Don’t Blame TV For Premier League Play During Its Covid Christmas Crisis

[ad_1]

Fans dressed as Santa Claus and wearing a face mask or blanket due to the COVID-19 pandemic, … [+] Sit socially at a distance as they await the kick off of the English Premier League soccer match between Brighton and Hove Albion and Sheffield United at the American Express Community Stadium in Brighton, southern England, on the 20th December 2020. (Photo by JOHN SIBLEY / POOL / AFP) / LIMITED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixtures, club / league logos or “live” services. Online match use limited to 120 images. 40 additional images can be used in overtime. No video emulation. Use of social networks during the match limited to 120 images. 40 additional images can be used in overtime. No use in betting publications, games or any single club / league / player publications. / (Photo by JOHN SIBLEY / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

POOL / AFP via Getty Images

The Premier League show must continue, it has been decided.

Despite canceling the vast majority of its pre-Christmas games, as positive Covid-19 test results wreaked havoc among teams in the division, the league has announced it will work to continue. to play.

“While acknowledging that a number of clubs are facing epidemics and challenges related to COVID-19, the League collectively intends to continue the current match schedule as safely as possible,” the Premier League said in a statement on Monday.

“The health and well-being of all those concerned remain our priority and the League will continue to monitor and reflect public health guidelines, always proceeding with caution. “

This news will not have gone well in many of the manager’s offices across the country, with several top England coaches criticizing efforts to play matches amid epidemics.

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel delivered one of the scathing ones on Sunday, suggesting that dismissing a request to postpone the club’s game with Wolverhampton Wanderers was dangerous.

“We are talking about protecting the players and a safe environment, but it is not safe,” he said at the post-match press conference.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if the next test comes along and we have more positives.

“How should it end if we sit on the bus and have dinner and stay together like nothing has happened?” “

Earlier that week Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers made similar remarks but was targeting a group that is a regular target of many of the game’s problems: the television companies.

Asked if the Premier League’s lucrative TV contracts influenced his decisions to cancel games, Rodgers said: “I’m pretty sure they have, yes.”

He added that “in terms of players, managers and coaches, we all want to play the games. But ultimately a player’s health is the priority. If you have players available, you get a better product.

It was in a continuation of an ongoing trend that accelerated last season that TV companies were responsible for players pushing beyond their limits.

Much of this was sparked by Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp angrily declaring that TV companies’ Sky and BT have to talk ‘because’ if we keep playing on Wednesday and Saturday at 12:30 p.m. I don’t know. if we will end the season with 11 players. “

But the truth is a little more complicated.

But… What about the money?

Production Control Room 3 at NBC Sports Network Studios in Stamford, Connecticut, during … [+] Saturday morning live broadcast of English Premier League matches. Stamford, Connecticut, United States. September 21, 2013. Photo Tim Clayton (Photo by Tim Clayton / Corbis via Getty Images)

Corbis via Getty Images

The classic response to managers or even gamers who complain about the demands that television places on them is to point out the salaries both make from lucrative television contracts.

This is an easy connection to make, as football clubs are notoriously bad at retaining the value of broadcast deals, whenever there is an increase in TV revenue the payroll goes up along with that increase.

The weakness has been described very evocatively by former Tottenham Hotspur chairman Alan Sugar as the ‘prune juice effect’ because the money ‘goes side to side’.

The problem seems to be that, just as football clubs struggle to negotiate contracts for players who keep money aside for rainy days, they are just as weak when it comes to pushing back demands. television companies.

That’s not to say there are no limits, football doesn’t play back-to-back games like the NBA or NFL, teams rarely play more than three times a week and the Premier League has even introduced a 13-day winter break. ‘in 2019-20 by smart planning of meetings in January.

But when time is running out, especially around Christmas time, clubs are reluctant to put players first.

Festive incentive

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 05: An Amazon Prime Video and Premier League branded microphone is … [+] seen before the Premier League match between Sheffield United and Newcastle United at Bramall Lane on December 5th 2019 in Sheffield, United Kingdom. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA / Getty Images)

Getty Images

For broadcasters, the holiday season has traditionally been one of the most lucrative, a time when families retreat into the cold with plenty of free time to binge on live televised football.

Hosting as many live game shows as possible between Christmas and New Years has always been a source of money.

Indeed, Amazon’s entry into the UK football broadcast arena has focused specifically on this time of year, related to its other business activities around Christmas.

Then there’s the international appeal of the Premier League’s festive schedule.

At a time when most of the other leagues are shutting down, the game flurry of English football is being devoured by fans the world over.

Any substantial change in the schedule would give broadcasters around the world reason to negotiate a reduction in the large sums paid for these matches.

After paying off the chaos caused by the latest coronavirus lockdown in cash, most Premier League clubs are unable to start giving more back.

It is wrong to try to silence concerns about player safety by pointing fingers at wages. High wages do not mean that unsafe working conditions are acceptable.

But when it comes to who runs the relentless football, managers may be advised to look a little closer to home.

[ad_2]