Hello my football people, how are you all doing? Thankfully, for me, I’ve now reached the stage of not missing football so much.
I’ve switched into "off-season" mode.
It wasn’t a conscious decision, more like my natural defence system kicking in to take one depressing aspect of "lockdown" off the frontal lobe of my brain.
It does help - most of the time anyway. Then I start habitual clicking through websites to "catch up" on football news.
But as with watching the general news on TV (which is blanketed with corona stuff), of course there ain’t that much going on except a few bogus journalists making up a bit of transfer gossip, re-runs of games, quizzes and polls.
I mean, one of the ‘big’ ongoing stories is that Sadio Mane has “had enough at Liverpool” and will be making his way to Real Madrid for a skyrocket fee.
The Spaniards would be interested I’m sure, but would he really want to vacate his position at England’s top club, when it seems that silverware is not only just around the corner but likely for the next couple of seasons?
RUMOURS: Liverpool star Sadio Mane, right, to Real
As it turns out, the story emanates from Senegal teammate Keita Balde.
Balde is quoted, saying: “I don’t think he wants to be there forever. He could leave in a year or two. He is a smart boy and he knows what is good for him and what he has to do.But it would take a very attractive offer for him to depart”.
That hardly sounds imminent to me.
But with the elite in Spain operating in a "cold war"-like political environment, you never know, as a "marquee" signing per season is the general rule.
Meanwhile, a meeting between all 20 Premier League clubs took place last week with the possibility of a June 30 cut-off date to finish the season “not raised,” according to reports.
Having previously looked at the matter of finances and player remuneration, the focus of this online meeting is understood to be on how best to complete the remainder of the 2019/20 season.
It has been suggested that nine clubs are in favour of ending the campaign by June 30, with the complications of contract expiration dates among the key issues.
However, any decision to set a June 30 deadline to finish fixtures wasn’t brought up and according to Sky Sports, the "objective remains to finish the season".
Looking at the current Covid-19 status in the UK, it’s hard to imagine football up and running in the near future, as the infection and death rate remains high, let alone trying to cram all the remaining fixtures before the end of June?
That’s just 12 weeks away!
The UK has just entered a further three weeks of lockdown
Why is that date even being discussed (if not officially on the table)?
I guess it’s the same mentality as Prime Minister Boris Johnson had despite knowing that the virus had landed on UK soil.
For him it was all about putting the economy first, while wasting precious time in prepping for a looming national disaster.
The Premier League, headed by CEO Richard Masters, are dithering because they don’t want to lose £750m of TV
revenue. It’s amazing, one of the many things that will come out of this global pandemic are the true colours being shined by many business owners.
GREED: CEO Richard Masters
There are those who have been living luxurious lives and coining millions for many years on the back of company staff.
However, many are retrenching and forcing annual leave to be taken, despite forecasts that economies are likely to be up and running in the next few months, with a vaccine also likely within a year or so.
On the positive side, every day we adhere to lockdown and advice from government is a day closer to the time we will reunite with family, friends and great occasions oh and back to football!
Stay safe people, chat next week.