EPL 2020-21

He's somewhat bought in to the EPL self indulgence of thinking high value transfers = great player. Or young English = next Messi.
Needs to get back to a club with a true academy and some desire to build a squad for years and not just one that wants to buy success. Will hopefully leave them this year, though it will look like he left on a downer.
Barcelona would likely take him back if they can sort out their boardroom pish. They could do with it/him.

 

Harvey Barnes is never playing for Scotland..

How woeful are Villa. Look a certainty for relegation..

 

Had a bet on 3-0 to Leicester, * scored a 4th.

 

Seen Man Utd we’re still training yesterday regardless.

 

This thread

 

EPL off til April 30th at the earliest. Season extended indefinitely.

 

Tottenham forcing non-playing staff to take pay cut and using the government scheme to cover themselves...

Sounds like the players aren’t being asked to take any cuts or delays in pay!

 

I’ve never been a fan of the epl ... but the way they are all using the government scheme to pay reduced salaries to the support staff while paying players up to £600k a month is just truly sickening...

They should be utterly ashamed and he media should be highlighting it instead of keeping quiet. They’re strangely low key about the more ethical actions of other clubs.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52142267

 

Think this will be the first thing to kill off the epl if sky Bt ect refuse to pay out on cash

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52168692

Truly disgusting...

trying to argue that if obscenely rich players don’t get their full pay then taxes suffer so the NHS suffers...

Absolutely no morals.

ANYBODY (especially Scottish people) who continue to buy into the EPL after this pandemic settles down need to have a rethink about their personal ethics.

I hope it climbs up its own * and dies.

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The Professional Footballers' Association says proposals for a 30% pay cut for Premier League players would be "detrimental to our NHS".

The PFA also called on the league to increase its own £20m charity pledge.

The government has said it is "concerned" by what it called "infighting".

The league wants players to take a 30% salary cut in order to protect jobs, amid the coronavirus pandemic.

But the union says that equates to more than £500m in wage reductions, and a loss in tax contributions of more than £200m to the UK government.

The union also questioned Health Secretary Matt Hancock's public criticism of footballers' salaries during a news conference on Thursday.

"What effect does this loss of earning to the government mean for the NHS?" the statement read. "Was this considered in the Premier League proposal and did the Health Secretary factor this in when asking players to take a salary cut?"

Oliver Dowden, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport tweeted: "Concerned about the turn football talks have taken...People do not want to see infighting in our national sport at a time of crisis.

"Football must play its part to show that the sport understands the pressures its lower paid staff, communities and fans face."

• Liverpool furlough some non-playing staff

The PFA said all Premier League players "will play their part in making significant financial contributions in these unprecedented times".

England manager Gareth Southgate is reported to have made such a gesture by agreeing a 30% pay cut, although the Football Association declined to confirm when asked by BBC Sport.

Top-flight professionals have been coming under increasing pressure to take a drop in pay, especially with five Premier League clubs - Liverpool, Newcastle, Tottenham, Bournemouth and Norwich - now placing some non-playing staff on furlough leave under the Government's coronavirus job retention scheme.

However, clubs themselves are understood to have financial concerns, with Burnley saying on Saturday they they faced a shortfall of £50m if the Premier League season was not completed.

Brighton chief executive Paul Barber, meanwhile, said the Premier League was not ignoring the plight of the general population during the coronavirus pandemic.

The PFA statement came hours after a conference call with the Premier League and the League Managers' Association (LMA), the managers' union, to discuss the wage cut plans.

Saturday's call, which featured a Premier League presentation of the wage cut plans, was concluded in less than an hour with no agreement reached.

The Premier League is not mandated to make a decision on wage cuts, as it has to be agreed by the players and coaches. Clubs and players are now set to discuss the plan, with talks set to go into next week.

As part of the proposals, the Premier League would advance £125m to the English Football League (EFL) and National League, and give £20m towards the NHS.

The PFA says it is happy to continue talks with the Premier League, although it added: "£20m is welcome, but we believe it could be far bigger.

"The EFL money is an advance. Importantly, it will aid cashflow in the immediate, but football needs to find a way to increase funding to the EFL and non-league clubs in the long-term.

"Many clubs require an increase in funding just to survive. We believe in our football pyramid and again stress the need for solidarity between all clubs.

"Going forward, we are working together to find a solution which will be continually reviewed in order to assess the circumstance of the Covid-19 crisis.

"The players are mindful that as PAYE employees, the combined tax on their salaries is a significant contribution to funding essential public services - which are especially critical at this time."

During Saturday's conference call, the Premier League warned that it faces a £762m financial penalty if the season does not resume, and broadcasters demanded refunds on games they could not show.

It added that hundreds of millions of pounds could be lost in sponsorship and matchday revenue because the season has been suspended, and that the campaign will almost certainly be played behind closed doors if it resumes.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, England defender Danny Rose - on loan at Newcastle from Tottenham - said that Premier League players were keen to give up a portion of their wages to help good causes, but felt their "backs are against the wall" regarding the pressure they had faced to accept cuts.

Captains of Premier League clubs, led by Liverpool's Jordan Henderson, have been in talks over a plan to make charitable donations.

"We sort of feel that our backs are against the wall. Conversations were being had before people outside of football were commenting," Rose told the Friday Football Social.

"I've been on the phone to Jordan Henderson and he's working so hard to come up with something.

"It was just not needed for people who are not involved in football to tell footballers what they should do with their money. I found that so bizarre."

The Premier League declined to comment on the PFA statement.

 

Liverpool had originally planned to use the government's furlough scheme to pay around 200 employees
Liverpool have reversed their decision to use the government's furlough scheme to pay non-playing club staff.

The club had planned to use the scheme to pay around 200 staff, whose work has been affected by the suspension of the Premier League, a move which was criticised by former players Jamie Carragher and Dietmar Hamann.


A Liverpool FC statement said: "We have consulted with a range of key stakeholders as part of a process aimed at achieving the best possible outcome for all concerned.


"A range of possible scenarios were considered, including but not restricted to : applying to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme which pays 80% of salary and guaranteeing the 20% payment; applying to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme with a guarantee to reimburse monies received at a later date and, thirdly, finding an alternative means to cover our furlough costs.


"It is as a direct result of this extensive consultation and our own internal deliberations at various levels throughout the Club that we have opted to find alternative means despite our eligibility to apply for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.


"We believe we came to the wrong conclusion last week to announce that we intended to apply to the Coronavirus Retention Scheme and furlough staff due to the suspension of the Premier League football calendar, and are truly sorry for that.

"Our intentions were, and still are, to ensure the entire workforce is given as much protection as possible from redundancy and/or loss of earnings during this unprecedented period.

"We are therefore committed to finding alternative ways to operate while there are no football matches being played that ensures we are not applying for the government relief scheme."

 

Be interesting to see which route English football takes.

 

Just seen how rich the new Newcastle owners are, mental!! (if it goes through)

 

Pochettino would welcome a return to Spurs, I can’t see it tbh.