Forget farce of Carry On for our game

LET’S leave it to the experts and the Government, we were told.

Which was fair enough and their advice to football on Thursday was along the lines of Carry On Regardless. That aged well.

Finally, and thankfully, the game’s authorities were given no choice but to suspend football until the first weekend of April.

Now, I’m no medical expert and am not in Government, but the chances of playing any football as early as next month are surely slim and none.

And as boxing promoter Don King (below) once remarked: “I’ve just seen slim packing his bags and heading out of town.”

In their statement yesterday, the FA said: “All parties are committed at this time to trying to complete this season’s domestic fixture programme and are liaising to establish appropriate options to do so.”

Appropriate options to do so?

There is only one option to do so and that is to wait until coronavirus is under control and certain to remain under control.

We know that is not going to be any time soon.

Even if UEFA postpone Euro

2020, the knock-on effects of resuming this season later in the year would be considerable.

There would be all sorts of technicalities to consider. When would the following season start? And the season after that? Would a subsequent season have to be truncated? What about transfer windows and players’ contracts ending on June 1?

Let’s face it, the domestic and European seasons of 2019-20 have been rendered irrelevant by the worst health crisis of all our lifetimes.

They are surely over. Finished. The Premier League, the EFL, the Champions League – the lot.

Really, really tough on those who were almost tasting eventual success. Absolutely.

But this country, along with all other nations, is effectively engaged in a war without bombs. A war against a deadly virus.

And whether Liverpool officially end their wait for a Premier League title, whether Sheffield United finish in a Champions League qualifying slot, whether Norwich get relegated and Leeds get promoted, whether Coventry get back into the Championship or Stevenage fall out of the Football League is all pretty meaningless.

This season is a write-off. Let’s just hope, at the end of summer, we can start a new one.