Watford have become the latest Premier League club to speak out against "Project Restart", the attempt to resume the current Premier League season at neutral venues. Previously, fellow strugglers Brighton and Aston Villa have spoken of their opposition to the plan.
Watford chairman Scott Duxbury voiced his concern ahead of Monday's meeting of Premier League stakeholders, stating there is only individual interest in the Premier League.
There is no altruism in the Premier League. There are 20 different vested interests, which sometimes align but more often than not work purely to protect each individual club.
That is why some clubs are happy to sign up to ‘Project Restart’ because arguably there is only an upside in participating in this compromised format; it means Liverpool can win the title, other clubs can book their place in Europe next season or potentially fight their way up the table from a position of safety.
But when at least six clubs — and I suspect more — are concerned about the clear downside and the devastating effects of playing in this kind of distorted nine-game mini-league, then I believe the Premier League has a duty of care to address those concerns.
If we start and finish a whole season under these conditions and at neutral venues when everybody knows the rules when we start, not created in a time of crisis, then that is clearly fair.
To be asked to finish a quarter of the season under new rules and conditions is an entirely different proposition.
How can the long-term future of clubs be determined under these fundamentally changed conditions? How is there any semblance of fairness? To wave aside all the fears and concerns is too simplistic.
Surely all 20 clubs must agree the fairest way forward to complete the season? I hope we can now come together and find a solution to enable the season to end safely and fairly.
The Premier League as it started this season cannot be completed. The only way forward is to find a unanimously agreed alternative, postpone until it can be restarted in its original form, or abandon the season. The anger and hatred out there towards clubs showing this selfish concern is confusing given what's actually at play here.
Bottom six clubs are voting to stop ‘project restart’.
Let it never be forgotten that these teams would rather cancel football than fight relegation. Pathetic.
❌ Brighton
❌ West Ham
❌ Watford
❌ Bournemouth
❌ Aston Villa
❌ Norwich— Danny Mac (@MacsFootball) May 4, 2020
The meaning of true altruism in these critical times has seemingly been confused with giving up all self interest.
Bringing back the Premier League won't save lives. Will it cost lives? Let's hope not, but there is clear concern at the amount of testing that will be needed to do it safely in the worst hit country in Europe. Will the testing required for football harm the efforts to contain the virus? You would hope not, but it's certainly more likely than it doing any actual good.
No, the Premier League is hoping to make a return for money. It's about the club's owners, the television companies, and the sponsors. We, the fans, will obviously be ecstatic to see sport back on our screens again, even if we can't go to the grounds, but let's not kid ourselves and pretend our desires are even the tiniest of factors in the decision making process.
Why then should the clubs at the bottom of the table risk so much for the good of their rivals? For some, their very futures could be decided by what happens in the rest of this season. But the competition they've entered and the rules by which it was played by is over. A new competition to finish things would be great, but why risk it? What is there to gain?
That sounds incredibly self serving, but as has been pointed out, it's what everyone is doing. If there was more to the Premier League's return than self interest, then by all means, have a go. It would be cowardly and selfish to use these times to say up by default. That's not what's happening though. In these circumstances, the only option is self interest.
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