Keys: Go back to the situation as it was last August

FORMER Sky Sports presenter Richard Keys has presented an alternative suggestion as to how to end the Premier League and Championship seasons.

With all football on hold and everyone, including governing bodies, unsure of how to proceed due to the coronavirus outbreak, the broadcaster has put forward a plan for the rest of the campaign.

In a blog post entitled ‘Re-set the clock — it’s the only sensible thing to do’, Keys (inset) argues that the standings should go back to how they were last August.

He added that it would be “outrageous” for teams like Swansea to miss out on a place in the play-offs and a chance to return to the Premier League.

“Leeds and West Brom have had eventful seasons, but they’re not up yet,” he wrote.

“Both can still he caught. So how can we promote them? It would be outrageous if those chasing play-off places were to miss out on the chance to get up. Bristol City, Millwall, Cardiff are all jockeying. So are Blackburn and Swansea.

“It’s one of the joys of Championship football that very little is ever settled until the last day of the season. Oh, and the football is pure. No VA-bloodyR spoiling matches.

“Barnsley are bottom. They’re not down but they could go — so too could at least seven other teams.

“In League One Coventry are top. They’ll come up surely? After years of misery their fans (me included) deserve something to shout about. But we don’t know, do we? Are you getting my point? We just don’t know.

“Liverpool were going to be ‘invincible’. They were going to retain the CL. They were going to do a league and cup double.

Were ..... Not now they’re not.”

Keys’s solution is simply to start over, to almost pretend that this season did not happen.

“Let’s be realistic, the chances of finishing this season are receding by the day,” he added.

“My old mate, Javier Tebas, who runs the Spanish League, has this morning called for the season to be cancelled. For once, I agree with this. Cancel — now. Re-set the clocks. Go back to last August and start again with everything as it was. That includes the same teams in the CL, UEL, all of them. That will suit the big boys clamouring for a closed shop of CL clubs anyway.

“How can we realistically start again in, say, a couple of weeks? Six weeks perhaps? No, two months. Perhaps a week? See the problem?

“It’s one thing all agreeing to stop playing at the same time but teams won’t all be ready to start playing again at the same time.

“What about those isolating players now? Some will show symptoms days/weeks from now. They won’t be ready to play with those who’ve recovered earlier. So teams are nothing like the same as those that stopped playing? Where’s the integrity in that?

“And the further we push the season back the nearer we get to the deadline when 70 or more PL players are out of contract. Why would they play on with their current clubs?

“What about injuries? Who would look after a player out of contract, denied a big move by an injury in the last few days of his time with his current employer? So some are weakened in other ways. Where’s the integrity in that?”

MATHEW DAVIES