one time when silly internationals like England vs San Marino needs to be scrapped (even if it is a qualifier) to make space for rearranged fixtures

Canceling a few England games doesn't help us with selecting players who are French, Danish, Korean, etc. You'd need to get rid of the entire international window.

 

[spursfan77]

I'm gutted the match was called off as I booked off a half day from work here in the US to kick off the New Year's holiday and watch the match. But, the health of everyone is most important.

Out of curiosity, does anyone know if there is a Covid-19 policy regarding this type of scenario? I'm reading in this thread there are some regulations or guidance in place from the start of the season, so I'm curious to get my eyes on anything official that can shed light on what the outcome is supposed to be (e.g., postpone now, try to reschedule, if not possible then award the 3 points to the team that could field players). I checked premierleague.com and the FA's website, but am unable to locate anything.

Also, is the uptick in cases in the UK this new Covid-strain-variant? I'm reading it is much more contagious so that makes me think we might have to short-circuit the season or do something else creative... 2020, what a year!

Hopefully the postponement is a blessing - time will tell.

I think they are just making it up as they go along.

For example, I couldn't find the rules for what happens if the season is stopped. IE. when PPG comes into play instead of current league positions. I thought they settled it before the start of the season but now I cant find any definitive news (although I haven't checked the PL website).

 

[buckley]

Hodis gawd I fully agree and understand what you say but I think you may have missed my point .
Is it untenable with 3 or 4 or 5 or six or more or less players with covid . What I am asking for is clear guidance so that all clubs know all the rules . IF the fa say " 4 or more players with covid and game is called off " .
We would all know the rules how many players had covid when West Ham / Newcastle / Fulham / games were called off who knows ? only the FA / premier league . Just be transparent and clear with no ambiguity .

 

[HodisGawd]

Hodis gawd I fully agree and understand what you say but I think you may have missed my point .
Is it untenable with 3 or 4 or 5 or six or more or less players with covid . What I am asking for is clear guidance so that all clubs know all the rules . IF the fa say " 4 or more players with covid and game is called off " .
We would all know the rules how many players had covid when West Ham / Newcastle / Fulham / games were called off who knows ? only the FA / premier league . Just be transparent and clear with no ambiguity .

Fair enough, and apologies if I sounded grumpy (I was).

I guess the rules may not be universal and not as simple as "X players test positive, therefore the game is called off".

Firstly this is not just about players but playing staff too and everyone inside a stadium on a matchday. Plus each club has different facilities. Playing at our stadium, for example, maybe much less risky than playing at Craven Cottage.

So the rules may not be comparable and perhaps dependent on each club's individual risk assessment. I don't know, just surmising. That would seem logical to me.

 

[Rubespur]

I think they are just making it up as they go along.

For example, I couldn't find the rules for what happens if the season is stopped. IE. when PPG comes into play instead of current league positions. I thought they settled it before the start of the season but now I cant find any definitive news (although I haven't checked the PL website).

Ah, ok, thank you. I thought there were some approved guidelines for these situations already in place for this season. I totally understand the approach of trying to figure things out in real-time as things evolve - it is the same approach we've done in my workplace as we try to tackle employment issues around leave and pay options when employees (and even their families) are affected by the virus. The pandemic has wreaked havoc.

At the end of the day, though, without some guidelines in place, we may see some clubs benefit more than others with the final decisions that are taken. It will be what it will be - everyone's trying their best to make it work...

 

[yankspurs]

In hindsight, id have been really interested to see the 20 for this game. No Kane on top of no Lucas, Vinicius, Bale, or GLC would have made for a nice pre KO meltdown. Would be interested to see if Scarlett would have gotten a start or if Son would have been moved up top.

 

[DiVaio]

In hindsight, id have been really interested to see the 20 for this game. No Kane on top of no Lucas, Vinicius, Bale, or GLC would have made for a nice pre KO meltdown. Would be interested to see if Scarlett would have gotten a start or if Son would have been moved up top.

99% chance that Kane would play vs Fulham yesterday

 

[Strikeb4ck]

It’s not good news imo, it’s just kicking the can further down the road. Would much rather play a game today/vs Leeds with the players tired rather than later in the season when we could potentially be playing a EL quarter/semi final league cup final and 2 important league matches in a week ie Sunday Tuesday Thursday Sunday

Read the literature on load management in exercise science, this little break is desperately needed for a side like us who have played so many competitive matches compared to our competition and are going on 6+ months or so of playing twice a week nearly every single week. It's madness. Having a little 1-2 week reduction in workload around this point is hugely positive...no point having a bit less fixture congestion later on if Son and Kane and Hojbjerg are all out for months with muscle strains and pulls.

If this happened around the 1/4 of 3/4 of the season mark I'd agree, but we're right at the halfway point where our knackered players are getting a bit of a break relative to other clubs between the Fulham cancellation and Marine fixture.

 

[Spurs 1961]

I'm gutted the match was called off as I booked off a half day from work here in the US to kick off the New Year's holiday and watch the match. But, the health of everyone is most important.

Out of curiosity, does anyone know if there is a Covid-19 policy regarding this type of scenario? I'm reading in this thread there are some regulations or guidance in place from the start of the season, so I'm curious to get my eyes on anything official that can shed light on what the outcome is supposed to be (e.g., postpone now, try to reschedule, if not possible then award the 3 points to the team that could field players). I checked premierleague.com and the FA's website, but am unable to locate anything.

Also, is the uptick in cases in the UK this new Covid-strain-variant? I'm reading it is much more contagious so that makes me think we might have to short-circuit the season or do something else creative... 2020, what a year!

Hopefully the postponement is a blessing - time will tell.

Not sure if you have had an answer but at the start of the season the rule was that if you had 14 fit first team players including at least one goalkeeper then you have to play matches. However the PL say that they also have the right to judge things case by case. So if a team has several players with COVID-19 it may be deemed that others in the squad might be in the early stages before symptoms come out. In which case doctor’s might advise caution. If a team plays and then the opposition players get infected that would be a worst case scenario.
However there is no transparency from the authorities and it’s crazy that a PL match is called off at such short notice without both teams aware of the facts.

 

[Rubespur]

Not sure if you have had an answer but at the start of the season the rule was that if you had 14 fit first team players including at least one goalkeeper then you have to play matches. However the PL say that they also have the right to judge things case by case. So if a team has several players with COVID-19 it may be deemed that others in the squad might be in the early stages before symptoms come out. In which case doctor’s might advise caution. If a team plays and then the opposition players get infected that would be a worst case scenario.
However there is no transparency from the authorities and it’s crazy that a PL match is called off at such short notice without both teams aware of the facts.

Thanks @Spurs 1961 for this information. I haven't been able to find that 14 player rule you mentioned, but at the same time, it certainly makes sense to judge each situation on a case-by-case basis, particularly with the need to have players/staff self-isolate if they've been exposed to the virus but would be too early in the testing sequence to test anything other than negative. I'm perplexed the match was called so late, but I think someone else mentioned they (whoever "they" is - the Premiere League?) were waiting for test results to come back. I think, surely, if Mourinho didn't know for, then everything was in a state of flux and confusion.

I would think there would be some published guidelines, such as "We will provide updates by X hours before a match" but I clearly am just providing these thoughts in hindsight with the luxury of having no stress or implications to me whatsoever...