Rush to a restart will risk our clubs’ treasured assets
QPR CHIEF HITS OUT AT EFL’S PLANNING
LEE HOOS was enjoying the late evening sunshine in his back garden in deepest Hampshire on Sunday when the phone rang.
It was a chief executive from another Championship club. “Have you seen our schedule?” “What schedule?” Hoos replied. He quickly consulted the inbox on his phone and there it was, a stark bulletin from the English Football League.
The Championship would be starting up again on June 20, just under three weeks away, with the play-off final at the end of the campaign on or around July 30.
Some 108 matches to be fitted into a packed schedule in just over six weeks before the play-off semifinals and final.
Queens Park Rangers chief executive Hoos and his club were expecting the call for a restart soon. But the bombshell manner in which it was dropped on them by the EFL without any consultation has left the West London club fuming. Hoos, right, said: “I was absolutely stunned when I read what was being proposed.
“They had given us 40 minutes’ notice before it was released. The lack of consultation with the clubs has been outrageous.
“I hear what people say about making excuses and we should be ready – but how can you do this without consulting with the clubs? One extra week is at the very least necessary for Championship clubs.
“Of course everyone wants to play. They say we are making a fuss about injuries. But do we want our most valuable assets sitting around? Of course not. No club goes out of business because of the amount spent on stationery – they go out of business because of the money spent on players.
“If they are injured during this period, with the close-season gap being a short one they will probably be injured for the start of next season. For a club like ours, that could put us on our knees.
“The sports scientists say three weeks is too short a period. We will get injuries. What would be the problem with an extra week’s training, even if it means taking the league into August?
“If this is the kind of attitude we are getting from the EFL then I might just join those who want to call it off!”
Hoos is also outraged at the lack of planning from the EFL over setting up stadiums for games behind closed doors, travelling to matches and regarding hotels. He said: “We need to provide safe stadiums.That has not been talked about. We will need security personnel. How many [members of the] press will we allow? These are core requirements. “Is it best for teams to travel by train or coach? And hotels will need to be deep-cleaned. None of these issues have been discussed.
“In Germany they laid down the guidelines weeks before they started to play. What do we need for matches? I haven’t a clue. We have not been told.”
The EFL have stated the dates are provisional but they are set to be rubber-stamped next Monday.
Hoos said: “The EFL needs a reboot. To do something it has never done before – planning. The system is not working.”