United’s ‘no’ to neutral grounds
“So I think it’s too early for us to talk about it, we want to remain in step with government and the authorities. And want to remain in step with the mood of football supporters.
“I think really the talk at the moment should be about the tentative steps we are taking now that the announcements have been made about getting back to training and only once players have been consulted.
“It’s about the building blocks...we have talked about four weeks of training but haven’t agreed yet as we haven’t agreed to go back to training yet. I think I’ve said there was a lot of discussion about players and how important they are and that clubs are determined as part of the consultation process that their concerns and questions are heard. They will be later this week.
“We’re really just talking about return-to-training protocols. In isolation it’s a big decision.
“But whenever professional athletes go back to training the opportunity arises for them to train in different ways. But the players have to be consulted properly. The first meetings will take place this week.”
The idea of isolated team camps has been floated, keeping players away from the threat of the virus.
But as things stand, that is not top of the agenda.
“I think it probably has been discussed, but it is not the favoured route at the moment and I guess ultimately, in the judgement of medical professionals, which I am not, they think that the formula they have created is it safe and appropriate.”
NEWCASTLE United have voted against playing their remaining fixture list at neutral grounds along with every other Premier League club.
A host of grounds had been lined up for sides to finish their season but the bottom six clubs felt losing home advantage for crucial games was unfair.
Now, the rest of the clubs have supported their concerns by voting likewise at a Premier League meeting.
Top-flight chief Richard Masters said: “Everybody would prefer to play at home and away if at all possible, and it’s clear to see some clubs feel more strongly about that than others.
“We are in contact with the authorities and listening to that advice, while also representing club views in those discussions.”
The government’s previous stance was that the only way the season could be completed was at neutral venues.
But clubs would now like to demonstrate they can put fixtures on safely without the threat of fans congregating.
Masters said: “Since COVID-19 became an issue we’ve been talking to the authorities about the conditions in which we could get the Premier League back up and running and taking all that advice on board, but it is an ongoing dialogue.
“But all must be cognisant of what authorities are telling us, and we’ll continue with that consultation.”
During the meeting Masters revealed clubs had stated their desire to finish the season on the pitch, but for the first time the possibility of average points per game was discussed.
Masters said: “It’s still our aim to finish the season obviously, but it’s important to discuss all of the options with our clubs.
“Obviously we won’t be playing until the middle of June.
“It doesn’t seem quite right to be talking about playing before we’ve taken a decision to return to the first stage of training.
“But in terms of how those matches will take place there’s a lot of water to pass under the bridge, and we’ll continue to assess the circumstances then.”